The night was still, save for the fading rustle of leaves stirred by the brief skirmish. Our victory was short-lived. Ethan, Clara, Seth, and I gathered around Mascot’s barely conscious form. Blood still seeped from his wound, but he was healing.

As he lay there, eyes shut, the reality of what had just happened settled over me like a heavy fog. Mascot’s betrayal had destroyed something deep within me—something vital to our unity.

"We need to move," Sarah repeated, her voice cutting through the silence like a blade, sharp and insistent. She was right, as always. Eden’s forces would return. They never stopped hunting us. I stood up, my legs shaky, and gave Mascot one last glance before turning to Sarah.

Her face was hard, unreadable, though I could see a flicker of something in her eyes—regret, perhaps. Or maybe exhaustion.

“We’ll keep him with us for now,” she said softly, though her voice held no real conviction. “But the moment he becomes a liability—”

“I know,” I interrupted, my gaze shifting briefly to Mascot before focusing back on her. “We do what needs to be done.”

Seth, Ethan and Clara, who had been silent since the battle ended, exchanged glances. They, too, were uncertain about Mascot’s place among us now. But none of us had time to dwell on it for long.

A shift in the air—subtle, almost unnoticeable—sent a shiver down my spine. Then I felt it. The suffocating presence of power. Dark, ancient, and overwhelming. It pressed against my skin, seeped into my bones, making it hard to breathe.

“He’s here,” Ethan whispered, gripping his weapon tighter. Eden. His arrival was like a storm on the horizon, an unstoppable force that had finally found us. There was no time to run. He moved too fast, his magic too powerful. And the moment he appeared, the moon dimmed, as if even nature bowed to his might. Eden stepped into the clearing, his silhouette tall and imposing against the shadows of the trees. His eyes, glowing with malice, locked onto us. He didn’t need an army. His presence alone was enough to send a wave of dread crashing over us.

“I told you,” Eden’s voice was like thunder, echoing across the woods. “There’s no escape.” My heart raced as I tried to summon the courage to stand against him, but his power was suffocating. He raised a hand, and the earth beneath us trembled. Clara and Seth were already backing away, fear in their eyes. Ethan stood his ground, but even he looked unsure. Sarah moved before any of us could react.

She stepped forward, planting herself between us and Eden, her face set in grim determination.

“You’ll have to go through me,” she said, her voice steady despite the weight of what she was about to face. Eden’s lips curled into a smile, cold and cruel.

“So be it.” Before I could stop her, Sarah rushed at Eden, her sword drawn and her heart full of resolve. But it was futile. Eden barely moved, and yet his power lashed out like a whip, sending Sarah flying across the clearing. She crashed into a tree, crumpling to the ground, but still, she tried to stand.

“Sarah!” I cried, rushing toward her. But she held up a hand, stopping me. “Go,” she gasped, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. “Get out of here.”

“No!” I knelt beside her, panic rising in my chest. “We can’t leave you!” She coughed, her body trembling with the effort to speak.

“You don’t have a choice. If you stay, you’ll all die. Eden… he’s too strong. You have to go.” Eden watched us with cold detachment, his amusement barely concealed. He knew we had no chance. Not against him. But Sarah, with a look of fierce determination, slowly rose to her feet again, despite the pain wracking her body.

“I’ll buy you time,” she whispered to me, her voice low but firm.

“You have to go, Tasha. You have to stop him.” I shook my head, tears blurring my vision.

“I can’t—”

“You can,” Sarah cut me off, her voice growing weaker with every breath. “You’re the only one who can. You’ve always been the one.” I looked down at the artifact in my hand—the one Sarah had fought so hard to help us retrieve. But I had no idea how to use it. How could I possibly stop Eden with this? Sarah’s hand closed over mine, her grip weak but full of urgency. “Trust yourself, Tasha. You’ve been chosen for a reason. You have to fulfill your destiny.” Tears slipped down my cheeks as I nodded, unable to form words.

Sarah, always the strongest among us, had made her choice. She was sacrificing herself for us, for me. I wanted to argue, to stay and fight beside her, but deep down, I knew she was right. Eden’s power was too great. If we didn’t run now, we’d all die. Sarah turned back to face Eden, her body trembling but her resolve unshaken.

“Go!” she shouted, her voice full of authority.

With a heavy heart, I stood and turned to the others. “We need to go. Now.” Ethan hesitated, his face full of conflict, but he nodded.

Clara and Seth followed without question. We moved quickly, the forest blurring around us as we ran, leaving Sarah behind to face Eden alone. I glanced back once, just in time to see Sarah charge at Eden again, her sword raised high. Eden met her with a cruel smile, his hand raised to strike her down. And then she was gone. The forest swallowed her final stand, and the night fell silent once more.

We ran until my legs burned, until my lungs screamed for air. But even as we fled, the weight of Sarah’s sacrifice pressed down on me, heavy and unrelenting.

We finally stopped in a small, hidden grove, far from the clearing where Sarah had made her last stand. The air was still, and the shadows seemed less menacing here, but the fear remained.

I collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, my chest tight with grief. Sarah was gone. And with her, any semblance of safety we had left.

Ethan knelt beside me, his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll come back for her,” he said softly, though we both knew it was a lie.

“She’s dead,” I whispered, my voice hollow. “She’s gone.”

Clara and Seth stood nearby, their faces pale and full of shock. None of us had the strength to speak.

The silence between us was deafening, filled only with the echoes of Sarah’s last words. “You’re the only one who can stop him.” I clutched the artifact in my hands, staring down at it as if it held the answers I so desperately needed. But it didn’t.

I had no idea how to use it, no idea how to defeat Eden. And now, with Sarah gone, the weight of that responsibility felt unbearable. “We can’t stay here,” Ethan said quietly. “Eden will keep hunting us.” I nodded, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the artifact.

Sarah had believed in me. She had sacrificed herself because she believed I could do this. But how? How could I, a girl who had barely survived so far, stand against someone as powerful as Eden?

“Tasha,” Clara’s voice was soft but insistent. “We need to figure out how to use the artifact. We can’t defeat Eden without it.” “I don’t even know where to start,” I admitted, my voice cracking.

“Sarah was the one who knew about all of this. And now…”

“We’ll figure it out together,” Ethan said, his voice full of quiet determination. But I wasn’t sure. The fear, the doubt, it clawed at me, threatening to pull me under. I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t ready to face Eden.

But I had no choice. I clenched the artifact tighter, Sarah’s final words echoing in my mind.

You’re the only one who can stop him. But how? How could I possibly defeat Eden?