Power still sizzled through Beryl's veins, a lingering warmth from the successful ritual she and her sisters had performed. They'd come together like this countless times before, and they would continue to do so for years to come. But today was different. Today she'd reveal her feelings for Endymion—feelings that would burst from her chest if she waited even a moment longer.
Everything spoke of her future with him. The sun shone brilliantly, gleaming like a radiant crystal in the sky. It reflected off the glass-infused stone of the Golden Kingdom Castle, making it sparkle like a rare jewel. The breeze whispered its blessing, rustling the cherry blossoms that danced in the air. Birds sang their congratulations, their melodies weaving through the air like tangible strings.
Prince Endymion stood on the raised dais with his father, the King, embodying the very essence of nobility and grace. The sunlight worshipped them, caressing each ridge and plain of their features, casting a golden halo around them. Each button and golden embellishment on their attire glittered like tiny suns.
They seemed to draw strength from the very earth beneath their feet, the connection to their kingdom as deep and unbreakable as the roots of the ancient trees that surrounded them. The aura of their presence was almost palpable, a testament to their roles as the protectors of Earth, and their bond with the land they were destined to defend.
When the crowds dispersed, she approached him, her heart pounding like a drum. Nervous energy swirled within her stomach, a whirlwind of hope and fear. She'd spent weeks preparing for this moment, thinking of each word, practicing each expression, going over each scenario in her mind like a well-rehearsed play.
When she stepped up, he smiled—that perfect, charming smile that promised a future filled with happiness. After this moment, they'd be together. They'd be together forever. Summoned by someone, the king turned away. Even the four Heavenly Kings were busy with their duties, leaving her alone with Endymion. Another sign the gods were blessing this union.
Prince Endymion loved her. She was sure of it. There was no other reason for his complete adoration, for the look in his eyes when he saw her, for the gentleness he displayed towards her.
"Sorceress Beryl," he said, his voice like honey. The way his lips caressed her name sent shivers down her spine, making her cheeks flush.
"Prince." She offered a graceful bow, her heart fluttering.
"It's an absolutely wonderful day," he remarked, his eyes sparkling like stars. From this moment on, they'd only ever sparkle for her.
"It is one that I'll remember forever," she replied, her voice tinged with hope and determination.
"Oh? Why is that?" He leaned in slightly, his expression warm and inviting.
She smiled up at him, her eyes shining with all the love and affection she held in her heart. This was the moment she had been waiting for, the moment that would change everything.
"Endymion, I can no longer hide my feelings. Your love for me has been evident in every gesture, every glance. And today, I stand before you to confess that my heart beats for you as well. Let this moment mark the beginning of our eternal union."
The world froze in the instant before his reply. These were the last seconds she'd spend alone. There was a brief flash of something in his eyes before he responded.
"Sorceress, you are a wonderful friend and an incredible sorceress. I deeply respect and admire you. But my heart is bound to my duties and my people. I've never felt a romantic love towards you, and I'm sorry if my actions led you to believe otherwise."
"We will experience a wonderful love, and joy will fill our lives," she insisted, clinging to her hope.
"I'll always treasure our friendship, and we'll remain friends from this moment on. Now, if you'll excuse me." He turned on his heels and strode away, his four kings following in his wake.
She blinked, still frozen on the dais. He'd rejected her. He'd. Rejected. Her.
Everything screamed of her failure. The sun glared harshly, glaring like a blinding judge in the sky. It reflected off the glass-infused stone of the Golden Kingdom Castle, making it glint like a cold, unfeeling chasm. The breeze whispered its disdain, rustling the cherry blossoms that withered in the air. Birds shrieked their laughter, their mocking melodies weaving through the air like tangible vices.
With no other thought, she turned and ran.
Beryl's tears were silent screams, each drop carrying the weight of rejection and sorrow. She stumbled through the dense forest, her vision blurred by the torrent of emotions. Exposed roots snagged at her feet, rocks tripped her, and dense brush refused to let her pass. Still, she pressed forward, unable to remain stationary lest the turmoil in her heart devour her.
Even the forest seemed to conspire against her. Branches clawed at her cloak like skeletal fingers, shadows deepening her sense of despair. Moisture on her cheeks grew cold, the rivers of tears cascading off her face and splashing onto her cloak, leaving dark, wet stains. Even more evidence of his rejection.
She gasped for breath, her sobs echoing in the oppressive silence of the woods. Every step was a battle against the physical and emotional obstacles in her path. The pain in her heart was a relentless force, driving her onward even as her body begged for rest.
A mass of rock loomed before her, an unyielding wall in her path. With a final, desperate sob, she collapsed against it, her body trembling. The cold, rough surface echoed the emotions gripping her heart, grounding her in the reality of her anguish.
Beryl pressed her forehead to the stone, hand scraping against the unyielding surface as she clung to it. Soon, the prickles of darkness caught her awareness. They seemed to pulse in response to her despair, an ancient and malevolent presence sensing her vulnerability.
"Why, Endymion?" she screamed out. "Why can't you love me?"
Heavy sobs wracked her shoulders. Great, heaving gasps of air ricocheted through her chest. His words from earlier that day echoed in her mind, a cruel reminder of her unfulfilled longing. It was still clear, still obvious, and she suspected would remain so for years to come.
He'd called her a friend. She smashed her fist against the rock. The pain meant little to her. Pain and distress already filled her entire being. What was a little more?
In the small space between sobs, a trickle of magnetic energy caressed her skin. Darkness tainted it. At first, she wanted to run away from the negative energy. But there was a layer now that she identified with—longing and despair.
The darkness had long yearned for recognition, understanding Beryl's deep despair intimately. It, too, had faced constant rejection. In this moment, their fates intertwined, bound by the shared agony of being overlooked.
"I understand now," she cried out. "I know your feelings because he'll never love me!"
Now the energy pulsed harder. She glanced up, a cave where solid rock had been a moment before. All her instincts told her to flee, to run back to the safety of the light. But what had the light ever done for her?
The light had lied, highlighting his eyes, speaking of love and the future. The light was nothing but a liar.
The soft glow of the moon had caressed his cheek, whispering of trust and adoration. The light continued to lie to her.
The darkness had spoken the truth, the absence of everything but her and her power.
"Why are there so many lies?"
She struggled to her feet, the muscles of her thighs still quivering from the frantic rush through the forest.
"I can give you all you desire," a soft voice whispered, its words caressing her mind like a velvet promise. Compelled forward, she entered the cave.
The entrance yawned before her like the maw of a magnificent beast, swallowing the deceitful light and leaving only truthful darkness. The air grew colder with each step, a chilling breath that seemed to whisper secrets to the stones. She wanted to learn those secrets, learn what was kept hidden from her. Because then she'd have the power to make all her dreams a reality.
Her heart pounded in her chest, a wild rhythm that echoed off the cavern walls.
The shadows deepened, becoming a tangible, swirling essence around her. Faint luminescent fungi clung to the walls, casting an eerie, ghostly glow that barely illuminated her path. Each step sent pebbles skittering across the rocky, uneven ground until they vanished into the abyss.
Her breath came in shallow gasps, visible in the frigid air like small puffs of smoke. The cave seemed to pulse with a life of its own, an ancient malevolent presence that watched her every move. It was as if the very darkness was alive, whispering her name, beckoning her deeper into its embrace.
Ahead, a faint light flickered, drawing her like a moth to a flame. It was a cold, unnatural light, casting long, sharp shadows that danced on the walls like specters.
Now she hesitated, remembering the stories the senior sorceresses spoke of. The greatest evil that the world had known lived in the darkest cave in the depths of the forest.
"Don't be afraid, child," the voice danced on the wind.
"I am afraid."
"The darkness holds no lies. It only contains truth."
Beryl took a step. "Endymion lied to me. He made me believe I was special."
"Of course he did, child. Endymion walks in the light, believing that he is superior because of that."
She took another step deeper into the darkness. It caressed her skin now, a soft touch that left her wanting more. All traces of illumination were gone. There was no indication of walls or a ceiling. No traces of stone or life.
The darkness was absolute, a thick, impenetrable shroud that swallowed her whole. It was as if she had stepped into a void where time and space ceased to exist. Her eyes strained against the blackness, but there was nothing to see. Her hands reached out, groping for any sign of solidity, but they met only nothing. The air felt heavy, pressing in from all sides, yet it was eerily still, devoid of the slightest breeze.
There was nothing. The absence of sound was an almost tangible weight that pressed against her eardrums. Each breath she took sounded unnaturally loud, echoing in the void as though the darkness itself was amplifying the sound. A new sound trickled through her awareness, almost like a distant waterfall but compressed into the tiniest space. With a start, she realized it was the sound of her blood rushing through her veins.
Now the absence of everything completely engulfed her, leaving her completely lost. Even the solid ground below her feet vanished. She was floating in an endless void, lost to the world. Abandoned and forgotten.
"I haven't forgotten you, child. I'll remain by your side."
"Who... who are you?" Beryl asked, her voice trembling.
"I am the ultimate power in the cosmos," the voice replied, its tone both seductive and commanding.
"I don't recognize your aura."
"Because you've been hidden from me. Accept my offer, child, and I shall imbue you with the strength to claim Endymion as yours for all eternity."
"Forever?"
"You'll never grow old. You'll never lose your beauty. You'll walk beside him forever."
"Never?"
Even the senior sorceresses aged, their faces becoming mere reflections of who they once were. This creature must have incredible power to offer such a thing.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" she asked.
The voice chuckled. "You know nothing of power. Darkness is timeless. It is without beginning and without end. Even before the first stars appeared, before the first planets formed, before the first traces of power were tangible, darkness was there."
Still, she hesitated.
"I offer this to you—a glimpse of the future."
Before her, the darkness parted like a curtain being pulled back to expose a window. Beryl gasped as the image formed. Endymion stood facing a beautiful young woman. Her hair glistened like moonlight, cascading in soft waves, and her skin radiated with a gentle luminescence. She wore a pure white dress with intricate gold embellishments that shimmered with every movement.
Beryl had seen her before. The Moon Princess.
"Soon Endymion will meet Princess Serenity, and love will blossom between them," the voice intoned.
"No! It's forbidden for citizens of the Moon and Earth to be together," Beryl protested, her voice cracking with desperation.
"The gods make rules knowing they will be broken," the voice replied, calm and unyielding.
In the vision, Endymion leaned forward, his eyes filled with tenderness and devotion. He kissed the Moon Princess with a gentleness that spoke of an undying love and complete adoration. It was the kiss Beryl had dreamed of, the one that should have been hers.
"This is the future if you don't accept my power," the voice warned.
"And the future if I do?" Beryl whispered, her voice trembling.
The scene morphed, and now it was her—except different somehow. She stood strong, a powerful sorceress who commanded respect. Not the fragile, insignificant girl she was now. Endymion gazed at her with a look of awe and reverence, as if she held all the stars in her palm.
Then he leaned forward and kissed her, the passion and intensity of the moment leaving her breathless.
"Do you desire this future, Beryl?" the voice asked, its tone both seductive and commanding. "Don't you yearn for the power to make your dreams a reality?"
Beryl's heart raced, her voice barely a whisper. "Yes, I want that future. I want to serve you."
"Then accept me, child," the voice urged. "Embrace the darkness, and let it consume you."
"I accept you! I want to serve you. Give me that power!" Beryl declared.
The unyielding darkness subsided, slowly revealing the stone cave. Just before her, a swirling mass of black and purple undulated. Raw power oozed from it, cascading around the room, and rippling off the walls.
The voice spoke again, closer this time, its tone both seductive and commanding. "Come closer, Beryl. Embrace the power that can make your dreams a reality. Become a queen of the Dark Kingdom. Become Queen Beryl!"
She stepped forward, her hand outstretched, fingers trembling as they brushed against the icy surface of the darkness. The moment her fingertips made contact, a violent surge of energy exploded through her body. The dark power infiltrated her veins, burning with an intensity that bordered on agony. She threw her head back, a guttural scream tearing from her throat as the darkness consumed her.
The world around her dissolved into an inky void. Tendrils of shadow wrapped around her, constricting, suffocating, yet filling her with an unimaginable strength. Her muscles spasmed, every fiber of her being resonating with the raw, unbridled power coursing through her.
Her very essence seemed to unravel, then knit itself back together—stronger, darker. Her skin tingled, then seared, as if being branded by the ancient force that now claimed her. Her once vibrant eyes darkened, swirling with the abyssal energy that now fueled her every thought, her every heartbeat.
The transformation was both excruciating and euphoric. She could feel her previous self being torn apart, replaced by something more—something formidable and relentless. Her mind expanded, flooded with knowledge and power beyond comprehension. Visions of conquest and destruction danced before her eyes, promising her everything she had ever desired.
"Yes!" she screamed.
In the depths of her soul, the malevolent power solidified, anchoring her to its will. Her scream subsided into a low, throaty laugh, the sound echoing through the cavern like a sinister symphony. The voice of the darkness resonated within her, a part of her now.
She stood, her body humming with the energy that had fused with her very being. Her once soft, pleading features were now sharp, commanding. She was no longer just Beryl, the sorceress. She was Queen Beryl, the harbinger of darkness.
As the last vestiges of light faded from the cavern, she raised her arms, feeling the power surge through her fingertips, dark lightning crackling around her. She was invincible, unstoppable. And she would have Endymion. The White Moon Kingdom would fall.
The darkness had chosen her, and she had embraced it completely. There was no turning back.