PROLOGUE
Luis:
“This is the end,” Scarlett murmurs, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“No. No!” Emma protests, shaking her head in denial. “This can’t be it. Surely there’s something we can do?” Her voice trembles with desperation.
In an attempt to bring some calmness to the situation, I take a deep breath and reassure them, “We’ve been through a lot, and we’ll get through this too.”
Scarlett rises from the ground, and we find ourselves standing in the solemn woods. She approaches me, gently tracing her fingers down my face, her eyes a sea of sadness mixed with a deep sense of responsibility.
Her breath hitches, and she confesses, “I have to do this. I have to go through this. I’m sorry.”
I instinctively move away, pleading, “No, Scarlett, there’s always another way. You don’t have to do this. Let us face it together, please.”
She looks down with a sense of dismay, “I wish. You have no idea how much I want to put an end to this, but I have to protect all of you.”
Emma, voicing her worry from behind, implores, “Scarlett, no! You promised!”
Scarlett glances at Emma, offering a gentle smile that holds both secrecy and pain. She then turns her gaze back to me, closing her eyes in determination. I watch as she continues to walk towards me, a heavy feeling settling in my head.
I unconsciously fall to the ground, whispering a desperate “No,” but the powerful forces of her abilities are stronger than my will to live.
