CHAPTER 57
CHAPTER 57
Calla’s POV
As Raiden’s light faded from my sight, I experienced an inner fracture from his loss. My heart was racing while I tasted my salty tears between my lips. Darkness tried to overwhelm me, but his voice whispered in my mind Stay with me. I extended my hand to hold onto him, but found nothing but emptiness between us. The air chilled me while carrying the scent of fire and mortality.
Everything around me blurred. Everything around me started spinning—the battlefield, the ruins, and the fallen warriors. My knees crashed onto the ground while my hands desperately grasped the earth. I felt empty, broken. Within the fog of my sorrow, I felt a deep internal movement. A radiant warmth started spreading from my chest like a pulsating light. I could feel a powerful combination of Raiden’s love together with my mother’s magic reaching into every bone of my body.
Ancient words began to resonate within my thoughts, which I had never learned but understood completely. I swallowed hard, and my tears fell as I spoke them aloud: My voice cracked when I spoke those words, yet each syllable drew me away from the brink of darkness. Everything around me became clear, and I saw the Source beneath me emitting a soft golden light that pulsed like a heartbeat. It transformed my sorrow into powerful energy when it responded to me.
Upon placing my hand against the Source, an immediate surge of power coursed through me. The power from Raiden surged within me like flowing strength. I stood trembling yet solid as the warmth surged through my veins. Despite the damage to my clothing and bruises on my body, I kept my head up. The blood of Luna and my guardian ancestors coursed through my veins. I felt rooted, unshakable. My hand delved into the ground to channel the Source’s light upward until it burst forth like a wave.
Around me, the battlefield reacted. The shadows shrank back. The ground beneath their bodies emitted a radiant glow while the fallen warriors remained motionless. The light wave bore whispers and voices belonging to my ancient ancestors who stood as guardians. The ancient guardians spoke together in perfect harmony while they directed me and shared their strength. The essence of my ancestors surrounded my heart while filling the void left by Raiden’s death.
The Shadow King approached me with a limp but maintained his defiant stance despite his injuries. His wicked smile persisted even though his bones cracked from pain. I extended my hand into the air, and the light formed a spear of shining brilliance. It hovered there, pointed at him. He lifted his hand to meet my light with darkness, but the Source power together with my bloodline struck him down hard, sending him retreating.
He fell to the floor while steam emerged from his body. He shot out a stream of saliva as his eyes moved rapidly between fury and disbelief. His voice snarled through pain as he struggled to get up with the words, “You think this ends with me?” His threatening words carried the heavy burden of ancient nightmares, yet failed to make me flinch. The power of my forebears coursed through each muscle in my body. I refused to stand by while he attacked anyone else.
I took a step forward. The earth shook as I moved forward. With my voice reverberating around us, I declared, “This ends now.” The light spear plunged into his chest, making a shattering sound because he had caused so much pain to others. A piercing scream erupted as the light penetrated him to eradicate the shadows within his body. Dust swirled in the air as he disappeared in a burst of black and gold.
With my eyes shut tight, I released my breath as the mental chant disappeared into silence. The battlefield felt stiller now, peaceful. I knelt next to where Raiden collapsed. The chill of his tear-streaked skin met my touch as I brushed my fingers across his cheek. When my forehead touched his skin, I briefly felt his remaining heat as if he had stayed behind to meet me.
A rustle behind me made me turn. Warriors stood around us as they looked about with eyes full of awe and anticipation. Elara stepped forward, tears in her eyes. She opened her arms wide before me, and I fell into her comforting hold. For an extended minute, she held me while her tears dropped onto my hair. Silver Moon’s survivors who had survived the ordeal knelt to quietly express their gratitude through prayers.
I stepped back yet maintained contact between my hand and Raiden’s face. “I did it,” I whispered. “For you. For all of us.”
Elara nodded. “You saved us, Calla. She placed her hand on my cheek as she said, “You saved him.” “The blood of our Luna runs strong.”
I took a shuddering breath. “He’s gone.”
She smiled sadly. “He’s free.”
I shut my eyes and permitted myself to cry.
After a time, I stood again. I looked across the newly quiet battlefield. Pink and gold hues filled the sky as the sun began to rise. A feeling of peace washed over me that I hadn’t experienced since the days of my exile. Silver Moon would rebuild. I would rebuild.
My heart was filled with hope when an icy chill suddenly swept through it. A dark figure waited beyond the clearing's boundary in the far distance. The figure stood tall while its face remained concealed under the dark covering of a hood. I sensed its presence as though a chill finger had touched my spine.
The Source created a final flare of light as I turned around. As the hooded figure moved towards me, I saw again those red glowing eyes.
The voice came to me as a whisper that travelled through my skeletal frame. “You have destroyed one darkness, Calla. But I am the last.”
My heart caught. The force behind those spoken words outshone anything I had previously observed from the Shadow King. A chill filled the air while the figure’s cloak expanded violently as though caught in a tempest. I moved back as the chest wound began throbbing with pain. The glow of the Source dimmed, flickering.
I straightened, raising my chin. “Who are you?”
The figure's hood fell back to unveil a face that was stunning yet frightening. The figure's skin had the darkness of midnight while its eyes emitted a radiant ancient light. It smiled. “I am the Voidbearer. Your blood holds no power against what you will learn tonight.