Falling through the sky, the only thing that kept going through my mind was Fenris. Did I fail him? No... If I did, he would be dead by day’s end. Before I hit the ground, I could hear everyone screaming, surprised by the sudden appearance of a falling child. However, I never met the floor.

Instead, I remained suspended in the air, frozen in time as everyone around me stared. I was gently let down onto the table the sisters had destined me to splatter over. Someone, not something, stopped the fall to my doom. A woman came running towards my battered body, calling for help from anyone around her. She wore the insignia of Cerberus in her uniform. Was she the one who helped me?

No... It was not her. She was just a human woman with no magical powers. A medic? Without hesitation, she cradled me, screaming for help from her group that was nearby. It seemed they were eating lunch when I mystically fell out of the sky. Anyone would have been happy; I had been saved. It was over. They would have thought, but it was far from over. I was supposed to die, but I was still alive. Something was wrong.

My spell failed too. I could feel the dread swell in my core as something was growing within me. The fall had just begun. Grabbing onto my face, the lady asked me to focus on her, but I could not. Something was surging within me, and it felt like it was going to split me apart. My back burned almost as if I set it on fire, triggering me to scream. It was the worst pain I had felt. The branding of my soul.

Pulses of energy left me over and over, changing everything that it touched. Colors bent to its will as the sky within the force turned crimson red. Alarmed, the human’s comrade yelled for her to let me go, but it was too late. Before anyone could do anything, the amiable lady’s upper body was gone, leaving behind only her waist that fell backward onto the floor, splattering blood all over. Shocked, I weakly peered around me to see it was not just her, but everyone who had surrounded me to give me first aid.

They all lay dead either by the same fate, or another form of dismemberment. I struggled to get up from the table, only to see everyone around terrified of me as more pulses of energy left my body. It was enough to cover the surrounding area, trapping every one of them in this new domain. One bystander tried to run away just for his head to roll to the side before he could escape. Another screamed, causing her to get crushed onto the ground as if something had stomped her.

Most of the other bystanders remained shocked, frozen, not knowing what was happening. The pulses radiated from me became more stable, allowing their attackers to be revealed. Shadowy creatures appeared from thin air. Beasts I had never seen before. Not in books, not in anything I had read. Had I done this? Another pulse of energy left me, causing me to gasp.

Struggling to sit up, I noticed my hands were lightly glowing blue as another creature, this time more visible, came out of my chest. In a blur, it ran towards one bystander as they fell by its claws, organs and limbs splattered around. Unable to understand what had happened, tears ran down my cheeks as another creature came through from me.

Before I could scream, terrified of what was going on, what seemed like caring human hands covered my eyes before my body radiated energy never seen in this world. It expanded towards the horizon. When the human hands disappeared, the cuffs that bound me were gone. Leaving behind a blue grimoire in my shaking hands. My mind could not keep up with what was happening around me. Little did I know that a god had heard my plea, but not for the reasons I wanted.

My spell had converted me into the vessel to hold the gate to the realm where they existed, but I could not control nor contain it. I mean, how could I control it? My emotions were in a state of disarray, and I could not manage even myself. Monsters continued to materialize out of me, as part of me wanted to lash out at everything around me. Keep everything that could hurt me away, even if another part of me did not wish for this. I was conflicted, but no matter what I pleaded with them, they would not stop.

‘Why do you care for these people who left you to die? Who left you to suffer? Who looked at you every day and ignored a child in distress?’ The beings from the other side whispered into my mind, trying to corrupt me.

Part of me wanted to agree, to damn it all, but no. Not all of them were like that. Fenris... The moment his name rose in my mind, the bracelet shone brightly. Innocent people lay dead, scattered everywhere my eyes landed. I stood there, shocked, and afraid of everything that was happening around me. If I gave in, then he... Nothing would stop them from killing him. From destroying his world. I did not want the world he lived in to die.

“Please... Stop...” I pleaded, only to be drowned by the screams that erupted from everywhere.

I would later know the beasts as shadow demons, who were set free in the world for the second time. One creature that emerged from me was a feline monster bigger than myself, maybe bigger than any human being. Instead of running off like all the others, it stuck by me protectively. It had blue eyes, just like the rest of them, and was in my mind just like all the others. However, her voice was soothing, loving.

‘Hush, my little beautiful child, do not cry. No one else will hurt you. I promise.’ The beast cooed in my mind.

She was the only friendly voice I had heard since my torture began. Instinctively, I reached out to her, knowing she would never hurt me. The moment I grabbed onto her fur, she helped me off the table and onto my stumbling feet. Even though the only visible thing was their forms and eyes while they had a shadowy appearance, they were also solid beings. My hand did not go through her or struggled to hold on to her. Her touch dulled the pain that had been inflicted on me a bit. Was it the beast?

Though I could feel the blood still trickling down my legs. My injuries were still there. Any light movement caused my wounds to reopen and bleed, but I could not feel the pain as much. What were they doing to me? I tried to take a few steps by myself, only to fall into her soon after. Even though I did not feel the pain, I could barely move. I was weak and barely holding on as I tried to scream for anyone around. If anyone was alive. This had to be a dream.

This was not what I had intended when I cast my incantation. I was young and stupid; I knew spells were fickle little things. One mistake, and boom it exploded. But for it had gone wrong to this extent was unreasonable. While I had made the portal bound to me, I had not stopped the carnage the sisters had set forward, even fueled it with my pain.

What I had hoped was the portal to close permanently with my death, but the beasts would not allow me to die now or ever. The realm whispered to me warnings, most that I did not understand, but from what I gathered it was grim. If I died, it would not end well for the world. With every step, I sent another monster into the world. My path laid waste to the town I had grown to love. My escape.

In my path, chaos awaited anyone who was unlucky enough to be near me, or so I thought. There was no way for me to know how far the beasts had traveled. Though it was not long until others of the Cerberus order arrived to bring peace, only to fall one by one, as none of them knew what was happening or what to expect. These were elves, humans, and other witches/warlocks. It seemed the vampires had not yet arrived and Lycans had been gathering for the birthday party deeper into the town.

Where was it? I had to stay away. It was futile, though. It would not matter how far away I was. The field of energy that was radiating from me was expanding without stopping. It was also going faster than I could see. No matter where Fenris was, eventually death would reach him. It would reach everyone. A clean start, Stella called it. These beings took no prisoners too. It was almost as if they were protecting me from the cruel world; along with completing their own agenda.

My distress was the thing fueling them to attack further and more viciously. It was almost as if my fear and will had become part of theirs. They covered the streets in blood as the Cerberus officers tried their best to protect everyone. They tried to evacuate the innocent, trying to keep the beasts at bay, but any mistake would be their last. The more death I saw, the more unstable I became. I did not want this. This was everything I wished to stop. I screamed at the top of my lungs as these soldiers fearlessly tried to make it to the core of the energy pulses. They did not know that the source was me.

No one who had seen me had survived. Much to everyone’s horror gust of wind picked up almost as if I were a hurricane. Buildings disintegrated because of the powerful gust that destroyed anything in their path. I struggled to comprehend what was happening. Dread and gloom consumed me, as I saw no end to this. It just got more chaotic with every minute that passed by. I heard the warriors outside of the storm scream in fear. With the change in the weather, all the incoming monsters blended with the scenery. The storm made it hard to figure out where they were coming from.

While the cover that was protecting the fighters was destroyed, leaving them with little hope to hide from these beings, who ravished the town without mercy. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see what these shadowy beasts were doing in the distance. It was almost as if I could see through their eyes, hear through them. It was not long until the vampires arrived, the only ones who could rival the Lycans’ power. A vampire was the first one to jump into the middle of the storm. The moment she came through, it was like a rocket aimed straight at the core of the problem, me.

The moment she was a few meters away, a dark beast’s hand came out of me, colliding with her rapier, snapping it in half. For a slight moment, our eyes met as her deep red eyes expressed utter shock upon seeing a child in the middle of the disaster. Without hesitation, she withdrew immediately from me and out of the storm that surrounded me. She was swift and elegant with her moves. Even though she was far from me anymore, thanks to the beasts that were everywhere, I could hear her from where she stood in the distance.

“There is a child in there!” The vampire reported from wherever she was.

Ah... That means it also knew where she was.

“A child? Impossible. This is insane, how could a child do this?” Another comrade questioned, but before they could discuss it any further.

A feeling grew within me. Another bigger energy pulse was coming from within, triggering me to lose it.

“No... Run! Get out of here, something is coming!” I screamed, not knowing if she could hear my poor hoarse voice through the roaring winds.

I knew vampires for their superb hearing, so I hoped. No, wished she had heard me. Tears still ran down my cheeks as I remained inconsolable. I had no control over what would happen next, though. The storm slowly died down as my body levitated along with the protective feline. A behemoth emerged from behind me. It had been the first one of this size, probably bigger than a regular house. A protective blue barrier surrounded me as the behemoth charged towards where the voices were coming from.

Please... No more...

I did not want to be a murderer. I did not want to kill anymore. I broke down once again as I sobbed loudly, but my pleas fell on deaf ears as the behemoth charged at the vampire and her comrades without mercy, only to be met in kind. The woman had heard my warning, allowing her enough time to create a blood barrier around them, forcing the beast away from them as her swift defense forcefully repelled it.

Vampires could not cast magic by themselves, but they could control blood. On a battlefield surrounded by this substance, they were the apex of predators. In response, she sent a flurry of blood spikes towards it, impaling it right where it fell. But it did not die. All she could do was imprison them or slow them down. It seemed their skins were impenetrable by her attacks, thus killing them was impossible. It did not help that the sun was out. Right at the start of the day.

The sisters had planned everything. Thanks to that, they were like any other race as more of them arrived at the source of everything, me. They fought back with one enemy in mind.

“Why must we do all the work? Where the fuck are the Lycans?” Another vampire joined the female one.

This one seemed tired and unwilling to work. He also appeared full of himself.

“Keep your mind in the game. Forget the Lycans. We have to keep the citizens safe, what’s left of them, anyway.” The girl vampire tried to keep their mission in mind.

He scoffed at her attempt to make their intentions noble.

“The source is that child stuck in that orb, right? I heard you over the coms. I will finish this in a second.” The cocky male vampire informed.

The girl yelled at him.

“No! Stop! She is just a child!” The female vampire warned, with fear in her voice.

She did not want him to hurt me, but it was too late. He had already formed a spike and sent it hurtling towards me. It was faster than my own eyes. I could not keep up with its speed, but it never reached me. Before it even came close, the feline that cradled me in its protective light had somehow stretched its body faster than the projectile that was coming towards me.

It bit the cocky vampire in half before gulping him down like he was a snack. All while never leaving my side. Everyone stood there, shocked, as the feline monster shrunk back in size. She was on a whole other level compared to the others that had come out from the open gate.

In my shock at the feline’s action, I did not notice the entrance of the Lycans, who had finally arrived later than expected. The moment I saw their silver hair, I screamed incoherently, unable to process who they were. No... I did not want to know who they were. That was when discord broke loose. From behind me emerged an army of those shadow beings, small and big.

That was when everything went blank for me. I found myself in a white room, surrounded by nothing. No voices in my head, either. It was just me. I found myself free of pain and blood, too. It gave me time, since all of this began, to breathe and think. My thoughts morphed into space I was in. I gazed towards my wrist to see the bracelet that connected me to my light.

With a brief hesitation, I brought it to my lips and kissed it lightly.

Ah... What is it I want? Fenris. To be with him... that is all I desire. To be by his side. Watch him smile... Fenris... Fenris... Fenris!!

Before I knew it, all the Cerberus officers had fallen by my hand. They could not stop the beings that went rampage when I lost my mind. When I came to, I was the only one left standing surrounded by these shadow creatures and the last Cerberus member remaining. He had silver hair and amber eyes, just like Fenris. I was delirious already, unable to think straight. There was no way Fenris was here, but I wanted him here. Reaching my hand out to him, I...

“Fen... ris... I-I... W-wanted... t-to... See... Y-you.” I stumbled to say, wanting to run to him, but I could not move.

My legs had given out by the time I laid eyes on him. For a moment he seemed confused by the name I had called him by. It only took him seconds to realize what was going on. Something I thought would never hear again came out of his mouth.

“Oh... God... You are Lilith?” The young silver wolf that stood in front of me panted, grabbing onto his right shoulder.

At that moment, I just sobbed loudly upon hearing my name come from his mouth. His voice was so soothing.

“Am... I... F-finally... D-dead?” I asked.

His expression turned into one of pure anguish.

“No... You aren’t.” He answered, voice broken by the state he had found me in.

“Oh... Are... Y-you... H-here... t-to... K-kill... M-me?” I continued to struggle to speak.

He shook his head in response.

“Oh...” I whispered, glancing towards my side to see the feline eyes move.

Everything else seemed to be frozen in time around me. It shocked me back into reality. I finally saw truly what had happened to everyone around me. Next to me laid the head of a silver-haired Lycan, the man called Amir. It was unrecognizable due to all the injuries on it, but it was him. Before this, I had only seen him in pictures. All around us the monsters had emerged victorious as the dismembered bodies of the Cerberus order laid everywhere in the field.

I could not see the lady vampire, who was hesitant to attack me anywhere, though. However, buildings in the surrounding area had been annihilated. We stood in a crater that used to be part of Silverant. Probably more than half of the city was gone. How did this happen? Was it me?

No... No!!!

“Ah... Ah...” I hyperventilated, but before I could lose it once again.

The familiar young man who stood in front of me took a step forward. My glance turned back to him. Fenris... But not the one I knew. Maybe if he had time traveled a few years forward, it would have been him. He seemed more mature and taller than the little wolf I knew. Stella had said that Amir had an older son. Was that who I was staring at right now? It had to be.

‘The man that left you to die by falling for a fake.’ The whispers erupted once again.

I tried to ignore them, placing my hands on my head in a feeble attempt to stop them. Even though time seemed to have stopped, there was no halting them. I had become part of their realm.

My sanity was not holding well anymore, either. It could slip at any moment again. The older look-alike seemed injured too. He was bleeding from his missing right arm. I did not even remember how that happened. In fact, I did not know how any of this occurred.

“Lilith, we do not have a lot of time before this zone breaks. Do you see that crystal next to you?” The young Lycan whispered, pointing with his eyes.

His hand was busy trying to hold on to his wound. I followed his gaze to see a purple crystal laying close to me. Maybe two or three meters away. It must have fallen close to me during the battle where I lost myself.

“I need you to put that close to your heart. It should cancel the spell.” He informed a bit desperate.

It seemed he could barely move, his left leg seemed to be injured as well. Blood pooled underneath him even though Lycans had hyper-healing abilities. It seemed time was also running out. Whatever spell they had cast to stop time was about to end. I could see the cracks appearing within its bounds. Something that should be invisible to the naked eye, yet... Somehow... I could see them. This was changing me.

‘Do not listen. They must pay!’ The whispers tried to sway me to act otherwise.

“Will... i-it... stop...” I could not finish my thought.

My head became woozy from the whispers trying to drown me once again. It almost felt like my head would split apart from all the voices that were invading me. I could not even hear myself anymore.

“Yes, it will.” The injured Lycan assured me.

I remembered the words I had shared with Fenris back at the beach.

Brave... Be brave for once Lilith... Pick it up. Everything will end. Maybe then you will find peace.

‘No!’ the voices said otherwise.

I fell onto my stomach when I reached for the crystal. The cracks of the spell got bigger as time ran out. The shadow demons slowly moved once again as I forcefully dragged myself towards the crystal. A crystal I had never seen in the many books I had read. If the Cerberus order had tried so hard to use it against me, then it must have been what they used to close the last portal. But before I could reach it, the feline that had been protecting me moved before all the others.

When though the spell was still up, it seemed to roll off her. She truly was something else.

“No!” the young Lycan shouted, falling onto his knees when the feline came towards me.

For a moment, I thought it was over. Instead, she picked me up by my dress before sitting me upward before walking over to the crystal. I thought she was going to crush it under her paws or push it farther away, but she picked it up and dropped it in front of me.

‘I’ll always be with you.’ She assured me.

With a brief hesitation to my well-being, I grabbed the crystal and shoved it into my chest. At first, it felt like I was being pulled out of myself, only to be blinded by blue light. Everything faded away, along with my consciousness that gave out as I plunged into darkness. It was the first time I felt at peace since the fall started.