Chapter 14:

Colliding Stars

Alaya’s loud footsteps echoed through the trees until she finally came barging out of the forest. The village palisade expanded before her in both directions, along with a massive wall of mist that reached for a couple of meters above the walls. The strange phenomenon was enough to give her pause for just long enough to realize that Aidan was not following her.

Alaya’s head sank for a moment as she fought back the desire to look back for him. She dove into the mIst without him. The message was too urgent to delay.

Come to me before my hand sinks into Nova’s heart.

As Alaya entered the grey mass, her hair immediately stood on end. The fog blocked so much of the sun that entering it felt like jumping from the scorching desert and having your bare feet on a patch of ice. In that lightless void, Alaya felt multiple sets of eyes fall upon her from all directions.

“Damn it! If ya know where I am, come and lead me to her already!”

As Alaya took her next step, she felt the ground beneath her shift. It was no longer the comfortable earth her freshly healed foot stepped upon. Alaya’s eyes widened as a horribly familiar sensation graced the sole of her foot. A sharpened log, poised to pierce her flesh and split open the wound Aidan had tirelessly worked on mending.

Alaya only had time to close her eyes and brace herself for the pain as her body’s weight shifted on her misfortunate step…only for it to not hurt. Alaya peered down through the layer of mist at her legs to see a large gathering of logs pointing out the ground. A trap meant for her, yet all of their tips were covered by a smooth growth of crystals that created a cushion between her foot and them.

Alaya had no inkling of magic, but she vividly remembered something similar during the night she rescued Aidan. Ripping out two logs for herself to carry in each hand, she cracked a smile as her feet stampeded over the wooden carpet, letting her voice ring through the void without fear.

“I’m right here, coward!”

It was not long before her calls were answered. The mist before her split in twain, revealing a path large enough for her to traverse.

On both sides of this ethereal tunnel, she felt a myriad of eyes fall upon her. Each pair felt unique, yet she knew they connected to the same being.

Alaya walked until the dying earth soiled by dark fissures was replaced with a decrepit, cracked stone road. She arrived before an old graveyard, unperturbed by the mist, lit up by artificial light at the top of the dome the fog shaped.

I await you at the peak.

A voice sounded in Alaya’s mind after a shockwave hit her body. Alaya’s eyes were bloodshot as she charged to the top of the graveyard. A long row of tombstones laid strewn out before her, the two largest holding the names of the former mayor and his wife.

Nova and several armored people Alaya didn’t recognize stood there. The only two fighters not tied up with sacks on their heads looked upon her with abject horror. Nova, meanwhile, stared at Alaya with an expression so rigid and emotionless it made Alaya shiver.

And there was one more, standing on top of a tombstone, flipping a coin through the air. A dozen dogs surrounded him. When Alaya’s sight fell upon the scars covering his sealed eyes, a bright red memory, along with the smell of burning charcoal, flashed into her mind.

“Welcome, plague child. It has been a long, long time,” He spoke. “I see your leg is doing better….” He noted suspiciously.

Even if she somehow avoided the traps he moved to her, his dogs had seen the myriad blood trails Alaya had painted during Aidan’s rescue. To heal so fast in only a couple of days was inhuman…and at the same time, nothing like a demon.

“Ya need new tricks,” Alaya said with a laugh before dropping into a harsh glare. “Let everyone go.”

“Everyone?” Novarac asked, surprised. “I thought you only came for Nova.”

Alaya scowled and started climbing the small hill to the man.

“Don’t be in such a rush. We will fight soon, but give me this chance first.”

Alaya didn’t even slow down. Novarac quickly grabbed Melissa and brought his fingers to her neck - Alaya’s heavy steps coming to an abrupt halt.

“...the hell do ya want?”

“I wish to speak. We fought without exchanging a single word the first time we met.”

Alaya scowled.

“Yeah, we can talk. Let ‘em all be forever, and we can talk all you want.”

Novarac raised a curious eyebrow. He grabbed Melissa by the jaw and forced her to face Alaya. The woman averted her eyes from Alaya immediately.

“Look at this. Can’t even bear to look at you. What do you stand to gain from acting the hero?”

Alaya clenched the logs in her hands and slammed her left foot down, cracking the road beneath it. Her leg echoed with a dull pain, a warning not to push it so hard. Her threat only served to goad Novarac on.

“You already killed their beloved Marvin. You will forever be their monster.” Novarac mocked.

Alaya sighed and cracked her head.

“Hero? Nah….” Alaya leaned forward, letting her long auburn hair and scarf conceal everything but the red glimmer of her eyes. “I just hunger for a different kind of meat.”

Alaya threw one of her logs at Novarac, slamming to the left of him and smashing the tombstone he stood on to pieces. Melissa took that opportunity to free himself from his grasp, pushing the old man to the floor.

Alaya charged forth - Novarac raising his closed fists then opening his hands, causing flames to blast outward from dark lines expanding through the ground toward her - flames that only barely singed Alaya’s back as she slammed her remaining log into the ground and used it to vault over them.

Novarac barely had time to rise to his feet when he found himself cast within Alaya’s massive shadow. His eyes trembled with fear as he looked up at the mountain of a woman standing before him, her fist raised high and ready to come crashing down upon him.

*Throb.*

Her old wound sent a pulse through her, causing her hand to freeze in place. Novarac’s face was drained of all color, staring at her like he was frozen in time, waiting for her death blow to come.

It was a look Alaya was sick to death of seeing.

“...let them go.”

Her words snapped Novarac back to his senses. Novarac threw his hand forward, his telekinesis taking hold of the woman standing still before him and blasting her bac. Her flying body put out all the flames just by passing above them.

Alaya slammed into the ground, rolling through and smashing several rows of gravestones before finally coming to a stop.

“Nova…grab everyone…and run!” Alaya yelled while arduously pushing herself to her feet through Novarac’s grip.

Nova did nothing. Seeing Nova’s lack of reaction, Novarac laughed as his free hand drew complex motions through the air. Several dozen shapes darkened the mist dome at the base of the graveyard.

“My disciple is only here so she can watch your demise, plague child!” Novarac boasted as golems of wood, rock, and mud stepped into the graveyard, creations he telekinetically put together from the debris Nova had gathered together previously.

Alaya raised her hands in a defensive stance as the monsters marched on her. The first was a bipedal creature with a head roughly the shape of an ox standing twice Alaya’s height. Its stone fists sunk Alaya’s feet into the ground with each heavy blow they landed.

Instead of fighting back, Alaya simply gathered her strength. She eyed the monster as it pulled back its fist once more.

Now!

The golem’s fist slammed into her left hand’s open palm, the stone instantly crumbling as Alaya gripped it and pulled it toward her.

*Crash!*

A brown explosion sent rubble flying outward, leaving nothing standing before Alaya’s outstretched fist.

Novarac moved his arms wildly, beckoning the other golems to step forward.

Alaya didn’t give them a chance to attack. Even with Novarac’s magic pressing down on her, she leaped from the spot and threw her fist at one of them, only for the golem to break apart on its own around her hand. The monster’s parts flew through the air before reassembling behind her.

The monster she had tried to strike, a bipedal golem modeled after a crocodile, opened its long maw, revealing a dark spiral drawn inside its mouth and red light emanating from it.

Alaya dove out of the way as the beast spew a torrent of fire at her. All the other monsters followed suit, forcing Alaya to run as fast as she could, pushing against Novarac’s telekinesis like one would against a fierce water current.

While running, Alaya ripped several tombstones out of the ground. After ducking out of the way of the flames, Alaya threw one of the stones in the air and kicked it in the direction of the monsters. The stone flew through the fire, slamming straight into the crocodile’s head and destroying it.

The golem still walked toward Alaya, but with the part of it containing the black lines gone, it could no longer spawn fire.

Slamming the two largest gravestones in front of her to form a shield, Alaya dashed through the ceaseless stream of fire. As she reached the monsters, the bipedal ones stepped forward and threw their fists at her, only for them to crack the gravestones right on the names written upon them instead.

Alaya instantly retaliated with a single roundhouse kick, tearing the golems in half.

Her success was short-lived, however. Novarac smiled arrogantly and simply melded the cut halves. Novarac rotated his left hand in a circle, levitating the golems into place to surround her from all sides.

Just as the golems were about to douse Alaya in flames, their bodies bulged as red spots appeared all over the body. Alaya leaped out of the trap right as several jets of fire spewed from their torso, causing their bodies to explode into a burst of flames.

“What-” Was all Novarac could say before a crystal pillar struck him in the back, sending him flying forward and landing face first in the dirt.

Freed from his telekinesis, Alaya turned around to see Nova levitating several dozen gravestones out of the ground. Nova stared at her teacher coldly. Her heart did not waver as she brought them down upon him, creating a mass of dust around him.

“Nova!” Alaya yelled and ran toward her.

Seeing Alaya approach, Nova finally dropped the facade.

“Alaya! I’m so glad you came!”

The two hugged briefly before Nova pushed Alaya off.

“How’s your leg? I tried to make the cover as subtle as possible! A-And the golems, I saw him drawing the lines on their extremities, so I thought that I should draw my own and explode them from the inside-”

Alaya put her hands on Nova’s shoulders.

“You did great.”

Melissa and Gawan watched the two, unable to comprehend what was happening before them. Was this really the plague child they knew?

*Growl.*

Everyone turned around to see the group of dogs approach them with a murderous glint in their eyes.

A shockwave came from the cloud of dust, and the dogs ceased their aggression. Alaya pushed Nova back as Novarac emerged from the cloud completely unscathed.

“You act against your self-interest by helping her, my dear student,” Spoke Novarac.

Novarac raised his hand in their direction. Nova immediately grabbed Alaya’s arm and moved it together with hers, making them immune to his telekinesis.

“Silly girl. I am not aiming for you.”

Nova looked back to see Melissa, Gawan, and all the other fighters floating off the ground.

“Move an inch, and they will be naught but red splatters on the ground.”

In response to his threat Nova instantly moved her hands towards the trapped fighters, flowing her magic into them. Novarac felt her attempting to break his hold, but it was for naught. Her power was like an ant trying to move a building.

“Don’t think…I’ll forever stay…a weak child!”

Alaya took a few steps back from Nova as purple lightning started to emanate from her eyes. With Alaya at her side, Nova confidently reached into the depths of power she had grasped against Marvin.

A wild torrent of energy exploded out of Nova’s body before gathering around her head and hands. The little ant Novarac saw suddenly enlarged until it crushed the building under its front leg.

In an instant, Novarac’s hold on the fighters was broken - all of them falling harmlessly to the ground.

Novarac beheld his disciple with his mouth hanging open.

“You awakened?”

Nova smiled pridefully.

“I have. I have recognized what I forged my magic for, just like Marvin has. It’s pathetic that after all your years, you have not, dear teacher,” Nova mocked.

Novarac tried to grab Nova with his telekinesis, only for her to swipe his attempt away. Alaya smiled at Nova’s dominance - receiving a nudge on her shoulder from Nova.

“Go. I won’t last long like this.”

Alaya nodded and ran downhill toward Novarac. The old man clasped his hands and placed them on the ground as Alaya reached him, sending a tower of crystals growing underneath the girl.

The speed at which the tower rose was dizzying. All Alaya could do was hold on to the top as the graveyard beneath her disappeared beneath the fog she had been raised into.

Nova cleaved the tower in two with a single jet of fire, levitating enough tombstones to form a floor and rising it to catch Alaya before the velocity of her fall became too dangerous.

Novarac let his arms fall to his side, sending dark lines as wide as buildings across the ground before launching gigantic torrents of flames at Nova. The girl raised a wall of crystals twice as wide and tall as the village palisade around her, easily blocking the older mage’s assault.

The old man couldn’t help but lick his lips. Nova’s awakened magic was reigniting his long-buried hunger. Novarac stepped forward, ready to drop the pretense of his humanity and devour Nova whole, when he felt Alaya descending through the mist above.

Launching some minor attacks after Alaya to force Nova to intercept them, Novarac used the opening to reach for a massive chunk of debris he had prepared for himself hidden from Nova’s eye.

As Alaya finally touched the ground safely, a great shadow loomed at the top of the dome. Piercing the mist wall came a great beast, its landing cracking the entire graveyard and sending earthquakes throughout the village. Its hooved legs alone were twice as tall as Alaya, its entire body standing at well over twelve meters as it cast a shadow upon everyone present.

Nova recognized it as the monster Novarac showed off during his earlier demonstration that day. As Alaya met with the stone eyes of the beast, the girl’s thoughts were overflooded. The two sets of arms, the long horns, its massive frame, and sharpened tail, she had seen them all somewhere before.

“This…this is your true form!” Alaya said while pointing to Novarac.

The old man laughed. He reached for the red ring on his hand and took it off. Alaya and Nova watched, horrified as all of his hair fell off along with the skin covering his body, to be replaced with a rough, marbled color one. Patches of flesh shot through both ends of his mouth, slamming it shut. His body grew until his shirt tore around his forearms and legs. The flesh on his back exploded into various shapes until what was left looked like a myriad of white swords, spears, and arrows were impaled into his back.

Besides the scars around its sealed eyes and permanently shut mouth, the monster’s face was completely featureless. It reached its clawed hands and ripped off the sleeves of his shirt. His sharpened feet dug through the ground as he took a few steps forward.

The mist around them changed color from grey to pitch black. The rapidly shifting black mass made everyone feel like they had been completely ripped away from their world, left to drift alone on a chunk of rock in the infinite darkness of the cosmos.

Nova breathed heavily as blood ran from her eyes. Her magic fizzled as she dropped to her knees, a terrible migraine running through her mind. Novarac’s true body burst open the lock to all the memories of the night of the attack that she had locked in her subconscious.

“It’s you! You are the one who-!” Nova’s voice died as the cold around them grew uncomfortably warm.

Melissa and Gawan’s bodies convulsed, dark blood shooting from their corrupted extremities. Even the tied-up fighters were shaking uncontrollably under the presence of their unholy father.

Alaya gritted her teeth as her eyes went bloodshot with rage. The white demon slapped the air, sending shockwaves into Alaya’s mind with a message.

It’s not my true form.

Alaya threw herself at Novarac. The demon waved his arm at Alaya, the towering golem slamming its giant fist in Alaya’s way. The impact blew the tall woman back.

She landed on her feet - her gaze immediately drawn back to the giant golem.

It’s yours.

Alaya’s eyes went wide.

The giant golem raised its foot above Alaya, darkening the entire area around her until only the red of her eyes and hair was visible.

It’s what you looked like when you killed your father.

The foot came crashing down upon her, splitting the graveyard and beyond in half. Nova barely managed to muster enough effort to protect herself and the others from the massive amount of rubble falling upon them like meteors.

Novarac stepped past his golem’s foot and toward Nova. The young girl noticed his approach and forced herself to her feet even as her body was wracked by pain and strange sensations.

Noticing this, Novarac abruptly stopped, making himself vulnerable to her telekinesis. Nova immediately capitalized, wrapping her magic around him. She tugged and pulled on him, but her magic could not even budge the clothes on him.

Nova followed up with a torrent of flames that turned blue as it passed over him, followed by several crystal pillars slamming into him from all sides.

Novarac was left standing with no wound or bruise on him. It was not that he was too strong for her. Her magic simply could not interact with him. It was as if he was not a part of the same world as her.

The humanoid demon stepped before her. In his overpowering presence, Nova could barely keep her eye open. She raised her hand at him for another attack, only for no magic to flow through her body anymore. It felt like having all her limbs suddenly vanish.

Her magic gone, she finally dropped the letter and painting Marvin left for her.

Novarac leaned over his pupil and gently pet her head. The tender flesh he held in his claw was irresistible. The demon opened its jaw wide as it lowered its mouth to feast on Nova.

*Bark!*

Novarac stopped in place. To his side was Tabby, barking at him to stop. The skin around Novarac’s opened maw looked ready to forcefully close his mouth around Nova’s brain, only for him to pull back at the last second, letting his teeth slam into each other.

…you’re right. Alyssia will be enemy enough.

Novarac clutched her head in his claws, red lightning crackling between his palms and her skull. This was magic Nova had never seen from him before.

Memory alteration.

Nova opened her mouth to scream silently as Novarac intruded on her mind. Feeling him search for the most recently formed memories in her head, Nova instead focused on recalling her most distant ones to slow down his progress. Finding herself forced to dig deeper and deeper to stall Novarac, Nova accidentally stumbled across a set of memories that had been forcefully hidden from her.

Nova had an epiphany.

He’s done this to me before!

A sudden earthquake interrupted Novarac’s concentration. The giant golem’s foot grew dark as tendrils crawled up its length. Novarac motioned to split the leg from the main body - too late as the leg crumbled to dust, causing the golem to fall forward. An auburn shape leaped from the giant crater to where the beast was about to land, letting the golem’s head fall on her left hand.

Alaya stared uncaringly at the darkening monster’s visage before tightening her grip and crushing it to pieces.

Novarac let Nova go before he could gain control of her mind. Magic flowed into his fingertips as he pressed them into his chest and temple. Though not as skilled with it as Marvin, who could do it without gestures, Novarac empowered his strength with as much magic as he could.

He slammed the air with his palm, the empowered shockwave blasting away even more rubble while sending a message to Alaya.

Come, plague chi-

Was all Alaya bothered to listen to before lunging at Novarac, slamming her fist into his chest. The punch drove Novarac through the entirety of the hill, coming out through its bottom before rolling across the ground for several dozen meters.

Alaya didn’t follow him. She wrapped her arms around Nova and lifted her off the ground. The girl’s cheeks and neck were stained with her darkened blood.

The ever-darkening shadow Alaya cast upon everything disintegrated the tombstones, road, and even the very ground she stood upon. Only Nova, uniquely, was spared by the devastation Alaya’s presence sought.

Tears rolled down Alaya’s cheeks as she stared at her battered friend. Taking in all the destruction around them, Alaya could only come to a single conclusion.

“I…I wish I hadn’t stolen from your father that day. You wouldn’t have lost anyone if you hadn’t met me.”

Alaya turned to Melissa and Gawan, who were standing a good distance away from her.

“Please take care of her.”

The two couldn’t hide their fear of her, but they did their best to nod.

“Thank you.”

While Alaya left everyone to ensure she wouldn’t hurt them, Novarac rose from the ground only to fall back on his knees. He clutched his chest as blood oozed from his mouth.

This was the strength he remembered! The power he stood no chance against robbed him of his sight! His body, which could regenerate even from being melted in the sun, had not healed its eyes after all the years after their battle.

She truly is the end of all things!

Novarac’s dogs came running downhill at him, unaffected by his overwhelming presence as they were part of his soul.

My children! This is too much, we must flee!

“Let’s end this already. We’ve hurt everyone enough.”

Alaya’s voice echoed like a banshee’s across the tumultuous waves of black mist flowing around Novarac. The demon froze in fear again. He knew that even if he unleashed his true form and expended his most powerful spells, it would all do nothing against her.

Walking down the hill before him was the end of the world. His world.

At the height of despair, Novarac noticed something strange. All of the images of the graveyard transmitted to him were of Alaya.

All, except one. Tabby alone had remained behind to look upon Nova. Whether it was for his sake or hers didn’t matter.

Novarac instantly seized the opportunity, levitating Nova into the sky for Alaya to see. He braced himself for Alaya’s rage. Instead, all the girl did was sigh and lower her head.

“Why? What are you doing all of this for? What the hell is worth hurting so many people for?” Alaya asked, desperate for an answer.

Novarac didn’t reply at first, too shocked by her question.

…to protect my loved ones.

“...when have I ever threatened anyone?” Alaya’s voice cracked.

When you were born into this world. When you take a breath. When your eyes fall upon us.

Alaya clenched her fists so hard it drew blood. She knew if she attacked Novarac that the others would be there to catch Nova. But what end would it serve? She was still the greatest monster of them all.

“It never ends. The world keeps revolving, but I always wake to the same day.” Alaya rose her eyes to glance at Novarac. “Just leave everyone be and put me out of misery already.”

Alaya’s aura slowly dissipated. Novarac had thought her too far gone, yet she could still pull herself back into her humanity. All that meant was that everything he had just experienced was only the surface of the sea. There was no telling how stygian the depths of Alaya’s ocean truly were.

With a shaking hand, he sent another message into her mind.

You have my word I will not harm them. I promise to make the one who brought you into this wretched existence pay.

“I don’t want your goddamn pity either! Just kill me!”

Novarac stepped up to Alaya and began drawing symbols in the air with both hands, the prerequisite to his strongest spell.

As his spell approached completion, Alaya’s eyes suddenly gained new life. A shadow appeared behind Novarac, broken up by the grey edge of a sword. Novarac roared in pain as the patches of flesh around his lipless mouth fought to slam it shut.

Alaya’s eyes teared up as Novarac fell to his knees, revealing a young man clad in a black cloak. Alaya’s glad expression faltered when she got a good look at Aidan. He was bleeding from several bite wounds - all because she had abandoned him in the forest.

“Tell me your name, demon!” Aidan commanded as he held his blade aloft.

The sword’s magic flowed into Novarac. His hand moved against his will, slapping the ground and sending a shockwave traveling up both Aidan and Alaya’s legs.

Ajath.

The middle rune on Aidan’s blade lit up, filling him with a portion of Ajath’s strength. Before the demon could recover, Aidan slashed Ajath again. The blade lit up as a wave of light expanded from it to encompass everyone present.

---

Alaya awoke in an extremely long corridor. She had no time to question the sudden change as her legs gave in, and she fell backward into Aidan’s arms. Her face was uncomfortably close to his, but she was too spent to push Aidan away this time. She closed her eyes and let herself be held for once.

“Don’t worry. Time is frozen while we are in here. You can rest.”

An immense feeling of relief washed over her. She couldn’t take being alone anymore.

Alaya looked around the ornate corridor they were in. A long red carpet ran down its middle, illuminated in a rainbow of colors by the light shining down through the multi-colored stained glass windows that lined the walls.

“Where are we?”

“A memory that holds a hint to Ajath’s connection to this world.”

Alaya looked at Aidan with pleading eyes before turning away, embarrassed.

“Is…is it alright if I….”

Aidan looked surprised by her request, but he nodded to her to go ahead. Alaya left Aidan and walked slowly through the hallway. She had never seen some of the colors the glass cast upon her visage. Running her hand over the carpet, she had never felt material this soft before her whole life. She could sleep here every night and love it.

Aidan watched as Alaya took in the murals on the walls, the pristine, gem-encrusted sets of armor lying on the sides of the hallway, every royal detail like a child. It was like stepping into an alien world.

Even more important than that, Alaya could clutch her right hand without hurting. Step without feeling a dull pain in her left foot. For a brief moment, she could leave the scars of her life behind.

Glancing down at his legs, Aidan contemplated giving them a go too.

No…no point entertaining a delusion.

Alaya checked around nervously before dropping down and attempting to rip apart the carpet.

“W-Wait, Alaya, you can’t bring anything you see here to the real world!”

“Really?!”

The sudden sound of a door opening made Alaya jump from the spot and run to hide behind Aidan.

“They can’t see us either,” Aidan clarified to the trembling girl that his body was far too small to conceal.

A man entered that splendid hallway, beset on both sides by advisors.

He wore seven gold rings on his fingers, one for each god of his religion. As was tradition for men of the upper nobility, he had a golden chain fused into the skin of his forehead so that the obelisk in the middle would always fall straight down his nose.

These were the only signs of his status that he chose to keep, for the rest he had discarded in favor of the armor of a simple soldier. With halberd in hand, he walked down the carpet with a refined and dignified poise that Aidan had never known existed.

Is he royalty?

Despite this, his expression and hurried step betrayed his less-than-composed state.

“Lord Ajath, please, heed our words! Your love for the subjects is worthy of a king, but it is not your time yet!”

“What?!” Aidan and Alaya yelled in unison.

Ajath stepped before the gold-encrusted doors leading to the throne room, opening it against the warnings of his advisor.

Aidan and Alaya followed him inside to find him standing before an elderly king named Yasun. The king presided over a meeting with the generals of their kingdom. It had only been a couple of months since war had been declared on them, and already they found themselves in great peril.

“I did not call for you,” Said Yasun, the king.

“That is precisely why I am here, father. I ask that I be allowed to take part in the war.”

“Our generals are capable enough to save our people.”

Aidan followed the conversation carefully to piece together Ajath’s demonic nature. Alaya, meanwhile, was enraptured by the court politics playing out before her. Never before had she seen people of such importance speak of such grand things. It made her dizzy just trying to comprehend the scenarios they described.

“I am not calling that into question. I have, however, already proven myself their equal when I conquered the kingdom of Villaneise. To repel Antaria’s invasion, we cannot afford to hold anything back.”

War with Antaria? He’s not even from our empire, then!

One of the generals stepped out of line and bowed to the king. Ajath smiled upon seeing him.

“My liege, may I offer my opinion?”

“...Proceed.”

“Lord Ajath’s words are true. Antaria has numerical superiority. We require as many capable leaders as possible if we are to match their scale of operations.”

“And this assessment of yours, are you sure you are not letting your emotions cloud your judgment, Novarac?”

“...My assessment is absolutely objective, my liege.”

The king and his advisors deliberated for many minutes before making a decision.

“Novarac, you may take Ajath as your second in command under one condition. If you ever face Alyssia on the field, you must send him back to me. ”

“Why are they talking about my mother?”

The innocence in Alaya’s question hurt Aidan. Much to his relief, a wave of light enveloped both, ending the vision before Aidan had to answer.

---

Aidan and Alaya regained their consciousness to the sounds of dogs barking. Having their consciousness return to their bodies felt like being dropped naked into a frozen sea. After not feeling the weight of their wounds and exhaustion, being introduced to them again forcefully made the two topple over almost instantly.

Novarac was standing still - returned to his normal form. His eyes were not staring at anything in particular despite his hound's fervent attempts to wake him from his trance.

Aidan’s hands were weak, forcing him to expend effort in wrapping each individual finger around his sword. His legs felt like they weighed double as he approached the demon.

Aidan slowly raised his blade above his head when a series of high-pitched barks came at them from up the destroyed hill.

“Tabby?” Aidan and Novarac said at the same time.

Aidan quickly let loose a slash at Novarac - the latter ducking out of the way before nearly stumbling to the ground.

“You…what did you show me?”

Aidan’s silent refusal to answer only enraged Novarac further. Novarac raised his hands at the heavens. The mist above them cleared, revealing the cloudy skies above. Alaya lunged at him to interrupt his spell - his dogs leaping before her and causing her to hesitate.

“Alaya, it’s just dogs!” Complained Aidan.

“I know!”

Still, looking into their eyes, Alaya saw living, breathing beings that only wished to protect their father. Novarac smiled. How thankful he was for Alaya’s thick-headed softness.

Using the sight of the dogs he left on the outskirts of the village, Novarac levitated hundreds of logs into the clouds above. He then closed and opened his fists several times, activating the myriad of dark lines drawn upon them. Hidden from everyone’s sight, torrents of flames exploded from the logs, connecting with other torrents and forming the shape of a beast.

Aidan pushed past Alaya to strike out at Novarac, only for his legs to give in and send him crashing into the ground. Alaya quickly lifted Aidan to the sight of the very heavens themselves burning red. Crimson embers fell from the clouds like a rain of fire, dispersing into thin air before reaching the village. The smell of burnt wood filled the entire valley.

Alaya stared unblinkingly at the burning sky, its color reflected perfectly in her auburn eyes. Losing herself in the inferno, she felt like the world around her turned back in time.

A low rumbling noise sounded above as what looked like giant molten wings of fire peeked through the cloudline. The rain of burning embers intensified as the head of the phoenix descended into view.

Novarac clasped his hands, spawning a crystal pillar to carry him above the village. All of his dogs jumped on as the pillar rose. Aidan leaped at the group of dogs, landing on the ground with his cloak tucked closely around him.

“Aidan!” Alaya yelled and rushed to his side.

Aidan didn’t move. A putrid smell emanated from his legs as a purple liquid flowed from the tears in his pants. Alaya reached out for his legs to-

“Alaya! We’ve got to stop this! Find Nova and come up with something!”

“B-But you-”

“Move! Now!” Aidan ordered.

Alaya left Aidan behind with a heavy heart and ran to the top of the destroyed graveyard. The ground and buildings around her turned red as the mighty phoenix approached.

She came across Melissa, Gawan and the other fighters tending to Nova in the distance.

“Nova, raise a tower for me!” Alaya yelled without approaching them.

The exhausted girl rose to her feet against the protests of her peers. Clasping her hands, a crystal tower expanded into the sky from the ground before her.

Taking a running leap, Alaya latched on to the rapidly rising tower, carrying her closer to the descending inferno.

Nova smiled as everyone else stared at Alaya dumbfounded.

“Show them, Alie. Show them who you truly are.”

Alaya closed her eyes as her whole body disappeared in the bright light emanating from the phoenix. Novarac had gone too far. By revealing his demon form, his magic, and even casting the final spell he used against her during their original fight, Novarac had burst open the walls to some of the memories he concealed.

“This is-,” Alaya reached for her scarf and pulled it off, letting the rest of her face touch the scorching air around her. “-who I really am.”

Holding the scarf tightly in her hand Alaya leaped at the firebird, disappearing into its opening maw.

A single drop of blood can taint the sea.

Before the stunned onlookers below, the bright orange flames of the phoenix turned stygian. For a brief moment, the world was basked in darkness. The phoenix that Novarac created rivaled the twin mountains in its grandeur, only for its flames to rot away to nothing before Alaya.

Melissa, Gawan, and the others watched, horrified. She truly was the dark star, just as Marvin claimed. Nova watched her friend proudly on her descent, her faith unshaken.

Aidan, meanwhile, gazed upon Alaya’s fall with a terrible realization. Holding a little dog concealed in his cloak, he recalled Valerian’s words.

Every demon’s most important item, the one thing that ties them to their sense of self, will carry the color most closely tied to their emotion.

Valerian pointed Aidan to the black cloak he wore.

You must never engage a demon that has a black item. If you do meet one, you can toss aside my rules.

“Alaya, no….” Aidan’s face scrounged up with regret.

Go out and enjoy the world before its inevitable end.

Aidan dropped to his knees, a small purple pool forming at his feet.

“Why her?”