Flames devoured the land, painting the skies in hues of crimson and ash. Screams tore through the chaos—raw, desperate, and unending. Shadows danced in the inferno's glow, and despair loomed thick.
"Enough"
The word wasn't shouted—it thundered, splitting the sky like divine judgment.
A radiant figure descended from the swirling black clouds summoned by Hazel, her armor glinting like molten gold, wings outstretched, eyes glowing like twin stars. Her very presence seemed to bend reality, casting an ethereal glow over the scorched land.
Hazel's lips curled into a familiar, wicked grin. "Long time no see, Fiona Sapphire Humphrey."
"Long time no see, sister," Fiona replied coldly, her voice slicing through the air like steel, calm and deadly.
Then—she moved.A blur. A flash.
Hazel barely had time to blink before a force like a meteor struck her chest. Her body rocketed backwards, shattering rock and bone as she slammed into the earth, carving a crater beneath her. The ground cracked and groaned in protest, a massive shockwave rippling outward and scattering debris into the air.For a moment, the battlefield held its breath.
Hazel groaned, pushing herself from the rubble, blood trailing down her chin. She laughed—low, broken, excited.
"Looks like you've grown stronger." Her eyes flickered with something darker than malice—something almost proud.
Suddenly, lightning erupted from Hazel's fingertips—jagged, wild bolts that split the sky, snarling as they surged toward Fiona like the wrath of a vengeful god. But Fiona stood firm.With a powerful sweep of her golden wings, she crossed them before her like a divine shield. The lightning collided with her feathers in a deafening boom, sending a ripple of radiant energy into the air. The bolts ricocheted, deflected in a brilliant arc into the nearby river.The moment the lightning kissed the water, the river convulsed.
A monstrous wave surged upward—glowing with the charged remnants of Hazel's attack. It twisted in the sky for a breathless second before crashing down in a catastrophic tsunami. Half the pack was swept away in its fury, their screams drowned by the roaring deluge. The battlefield dissolved into chaos.
Fiona slowly lowered her wings, her eyes no longer red—but molten fire, burning with unrelenting resolve. The wind howled around her like a mourning spirit, and the heavens seemed to darken, as though the world itself braced for the coming storm.
For long minutes, the battle raged. Fire spiraled around them, born of clashing power—wild, uncontrolled, sacred and cursed.
Fiona appeared again in a blur of golden light, reappearing before Hazel in an instant. She conjured her ceremonial staff—its blade gleaming with ancestral power—and slashed forward. Hazel barely reacted in time. The blade missed her face by a breath, slicing a lock of her hair as it fell, smoldering.
With a vicious snarl, Hazel twisted and drove a kick into Fiona's ribs. Fiona hit the ground hard—but before she could rise, Hazel pounced. Her nails had elongated, razor-sharp, gleaming with bloodlust. She straddled Fiona, claws aimed straight for her heart.
Suddenly—two shadows surged from Fiona's body. They weren't ordinary shadows. They shimmered like living silhouettes, pulsing with energy.
CRACK.
A bolt of lightning erupted from one of the shadows, striking Hazel and flinging her off Fiona with a grunt of pain. She tumbled across the battlefield, landing hard against a scorched tree.
From the fire emerged two figures—Corrine and Cassius, their eyes glowing red, their expressions unreadable. In their hands: a long blood-red rope, twisted with an eerie aura.
Without hesitation, they wrapped the rope tightly around Fiona's neck and waist. The moment it touched her skin, it burned gold, the air around her crackling as her body convulsed in pain. The rope—the Aureus Bind—suppressed her power completely. Fiona's body went limp. She passed out.
The twins rushed to Hazel."Are you alright?" Corrine asked, crouching beside her.
Hazel wiped the blood from her mouth, dazed. "Yeah… just a little dizzy. Where did you get the Aureus Bind?"
"We made it ourselves," Cassius replied calmly. "We're hybrids. Demon and wolf. We cultivated it from demon babies. This is your chance, Hazel. End her now."
Hazel looked down at Fiona, her expression unreadable."I can't."
"What?" Corrine and Cassius asked in unison.
"She's cursed. If I kill her outright, it will kill me too. The only way to end this… is to send her to Nyxmortis—the Night of Death. The void that devours all power. There, I'll revoke the curse and kill her without consequence."
"Are you crazy?" Corrine snapped. "If you go there, you might not come back. That place is death itself."
"You could be stuck in that void forever," Cassius added grimly.
Hazel nodded, calm despite the stakes. "I've studied sorcery. I'll find a way."
She tore a thin silver string from her gown and tied one end around her finger, the other to Corrine's.
"Keep this on. It's a tether. When I'm done, I'll find my way back through it."
Then Hazel turned to Fiona's unconscious body. Her voice became low, ancient, laced with dark power.
"Obscura viam operi, sanguine et tenebris. Nutri Lunea iussu, chaos audi, at porta vetusta."
The earth trembled.
A swirling portal of black and violet light tore open beneath them, its hunger undeniable. It howled as it pulled them in—Hazel and Fiona—swallowed whole by the Night of Death.
Then it closed.
Silence fell.
Only the flicker of flames remained.
The palace soldiers arrived too late.The battlefield was empty—no sign of Hazel or Fiona. Only devastation remained: scorched earth, deep craters, shattered trees, and the scent of burning magic thick in the air. The aftermath of a war between goddesses.
They searched tirelessly for a week, combing every shadowed forest, riverbank, and ruined ground. But there was nothing—no trace of their Queen or the rogue twin who had brought chaos to Silvermoon.
Eventually, both vampire and wolf packs gathered in the Council Hall—an emergency meeting called to determine the future of the realm.
"There's no probability of her return," Mr. Canelo declared, standing in the center of the chamber. "Let us accept what's before us. Declare Queen Fiona deceased, and resume order within the pack. It's the only way forward."
Gasps rippled through the assembly. Mrs. Valeria rose from her seat, her voice firm and trembling. "We can't do that. There's no proof of her death. Not a body. Not even a sign."
Mr. Canelo's tone sharpened. "Then where did they go? Two beings of immense power canceling each other out—don't you see? That fight could've annihilated them both. We need stability. If Lord Vangelis agrees to declare her death, we can move forward."
All eyes turned to the throne at the head of the room, where Lord Vangelis sat—silent, gaunt, distant. He hadn't spoken in days, barely eaten, lost in a spiral of guilt and grief since Fiona's disappearance.
Before he could respond, Phoenix stood abruptly, his voice slicing through the tension like steel.
"We do not agree to any declaration of death. Not until a full investigation is conducted—our own. Fiona Sapphire Humphrey is not gone until I see it with my own eyes."
Murmurs erupted across the chamber, some in agreement, others in frustration.
As the meeting adjourned, Vangelis rose slowly and walked out without a word. His steps were heavy, his shoulders burdened with more than just leadership—he carried loss, regret, and a silence too deep for words.
He climbed into the black royal vehicle, shut the door, and stared out the window.
The world moved around him, but he remained still—haunted.