Chapter 0169

Hell has reclaimed me. The metallic scent of blood, the piercing screams, the suffocating fear—it all crashes over me like a tidal wave. I was supposed to be free. How did I end up back in this nightmare? My mind scrambles for answers, but the feeding room's horrors drown out all coherent thought.

Panic claws at my throat when I realize she's gone. Genevieve. The name surfaces from the depths of my fractured memory, though I can't recall how I know her. Only corpses surround me now. Maybe I've joined them. This isn't the afterlife I imagined—where are my parents? Where's the safety I was promised?

Then it comes—the crisp, earthy fragrance of pine needles. The scent of my childhood, when Mother and I would forage for medicinal herbs. The aroma intensifies until suddenly, the stone walls dissolve. I'm standing in an emerald forest, sunlight dappling through the canopy.

Alone, but safe. This place smells of happier times. I wander aimlessly until finding a sunlit clearing. Exhaustion weighs me down as I collapse onto the mossy ground. The golden warmth on my skin lulls me into oblivion.

When I wake, the forest remains unchanged. I inhale deeply—damp soil, resinous bark, the ozone hint of approaching rain. My soul soars at nature's perfume. If this is death, why aren't my parents here? I call for them until my voice grows hoarse, but only the forest answers—chirping birds, babbling brooks, the evening chorus of insects.

Peace. A forgotten sensation that now feels dangerously addictive.

Time loses meaning. I sleep when weary, explore when awake. The perpetual twilight never shifts. Until—

A voice. Deep, resonant, magnetic. It pulls me like a lodestone. As I follow the sound, a familiar vibration thrums in my mind. "Valeria?" Silence, then the purr grows stronger. "Oh Valeria. Can you hear me? I've missed you desperately. I love you. We'll find our way back—just grow stronger for me."

The masculine voice fades, taking Valeria's presence with it. The cycle repeats for untold days until new voices join the chorus—a woman's lilting tones. Valeria's sudden growl startles me. 'Danger?' I ask my wolf.

No—this feels sharper, hotter. Jealousy? Absurd. Why would we care about strangers talking? The man's voice disappears as the forest dims. The woman keeps speaking while invisible hands tug at my arms. When the pulling stops, Valeria whispers two earth-shattering words: 'Wake up.'

'Valeria? Are you really back?'

'Not fully, my sweet Seraphina. But I'm close. Wake now—help me return to you.'