Chapter 62 Awakened
Fernanda screamed as Maya’s body went limp and collapsed at Damon’s feet, the broken sound tearing from her throat. The earth beneath her boots darkened as blood spilled freely, soaking into the soil as though the land itself was trying to drink it away.
“Oh no no no no!!“ Her knees buckled and she fell forward, hands trembling as she clawed at the ground, crawling toward Maya’s still form.
“Maya,” she sobbed, her voice cracking as it scraped through her chest. “Maya, please. Please wake up. Wake up!”
She reached her at last, fingers slick with blood as she grasped Maya’s shoulder and shook her weakly, desperately, as though sheer will might reverse what had been done. Her tears fell freely, blurring her vision, dripping onto Maya’s pale face.
Nothing happened.
The truth struck her like a physical blow, knocking the air from her lungs. Maya was gone. The warmth was already fading. The eyes that had once looked at her with quiet strength and stubborn hope stared lifelessly into nothing.
Fernanda froze.
The sobbing stopped abruptly, cut off as something inside her snapped with a soundless violence. Slowly, she lifted her head.
Damon stood a short distance away, blood splattered across his boots and hands, Levi’s dagger still clutched loosely in his grip. His lips curved upward in a satisfied, unapologetic smirk, his eyes gleaming with cruel triumph.
Something ignited inside Fernanda.
It was not just rage. It was not just grief. It was a vast, ancient thing that had been waiting patiently beneath her skin, coiled and restrained for far too long. Loss fed it. Pain unlocked it.
Her body began to tremble violently, but it was not fear that caused it. Power surged through her veins like liquid fire, burning, roaring and demanding release. Her heart pounded so hard it felt as though it might burst from her chest.
Fernanda rose slowly to her feet.
Her pupils vanished entirely as her eyes turned a blinding white, glowing with an inhuman intensity. The air around her thickened, pressure building so heavily that it became difficult to breathe.
“How could you?” she said, her voice vibrating unnaturally, layered with something deeper and older than her own.
Thunder cracked violently overhead, splitting the sky as dark clouds gathered with unnatural speed. The wind howled, whipping her hair and cloak around her as loose stones began to rattle and lift from the ground.
Damon’s smile vanished.
For the first time, genuine fear flickered across his face as he staggered back a step, gripping his cane tightly. He had planned for manipulation, for control, for leverage. He had not planned for this. For the catalyst to activate itself without the phoenix tears.
“The catalyst,” he whispered under his breath. “No.” The awakening had begun, and it was not waiting for permission or an activator.
Shadow poured from the ground as Damon raised his free hand sharply, snarling a command in a language that twisted the air. Portals tore open one after another, spilling shadow wielders onto the battlefield in rapid succession. They advanced in waves, ready for a fight.
Nina and Sloane took the lead as usual. Advancing towards the incoming Lycans.
At the same moment, Levi lost himself. The instant Maya’s body hit the ground, something primal ripped through him.
A roar tore from his chest, raw and furious, as his bones cracked and shifted violently beneath his skin. His form expanded, muscles tearing through armor as fur erupted across his body.
In seconds, Levi stood fully transformed, towering and monstrous, eyes blazing with pure wrath.
He did not wait for orders.
With a deafening snarl, he charged.
Sebastian shouted his name, but Levi was already gone, tearing across the field toward Damon.
Around him, the Lycans also followed suit, shifting en masse as the battlefield erupted into chaos. Massive forms collided with advancing shadow wielders, claws ripping through flesh, fangs tearing throats, bodies crashing together in violent explosions of blood and darkness.
The air filled with screams, roars, and the sickening sounds of bone cracking and steels clashing.
Fernanda barely noticed.
The wind screamed louder now, spiraling violently around her as ice formed along the ground in jagged patterns, freezing blood and shadow alike. Flames erupted in the distance without warning, consuming shadow wielders where they stood, while pillars of earth tore themselves from the ground, crushing everything beneath them.
She was not choosing targets. She was no longer capable of restraint.
Sebastian watched in horror as fire and ice clashed across the battlefield, as shadow wielders and Lycans alike were thrown aside by forces far greater than themselves. His soldiers fought bravely, but even they recoiled from the sheer magnitude of Fernanda’s power.
“She’s lost control,” someone shouted nearby.
Sebastian said nothing. His eyes were fixed on her.
Fernanda stood at the center of it all, hair whipping wildly, eyes glowing like twin stars of annihilation. The elements answered her without hesitation, bending eagerly to her will. Ice spears shot from the ground, impaling shadow wielders mid-charge. Bolts of lightning tore through the sky, striking indiscriminately, turning bodies to ash.
Her mind fractured under the weight of it.
Maya’s face flashed before her eyes again and again. Her voice. Her warnings. Her sacrifice.
The pain drove her deeper into madness.
Damon attempted to retreat, slamming his cane against the ground as a portal began to form behind him. Shadows surged eagerly, reaching for him, ready to pull him to safety.
“No,” Fernanda growled.
The earth beneath Damon’s feet exploded upward as a massive block of stone ripped free from the ground, slamming into him with devastating force and yanking him back into the open. He screamed as he was thrown through the air, crashing violently against the frozen ground, blood splattering across the ice.
Fernanda raised her hand, fingers curling slowly.
Fire roared to life, coiling around her arm like a living thing. With a furious scream, she hurled it forward, a blazing inferno aimed directly at Damon’s broken form.
He barely rolled aside in time, flames licking across his back and consuming his cloak as he cried out in agony.
Levi was almost upon him now, tearing through shadow wielders with brutal efficiency, his massive jaws snapping shut around necks and limbs. Sebastian followed close behind, sword drawn, eyes cold and unwavering.
Damon scrambled desperately, summoning shadows again, but they faltered, trembling under the overwhelming pressure of Fernanda’s power.
She descended upon him like a force of nature.
The air crushed down around him, pinning him in place as ice crept up his legs, freezing him to the ground. Earth wrapped around his limbs like iron restraints. Lightning crackled overhead, threatening annihilation.
“You took her from me,” Fernanda said, her voice eerily calm now, terrifying in its stillness. “You took everything.”
Damon screamed her name as he struggled helplessly. “Fernanda, stop. You have to stop. Please.”
She did not listen.
Fire surged again, hotter than before, screaming toward him with intent to erase him from existence.
The blade struck first.
Sebastian’s sword flashed through the air with lethal precision, slicing cleanly through Damon’s neck. Blood sprayed violently as his head separated from his body, rolling across the frozen ground before coming to a stop at Fernanda’s feet.
The battlefield went silent.
The elements stilled abruptly, flames extinguishing, lightning dissipating, ice cracking and melting where it stood. Fernanda froze mid-motion, staring down at the severed head, Damon’s eyes still wide with terror even in death.
Her breathing grew ragged.
The power receded slowly, reluctantly, as though disappointed it had not finished the job itself. Her eyes flickered, the blinding white fading as color slowly returned.
She collapsed to her knees beside Maya’s body, hands shaking uncontrollably as the weight of what had happened crashed down upon her all at once.
Sebastian approached carefully, bloodied and exhausted, his sword hanging loosely at his side. Around them, the battlefield was littered with fallen shadow wielders and Lycans alike, the air thick with smoke.
Fernanda let out a broken sob and leaned forward, pressing her forehead against the ground.
The catalyst had finally awakened.
And nothing would ever be the same again.