{M}ℝ𝕦𝕟 𝔸𝕨𝕒𝕪 | ✨𝕐𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕪𝕦 & 𝕊𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕒𝕚✨

~Chapter 67.5~

(A/N: There's a time skip of four years and about 8 months between chapters 71 and 70. I couldn't find a good way to mention a time skip without making it sound awkward or confusing to you guys. There's also some child death at the beginning of the chapter, so please read with caution if it's something that is triggering to you. Happy reading!!)

Dark clouds curled around in the night sky, covering the stars that once glistened so brightly and silencing the calls of birds and monkeys on the island. An indigo and ebony cloak seemed to have fallen over the treetops and the crystalline ocean waters, turning them into dark moving shadows that haunted every cub's dreams. 

And though most creatures were used to the dark, as it was often both a thought and sensation of comfort and relaxation during the night, Yeonghon could not be more scared than right at this moment. 

With the new moon depriving the island of its natural blue shine, Eclipse had the advantage to seep into her dreams and haunt her more than she could've ever imagined.

 It was a curse.

 It was a neverending nightmare that Eclipse slowly developed and refined from the very first time she came upon his reign.

It didn't matter if Yeonghon went to sleep earlier or later than usual; it didn't matter if she was holding her sister's hand at night; it didn't matter if Jingu would stay awake while she slept. . . Eclipse would always find a way to seep into her dreams and turn them into nightmares.

They were nightmares about the disruption of a possible future; a future were hers and Jingu’s cubs were taken by Eclipse; a future where her and Jingu’s name were written in blood; a future where every single one of Yeonghon’s dreams were turned into whisper lost in the darkness of the night.

There was just no escape. . .

Eclipse had her tightly clasped between his two large and pale hands.

He had her trapped. 

He had her immobilized. 

He had her filled up with terror.

An innocent dream about two sleeping cubs; one with silvery hair like Jingu and one with dark red hair like hers, was suddenly turned into a nightmare as Eclipse's loud and erratic laugh echoed inside her head. 

The laugh dizzied and disoriented Yeonghon, catching her off-guard when two large vines rapidly wrapped around her wrists, restricting her movements as she tried to fight back against the force.  

She wrestled against the vines, feeling how their thorns slowly sank into her skin and drew blood that drenched her tanned skin. However, she fought even harder when she saw the vines get closer to the two cubs. The vines slowly crawled to their peaceful shapes, growing darker and larger with thorns that turned into large jagged knife-like shapes. 

"No!" Yeonghon cried out and pulled harder on the vines. Her desperation triggered her fire, turning her into a tigress. "Leave them. Don't touch them!" Her roar echoed loudly, lashing out and biting into the vines that were constricting her.