Awakening

Far away at the Witches’ Coven -

As the witches slumbered deep in the night an extraordinary dream enveloped them all simultaneously.

A singular vision encroached all their minds.

They found themselves standing in an open field, the sky above an inky black canvas. In the center of the field, a star began to rise, its brilliance piercing the darkness. At first, it emitted a pure, radiant light, almost blinding in its intensity. But as the witches watched, transfixed, the light slowly began to shift, the edges darkening and bleeding into the night sky. The star seemed to pulse, each beat spreading more darkness until it was no longer a beacon of hope but a harbinger of danger.

The witches felt a collective shiver run down their spines as the star's light grew darker, more ominous. An overwhelming sense of foreboding gripped them, the air thick with an unspoken warning. They tried to move, to speak, or wake up,open their eyes, but found themselves rooted in place, helpless observers of this celestial transformation.They wriggled in its grasp.

But then the dream ended abruptly.

One by one, they woke up, their breaths coming in ragged gasps, hearts pounding as if they had run a great distance. Panic flickered in their eyes as they glanced around the room, confirming that they all had experienced the same unsettling vision.

Briana was the first to speak, her voice shaking. "Did everyone else see it too?" she asked, struggling to steady her breathing.

A chorus of nods and murmurs of agreement followed. The Witch Mother's face looked pale and drawn as she rose from her cot with difficulty.

“Outside," she ordered, her voice uncharacteristically urgent. "We need to check the sky."

The witches hurried out of the chamber, spilling into the courtyard under the cool night air. The forest around them was eerily silent, as if the very earth held its breath. They looked up, their eyes searching the heavens.And there it was…the same star from their dream, now hanging ominously in the sky.

It shone with a cold, intense light, its edges already beginning to blur with encroaching darkness. A gasp rippled through the group, confirming their worst fears.Briana lingered, her eyes locked on the Witch Mother.

"Do you think it's her?”

“Selene," The Witch mother breathed, the name heavy with reverence and fear. "It has been centuries since she last walked among us.”

The rest of them covered their mouths in shock and looked at each other.

“ But how can that be? We haven't been able to facilitate her coming. We haven't been able to give her the sacrifice… ”

"It is as I feared.” The Witch mother cut the other witches short, “The star signifies Selene's awakening, but the darkness... It foretells a period of trials. We must prove ourselves worthy of her guidance."

Briana's heart pounded. "We failed?"

“Will then the darkness consume us?"

The Witch Mother struggled forward with her hunch back and said grimly. "Selene’s rebirth is both a blessing and a test. We must unite, strengthen our magic, and be ready to face whatever comes.

We right the wrongs.

We correct our failures.

This is perhaps our last chance.

We prepare.

We might need to take down both mother and child… ” her voice trailed off.

“Selene's rebirth will bring challenges unlike any we have faced before.”

***

Back at the Lycan territories -

Aria was trapped in sleep.

In her sleep, Aria found herself engulfed by an impenetrable darkness, the kind that swallowed light and smothered hope.

This darkness was unlike any she had dreamt of earlier.

It was almost choking her breath.

The shadows whispered her name, urging her to flee, and she obeyed, running with every ounce of strength she possessed.

She stumbled, falling hard. Pain shot through her forehead as she hit the ground, but she instinctively curled around her pregnant belly, protecting the precious life within disregarding herself.

The shadows crept closer, and she could feel their cold breath on her skin, a chill that gnawed at her very soul.Then, as suddenly as she had fallen, the darkness parted, revealing a pedestal.

She could hear the sound of a heart beating.

It seemed to pulse with a life of its own.

And then her eyes fell on the book over that pedestal.

Aria’s eyes widened in recognition as the book fell open in her hands.

It was the same wordless book with those blank pages. Aria struggled to make sense of what it was doing in the darkness of her nightmare.

Aria’s head throbbed where she had hit it, and she felt warm blood trickling down her face. It dripped onto the book, soaking into its pages.

Then she saw the letters forming, the blood seeping into the parchment to spell out a message.

“Welcome back Aria, it's time for you to wake up! ”

A shiver ran down her spine. The words echoed in her mind, resonating with a truth she couldn't understand but felt deep in her bones.

“Wake up?” she thought. “ Have I been sleeping all this while? ”

She reached out, her hand trembling, hovering over the book. The darkness seemed to hold its breath, waiting. Her fingers brushed the cover, and a surge of power shot through her. A high velocity electric jolt hit her from the pages.

“Why does this seem so familiar?” she realized. “Is this my destiny, my curse? ”

As the pages fluttered, a soft glow began to emanate from the book. The light grew brighter, casting eerie shadows around the darkened room.

From the heart of the illumination, a silhouette emerged…a figure of ethereal beauty and grace.

The woman stepped forward, her features becoming clearer with each step until she stood before Aria, her presence both familiar and otherworldly.

It was as if she emitted light but there was blurry border between her light and darkness.

The woman’s voice was soft but resonant, each word wrapping around Aria like a silken thread that felt like a chain binding her with the figure.

“ Who are you? ”

Aria asked.

“I am you and you are me. We are one and the same.”

She replied.

Aria’s heart pounded in her chest. “What do you mean? ”

The silhouette smiled, a mixture of sadness and wisdom in her eyes. “You have always sensed there was more to you, a deeper truth hidden beneath the surface of your existence. I am that truth. We were separated by the fabric of time and reality, but now it is time for us to be whole again.”

Aria felt a rush of memories, both hers and not hers, flooding her mind. Visions of another life, another existence where she wielded power and knowledge far beyond her current understanding.

It crept so fast that her head started spinning.

She grabbed her head and ducked, leaning forward in an attempt to brace herself.

The woman stepped closer, reaching out to touch Aria’s cheek. Her touch was warm, soothing the ache in Aria’s heart to some extent.

“You are in pain because it is time for your true rebirth to begin. The darkness that chases you is not your enemy but your past. To embrace your future, you must face it, integrate it, and rise anew.”

Aria’s hand instinctively went to her belly, feeling the life stirring within. “What about my baby?”

The woman’s gaze softened. “Your child is the key, the bridge between what was and what will be. Together, you will usher in a new dawn, a new era of power ,defying destiny.

But first, you must accept who you truly are.”

Aria backed off from her touch.

“ How do I know you are not lying? How do I know it's not the trickery of the book? ”

Suddenly Aria felt torn.

The woman smiled.

“ The book is nothing but a message to yourself that you left behind centuries ago to remind yourself what you really are. Who you are.

I am just doing that job.

I am just reminding you of your true identity.

What you do with it, how you move forward is completely up to you.

There is no trickery.

It's just a note to yourself! ”

Realization gripping Aria around her throat as if she had swallowed a burning piece of coal.

She wanted to deny it but she could not.

She kept backing off but it seemed like her life had been nothing but a beautiful lie and the ugly truth awaked her just behind a wake up call.

Her eyes threatened to flutter open but she shut them back with full force.

She was no longer dreaming.

She was awake but she didn't want to wake up.

She was scared of losing everything that she held dear once her eyes opened.

She stayed in that darkness, clutching onto the duvet, her chest rising and falling with the tempest swirling within her.

A warm liquid trickled down her cheek as her lips mumbled and prayed for that one salvation that could ground her to her known reality,

“ David! ”

A faint moaning left her mouth as she gasped.