Chapter 140 139: Cressida, Chaos & Confessions

Chapter 140 139: Cressida, Chaos & Confessions
Ten Minutes Before Ruin

The Moonlight Ball shimmered like a dream.

Silver lanterns floated beneath enchanted ceilings, reflecting soft starlight across polished marble floors. Masks glittered. Dresses shimmered. Magic hummed gently in the air as music played, elegant, slow, untouched by the disaster already unfolding beneath the academy.

Damien sat alone at the edge of the ballroom.

A crystal glass rested loosely in his hand as he watched the entrance.

Waiting.

Any second now.

She would walk through those doors.

Seraphine would appear, eyes searching for him, realization finally clear in her heart. She would confess. She would choose him.

His lips curved faintly.

They'll finally understand.

Across the hall, laughter echoed. Students danced beneath drifting illusions of moonlight. Everything felt perfect.

Then his gaze shifted.

At the far side of the ballroom stood Alaric, Kade, and Lucien.

Close together.

Talking quietly.

Damien's smile faded.

His grip tightened around the glass.

So this is what it is now, he thought bitterly. The three of them together... without me.

A sharp sting settled in his chest.

Brothers, he thought. And yet they plot behind my back.

He stood abruptly.

"I can't wait," he muttered under his breath, "to see your faces when she chooses me."

Straightening his jacket, Damien walked toward them.

The music swelled as he approached.

Lucien noticed him first.

"Hey, bro-"

"Keep the greetings," Damien cut in coldly, "to yourself."

The three froze.

Kade frowned. "What's your problem?"

Damien crossed his arms, eyes sharp. "What are you all discussing so secretly?"

Alaric exchanged a glance with the others before answering calmly.

"We were congratulating Lucien," he said. "He's Seraphine's date tonight."

Lucien shifted awkwardly. "Yeah... that's all."

Damien let out a humorless laugh.

"Oh, really?" His gaze darkened. "Congratulating him after you three already manipulated the outcome?"

Silence fell.

Kade blinked. "What?"

"The spell," Damien continued, voice rising slightly. "The bonding. Making sure she could only choose one of you."

Lucien stiffened. "Damien... what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb," Damien snapped. "I know everything."

The three stared at him like he had lost his mind.

Alaric's voice lowered carefully. "Where did you hear something like that?"

Damien hesitated only a second.

"Cressida told me," he said. "About how you're all bound to her for power. About how this was never love, just strategy."

Kade's expression hardened. "That's insane."

Lucien shook his head slowly. "You actually believe that?"

"Enough!" Damien snapped. "You think I wouldn't find out?"

Alaric stepped closer, calm but firm.

"Damien," he said quietly, "no one cast any spell on Seraphine. Whatever she feels is her own choice."

Before Damien could respond-

The ground shook.

A violent tremor ripped through the ballroom.

Music screeched to a halt.

Gasps erupted as chandeliers swayed violently overhead.

"What was that?" someone cried.

Another tremor followed, stronger.

The marble floor cracked faintly beneath their feet.

Outside, the sky shifted.

Moonlight warped into streaks of crimson and violet as clouds spiraled unnaturally fast.

Magic surged through the academy like a screaming current.

Lucien's eyes widened. "No... that's not possible."

Kade looked toward the ceiling. "That energy-"

Alaric's face went pale.

"The Forbidden Gate."

Panic exploded across the ballroom.

Students shouted. Masks fell. Magic flickered wildly out of control.

A burst of dark light flashed through the windows.

Then a commanding voice cut through the chaos.

"Everyone remain calm!"

Vice Principal Nyx Thorneveil stood at the grand staircase, her presence instantly silencing the room. Shadows gathered around her like obedient servants.

Beside her stood Headmaster Virelkan Duskrend, his staff glowing with urgent power.

"There is danger," Nyx announced sharply. "All students must evacuate immediately."

Murmurs erupted.

"What danger?"

"What's happening?"

The Headmaster's voice thundered across the hall.

"A catastrophic force has been awakened within the academy grounds. If you do not move now, this school will fall."

Fear spread like wildfire.

Damien's heart suddenly pounded.

A strange unease crept into his chest.

Seraphine...

Before anyone could react-

The ballroom doors burst open.

Cressida stumbled inside.

Her dress torn, hair disheveled, face pale with terror.

"I-!" she gasped, collapsing to her knees. "It's my fault! It's all my fault!"

Every eye turned toward her.

Nyx's gaze sharpened dangerously. "Explain. Now."

Cressida sobbed, shaking violently.

"Melinda... she used Seraphine... the Gate is open... the Aetherstar-"

The room fell into stunned silence.

Lucien's blood ran cold.

"What did you say?" he whispered.

Cressida looked up, tears streaming down her face.

"The Aetherstar is awake."

The words fell into the ballroom like a curse.

Silence swallowed the music, the laughter, the celebration, everything.

Vice Principal Nyx Thorneveil stepped forward slowly, shadows curling at her feet.

Her voice was calm, but dangerously sharp.

"How," she asked, "was Melinda able to reach Seraphine?"

Cressida trembled under the weight of every gaze in the room.

"She... she used another student's body," she said weakly. "She needed a strong witch vessel to cast forbidden spells."

A chair scraped loudly across the floor.

Lyra stepped forward.

Her face had gone pale.

"What do you mean," she demanded, voice shaking, "She used another student's body?"

Cressida swallowed.

"It was... Elera."

The name shattered something inside Lyra.

"No," Lyra whispered immediately. "No, that's not possible."

"She manipulated Elera," Cressida continued quickly. "Tricked her into performing a spell, then used that moment to take over her body."

Lyra staggered backward as if struck.

"So... where is Elera?" she asked, her voice breaking. "Where is her soul?"

Cressida hesitated.

"I... don't know," she said. "Melinda locked it away somewhere."

Lyra's knees nearly gave out. Tears spilled down her face as realization crushed her.

"She was acting strange..." Lyra whispered. "She didn't recognize me..."

Her voice dissolved into quiet sobs.

Mina pulled her into an embrace while Caleb stood frozen, fury burning in his eyes.

But Cressida wasn't finished.

"And then..." she continued, glancing nervously toward Damien, "Melinda needed Seraphine's power to open the Gate. So... we used Damien."

Damien stiffened.

"What?"

"We lied to you," Cressida said, lowering her gaze. "We told you your friends betrayed you so you would bring her to us."

The words hit harder than any weapon.

Damien's breath left him slowly.

"So... everything..." he whispered.

"A lie," Cressida said quickly. "Melinda manipulated me too." She forced tears into her voice. "I didn't know how far she would go."

Her lie slid smoothly into the chaos.

"I thought we were just helping free Seraphine," she added. "I didn't know she planned this."

Damien's world tilted.

The accusations.

The anger.

The confrontation with his brothers.

All built on deception.

His voice came out hollow.

"I... brought her there."

No one answered.

Cressida continued, desperation rising.

"She used Seraphine's energy to open the Gate. But when she tried to take the Aetherstar's power..." Her voice trembled. "It killed her instantly. She underestimated it."

Fear rippled through the crowd.

"And now," she whispered, "it's going to kill everyone."

The weight of her words had barely settled-

BOOM.

A shockwave of raw magic exploded through the academy.

Every window in the ballroom shattered at once.

Glass rained like deadly starlight.

Students screamed.

The floor trembled violently as dark energy surged through the air.

And then-

All four boys froze.

At the same moment.

Alaric gasped sharply, hand flying to his chest.

Kade staggered, eyes widening.

Lucien dropped to one knee.

Damien choked on a breath that felt like fire tearing through his lungs.

They felt it.

Not sound.

Not sight.

A bond.

A scream without words.

Pain.

Fear.

Desperation.

Seraphine.

Lucien's voice came out strained. "She's-"

"In danger," Alaric finished, already moving.

"No," Kade growled. "She's dying."

Damien's eyes filled with horror as realization struck.

What have I done?

Another pulse of energy slammed through them, stronger this time.

Seraphine's fear flooded their senses like a breaking dam.

Without another word, all four turned toward the exit at once.

Nyx's voice rang behind them. "Stop! The Forbidden Grounds are unstable-"

They didn't stop.

They ran.

Through terrified students.

Through collapsing illusions.

Through corridors shaking under ancient magic.

They moved not as rivals...

...but as one.

Moonlight fractured through broken windows as they sprinted across the courtyard.

The sky above twisted violently, clouds spiraling around a growing vortex of dark light rising from the direction of the Forbidden Ga
te.

Power crackled in the air.

The earth groaned.

Lucien whispered under his breath, panic breaking through his usual composure.

"Hold on, Seraphine..."

Kade's eyes burned gold as his wolf surged forward.

Alaric vanished into the shadows between steps.

Damien's dragon energy ignited across his arms as guilt-fueled raw speed.

Ahead of them-

A pillar of terrifying light erupted into the heavens.

And from within it came a roar that did not belong to this world.

The Aetherstar had awakened.

And Seraphine was alone with it.