THE DEVIL'S BRIDE
Episode 48: The Realm Between Realms
By Rapwizzy Debaron
The third door opened.
A flood of crimson light poured from the entryway, casting eerie shadows across the Vault of Origin. Evelyn hesitated. Every instinct told her to turn away, but her heart—her fractured, torn heart—compelled her forward.
Lucien stood by her side, unwavering. "Whatever lies beyond that door, I'll be with you."
Kael, who had remained silent since their trials, stepped forward. "We all have our demons," he murmured. "It's time to face yours."
Evelyn nodded and stepped through.
---
The moment they crossed the threshold, the world as they knew it ceased to exist.
They found themselves standing on a vast plane—no sky, no earth, just swirling colors, strange symbols etched into the very air. Time seemed to freeze, stretching and bending in impossible ways. Echoes of voices whispered from every direction, but none were clear. It was as if they stood in the very heart of existence itself, a place where every decision, every fate ever made, was born.
"What is this place?" Evelyn whispered, her voice trembling.
"The Realm Between Realms," Kael said quietly. "Where time has no meaning. Where decisions are made before they are made."
Lucien's wings flexed, and he looked around warily. "I've never been here. Not even my father has the power to enter this place."
Evelyn's pulse quickened. "Then how did we—"
"I'm not sure," Kael interrupted. "But we're here now. And there's no going back until we've found what we're looking for."
---
Suddenly, a figure appeared from the swirling mists—a woman cloaked in shifting shadows, her eyes glowing white.
"You seek answers," she said, her voice as soft as a breeze yet filled with the weight of ages.
Evelyn stepped forward, drawn to her. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled, but it was not a warm smile. "I am the Keeper of the Void, the one who watches over the birth of all truths… and the death of all lies."
"Then you know why we're here," Lucien said, his voice cold, eyes narrowing.
The Keeper of the Void tilted her head, studying him with those piercing white eyes. "You think you've come to find the truth about Evelyn. But the truth you seek is not one you're prepared to accept."
Evelyn's heart began to race. "What do you mean?"
The Keeper turned toward her. "The choices you've made, the love you've given… it was never your own to give. You were bound to them long before you ever knew."
"Bound?" Evelyn's voice was barely a whisper.
The Keeper nodded. "Bound by the fate of a curse that none can escape. Not even you, Evelyn."
---
Suddenly, a massive rift tore open the space around them. From the depths, a dark figure emerged—its form indistinguishable, cloaked in shadows. But Evelyn knew that voice. It was the one she'd heard in her nightmares.
"You've come far," the voice purred, sending chills down her spine.
Lucien drew his sword, his eyes blazing with fury. "Who dares to—"
The figure stepped forward, its presence suffocating. "I am the one who bound you. The one who cursed you, Evelyn."
Evelyn's breath caught in her throat. "No… it can't be."
The figure reached out a hand, and her memories exploded—visions of a time long forgotten, of a dark deal made in desperation, of a promise exchanged for power.
"You were never meant to be free," the figure whispered. "You belong to me."
Lucien stepped forward, blocking Evelyn from the shadow. "Not while I'm here."
But the shadow smiled darkly. "You're too late, Lucien. You've always been too late."
---
The Keeper of the Void raised her hands, and the space around them shifted. Time itself seemed to stop, the colors of the realm fading to black.
"Do you understand now?" the Keeper asked, her voice echoing in the void.
Evelyn stood frozen, her mind spinning, trying to piece together the fragments of truth she had just learned. The shadow… the curse… the promise.
The Keeper continued, "You've been a pawn in a game far older than you. And the one you loved—Aleir—was never the innocent you thought he was."
The revelation hit like a wave crashing into her chest.
Aleir. The boy she had loved. The boy she had always believed was her light.
He had been part of this curse. And it had been her all along—her love, her choices, that had brought them to this moment.
---
Evelyn looked at Lucien, her heart breaking.
"Lucien, I—"
Before she could speak further, the shadow lunged, its hand wrapping around her throat, pulling her into its darkness.
"No!" Lucien cried, rushing forward, but the Keeper of the Void raised a hand, stopping him.
"This is the trial," the Keeper said, her voice sad. "The choice was never yours, Lucien. It was always hers."
Evelyn's vision blurred. The world around her twisted.
And then, for the briefest of moments, everything went still.
---
To be continued…
The curse has been revealed. But can Evelyn break free from the fate that binds her?
The true test begins now.
Vote if you're ready for Evelyn to take back c
ontrol.
Comment: Can she truly break the curse?
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