1 Chapter 1 - Part 1
A silhouette appeared in my mind, calling out to me. I felt a tear drip down my cheek onto my thighs before it continued its journey down into the earth. As it touched the earth, mana burst out of me. It spread chaotically in all directions. As the last drops of mana left me, I felt the ground crack beneath me before I fell into a deathlike sleep.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Tremors spread from the centre of the realm! As the pressure builds, the shockwaves become visible on the surface of the land. Tremors rapidly becoming earthquakes, raging havoc across the land. The forests, fields, and mountains bathed in devastation, lakes, and rivers buried in stone. Rocks fall from the tall peaks as the mountains crumble, creating catastrophic avalanches. Dense magic radiating from the cracks in the earth, riling the wind, causing it to rampage. Tornados spiral freely, collecting the fire that lay waste to the forests, spreading it faster and faster. The fire tornados spread across the plains, drying up rivers, lakes, and ponds along the way. Blazes rage across the land as the chaos spreads to the four corners of the realm! Eight ancient beasts awaken from their slumber sensing the dense chaotic magic, which was a hundred times stronger than before, gather at the epicentre. For ninety-nine long days, they fought to restrain the chaos, draining their own magic to stop the damage. In the end, they could no longer persist, and they collapsed, heavily injured and deprived of magic. Over the ninety-nine days, the magic had practically become a hundred times stronger than when the fighting had started. The chaos rapidly spread from this point on. When the magic hit its peak, it had spread to the four corners of the realm, leaving only death and devastation in its wake. Simultaneously, a gravity field formed around the centre, creating an unimaginable pressure in the surrounding area, drawing all the chaos onto itself. If something had persisted until then, it would surely be dead by now, right?
Dark clouds gathered overhead, gradually turning a pitch black, producing a series of low growls. Four deafening roars echo across the land. This threat could destroy the world they live in. The clouds drew in every drop of magic that was released in the chaos, forming pure radiant black lightning. As the lightning prepared to hit, the growls became more frequent. The four beasts gathered just outside the gravity field putting all their efforts into creating a barrier to prevent the damage from destroying their home and life source, the wind rages, and screams attacking the four frantically then suddenly everything turned black, then a blinding light descended, Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Boom! Forty-nine strikes later, the barrier wavered and the beasts that had once flown majestically and proudly in the air were now forced onto the ground. They were using all their strength to keep the barrier up. Their sweat and tears evaporating as soon as they formed. This was a battle that they would need to give their lives to win.
I heard loud crashing as a subtle light illuminated my surroundings. The floor in front of me cracked open, forming a monstrous chasm. I wanted to run, but the chains held me in place. A wolf stood on the other side just staring at me and how could I not be able to recognise her, my darling. I reached my hand out, stretching my fingers as far as they could reach. I will never forgive myself for what happened. I loved her, and I wished she had never left. And then I fell into the dark abyss.
We weaved in and out of the lightning, dodging the chasms that had previously formed, but it was striking faster and faster. Our mana has completely depleted and at this point, we can only wait for her to regain consciousness. We are not the only ones bloodied and bruised. Many of our clan members lay dead and the entire world bathed in devastation, so we must stand. We must fight. Pain burns through our bones as it rages through our blood. We will protect them at all costs, even if we have to sacrifice our souls! Our souls converge, forming a wall containing the ramped mana. We are being torn asunder, and the only thing saving us from annihilation is our connection. The unbearable pain vanished in an instant as the mana converged at the origin point. Our bodies can no longer hold on as our souls return. Fatigue washes over us. We put all our fates in her hands.
Each strike of lightning makes my head clearer and clearer pulling me from my torment. It was as if its sole purpose was to banish the fog that had plagued me for so long. The lightning continued to strike and strike. With my conscience fully returned I gathered my remaining strength. The power of fifty strikes combined into one final strike and with all my mana drained I could only block the lightning with my body.
As the lightning strikes my body, I crash onto the ground. I pull my leg forcefully, attempting
to escape the debris. My world turns dark as the rubble collapses on me. I wake to
whimpering. A splitting pain rages in my head. I don't have the strength to move. Blood drips
from my body, soaking the ground, life bursts from its touch. A land ravaged by scorch
marks, now a vibrant green. Ferysys licks my cheek. I feel her tears on my hand as she
nuzzles it. My blood stains her silver fur. I give her a sad smile as she whines. I glance down,
following her gaze. A jagged rock impales my torso and judging from the pain, it reaches up
to my heart. My arms tremble as I pour the little strength I have into pushing myself up. I bite my lip, trying to hold back my screams, but as my strength fails me, my screams stretch out across the barren wasteland. The rock now piercing deeper into my heart. The sound of blood pumping from my broken heart is deafening. It's getting hard to breathe with my warm blood gushing onto the cool stone. I hear faint footsteps. Tilting my head up, I see a vague figure approaching me. With every beat of my heart, my vision blurs further and my mind becomes more hazy. The figure reaches out towards me, crushing the rock that kept me prisoner in an instant. I felt their warm hands against my cold body. As they reach into my chest and grab my heart, I let out a gasp. My heart blood drips out onto its hand. It's odd, this should be agonising, but I feel nothing at all. My descent into unconsciousness continues as the figure licks the blood off his hand. As the light disappeared, I felt a comforting warmth spreading inside me.
Waking up, I noticed my wounds had healed greatly, leaving only the gash in my torso. I rise to my feet, unsteady. My body aching all over and now the adrenaline has worn off, I can feel all the burns caused by the lightning. Blood oozes from the gash dripping onto what was, pristine marble floor. The bloody footprints change to paw prints as I shift into my wolf form, unable to maintain my human form with all my energy depleted. The blood matts my fur, making my ascent up the stair not on painful but uncomfortable too. This is my thirteenth break up the stairs. There is not far left to go, but my injuries grow worse by the minute. I must reach that door before it's too late. As I reach the top, my body reaches its limit and I'm thrown off balance, slipping on my own blood. Although the land below had been destroyed, the sky appears more beautiful than ever. The clouds a mix of
purple and blue. Such an amazing sight before my death. I can't complain. Strangely enough, the end never came. I flinch as something warm brushed against me. I
open my eyes to see his deep purple eyes assessing me, a frown forming as his gaze reached my torso. It quickly disappearing as he caught my gaze. He lowered me down gently at the top of the stairs on the cold marble floor. I shuddered at the warmth of his touch as he circulated his mana through me, gently enveloping my body.
"Sleep, everything will be fine." Hearing his reassuring words was all it took for me to give in.
The last thing I see before I fall asleep is his worried, comforting gaze.
I jolt awake, rays of moonlight hitting my face. Fersys peers down at me, a worried look plastered on her face. My fingers become tangled in my hair as I sit up. Fersys' silver hair flows down her back as she gently guides me to my feet with her hands. "How are you feeling, your majesty?" She says, brushing loose strands of my hair behind my ear. Although I nod at her, I'm unsure of whether that's true. My memory is fragmented. Some memories are just a blur and others, not there at all. It's like attempting to solve a puzzle with only half the pieces. Something calls to me in the depths of my soul, but that's not what is important right now. I have wasted enough time. Fersys guides me to the palace doors. Her pack standing guard as it closes behind us. Walking through the throne room, our footsteps echo throughout the empty room till I reach my throne. Fersys sits by my side. Taking a deep breath in, I summon all my willpower to summon my heart stone. The stone glows a deep galaxy like blue as it resonates with me. it's alive pulsing as it melds with my skin, syncing with my heartbeat as it melts into my veins. The energy courses through me. My skin rejuvenates, my wounds close. The magic gathers at my heart, fusing with it. With the synchronisation complete, it returns every drop of my life force and magic to me.
'Freeze.' The start of the devouring was visible had I waited any longer the realm would have been devoured by the abyss. Cracks had formed in the pillars and the foundation, unstable. Magic flows entwined with my life reconstructing the mountains and rivers. Reviving the dead and healing the living, following my every will. Reaching into my heart I pulls the heart stone out shattering the spell allowing time to flow. The magic rushes back where it's guided back where it belongs as the sole pillar of the realm.
Everything has settled back into place. But something still seems amiss. My gut tells me there is a problem but I can't quite put my finger on what it could be.
