<h4>Chapter 84: Final act of defiance</h4>


    Tessy was still pinned to the cold, stone table, the thick, snakelike vines coiled around her limbs, digging harshly into her skin with every futile struggle. It was as if they craved her blood and received nourishment from it. Her body trembled as if trying to warn her that something worse was yet toe.


    Suddenly, a strange heat surged through her. It was subtle at first, just a warm flush beneath her skin. But it quickly escted into something unbearable. It felt as if her blood was boiling within her veins, bubbling and burning its way through her system.


    Her breath hitched in her throat as pain overtook her senses. Her eyes widened in confusion and fear, and she tried to cry out, to demand what was happening to her. But she couldn’t. Her lips wouldn’t move. It was as if they had been sealed shut from the inside, locked away with invisible chains.


    She panicked. Her mind screamed even if her mouth could not. Her entire body shook violently, writhing against the vines that refused to loosen their grip. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the boiling ceased. Her body slumped slightly with the release, her limbs limp against her restraints. She tried to gather her thoughts, assuming whatever had just happened was over.


    But she was wrong.


    One of the hooded figures stepped forward from the semi-circle around her, holding arge crystal ball in his gloved hands. The orb gleamed with a haunting light, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat. Tessy squinted, trying to see past the dark fabric that veiled his face, but it was impossible.


    The figure observed her silently for a long moment. Tessy’s heart thudded in her chest, faster and faster with each passing second. Then he finally spoke, his voice deep, unfeeling, and terrifyingly calm.


    "She is with child."


    Shock and confusion registered on Tessy’s face immediately, her wide eyes darting from the man to the orb and back again. What the hell was he talking about? With child?


    Gasps erupted around the stone chamber, echoing eerily in the high-ceilinged space like the cries of unseen spirits. The air thickened with a mix of disbelief and excitement, as if the revtion had stirred something primal among them.


    Another hooded figure stepped forward slightly, the hem of his long robe brushing the ground as he moved. He tilted his head, the shadow under his hood deepening, and asked in a low, curious voice that sliced through the murmurs like a de, "What do we do with the child?"


    The man who had spoken first, the one standing closest to Tessy, answered without hesitation, his voice calm and cold as though discussing something as mundane as the weather. "We will feast on the child after extracting her powers."


    Tessy’s eyes widened with horror, a silent scream trapped behind her still-sealed lips. No. No, this couldn’t be real. They were talking about her baby—a baby she hadn’t even known existed. Her body strained again against the vines, muscles trembling, her panic mounting like a fire threatening to consume her.


    "I want the heart," a woman’s voice said sharply from the group, her tone eager and unfeeling, as if she were calling dibs on a prized meal.


    "I want the liver," another spoke up quickly, not wanting to be left out, her voiceced with anticipation.


    "I want the eyes," came another voice, a male this time.


    One by one, each of the cloaked figures dered the part of the unborn child they intended to consume, their voices ovepping, full of greed and darkness.


    Tessy’s stomach twisted violently. Her body thrashed with desperation, her mind screaming in denial. This had to be another illusion. Like the other times, she hoped, she prayed the scene would shatter like ss, dissolving into something else. But nothing changed.


    Her struggles only made the vines tighten their grip, slicing deeper into her skin, stealing her breath. The hooded figuresughed. Wicked, amusedughter that echoed like demons.


    Then, the man with the crystal ball lifted one hand, his long, pale fingers rising slowly into the air like a conductor about to summon a final, dreadful note. Theughter ceased instantly, cut off so abruptly it was as if the sound had been sucked from the room.


    The sudden silence was just as terrifying as theughter—maybe even worse. It pressed in from all sides, dense and unnatural, as though the chamber itself was holding its breath. Everyone froze in ce, their heads slightly bowed, awaiting what came next.


    At that very moment, Tessy heard a faint sniffle — quiet, shaky, like someone trying to hold back sobs. The sound was out of ce in such a cruel and chilling scene, and it made her heart jolt in confusion.


    Her eyes darted across the shadowed figures, trying to identify the source, but she didn’t get a chance to dwell on it.


    As ifpelled by some unseen force, the cloaked figures suddenly began chanting in unison. The words were strange—twisted, foreign sybles that rolled off their tongues like spells carved from ice. Cold. Empty. Inhuman.


    The air around her thickened. It pressed down like an invisible weight, wrapping around her chest and shoulders. Tessy felt a new pressure begin to build up inside her—suffocating, heavy, and entirely out of her control.


    Then, something began to leave her. She couldn’t exin what it was, but she knew it was her. Her essence. Her very being. It drifted from her chest, drawn into the glowing orb.


    She fought it with every ounce of her remaining willpower, but nothing worked.


    When it was over, shey on the stone b, barely able to move, her eyes nk and staring at nothing. She felt hollow, weak, and lost. Powerless. Her thoughts ran in frantic circles.


    That sniff came again, closer now, but she didn’t bother wondering about it this time. What was the point?


    The man with the orb handed it to another figure and turned back to Tessy. Another person approached and ced a gleaming dagger into his hands. He admired the de, turning it this way and that, letting the torchlight gleam off its sharp edge.


    Then, he looked back at her.


    "You are one of us, Tessy. But your existence will bring about the rise of a wicked king who will ensure our captivity and possible extinction. And we cannot allow that. He said with a solemn voice. "So, you will die today at this sacrificial table, but we all hope you do not take it to heart. See this as a sacrifice of yours to ensure that our race survives."


    His speech was solemn, filled with practiced regret.


    Then he turned slightly to look at one of the figures in the crowd. "Ynda, do you have anything to say to your daughter before you lose her forever?"


    Tessy, who had long given up, not paying attention to anything anymore, suddenly frowned. The man’s words hit her like a p.


    Who was Ynda? And why did he refer to her as the person’s daughter?


    Her eyes shifted slowly, following the man’s gaze. She squinted at the figure he was speaking to, another cloaked woman standing a bit farther away from the rest.


    Tessy couldn’t see her face — like the others, her hood was deep and dark. But then she saw it. The faint trails of tears glistening down her jaw. The woman was crying. And Tessy recognized that jawline. It looked like her mother’s. But that was impossible. Her mother was dead. Buried only a few weeks ago.


    Tessy’s mind screamed with questions, but she knew better than to try speaking. Her lips were still sealed.


    The woman called Ynda stared at her for a moment longer, then whispered softly, "I am sorry."


    She turned her back to the group, her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs.


    The corners of the hooded man’s lips curled into a cruel smile.


    "Anyst words, Tessy? Maybe something to tell your darling husband? Because rest assured, he would be the most devastated when he learns of your demise, especially now that you’re carrying his child."


    Tessy’s lips suddenly loosened. She felt it immediately — the pressure gone, the control over her mouth returned.


    But she adamantly refused to speak.


    What was she supposed to say? She didn’t even know if this was real. And even if it was she wasn’t going to give them the pleasure of hearing her say herst words.


    "You can speak now. Your tongue has been loosened," the man informed her, clearly expecting a reaction.


    Tessy said nothing. Her silence was her final act of defiance.


    "All right then. Send our regards to your father when you meet him in hell. Tell him we did everything just as he said. He should be proud of us," the man said.


    As soon as thest word left his mouth, he grabbed the dagger with both hands, raising it high above his head in readiness to strike Tessy’s heart, and Tessy shut her eyes.