Chapter 124 Justice and Mercy
Drakon's POV
"Elara, stop!" I shifted to dragon form and flew after her, landing between her and the Eternal King. "I won't let you sacrifice yourself!"
"It's not your choice," she said quietly. "It's mine. And I choose Lily."
"Then I'm coming with you." I shifted back to human form and took her hand. "We face this together. Like always."
The Eternal King's smile widened. "HOW TOUCHING! TWO SACRIFICES INSTEAD OF ONE! EVEN BETTER!"
We walked forward together, passing through the enemy army. Thousands of resurrected enemies surrounded us. Morgana. The Void Emperor. Marcus. All watching with dead eyes.
"This is insane," I whispered.
"I know," Elara whispered back. "But I have a plan."
"You do?"
"Not really. But I'm hoping one will come to me before he kills us."
Despite everything, I almost laughed. That was so perfectly Elara running into danger hoping to figure it out along the way.
We reached the Eternal King. He looked different up close. Less solid. More... desperate.
"You're dying," Elara said suddenly. "That's why you need the crystal so badly. You're not immortal anymore. Something's killing you."
The Eternal King's smile turned to a snarl. "CLEVER GIRL! YES! EACH RESURRECTION COSTS ME! BRINGING BACK THIS ARMY DRAINED ME! I NEED THE CRYSTAL'S POWER TO RESTORE MYSELF! WITHOUT IT, I'LL FADE TO NOTHING WITHIN DAYS!"
"Then maybe we should just wait you out," I suggested.
"EXCEPT I'LL KILL EVERYONE YOU LOVE FIRST!" He gestured. Lily appeared, held by shadow chains. Still possessed, eyes dark. "STARTING WITH THIS ONE!"
"Wait!" Elara raised her hands. "I'll give you the crystal! Just let her go first!"
"NO! CRYSTAL FIRST! THEN I CONSIDER RELEASING HER!"
"That's not a deal," I snarled. "That's a threat."
"FINE!" The Eternal King's desperation showed. "I'LL PROVE MY SINCERITY! I'LL RELEASE ONE PERSON! AS A SHOW OF GOOD FAITH!"
Shadow chains fell away from someone in the army. A figure stumbled forward, not Lily, but someone else.
Celestia. The real Celestia. Looking confused and scared.
"I was dead," she whispered. "Or I thought I was. He kept me in some kind of shadow prison. Using my identity to torment you."
"You're free now," Elara said gently. "Run. Get to safety."
Celestia hesitated. "I should apologize. For my mother. For everything my family did to you."
"Later," I said. "After we survive this. Go!"
She ran toward our lines. One person freed. But Lily still remained captive.
"NOW THE CRYSTAL!" The Eternal King demanded.
Elara touched her chest. Started to pull the crystal out. I felt her pain through the bond as it began separating from her heart.
Then something impossible happened.
The resurrected army began collapsing. One by one, they fell like puppets with cut strings.
"WHAT?" The Eternal King spun. "NO! I'M NOT RELEASING THEM YET!"
"You're not," Faye's spirit voice echoed across the battlefield. "But you're too weak to maintain them. Your power is failing faster than you thought!"
She appeared, translucent, glowing, beautiful. The real Faye, using the last of her spirit energy.
"I've been watching," she continued. "Waiting for the right moment. And I discovered your weakness. Every resurrection you perform creates a debt. A magical debt that drains you. And you brought back TOO MANY! You're collapsing under your own power!"
The Eternal King screamed in rage. More of his army dissolved into shadow.
"Faye!" Thorne's voice called from our lines. "I see you! I finally see you!"
"I'm sorry it took dying for you to notice me," Faye's spirit said sadly. "But I'm glad I got to help one last time."
She unleashed her remaining energy at the Eternal King. It wasn't much, she was a fading spirit but it was enough to break his concentration.
Lily's possession snapped. She gasped, coming back to herself. "Elara? What's happening?"
"Run to me!" I shouted. "Now!"
Lily ran. The Eternal King tried to grab her, but his own collapsing army got in his way.
She made it. Safe in our arms.
"NO!" The Eternal King roared. "THIS ISN'T OVER! I'LL RECOVER! I'LL REBUILD! I'LL..."
Faye's spirit grabbed him. "Actually, I have a better idea. I'm dying anyway. Fading to nothing. But I can take you with me. Drag you to whatever comes after. You'll never return. Never hurt anyone again."
"YOU CAN'T! YOU'RE JUST A SPIRIT!"
"A spirit with nothing left to lose." Faye smiled at Thorne one last time. "I love you. I always did. Please remember me."
Then she pulled the Eternal King into her fading light. Both of them dissolved together. Faye's final sacrifice destroying the Eternal King permanently.
The battlefield went silent. The remaining army crumbled completely. The war was over.
We'd won.
But we'd lost Faye again. This time forever.
Thorne fell to his knees, sobbing. "She's really gone. I never got to tell her I loved her too."
Elara and I held Lily tight, all three of us crying. Relief and grief mixed together.
Then something miraculous happened. Where Faye's spirit had vanished, a small ice flower bloomed. Perfect and crystalline and eternal.
And inside the flower, we heard her voice, just an echo, but real: "I'll always be watching over you. All of you. Make it count."
Thorne picked up the ice flower carefully. It wouldn't melt, wouldn't fade. A permanent reminder of Faye's sacrifice.
"I'll keep this forever," he whispered. "And I'll make it count. I promise."
We returned to the castle victorious but heartbroken. Four ambassadors dead. Faye gone. Conspirators dealt with. The Eternal King destroyed.
So much loss. But also so much gained.
That night, as we tried to process everything, Lily found us in our chambers.
"I have something to confess," she said nervously. "While possessed, I saw things. Heard things. Including something about Thorne. The Eternal King was mocking him about Faye. And it made me realize something."
"What?" I asked.
"Love shouldn't wait. Life's too short. Too fragile." She looked at us seriously. "You two almost died today. Thorne lost his chance with Faye forever. Don't waste the time you have."
She was right. So wise for twelve years old.
"We won't," Elara promised.
But as Lily left, we found another note, this one not threatening.
It was from the Eternal King's daughter, Ravenna.
"My father is dead. Finally, truly dead. And I'm free of his control. I'm sorry for everything I did while under his influence. I know you'll never forgive me. I don't deserve forgiveness. But I wanted you to know his final words before Faye dragged him away without a warning. He said, 'I'm not the only ancient evil imprisoned. The others will come for the crystal now that I've failed. Tell them... tell them what's really coming is worse than me.' I don't know what he meant. But you should prepare. Because something called 'The First Chaos' is awakening. And it makes my father look weak by comparison. - Ravenna"
The First Chaos. A new threat. Something worse than everything we'd faced.
"Can we have one day of peace?" Elara asked the universe wearily.
Apparently not. Because the message ended with a countdown:
"The First Chaos awakens in thirty days."
One month. We had one month before the next impossible battle.