Chapter-HundredTwenty Three, What Can Go Wrong

Chapter-HundredTwenty Three, What Can Go Wrong
Zoe’s POV

As myself and Sean set out to seek what we needed, I opened a portal. The black tear in reality stretched wide before us, silver magic crackling along the edges like lightning trapped inside glass. Sean glanced at me once before stepping through beside me.

The second our feet touched the other side, the scent hit us.

Earth.

Rain.

Blood.

Herbs.

The Realm of Veylora spread endlessly before us, massive terraces carved into mountainsides beneath a crimson sky. Rivers shimmered with glowing blue water while giant trees twisted toward the heavens, their branches carrying flowers that only bloomed under moonlight. Thousands upon thousands of herbs covered the land in organized sections.

Some smoked.

Some glowed.

Some screamed softly when touched by wind.

Everything grew here.

And the witch herself valued her herbs and blood types more than kingdoms valued gold.

Sean stayed close behind me as I pulled my hood lower.

“Now that’s a face I’ve not seen for many years,” said a woman emerging from the shadows.

My stomach tightened instantly.

Tall.

Pale.

Eyes black as voids.

The woman smiled slowly as silver chains wrapped around her wrists clinked together.

“It’s been how long, Zoe? Are you still using that name?”

Well, I would be screwed if I wasn’t, wouldn’t I?

Sean shifted beside me immediately, his hand brushing the dagger strapped to his side.

The woman noticed.

“Oh relax, wolf,” she purred. “If I wished to kill you both, you’d already be fertilizer for my Crimson Vein Roses.”

I crossed my arms tightly.

“You still talk too much, Nyra.”

Nyra laughed softly, though there was no warmth in it.

“And you still avoid answering questions.” Her dark gaze sharpened. “Tell me… does your king know who you really are now?”

Sean looked at me instantly.

I ignored him.

“We’re not here for old history.”

“No,” Nyra mused. “You’re here for impossible things.”

Her expression slowly darkened.

“You seek the extinct.”

That got Sean’s attention.

“You know what we’re looking for?”

Nyra’s black eyes flickered toward him.

“Everyone knows. The realms whisper when death begins moving unnaturally.” She stepped closer. “You seek the Hollow Vein Bloodroot… and the Mourning Ash Bloom.”

Even hearing the names sent coldness through my chest.

Those herbs were legends.

Not because they were powerful.

Because they were gone.

Destroyed centuries ago during the Witch Purges.

Sean frowned. “We were told they might still exist.”

Nyra smiled again.

“Exist?” she whispered. “Perhaps.”

That answer alone irritated me.

“You either know or you don’t.”

“Oh, I know.” She tilted her head. “The question is whether you’re willing to survive long enough to obtain them.”

The wind shifted across the fields.

Somewhere in the distance, something screamed.

Not human.

Not animal.

Sean stepped closer to me subtly.

“What’s the price?” he asked.

Nyra looked delighted.

“There it is. Wolves always understand eventually.” She turned slowly. “Come.”

We followed her through the herb terraces carefully.

Every section grew stranger than the last.

Moonlace Ferns floated inches above the soil, their roots hanging in the air like silver nerves. Black Widow Sage dripped venom from its petals into bowls beneath them. Rows of Glassbone Ivy crawled over stone walls, translucent vines pulsing as though alive.

Sean muttered quietly beside me, “This place feels cursed.”

“It is,” Nyra answered without turning around.

She led us toward a massive greenhouse made entirely from black crystal. The structure towered over everything else, humming with dark energy.

I stopped immediately.

“No.”

Nyra glanced back. “Still afraid of the Blood Gardens?”

“I know what’s kept in there.”

Sean looked between us.

“What exactly is in there?”

Nyra smiled.

“Things better left asleep.”

That wasn’t reassuring.

The crystal doors opened on their own.

The second we stepped inside, heat wrapped around us like suffocating hands.

The greenhouse was enormous.

Rows of plants stretched endlessly beneath red lanterns, but these weren’t normal herbs.

These were forbidden.

Abyss Lilies floated in pools of black water.

Death Bell Moss grew over bones.

Soulbind Vines moved slowly along the floor like snakes.

Sean stared around carefully.

“This shouldn’t exist.”

Nyra laughed quietly. “Neither should half the creatures roaming your world, yet here we are.”

She stopped before a massive tree growing at the center of the greenhouse.

The bark was white.

The leaves were crimson.

And hanging from its branches were glass-like sacs filled with glowing blood.

Sean stiffened instantly.

“That’s—”

“Bloodfruit Tree,” I finished quietly.

Extinct.

Or supposed to be.

Nyra touched the bark lovingly.

“Every blood type in existence can be cultivated here… if you know how to grow it.”

Sean’s voice hardened.

“You harvest blood?”

Nyra looked amused.

“No. The tree creates it naturally.” Her smile widened slightly. “Though the tree must first be fed.”

I didn’t ask fed with what.

I already knew.

Nyra moved toward a locked iron gate hidden behind hanging vines.

“The Hollow Vein Bloodroot lies beyond this door.”

Sean exhaled sharply.

Finally.

But Nyra didn’t open it.

Instead, she turned slowly toward us.

“There’s a complication.”

Of course there was.

“The Bloodroot no longer grows naturally,” she said. “The last living roots are buried beneath the Catacombs of Theryn.”

Sean frowned. “Then we go there.”

Nyra’s expression darkened.

“The catacombs are guarded.”

“By what?”

She stared directly at me.

“By the dead.”

Silence filled the greenhouse.

Sean eventually scoffed lightly. “We’ve handled worse.”

“No,” Nyra whispered. “You truly haven’t.”

A cold chill crept down my spine.

Because Nyra didn’t fear easily.

If she was warning us…

Then the catacombs were bad.

Very bad.

“The Mourning Ash Bloom?” I asked carefully.

Nyra actually looked uncomfortable.

“That is worse.”

Sean blinked. “Worse than undead catacombs?”

“Yes.”

She walked toward another section of the greenhouse where thick black curtains covered an entire wall.

When she pulled one aside, Sean inhaled sharply.

Bodies.

Dozens of them.

Suspended inside giant glass chambers filled with glowing liquid.

Different species.

Different creatures.

All dead.

All preserved.

“What the hell is this?” Sean growled.

Nyra ignored him.

“The Mourning Ash Bloom only grows in places touched by divine extinction.”

I stared at her.

“No…”

“Yes.” Her gaze met mine. “The last bloom exists in the Grave of Gods.”

Even Sean went silent at that.

The Grave of Gods wasn’t a myth.

It was a forbidden realm where ancient beings fell during the First War.

Nobody entered.

Nobody survived.

Nyra folded her arms.

“The flower blooms once every hundred years beneath the corpse of a dying god.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “And unfortunately for you both… the bloom opened three nights ago.”

Meaning time was running out.

Sean rubbed his face.

“So we need to enter undead catacombs for one herb and a cursed divine graveyard for the other.”

“Correct.”

“That’s insane.”

Nyra smiled softly.

“Yes.”

I turned toward her. “Why help us?”

For the first time since arriving, her expression shifted.

Not amusement.

Not mockery.

Something colder.

“Because if those herbs are needed…” she said quietly, “then whatever you’re trying to save is already close to ending.”

The greenhouse suddenly trembled violently.

Sean immediately stepped forward protectively.

A distant roar echoed outside.

Nyra cursed under her breath.

“That’s impossible.”

Another roar split through the realm.

Closer this time.

The plants around us began shrinking backward as though afraid.

I felt the magic instantly.

Shadow magic.

Ancient shadow magic.

Sean’s eyes flashed gold.

“We’re not alone.”

Nyra rushed toward the crystal doors. “Someone followed you.”

My chest tightened immediately.

No.

No one could track my portals.

Unless—

The realization hit me hard.

“The hunters.”

Sean swore instantly.

Outside, the crimson sky darkened unnaturally.

Creatures scattered across the herb fields in panic while massive black wings moved overhead.

Nyra looked genuinely furious now.

“You brought them here?”

“We didn’t know they were tracking us!”

A deafening screech tore across the realm.

Then the first body dropped from the sky.

A witch.

Dead before she hit the ground.

Sean pulled his dagger immediately.

“Tell me those things can die.”

Nyra’s silence answered him.

Wonderful.

The crystal roof above us exploded suddenly.

Glass rained downward as a monstrous creature descended from above.

Its body looked human once.

Not anymore.

Black wings made from bone stretched outward while hollow eyes leaked silver smoke.

Sean shoved me backward instantly as the creature screamed.

The sound alone shattered entire rows of herbs.

Nyra lifted both hands, dark magic exploding outward.

Chains erupted from the floor, wrapping around the creature’s limbs.

“RUN!” she screamed.

The beast tore through the chains instantly.

Sean grabbed my wrist.

“Move!”

We sprinted through the greenhouse while screams echoed outside across the herb fields.

Everything was chaos now.

Burning plants.

Exploding magic.

Creatures hunting witches through the terraces.

Nyra appeared beside us in a blur.

“The catacombs are no longer optional,” she snapped. “The Bloodroot is the only thing capable of masking your souls from those hunters.”

Sean looked confused while fighting off another creature lunging toward us.

“What are they?!”

Nyra’s face turned pale.

“The Hollowed.”

My blood froze.

Impossible.

The Hollowed were ancient soul-eaters.

They weren’t supposed to exist anymore.

Which meant something truly catastrophic was coming.

A creature slammed into the ground ahead of us, blocking the path.

Sean shifted instantly.

Bones cracked violently as his wolf burst free, massive and furious.

He tore into the creature while Nyra opened a dark portal nearby.

“Hurry!”

I glanced back once toward the burning herb fields.

Thousands of rare plants destroyed in moments.

Extinct bloodlines burning to ash.

And overhead, more Hollowed descended from the sky.

This wasn’t random.

Someone sent them.

Someone knew exactly why we were here.

Sean returned to human form beside me, blood covering his arms.

“We need to go now.”

Nyra’s expression hardened.

“Once you enter the catacombs, there is no turning back.”

I stared at the portal.

At the darkness waiting inside.

Then I stepped forward first.

Because whatever waited down there…

It was still better than what was coming for us above ground.