Chapter 813 - 815
Jude clenched his teeth, forcing the pain down. He had felt this before, but never this strongly. He had always assumed the entity had no will of its own, that it was simply a force inside him. But this, this was something else.
The figure stepped forward, its presence pressing against him. "It cannot remain with you forever. It will return to its source, whether you will it or not."
Jude straightened, his breathing still heavy. He ignored the pain, ignored the way his body ached with the strain of holding the entity in place. He wasn’t ready to let it go. He didn’t even know what it truly was. But one thing was clear, there were forces in this city that did know, and they wanted it back.
"Then I guess I don’t have a choice," Jude muttered, more to himself than to the figure.
The figure did not respond, but the air around it shifted, the weight of its presence growing lighter. It was waiting for him to move, waiting for him to make a decision.
Jude looked toward the distant tower, its form flickering like a mirage in the broken skyline. He didn’t know what awaited him there, but he had no other path left to take.
With a steadying breath, he took the first step forward. The city shifted around him, as if reacting to his decision, and the figure watched in silence before vanishing into the shadows once more.
Jude moved through the fractured streets, each step bringing him closer to the distant tower that pulsed with an unnatural presence. The figure had vanished, but its words lingered in his mind. The entity inside him was resisting, stirring uneasily, its presence like a second heartbeat that refused to sync with his own. He had never questioned it before, never truly sought to understand what it was or where it came from, only that it had been a part of him for as long as he could remember. But now, with the knowledge that it did not belong to him, that it was seeking to return to its source, he felt an unfamiliar sense of dread settle in his chest. What would happen if he lost it? Would he still be himself? Or was he nothing without it?
The city groaned around him, the buildings shifting and bending, their shapes warping in ways that defied reason. Time did not move naturally here; the air was thick with a sensation that made it impossible to tell how long he had been walking. The horizon never seemed to get closer, yet he knew he was making progress. The tower loomed, distant but undeniable, its structure flickering like a mirage. Every so often, he caught glimpses of figures in the periphery of his vision, shadows that disappeared the moment he turned to face them. The city was watching.