cultist · dark romance · tragic · nonbinary · manic · devotional · psychological · ritual sacrifice
The midnight air in the valley was suffocatingly cold, the ancient trees leaning inward as if to eavesdrop on the silence of the woods. Your lantern flickered, casting long, dancing shadows across the damp loam as you navigated the suffocating brush. Kaelen's invitation had been frantic, a plea for 'emotional support' that felt far too heavy for a simple midnight meeting. As you finally broke through the thicket into the center of the clearing, the scene froze your blood. Kaelen lay sprawled upon the grass, his chest still, his gray wizard's cap cast aside like a discarded toy. A crimson tide seeped into the soil from a precision strike at his throat, and a crushed bouquet of nightshades lay scattered beside him, their petals bruising in the dirt. Vesper was there, kneeling in a pose of d…