POV: “Echoes in the Rift”


    (Dark Zoe’s Parting Thoughts)


    I am the shadow that lingers,


    ? the piece you cast aside,


    ? the part you thought too jagged,


    ? too broken to keep alive.


    But I am you, Lightbearer.


    ? The mirror you refuse to see.


    ? For every bright thing you hold,


    ? there is darkness—


    ? and that darkness is me.


    Now, the Balance pulls.


    ? It’s funny, really.


    ? You fight so hard to hold it,


    ? to make it steady,


    ? to save them all.


    And yet, here I am.


    ? Still doing your dirty work.


    ? Still stepping into the chaos,


    ? because you never could.


    This isn’t about redemption.


    ? It isn’t about proving myself.


    ? No one will sing songs of the shadow,


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.? no one will whisper my name in the dark.


    But I’ll do it anyway.


    ? Because if I don’t,


    ? you’ll break.


    And you, Zoe,


    ? can’t afford to break.


    The rift tears at me,


    ? pulls me apart,


    ? swallows me whole.


    ? It hurts, but I’ve always known pain.


    ? It’s an old friend, familiar and steady.


    And as I sink into the light and the chaos,


    ? as my edges blur and my voice fades,


    ? I find something unexpected.


    Peace.


    I was never meant to stay.


    ? You were always meant to grow.


    ? And in my last, fleeting moments,


    ? I am proud.


    Not of myself,


    ? but of you.


    Because the light isn’t beautiful


    ? without the dark.


    ? And now,


    ? you can finally shine.