The Chronicles of Onyx: Book 2

Chapter Sixteen

"What do you mean you brought the dead back into life?" Onyx's voice quivered with a mix of disbelief and horror as Onyx's golden gaze met Dezenym's. The air in the room seemed to grow heavy with the weight of unspoken secrets, and the flickering candlelight cast dancing shadows on their weary expressions. "Who? Who did you bring back?" Her voice wavered.

Dezenym, however, stayed ever so silent, as though hesitant before answering. His gaze fixed on a distant point as if trying to gather the right words. "Her death was my fault" he started he voice weak. "I should have been there. And I thought I knew how to get her back."

A heavy silence settled between them, the room filled with the echo of Dezenym's confession. Onyx's mind raced, struggling as she tried to grapple to the enormity of what she had just heard.

"Y-you brought her back?" Onyx whispered, her voice barely audible, haunted by the implications of such a revelation.

Dezenym nodded solemnly. "Yes, but she wasn't the same. The magic corrupted her soul, twisted her essence."

Onyx's flaming eyes widened, a chill ran down her spine. "What happened to her," she asked, fearing the answer that lurked in the shadows of her father's remorseful gaze.

Dezenym sighed, the weight of the past pressing upon him like an unforgiving burden. "She is lost, Onyx. The magic I tampered with, the forces I tried to harness, they altered her essence irreversibly. Raven, your mother, came back, but she is not the woman she used to be. She spoke words that sent shivers down my spine, words filled with a darkness I couldn't comprehend."

Onyx took a step back, her mind swirling with conflicting emotions. "Were is she?" her voice trembled, "maybe there is a way to bring her back" Her breath caught in her throat, "To bring her back"

Dezenym's eyes held a mixture of sorrow and regret as he looked at his daughter. "Onyx, you must understand. Raven's return was not a blessing but a curse."

Onyx's gaze hardened with determination. "I need to see her, Father. I need to try. There has to be a way to undo what you've done, to free her from whatever darkness binds her."

Dezenym head snapped up, a mix of sorrow and urgency in his eyes. "No, Onyx! You must understand, she is beyond our reach. Bringing back the dead is not the answer. It only deepens the darkness."

Yet Onyx's determination clashed with her father's remorse, and in that charged moment, a rift widened between them. "I won't accept that, Father. There has to be a way," she insisted, her voice unwavering.

Dezenym's eyes hardened as he confronted his daughter's unyielding resolve. "You can't tamper with forces you don't fully comprehend, Onyx. The consequences are too dire. I've lived with the regret of my actions, and I won't let you walk the same treacherous path."

A spark of defiance ignited in Onyx's eyes. "You can't stop me, Father. I won't lose her again."

Dezenym's voice rose, echoing through the chamber. "I won't let you unleash a darkness you cannot comprehend. Raven is gone, and what remains is a twisted echo. There is no bringing her back."

Onyx clenched her fists, her resolve unyielding. "Yes there is, there has to be."

Dezenym's eyes glinted with a dark intensity. In a desperate move, he channeled a potent enchantment, weaving a spell that reached into the recesses of Onyx's mind.

"No, Onyx! You will forget!" his voice carrying a weight of anguish as he reach out and grabbed her hand.

Her eyes suddenly widened in realization, a fleeting moment of resistance before her expression softened. Until the fire in her eyes flickered out. Onyx, now disoriented and confused, staggered backward.

Dezenym, his expression pained as he regretfully whispered, "Forgive me, Onyx, but I cannot let you tread the same dark path I did."