Chapter 51

Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Nova sat with everyone gathered around her and began recounting what had happened the previous night. Her voice was quiet, but everyone listened intently.

She explained that after she fell asleep, she suddenly had a strange dream about James. In the dream, Samuel appeared before her. He looked calm and serious as he spoke, telling Nova that James felt very guilty towards her because of Aurora. He said James was crying alone beside the lake.

Nova felt worried after hearing this. She had never seen James cry before, and the thought of him blaming himself made her chest tighten. Concerned for his well being, she told Samuel that she wanted to go to the lake immediately. Samuel nodded and offered to go with her.

Together, they made their way to the lake. The surroundings were still, the moonlight reflecting off the water. But when they arrived, there was no sign of James.

Nova looked around in confusion. She called his name, expecting him to answer or appear from the trees. But the place was empty. Before she could ask Samuel what was going on, he suddenly attacked her using elemental power.

Isabella’s eyes narrowed slightly as she watched Samuel stir beneath the faint glow of her elemental energy. She knelt beside him, gently placing her hand over his chest, and released a soft wave of elemental power. The air shimmers around her fingers as the energy pulsed, drawing Samuel back to consciousness.

He let out a low groan, his head turning from side to side as if waking from a long and troubling sleep. Slowly, his eyelids lifted. At first, his eyes were unfocused, then they settled on Isabella’s face hovering above him. He blinked a few more times, trying to clear the fog in his mind.

Isabella’s voice was calm, but her tone left no room for avoidance. “Samuel, listen to me. You attacked Nova. Not only that, but you also used the power of prophetic dreams to guide her to the lake. I need you to tell me why. What were you thinking? What happened?”

Samuel’s brow furrowed. He didn’t answer immediately. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. Instead, his hand lifted to his temple as if trying to remember something buried deep in his mind. His breath was uneven, and his body still trembled faintly from exhaustion.

Finally, after a long pause, he spoke. “I don’t understand it either,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Everything seemed so real… but now I’m not sure what was a dream and what was not.”

He sat up slowly, supported by Isabella’s steady hand. His eyes flicked between Nova and Isabella, then settled on the ground as he began to explain. “After I fell asleep, I had a dream. A very clear dream. Aurora came to me. She wasn’t the way she usually is. Her face was serious, her voice calm but cold. She said something that chilled me.”

Samuel drew in a breath, still visibly shaken. “She told me Nova wasn’t who we thought she was. She said Nova was a servant of the demon god, sent to trick us. That Nova wasn’t a real candidate for the reincarnated Son of Light.”

The others were listening closely now. Nova’s eyes widened, and James moved protectively closer to her, though still weak from his earlier injuries. Samuel looked at Nova for a moment, his expression full of uncertainty and conflict, before looking away again.

“She said Nova would obey the demon god’s command. That tonight… tonight she will kill us. All of us. The other candidates. Aurora told me I was the only one who could stop her. That Nova was already at the lake. Waiting.”

His voice cracked slightly as the memory returned more vividly. “I didn’t know what else to do. I went to the lake. I thought… if there was even a chance it was true, I had to see for myself.”

He swallowed hard. “And when I got there, she really was there. Nova was standing by the water. I called her name, but she turned around and her eyes… her eyes looked different. Then she attacked me. Fiercely. Without saying anything first.”

His fists clenched at the memory. “She laughed and told me she was going to kill everyone. That none of us would survive.” Samuel looked up at Isabella, his voice quieter now. “So I fought back.”

The moment Samuel finished speaking, silence fell over the group. But it didn’t last. Within seconds, voices burst out in anger and disbelief.

“You’re lying!” someone shouted, eyes blazing with fury. “You’re the one who attacked Nova, and now you’re making up stories to cover it up!”

Another stepped forward, face twisted with suspicion. “How convenient that Aurora came to you in a dream and told you to attack Nova. Sounds like something a real spy would say to turn us against each other!”

James, still weak but standing, narrowed his eyes at Samuel. “How can we trust anything you say now? You almost killed Nova. That’s not something you can explain away with a dream.”

Others began chiming in, voices overlapping.

“You’re trying to break us apart!”

“You led Nova into a trap!”

“You’re a spy sent by the demon god yourself!”

Samuel’s face turned pale. “No! That’s not true! I didn’t do anything like that!” he yelled, his voice shaking with desperation. “I only acted because I thought she was in danger! I swear, I didn’t lie!”

The voices grew louder, angrier, until it was a storm of accusations and shouts. Nova stood silently, her expression unreadable as the chaos swirled around her. The air felt heavy with tension and fear.

Then Isabella raised her hand sharply, her voice cutting through the noise like a blade. “Enough!”

The shouting stopped.

Everyone turned to face her. Isabella’s face was calm, but her eyes were hard, filled with quiet authority.

“I understand your anger,” she said. “But if we tear each other apart now, then we’re already doing exactly what the enemy wants.”

She looked at Samuel for a long moment, then turned her gaze to the rest of the group.

“I went to find Aurora,” she continued. “But she’s gone. Vanished without a trace. And that alone tells me something important.”

The group fell quiet, listening intently.

“Aurora may not be who we thought she was,” Isabella said slowly. “If what Samuel saw in his dream was crafted to make him doubt Nova and turn against her, then perhaps it wasn’t a dream at all. Perhaps it was a planted illusion. And if that’s the case… then Aurora might be the one working with the demon god.”

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the group.

“Everything points to manipulation,” Isabella said firmly. “We must consider the possibility that she’s the real spy, sent to mislead us, to break our trust, and to make us destroy each other from within.”

She looked around at each of them, her voice softening but still strong. “We cannot fall into that trap. We must stay united, now more than ever. Do not let confusion or fear make you turn on your all
ies. That is what the enemy wants.”

Everyone stood still, unsure of what to