The war is over
Everyone was surprised to see that Zarkhaïm had joined Tridjan, not that he was happy to fight, but he was afraid for the wellbeing of the world. Zaelia was in front of them, nobody knew if it was madness or courage, but she led the charge to confront them. The soldiers didn't follow at first, they were terrified.
Those who remembered Tridjan's powers were traumatized by his razor-looking wings and the others who heard about Zarkhaïm's shadows were terrorized, he was looking like a demon from their worst nightmares. Zaelia didn't mind their fear, they were weak, and she would die with pleasure for her god. As she ran on her horse to cross the battlefield, Archanium came to join her with his gods.
The humans followed as they saw their god coming in person. The world trembled for a day. The ones still standing were changed, they had no will to continue anymore. This war was not their war anymore, and they felt it. They continued to battle only by fear of retaliation. As the soldiers took turns to catch their breath, Zaelia did not. She stayed standing facing Tridjan and Zarkhaïm with Archanium and a few gods still alive. With Archanium power next to her resonating with the light around her heart, she was regenerating, and her wounds were transforming into golden marks. Zaelia was changing into an alive Golden statue herself without even noticing it.
Zarkhaïm and Tridjan were absolutely determined to stop Archanium in his research of war. He must be stopped at all costs and for this, they were ready to kill all his gods and his Queen.
Archanium was eaten by the rage he had against Tridjan, and he didn't pay attention to Zaelia. She engaged in a fierce fight against Zarkhaïm to separate him from Tridjan and allow Archanium to have a better chance to succeed. She knew she would die from this fight, she only wanted to give Archanium enough time to kill Tridjan before she would fall.
Zaelia was facing him, alone. Again, she battled with a god in a one-to-one duel, and she was even bolder than the first time. Zarkhaïm transformed his shadows into blades. She blocked most of the attacks, but one of them cut her arm and she saw her limb falling on the floor. She felt the light immediately repairing her damaged body. A golden arm to replace the dead one. Less agile and hard to use, but still something she could use to battle. Zarkhaïm's heart sank to see this creature in front of him, who was human once. A creature in the middle, who had no others like her. She refused to ascend to be a goddess, and she was not one of them, but she was no longer human too. She was nothing and everything. In his eyes, he had only pity.
He formed a large pike of shadows and after many attempts, he finally impaled Zaelia. She felt the shadows piercing her belly, she saw in front of her the massive weapon entering her body. Zarkhaïm was not happy as she didn't die immediately as he wanted. He wanted to kill her, not torture her, and he knew that if she didn't die she would regenerate again. Always with more golden parts to replace the damaged ones. She smiled, she was not able to feel pain anymore and the proximity of Archanium next to her was making her body repair instantaneously.
Zaelia pulled out of the pike, she felt the light repairing the huge hole in her, but the time froze suddenly. Zarkhaïm's expression was out of description. Tridjan stopped himself and Archanium looked like his heart stopped beating.
She didn't understand immediately what happened. She felt something falling on the floor as the light was repairing her, and since her dead arm was still on the battlefield, she simply thought one of her organs was too damaged and felt to be replaced by a golden one.
Zarkhaïm fell on his knees and Archanium rushed to Zaelia as fast as he could. He tried to turn her, he tried to hide it from her. Tridjan dropped his weapon. The war was over.
Before Archanium had the time to touch Zaelia, her eyes stared on the floor and the missing organ. It was covered in gold, like the rest of her wounds, her body tried to repair it before taking it away to save her life.
It was a little shiny ball around twenty centimeters, forever trapped in the golden light of Archanium. Everything was silent. Archanium realized she saw it, and he didn't stop her anymore, it was too late. She crouched to see it with a closer look. Her mind didn't want to understand, the little sanity she had left wanted to protect her.
Trembling, she pushed it with the tip of her fingers delicately to turn it.
It had eyes, ears, and a mouth. It was an unborn baby. Zaelia didn't move, nobody did. It was absolute silence for a time that felt like an eternity. Archanium kneeled next to her, he silently took her in his arms and held her strongly. Zaelia trembled, but she couldn't process the information. There was a fetus that could have become a little girl in front of her eyes, and it was covered in gold, she had been killed by Zarkhaïm's shadows.
It was the realization of what they could have been if they didn't start the war, what would have happened if Archanium didn't seek for Tridjan's fall by pure arrogance. This war could have been avoided easily, and the little body in front of them was the representation of the consequences of their choices, and of what they became.
They were ready to die, but they were not ready for this.
Archanium was holding Zaelia, her face couldn't turn away from the baby. He was never so humaner than in this instant, he was protecting her from the world and from reality. He said to Zarkhaïm with a murderous, yet incredibly calm tone.
"Leave. Now."
Zarkhaïm had no force anymore, he felt the weight of all his guilt on his shoulders. He wanted to stop the war, but not like this. Not at the cost of his brother's child. Tridjan was a bit less concerned, and he left after being sure that all soldiers stopped fighting. He took with him everyone in the Western capital.
"The war is over."