PROLOGUE

DISCLAIMER

:

This is a Work of Fiction…

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

“My name is Ced, and I am a Guardian of the Scepter of Novaria. This is the account of how the lives of my former classmates came to rest in my hands. I am the girl of the prophecy—the one destined to either ruin the kingdom of Khastriya or save it.

It all began with a disappearance. When my former classmate and our adviser, Miss Dominica Castañares, vanished, I assumed it was a simple case of a missing person. But then the dreams began. Miss Dominica appeared to me, pleading for help and whispering a warning about who would be taken next. That was the moment I realized their disappearances weren’t random; they were the key to a dark secret hidden within the heart of Khastriya.“

“Khastriya is a world of magic. As one of the most powerful kingdoms in Novaria, its strength is bolstered by a formidable alliance with the kingdom of Ayden.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER ONE : CED

“CED APOLINAR’S POINT OF VIEW”

My name is Ced, and this is my story as one of the guardians of the scepter of Novaria. My story revolves around where the safety of my former classmates depended on me. I was also the girl who said the prophecy that would bring chaos or save the kingdom called Khastriya. My journey started when I was tasked to resolve the mystery of the disappearance of my former classmate and class adviser Miss Dominica Castañares. I thought this was just a simple case of a missing person, but one night I dreamed that my former class adviser asked for my help, and she gave me a warning about the next person who would disappear. Until I discover the reason for their disappearance and their connection to the kingdom of Khastriya.

LOCATION: St. Anne Police Station

I was just about to take a bite of my sandwich when my partner’s voice cut through the air.

“Apolinar, follow me,” Leanne barked.

“Why? I’m finally about to eat!” I complained, still clutching my lunch.

“Not right now, girl. Solomon, the drug lord, was just spotted on Amethyst Street.”

“Okay, I’m in.” My hunger was instantly replaced by adrenaline. I grabbed my service weapon from the desk and checked the magazine. But as we raced toward the door, the world suddenly glitched. The noise of the station cut to a haunting silence. Time stopped.

Standing right in our path were four strangers who hadn’t been there a second ago. They were dressed in outfits so bizarre they looked like they’d walked off a movie set—or out of a nightmare.

“Hi, my name is Beam,” the lead woman said, her voice echoing in the stillness. “We have come from Novaria. The Scepter of Novaria is here; I can feel its presence.”

What? I stood frozen. Who are these guys? They look creepy.

To my absolute shock, Leanne didn’t draw her gun. She didn’t even look surprised. She stood perfectly calm and bowed her head.

“The Crown Princess of Novaria—it is an honor to meet you, Your Highness,” Leanne said. “My name is Leanne. My mother is from Earth, but my father is a citizen of the Lemen Forest in Novaria.”

One of the men smiled at her. “I am also from the Lemen Forest. My name is Dave. These are my cousins: the Crown Princess, Angel, and Leah. We are here to find the fragments of the Scepter. Are you here for the same?”

Leanne bowed again, this time to Dave. “The Crown Prince of the Lemen Forest… a pleasure, Your Majesty. Regarding the Scepter, a woman named Miss Rose asked me to help you find it. But suddenly, the essence has vanished. I can no longer feel it.”

Beam’s expression sharpened. “About Mary Rose… she has been missing. How exactly did you find her?”

“I think she was referring to Mary Rose’s disciple,” Leah added. “I’m certain Mary Rose has lost her memories, but we need to find her regardless.”

Their conversation was cut short when I finally found my voice and jumped in. “Hey! Hello? Excuse me, I’m still standing right here. Can I ask a question?”

“Oh! Right,” Leanne said, snapping out of it. “Ced, this is my partner, SPO4 Ced Apolinar. And Ced… these are Prince David, Princess Beam, Leah, and Angel. They’re from Novaria.”

I stared at the four of them, my brow furrowing. “Novaria? What kind of name is that? What province is it in? And did you just call them princes and princesses? Leanne, are you feeling okay?”

“We don’t have much time, Leanne,” Angel interrupted, her voice urgent. “We have to go. We must find the other pieces of the Scepter. If you get an update, let us know. It was nice meeting you, Ced.”

Leanne bowed deeply to the four strangers. “I will,” she promised.

Before I could blink, the four of them vanished into thin air.

“Okay…” I breathed, looking at the empty space where they had just stood. “I know you have ‘gifts,’ Leanne, but you never told me your province had such a weird name. Novaria, right?”

“Ced, it’s not a province. It’s an alternate world,” Leanne said flatly. She scanned the station to make sure no one else had witnessed the encounter. “But anyway, we have to move fast before Solomon disappears again.”

“Let’s go!” Leanne grabbed my shoulder.

“No! Leanne, wait—can we please just take our motorcycles?” I pleaded. “Every time you use your powers, my head spins and I end up puking!”

Leanne didn’t listen. She never does. The world blurred, my stomach did a somersault, and suddenly, the station was gone.

I hate traveling with Leanne. My name is Ced, and I am officially convinced that magical travel was designed specifically to make my stomach turn inside out.

A second later, we were standing on Amethyst Street, right where the informant said they’d spotted Solomon. His name might be from the Bible, but his soul belongs to the underworld.

“I see him,” Leanne whispered. Her eyes began to glow, turning a haunting, solid white.

“Where?” I hissed.

Leanne pointed toward a shadowy corner where Solomon was trying to stay out of sight.

“I’ve got him!” I didn’t wait. I bolted toward his hiding spot. As soon as Solomon saw me, his eyes widened, and he scrambled to run.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I yelled, closing the gap.

Solomon reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun, aiming it straight at me. Before he could pull the trigger, Leanne’s magic surged. She didn’t just cast a simple spell—thick, massive vines erupted from the pavement, wrapping around his body like giant snakes. He was pinned instantly.

I didn’t waste a second. I slammed him against a wall and clicked the cuffs onto his wrists.

“You have the right to remain silent,” I panted, reciting the Miranda warning by heart. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you.”

“You’ll pay for this!” Solomon spat, struggling against the vines.

Leanne walked up, a smug grin on her face. “What was that? I can’t hear you over the sound of you being arrested.”

Solomon glared at her with pure hatred. “The Queen of Darkness… she will find you!”

Leanne didn’t even flinch. “Whatever. Tell her I’m not scared.”

After a day like that, I decided I deserved some serious relaxation. I dragged my bestie to a massage parlor to work out the stress.

“So,” I said to the receptionist, leaning on the counter. “Do you guys have any masseurs? You know… someone hot and handsome?”

Leanne’s expression shifted instantly from calm to judgmental. “Ced? Are we here to relax, or are you looking for a date?”

The girl at the front desk let out a little laugh. “Sorry, ma’am, we don’t offer services like that here.”

“I’m kidding!” I laughed, nudging Leanne. “You’re way too serious all the time. I won’t be surprised if you end up growing old and single.”

“Whatever,” Leanne sighed, rolling her eyes. She turned and headed straight for the treatment rooms assigned to us.

“Hey, wait for me!” I shouted, rushing to catch up.

The Legend of the Scepter of Novaria

Years ago, during the final days of the war in Novaria, Queen Victoria was forced to make a heart-wrenching choice to save her daughter from a rising darkness. She decided to shatter the sacred Scepter into pieces, scattering its power so it could never be used for evil.

With the help of her most loyal friend, Cresilda, the pieces were hidden. Cresilda traveled through dimensions, casting the fragments across different locations and eras. But what they intended as a safeguard soon brought unintended chaos to other realms—most notably, the peaceful kingdom of Khastriya.

Cresilda had approached the Queen of Khastriya with a heavy heart, offering a piece of the Scepter for protection.

“I will accept it,” the Queen of Khastriya had said, her voice filled with grief. “My heart breaks for what has befallen Queen Victoria.”

Cresilda bowed deeply, leaving the fragment in the Queen’s care, unaware of the storm that was about to follow.

Present Day

“Where am I?” I whispered, my voice lost in the dry heat.

I was no longer in the massage parlor. I was standing in the middle of a vast, shifting desert. As I searched the horizon for any sign of life, a familiar voice called my name. I spun around, my heart racing.

“Miss Dominica?”

My former teacher stood before me, her image shimmering in the heat. “Ced,” she urged, her eyes filled with desperation. “We need you. Khastriya needs you!”

“What do you mean? I don’t understand!” I shouted back. “What is Khastriya? Miss Dominica, wait!”

She began to fade like a mirage, her form dissolving into the sand. But before she vanished completely, she left me with one final, haunting plea.

“The prophecy… please, save your classmate, Jazel.”

I bolted upright in bed, gasping for air, the sweat on my forehead feeling as real as the desert heat.

“What is this all about?” I muttered to the empty room. A thousand theories raced through my mind, but none of them made sense. Who was Jazel in all of this, and why was a magical kingdom calling for a cop from Earth?

On the Other Side of the Story

At 6:00 AM, the faculty room of St. Anne National High School was quiet. Miss Dominica was busy organizing her class records and teaching materials when a voice broke the silence behind her.

“Miss Castañares, may I have a word?”

She turned and found the new principal standing there. “Mr. Kim? Of course. What can I do for you?” she asked with a polite smile.

“I’d like to ask for your help regarding the school’s needs,” Mr. Kim replied.

“What do you mean, sir?”

“I’m looking into areas for improvement, specifically renovations. I’ve heard that you and your students have been holding lessons in the quadrangle because you have to wait for Miss Santos’s class to finish before you can use the classroom. That doesn’t seem ideal.”

Miss Dominica remained professional. “That’s correct, but we’re doing fine in the quadrangle, sir. In fact, my students’ grades are excellent. They actually prefer the open air; it gives them more space for their activities. While we would certainly appreciate having our own dedicated classroom, I don’t see it as a major problem.”

“Well, if that’s the case, I will do everything I can to get that resolved,” Mr. Kim said, his tone shifting. “I appreciate your honesty. But how about this, Miss Castañares? I have a different offer for you.”

“What is it, sir?”

Mr. Kim leaned in, a cold smile spreading across his face. “How about you give me the piece of the Scepter of Novaria?”

The color drained from Miss Dominica’s face. Panic flared in her chest at the mention of the Scepter, but she fought to keep her composure. “What? I… I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she replied, though her voice betrayed her with a slight tremor.

“We both know that isn’t true,” Mr. Kim said, his eyes locking onto hers. “You know exactly what the Scepter is. Before something unfortunate happens, you need to surrender the fragment to me.”

Miss Dominica stared at him for a long beat, her mind racing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Kim. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my class started fifteen minutes ago. I’m late.”

She hurried out of the faculty room, her heart hammering against her ribs. But as she reached the door, the principal’s voice followed her, cold and knowing.

“They were right… you Khastriyans really are good at keeping secrets.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER TWO: TROUBLE IS MY FRIEND

The Disappearance of Dominica and Jazel

Ced was buried under a mountain of paperwork when a colleague tapped on her desk.

“Apolinar, Chief is calling for you. I think he’s finally giving you a lead assignment. Congrats!”

“Finally,” Ced breathed, a grin breaking across her face. “Thanks, dude.”

She headed straight to the main office. When she pushed the door open, Chief Alonzo was already waiting for her, a thick manila folder resting on his desk.

“SPO4 Apolinar, I have a new assignment for you,” the Chief began, his expression unreadable. “And I think you’ll find this one… particularly interesting.”

Ced felt a prickle of curiosity. She raised an eyebrow and leaned against the doorframe. “Why? Spill the tea, Chief.”

Chief Alonzo paused, looking at her over his glasses. “What did you just call me?”

“I mean—Sir. Sorry, Sir,” Ced corrected herself with a quick, sheepish smile.

Alonzo handed her the folder. “This report came in from your old alma mater, St. Anne National High School.”

As the Chief spoke, Ced slowly flipped the folder open. Her breath caught in her throat. Staring back at her from a printed ID photo was a very familiar face.

“Miss Dominica?” she whispered.

“Yes. She’s a class adviser who has been officially missing for two months. Our initial investigation has come up dry; it’s as if she vanished into thin air. We have no leads, no witnesses, and no motive.”

“That’s impossible,” Ced muttered, her eyes locked on the photo. “She wasn’t the type to just walk away.”

“It gets stranger,” the Chief continued. “Flip to the next page. Does the second girl look familiar?”

Ced turned the page and felt a cold chill wash over her. It was a photo of a younger girl, one with bright eyes and a shy smile. “This is Jazel. She was my classmate.”

“She went missing on the exact same day as your adviser,” Alonzo said, his voice grave. “I want you to head this investigation. Find out where they went and why. Is that clear, Apolinar?”

“Crystal clear, Sir,” Ced replied.

Her mind was reeling. She remembered the desert from her dream—the heat, the sand, and Miss Dominica’s desperate voice. The prophecy… please, save your classmate, Jazel.

The dream wasn’t just a nightmare anymore. It was a lead.

As she stepped out of Chief Alonzo’s office, clutching the folder to her chest, she nearly ran into Leanne, who was waiting for her in the hallway.

“What’s with the face, Ced?” Leanne asked, a playful grin on her lips as she leaned against the wall. “I heard Chief Alonzo gave you a new assignment. Congratulations are in order!”

“Thanks, Bestie,” I sighed, clutching the manila folder tighter. “But I’ve got a problem.” I slowly pulled the folder open to show her the photos of Miss Dominica and Jazel.

Leanne’s expression softened as she looked at the faces. “Is this… about those dreams you’ve been having?”

“Exactly. I feel like I’m supposed to do something, but I have no idea how to actually help them.”

“Hey, no worries. You’ve got me,” Leanne said, bumping her shoulder against mine. “Remember, we’re partners. I’m helping you with this, end of story.”

I looked at her, skeptical. “But what about your own mission? You’re supposed to be tracking down those pieces of the Scepter of Novaria.”

“I can handle both. Just trust me!” Leanne winked. “Besides, I know exactly how to clear your head and stop you from worrying.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Does this involve hot guys?”

“No! Even better,” Leanne laughed. “I’m treating you to dinner later.”

My mood lifted instantly. “Isaw and kwek-kwek? Please tell me we’re getting street food.”

“You bet. And I know a spot where the vendor is shirtless and looks like a fitness model. Check this out, girl.” Leanne pulled up a photo on her phone of a famous street food stall in town.

I burst out laughing. “And here I thought I was the only flirty one! I guess that’s why we’re best friends.”

We were laughing so loudly that a few of our colleagues stopped and stared at us, their faces stern.

“Oops! Sorry!” Leanne chirped, flashing a quick peace sign as we hurried toward the exit.

The Other Side: A Day Before the Abduction

“Miss Jazel, the client is waiting in the meeting room,” her secretary, Maila, announced.

“Thanks, Maila. Is it Mr. Kim?” Jazel asked. Her assistant simply nodded in confirmation.

Jazel smoothed her blazer and stepped into the room. A tall, pale man stood by the window; he turned and offered her a sharp smile.

“Good morning, Miss Andrade,” Mr. Kim said.

Jazel returned the professional smile. “Good morning, Mr. Kim. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you, Miss Andrade,” he replied, taking the chair directly across from her desk.

“That will be all, Maila, thank you,” Jazel said, dismissing her assistant. Once the door clicked shut, she leaned forward. “So, what brings you to my firm today, Mr. Kim?”

The visitor took a long, deep breath before speaking. “The reason I am here… I want you to do something for me.”

“And what would that be? If you’re looking for an advertisement for my old school, I’m afraid I can’t help you personally. However, I can set up a meeting with Ralph. He’s an alum of St. Anne and heads our marketing team.”

“No,” Mr. Kim said, his voice dropping an octave. “I am not here for that.”

“Then what is it you want?”

Mr. Kim stood up slowly, his presence suddenly filling the room with a cold energy. “The piece of the Scepter of Novaria. I know you’ve heard of it. I want you to find it for me.”

Jazel’s professional mask didn’t slip, but her eyes hardened. She forced a small, tight smile. “This is a private investigation firm, Mr. Kim. Our job is to find missing persons or handle corporate concerns. To be honest, what you’re asking for is no longer my concern. I am no longer connected to that world. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a full schedule today. You may leave.”

As she spoke, she saw a flicker in his eyes—the shadow of his true form peeking through his human disguise. It made her skin crawl.

“Well, if that’s the case, it’s a shame,” Mr. Kim said smoothly. “I was simply seeking the expertise of the Third Kingdom of Novaria. Lumians are, after all, the best searchers in the realms.”

“I will repeat myself,” Jazel said, her voice trembling with suppressed anger. “I no longer belong to that realm.”

“Relax, Miss Andrade. I didn’t come here to fight.”

“You are a Lumian as well,” Jazel spat, her anger finally boiling over. “But your kind are the ones who betrayed Novaria. You were cursed by the Light of Lumia for your treachery!”

Mr. Kim’s smile widened, becoming something jagged and cruel. “Yes… I am part of the Gloomy Colony now. But remember this, Lumian: where there is light, there is always darkness. Without the shadow, the light is nothing.”

Before Jazel could react, he reached across the desk and gripped her shoulder. A surge of dark energy pulsed through her. Her limbs turned to lead, and the room began to spin.

As her eyes rolled back and she slipped into unconsciousness, she heard his voice one last time, whispering like a cold wind:

“You can join your teacher now, little light.”

Chaos in the Kingdom of Novaria

“Where is Angel?” Rose demanded, her voice echoing through the stone halls of the palace.

Beam hurried to her side, her face pale. “Big sister, what’s happening? Why the urgency?”

“The Gloom has begun its assault on the Lumians,” Rose said, her eyes flashing with worry. “We need Angel immediately. The kingdom needs a leader who can stand against this darkness.”

“I’ll go find her, Miss Rose,” Dave offered, stepping forward.

Rose looked at him, her expression grim. “I wish our General were here to see this…” She shook her head, turning back to Dave. “No, you cannot go. Lemen Forest is under attack by Skinwalkers. You must return to your own kingdom—Cathy needs your help.”

Without a word, Dave nodded and vanished, his body flickering out of existence as he teleported toward the forest.

Beam frowned, a realization dawning on her. “Where is the Resistance? Where are Richard, Bram, and Christy?”

“They are on a mission,” Rose replied. “They were sent to the Kingdom of Ayden, just as you requested. Don’t you remember?”

Beam’s heart sank. “No… I never gave that order. This is an ambush.”

The room went cold. If the Resistance had been lured away, the palace was vulnerable.

“Randy!” Beam called out to her captain. “Follow the Resistance to Ayden. Take your men and protect them at all costs. I’m going to find Angel myself.”

Randy bowed deeply, his fist over his heart. “By your command, Princess.”

“Wait, Beamy!” Rose cried out, reaching for her, but Beam was already gone, leaving only a shimmer of light behind.

Rose turned to the nearest guard. “Cavalier, where is Leah?”

“I saw the Princess opening a new portal, Your Majesty,” the guard replied, his voice tense. “I’m not sure where she was headed.”

Rose straightened her posture, her face hardening. “Then we stand our ground. Protect the throne at all costs!”

“By my life,” the guard vowed, drawing his sword.

The Investigation Begins

“Where do we start?” I asked, looking up at the familiar gates of my old high school.

“Let’s start exactly where it began,” Leanne replied, her eyes scanning the campus. “Your alma mater.”

“Thanks for having my back on this, Bestie.”

Leanne nodded, her expression unusually serious. “I’m glad Chief Alonzo assigned me to watch this case with you. We need to stay sharp, Ced. Something about this doesn’t feel like a normal missing persons report.”

“I know,” I muttered. “I can feel it, too.”

We approached the security guard at the front gate. I pulled out my badge, the metal catching the morning sun. “Good morning, sir. I’m SPO4 Apolinar, and this is my partner, SPO4 Siton. We’re here to investigate the disappearance of Miss Castañares.”

The guard’s eyes widened slightly, and he immediately unlatched the gate. “Of course, Officers. Follow me. The Principal is expecting you.”

He led us through the quiet hallways to the main office. The air felt heavy, as if the school itself were holding its breath. When we entered the Principal’s office, a man stood up from behind a large mahogany desk. He was tall, dressed in a sharp suit, and wore a look of perfect concern.

“Mr. Principal,” Leanne began, her voice professional and steady. “We’re from the City Police. We’re here to begin our formal investigation into the disappearance of Dominica Castañares. We’d like to start with a statement from you, sir.”

“Of course,” Mr. Kim said. He offered us a warm, welcoming smile—but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I am more than happy to help in any way I can.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER THREE: S.A.P

The S.A.P. (which could stand for something like Special Allied Protectors or Sisters Against Peril ) has a very balanced “party” dynamic, similar to classic RPGs or legendary squads.

 The Members of S.A.P. Member

Kingdom

Primary Ability

Secondary Skill

Helen Kshatriya Illusions & Healing Leader / Master Combatant Sharmaine Ayden Time Manipulation Temporal Traveler Zandra Kshatriya Weather Control High-Level Combat Skills Melanie Novaria Mind Control Arcane Spellcasting

Inside the secret room hidden deep within the school library, the members of S.A.P. were hard at work.

“I’m heading to the canteen to grab some food,” Helen announced, smoothing out her clothes. “Do you guys want anything?”

“No, I’m good,” Melanie replied, her eyes never leaving the ancient book she was cradling.

“Me! One pizza, please,” Zandra chimed in.

“Got it. I’ll be right back,” Helen said. “In the meantime, please keep looking for any leads on Miss Dominica.”

With a subtle shimmer of her power, Helen shifted her appearance to match her civilian disguise. As she stepped out into the main library, a student immediately approached her.

“Miss Fruylan, is the library open yet?” the student asked.

“Not yet, dear,” Helen replied with a practiced, librarian smile. “We’re still organizing the new arrivals. I’ll post a notification on the board over there once we’re ready.”

“Thank you, Miss Helen!”

Helen made her way toward the school canteen. As she neared the entrance, she spotted a familiar face standing near the snack line.

“You really should try this; it’s the best food in the whole school,” Ced was saying to her companion, holding a tray of steaming food.

Helen approached her slowly, her eyes lighting up. “Ced? Is that really you? Oh my god!”

“OMG, Helen! How are you?” Ced replied, her face breaking into a wide grin. “I had no idea you worked here!” She immediately pulled her former classmate into a warm embrace.

“Yes! Right after graduation, I applied for the librarian position. You know this was always my dream job,” Helen said, playing her role perfectly.

“That’s amazing. Anyway, I want you to meet my colleague, SPO4 Leanne Siton,” Ced said, introducing the officer beside her.

“Nice to meet you both,” Helen said, her tone turning slightly more serious. “But… what brings the police to our school?”

Ced and Leanne exchanged a quick look before explaining the nature of their visit.

“I’ve heard the rumors,” Helen said thoughtfully. “I’m not sure if I can help much with the official investigation myself, but I do know someone who might have information regarding Miss Dominica’s disappearance.”

“Who?” Ced asked urgently.

“Our history teacher,” Helen replied.

“Miss Bacolod?” Ced said, a flicker of memory crossing her face as she recalled her old teacher.

The Echo of the Past

FLASHBACK

“My name is Evelyn Bacolod, and I am your history teacher.”

She stood at the front of the room, her gaze sharp enough to cut glass. “I have zero patience for students who treat my class like a hobby. If you give me a headache, I give you a failing grade. Especially regarding your projects.” She slammed a hand onto her desk, the sound echoing like a gunshot. “When I give you a deadline, that is the law. No excuses. No extensions. NO MERCY. “

Shadows in the Library

PRESENT

The memory of the iron-willed teacher flickered out as Ced blinked, the fluorescent lights of the hallway rushing back into focus.

“Thanks, Helen. Stay safe,” Ced said, shaking off the chill of the flashback.

“So,” Leanne said, leaning against a locker as she watched Helen walk away. “Where exactly do we find this legendary history teacher?”

“Building A,” Ced replied, her mind already racing. “Helen said Miss Bacolod was transferred to the Grade 7 wing. Let’s move.”

While they hurried through the corridors, Helen slipped back into the quiet sanctuary of the library. But the atmosphere inside was anything but peaceful.

“What?” Zandra exclaimed, nearly choking on a mouthful of her sandwich.

“Lower your voice, Zandra! This isn’t the time for a scene,” Melanie hissed. Her hands were moving in a rhythmic, circular motion, stitching invisible threads of light into the air. “We need to act. Ced is walking into a storm she isn’t ready for.”

“What’s the move, then?” Sharmaine asked, her voice low and tight.

Helen looked at each of them, her expression grim. “We walk softly. Ced has a colleague from Novaria—I don’t know where her loyalties lie yet. We keep our masks on while we hunt for Miss Dominica.”

Melanie’s hands suddenly froze. Her eyes rolled back slightly, losing focus. “I feel it,” she whispered. “The aura… it’s her.”

The girls crowded in, the air in the library growing cold.

“She’s in the dark,” Melanie murmured, her voice trembling. “She’s fading. She’s so weak.”

“Can you bridge the gap?” Helen asked.

Melanie took a jagged breath. “I’ll try.”

The Dungeon Link

Deep beneath the earth, in a cell where the walls bled dampness and despair, Miss Dominica hung from rusted chains. The silence was absolute—until she felt a ripple in the ether. A golden warmth touched her mind.

“Who goes there?” she rasped, her voice a ghost of its former power. “I can feel you.”

“Miss Dom? It’s Melanie. We’re here. The Resistance is here.”

“Melanie…” A flicker of hope crossed the teacher’s bruised face, quickly replaced by terror. “No. You must sever the link. If the sentinels catch your scent, you’re all dead.”

“We don’t have much time,” Melanie’s voice echoed in her head. “The authorities are investigating Ced. She’s exposed, and she’s not ready!”

“I know,” Dominica groaned, her head sagging. “But the clock has run out. Stephanie has been claimed by the Scepter of Novaria. She holds the Power of Creation now—but she is a puppet. Luna and Tala have her under a dual-weave spell.”

“The twins?” Helen’s voice broke through the connection. “Master, tell us where you are. We’re coming for you.”

“Not today, Helen. Your duty is to the girl. Train Ced. Harden her heart. Disparce! “

With a violent surge of mental will, Dominica shattered the connection.

In the library, Melanie collapsed into a chair, her spell-work dissolving into gray mist. “It’s gone,” she gasped, clutching her chest. “She cut me out.”

“She’s protecting us,” Helen said, staring at the empty space where the magic had been. “We have no choice now. We have to throw Ced into the deep end. We have to prepare her for war.”

Zandra looked up, her face pale. “And the prophecy? When do we tell her who she actually is?”

“When she’s strong enough to survive the truth,” Helen replied.

Sharmaine stood up, her hand hovering over a hidden dagger. “I can go back to Kshatriya. I can find the dungeon.”

“No,” Helen warned, her voice like iron. “Kshatriya is a graveyard right now. If you go, you won’t come back.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER FOUR: THE FALL OF THE WHITE CITY

The Kingdom of Kshatriya had once been a jewel of the world—a sanctuary of creation, where art and peace flourished under a golden sun. But that was before the sky turned to ash. Now, the marble halls are stained with soot, and the laughter has been replaced by the heavy silence of a graveyard.

The kingdom had fallen to a darkness no one saw coming, and upon its broken throne sat Amanda .

Once, she was a daughter of Novaria. But her heart had turned toward the forbidden, leading to her exile. When Queen Victoria discovered the atrocities Amanda had committed against the royal heirs, the command had been absolute: Hunt her down. Strip her of her magic. Leave her with nothing.

But Novaria’s reach was not long enough. In the shadows of the wasteland, something ancient and nameless had found Amanda. It didn’t just save her; it rebuilt her, gifting her a dark power that hummed in her veins like a winter storm.

“We are far from finished, Victoria,” Amanda whispered, her voice echoing through the hollow throne room. A cold, jagged smile twisted her lips. “I will wait for the day you fall from that throne—and I suspect that day is closer than you think.”

Her laughter rang out, sharp and bitter, bouncing off the ruined walls.

Her gaze fell upon the map spread before her. The Scepter of Novaria had been shattered, its fragments scattered like dust across the realms. Legend claimed that the one who reunited the pieces would be granted a single, world-altering wish.

Amanda’s hand trembled as she reached out to touch the map. For a moment, the mask of the villain slipped, revealing a girl lost in grief.

“I will rebuild Mythia,” she whispered to the shadows. “I will see my mother and father again.”

The memory hit her like a physical blow—the screams, the smell of smoke, and the cold command of the Queen of Kshatriya as she ordered the total destruction of Amanda’s home city. The sorrow was quickly swallowed by a familiar, burning rage.

If she had to burn the world to bring her parents back, she would start with the match Victoria had provided.

The Shadows of Alba

The City of Alba was no longer the vibrant heart of the kingdom. Now, it was a skeleton of stone and fear. The iron-shod boots of Amanda’s sentinels rang out against the cobblestones, a rhythmic reminder of their occupation.

In the mouth of a narrow alleyway, Sittie pressed her back against the cold dampness of a stone wall. Her heart hammered against her ribs as a patrol passed by. As the last guard turned his head, Sittie stepped out. She didn’t just cast a spell; she became a conduit. Blue-white veins of electricity crackled across her skin before leaping from her fingertips in a deafening roar.

The guards didn’t even have time to scream before the lightning threw them like ragdolls against the walls. Before the scent of ozone could even settle, Sittie dissolved into a blur of light, vanishing toward the secret heart of the Resistance: the S.A.P. Headquarters.

“Thank the Heavens you’re back,” Najive breathed, pacing the torch-lit room as Sittie materialized before him. “Were you able to reach our eyes inside the palace? Did Emily speak?”

Sittie’s shoulders slumped, the glow in her eyes fading into a dull ache. “Najive… I think Emily is gone. The link is cold. I can’t feel her magic anymore.”

Najive slammed a fist into the table, his face contorting in grief. “Another one? Every move we make, we bleed!”

“Then we stop sending them,” Sittie said, her voice trembling as a single tear tracked through the soot on her cheek. “We can’t keep throwing our friends into that meat grinder, Brother. Our numbers are dwindling. If we lose any more, there won’t be a Resistance left to lead.”

A shadow moved in the corner of the room as Madame Criselda stepped into the light. Her presence was calming, yet heavy with the weight of years. “Your sister speaks the truth, Najive. But silence is its own kind of death. We cannot hide in these tunnels forever while our freedom is trampled.” She sighed, looking toward the ceiling as if she could see through the earth to the stars. “Our only hope lies with Helen’s team on Earth. If they fail, we are lost.”

“If I could just get back to Novaria,” Criselda whispered, “the Crown Princes and Princesses would stand with us.”

“I know a way,” Sittie interjected, her expression hardening with sudden resolve. “There is a rift—a portal that Amanda’s tracking spells cannot touch.”

“Where?” Criselda asked, leaning in.

“Inside the castle itself. The late Princess Maya once showed me a hidden chamber—a Dead Zone where magic is smothered the moment it is cast. But there is a loophole. You have exactly one minute of grace. One minute to anchor a portal before the room drains your soul dry.”

“It’s a suicide mission,” Najive hissed.

“It’s the only mission we have left,” Sittie countered, staring her brother down until he looked away. “Trust me.”

 The Sacred Room

They moved through the castle’s outer rim like ghosts.

“There,” Sittie whispered, pointing toward a heavy, iron-bound door at the end of a long, vaulted hallway. “The Sacred Room.”

Criselda raised her hands to weave a glamour spell to hide their faces, but a jagged bolt of dark energy shivered the air between them, exploding against the floor.

“That was too close!” Criselda gasped, stumbling back.

“Behind me!” Sittie yelled. She threw her arms wide, summoning a gale-force wind that swept the hallway, obscuring them in a whirlwind of dust and debris.

“The hell—Amanda is here!” Criselda shouted, immediately clamping a hand over her mouth in shock at her own outburst.

Sittie flashed a grim, fleeting smile. “I knew you were cool, Madame. Now, run! The hallway is clear. Don’t stop until you hit the threshold!”

Criselda bolted. Her boots thudded against the stone, but halfway there, a sudden, numbing chill gripped her ankles. She looked down in horror as a layer of jagged blue ice began to climb her legs.

“The Scepter’s curse,” Criselda groaned, forcing her frozen limbs to move. “This is my burden. My fault.”

She reached the door and wrenched it open just as Sittie surged forward, her body turning into a streak of living lightning to outrun the guards.

“I will not let you escape!” Amanda’s voice boomed through the corridor, vibrating in their very marrow. “Guards! Kill them!”

The air grew heavy. Just as the guards lunged, the very foundation of the castle began to groan. The floor buckled, and a massive tremor sent the palace walls screaming.

“A Quake?” Criselda gasped, clinging to the doorframe.

Sittie looked back, her eyes wide as the dust settled. “Who…?”

“The Prince of Lemen Forest,” Criselda whispered, her eyes wide with recognition.

“But I thought the royal line was still in Novaria,” Sittie countered, her voice strained as she held back the encroaching darkness of the hallway.

“Criselda, listen to me,” a deep, ethereal voice resonated through the air. It was Quake. His form flickered like a candle flame in a draft. “This projection won’t last. I am not physically here—you must move, now!”

Sittie didn’t hesitate. She threw her shoulder against the heavy oak door of the Sacred Room, hauling Criselda inside. The moment they crossed the threshold, the air turned thin and cold. The “Dead Zone” began to drink their power.

“Madame… my magic is bleeding out,” Sittie gasped, her skin turning a sickly grey. “The portal… jump… now! “

With a final, agonizing scream of effort, Sittie tore a hole in the fabric of reality. A swirling vortex of gold and violet light sparked into existence. Criselda took one last look at the brave girl and leaped into the unknown.

As the portal collapsed into a spark, the silence of the room became absolute. Sittie’s knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the stone floor, her consciousness slipping away. Through the haze of her fading vision, a pair of small, delicate boots appeared in front of her face.

“How did you find this place?” a young girl’s voice asked, echoing in the tomb-like quiet.

EARTH

The hum of a nearby vending machine was the only sound in the humid afternoon air. Ced sat on a weathered bench outside a 7-Eleven, feeling the weight of a dozen dead ends.

“I’m lost, Leanne,” Ced said into her phone, rubbing her temples. “The trail for Miss Dominica ends right here. The convenience store’s CCTV? It’s a plastic prop. Just for display. It’s like she walked into the store and evaporated.”

“We know exactly where she went.”

The voice didn’t come from the phone. Ced spun around, the phone nearly slipping from her hand. Standing there, looking wildly out of place against the backdrop of posters and parking lots, were Helen, Sharmaine, Zandra, and Melanie.

“Oh my god!” Ced jumped up, a grin breaking through her frustration. “Sharmaine? Mel? Zandra? What are you guys doing here? Since when are you all back in town?”

The joy on Ced’s face wasn’t mirrored by her friends. Their expressions were etched with a gravity that made the air feel heavy.

“It’s a long story, Ced,” Zandra said, stepping forward. Her voice was steady, older than it had been just months ago. “But we need you to listen. There is a mission—one written in the stars long before you were born.”

Ced let out a nervous laugh. “Stars? What are you talking about?”

“Your name is written in the Book of Prophecy in the archives of Kshatriya,” Helen said, her gaze locking onto Ced’s. “You are the key, Ced. You are the only one who can save the kingdom. You are the only one who can save us .”

“Wait, wait,” Ced held up her hands, backing away a step. “I know about ‘Gifts.’ I’ve seen the stories. But I’m normal. I don’t have a Gift. I’m just a student.”

Melanie stepped closer, a sad, beautiful smile playing on her lips. “It’s more than a Gift, Ced. You carry the blood of the Mastia line. You aren’t just a student from Earth.”

She paused, letting the silence hang between them.

“You are the true heiress to the throne of Kshatriya. You are royalty, Ced. And it’s time to go home.”

As the sun began to set, casting long, dramatic shadows across the pavement, Helen began to tell the story of a fallen kingdom, a stolen crown, and the girl who was hidden among humans to keep the light alive.

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER FIVE: THE SHATTERED SCEPTER

“MASTIA”

Helen’s words hung in the air, heavy with the weight of centuries. Ced looked at her hands, then at Leanne, her mind spinning.

“If I’m this… heiress,” Ced began, her voice small, “then why am I empty? Why don’t I have powers like Leanne?”

Helen’s smile was patient, almost maternal. “Leanne’s magic is of Novaria—it is forged in ancient libraries and spoken spells. But your blood, Ced, is older. It belongs to the lineage of Anitun Tabu .”

Helen leaned in, her eyes shining. “In the old world, she was the Goddess of Wind and Rain. She was the one who blessed the archipelago with the ambon —the gentle rain that promised a good harvest. When people married under a sun-shower, it was said she was smiling. Your ancestors didn’t just practice magic; they commanded the very equilibrium of nature.”

Melanie stepped forward, placing a simple glass of water on the table. The water was still, reflecting the flickering overhead lights of the store.

“Focus on the glass,” Helen commanded.

“What am I supposed to do with it?”

“Manipulate it. Make it yours,” Helen replied.

Ced let out a sharp, hysterical laugh. “You’re crazy! I’m a student, not a fountain.”

“Like this, Ced. Watch,” Sharmaine interjected. She didn’t touch the glass, but the water inside began to shiver. Slowly, it rose into the air, twisting and stretching until it formed a perfect, liquid star hovering in the light.

Ced shook her head, backing away. “I can’t. I don’t have that in me! I’m just… me.”

Leanne stepped into her line of sight, her hands gripping Ced’s shoulders. “Ced, look at me. They believe in you because they’ve seen the prophecy. I believe in you because I’ve seen you . Remember the Black Dragon Syndicate?”

The memory hit Ced like a wave of cold air.

FLASHBACK

The basement of the syndicate’s hideout smelled of rust and damp concrete. Gunfire echoed in the distance.

“Leanne, where is Dominguez?” Ced hissed, her heart thundering.

“They’re retreating! The order is to pull back, Ced. Let’s go!” Leanne pulled at her arm, but Ced was rooted to the spot.

“No,” Ced whispered, her vision blurring with a sudden, hot rage. “I won’t let her run. Not after what she did to my grandparents.”

As smoke from a nearby canister began to fill the room, Ced didn’t run. She waved her hands through the haze, a strange, electric hum vibrating in her marrow. Behind the walls, the iron water pipes began to groan and shriek as if a giant were squeezing them.

“The pressure…” Leanne gasped, watching the pipes bulge. “Ced, what are you doing?”

Ced stepped into the path of the fleeing goons, a terrifying smile on her face. A sudden, impossible gale tore through the basement, whipping the smoke into a violent vortex.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Ced asked.

“A weather gift?” Leanne whispered, shielding her eyes as a miniature storm—complete with crackling static and stinging rain—erupted inside the concrete room. “Ced, enough! You’re going to tear the building down!”

PRESENT

Ced blinked, the sounds of the storm fading as she returned to the quiet afternoon. She looked at the glass of water again. This time, she didn’t see a glass; she saw a challenge.

She reached out, focusing all her fear, her confusion, and that hidden, ancient spark into the water. For a second, nothing happened. Then, the water didn’t just move—it roared. It swirled with such violent force that the glass couldn’t contain it.

CRACK.

The glass exploded into a thousand glittering shards, the water suspended for a heartbeat in the shape of a jagged crown before splashing onto the table.

Ced gasped, her breath hitching. She looked at her friends, her eyes wide with a new, terrifying realization.

The Goddess was awake.

The Manual Magic of the Sacred Room

Outside the heavy iron doors of the Sacred Room, Amanda’s voice was like a poisoned blade.

“Leave her to rot,” the witch-queen commanded, her eyes burning with cold malice. “Her magic is useless in there. She is a bird with clipped wings.” She turned to the Khastrian guards, men whose souls had been hollowed out by fear. “The moment that door creaks open, you end her. Do you understand?”

The guards bowed in a silent, terrifying unison.

Inside the silence of the room, Sittie’s eyes fluttered open. The air felt heavy, like she was breathing underwater, but a savory, warm scent caught her attention. A young woman sat nearby, her back to Sittie, wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans—clothes from Earth.

“You’re finally awake,” the girl said without turning. “Are you hungry?”

Sittie sat up, her head throbbing. “Where am I? Who are you?”

“You’re exactly where you fell,” the girl replied. She waved her hand—not with the glowing energy of a spell, but with a sharp, rhythmic motion. A heavy clay crock slid across the stone floor toward her. Over a small iron trivet, a flame flickered into life, licking the bottom of a pot.

Sittie gasped, her eyes wide. “How? This is the Sacred Room. Magic dies here. How are you casting?”

“It isn’t a cast,” the girl said, finally turning to reveal a calm, knowing face. “We call it Manual Magic . It’s not drawn from the ether; it’s drawn from the physical world. It’s a natural rhythm, old as the stones.”

“We?” Sittie’s voice hitched. “There are others here?”

The girl smiled, a secret sparkling in her eyes. “My name is Ninia. And you are Sittie. I’ll answer your questions soon, but for now, eat. You’ll need your strength if we’re going to survive what’s waiting outside those doors.”

Back on Earth, the training ground was a whirlwind of energy. Ced stood in the center, her breathing ragged, her hands still trembling from the power she had unleashed on the glass.

“A solid start,” Zandra noted, crossing her arms. “The Mastia blood is waking up.”

“She needs to be here every day,” Melanie added, flipping through a weathered leather-bound tome. “Raw power is a death sentence without control. I’ll start her on the foundational spells tomorrow.”

Leanne wiped sweat from her forehead, her expression turning serious. “Helen, what about the Scepter? If Amanda finds the pieces first, it doesn’t matter how much training Ced does.”

“Najive is working on it,” Helen said, her voice dropping an octave. “He spoke with Criselda. To protect the realm, Criselda wiped her own memory after she hid the shards across the different kingdoms. She doesn’t know where they are anymore.”

“Then how many are there?” Leanne asked.

“We don’t know,” Helen admitted. “But Miss Dominica… she was a scholar of the realms. We have a feeling she mapped the fragments before she was taken. She’s the key to finding the first piece.”

Leanne’s jaw set. “Then I’m going back. I’ll slip into Novaria and see what I can dig up from the archives.”

“It’s a risk we have to take,” Helen nodded.

Melanie, who had been squinting at a map in her book, suddenly gasped. “The Ayden… look. The first alliance was between Khastriya and Novaria. But there are other names here. Jamais and… Sta. Elena?”

“Sta. Elena isn’t a kingdom,” Helen corrected, looking over Melanie’s shoulder. “It’s a gate. A portal hub between realms.”

“What if we use the Sta. Elena gate?” Sharmaine suggested, her eyes lighting up. “We could check on the Resistance without being traced.”

“Are you checking on the Resistance, or are you checking on Henry?” Zandra teased, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Sharmaine’s face turned a brilliant shade of crimson. “No! That’s—that’s not it!”

“Enough,” Helen said, though a small smile touched her lips. “I’ll try to reach Najive for an update. But listen to me: Khastriya is a fortress of shadows right now. No one goes back until we are ready. That is an order.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER SIX: THE RISE OF THE DARK QUEEN

“ The Day the Sun Went Out “

FLASHBACK: NOVARIA

“Strip her of the gift,” Queen Victoria’s voice was cold as a winter tomb.

Amanda thrashed against the iron grip of the royal guards, her boots scuffing the polished marble. “Queen Victoria, please! I’ve done nothing! Mercy!”

The Queen didn’t even blink. “Now!”

Five shamans stepped forward, their faces obscured by heavy hoods. They formed a circle around Amanda, the air beginning to hum with a sickening, high-pitched frequency. As they began the ritual, Amanda felt her soul being unraveled. A scream, primal and jagged, tore from her throat, echoing off the high arches of the kingdom.

Through the haze of agony, her eyes locked onto the necklaces worn by the shamans—five distinct symbols that would be burned into her memory forever: Novarian. Khastrian. Aydenian. Jamaisan. Human.

As the last spark of her natural magic was ripped away, the world turned to gray, and Amanda collapsed into the darkness.

The Babaylan of Mythia

Before the chains, before the exile, there was Mythia—a land of golden fields and the scent of wild herbs.

“Amanda, the final ingredient?” her mother asked, stirring a shimmering pot in their small cottage.

“The tears of a lioness from the Lemen Forest, Mother,” Amanda replied, handing over a crystal vial.

Her mother smiled, a warmth that Amanda would spend the rest of her life trying to remember. “You have a gift, my starlight. One day, you will be the greatest Babaylan Novaria has ever seen. but remember…” Her mother’s face grew serious. “Magic is a mirror. Use it for the greater good, and the world reflects that light. Use it for yourself, and you will lose your way.”

“I understand, Mama,” Amanda chirped. “I want to help everyone.”

The door slammed open. Her father stood there, chest heaving, his face pale with terror. “We have to leave. Now! The Enigma is here!”

“The Enigma?” Amanda’s voice trembled.

A foul, oily black smoke began to seep through the cracks in the floorboards. It didn’t just fill the room; it moved with a mind of its own, surging into her parents’ mouths and eyes. Their faces contorted, their love replaced by a hollow, terrifying hunger.

Before her possessed parents could strike, the door was blasted off its hinges. A noblewoman in silk robes—Lady Gemma—strode in, her hands glowing with white-hot light.

“Hide, child!” Gemma commanded, throwing up a shimmering shield.

“They’re being controlled, Madame! Don’t hurt them!” Amanda cried out.

Gemma’s eyes flickered—for a split second, they turned a bottomless, ink-black. A cold smile touched her lips. With a casual snap of her fingers, a bolt of energy tore through the room.

Amanda watched in slow motion as her parents fell. They didn’t just die; they were erased.

“MOM! DAD!” Amanda’s scream was a physical force. She scrambled to their side, clutching their cold hands. “What have you done? You killed them!”

“I did what was necessary,” Gemma replied, smoothing her robes. “They were the witches we were hunting. Blood tainted by the dark.”

“They were healers! You’re the monster!” Amanda’s grief turned into a white-hot explosion of power.

She was only a child, but the ground beneath the cottage began to groan. Plants outside grew at a monstrous rate, thick vines bursting through the walls to lash out at the guards. A hurricane-force wind whipped through the house, shattering every window.

“Lady Gemma!” a guard shouted, struggling to stay upright.

Gemma looked at the girl with a mixture of fear and greed. “She carries the witch-blood. Take her. She belongs to the Crown now.”

The wind died as a guard struck Amanda from behind.

For the next eighteen years, Amanda lived as a shadow in the palace. She scrubbed floors by day, the perfect, silent maid. But by night, in the damp corners of the cellar, she practiced. she whispered the old songs of the Babaylan . She learned to harvest the dark magic that Gemma had used to kill her world.

She wasn’t just a maid. She was a storm waiting for a reason to break.

The Trial of the Innocent

Years of scrubbing floors and hiding in shadows came to a head when Amanda was summoned to the royal chambers. She entered with her head bowed, her heart heavy with a secret she had carried for too long.

“Queen Victoria,” Amanda whispered, kneeling. “You wished to see me?”

“I have questions,” Victoria said, her voice unusually hollow. “About your parents. About Gemma. Tell me the truth of that day.”

Amanda’s eyes filled with tears as the trauma rushed back. “We aren’t witches, my Queen. We are Babaylan . My parents were possessed by the Enigma—they weren’t themselves! I saw the black smoke. But Lady Gemma… she didn’t try to save them. She executed them before they could be healed.”

“So,” Victoria said, her voice dropping to a terrifying chill, “you admit to being one of them. A witch.”

“No!” Amanda pleaded. “A Babaylan draws from nature. We heal. We protect the balance. Please, my Queen, I can see it in your eyes… the same shadow that took my parents. You are being possessed! Let me help you—my Uncle Mario taught me the rites of cleansing—”

As Amanda reached out to touch the Queen’s hand, the door burst open. Gemma stormed in, her hands glowing with a sickly, violet light.

“Step away from her!” Gemma hissed. “She is trying to assassinate you, my Queen!”

Gemma waved her hand, and suddenly, a silver dagger appeared in Amanda’s palm—a magical conjuration designed to look like a murder weapon. Victoria blinked, her eyes returning to their normal hue as the possession receded, leaving her confused and frightened.

“Amanda?” Victoria gasped, looking at the knife. “Did you… did you truly mean to kill me?”

“It’s a setup!” Amanda cried, dropping the cursed blade. “I am innocent!”

“Don’t listen to her,” Gemma stepped between them, her voice a soothing venom. “I have tracked her lineage. She is the daughter of the Mythian witches. Our spies report that Mythia has turned its back on Novaria to worship the Enigma.”

“The Enigma…” Victoria whispered the name like a curse.

“It’s a lie!” Amanda screamed. “Mythia is a place of peace!”

But the Queen’s heart had turned to stone. “Throw her in the dungeon. Tomorrow, we strip her of her gifts so she can never threaten this crown again. And as for Mythia… if it is a nest for the Enigma, it must be purged. Destroy it. Leave not one stone standing.”

The Rise of the Dark Queen

Judgment day arrived with the smell of smoke. From her cell, Amanda had watched the horizon glow orange as her home city burned. Now, she stood on the executioner’s stage, her spirit as broken as her city.

“Let this be a lesson,” Queen Victoria proclaimed to the gathered crowds. “Black magic is a plague. And this girl is the carrier.”

“Please…” Amanda rasped, her voice gone from screaming.

Gemma stood by, a triumphant smirk hidden by her cowl. She began the ritual, her magic binding Amanda’s hands. Then came the shamans. One by one, they drew the light from her soul. The symbols of the five realms— Novarian, Khastrian, Aydenian, Jamaisan, Human —burned into her mind as she felt the very essence of her being torn away.

She collapsed, a hollow shell, and was tossed into the “Middle of Nowhere”—a desolate wasteland where the discarded are sent to die.

Naked and shivering in the dirt, Amanda watched as a familiar black smoke began to coil around her. It didn’t feel cold this time. It felt like a shroud.

The smoke solidified into the form of a woman, her features shifting like shadows. “I can give you a new life,” the entity whispered. “Justice. Protection. Power.”

Amanda looked up, a dark, jagged smile spreading across her face. “Happy to comply… my Lord.”

“I will grant you an ability to reclaim what was stolen,” the shadow said, touching Amanda’s forehead.

“Can you bring back the dead?” Amanda asked, her voice trembling with the thought of her parents.

“I cannot. But the Scepter of Novaria can. It holds the power of the Void and the Light. With it, you can rebuild Mythia. You can pull your parents from the grave.”

“Then I will have that scepter,” Amanda vowed. She looked toward the distant spires of the castle, her laughter echoing through the wasteland. “We aren’t finished, Victoria. I will watch you fall from that throne. And I will be the one to push you.”

The Queen’s Command

PRESENT DAY

Amanda sat upon her new throne in the ruins of Khastriya, her eyes glowing with the dark gift she had been given.

“Is there progress with the shards, Mr. Kim?” she asked, her voice smooth and dangerous.

“We are tracking the energy signatures, Queen Amanda,” the man replied, bowing low.

“Don’t just track them,” Amanda commanded, her fingers drumming on the arm of her throne. “If the teacher won’t speak, take her students. Kidnap them all. We will break them one by one until Miss Dominica tells us where the first piece is hidden.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE BURDEN OF THE SHARDS

FLASHBACK

The air in the sanctuary was thick with the scent of ozone and ancient stone. Criselda stood before the Scepter, her hands glowing with a desperate, fractured light. She knew she couldn’t keep the weapon whole; it was too bright a beacon for the darkness.

With a rhythmic command, she struck the center of the staff. It didn’t break; it divided.

The first shard to fall was a deep, crystalline sapphire that hummed with the sound of a distant ocean. Criselda turned to Miss Dominica, the young scholar from Kshatriya whose eyes held the same steady light as the stars.

“This is the core of the Scepter,” Criselda whispered, passing the fragment. It was cold, pulsing with the untamed Power of Water and Weather . “You will guard this at all costs, Dominica. Hide it in the quiet places. Use it only for the greater good, and only when the time is right.”

Dominica’s hands trembled as she took the sapphire. She could feel the storm clouds and the tides beginning to beat in her own blood. “I accept this burden,” she said, her voice echoing in the hollow hall. “But for how long? When do I return what does not belong to me?”

Criselda stepped toward a shimmering portal, her form beginning to dissolve into light. “A new prophecy is rising, Dominica. A Chosen One is coming. She will walk between worlds, and only she can unite the five pieces into one. Until you find her… stay hidden.”

Then, with a final flash, Criselda was gone, leaving Dominica alone with the weight of a world on her shoulders.

The Departure

PRESENT DAY

Back on Earth, the afternoon sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, casting long, orange shadows across the pavement outside the convenience store. The ordinary sounds of the city—honking cars, distant sirens—felt like they belonged to a different life now.

Ced looked at her hands, then back at her friends. The reality of her bloodline was no longer a story; it was a responsibility.

“Ced,” Helen said, her voice soft but filled with the iron authority of a leader. “You can’t stay here. This store, this city… it’s no longer safe for you. Amanda’s eyes are everywhere. You need to come with us.”

Ced looked at the convenience store—the place where her favorite teacher was last seen. “And the training? Will it really be enough to stop her?”

“We will teach you everything,” Helen promised. “The manual magic, the ancestral rites of the Anitun Tabu , and the secrets of the Scepter. We will give you the tools, but you must be the one to wield them. You are the only one who can defeat Amanda and bring Miss Dominica home.”

Leanne stepped forward, taking Ced’s hand. “We’re in this together, bestie. Like always.”

Ced took a deep breath, the air around her suddenly feeling charged with a static hum. She looked at Helen and gave a single, firm nod.

“Okay,” Ced said, her voice steady for the first time. “Let’s go. Show me how to be a Queen.”

The group moved as one toward the alleyway where the veil between worlds was thinnest. Behind them, the lights of the convenience store flickered once and went out, leaving the street in shadow.

ST. ANNE’S POLICE STATION

The air in the station was thick with the smell of stale coffee and the hum of fluorescent lights. Leanne stared at the photographs dropped onto her desk. Two faces stared back—Ruby Jane and Ana Leah.

“Another disappearance,” the officer muttered, sliding a file toward her. “Last seen Thursday. Their parents said they were heading to that old antique shop near the Emerald Castle ruins.”

Leanne traced the edge of the photo. “I know these girls. We were in the same class.”

“Then you’ll want to meet your new lead,” a voice said. A tall, sharp-eyed man stepped into the light. “SPO2 John Marc Alcántara. I’m stepping in while your usual partner is out.”

Leanne looked him up and down, sensing a hidden competence in his stride. “Nice to meet you, Alcántara. Tell me about the shop. It’s not exactly a tourist hotspot.”

“It’s a dead end, officially,” Alcántara replied, his voice dropping. “But the neighbors say the lights haven’t gone out in three days, and the front door was left swinging wide. No struggle, no blood. Just… gone.”

The Cages of Mythia

THE DUNGEON OF AMANDA

In the bowels of the scorched city of Mythia, the air was cold and tasted of ash. Miss Dominica hung from her chains, her eyes fixed on the two newcomers being shoved into the adjacent cell.

“Stay away from them, Amanda!” Dominica’s voice was a jagged rasp. “They’re children. They know nothing of your scepter or your war. Let them go!”

Amanda stood in the center of the walkway, her shadow stretching long across the stone floor. “Innocence is a luxury I can no longer afford, Dominica. If you won’t speak, perhaps their screams will do the talking for you.”

Ruby Jane scrambled to the bars, her face pale. “Miss Dominica? Is that really you? Where are we?”

“It isn’t a school reunion, Ruby,” Jazel whispered from the corner of the cell, her voice hollow. “We’ve been taken by a monster.”

“I’m getting us out of here,” Ruby snapped. She wasn’t just a student; she was a spark waiting to catch. She centered herself and thrust her hands forward. For a second, a brilliant orange flame licked her palms, illuminating the dark cell.

“Don’t!” Jazel yelled, but it was too late.

The moment the fire touched the bars, the iron glowed with a sickly purple light. A massive surge of anti-magic energy blasted back, throwing Ruby across the room. She hit the stone wall with a sickening thud.

“The bars are cursed,” Jazel said, helping Ruby up. “I tried to rust the iron earlier. The room eats your magic and spits it back at you.”

“Why?” Ana Leah cried out, her eyes burning with a mixture of fear and rage. “Why are we in this hellhole?”

“Because of me,” Dominica whispered, her head sagging.

“It’s okay, Miss,” Jazel said softly. “We don’t blame you. But that thing… that piece of the scepter Amanda wants… where is it? Can’t we just give it to her so we can go home?”

Dominica looked up, her gaze piercing even in the dark. “It is in a place where the shadow cannot reach. I chose a keeper who is as invisible as she is powerful. A girl who doesn’t even know the weight of the crown she carries.”

Hidden in the shadows of the corridor, Amanda’s eyes narrowed. She had heard enough.

The Maid of Ayden

In a quiet, upscale neighborhood on Earth, Stephanie Abajero moved with the practiced silence of a woman who had spent years in service. To her employer, Miss Abigail, she was just an honest and hardworking housemaid. To the realm of Ayden, she was a warrior in hiding.

“Stephanie, could you finish the floors, please?” Abigail asked, looking up from her tablet.

“Of course, Madame,” Stephanie replied, her voice soft. She reached for the broom, but as her fingers brushed the sapphire-blue stone hanging from a hidden chain around her neck, the world tilted.

Since Miss Dominica had gifted her the necklace, Stephanie’s natural gift for foresight had transformed from a whisper into a roar. The necklace—the hidden shard of the Scepter—didn’t just glow; it pulsed against her skin like a second heart.

“I need you to run to the grocery store,” Abigail continued, handing her a list. “And—Stephanie? Are you alright?”

Stephanie’s eyes had gone milky white. The broom clattered to the floor. “I see him…” she rasped. “I see Sir Nico.”

Abigail stood up, her face pale. “My husband? What’s wrong? Is he in trouble?”

“The secretary,” Stephanie whispered, her necklace beginning to emit a low, thrumming light beneath her uniform. “Robin. They are… more than colleagues. I see the betrayal, Madame. But I see something darker.”

Abigail gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. “Robin? You mean Nico is… and his own secretary?”

“It’s a trap, Miss Abigail,” Stephanie said, her vision clearing as she gripped the necklace to steady herself. “If you confront them now, Robin will lash out. He has a darkness in him that doesn’t belong to this world. If you push him, he will kill you.”

Panic flared in Abigail’s eyes, but she looked at Stephanie—the girl who had never steered her wrong. “What do I do, Steph?”

“Don’t provoke the snake until you have the shovel,” Stephanie warned. “Avoid the confrontation. Stay silent until you are safe.”

Abigail nodded, her jaw setting with a cold resolve. “I suspected the affair… but I didn’t know the danger. Thank you, Stephanie. I’ll prepare the divorce papers in secret. They won’t see me coming.”

The World Between Worlds

While Stephanie guarded the Scepter in the suburbs, the S.A.P. team had taken Ced to a place that shouldn’t exist.

They stood in the center of the high school library, but as Helen whispered an incantation, the walls didn’t just move—they dissolved. The scent of old paper was replaced by the smell of blooming jasmine and mountain air.

Ced stepped forward, her sneakers pressing into soft, vibrant grass. “It looks… normal. I can see the birds. I can feel the breeze on my face.”

“It’s a Mirror Realm,” Helen explained, her cloak billowing in a wind that Ced was only just beginning to understand. “It is a reflection of Earth, but stripped of its noise. Here, the veil is thin. Here, your blood can finally speak to the elements.”

“You’ll stay here tonight,” Zandra added, her hand resting on the hilt of her practice sword. “Rest. Eat. Let the atmosphere of this place soak into your skin.”

“And tomorrow?” Ced asked, looking at the horizon where two suns were beginning to set—one gold, one a pale, ghostly violet.

“Tomorrow,” Melanie said, opening a heavy grimoire, “the training begins. We aren’t just teaching you to fight, Ced. We’re teaching you how to command the storm.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE TWIN RIVERS OF FATE

STEPHANIE ABAJERO’S POINT OF VIEW

My name is Stephanie. To the world, I am the girl who polishes the silver and sweeps the marble floors of the Lopez mansion. But to Miss Dominica, I am the Vault. I am the one she trusted to breathe life into the first piece of the Scepter and keep it hidden from the shadows of Novaria.

I never asked for the danger that comes with this weight around my neck. I was just busy with the rhythms of the house—the scent of lemon wax and the hum of the vacuum—when the world outside the gates started to rot.

“Steffie, someone is at the gate looking for you,” Mrs. Lopez said, walking into the kitchen while she adjusted her hair in a hand mirror.

I paused, wiping my hands on my apron. “A visitor? Did they give a name, Madame?”

“He didn’t,” she said, her brow furrowing slightly. “But he claims to be the new principal of your old high school. Something about a reunion. It’s a bit unusual for a principal to play messenger, don’t you think? But quite a dedicated gesture.”

My heart did a slow, heavy roll in my chest. Unusual was an understatement. I didn’t say a word. I just walked toward the front door, my hand instinctively reaching for the sapphire shard hidden beneath my collar.

Standing near the edge of the property was a man in a sharp suit. He stood perfectly still, his eyes fixed on the house. When he saw me, he offered a wave that didn’t reach his eyes. I walked slowly down the drive, stopping just short of the iron gate.

“Who are you?” I asked. The air between us felt charged, like the moment before a lightning strike.

“I am Mr. Kim,” he said, his voice smooth—too smooth. “The new principal of St. Anne’s. Miss Dominica was kind enough to provide a list of her former students. I’m here to personally invite you to the reunion. May I come in? It’s a long explanation.”

“No,” I said instantly. My voice was like iron. “You stay right there.”

He didn’t push. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. “Very well. Take this. It has the address of the venue and the contact person for your commemorative t-shirt. Everything you need is on that card.”

I watched him closely. I noticed the way his feet shifted, never quite touching the invisible line where my protection spells met the street. He was flinching, his skin prickling as if he were standing too close to a furnace.

“You seem uncomfortable, Mr. Kim,” I said, a cold smile touching my lips. “Is the sun too bright for you?”

He forced a smile. “I’m perfectly fine.”

But he wasn’t. I could see the faint, shimmering layer of the shield I had woven around the mansion. To a normal human, it was nothing. To a creature of the dark like him, it was a wall of holy fire.

“If you say so,” I said, taking the card and giving him a sharp, knowing wink. “I’ll look into this… after my shift.”

He turned to leave, but I wasn’t finished. “Mr. Kim?”

He paused, looking back over his shoulder. “Yes, Miss Abajero?”

“I know what you did to my classmates,” I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “I know about the disappearances. If you think I’m just another easy target, you’ve made a fatal mistake.”

I didn’t wait for him to respond. I didn’t need to. I reached into the well of power deep inside me and thrust my palm forward. A wave of kinetic force—invisible but heavy as a mountain—slammed into his chest, throwing him back several feet into the street.

“Don’t underestimate my Queen,” he spat, scrambling to his feet, his composure finally breaking. “She can take your breath in a snap of her fingers.”

“Then tell her to come and try,” I said. I raised my hands, and the air around my fingers began to glow white-hot. A low roar filled the driveway as a corona of flame erupted from my palms. “Go away, little messenger. Before I decide to burn the lies right off your face.”

He looked at the fire, then at the sheer resolve in my eyes, and he fled into the shadows of the street.

THE SACRED ROOM: KSHATRIYA CASTLE

Sittie stood amongst the hollow-eyed survivors of the Sacred Room. The air here didn’t just feel empty; it felt hungry.

“How long have you all been here?” Sittie whispered, her voice barely carrying in the absolute silence.

“Time doesn’t exist here,” Ninia replied, her manual magic flickering weakly. “Stay too long, and your soul becomes part of the architecture. You’ll be a ghost in the walls before the week is out.”

“There is a way out,” a woman named Roxanne interrupted, stepping from the shadows. “But it requires a bargain. You must seek the Guardian of the Threshold. She will ask for a favor—one that most are too terrified to grant.”

“Roxanne, don’t,” Ninia warned. “No one has ever survived the Guardian’s price.”

Sittie squared her shoulders, her resolve hardening. “If it’s the only way back to my brother and the Resistance, I’ll take the risk. Take me to the Guardian.”

The Cracks in the World

THE KINGDOM OF NOVARIA

While the shadows deepened in Kshatriya, a desperate summit was meeting in Novaria. Jenna and Senior Theo, high-ranking scholars from the Kingdom of Ayden, arrived with grim faces.

“We must find the Scepter fragments now,” Jenna urged, her hands trembling as she clutched an ancient tome. “The chaos has breached Ayden’s borders. The realms are fracturing. Tyler and Jake are searching for an alternative seal, but the foundations are rotting.”

A sudden scream echoed through the hall. Angel, breathless and pale, rushed toward them. “The Statue of Bonch! It’s shattering!”

They ran to the Great Hall, where the massive stone likeness of the ancient protector stood. Deep, jagged fissures were snaking up its base, glowing with a sickly light. A woman named Gemma knelt before it, weeping.

“I am the regent,” Gemma sobbed. “I was supposed to hold the throne while the Crown Princess was away. But the moment I touched the stone, my magic died. It rejected me.”

Theo stepped forward, his eyes turning a sharp, piercing gold. He reached out, his fingers hovering inches from the statue’s brow.

“By the grace of the All-Seeing Dalikamata ,” Theo chanted, invoking the ancient Philippine deity of many eyes. “Show me the rot at the heart of this stone. Reveal the truth!”

The Riddle of the Elf

THE RIVER OF CONSCIENCE / THE RIVER OF HOPE

In two different worlds, the water began to churn. In the Mirror Realm, Ced stood at the edge of the River of Hope . In the Sacred Room, Sittie stood at the bank of the River of Conscience .

They couldn’t see each other, but the air vibrated with a shared aura.

“I feel… someone,” Ced whispered, staring across the mist-covered water. “Someone like us.”

“Enough talk!” A gnarled, mischievous Elf rose from the reeds, appearing in both realms simultaneously. “If you wish to pass, you must pay the toll in wisdom. Answer wrong, and the river claims your companions.”

Beside Ced, Helen and Zandra began to sink into the emerald water as if pulled by invisible hands. In the Sacred Room, Roxanne and Ninia were dragged down into the black depths.

“A riddle for the girl of Hope!” the Elf cackled at Ced. “ When I tugged on the vine, the monkey went crazy. What am I?“

He turned his spectral gaze toward Sittie in the darkness. “And for the girl of Conscience: The Captain took a bath, but his belly never got wet. What am I?”

The pressure was suffocating. Ced watched Helen’s head disappear beneath the surface. Sittie watched Ninia’s hands slip under the black water. They closed their eyes, reaching deep into their intuition.

“A Large Bell !” Ced shouted in the Mirror Realm, imagining the pull of a rope and the clapper swinging like a wild animal.

“A Canoe !” Sittie cried out in the Sacred Room.

The Elf froze, his jaw dropping in both dimensions. The water stopped churning. Slowly, their friends were pushed back to the surface, gasping for air.

“How?” the Elf hissed, his eyes wide with shock.

“The captain is the soul of the vessel,” Sittie explained, her voice steady. “He sits within it, riding the water, but the wood protects him. He bathes in the journey, but stays dry in the boat.”

The Elf bowed low, his form beginning to fade. “Pass, then. But remember—the rivers meet at the end. And so shall you.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER NINE: THE SHADOW OF THE ANCIENT GOD

In the most desolate reaches of the Kingdom of Ayden, where the sun never dares to shine, lies the Domain of Sitan .

Sitan is not merely a king; he is the primordial echo of darkness from Philippine mythology. He is the guardian of the abyss, a god whose name was once whispered with terror by the ancient people of the islands. After his brutal defeat at the hands of the Adonis brothers and the twelve celestial Horoscopes, he has been a wounded beast, waiting in the silence.

“How are you, my King?” a voice slithered through the dark.

Enigma emerged from the shadows, her presence a cold weight in the room. Sitan sat upon a throne made of jagged obsidian, his eyes glowing like dying coals.

“The recovery is slow,” Sitan rasped, his voice sounding like grinding stones. “My strength returns in drops, not waves. Tell me, Enigma—does your mission bear fruit?”

“Beyond measure, my Lord,” Enigma replied, a cruel smile playing on her lips. “The realms are brittle. They break with the slightest pressure. My minion in Khastriya has already begun the harvest.”

“Good,” Sitan growled, the shadows in the room dancing with his rising anger. “Revenge has been a long time coming. Once they are broken, we will not just rule their realms—we will consume them.”

Enigma bowed low, but her mind was already on the next move. She raised her hand, and from the palm of her glove, a small, velvet-winged black butterfly manifested. It pulsed with a sickly, rhythmic light.

“What is this?” Sitan asked, leaning forward.

“The scent of the second shard,” Enigma whispered. “The Second Piece of the Scepter of Novaria has called out to the void. I can feel its essence vibrating in the air.”

She closed her eyes, her voice taking on a haunting, melodic quality as she invoked the ancient, forbidden arts.

“By the blood of the Mangkukulam ,” she chanted, calling upon the power of the dark sorcerers of old. “I command this shadow-wing to fly. Cross the borders of the living and the dead. Find the creature who guards the sapphire’s twin. Fly, little curse—bring me the location of the Second Piece.”

With a snap of her fingers, the black butterfly took flight. It didn’t just fly; it tore through the air, leaving a trail of gray ash behind it as it vanished into the night sky, heading toward an unknown destination.

Back at the River of Hope , Ced suddenly clutched her chest. The water beneath her feet, which had been calm since she answered the riddle, began to turn a murky, bruised black.

“Ced? What’s wrong?” Zandra asked, reaching for her.

“Something just… changed,” Ced whispered, her eyes tracking something invisible in the sky. “A shadow is moving. It feels like a cold needle in the back of my mind.”

Helen looked toward the horizon, her expression grim. “The game has changed. Amanda was just the beginning. The ancient shadows of Ayden are waking up.”

THE ROYAL HALL OF NOVARIA

The air in the hall was frigid, vibrating with a silence that felt heavy as lead. Beam and Dave, weary from their travels on Earth, stepped into the light of the Great Hall.

“We came as fast as we could,” Beam said, his voice echoing. “What happened?”

Leah didn’t speak. She simply pointed toward the center of the hall. There stood Bonch, the once-vibrant protector, now a pale, motionless figure of stone.

Dave knelt at the base of the statue, pressing two fingers to the cold marble of Bonch’s wrist. “I can’t hear a heartbeat. It’s like her blood has turned to silt.”

“But look,” Beam whispered, leaning closer. “The Light Force… it’s still there, deep beneath the surface. Like a candle burning in a tomb.”

“It won’t last,” Angel said, her voice trembling. “If we don’t reunite the Scepter soon, the marble will reach her heart. She’ll be lost forever.”

“We’ve searched everywhere,” Beam admitted, frustration boiling over. “But the pieces… it’s like they’re playing a game with us. We get close, and then the trail goes cold.”

From the shadows of the pillars, Criselda stepped forward. Her eyes were ancient and tired. “That is because the Scepter is not a tool, children. It is a living entity. It has a will of its own. When I shattered it, I gave it the power to choose its own guardians. It will only show itself to those it deems worthy—at the exact moment they are needed.”

“Then all we can do is wait?” Leah asked, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

“We don’t have the luxury of waiting,” Theo interrupted, his face grim as he walked toward them with Jenna. “We have a much larger problem. Sitan is back.”

The name felt like a physical blow. Beam and Leah exchanged confused glances, but Angel went pale.

“Sitan?” Beam asked. “Who is that?”

“He is the God of Chaos,” Theo explained, his voice low and dangerous. “Years ago, my brother Tyler, Jenna, and my wife Catalina fought him in the trenches of Jamais. We thought we had ended him. We were wrong. Enigma is not working alone—she is Hukloban , the legendary minion of Sitan.”

“You are no longer fighting Skinwalkers or petty sorcerers,” Theo warned. “You are facing the Architect of Darkness himself. Prepare yourselves. This is no longer a search—it is a war for the survival of the realms.”

EARTH: THE COFFEE SHOP

While the gods debated in Novaria, the veil on Earth was tearing in a much more violent way.

Inside a crowded coffee shop, a woman suddenly shrieked, dropping her latte. “Oh my god! I’m burning! Help me! I’m burning!”

Leanne (Officer Siton) and her new partner, Alcántara, were at a nearby table. They were on their feet in a second.

“Stay back!” Alcántara commanded the crowd, his hand hovering near his holster.

Leanne rushed to the woman’s side. She didn’t see fire on her clothes—the flames were erupting from her skin. Bright, orange-white tongues of fire licked at the woman’s palms, yet her skin wasn’t charring.

“Calm down!” Leanne said, her voice steady and authoritative. “Look at me. Inhale. Exhale. You aren’t being hurt—this is a gift. It’s a part of you. What’s your name?”

The woman gasped, her eyes wide with terror as the flames grew taller. “I am… I’m—”

BOOM.

The windows of the coffee shop shattered inward in a shower of glass as a massive explosion rocked the street outside. The world turned into a roar of heat and smoke.

The Trial of the Four Queens

The final stage of the Mirror Realm was no longer a sanctuary. The air grew heavy, thick with the scent of ozone and parched earth.

“The lesson is over, Ced,” Helen said, her voice sounding cold and distant. Before Ced could ask what she meant, Helen thrust her palms forward, releasing a searing blast of white-hot fire.

Ced barely dove out of the way, the heat singing her hair. “Helen! What are you doing?”

Zandra didn’t answer. Instead, she raised her hands, calling down a jagged fork of purple lightning that cracked the ground at Ced’s feet. Ced’s instincts took over—she wove her hands through the air, pulling the surrounding greenery toward her to form a temporary shield of vines.

“Are you all insane?” Ced screamed, spinning around. “Do you actually want to kill me?”

She looked at Melanie and Sharmaine, but they were no longer her friends; they were predators. Melanie was scribbling furiously in her enchanted sketchbook. With a final stroke of her charcoal, a massive, ink-black dragon tore itself from the pages, its roar shaking the very foundation of the realm.

Beside her, Sharmaine’s skin shimmered and shifted. Within seconds, she stood there looking exactly like Leanne—Ced’s best friend.

“This is the final test, Ced,” the fake Leanne said, her voice a perfect mimicry. “In the real world, your enemies will wear the faces of those you love. If you cannot strike us down, you will never survive Amanda.”

Helen launched another pillar of flame. Ced didn’t hesitate this time.

“ AQUATIC SHIELD! “

She slammed her palms together. A wall of pressurized water erupted from the earth, the steam hissing as it neutralized the fire.

“Defense won’t win a war, Ced!” Melanie shouted, her dragon lunging forward with talons like scimitars.

Ced’s panic flared. She focused on the air around her, shrinking her physical form into a tiny, light-winged creature to zip through the dragon’s reach. But Zandra was faster. A net of static electricity blocked her path.

“You can’t fly away from your destiny!” Zandra cried.

Trapped and desperate, Ced felt a surge of ancient power boiling in her veins—the dormant blood of the Goddess. She expanded back to her human form, her eyes glowing with an ethereal light.

“By the name of Anitun Tabu , I command the skies!”

A violent, localized hurricane erupted around her. The wind was so fierce that even the dragon was pushed back, and her mentors struggled to keep their footing.

“I don’t want to fight you!” Ced pleaded. “We’re friends!”

“On this battlefield,” Helen yelled, preparing a final, massive strike, “we are the obstacles between you and your throne. Be the winner, or stay a victim!”

Ced fell back, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Her energy was fading, and the four women were closing in. Suddenly, a figure stepped through the mist, walking casually onto the battlefield.

“Big Sis? What’s with all the noise?” a young man asked, looking at Helen.

“Billy! Get out of here!” Helen snapped, her flames flickering. “We’re on a mission. This is no place for you.”

Billy didn’t move. He looked at Ced, who was bruised and panting on the grass. He offered a confident, easy-going smile that seemed to cut right through the tension of the Mirror Realm.

“I think I’ll stay,” Billy said, stepping in front of Ced. “You’ve been a bit hard on her, don’t you think, Sis? She’s the Heiress, not a punching bag.”

He turned to Ced, his eyes bright with curiosity. “Let me help you. My sister is a perfectionist—she’s prepared for you to fight her , but she isn’t prepared for us .” He extended a hand. “I’m Billy. And you must be the famous Ced.”

Ced felt a sudden, unexpected heat in her cheeks that had nothing to do with Helen’s fire. She took his hand, looking at his handsome face. “I’m… Ced. Yeah.”

“A beautiful name,” Billy murmured, his smile widening. “It fits you perfectly.”

Ced pulled her hand back, feigning annoyance to hide her blush. “If you’re going to help, then help! Stop talking and start fighting!”

Billy laughed, a sound like clear water. “As you wish, My Queen. Let’s show them what a storm actually looks like.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER TEN: THE BLOOM AND THE BLIGHT

“ MANSISILAT“

Who is Mansisilat ?

Manisilat, also known as Mansisilat . The second agent of Sitan, she was tasked to destroy and break every happy and united family that she could find. She does this by transforming herself into a beggar or healer, going inside the houses of couples. Once inside, she infuses magic inside the home until the couple magically gets agitated in the presence of one another. (Source: Wikipedia)

THE HIDDEN BARRIO

The morning sun filtered through the canopy of the barrio, casting dappled gold across a garden that seemed to breathe with its own rhythm. Mailin moved among her flowers, her touch light as a butterfly.

“Good morning, Mailin,” an old woman called out, her voice creaking like dry bamboo.

Mailin turned, a radiant smile lighting up her youthful face. “Oh, hello, Granny Luchia! It is a beautiful morning, isn’t it? Look—the orchids have finally started to bloom. They’ve never been this vibrant.”

Luchia’s eyes widened as she looked at the petals, which seemed to glow with an inner light. “That is a powerful sign, Mailin. It means your essence is thriving. It means your powers—”

Luchia’s voice died in her throat. The air in the garden suddenly grew frigid, the vibrant colors of the flowers turning dull as a shadow stretched across the grass.

“How are you, my sweet sister?”

A woman stood behind them, her beauty as sharp and cold as a shard of obsidian. She wore the shadows like a silken cloak, and her eyes held the depth of a thousand graves.

“ Hukloban ,“ Mailin whispered, her hands trembling as she clutched a gardening trowel. “What are you doing here?”

“I simply came to check on you,” the lady—now known to the world as Enigma —said with a chilling smile. “The Dark Lord, Sitan, is regaining his throne. He wishes for his daughters to stand by his side once more. He wants you to return to us… to be the Mansisilat again.”

Mailin stood tall, her eyes flashing with a fierce, emerald light. “I am no longer interested in his lies, sister. I have seen the rot at the heart of his kingdom. I am happy here, living among the mortals. I have traded discord for growth. I am no longer the one who breaks homes; I am the one who builds life.”

Enigma let out a sharp, mocking laugh that sounded like dry leaves skittering on a tombstone. “Hypocrisy suits you, Mailin. But do not think Sitan will be merciful. He does not tolerate traitors who play house with mortals. He will burn this barrio to ash just to see you weep.”

“If you lay a finger on these people,” Mailin warned, the ground beneath her feet beginning to shiver, “I will show you that nature can be just as cruel as the underworld. Stay away from my Barrio!”

“We shall see,” Enigma hissed. She dissolved into a swirl of black butterflies and bitter smoke, leaving only the scent of decay behind.

Luchia stepped closer, her hand shaking as she touched Mailin’s arm. “Mailin… what do we do?”

Mailin looked toward the distant mountains, her expression turning grim. The peace of her garden had been shattered. “The balance has shifted. I cannot face Sitan and Hukloban alone. I must seek an audience with Ynaguinid .”

“The Goddess of War,” Luchia whispered, her face pale.

“Yes,” Mailin replied, her voice like iron. “If the Underworld is waking up, then the Heavens must prepare for battle.”

While Mailin prepared to call upon the Goddess of War, the black butterfly sent by Enigma earlier continued its flight. It was no longer just a curse; it was a beacon, searching for the Second Piece of the Scepter.

On Earth, the explosion at the coffee shop had left a crater in the street. Amidst the smoke, Leanne (Officer Siton) stood over the “Fire Woman,” her eyes scanning the wreckage.

“Alcántara!” she shouted through the haze. “We need to move! This wasn’t a gas leak. We’re being hunted.”

High above, the black butterfly circled the chaos, its red eyes glowing. It had found what it was looking for—but it wasn’t a person. It was an object, buried deep within the rubble of the antique shop next door.

Meanwhile, during Ced’s last training, she was tasked to fight Helen, Sharmaine, Zandra, and Melanie.

“Is that what you can do, Ced?” Melanie said as she commanded her creature to fight Ced. While Helen punched the ground and suddenly the ground shook.

“What the f*, Helen, are you serious about this? You almost killed me!!!” Ced shouts when she almost falls to the ground, but luckily, Billy catches her.

“You know what I’m tired of this!” She said, and she stared at Helen and her three other teachers why this training.

“What are you going to do?” Billy asked.

“I want to teach these four witches a lesson,” Ced replied, and she looked around. She found the four elements that she needed. Her four teachers smile at her, they know that Ced will use her natural ability as a Khastrian.

She immediately ran as fast as she could, when Sharmaine tried to hit her with her lightning.

“Oh my god! Sharmaine!! My god!” She shouts while running.

“Zandra now!” Helen said and Zandra used her gift to call the strong wind. Then Ced put her palm on a tree, on the stream nearby, on a big stone, and lastly, the strong wind. That was the last element that she needed.

“Done!” Ced smiles at the four ladies. And she cast a spell.

“I call upon the name of Anitu Tabon, The goddess of Wind and weather. Change my appearance and make me one of the celestials to serve the light from the darkness.” This is the spell that Sharmaine wanted to memorize.

When Helen saw her transformation, they immediately went down and happily informed Ced that she had been successful in her last training.

“You now have the celestial essence of Anitu Tabon,” Zandra said while smiling at her.

“Congratulations Ced, you passed the last part of your training,” Sharmaine said.

“No, I’m not happy. You guys almost killed me. Seriously? After, are all you guys done? You were just acting like normal and nothing happened? NO! I want to go home!” She said.

“That’s enough, we must go back to earth. And how about you Billy?” Helen said.

“I’ll go and, besides, I am here to report something from Khastriya,” Billy said.

“Alright let’s go,” Melanie said, and she drew on her sketch pad a door that appeared in their front and opened.

The Celestial Awakening

The battlefield was a cacophony of elemental fury. Melanie’s ink-beast lunged, its claws raking the air where Ced had stood moments before. Simultaneously, Helen slammed her fist into the earth. The ground didn’t just shake; it buckled, the soil screaming as it torn open.

Ced tumbled toward a jagged fissure, the abyss yawning beneath her. Just as her grip slipped, a pair of strong arms hooked around her waist and hauled her back to solid ground.

“Got you,” Billy whispered, though his eyes were wide with the sheer scale of the destruction.

Ced pushed herself up, her hair matted with dust, her eyes burning with a cold, righteous anger. “You know what? I am done with this!”

“Ced? What are you doing?” Billy asked, stepping back as the air around her began to hum.

“I’m going to teach these four witches a lesson they’ll never forget,” Ced hissed.

She didn’t run away this time. She ran toward the chaos. Sharmaine, wearing the face of a hunter, unleashed a jagged bolt of lightning. Ced dove, the electricity singeing the air above her. “Oh my god, Sharmaine! Really?! My god!”

“Zandra, now! Trap her!” Helen commanded.

Zandra raised her arms, summoning a localized gale that threatened to uproot the surrounding trees. But Ced wasn’t fighting the wind—she was using it. As she sprinted, she slammed her palm against an ancient Oak ( Earth ). She swiped her fingers through the silver water of a nearby stream ( Water ). She pressed her hand against a sun-heated boulder ( Fire/Stone ). Finally, she stood tall and let the hurricane-force winds wash over her ( Air ).

“Done!” Ced shouted, a wild, triumphant grin breaking through the soot on her face.

She planted her feet and began the incantation—the forbidden words Sharmaine had spent years trying to master.

“ I call upon the name of Anitun Tabu! Goddess of Wind and Weather! Strip away the mortal veil! Grant me the Celestial Essence to serve the Light against the coming Shadow! “

A pillar of pure, iridescent light erupted from the center of the Mirror Realm. When the dust settled, Ced was no longer just a girl in sneakers. She stood taller, her skin shimmering with a faint, pearlescent glow, and her eyes holding the depth of a summer storm.

The four teachers immediately dropped their combat stances. The dragon dissolved into ink; the fires died to embers.

“You did it,” Zandra breathed, her voice filled with awe. “You carry the Celestial Essence of the Goddess now.”

“Congratulations, Ced,” Sharmaine added, her voice shaky but proud. “You passed the final trial.”

Ced stared at them, her chest heaving. The glow in her eyes didn’t fade. “No. I am not happy. You guys almost actually killed me! You can’t just hunt me like an animal for three hours and then act like everything is normal! ‘Congratulations’? NO! I’m done. I want to go home!”

“Ced, wait—” Helen started.

“No ‘wait’!” Ced snapped. “I’m going back to Earth. Right now.”

Helen sighed, looking at her fellow teachers. “The girl has a point. We pushed her to the brink.” She turned to her brother. “And you, Billy? Are you coming back to the mundane world with us?”

Billy adjusted his jacket, his gaze lingering on Ced’s glowing form. “I have to. I didn’t just come here to watch the fireworks. I have a report from the Resistance in Khastriya. Things are… moving faster than we thought.”

“Fine,” Melanie said, her expression weary. She flipped to a fresh page in her sketchbook and drew a heavy, ornate door. As she finished the final stroke, the paper glowed, and a physical wooden door manifested in the air before them, creaking open to reveal the dim light of the high school library.

The Shadow in the Hallway

As Ced stepped through the portal back onto Earth, she didn’t feel the relief she expected. Instead, her new celestial senses tingled.

The library was empty, but a single, black butterfly—velvet-winged and pulsing with a sickly light—was perched on the librarian’s desk. It turned its red eyes toward the portal as the “Heiress of the Storm” returned.

The Goddess had awakened, but the Curse had arrived first.

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE HEIRESS OF KHASTRIYA

THE HEIRESS OF KHASTRIYA

After grueling training sessions with Helen, Sharmaine, Zandra, and Melanie, Ced was finally ready. The preparation was over; it was time to face Amanda.

Before the hunt began, Ced decided to visit the police department where she had once served. The moment she stepped through the doors, a heavy silence fell over the room. Her former colleagues stared, eyes wide with disbelief.

“Is that really you, Apolinar?” one officer asked, his gaze darting between her face and her hands as if looking for a trick.

“You look… different!” another policeman added with a stunned smile.

“OMG! Alcantara? Is that you?” Ced’s face lit up as she spotted a familiar face from her past.

“None other, buddy! I almost didn’t recognize you, dude,” John Marc said, stepping forward. “You look more… feminine now. A far cry from the tomboy I remember.”

Ced laughed, though her eyes remained serious. “It’s still me, Marc. Anyway, where’s our old partner? Where’s Leanne?”

John Marc’s expression shifted, becoming more professional. “I’ll answer that in private. Follow me to my office.”

Ced blinked in surprise. “Wait, you have your own office now? Where’s the Chief?”

“You’ve been gone a long time, Ced,” John Marc said quietly.

“How long? A few months?”

“Four years,” John Marc replied. He opened the door to his office, and Ced’s eyes immediately landed on the nameplate resting on the mahogany desk: Chief Officer John Marc Alcantara.

“Have a seat, buddy,” he said, gesturing to a chair.

“Going back to Leanne,” John Marc continued, leaning forward. “She’s on a mission right now. I’m not entirely sure which dimension she’s currently in.”

“Dimension?” Ced’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Queen Olivia of Ayden commanded her to track the source of the recent nightmares. If my intel is correct, she’s currently in Santa Helena.”

“Santa Helena…” Ced whispered. “The realm of witches, vampires, and werewolves. I’ve heard that place is under the governance of the Lady of Dreams, Rex Reina Morales.” Her hands tightened into fists. “I have to help her.”

“Excuse me, Ced, but we have an important mission of our own,” Billy interjected from her side.

“Oh, right. Marc, this is my partner for this mission—Billy,” Ced said, introducing him.

John Marc looked between them, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. “Nice to meet you, Billy. Are you guys dating, or is it… something else?”

Ced’s face flushed a deep crimson. “No! We’re just partners for the mission.”

John Marc let out a short laugh. “Okay, if you say so.”

“Enough, Marc,” Ced snapped, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Do you have the latest info on our missing classmates and our teacher?”

“I do.” John Marc pulled a thick folder from his desk. “I kept it here because I knew one day you’d come looking for it.” He handed the file to Ced. On the cover, a single word was highlighted in bold letters: KHASTRIYALEXANDRITE.

“Khastriyalexandrite?” Ced read aloud, confused. “What does that even mean?”

John Marc smiled. “Leanne coined the term. It’s a combination of ‘Khastriya’ and our old high school section, ‘Alexandrite.’ She called the investigation the Khastriyalexandrite Project.”

“Witty as always,” Ced said with a faint smile. Her expression darkened as she flipped through the pages. “Can we start the search for Miss Dominica tomorrow? It’s been four years… are there really no signs?”

“If you look at the final report,” John Marc explained, “the last sighting of Miss Dominica and the others was at this mansion. I’m not sure if they were abducted or if they’re there of their own accord.”

Billy leaned in, studying the attached photographs. “They look okay in these pictures. Happy, even.”

“No, something’s wrong,” Ced countered. She looked Billy and Marc directly in the eyes. “Look at their expressions. It’s too perfect. It looks staged. Even Leanne would see through this.”

“So, what are you saying?” John Marc asked.

“They were abducted, and this is a trap,” Ced said firmly. “They know I’m coming for them.”

“And are you actually going?” Billy asked.

“Yes. But this time, I’m prepared.” Ced reached up and grasped her necklace. As she did, a sudden surge of energy rippled through the room. Her dark hair bled into a shimmering, ethereal white.

John Marc gasped, stepping back from the desk. “The Luminian…”

Khastriya Castle

“Mistress,” Amanda said, bowing her head slightly as Enigma materialized in the throne room.

Enigma didn’t return the greeting. She paced the cold stone floor, her eyes narrowing. “Why are you sitting idle? Are you truly not afraid of the prophecy, Amanda?”

Amanda leaned back in the throne, a confident smirk playing on her lips. “No, I’m not. I can feel the strength in my veins; no one can beat me now. I have you to thank for the new power you granted me.”

“Your arrogance is showing,” Enigma countered, her voice dropping to a low, dangerous silk. “I don’t think you’re as invincible as you believe. You still haven’t secured the piece of the Scepter of Novaria. Consider that a reminder.”

Amanda’s smirk faltered for a second, replaced by a flash of anger. “But I have the keeper of that piece! Isn’t that enough?”

“Is it?” Enigma stepped closer to the throne. “Stephanie still holds it. Even though you control her, her classmates, and her teacher, this is not a victory. Not yet.”

Enigma paused, letting the silence hang heavy in the air. “Another reminder: the Heiress of Khastriya has returned. She is no longer hiding. You had better do something to stop her, Amanda. Or else, that throne you’re so proud of? It will vanish like smoke the moment she uncovers the truth.”

To drive the point home, Enigma’s form began to blur and shift. Her features melted and reshaped themselves until she was the perfect image of Ced, staring back at Amanda with the Heiress’s own eyes.

Amanda gripped the armrests of the throne, her knuckles white. “I won’t let that happen, Mistress!”

“Then stand up and do something!” Enigma commanded, her voice echoing in Ced’s tone before she vanished into thin air, leaving Amanda alone in the darkening hall.

Near the Outskirts

Ced, Billy, and John Marc arrived at the coordinates of the last sighting. Standing before them was a structure that looked more like a tomb than a home.

“Is this the mansion?” Ced whispered, her eyes scanning the decaying walls.

“It looks haunted,” John Marc added, reaching for his sidearm.

“Maybe not.” Billy stepped forward, squinting at the shimmering air around the iron fence. “This is an illusion.” He plucked a leaf from a nearby branch and flicked it toward the rusty gate.

As soon as the leaf touched the metal, the air rippled like water. The rot and vines vanished, replaced by a pristine, towering estate with polished marble and glowing windows.

“This is it,” Ced said, comparing the building to the photograph in the folder. “The mansion is real.”

Suddenly, the heavy iron gates creaked open. A young woman stepped out, her movements stiff and mechanical. Ced’s heart skipped a beat.

“OMG! Steffie? Is that you?” Ced rushed toward her former classmate, a smile breaking across her face. “How are you?”

Stephanie didn’t react. Her eyes remained vacant, staring right through Ced without a hint of recognition or warmth.

“Yes. My name is Stephanie,” she said, her voice a hollow monotone. “What do you want, Madam?”

John Marc stepped closer to Ced, whispering urgently, “You were right, Ced. She’s under someone’s control. She’s a puppet.”

Ced quickly composed herself, shifting her posture to match her new plan. “I would like to speak with your mistress,” Ced replied, her voice taking on a sophisticated, foreign lilt. “My name is Fernanda Suarez. I am a jeweler from France, and I have come to offer her a rare collection.”

With a subtle wave of her hand, a shimmering velvet box appeared in her grasp. She flipped it open, revealing a hoard of sparkling, enchanted jewels that caught the light.

Stephanie’s head tilted slightly, processing the request. “Very well. You may enter. Come in.” She pulled the gate wide, gesturing for them to follow.

“I’ll split off here and find the others,” John Marc whispered, melting into the shadows of a massive oak tree to scout the perimeter. “Good luck, Apolinar.”

With a final nod, Billy and Ced stepped through the threshold and into the heart of the mansion.

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER TWELVE: THE RESCUE FROM SAP

THE CONTINUATION

“Do you require anything else?” Stephanie asked, her voice flat and devoid of emotion.

“No, we’re fine. I would like to speak with—” Ced began, but the words died in her throat.

A woman stepped into the room, her presence commanding and cold. Amanda had arrived. She wore a sharp, knowing smile as she approached.

“Good day. I am Miss Villaruz,” Amanda said, her eyes lingering on Ced a second too long. “I believe you were referring to the previous owner of this mansion.” She sat across from Ced and Billy, her movements graceful yet predatory.

Meanwhile, miles away, Helen and her circle watched the encounter through a mystical mirror—a shimmering focal point crafted by Sharmaine’s sorcery.

“What is she doing?” Melanie whispered, her grip tightening on the edge of the table.

“This rescue mission is starting to look like a suicide pact,” Zandra added, shaking her head. “Ced can be so headstrong. She’s forgetting everything we taught her in training.”

“Have a little faith,” Sharmaine countered, her eyes fixed on the mirror’s surface. “She isn’t just an ordinary police officer anymore. She’s becoming what she was meant to be.”

Helen nodded slowly in agreement, her silence heavier than words.

The Sacred Room, Khastriya Castle

“Get ready,” Sittie said, her eyes flashing with defiance. “We’re going to rock this castle to its foundations.”

“Now is not the time, Sittie,” a voice echoed through the chamber. “Your task is to protect the Heiress. Go back to the Resistance hideout. If you find yourself in over your head, blow this whistle.”

“I understand!” Sittie gripped the silver whistle. In a blur of light, she used her displacement ability to teleport directly to the Resistance’s secret coordinates.

When she materialized, her brother, Najive, nearly dropped his weapon in shock.

“Sittie? Sister, is that really you? Or am I speaking to a ghost?” Najive stammered, reaching out a trembling hand.

“It’s really me, Brother!” Sittie cried, throwing her arms around him.

“You’re alive… but how?” Najive pulled back, searching her face. “The Sacred Room was designed to drain not just your gifts, but your very life force. How did you survive?”

“It’s a long story, Najive, but I bring good news.” Sittie turned to address the gathered members of the Resistance, who had stopped their work to listen. “Ced is ready. She is finally prepared to face the pretender queen of Khastriya. I saw her on her quest—though I couldn’t reach her. The Sacred Room exists in a pocket dimension created by Helen herself.”

As the Resistance began to murmur with newfound hope, an elder woman stepped forward from the back of the room. Her face was etched with deep lines of worry.

“It shouldn’t be possible,” the elder whispered. “But the balance is shifting. Portals are tearing open across the realms. I can feel the fabric of our world fraying.”

Najive looked at the elder, his face pale. “The portals… you don’t mean the Underworld, do you? If that gate opens, Khastriya is lost.”

Novaria

The air in the high council chamber was thick with resentment.

“This might be the worst-case scenario for a Crowned Princess of Novaria,” Catalina said, her voice dripping with sharp judgment as she looked at Beam.

“Lower your tone, girl!” David interjected, his voice booming with authority. “You are speaking to the Crowned Princess of Novaria. She is no ordinary girl, and you would do well to remember that.”

Catalina, a woman blessed with the gift of Dalikamata —the clairvoyant goddess of a thousand eyes—did not flinch. Her gaze seemed to pierce through the very walls of the palace.

“I know exactly who she is,” Catalina snapped, her eyes flashing. “It’s just that every realm is suffering because of this single, catastrophic decision. Once this is fixed, Ayden and Jamais will no longer honor the treaty. We will close our portals permanently. This is insanity! Your kingdom has a duty to ensure the safety of others, especially since you chose to impose these restrictions on the realms.”

She was about to continue her tirade when Tyler and Jake stepped forward, placing a calming hand on her shoulder.

“Enough, Ate Cat,” Tyler said softly. “They didn’t want this to happen. Look at the shadows moving in the corners—this has Sitan’s fingerprints all over it. This was planned by him and his minions.”

“You’re right, my love,” Jake added, reaching out to squeeze Tyler’s hand for support.

Beam stood tall, maintaining her royal composure despite the heavy accusations. “If that is your final stance, Miss Catalina, we will respect it. But do not think we are idle. My cousins, Angel and Leah, are already preparing to cast an enchantment on the missing fragments of the Scepter. Those chosen by the Grace of Novaria will be the ones to return the pieces to our realm.”

“We truly are sorry for this chaos, Catalina,” David said, his frustration finally boiling over. He shifted his weight, preparing to channel his gift to shake the very foundations of the room, but Beam placed a firm hand on his arm, stopping him before the ground could move.

Inside the Mansion

“Stephanie, bring our guests some refreshments,” Amanda commanded. Stephanie simply nodded, her movements still robotic, and disappeared into the kitchen.

Outside, John Marc remained pressed against the bark of a massive oak tree. His heart sank when he saw a familiar figure: Miss Dominica. She was methodically sweeping the mansion’s grounds, her eyes glazed and vacant.

Moving quickly, John Marc approached her. “Miss Dominica? It’s me, Chief Officer John Marc Alcantara. We’re here to get you out.”

Miss Dominica didn’t even blink. She continued her rhythmic sweeping as if he weren’t there at all.

“She’s deep under,” John Marc muttered. “This is more than just a spell; it’s total hypnosis.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small, intricately carved wooden flute—an heirloom from his homeland. He brought it to his lips, and a haunting, ethereal melody began to drift through the mansion air.

Inside the parlor, Amanda froze. Her head snapped toward the window. “What is that? Who is playing that music?”

Ced exchanged a quick, knowing look with Billy. “I don’t hear anything,” she lied smoothly. “Billy, do you hear a song?”

“Nope,” Billy replied, leaning into the act. “What should I be hearing?”

“No… I know this melody,” Amanda hissed, her composure fracturing.

Outside, the song began to work its magic. The invisible chains of the hypnosis started to fray. Miss Dominica’s broom clattered to the ground as she collapsed. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw John Marc, still playing the flute with focused intensity.

“This song…” she whispered, her voice trembling. “This is the melody of Mythia. There is a Mythian here.”

Back in the parlor, the air grew heavy with a sudden surge of power.

“Surrender!” Ced shouted, her voice echoing with a new authority. “Your puppets are waking up, Amanda. You’ve lost your hold on them.”

In a flash of blinding light, Ced’s dark hair bled into a brilliant, ghostly white.

“A Luminian!” Amanda gasped, her eyes widening in genuine terror.

Before Amanda could cast a spell, Ced lunged. She delivered a devastating punch straight to Amanda’s jaw. The force was so immense that Amanda was sent flying backward, her body slamming into the far wall with a bone-jarring thud.

“How dare you!” Amanda screamed, clutching her face as she struggled to stand. “You cannot beat me!”

Ced stood her ground, her eyes glowing with celestial light. She drew her pistol and leveled it at Amanda’s chest. “Release my classmates. Hand over the piece of the Scepter of Novaria, and I might let you live.”

“Slaves! Kill her!” Amanda shrieked.

Silence followed. No one moved to help her. Instead, the former prisoners—Ruby Jane, Ana Leah, and the others—stepped into the room. They stood behind Ced, their faces grim.

“We are no longer yours to command,” they said in unison.

Ruby Jane and Ana Leah began to channel their power, a massive orb of swirling energy forming between them. Miss Dominica stepped forward, her voice stern. “Hand the Scepter fragment to Stephanie now, Amanda. Or I will have John Marc play the Song of Healing—and for a soul as dark as yours, that music will be a torment you cannot endure.”

Amanda looked at the circle of enemies closing in. She sank to her knees, her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine. Go ahead. I am tired of this battle…”

But just as she reached for the fragment, a thick, suffocating black smoke erupted from the floorboards.

“No!” Stephanie cried, lunging forward to grab the piece before it vanished.

But it was too late. Before Stephanie could reach her, the smoke swallowed Amanda whole, teleporting her back to the safety of Khastriya Castle. The room fell silent, the Scepter piece gone along with the villain.

The Black Market – Deep Sector

Hidden beneath the neon lights and crowded stalls of the black market lay the inner sanctum of a feared organization: The Black Dragon .

“She must be eliminated,” a woman in a vibrant red kimono hissed, her eyes sharp as a blade. “This Agent Denny Anne is becoming a persistent headache for our operations.”

Before anyone could respond, the air in the center of the room curdled. A plume of thick, oily black smoke erupted from the floorboards, swirling upward until it coalesced into the form of a breathtakingly beautiful woman.

“Queen of Darkness,” the woman in the kimono whispered, immediately dropping to one knee in a deep, respectful vow.

“Mathilda,” the Queen said, her voice like grinding silk. “Do you have an update on the one they call La Fiery ?”

Mathilda kept her head bowed. “Not yet, my Queen. My minions are scouring the sectors as we speak. We are, however, still dealing with the interference of this woman, Denny Anne.”

The Queen of Darkness waved a hand dismissively, the smoke around her feet rippling. “I care nothing for an agent. She is a nuisance, nothing more. Focus your strength on the Lady of Fire. My instincts tell me she holds a fragment of the Scepter. More importantly, she carries the blessing of Lalahon , the Goddess of Volcanoes.”

With a final, chilling glance, the Queen dissolved back into shadows, leaving the room cold.

Moments after her departure, the heavy iron doors creaked open. A man known only as Mr. Kim stepped into the light, a triumphant look on his face. He walked straight to Mathilda and offered a brief, formal report.

“The mission was a success, Mistress. We have secured a piece of the Scepter.”

Mathilda let out a long, slow breath, the tension finally leaving her shoulders. “Finally… some good news.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:THE GARDEN OF ALPIA

PREVIOUSLY:

Ced, Billy, and John Marc successfully rescued their former classmates and their teacher, Miss Dominica, from the clutches of the mansion. However, the victory was hollow; Amanda escaped into the shadows, taking the precious fragment of the Scepter of Novaria with her.

THE CONTINUATION:

Within the cold, obsidian walls of Khastriya Castle, Amanda sat upon the stolen throne. The air around her felt heavy, as if the very stone was rejecting her presence. A blind Shaman, leaning heavily on a staff of gnarled wood, drifted toward her like a ghost.

“Your reign in this world is a flickering candle, Amanda,” the Shaman whispered, her voice rasping like dry leaves. “It will be extinguished soon. Once the true Heiress claims her birthright, the gods themselves will demand your punishment.”

“Silence, old crone!” Amanda snapped, her fingers gripping the armrests. “I will not be unseated by a girl who barely knows her own name. She cannot hope to match my strength—especially now that I hold this.”

Amanda opened her palm. Resting there was the jagged, glowing fragment of the Scepter of Novaria. It pulsed with a rhythmic, golden light that seemed to slow the very dust motes dancing in the air. This was the piece that granted command over Time .

The Shaman “looked” toward the light with sightless eyes. “Now that you possess such a relic, what is your aim? Will you use it to slip back through the years to when your parents still walked this earth?”

Amanda’s defiant expression faltered for a fraction of a second, replaced by a look of raw, ancient longing. “I tried,” she admitted, her voice dropping to a low murmur. “But the chronal tides resisted me. There was a limit to how far I could go.”

The Shaman let out a soft, mocking chuckle. “That is because the Scepter knows its master, and you are not its Keeper. You are merely a thief holding a key to a door that will not open for you.”

“I don’t care what the Scepter thinks!” Amanda shouted, standing up from the throne. The golden light of the fragment flared dangerously. “I will hunt down every remaining piece. I will assemble the Scepter and force it to grant my wish. I will return to the time before my parents were taken… and that girl Gemma, along with her heartless Queen, will suffer for what they did.”

The Shaman merely shook her head, a look of profound pity on her weathered face. “Fate is not a garment you can simply re-stitch, Amanda. Some threads, once cut, are gone forever.”

S.A.P. Headquarters

The air in the headquarters was thick with the scent of old parchment and fading ozone. Melanie adjusted her bag, looking at her friend. “Are you ready to go back?”

Ced took a long, shaky breath, her eyes fixed on the floor. “Not really. How can we be certain we can even defeat Amanda? She has the Scepter piece now.”

Helen stepped forward, placing a steadying hand on Ced’s shoulder. “Just trust yourself, Ced. We all believe in you. You aren’t the same person who started this journey.”

“Helen is right, my dear former student,” Miss Dominica added, her voice warm but firm. “You were chosen to end this shadow war and liberate our kingdom from Amanda’s grip. It is your destiny.”

“And don’t worry—you won’t be fighting alone,” Billy said, stepping up beside her. “I’ll be right there with you.”

Ced gave him a small, grateful smile. “Thank you, Billy.”

“Melanie, open the portal,” Helen commanded, her tone shifting to business.

Melanie pulled out her enchanted sketchpad. With practiced, fluid motions, she drew a heavy, ornate door. As she finished the last stroke, the drawing shimmered and materialized in the center of the room, standing free from any wall.

“Let’s go,” Melanie said, reaching for the handle. She pulled. It didn’t budge. She pulled harder, her face reddening. “What…?”

“What’s wrong, Melanie?” Zandra asked, stepping over to help. “Why won’t it open?”

“I don’t know! It’s like the latch is fused shut,” Melanie replied, her voice rising in panic. “Wait—let me draw a key.” Her pencil flew across the paper, and a heavy iron key dropped into her hand.

Helen took the key and slid it into the lock. It turned with a satisfying click , but when she tried to push the door open, it remained as solid as a stone wall.

“Nothing?” Helen whispered, her eyes wide with shock. “How is this possible?”

“Something is interfering with the pathways,” Miss Dominica said, her expression darkening. “Amanda must be weaving her influence into the portals themselves. She’s locking us out.”

“Are there any other ways?” Ced asked, looking around the room. “Any other gates we can try?”

“There is one…” Helen replied, though she sounded hesitant. “But I’m not sure the portal to the Garden of Alpia is still stable.” She looked directly into Ced’s eyes, searching for resolve.

“So, what now?” Miss Dominica asked. “We can’t just stay here.”

“What about the portal to St. Helena ?” Sharmaine suggested.

“Not a good idea!” John Marc interrupted, checking a scroll on his desk.

“Why? What’s happened there?” Ced asked.

“Leanne sent a flash report yesterday,” John Marc explained. “The barrio is in total chaos. Her team is under fire, and they’re still hunting for the leader of the uprising. If we go there, we’d be dropping right into a war zone.”

Helen looked at the useless door Melanie had drawn and then back at her team. “We have no other choice. We’re going to the Garden of Alpia. Everyone, gather your gear.”

The Garden of Alpia

“Ohayo, Miss Alpia,” the staff greeted her as she entered the main hall. Alpia, a woman whose grace betrayed the ancient Dalaket blood in her veins, nodded in acknowledgment.

“Jessa, please assist our clients,” Alpia said, her mind already elsewhere. “I need to return to Dalaket immediately.”

“Yes, Miss Alpia. But what about Sir Raven? Will he be joining you?”

“Perhaps. He may need to step in as the owner here for a while, though nothing is certain yet,” Alpia replied.

Her conversation was cut short by the arrival of a group of weary travelers.

“We’re looking for Alpia?” Ced asked, stepping forward.

Alpia arched a perfectly groomed eyebrow. “And you are?”

“Alpia, my name is Helen of Khastriya,” Helen said, stepping into the light. “We’ve come to ask for your help. We need to use the portal in your garden.”

Alpia froze, her eyes scanning Helen’s face. “Helen? The daughter of Nana Senna?”

“The same,” Helen replied.

A warm smile broke across Alpia’s face as she pulled Helen into a tight embrace. “Oh my god! Look at how much you’ve grown. I suppose I know why you’re here. The realms are in danger, aren’t they?”

“They are,” Ced interjected.

Alpia turned her gaze toward Ced, her smile widening. “You have royal blood.”

Ced blinked, stunned. “How… how could you know that?”

“I am a Dalaket,” Alpia explained, her voice dropping to a knowing whisper. “We can smell the truth of your lineage—whether you are human, or a half-blooded engkanto .” She grabbed a small travel bag. “No time to waste. Let’s go.”

“Where are you going, Godmother?” Helen asked.

“To Dalaket. Queen Olivia needs me. Our worlds are fraying at the edges,” Alpia said, leading them toward the rear of the estate.

After a few minutes of walking, they reached the threshold of the garden. The group gasped in unison. Before them lay a hectare of shimmering fields. These weren’t ordinary plants; the flowers glowed with a faint luminescence, and giant, iridescent butterflies danced through the air like floating jewels.

“Welcome to my garden,” Alpia said, unlatching the gate.

“It’s incredible,” Ced whispered, stepping into the lush greenery. “The legends didn’t do it justice.”

“The beauty is a shield,” Alpia warned. “To reach the portal, we must navigate the Maze. Who is coming with me?”

Helen gently pushed Ced forward. “The Heiress of Khastriya, for one. She has to go. We haven’t had word from the castle yet, but Najive and Sittie are there. They’ll be your contact, Ced.”

“And the others?” Alpia asked.

“Me,” Billy said, raising his hand without hesitation.

“I’m coming too,” John Marc added, but Ced stopped him.

“No, John Marc. Your family—Edna—needs you here. If Leanne returns, you can follow us then.”

“Ced is right,” Miss Dominica said, stepping up. “I will go. Ced needs someone who knows the history of the realms, and I can investigate why the portals were sabotaged from the other side.”

Helen looked worried, but Alpia nodded. “Dominica is right. All realms are treacherous right now. I can’t accompany Ced all the way, so she’ll need your wisdom.”

Before they reached the entrance, John Marc handed Ced the small wooden flute. “Use this as your shield against Amanda. We saw how the Mythian melody affected her. I suspect she is being hollowed out by a dark force. Help her if you can, Ced.”

“I promise,” Ced said, tucking the flute into her gear.

“Gather round,” Alpia commanded as they reached the towering hedges of the maze. “We’re taking a shortcut. Close your eyes.”

As they did, Alpia reached up and parted her hair. A vibrant green vine grew instantly from her touch, which she used like a key to part the thick brambles. “By my vine, open the way,” she murmured.

In a heartbeat, the world shifted. When they opened their eyes, they were no longer at the entrance, but in the very center of the maze. Standing before them was a massive, ornate mirror that seemed to hold the reflection of a thousand different stars.

“A mirror?” Billy asked, reaching out toward the silver surface.

“The Mirror of the Realms,” Miss Dominica breathed. “To think it was hidden here while we were trapped on Earth.”

Suddenly, the ground began to roll and heave.

“The barrier is failing!” Alpia shouted. “We don’t have much time! Hold my hands—we jump together!”

“This is crazy!” Ced screamed as they leaped forward, their bodies dissolving into the silver surface of the glass.

Khastriya Castle

“There,” Amanda said, leaning back on the throne with a smug grin. “The portals are sealed. No one is coming to save them now.”

The Shaman stood in the corner, her sightless eyes fixed on a point only she could see. “Do not be so certain, Queen Amanda. My visions show the Heiress moving through the spaces between worlds. She is coming.”

“NO!” Amanda roared, the shadows in the room deepening. “I will kill her myself!”

Dalaket Realm

Ced tumbled onto soft, mossy earth. She looked up and gasped. The architecture around them was breathtaking—grand stone structures with steep roofs and intricate carvings, reminiscent of an ancient Filipino civilization untouched by time.

“We’ve made it,” Alpia said, brushing the dust from her dress. “Welcome to Dalaket.”

“It looks like home… but from a dream,” Ced said, taking in the sight of the majestic city.

“Stay close,” Alpia urged. “We need to find Raven. Only he has the power to open the final gate to Ayden.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE JOURNEY BACK TO KHASTRIYA (PART ONE)

THE CONTINUATION

The air in Dalaket was thick and sweet, like jasmine and rain, but beneath the beauty lay a growing rot.

“Where are you going, Billy?” Ced called out, her hand resting on the hilt of her weapon.

“Just scouting the perimeter,” Billy replied, though his eyes were wide with curiosity at the ancient architecture.

“Stay close,” Ced warned, her voice dropping to a serious whisper. “Did you not hear what Miss Alpia said? It’s too dangerous to wander. There are shadows—black smoke—roaming the outskirts. If they catch you, they won’t just kill you; they’ll drag your soul into a living hell.”

Billy shivered and stepped back toward the center of the courtyard. As he did, a well-dressed man approached them, his gait regal and confident.

“I hope you are finding our city comfortable, despite the… circumstances,” the man said.

Alpia appeared at his side, handing Ced and Billy two intricately carved jade charms. “There you are. Lady Ced, I want you to meet my kin. This is Raven, the Crowned Prince of Dalaket .”

Raven offered a short, elegant bow. “Lady Ced, it is an honor. But I fear our introductions must be brief.”

As if on cue, the ground began to heave. A low, guttural moan echoed from deep beneath the earth, and the sky above Dalaket bruised into a dark, sickly purple.

“It’s happening again,” Alpia cried, her face pale. “The barrier is buckling! You must jump through the portal now. Once you reach Ayden, show these charms to Queen Olivia. They are the seal of the Dalaket; she will know you are allies.”

“We understand, Miss Alpia,” Ced said, clutching the jade charm tightly. “Thank you for everything. We won’t let your world fall.”

Alpia offered a sad, hopeful smile and waved her hands in a circular motion. The air tore open, revealing a swirling vortex of deep emerald green.

“This pathway leads directly to the Dark Forest of Ayden ,” Raven shouted over the rising wind. “Be on your guard. The woods have eyes!”

Without looking back, Ced, Billy, and Miss Dominica leapt into the emerald light.

The transition was violent. Unlike the smooth jump through the mirror, this portal spat them out with brutal force. They tumbled through the air and slammed into a damp, mossy floor, the breath leaving their lungs as they hit the dirt.

“Ugh… my head,” Billy groaned, pushing himself up from the mud.

“Is everyone okay?” Ced asked, her vision blurred.

“Who goes there?” a cold, sharp voice rang out from the shadows behind them.

They spun around. Emerging from the thick mist was a tall figure, his face partially obscured by a hood. He stood with his legs braced, a longbow drawn to its limit. An arrow, tipped with shimmering silver, was aimed directly at Ced’s heart.

“We aren’t your enemies!” Ced shouted, holding her hands up in a gesture of peace. “We’re friends!”

The archer didn’t lower his weapon. His eyes narrowed, scanning them for threats, until they landed on the jade charms hanging from their necks.

“Those marks…” the man muttered, the tension in his bow easing slightly. “You carry the seal of the Dalaket?”

“We do,” Miss Dominica said, stepping forward with her characteristic grace despite the mud on her robes. “I am Dominica, and these are my students, Ced and Billy. We have traveled far to seek an audience with the Queen of Ayden. The realms are falling, and we need her help.”

Khastriya Castle

Inside the scrying chamber, the air was cold enough to frost the lungs. Amanda stood before a shimmering pool of dark water, her eyes fixed on the reflection of the Dark Forest of Ayden. She watched as Ced, Billy, and Dominica vanished into the thick emerald mists.

“She made it to Ayden?! Argh! No! This cannot be!” Amanda’s scream echoed off the stone walls, vibrating with pure fury.

“What is your next move, my Queen?” a voice purred from the shadows. A woman stepped forward, her lithe frame draped in a specialized, leathery suit that mimicked the wings of a bat.

Amanda turned, a slow, predatory smile spreading across her face. “Ah, Rita. You’ve arrived just in time. I’ve been struck by a brilliant idea—one that requires your unique… grace and beauty.”

Rita tilted her head, her expression guarded. “What are you planning?”

“With the help of this,” Amanda whispered. She held up the jagged fragment of the Scepter of Novaria . The golden light of the Time Fragment pulsed rapidly, casting long, distorted shadows against the walls.

“And how is that supposed to work?” Rita asked, her eyes fixed on the artifact.

“Watch and learn, my dear,” Amanda replied with a sharp wink.

She didn’t waste another second. Amanda began to chant in an ancient, forgotten tongue, her voice resonating with the power of the scepter. The air around the fragment began to warp, and a thick, oily black smoke bled from the artifact.

“By my name and my voice, I command you!” Amanda shouted over the rising wind in the room. “I offer you a vessel. Do you accept this pact, Rita?”

The black smoke swirled violently, coalescing into the shape of a giant, spectral bat with glowing red eyes. It circled Rita, screeching a sound that felt like glass breaking in her mind.

“I accept your power!” Rita cried out, her voice straining. “I will use this gift to serve the Dark Lord and your will!”

The spectral bat dove. It didn’t strike her; it dissolved into her skin, the black smoke pouring into her eyes, mouth, and pores.

“AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHHHH!” Rita’s scream tore through the castle as her body convulsed. Her muscles surged with unnatural strength, and her suit seemed to fuse with her very soul. “Bat Girl… rise!”

Amanda threw her head back, her laughter ringing out across the battlements of Khastriya. “Yes! Rise, Bat Girl! Fly to Ayden and bring me the head of the Heiress! Bwahahaha!”

The Dark Forest of Ayden

“My name is Mar,” the archer said, finally lowering his bow but keeping his hand near his quiver. “I am the guardian of these woods.”

“It’s an honor, Mar,” Ced said, her voice weary. “We need to see the Queen of Ayden. Can you lead us to her?”

Mar’s expression clouded. “I can help you see the Queen so she can open the way to Khastriya. However, we have a problem.”

“What is it, bro?” Billy asked, looking around at the twisted, silent trees.

“You don’t need to worry about the details yet,” Mar replied, his eyes scanning the canopy above. “I will get you to the castle, but we cannot move now. It is too dangerous to navigate these woods in total darkness. We will start our journey at first light.”

“If that’s the case, we wait,” Ced agreed.

The group set up a small, hidden camp. They didn’t know that high above in the ancient branches, Rita—now the monstrous Bat Girl —was watching them with glowing red eyes.

Back in Khastriya, Amanda’s voice hissed in Rita’s mind. “Kill the princess. Bring her soul to me!”

“Goodbye, little pretender!” Rita whispered. She plummeted from the branch like a falling shadow, her claws extended. But before she could strike, a silver-tipped arrow whistled through the air, piercing her leathery wing and pinning her to the trunk of a massive tree.

Rita shrieked in agony, her dark blood staining the bark.

“That was rude,” Mar said, stepping out from behind a bush, his bow already notched with a second arrow.

“Who… who are you?” Rita hissed, her body convulsing as she tried to pull the arrow from her wing.

“I am your nightmare,” she spat back. Instead of fighting with claws, Rita opened her mouth and let out a low-frequency hum. Her eyes swirled with a hypnotic, purple light.

Mar’s grip on his bow loosened. His gaze went blank, his pupils dilating until his eyes were twin pools of darkness.

“You are under my command now,” Rita whispered, her voice echoing in his mind. “Release me from this tree.”

“As you wish, Bat Girl,” Mar droned. He stepped forward and pulled the arrow from her wing. Once free, Rita didn’t fly away. She leaned into Mar’s ear. “Now, take your dagger. Kill the girl while she sleeps.”

Mar turned toward the camp, his movements stiff and mechanical. He approached Ced’s bedroll, the moonlight glinting off the steel of his blade. He raised the dagger high, aiming for Ced’s heart.

Suddenly, the Jade Charm around Ced’s neck erupted with a blinding, celestial light.

The flare was so intense that Ced, Billy, and Miss Dominica scrambled awake instantly. They stared in horror as Mar stood over them, his face a mask of cold murderous intent.

“What are you doing, bro?!” Billy shouted. He lunged forward, landing a desperate punch across Mar’s jaw to knock the dagger away.

“What is happening?” Miss Dominica cried, reaching for her own staff.

“The Keeper… must die!” Mar growled, his voice distorted. He lunged for Ced again, his fingers clawing like talons.

“Stop him, Billy!” Ced yelled, rolling out of the way.

Billy stood his ground, his eyes beginning to glow with an earthy, emerald light. “By the grace of the fairy Maria Makiling , I command the wild! Trees and beasts—heed my voice!”

His command echoed through the forest like thunder. Throughout the woods, the eyes of hidden animals turned a bright, glowing green. The very earth began to heave as massive, ancient roots burst from the soil like waking serpents.

“Bind him!” Billy commanded. The roots lashed out, wrapping around Mar’s arms and legs, pinning him firmly to the ground despite his thrashing.

High in the trees, Bat Girl watched the chaos, her shrill laughter ringing out through the forest. “It feels like I’m watching a comedy show! How pathetic you all are!”

In the high halls of Khastriya, Amanda stared into her magic mirror, her own laughter joining Rita’s. “Good job, my pet. Look at them, turning on one another. It’s better than any entertainment on Earth! Bwahahaha!”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:THE JOURNEY BACK TO KHASTRIYA (PART TWO)

THE CONTINUATION

“Wait—something isn’t right,” Miss Dominica said, her eyes narrowing as she studied Mar’s frantic, jerky movements. “His aura is fractured. This isn’t just anger; it’s a forced possession.”

“What do you mean, Miss Dominica?” Ced asked, ducking as a stray arrow whistled past her ear.

“Think back to the mansion,” Dominica shouted over the wind. “Remember how Stephanie and the others acted? The vacant eyes, the hollow voice? Mar is under the same veil!” She reached into her robes and pulled out the small, wooden instrument John Marc had entrusted to them.

“The Flute of Mythia,” Ced whispered, her eyes locking onto the relic.

“Die, Keeper! Die!” Mar roared. He notched another silver-tipped arrow, his aim shaking but deadly.

“Ladies, I can’t hold this line forever!” Billy yelled. He was crouched low, his hands pressed to the earth as he channeled his energy to raise jagged stone pillars from the forest floor to shield them. “If you have a plan, move now!”

Ced didn’t hesitate. She grabbed the flute and brought it to her lips. Closing her eyes, she summoned the memory of the melody John Marc had played—the haunting, ancient song of the Mythian people that speaks directly to the soul.

As the first notes drifted through the dark trees, the effect was instantaneous. Mar froze mid-draw, his bow dropping from his nerveless fingers. High above in the canopy, a shrill, pained shriek tore through the air. A dark shape tumbled from the branches, crashing through the leaves before hitting the forest floor with a heavy thud.

“Who is that?” Billy asked, keeping his guard up as the stone shields crumbled back into the earth.

“The reason Mar turned on us,” Miss Dominica said grimly. She pointed to the tangled heap of black leather and wings struggling on the ground.

Billy didn’t wait for her to recover. “By the roots of the ancient ones, bind the shadow!” he commanded. The forest floor erupted as thick, thorny vines lashed out, wrapping around the unconscious Bat Girl until she was cocooned against a tree trunk.

Khastriya Castle

In the high tower, Amanda watched the scene unfold in her scrying mirror. Her face contorted with rage. “NO! This is impossible! I hate that little brat!”

In a fit of fury, she hurled her wine glass against the wall, the red liquid staining the stone like blood.

The Shaman stepped out of the shadows, her presence suddenly feeling much heavier, much hotter than before. “She is no ‘brat,’ Amanda,” the old woman said, her voice vibrating with a hidden power. “She is the rightful Princess of Khastriya. You are fighting against the blood of the land itself.”

“What are you trying to say, old woman?” Amanda hissed. She spun around, her hand glowing with a violent orange light. She threw a massive fireball directly at the Shaman’s chest.

The Shaman didn’t flinch. She simply raised a hand, and the flames didn’t explode—they merged into her palm, swirling into a sphere of pure, white-hot lava.

“Are you truly trying to kill me with my own gift?” the Shaman asked, a low, tectonic laugh vibrating in her chest.

Amanda stepped back, her eyes wide with sudden realization.

“Perhaps you have forgotten,” the woman continued, her form shimmering as the illusion of the ‘old woman’ began to crack, revealing a glimpse of a crown of fire. “The power you wield was carved from my spirit. You cannot burn the flame itself. You hold a fraction of my strength, yet even that is stifled by the curse Haliya laid upon you. Watch your tone, little queen. If you stumble again, I will let the fire consume you where you stand.”

The goddess turned and vanished into a cloud of sulfurous ash.

Amanda fell back against her throne, trembling with a mix of fear and hatred. “ Lalahon! I hate you! I hate all of you!“

The Dark Forest of Ayden

Mar sat up, rubbing his temples as the fog of hypnosis finally lifted from his mind. Beside him, Bat Girl—her wings now limp and pinned—struggled against her vine restraints.

“Let me go!” she shrieked, her voice a jagged rasp. “I serve the true Queen of Khastriya! Long live Queen Amanda!”

As Ced stepped closer, Bat Girl spat at her feet. Ced jumped back just in time; where the saliva hit the forest floor, the leaves hissed and melted into black sludge. It was pure acid.

“Why are you doing this?” Ced asked, her voice trembling with pity. “Amanda is using you.”

“I serve the only power that matters!” Bat Girl screamed again, her eyes swirling with a sickly purple light.

Miss Dominica stepped forward, her face grim. She reached out to touch the girl’s neck, hoping to sense a flicker of her true self, but she recoiled instantly, her hand smoking. “I can’t reach her,” Dominica whispered, cradling her hand. “The darkness in her is absolute. I can’t see a single spark of light left in her soul.”

“Let me try,” Ced said firmly. She closed her eyes, summoning the memory of Helen’s voice during their training.

“Khastriya is divided into two ancient disciplines,” Helen had told her. “The Kio Kingdom holds the power of Confession. They can pull the truth from the heart of any liar.”

“Like a Lasso of Truth?” Ced had joked, but Melanie had clarified: “Exactly. But more visceral. You must use the wind to lift the veil of the soul.”

Ced took a deep breath. Following the steps Helen had shown her, she began to channel the air around her. Her boots left the ground as she started to float, the wind whipping her clothes into a frenzy. Slowly, her dark hair bled into a pure, brilliant white—but this was different from her usual transformation. It was softer, more ethereal.

“The form of the First Kingdom,” Miss Dominica breathed, dropping to one knee in respect. Mar and Billy followed suit, bowing their heads as the Heiress ascended.

Ced brought the Mythian flute to her lips. Instead of the haunting melody from before, she played a sharp, piercing note that resonated with the wind.

“No! Stop it!” Bat Girl wailed. Suddenly, her jaw unhinged unnaturally wide. A thick, oily cloud of black smoke—the same soul-eating mist from Dalaket—poured out of her mouth, screeching as it tried to flee.

“That’s the smoke!” Billy cried, horror-struck. “It was inside her!”

“Purify it, now!” Miss Dominica commanded.

Mar didn’t hesitate. He notched an arrow that glowed with a soft, white light. “Arrow of Purification—strike!”

The arrow streaked through the air like a fallen star, piercing the center of the black mist. Upon impact, the smoke didn’t scatter; it dissolved into harmless white steam. As the darkness vanished, the monstrous features of Bat Girl melted away, leaving a pale, unconscious young woman named Rita behind.

“She was a victim, just like the others,” Ced said, landing softly back on the moss. “This ends now. We must reach the Queen.”

“I will take you,” Mar said, standing up and pulling a silver whistle from his tunic. He blew a silent note that vibrated through the trees.

A moment later, the canopy above them was torn apart. A massive, emerald-scaled dragon descended, its wings creating a gale that nearly knocked them over.

“A dragon?” Ced gasped, her eyes wide with wonder.

“This is Flora,” Mar explained, patting the dragon’s snout. “The reason we couldn’t travel at night was because Flora’s eyes are tuned to the sun; she is blind in the deep dark.”

“Nice to meet you, Ced,” the dragon rumbled, her voice sounding like shifting stones.

“You… you know my name?”

“Nature itself whispers it, little Heiress,” Flora replied. “Now, hop in. Time is a luxury we no longer have.”

Billy helped Ced onto the dragon’s back behind Mar. “What about you guys?” Ced called down to Billy and Miss Dominica.

“Don’t worry about us,” Billy said with a confident smirk. He knelt, his body blurring until he transformed into a massive golden eagle.

Beside him, Miss Dominica straightened her back. With a sharp snap, a pair of magnificent, shimmering wings erupted from her shoulders.

“You have wings?!” Ced shouted, nearly falling off Flora in shock. “You never mentioned that in class!”

“You never asked,” Miss Dominica replied with a wink. “Now, let’s move!”

With a mighty roar, Flora took to the sky, flanked by the golden eagle and the winged sorceress, soaring toward the distant spires of the Castle of Ayden.

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE QUEEN OF AYDEN

THE CONTINUATION

The flight through the morning mists of Ayden was breathtaking, the wind whistling past Flora’s emerald scales. As the towering spires of the Royal Castle came into view, the dragon banked gracefully, descending toward a wide, white-marble courtyard.

They landed softly, and the Queen of Ayden was already there to meet them, her presence radiating a calm, golden light.

“Mar, Flora—thank you for bringing them to me safely,” the Queen said, her voice like a clear bell. “How was the flight? I trust the winds were kind?”

“The pleasure is ours, my Queen,” Mar replied, dropping to one knee in a deep, respectful vow. Flora let out a low, satisfied rumble in agreement.

Miss Dominica stepped forward, her shimmering wings folding neatly behind her back. “Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Dominica Castanares of Khastriya. And these are the ones we spoke of—the Princess of Khastriya, Ced, and her companion, Billy.”

Ced looked at the Queen, then at the sun, then back at the Queen. Her mind raced through every historical movie she had ever seen. “Good morning? Or… good afternoon? Actually, good day, Your Majesty! I’m not entirely sure of the time since the sky hasn’t gone dark yet,” Ced stammered, her hands fidgeting as she tried to find the right way to show respect.

The Queen let out a warm, melodic laugh and winked at Ced. “Don’t be so formal, dear. A simple ‘Hi’ will do just fine. I lived on Earth for quite some time before returning to my throne; I perfectly understand the struggle of adjusting to life here.”

Ced let out a massive sigh of relief, her shoulders finally dropping. “Oh, thank God.”

“It is truly an honor to meet you all,” the Queen added, her expression turning more serious. “My name is Olivia. Please, come inside. There is a great deal to discuss, and I have something I need to give you.”

With a beckoning gesture, Olivia led them through the massive arched doors and into the heart of the castle.

Khastriya Castle – The Infiltration

“So, what’s the move?” Sittie whispered, leaning against a cold stone pillar. She looked at her brother, Najive. “How are we supposed to pull the rest of the Resistance out of this deathtrap?”

Najive offered a sharp, confident smirk. “Simple. It’s showtime.”

In a blur of shimmering light, Najive’s features melted and reshaped. Within seconds, he stood tall, wearing the cold, haughty face of Amanda.

“How do I look?” he asked, though his voice was still his own.

Sittie did a double-take. “Visually? You’re her twin. But that voice… yeah, no. You sound like a soldier, not a tyrant.”

“That’s why Ralph is the lead singer today,” Najive said, nodding to their companion. Ralph stepped forward, his eyes glowing as he prepared his vocal mimicry.

“I’m ready,” Ralph said, his voice shifting into a perfect, feminine silk that mirrored Amanda’s exactly.

Sittie waved her hands, and the three of them shifted their attire into the black-and-silver leather of the Palace Guard. They were no longer rebels; they were Queen Amanda and her most trusted minions, Rita and Rechelle.

They marched through the main gates. The guards snapped to attention, their spears clattering against the stone in salute. “Queen Amanda! Welcome back, Your Majesty.”

Najive gave a curt, dismissive nod—exactly as the real Amanda would—and led the way toward the bowels of the castle.

“Do you know the way to the dungeons?” Najive mouthed silently.

“This way,” Ralph whispered in Amanda’s voice, pointing down a flickering torch-lit hallway.

They were halfway there when a hand caught “Rechelle’s” shoulder. A woman in high-ranking armor approached them. “Queen Amanda! I thought you were headed for Mythia. And Rita? Rechelle? Why aren’t you out on your mission?”

Najive went still, but Ralph didn’t miss a beat. “Don’t overstep your bounds, soldier,” Ralph said, using Najive’s mouth as a ventriloquist would. “And remind me… who are you again?”

The woman blinked, looking flustered. “It’s Martha, my Queen. From the third battalion.”

“Whatever your name is, Martha—get out of my sight,” Ralph snapped.

Martha bowed low, trembling. “My apologies, Your Majesty.” As they began to walk away, she called out one last time. “My Queen? May I ask a favor? My parents in Dalaket… may I have leave to visit them?”

Najive’s heart hammered against his ribs. He turned slightly, looking bored. “Fine. Go. And don’t bother coming back!”

The Palace Gates

The real Amanda arrived at the gate, her cape billowing in a foul wind.

“Greetings, my Queen,” the guard said, looking confused. “We… we thought you were already inside with Rita and Rechelle. You passed through an hour ago.”

“What?” Rechelle hissed, stepping out from behind Amanda. “Rita is still missing in action! What are you talking about?”

Amanda’s eyes flared with a murderous purple light. “There is an intruder in my house. Alert the guards! Lockdown every sector!”

“At once, Chief Officer!” the guard shouted, signaling the towers.

“Useless idiots!” Amanda roared. A massive bolt of lightning struck the courtyard, shattering the cobblestones. “An impostor walks my halls because you were too blind to see through a mask!”

The Dungeons

Najive and his team reached the iron bars of the Resistance cells. The prisoners looked up, their faces gaunt and bruised.

“Sittie?” a woman whispered from the back of a cell, her eyes wide. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re getting you out,” Sittie said. She swept her hand across the locks, her magic shattering the iron like glass.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!”

The real Amanda stood at the end of the hall, her face twisted in a mask of pure frustration.

“She looks stressed,” Ralph muttered to Najive. “The crown doesn’t fit her today.”

“How dare you steal my face!” Amanda screamed. “Who are you?”

Najive didn’t drop the act. He stepped forward, mirroring Amanda’s exact posture. “And who are you ? An impostor in my own dungeon? Guards! Kill this delusional woman!”

The real Rechelle stepped forward, pointing at Sittie. “That’s me! Look! She’s wearing my face!”

“Moron!” Amanda barked at her own officer. “They are the fakes! Kill them all!”

The guards hesitated, their spears wavering between the two identical Queens and the two identical Rechelles. “Who… who is the real Chief?” one guard stammered.

“IT’S ME, YOU IDIOT!” the real Rechelle screamed.

“Plan B,” Najive whispered. Using the advanced illusion arts of the Lemen Forest , he cast a shimmering veil over the real Amanda and Rechelle. Suddenly, their features distorted, making them look like the intruders.

“Look at them,” Najive commanded in the Queen’s voice. “Their disguises are failing!”

Suddenly, Enigma materialized in a cloud of black smoke. “Amanda? What is this chaos?”

“Enigma! It’s me! I am the real one!” the true Amanda cried out.

Enigma looked at Najive, her eyes narrowing. She reached out and touched his face. “Interesting. The illusions of the Lemen Forest of Novaria. A rare gift.”

Before she could unmask them, Najive grabbed a nearby prisoner and channeled a controlled burst of lightning. “You doubt me, Enigma? Guards, attack these intruders!”

The guards lunged at the real Amanda, but suddenly, the air grew heavy and cold. Nana Sena , the mysterious woman from the Sacred Room, appeared beside Sittie.

“Najive! Now!” Nana Sena urged, her hands glowing with ancient power.

“Nana Sena?” Najive gasped, recognizing her.

“No time for reunions, boy! Move!”

“The portal!” Ralph shouted, struggling to maintain the vocal disguise as the guards closed in. “Najive, open it now!”

Najive traced a glowing blue symbol in the air. The space between the dungeon walls tore open, revealing a swirling gateway. “Everyone! Into the portal! Go!”

The prisoners scrambled toward the light as the dungeon descended into a whirlwind of magic, lightning, and steel.

The Royal Castle of Ayden

Inside the Queen’s private sanctuary, the air was still and smelled of ancient cedar. Olivia reached into a velvet-lined stone chest and pulled out a shimmering, crystalline fragment. It glowed with a soft, steady light, distinct from the frantic pulse of the Time Fragment Amanda held.

“Ced, this is another piece of the Scepter of Novaria,” Olivia said, her voice heavy with responsibility. “My nephew has spent years tracking these down. We have two in our possession now, but the locations of the final pieces remain a mystery. You must take this. It belongs in Novaria, and only you can ensure it gets there.”

Miss Dominica stepped closer, her eyes reflecting the crystal’s light. “This piece has no Keeper to guard it; that is why your nephew was able to claim it so easily. It is vulnerable, Ced. It needs your protection.”

Suddenly, the heavy silk curtains of the sanctuary snapped violently. A sudden, frigid wind roared through the room, though the windows remained shut.

Ced stood perfectly still, her hair whipping around her face. Her eyes took on a distant, glassy look as she tilted her head, listening to a sound no one else could hear.

“The wind…” Ced whispered, her voice trembling. “It’s screaming.”

“What is it saying, Ced?” Billy asked, stepping toward her with concern.

A single tear tracked down Ced’s cheek and fell onto the cold floor. “Khastriya… it’s in great danger. I can feel the shadows choking the land. People are suffering.”

Olivia watched her with a mixture of sadness and pride. “That is the instinct of a true Queen, Ced. Your soul is tethered to your kingdom. When the land bleeds, you feel the pain.”

Ced wiped the tear away, her expression hardening into one of fierce determination. “I can’t stay here in safety while my people are being hunted. I need to go back. Please… help us get to Khastriya.”

Olivia offered a small, resolute smile. “We will do more than help you, Ced. We will prepare you for the storm. You won’t face Amanda alone.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:CASE: KHASTRIYALEXANDRITE (PART ONE)

THE CONTINUATION

“Be careful, Ced,” Queen Olivia warned, her voice dropping to a whisper as the Scepter fragments shimmered between them. “These pieces are your greatest weapons against Amanda, but they are also a target on your back. They will draw every dark force in the realms toward you. Protect them at all costs.”

Ced met the Queen’s gaze with a steady, unyielding focus. “I will. You can count on me.”

“Then there is no time to waste. Let us open the way to Khastriya,” Olivia said. She swept her hands through the air in a wide, circular motion, the space before them beginning to ripple like water.

“Wait—Ced, I have one more thing for you,” Miss Dominica interrupted. she reached into a small silk pouch and pulled out an ornate silver brooch. At its center sat a large, mesmerizing gemstone that shifted from a deep moss-green to a brilliant raspberry red as the light hit it.

“This is Alexandrite ,” Ced said, mesmerized by the stone’s shifting colors. “What is it for?”

“It belongs to you,” Dominica explained, her eyes misty with pride. “Legend says that every thirty years, this brooch seeks out its rightful master. It has been waiting for the one with the strength to carry its burden. It has chosen you.”

Ced took the brooch, the silver cold against her palm.

“The Alexandrite is a conduit,” Dominica continued. “It is the only key that can unlock the dormant power of Cassandra , the greatest warrior of the last century. Her spirit and her strength are woven into that stone.”

Ced nodded solemnly and pinned the brooch to the center of her chest. The moment the pin clicked shut, a violent surge of energy erupted from the stone. Ced gasped as a strange, swirling sensation of frost and fire raced through her veins.

A sudden, gale-force wind blew through the chamber, and a pillar of blinding white light swallowed Ced entirely. When the light finally dissipated, the girl who stood before them was gone. In her place stood a formidable warrior.

Ced was now clad in a suit of enchanted armor—sleek, iridescent, and etched with ancient Khastryan runes that pulsed in sync with the Alexandrite brooch.

“Whoa… that is beyond cool,” Billy breathed, his eyes wide with awe.

“You look like the legend herself,” Mar added, stepping forward.

Queen Olivia walked to Ced and pulled her into a brief, warm embrace. “Good luck, Ced. Bring peace back to Khastriya. The throne—and the people—are waiting for their true protector.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. For everything,” Ced replied, her voice now carrying a new, resonant authority.

“Remember,” Mar said, patting the hilt of his sword while Flora let out a supportive blast of fire into the air. “If you need backup, you know how to call us. Ayden stands with you.”

Ced looked at Billy and Miss Dominica, then turned toward the swirling portal. Her white hair caught the magical light, and her armor shimmered with the colors of the shifting stone.

“Let’s go,” Ced commanded, her eyes burning with resolve. “It’s time to show this ‘Queen’ what a real warrior looks like.”

Together, they stepped into the light and vanished toward the final battle.

Khastriya Castle – The War Room

The air in the throne room was thick with the scent of ozone and iron. Amanda paced before her assembled legions, her eyes glowing with a jagged, purple light.

“The ‘Princess’ is coming home,” Amanda sneered, her voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings. “We must ensure she receives a warm welcome. Prepare the front lines. I want the Heiress to see her kingdom burn before I take her head.”

Her minions let out a chorus of dark, guttural laughter, their weapons gleaming in the torchlight. They were ready for blood.

The Resistance Headquarters

Across the city, in the hidden tunnels beneath the capital, Najive stood before a map of the castle. His face was set in a mask of grim determination.

“This is it,” Najive told the gathered rebels, his voice steady. “We protect the Heiress at all costs. She is the only hope for a free Khastriya. If she falls, the light of this world goes out forever.”

Sittie stood by his side, her hands glowing with ready magic as she watched the soldiers check their gear. The time for hiding was over.

The Borders of Khastriya

In a blink of light, the portal from Ayden closed behind them. Ced, Billy, and Miss Dominica stood on a ridge overlooking the valley.

“We’re here, Ced,” Miss Dominica said softly.

Ced looked down at the kingdom, and her heart shattered. This wasn’t the land of her mother’s stories. The vibrant colors had been replaced by gray ash, and the sky was choked with black smoke.

Suddenly, a memory flickered in her mind—the sound of her mother’s laughter. “Khastriya is a beautiful place, my child,” her mother had whispered during those warm Earth afternoons. “It is full of butterflies, and the flowers bloom every morning. Especially the…” Her mother never finished; her father’s booming voice had interrupted them.

“Training starts now, Ced!” her father had called out. He had been a hard man, but fair. He didn’t care about dolls or dresses; he cared about survival. When she was sixteen, he had handed her a pair of weighted Arnis sticks .

“Dad, can’t we do this later?” she had complained. He didn’t listen. “Use these and beat me, or you’ll never see the sun set on a free world!” The memory snapped like a dry twig as a massive explosion rocked the earth beneath their feet.

“Where did that come from?” Ced shouted, bracing herself.

“I don’t know, but the guards are alerted!” Billy replied, his hands sparking with energy.

“Ced, hide, quickly!” Miss Dominica commanded, reaching for her staff.

“No,” Ced said, her voice dropping an octave, ringing with the authority of the Kio Kingdom. “I won’t hide anymore. My father spent my entire life preparing me for this moment. I must face it.”

She spread her palms wide, calling out to the ancient trees that still clung to life in the valley. “I call upon the forest! Grant me the soul of the weapon my father forged in my heart!”

In an instant, swirling leaves spiraled into her palms, hardening and lengthening until they solidified into two polished, enchanted Arnis sticks. They hummed with a fierce, emerald energy.

“Arnis?” Billy asked, impressed.

Ced twirled the sticks with a blurring speed, the wood whistling through the air. “I’m ready.”

Suddenly, a streak of fire roared over their heads. They dove for cover just as a fireball disintegrated the rock where they had been standing. Out of the smoke stepped a woman whose hands were wreathed in living flames.

“FOR HESTIA!” the stranger screamed.

“Excuse me, Miss!” Ced shouted, holding up her sticks. “Who are you?”

The woman paused, looking around at the gray landscape with a confused blink. “Where… where am I?”

“You are in the Kingdom of Khastriya,” Ced replied, keeping her guard up.

“Gosh… not Hestia?” The woman sighed, the flames on her hands flickering out.

“No,” Ced said, offering a small, cautious smile.

“Okay, sorry! My bad!” The woman gave them a bright peace sign. “Are you guys okay? I didn’t mean to almost incinerate you.”

“We’re fine,” Billy said, finally letting out a breath.

Miss Dominica stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she sensed the power radiating from the stranger. “You… you are a Keeper, aren’t you? You hold a piece of the Scepter.”

“Yes, I am,” the woman said, her eyes shifting to Ced. “And so are you, right? I can feel the resonance.”

“My name is Ced,” the Heiress introduced herself. “And you?”

“I’m Mary Gabriella ,” the woman replied with a wink. “Ancestor of the Goddess Lalahon herself. Anyway, I’ve got a castle to storm and a goddess to annoy. See ya!”

Without another word, Mary Gabriella leaped into the air, her body igniting into a human fireball that streaked toward the horizon.

“Phew,” Billy muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. “I thought that was the end for a second.”

“That’s enough standing around,” Miss Dominica said, her tone snapping back to her ‘teacher’ mode. “The castle is this way. Move.”

“Grumpy mode engaged,” Ced whispered to Billy.

They shared a small, much-needed laugh.

“I heard that, Ced!” Miss Dominica called back without looking.

Khastriya Castle – The High Balcony

High above the scorched courtyards, Amanda stood on the balcony, swirling a glass of dark champagne. The wind carried the scent of smoke and distant magic.

“I can smell it,” Amanda whispered, her lips curling into a jagged smile. “The iron in the air. I smell blood… and I smell my victory.”

At her side, Rechelle and Rita laughed in unison. Rita’s leathery wings were scarred but functional, a testament to her brutal escape from the Garden of Ayden.

“It is good to have you back, Rita,” Rechelle said, her eyes fixed on the horizon. “I honestly thought the Queen of Ayden would have turned you into a garden ornament by now.”

“It takes more than a few high-born spirits to keep me grounded,” Rita hissed, her eyes glowing with a lingering purple malice. “I have unfinished business with the Heiress.”

The heavy oak doors behind them creaked open. The Shaman drifted onto the balcony, the air around her shimmering with a faint, volcanic heat.

“The True Queen has crossed the border,” the Shaman said, her voice vibrating like a tectonic shift. “She has come to claim what is rightfully hers.”

Amanda didn’t even turn around. She simply raised her hand, clutching the Time Fragment of the Scepter of Novaria. The gold light pulsed with a violent, erratic rhythm.

“I know she’s here,” Amanda snapped. “But if you think that little ‘heroine’ stands a chance, you’re delusional. She is a relic of a dying past. I am the future. With this power, I will rewrite every mistake, and she will be nothing more than a footnote in my history.”

The Shaman looked at the glowing fragment, then back at the darkening sky. A small, knowing smile touched her weathered lips—a smile that didn’t reach her sightless eyes.

“We shall see, Amanda,” the Shaman whispered, her voice fading into the wind. “We shall see.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:CASE: KHASTRIYALEXANDRITE (PART TWO)

THE CONTINUATION

Khastriya Castle – The Royal Balcony

The shadows of the castle lengthened as the sun dipped toward the horizon. A scout rushed onto the balcony, breathless. “My Queen! They have crossed into the Forest of Mythia.”

Rechelle’s eyes lit up with a predatory spark. “Is it time to strike, Your Majesty?”

“No,” Amanda replied, swirling her champagne and watching the dark treeline in the distance. “Let them walk into the trap. Their ‘welcome party’ is already waiting. Let them think they have the advantage.”

Rita shifted her wings, her expression uneasy. “Are you truly not concerned by the Shaman’s new prophecy, my Queen?”

Amanda let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Prophecies are for the weak and the desperate. There is no concrete evidence that a ‘Princess’ can overcome the power Sitan has bestowed upon me. She is a girl playing dress-up; I am a goddess in the making.”

The Forest of Mythia

The forest was unnaturally silent. Not even the sound of a cricket broke the stillness.

“This feels… wrong,” Billy muttered, his hand hovering over his quiver.

“What do you mean?” Ced asked, her Arnis sticks humming with a low, protective vibration.

“He’s right,” Miss Dominica added, her eyes scanning the thick canopy. “The spirits of Mythia are hiding. Something has frightened the very soul of the woods.”

“If the Queen knows we’re here, why hasn’t she sent an army?” Billy asked.

“Because she doesn’t need an army to kill us,” Ced whispered.

Just then, a gale-force wind erupted from the center of the clearing, whipping dead leaves into a blinding spiral. As the dust settled, a woman stood before them, a mocking smile on her face.

“Who are you?” Ced demanded, stepping forward.

“My name is Rechelle ,” the woman replied, her laughter echoing like shattering glass. “The Queen was so excited to meet you again, little Heiress. Isn’t this just a wonderful reunion?”

“This woman is completely unhinged,” Billy whispered to Ced.

“Agreed,” Miss Dominica said, her voice dropping to a dangerous, low tone.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Rechelle said, snapping open an ornate, silk folding fan and covering the lower half of her face. “Her Majesty gave me a very specific order: I am to kill you all slowly.”

“What’s with the drama?” Billy smirked, though he didn’t lower his guard.

“No drama, boy,” Rechelle hissed. “Just pure, elegant slaughter!”

She snapped her fan shut and whipped it through the air. A massive blast of wind—sharper than any blade—roared toward them. The force was so great it nearly tore the trees from their roots.

Billy reacted instantly. “Arrow of Purification!” He loosed a shot, the white light of the arrow cutting through the wind like a hot knife, but Rechelle vanished into thin air before it could connect.

“Let me handle this brat,” Miss Dominica said, her voice echoing with a strange, ancient power. She reached up and pulled the silver comb from her hair. “Ced, Billy—cover your eyes! DO NOT look at me until I say!”

Ced and Billy immediately shielded their faces. As Miss Dominica’s hair fell loose, it didn’t flow like silk—it began to writhe and hiss. Each strand thickened and scaled over until her head was crowned with a nest of living, emerald serpents.

“A Medusa?” Ced whispered behind her hands.

“Something like it,” Billy replied, his voice strained. “A curse from the old world, much like the legend.”

Rechelle’s voice echoed from the shadows, mocking and distant. “You can’t hurt what you can’t see, Lady Dominica! I am the wind itself!”

“You cannot hide from the eyes of the earth,” Miss Dominica countered. She closed her own eyes, leaning into the sensory link with her serpents. Their flicking tongues tasted the air, and their golden eyes began to glow with a petrifying light.

“Try and catch me, you old hag!” Rechelle taunted, her voice shifting from left to right at impossible speeds.

“Don’t call me old !” Dominica snapped. In a movement so fast it was a blur, her left arm shot out into the seemingly empty air. Her fingers clamped like iron around Rechelle’s throat, yanking her out of the shadows.

“What was that you called me?” Dominica asked, her voice cold as a tomb. She tightened her grip, lifting the gasping Rechelle off the ground.

“Old… lady!” Rechelle choked out.

As Rechelle looked directly at the glowing eyes of the snakes, a gray, stony pallor began to spread from her neck down to her feet. Within seconds, her screams were silenced, her body hardening into solid, unmoving marble.

Miss Dominica let out a breath, replaced the comb in her hair, and smoothed her dress. “You can open your eyes now.”

Ced and Billy lowered their hands. Before them stood a perfect, terrifying statue of Rechelle, her face forever frozen in a mask of shocked arrogance.

Khastriya Castle – The Scrying Chamber

Amanda watched the silver surface of her mirror, her breath hitching in her throat as the image of Rechelle’s stone face stared back at her.

“THIS CANNOT BE! ARGH!” Amanda roared. In a fit of blinding rage, she ripped the jagged crown from her head and hurled it against the wall, the metal clattering harshly against the stone.

“Calm yourself, my Queen!” Rita urged, stepping back from the heat radiating from Amanda’s skin.

“Calm? Rechelle is dead because she was a fool!” Amanda hissed, her eyes glowing with an unstable purple fire. She turned to the line of elite Palace Guards standing in the shadows. “Go! Intercept the Heiress and her pets. Do not bring me prisoners. Bring me their heads!”

Amanda raised the Scepter Fragment , and a surge of black, oily energy erupted from the crystal. It lashed out like a whip, striking each guard in the chest. Their bodies convulsed as their muscles tripled in size, and their eyes bled into a terrifying, mindless crimson.

“Yes, my Queen!” the lead guard growled, his voice now a guttural rasp. “For Chief Rechelle!”

The Forest of Mythia

Ced, Billy, and Miss Dominica moved deeper into the woods, the stone statue of Rechelle fading into the mist behind them.

“Ced, listen to me,” Miss Dominica said, her voice unusually soft. “No matter what happens next, the Alexandrite Stone is your shield. It will protect you from any harm… and it will protect us as well, through you. Do not ever take it off.”

Ced slowed her pace, looking at her mentor with a sudden flash of worry. “What do you mean by ‘including you guys’? Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

Billy stepped in quickly, catching Dominica’s eye. “She just means that as long as you’re safe and the Heiress stands, the rest of us have a fighting chance. Right, Miss Dominica?”

Dominica offered a small, sad smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Right. Just stay focused, Ced.”

The Resistance Headquarters

“They’ve crossed the inner perimeter,” Sittie announced, her hands hovering over a glowing map of the capital.

“Then it’s time for Phase One,” Najive said, checking the edge of his blade. “We hit the southern wall as a distraction.”

“Najive! We have visitors from Ayden!” a scout shouted from the tunnel entrance.

Najive and Sittie spun around, weapons drawn, but they froze as four familiar figures emerged from the shadows. Helen, Melanie, Sharmaine, and Zandra stepped into the light, their armor dusty but their expressions fierce.

“Helen?” Sittie breathed, a grin breaking across her face.

“In the flesh,” Helen replied, adjusting her gauntlets.

“We’re ready to take this ‘Queen’ down for good,” Zandra added, her eyes sparking with magical intent.

“Sister, you have no idea how much I’ve been waiting to say that,” Melanie said with a sharp nod.

Najive let out a short, relieved laugh. “The top tier of our academy is finally assembled. With you all here, we don’t just have a chance—we have a victory. When do we move?”

“Soon,” Sittie replied, her eyes fixed on the map. “We let the Princess reach the castle gates first. We strike when Amanda’s focus is entirely on her.”

The Edge of the Kingdom – The Forbidden Waste

On the far, dark side of Khastriya—a place where the light of the sun never touches the jagged rocks—the air began to vibrate with a low, humming dread.

The negativity of the war, the blood spilled, and the dark magic of the Scepter had finally fed a hunger that had lasted for centuries. From a cocoon of shifting shadows, a creature began to uncoil. It shifted and groaned until the darkness fell away, revealing a man—pale, powerful, and unclothed—standing amidst the ruins.

He looked toward the distant lights of the castle, his laughter echoing like a landslide.

“All of this… the girl, the scepter, the war… it is all part of my design,” the man whispered. He clenched his fist, and the ground cracked beneath him. “It’s payback time, Magayon . Your world will burn as mine did.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER NINETEEN:THE FINAL BATTLE (PART ONE)

THE CONTINUATION

Mailin’s Nipa Hut – The Outskirts of Khastriya

Inside the small, humble hut, the air was thick with the scent of crushed ginger and dried herbs. Mailin—known to the spirit world as the ancient Mansisilat —focused on her mortar and pestle, her movements steady and peaceful.

“Mansisilat,” a cold, familiar voice whispered from the doorway.

Mailin didn’t stop grinding the herbs. “What are you doing here, sister?”

Enigma —or Hukluban , as she was once feared—stepped into the light. Her regal armor looked out of place in the rustic hut. “Sitan is losing patience. He sends a warning: if you continue to refuse him, this village you protect will be turned to ash. He will doom every mortal you have come to love.”

“Don’t you understand, Enigma?” Mailin said, finally looking up. Her eyes were no longer filled with the malice of the underworld, but with a quiet grace. “I have found peace here. I am happy living among these mortals. I will never go back to the darkness.”

Enigma stepped forward, and for a moment, the mask of the cold villain shattered. She pulled Mailin into a tight, desperate embrace. “I understand more than you know,” Enigma whispered, her voice cracking as a single tear escaped and fell onto Mailin’s shoulder. “I wanted to be at peace, too… just like you.”

“Then stay! Join me, Enigma,” Mailin urged, clutching her sister’s hands. “We can hide from him together.”

“I cannot. Have you forgotten the price of our existence?” Enigma pulled back her sleeve, revealing the jagged, black tattoo of Sitan’s Curse —a mark that bound her soul to the King of the Underworld. “He owns me, Mailin.”

“There is a way!” Mailin insisted. “I spoke with Ynaguinid , the goddess of war. She says that Magayon possesses the light required to burn away this mark. We just need to reach her.”

“There is another way,” Enigma said, her expression turning unnervingly calm. “A way that doesn’t require the gods.”

Before Mailin could react, Enigma seized her sister’s wrists. Her eyes began to glow with a forbidden, violet light as she began to chant an ancient incantation of transference.

“What is hers shall be mine… let the blood of the sister claim the burden of the soul!”

“No! Enigma, stop!” Mailin cried out, feeling the searing heat of the curse beginning to move. She tried to pull away, but the magic was absolute.

In a flash of dark lightning, the black mark vanished from Mailin’s skin and reappeared, darker and more violent, on Enigma’s arm. Enigma stumbled back, gasping for air as the weight of a double curse settled into her spirit.

“Why?” Mailin sobbed, falling to her knees. “Why would you do that?”

Enigma offered a weak, beautiful smile. The darkness in her aura seemed to soften for just a second. “Because you deserve to be happy, sister. You are free now. Go… live the life I can never have.”

“No, Enigma! Come back!”

But with a final, mournful look, Enigma vanished in a swirl of black mist.

Standing in the doorway, Luchia watched the empty space where the dark sister had been. Her heart ached for the sacrifice she had just witnessed.

“Mailin…” Luchia whispered, stepping into the hut to comfort her friend.

The Gates of Khastriya Castle

“We are here,” Miss Dominica said, her voice unusually hollow as she stared up at the obsidian spires of the castle.

Inside the high tower, Amanda watched the trio through her scrying glass, a predatory grin spreading across her face. “Finally. The guests of honor have arrived, and my guards are starving for a fight.”

“And what of your… special surprise?” Rita asked, gesturing to the corner of the room.

In the shadows, a woman sat bound to a stone chair, her eyes covered by a heavy black blindfold. She was weak, her head lolling to the side.

“Wait… is that Dominica?” Rita whispered, leaning in.

“Indeed,” Amanda purred. “Using the Scepter, I managed to fracture her essence. I pulled the ‘light’ from her and left the ‘shadow’ to wander with the Princess. Am I not a genius?”

“A masterstroke, my Queen,” Rita replied.

Suddenly, the air in the room curdled. Enigma materialized beside them, her presence cold enough to frost the windows. “Make sure you finish this, Amanda. If that woman escapes or the Heiress survives, Sitan will claim your soul as payment for your failure.”

“I won’t fail him,” Amanda snapped, though her hand trembled slightly. “Watch me.”

“I will do more than watch,” Enigma said. She seized Amanda’s arm. Amanda gasped as a jagged, black tattoo—the Curse of Sitan —burned its way into her skin. “This is his blessing. It will grant you the strength to crush the Resistance, but remember: power always comes with a price.”

With a final, haunting look, Enigma vanished. Amanda flexed her arm, feeling the dark ichor of the underworld surging through her veins. “For Chief Rechelle!” she shouted to the courtyard below. “KILL THEM ALL!”

The Battlefield

Outside, the ground shook as hundreds of crimson-eyed guards surged toward Ced and Billy.

“This is bad! This is really bad!” Billy shouted, frantically loosing arrows into the crowd, but for every guard he felled, three more took their place.

Miss Dominica reached for her silver comb, her snakes beginning to hiss, but before she could transform, a deafening war cry echoed from the eastern flank.

“THE RESISTANCE!” Ced cried out.

A wave of Khastrian rebels smashed into the guards’ line. Najive and Sittie led the charge, their blades carving a path through the chaos. Beside them, Helen, Melanie, Sharmaine, and Zandra unleashed a storm of elemental magic that sent guards flying like autumn leaves.

“Protect the Princess!” Najive roared, his sword glowing with a fierce light.

“Ninia! Thank you for coming!” Sittie shouted to a young warrior beside her.

Ninia offered a quick, determined smile, her hands moving in a blur to create a shimmering energy shield. “It is my honor to fight for the future Queen!”

“Future Queen?” Sittie asked, confused, but Ninia shoved her aside just as a spear whistled through the space where she had been standing. “Focus, Sittie! Talk later, fight now!”

The Throne Room

Amanda watched the Resistance turn the tide of the battle. Her eyes narrowed. “I forgot the pests still had teeth.”

“What is the plan, my Queen?” Rita asked nervously.

Amanda held up the Scepter of Novaria . The crystal began to hover, glowing with a light so bright it turned the room bone-white. Amanda closed her eyes, her body lifting off the floor as the armor of the Underworld fused with her skin. When she landed, she was no longer a witch—she was a dark Valkyrie.

She waved her hand, and the shadows in the room coalesced into a tall, terrifying figure with a blade made of frozen starlight.

“My name is Xeres ,” the creature rumbled, kneeling before her. “At your service, my Queen.”

The Realm of Novaria

In the celestial halls of Novaria, the observers watched the carnage on their crystal monitors.

“This is madness,” Dave said, his voice thick with regret. “We’ve left them to rot while we sit in safety.”

“Leah is right, Dave,” a lady with blonde curly hair— Kathleya —said softly. “This chaos is our legacy. Our ancestors forged that scepter, and now it’s tearing the world apart.”

“Is there nothing we can do, Kathleya?” Angel asked, her hands trembling.

Kathleya looked at the screen, where Ced was twirling her Arnis sticks amidst a sea of fire. “No. The balance has been tipped. Now, we can only pray that the Heiress is stronger than the darkness we created.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER TWENTY:THE FINAL BATTLE (PART 2)

The Front Gates of Khastriya

The battlefield was a chaotic symphony of steel and sorcery. The Resistance, bolstered by the arrival of Helen and her sisters, had managed to push Amanda’s crimson-eyed guards back toward the inner courtyard.

“Don’t let up!” Najive shouted, his blade trailing arcs of white light as he parried a spear. “The Princess is almost at the stairs!”

Ced felt the Alexandrite Stone on her chest pulsing with a frantic, warning heat. Beside her, the “Shadow” Miss Dominica moved with a strange, fluid grace, her snakes hissing at an unseen threat above.

“Something is coming,” the Shadow Dominica whispered. “Something… synthetic.”

Suddenly, the heavy iron doors of the throne room exploded outward. A shockwave of pure dark energy sent the front-line rebels flying. From the smoke emerged Xeres , the construct born from the Scepter of Novaria. His body was made of obsidian glass, and his eyes were hollow pits of purple flame.

“I am Xeres,” the creature boomed, his voice vibrating in the very bones of everyone present. “And your journey ends in the dust.”

“Billy, cover me!” Ced shouted. She twirled her Arnis sticks, the enchanted wood glowing a fierce emerald green.

Inside the Throne Room

Amanda stood at the center of the chamber, her new armor shimmering with a dark, oily luster. She felt stronger than she ever had before. The Curse of Sitan —which she believed to be a blessing—was surging through her veins like liquid fire.

“Do you feel it, my Queen?” Rita asked, her voice filled with awe. “The power… it’s absolute.”

“I feel like I could tear the moon from the sky,” Amanda replied, her voice distorted by the dark energy. She looked down at the black tattoo on her arm, which was now pulsing with a violent, rhythmic light.

What Amanda didn’t realize was that the tattoo was spreading. Every time she used her magic, the curse she had “stolen” from Mailin via Enigma was weaving itself deeper into her soul. It wasn’t just giving her power; it was consuming her.

High on the battlements, Enigma watched from the shadows, her eyes cold. She had saved her sister Mailin by tricking Amanda into becoming the new vessel for Sitan’s rot.

“Enjoy your ‘blessing,’ Amanda,” Enigma whispered to the wind. “It is the weight that will drag you into the abyss.”

The Battlefield

Xeres lunged at Ced with a speed that defied his crystalline frame. He swung a massive blade of frozen starlight, but Ced intercepted it with her Arnis sticks. The collision created a spark that blinded those nearby.

“You’re fast, glass-man,” Ced grunted, her muscles straining under the weight of his strike. “But my father taught me how to break things harder than you!”

“Ced, look out!” Billy yelled. He loosed a volley of Arrows of Purification , but they simply shattered against Xeres’s chest.

“Your light is flickering, little Archer,” Xeres rumbled. He raised his hand, and the ground beneath Billy erupted into jagged obsidian spikes.

“NO!” Ced cried out. She channeled the power of the Kio Kingdom , her hair turning stark white as she used the wind to blast Billy out of harm’s way just in time.

From the sidelines, Helen and Zandra joined the fray. “Need a hand, Princess?” Helen asked, her hands wreathed in blue flames.

“Keep the guards off us!” Ced commanded. “I’m going to shatter this puppet!”

But as Ced prepared her next strike, a terrifying scream echoed from the palace balcony. Amanda had emerged, her form wreathed in the purple smoke of the curse.

“ENOUGH!” Amanda’s voice shook the very foundation of the castle. She pointed the Scepter fragment at the battlefield. “If you want my kingdom so badly, you can die in its ruins!”

THE CONTINUATION:

The Celestial Realm of Novaria

Criselda stood before the Great Mirror, her face pale as she watched the crystalline structure of Xeres reform on the battlefield below.

“Xeres…” Criselda whispered. “He was one of the High Holders of the Scepter centuries ago. When he died, his essence was absorbed into the relic. This is why Queen Victoria wanted the Scepter destroyed—it doesn’t just grant power; it harvests the souls of those who wield it.”

Beam and Angel watched in horror as the mirror shifted to the forest edge, where the battle was taking a dark, twisted turn.

The Battlefield of Khastriya

The Resistance had been winning. With the combined might of Najive’s rebels and Helen’s sisters, Amanda’s guards were retreating.

“We’ve got them on the run, Princess!” Najive shouted, wiping sweat from his brow.

“You don’t have to call me that, Najive,” Ced replied, breathing hard, her Arnis sticks still crackling with green electricity. “We’re a team.”

“And a damn good one,” Helen added, placing a hand on Ced’s shoulder. “Your father would be proud of the warrior you’ve become.”

“Thank you, Helen. I couldn’t have—”

The sentence died in Ced’s throat as a sharp, searing pain exploded in her shoulder. She gasped, looking down to see a black-fletched arrow buried deep in her armor.

“Ced!” Helen and Sittie cried out, rushing to her side.

Ced looked toward the ridge, expecting to see a palace guard. Instead, her heart shattered. Billy stood there, notched and ready with another arrow, his eyes swirling with a mindless, purple rot. Beside him, the Shadow Miss Dominica was laughing—a cold, jagged sound that lacked any of her usual warmth.

“You fools!” Dominica hissed, her voice distorted. “Did you really think the Queen would let you walk through her front door?”

“Hail to Queen Amanda!” Billy roared, his voice devoid of his usual kindness. He aimed his bow directly at the group.

“Cover the Princess! I’ll handle them!” Sittie commanded. She began to shift her form, her skin shimmering as she prepared to mimic Billy’s own archery skills to counter him.

Melanie grabbed her magical sketchpad, her charcoal pencil moving in a blur. “Sittie, catch!” She drew a pair of magnificent, iridescent wings that manifested physically, attaching to Sittie’s back. “Use these to stay above his line of sight!”

Sittie took to the air, but as she dove toward Billy and Dominica, the Shadow Mentor reached for her hair.

“NO! CLOSE YOUR EYES!” Ced screamed, the memory of the forest flash-burning in her mind.

But it was too late. The Shadow Dominica ripped the comb from her hair. The snakes erupted, their golden eyes flashing with a blinding, petrifying light. Sittie, Najive, Melanie, Sharmaine, and Zandra—all caught mid-action—were instantly engulfed in the gray pallor of stone.

“The Medusa Curse…” Helen whispered, her eyes squeezed shut as she desperately pressed her glowing hands against Ced’s arrow wound to stem the bleeding. “I forgot… I forgot she could do that to everyone at once.”

Ced slumped against a ruined pillar, her vision blurring. Through the pain, Miss Dominica’s earlier warning echoed in her mind: “The stone of Alexandrite will protect you from any harm… including us.”

“Including us,” Ced whispered, the realization hitting her harder than the arrow. Dominica knew. She knew her shadow would be used as a weapon.

Billy notched a second arrow, the tip glowing with dark energy. “Die, Keeper!”

Ced looked down at the Alexandrite stone on her chest. As Billy released the string, Ced forced her eyes open. She didn’t look at the snakes; she looked at the stone.

The Alexandrite flared with a brilliant, kaleidoscopic light. Just as the arrow was about to pierce her heart, a shimmering, translucent shield erupted from the brooch. The arrow hit the barrier and disintegrated into dust.

Ced stood up slowly, the arrow in her shoulder falling out as the stone’s light began to knit her flesh back together. She gripped her Arnis sticks, her gaze locking onto the possessed versions of her best friend and her mentor.

“I don’t know what Amanda did to you,” Ced said, her voice vibrating with a power that shook the ground. “But I’m going to bring you back. Whatever it takes.”

Inside the Throne Room

Amanda stared into her scrying mirror, her face contorted with confusion. She had watched Billy fire the arrow, but instead of the killing blow she expected, a golden shield had repelled the strike.

Beside her, the replicas of Miss Dominica and Billy were not bowing in shame. Instead, they were wearing wide, mocking grins.

“What happened?” Amanda hissed, slamming her fist onto the stone armrest. “Why is she still standing?”

The Shadow Dominica tilted her head, her snakes hissing in a rhythmic, taunting cadence. “Even a clever chimpanzee can still be tricked, ‘Queen’.”

“Are you calling me a chimpanzee?” Amanda roared, her purple aura flaring. “How dare you, old lady! I created you!”

“I didn’t say that,” the Shadow Dominica chuckled, her voice sounding like grinding stones. “You said it yourself. We just agreed.” She and the Shadow Billy burst into a dark, echoing laughter that filled the chamber.

“Laugh all you want,” Amanda snarled, her eyes darting to the mirror. “Let’s see if you can still laugh when I tear your ‘Beloved Princess’ to pieces.”

She turned to Rita, who was hovering near the ceiling. “Rita! Take the vanguard! Kill Ced now! And you two—” she pointed at the mocking replicas—“finish what you started, or I will unmake you both!”

The Battlefield

Outside, the Alexandrite Stone on Ced’s chest began to pulse with a blinding, rhythmic light. The arrow wound in her shoulder didn’t just heal; it vanished as if it had never existed.

As the light engulfed her, Ced’s armor shifted. It grew more intricate, glowing with a pearlescent sheen that reflected every color of the spectrum.

“Saint Alexandrite…” Helen whispered, shielding her eyes from the radiance. “The Legendary Warrior Princess has returned.”

Ced stood tall, her presence commanding the very air around her. She looked at the frozen statues of Sittie and Najive, then turned her gaze toward the Shadow Billy, who was already notching another dark bolt.

“Let’s see,” Ced murmured, her voice resonating with a divine echo. She stared at the tip of Billy’s arrow, memorizing its frequency, its weight, and its intent.

She reached out her hand, her fingers splayed toward the sky. “Arrow of Purification!” she commanded. Her voice didn’t just travel; it echoed through the dimensions of the forest.

The Throne Room

“Copying abilities?” Amanda gasped, clutching the Scepter fragment. “She shouldn’t be able to do that!”

“Oh, but she can,” the Shadow Dominica said, leaning casually against a pillar. “Saint Alexandrite was the master of mirrors. She doesn’t just fight you; she becomes your better half.”

“Run, chicken, run!” the Shadow Billy mocked, pointing at the mirror as Ced’s light began to overwhelm the darkness on the field.

Amanda felt a cold spike of fear. She saw the emerald energy of the purification spell gathering in Ced’s palm—a force that could wipe out her influence over the guards in a single blast.

“Rita! Abort the attack! Fall back!” Amanda screamed.

But it was too late. Her minions, caught in the divine gravity of Ced’s ascension, seemed deaf to her commands. The Shadow Replicas beside her only laughed harder, their eyes fixed on the impending explosion of light.

“NOOOO!!!!” Amanda shrieked.

“Run, chicken, run!” the Shadow Billy repeated, his laughter drowning out the Queen’s cries as Ced unleashed the strike.

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE:THE FINAL BATTLE (PART THREE)

The Battlefield – Inner Gates

The sky above Khastriya, once choked with the purple haze of Amanda’s dark magic, was suddenly torn apart by a pillar of iridescent light. Ced stood at the center of the storm, her hand outstretched. The Arrow of Purification she had copied wasn’t just a single bolt; it was a rain of celestial glass.

“FOR KHASTRIYA!” Ced’s voice boomed, amplified by the spirits of the Kio Kingdom.

The arrows streaked downward, hitting the ground with the sound of chiming bells. As the light touched the stone statues of Najive, Sittie, Melanie, Sharmaine, and Zandra , the gray crust began to crack. With a sound like shattering porcelain, the petrification dissolved.

“I… I can move?” Najive gasped, falling to one knee as his color returned.

“Ced did it,” Sittie whispered, looking up at the glowing figure of the Saint. “She broke the Medusa curse!”

But the light didn’t stop there. It washed over the mindless, red-eyed guards. The dark ichor Amanda had pumped into their veins evaporated into black steam. They collapsed, the “Sitan’s Blessing” purged from their bodies, leaving them unconscious but human once again.

The High Tower

Inside the throne room, the magical backlash hit Amanda like a physical blow. She stumbled, her champagne glass shattering on the floor.

“My power… it’s fading from the field!” Amanda shrieked. She turned to the Shadow Replicas of Billy and Dominica, who were still laughing hysterically. “STOP THAT! STOP IT NOW!”

The Shadow Billy wiped a mock tear from his eye. “Too late, chicken. The real Archer is waking up. And he’s going to be very grumpy.”

Suddenly, the Shadow Replicas began to flicker. The “Arrow of Purification” was cutting the tether between Amanda and her puppets.

“NO!” Amanda screamed, lunging for the Scepter fragment. “I will not lose everything to a girl from Earth!”

The Forest Edge

The real Billy and the Shadow Dominica were caught in the blast of Ced’s light. Billy clutched his head, screaming as the purple rot was scorched out of his mind. He collapsed into Helen’s arms, his eyes finally returning to their natural brown.

“Ced…” he wheezed, looking up at the Saint. “I’m so sorry…”

“Rest now, Billy,” Helen whispered, her hands glowing with healing warmth. “She’s got this.”

Beside them, the Shadow Dominica didn’t turn back into a human. Instead, she began to dissolve into black mist. “Well played, little Heiress,” the Shadow whispered with a final, eerie smirk. “But the real Dominica is still in the dungeon… and she’s running out of time.”

The Gateway to the Underworld

Far from the castle, the Naked Man —the ancient enemy of Magayon—stopped his laughter. He looked at the sky, his eyes narrowing as he sensed the power of the Saint Alexandrite.

“A Warrior of the Century,” he mused, his voice like grinding tectonic plates. “A worthy sacrifice for my return. Amanda is a failing vessel… perhaps this ‘Saint’ will be the one to finally break the seal.”

He stepped forward, and with every stride, the grass beneath his feet turned to ash. The “payback” he promised was no longer just for the Goddess—it was for everyone who stood in his way.

The Castle Courtyard

Ced landed softly, her Saint armor shimmering like a diamond. The battlefield was silent, the enemy guards defeated, and her friends revived. She looked up at the High Tower, where Amanda stood watching her.

“One piece of the Scepter remains,” Ced said, her voice echoing through the courtyard. “And I’m coming to get it.”

“Not if I kill the real Dominica first!” Amanda’s voice roared from above.

Ced’s heart went cold. She looked at Najive and Helen. “We have to get to the dungeons. Now!”

The dust from the purification had barely settled when the sky turned a bruised, sickly purple. High above, the air began to scream as a massive, obsidian-black meteorite tore through the clouds, aimed directly at the heart of the Resistance.

“Ced, look up!” Helen screamed.

The SAP girls didn’t hesitate. They had been trained for this—to be the shield for the future of Khastriya. Zandra’s eyes turned a milky white as she strained to slow the flow of time, the meteorite’s descent stuttering for a fraction of a second.

“Mel, the carpet! Now!” Zandra gasped, blood trickling from her nose from the effort.

Melanie’s pencil flew across her sketchpad, her lines blurring with speed. A shimmering, woven carpet materialized beneath Ced, Najive, and Sittie, whisking them away from the impact zone. At the same moment, Sharmaine and Helen threw their collective life-force into a massive, translucent dome.

“Go! Live for Khastriya!” Helen shouted, her eyes meeting Ced’s for one final, silent goodbye.

The meteorite hit with the force of a collapsing star. A blinding white light swallowed the courtyard, followed by a roar that shook the foundations of the world. When the light faded, the shield was gone. The SAP girls were gone. Only a smoking crater remained where they had stood.

The Throne Room Balcony

Amanda leaned over the railing, her laughter high and shrill. “Meddlesome pests! They thought they could stop the inevitable. Shaman, your vision was perfect—the Guardians are dead.”

The Shaman stood in the shadows, her expression unreadable. “The stars have been fed, My Queen. But the Heiress still breathes.”

Beside them, Xeres stepped off the balcony, his feet walking on the air as if it were solid stone. His eyes glowed with a predatory, crimson light.

The Courtyard Floor

Ced fell from the flying carpet, her knees hitting the jagged stone. She stared at the crater where her friends had just been. “Helen… Zandra… no…”

Tears blurred her vision, but before she could mourn, a cold, oppressive shadow fell over her. Xeres descended from the sky, his presence so heavy it felt like the gravity in the courtyard had doubled.

“Who are you?” Ced choked out, her voice raw with grief.

“I am Xeres,” the man replied, his voice a smooth, terrifying hum. He looked at the crater and chuckled. “Very heroic. But that is the fate of all troublemakers—they vanish like bubbles in the tide. You are the Heiress? You can’t even protect the ones who love you. You are a failure of a Queen.”

“How dare you!” Ced screamed. She lunged forward, her fist glowing with the emerald light of the Kio Kingdom, aiming straight for his arrogant face.

But she stopped mid-air. An invisible wall of force—cold and absolute—locked her limbs in place. She was suspended in the air, a puppet with its strings cut.

“Uh, uh,” Xeres tutted, wagging a finger. “You cannot touch a God, little girl.”

With a casual flick of his wrist, Ced was launched backward. Her body smashed into the reinforced stone wall of the castle with a sickening thud.

“Ced!” Sittie cried out, trying to rush to her friend’s side, but she and Najive found themselves frozen as well, their feet fused to the ground by Xeres’s sheer will.

“The ones who interfere in our match… will die,” Xeres rumbled, his hand beginning to glow with a dark, crushing energy as he looked at Sittie and Najive.

Ced groaned, pulling herself up from the rubble. Her armor was cracked, and blood ran down her forehead, but her eyes—once full of tears—were now burning with a white-hot, vengeful light.

“Don’t you touch them, you b*tch!” Ced snarled, her voice echoing with the power of the Saint Alexandrite . The ground beneath her began to crack as she forced herself to stand against his divine pressure.

The Celestial Observatory of Novaria

The Great Mirror vibrated with the force of the meteorite’s impact, the surface clouding with the ash of the fallen SAP girls.

“I can’t just stand here!” Beam shouted, his hands glowing with a restless, golden light. “I can’t watch them die while we hide behind these walls!”

“Beam is right,” David added, his voice low and dangerous. “We are the guardians of this knowledge. If we let the world burn, what was the point of any of it?”

“Me too,” Angel whispered, her tears hitting the cold stone floor. “I can’t sit here and watch them be slaughtered.”

She stepped toward the portal, but Leah blocked her path, her face a mask of grief and duty. “As much as I want to scream and fight, we cannot interfere yet. We have to follow the protocols. Look at Gemma —she’s already been turned to solid stone by the backlash! And Bonch is barely holding back the curse of the Scepter from infecting this entire realm. If we leave now, Novaria falls with Khastriya.”

The High Tower Dungeon

Amanda looked down at the real Miss Dominica , who was chained to the damp wall, her magical essence flickering like a dying candle.

“Your student is brave, I’ll give her that,” Amanda sneered, gesturing to the scrying pool on the floor. “But she cannot beat a God of War. Xeres is the origin of the steel in her hand.”

Miss Dominica lifted her head, her eyes tired but unfailing. “I trust her, Amanda. I didn’t just teach her how to fight; I taught her how to endure. I know she can do this.”

“We shall see,” Amanda replied, a cold, jagged smile spreading across her face.

The Courtyard Floor

Ced gripped the Alexandrite Stone on her chest, her heart hammering. She called out to the spirit of the Warrior Princess, desperate to regain her Saint armor. Light began to swirl around her, the iridescent plates of the Saint Alexandrite beginning to manifest.

Xeres didn’t move. He simply watched her with a look of bored pity. “You don’t understand, do you, little Heiress? You are trying to use my own blood to drown me.”

He raised his hand and gave a sharp, casual snap of his fingers.

The light around Ced didn’t just fade—it was sucked back into the stone. The armor shattered into sparks, leaving Ced standing in her dust-covered traveling clothes, breathless and vulnerable.

“No!” Ced gasped, clutching the brooch. “You… you can’t do this!”

She closed her eyes, screaming the incantation again, but the Alexandrite Stone remained dark and cold. It felt like a dead weight against her heart.

“Oh, but I can,” Xeres rumbled, taking a slow, predatory step toward her. “That stone was forged in the fires of Metia , the high city of Novaria. It is the soil where I was born and the forge where I died. I am the master of that gem, little girl. I am the one who grants it power… and I have decided you are no longer worthy.”

Behind a fallen pillar, Ninia and Sittie exchanged a desperate look. They were still pinned by the gravitational pressure, but their minds were racing.

“He’s focused entirely on her ego,” Ninia whispered, her voice barely audible. “He thinks he’s won because he took her magic.”

“He forgot one thing,” Sittie replied, her eyes shifting to the Arnis sticks lying in the dirt near Ced. “Ced isn’t just a Saint. She’s a fighter from a world where gods don’t exist.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: THE FINAL BATTLE (PART FOUR)

PREVIOUSLY…

Xeres reveals himself to Ced…

“Who are you?” Ced asked, wiping away her tears.

“My name is Xeres. And I believe you are the heiress of Khastriya,” he replied, a sharp smile spreading across his face. “It seems you aren’t ready, though. You can’t even protect the people you love.”

Ced attempted to strike back in her form as Saint Alexandrite, but her enemy proved he could undo her very essence.

“Your powers came from me. Look! I can strip that transformation away…” He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, she was forced back into her human form.

“No! You can’t do this to me!” Ced cried out. She tried to summon the power again, but the Alexandrite stone remained cold and dormant.

“Yes, I can,” Xeres said coldly. “Because that stone came from Metia of Novaria—the place where I was raised.”

THE CONTINUATION:

Ninia finally found a solution to remain hidden from Xeres’s sight.

“What’s your plan, Ninia?” Sittie asked.

“Remember, natural magic cannot be touched or controlled by anyone,” Ninia explained, “except if…”

Sittie and Najive finished the thought for her. “Except if the host has held it for a long time.”

Ninia nodded, and in a blink, she vanished.

Meanwhile, at the castle, an unexpected guest arrived.

“You?” Billy and Miss Dominica shouted in unison as they recognized the woman they had encountered in the forest.

“Yes, but there’s no time for chitchat,” the woman said, hurling a massive fireball at the guards. “I am here to help Ced.”

“Who are you?” Amanda demanded.

“Just call me La Fiery,” she replied. She immediately launched another fireball at Amanda, who barely managed to scramble out of the way.

“The hell?” Amanda cursed, the heat of the flames singeing the air around her.

“Indeed,” La Fiery said. With a flick of her wrist, she directed her flames to burn through the shackles binding Billy and Miss Dominica.

“Oh, so hot!” Miss Dominica yelped as the metal melted away.

The moment they were free, they rushed toward Ced. But before La Fiery could follow, a portal suddenly opened, pulling her back to the battlefield she had come from.

“So, it was a limited-time offer?” she muttered, facing her original enemy once more as her hair began to glow brighter.

Back with Ced, the invisible Ninia managed to whisper a message.

“Ced, you possess natural magic! No one can control it except the host!”

But Xeres caught the sound of her voice. He snapped his fingers, and Ninia was instantly blinked out of existence.

“Nosy girl. You got what you deserved,” Xeres sneered, mimicking the shape of a gun with his hand.

“How dare you!” Ced screamed. She summoned her power, manifesting the battle suit she had used against Ayden.

“Ayden’s battle suit? How cheap,” Xeres laughed. He tried to snap the transformation away again, but this time, nothing happened. He stared at his hand, shocked. “What… what happened?”

“This happened!” Miss Dominica called out.

She and Billy had successfully cornered Amanda. Billy held her firmly, the tip of an arrow pressed sharply against her throat.

“One wrong move and your blood will stain this floor,” Billy warned. “Don’t even think about moving.”

Ced felt a surge of relief at the sight of her friends. “Miss Dominica? Billy! You’re alive?” She began to run toward them.

“Order your puppet to stop!” Billy commanded Amanda. “Give the scepter piece to Ced—the rightful keeper!”

Amanda only smiled a dark, twisted smile. “I’m no fool,” she whispered.

Suddenly, she grabbed Billy’s arrow and drove it into her own chest. As she gasped for air, struggling for her final breaths, she uttered a dying curse upon the Scepter of Novaria.

“I will take your place and unseal the chaos… let Sitan be free from his chains,” she wheezed. “I offer myself to the god of the underworld.”

With those final words, her body went limp, and the breath left her for good.

Meanwhile, Enigma watched everything that had befallen Amanda from the shadows.

“Foolish girl. Killing herself for Sitan… pathetic,” she muttered, a cold smirk playing on her lips as she looked down at Amanda’s body.

Back with Ced and the others, a heavy silence fell over the group. They stared at Amanda, the weight of the moment sinking in; their plan had been to save her, not to witness her end.

“I can’t feel a pulse,” Sittie whispered, pulling her hand away.

“She’s gone. There’s nothing more we can do,” Billy said grimly.

Miss Dominica stepped forward and solemnly handed the piece of the scepter to Ced. “The battle is not over yet,” she warned. “This is only the beginning of the chaos.”

Ced looked down at the fragment of the Scepter of Novaria, her hands trembling slightly. “Miss Dominica… Xeres was right. I’m not worthy of the throne. I’m not fit to be the keeper of this piece.”

“Don’t say that,” Billy interrupted. He stepped closer, his face turning a noticeable shade of red. “You are unique, Ced. That’s the quality I saw in you from the start—and it’s what I love about you.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: THE CORONATION

THE CONTINUATION:

A few days after the battle, the city of Khastriya was buzzing with excitement. Every citizen was busy preparing for Ced’s coronation.

“How is the food coming along?” Miss Dominica asked, her voice tight with concern.

“Everything is ready. Don’t stress yourself out so much, Miss D,” Sittie replied with a reassuring smile.

“I just want everything to be perfect for my student’s big day,” Miss Dominica insisted.

Nearby, Ced and Billy were stealing a quiet moment to talk about the ceremony.

“I’m not sure about all this,” Ced admitted softly. “I miss Earth… I miss my friends, and I really miss my Lola.”

Before Billy could respond, an unexpected voice called out. “Are we too late for our friend’s coronation?”

Ced spun around and gasped. Standing there were Leanne and Marc.

“OH MY GOD! You guys are here!” she cried, throwing her arms around them both in a tight hug.

“We wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Marc added, returning the embrace.

“Oh, Marc, I’ve been meaning to give this back to you,” Ced said, pulling a delicate flute from her pocket.

Marc simply shook his head and smiled. “That flute belongs to you now.”

“But this is an heirloom of your ancestors!” Ced protested. Marc just kept smiling, his silence making it clear he wouldn’t take it back.

Their reunion was interrupted when Sittie called out to them. “It’s time!”

“Good luck, my Queen,” Billy whispered. He took Ced’s hand and gently kissed it. Ced’s cheeks instantly flared a bright red at the gesture.

Together, they began the walk toward the Great Castle Hall, though Ced’s mind was still racing with a thousand thoughts.

Meanwhile, in Novaria…

“Here are the pieces of the scepter that Ced managed to recover,” Angel said, carefully placing the fragments onto the table.

“There is only one left. Gabriela is working on it as we speak,” Beam added.

“Finally,” Leah said, her gaze drifting toward the throne. She pointed toward Bonch and Gemma, who sat stoically, their presence the only thing keeping Novaria from falling into total doom. “Once the scepter is complete, we can finally set them free.”

“Are you all attending Ced’s coronation?” Dave asked, leaning against the wall.

“Oh, shoot! That’s today, isn’t it?” Angel replied, her eyes widening.

“It is. That’s why I’m wearing this,” Dave said, gesturing to his new outfit with a grin.

Angel looked him up and down and winced. “No, no… you are not wearing that to a royal coronation. Let me fix that!”

With a quick wave of her hands, a shimmer of magic filled the air. In an instant, their clothes were transformed into elegant, regal attire.

“Now, this is a coronation outfit,” Beam said, admiring the change with a satisfied smile.

Back in Khastriya…

The coronation was in full swing when a shadow fell over the hall. An uninvited guest drifted into view, hovering high above the crowd.

“Am I late for the ceremony?” she asked, her voice echoing with a hollow, supernatural chill.

“Amanda? But… how?” Ced gasped.

She stared up at the figure in the air. Amanda’s appearance had transformed into something truly nightmarish. A wave of pure terror swept through the onlookers as they realized the woman they had seen die was back—and she was no longer human.

“What is she doing here? I thought she was dead!” Sittie cried out.

Najive shook his head, his expression grim. “That’s why she used Billy’s arrow of purification to kill herself. It wasn’t an act of desperation—it was a ritual. This was her plan all along.”

“She’s going to kill the Princess!” Ninia screamed, a flash of a dark future flickering behind her eyes.

Billy immediately stepped in front of Ced, shielding her. “Stay away from the Queen!”

Amanda only smirked, her eyes glowing with dark intent. “You can’t beat me, boy.”

With a flick of her wrists, she summoned dozens of arrows forged from pure black magic. They swirled around her like a dark halo.

“This is not good,” Miss Dominica whispered, her face pale. “She has inverted the power of the arrow. Instead of purification, she is using it to pollute.”

In an instant, the sky was filled with thousands of these contaminated projectiles.

“Khastrians! Vow to me and obey!” Amanda commanded.

She unleashed the volley. The arrows rained down, striking the citizens below. Those hit did not die; instead, their eyes went dark as they fell under Amanda’s absolute control.

“NO! My people!” Ced cried, watching in horror as her subjects were turned into puppets.

Luckily, the visitors from Novaria had arrived just in time. Beam stepped forward, her hands glowing as she cast a massive shimmering barrier that deflected the dark arrows away from Dominica, Ninia, Sittie, and Najive.

“Good thing we timed this right,” Beam said, straining against the pressure of the attack.

“What’s the move?” Dave asked, looking to Beam and Angel for direction.

“We need to get to the palace and regroup,” Beam answered. Nearby, Leah rushed to pull Leanne and Marc under the protection of the shield.

“Thank God you guys are safe!” Leah breathed, relieved to see her friends rescued.

High above, Amanda’s laughter cut through the chaos. “Hey, little Queen! Look at what I can make your people do!”

“Enough, Amanda! What do you want?” Ced shouted, her voice trembling with rage.

“Minion… kill yourself,” Amanda commanded, pointing at an elderly woman among the crowd.

Without a second of hesitation, the woman obeyed the dark order.

“NO!!!” Ced’s scream echoed through the square as she watched the tragedy unfold. Amanda only laughed harder at the Queen’s anguish.

“So weak for a Queen,” Amanda sneered.

“How dare you!” Ced roared. She gripped the Alexandrite stone Miss Dominica had given her, its light beginning to flare.

“Ced, what are you doing?” Miss Dominica called out in warning.

“I’m going to end this witch myself!” Ced replied.

She launched herself into the air, rushing toward Amanda. The two clashed with a violent burst of energy, but it was immediately clear that Amanda held the upper hand. She was calm, calculated, and overflowing with dark power.

“This is bad,” Miss Dominica muttered, watching the lopsided duel. “Ced is fighting with blind rage, and Amanda is perfectly composed. She’s being too pigheaded—she’s going to lose!”

Dominica’s instincts were right. Amanda found an opening and drove her sword into Ced. The impact sent the young Queen spiraling downward until she crashed hard onto the ground.

“Ced!” Billy’s voice cracked as he ran toward her fallen form.

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

THE HIDDEN STORY OF THE FIRST PIECE OF THE SCEPTER FROM NOVARIA

THE DAY OF THE CORONATION:

“Good thing we arrived in time,” Beam said, her hands glowing as she maintained a shimmering barrier against the dark arrows.

“What’s the move?” Dave asked, looking between Beam and Angel.

“I’m bringing this. Ced needs it,” Beam said, clutching a glowing, bluish gem.

“The first piece of the Scepter of Novaria,” Dave noted, his eyes widening.

As Amanda commanded her black smoke to spread chaos across the realms, the heroes of Novaria sprang into action. “Let me handle the sky,” Angel said, her hair turning a brilliant, snowy white as she tore open a portal.

Dave slammed his fists into the earth, shifting the ground to throw the enemy off balance, while Beam commanded the surrounding trees to knit together, providing her cover. In a blur of light, Beam shifted into a sleek leopard and sprinted toward the fallen Queen.

“The visitors from Novaria! Kill them all!” Amanda shrieked, directing her possessed puppets toward the newcomers.

“No, this can’t be happening!” Miss Dominica cried, seeing her own people turned against them.

Billy raised his bow. “I have to purify them!”

“No, wait!” Ninia grabbed his arm. “The heroes of Novaria have a plan. We have to trust them!”

Beam reached Ced’s side and pressed the bluish gem into her hand. “Ced, use this! You are the keeper of the scepter. Seal them away!”

The moment Ced’s fingers brushed the gem, a blinding light erupted. A voice, ancient and resonant, echoed from within the stone.

“To proceed, you must claim three weapons belonging to this realm,”

the voice commanded.

“Choose the weapons that share a connection with you, Queen of Khastriya.”

Ced’s eyes scanned the chaos, landing on Billy’s bow and arrow. She rubbed the Alexandrite stone, her body shimmering as she transformed into a majestic eagle. With a swift dive, she snatched the bow and arrow from Billy’s grasp.

“What is she doing?” Amanda demanded, turning toward the eagle—but Ninia stepped into her path.

“Eyes on me, b*tch!” Ninia shouted, unleashing a flare of divine, blinding light that scorched the air.

“My eyes! How dare you!” Amanda screamed, clawing at the air.

As Ced felt the power surging, she remembered the words of her mentors. Your power is divine; it can bring peace or chaos. She thought of the Alexandrite stone and the flute Marc had given her.

“I have the weapons!” she declared. The bluish gem pulsed with light.

“And what do you name these three joined powers?”

the voice asked.

Ced thought of the mystery she had investigated with Leanne and Marc. “Khastriyalexandrite!”

The gem shot into the sky, exploding into a radiance that bathed the entire kingdom. As the light touched the possessed citizens, the black smoke was burned away, leaving them gasping but free.

“The purification… it’s working,” Billy whispered.

“Now!” Leah called out to Beam and Dave. They joined hands in a circle. Vines sprouted from Beam’s feet, stitching the broken earth back together. Leah emitted a soft, healing aura that restored the withered plants, while Dave breathed life back into the atmosphere, replacing Amanda’s suffocating smoke with fresh, crisp air.

“What… what is happening to me?” Amanda gasped, feeling her dark grip on the world slipping.

Nearby, the mark of slavery faded from an old shaman woman. Her hunched back straightened, and her withered skin bloomed with youth and grace. “This is what Dalikmata foretold,” she murmured, her true power returning.

Miss Dominica and Billy gasped, falling to their knees. “Goddess Lalahon!”

“Your friend’s fate is sealed,” the Goddess said, gesturing toward the sky.

A deafening, metallic screech tore through the air. Ced had transformed once more—no longer an eagle, but the legendary Minokawa . The dragon-like bird loomed large, its feathers like sharp swords and its eyes like polished mirrors.

The Minokawa let out a rhythmic, haunting sound that vibrated through the palace.

“The ability of Marc’s flute,” Marc noted, looking up in awe. Leanne, however, started laughing.

“Why are you laughing?” Miss Dominica asked, confused by the reaction.

“Ced is singing,” Leanne said, shaking her head with a grin.

Dominica listened closer to the beat of the Minokawa’s cry. It was a familiar, rhythmic tune.

“It’s a song by Steps ,” Leanne laughed. “She’s singing Tragedy !”

“Tragedy… when you lose control and you’ve got no soul, it’s tragedy…” The melody echoed through the Minokawa’s powerful form, resonating with the stone’s magic.

Overwhelmed by the divine song and the loss of her darkness, Amanda plummeted to the ground, unconscious. Ced shifted back to her human form and walked slowly toward her fallen rival.

“I know how you feel, sister,” Ced whispered. “I will give you what your heart truly desires.”

Using the Alexandrite stone, she drew out the last remnants of the black smoke that had poisoned Amanda for so long.

Beam, the Crowned Princess of Novaria, approached with her kin. “As the Princess of Novaria, I grant you the use of the gem to fulfill the prophecy,” she said solemnly.

“Ced, if you send her back to the past, the future will change forever,” Dave warned.

Ced simply smiled. She brought Marc’s flute to her lips and played a mournful, haunting melody.

“The music of lost memories,” Marc whispered.

“I trust my student,” Miss Dominica said firmly. “She knows exactly what she’s doing.”

“She’s amazing,” Billy added, his gaze fixed on Ced with pure adoration.

“Someone’s in love,” Najive teased, nudging him.

Ced raised the bluish gem high. “I command you, Xeres! Return this girl to her family!”

The gem flashed one final time, and in a heartbeat, Amanda vanished from the realm of Khastriya.

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THE PRICE OF PEACE

A FEW YEARS AFTER THE CORONATION…

Years had passed since the Great Battle, and Ced had grown into a formidable Crowned Princess of Khastriya. Under the constant mentorship of Miss Dominica, she had transformed the kingdom. The day had finally come, however, for the rightful owners of the Novarian artifacts to reclaim what was theirs.

“Beam, Leah—it’s so good to see you both again,” Ced said, greeting her old friends with a warm smile.

“We’ve come for the scepter piece from our realm,” Beam replied, looking around at the thriving city. “We are so happy to see how well you’ve done here, Ced.”

“Our kingdom is finally at peace,” Ced explained, reaching for the glowing bluish gem. “I’ve spent these years teaching my people how to defend themselves—especially the women. We don’t need to rely on external power anymore.”

With a steady hand, she returned the fragment of the Scepter of Novaria to Beam.

As they spoke, a new presence moved through the courtyard. “Miss Angel! It is an honor to meet the Princess of Lumia,” Ced said, bowing deeply.

“The pleasure is mine, Ced. I’ve heard much of your bravery,” Angel replied, returning the gesture.

“Now that the scepter is being restored, Angel has something for you in return,” Beam noted.

“Oh, no, please—there’s no need,” Ced said, trying to wave off the offer.

“It is a wish,” Leah insisted. “Allow us to grant you one wish for all you have done.”

Before Ced could answer, the golden sunlight suddenly vanished, replaced by an eerie, swirling grey. The temperature plummeted as a dark figure descended from the sky. Enigma hovered above them, her laughter echoing against the palace walls.

“Greetings, Princesses!” Enigma sneered.

“What do you want, Enigma?” Beam demanded, her battle suit materializing in a flash of light as she shifted into a defensive stance.

“Calm down, ladies,” Enigma said, her eyes fixed on Ced. “I’m not here for the scepter. I’m here to challenge the Crowned Princess of Khastriya herself.”

Meanwhile, in a small, quiet town…

Mailin stood by her window, her face pale with worry. Her eyes were fixed on the darkening horizon.

“What does she mean by that, Mailin?” Manang Luchia asked, placing a comforting hand on the younger girl’s shoulder.

“She’s going to do it… she’s going to sacrifice herself,” Mailin whispered, her voice trembling. “Because of this curse Sitan placed on us billions of years ago… she thinks this is the only way to break it.”

“We have to do something, Mailin,” Manang Luchia said firmly, seeing the sheer terror in her friend’s eyes. “We can’t just let her throw her life away to the god of the underworld.”

 THE SULAD’S GRASP

As Ced’s visitors stepped forward to intervene, they were suddenly struck by Enigma’s curse. Their bodies stiffened, turning as cold and motionless as marble statues. Every time they tried to cast a counter-spell, the curse only tightened its grip, feeding on their magic.

“We have no choice but to stand here and watch,” Beam strained to say, her voice barely a whisper.

“This is Ced’s final battle,” Angel added, her eyes fixed on the young Queen.

In the distance, Mailin and Manang Luchia arrived just in time to witness the brutal exchange of power. “This isn’t good, Mailin,” Manang Luchia whispered. “Your sister is just absorbing Enigma’s attacks. She’s taking all the damage!”

Suddenly, a massive surge of dark energy from Enigma sent Ced plummeting toward the earth. Seeing a desperate opening, Ced crawled toward the frozen Angel.

“I need my wish!” Ced gasped. “Defeat Enigma for me!”

“That isn’t how this works, dear,” Angel replied regretfully. “I cannot interfere with the trial of a Queen.”

“Fine,” Ced coughed, pushing herself up. “Then bring my mentors back to life!”

“Your wish is my command,” Angel declared. She channeled the power of the bluish gem, her voice booming with ancient authority.

“Xeres! By the power of Novaria, restore the teachers to the student!”

Enigma watched the light erupt, a twisted smile on her face. “Perfect. This is all part of the plan. Soon, my sister will finally be free from Sitan’s reach!”

Enigma’s gaze drifted to Mailin and Manang Luchia in the distance. “Mailin? What are you doing here?” she murmured. But before she could move toward her sister, a swirl of suffocating black smoke materialized before her.

“You hypocrite,”

a voice hissed from the shadows.

“Do you really think you can escape me? If you die, Enigma, you belong to me.”

“I know that,” Enigma replied coldly. “And I’d love nothing more than to stay by your side, my Lord.”

She turned back to the battlefield, launching volleys of dark energy balls from her palms.

“Are we… alive?” Melanie gasped, blinking in confusion as she looked at her hands.

“Watch out!” Sharmaine yelled, seeing the incoming projectiles. She immediately threw up a shimmering shield, the energy balls detonating against it like thunder.

“What did you do, Ced?” Helen asked, her voice echoing with the peace of the afterlife. “We were supposed to be resting in Kamurawayan , in the presence of Gugurang.”

“I’m sorry,” Ced said, her eyes blazing with determination. “But Khastriya needs you one last time.”

“I can’t hold this shield forever!” Sharmaine strained.

“Zandra, let’s help her!” Helen cried. Zandra’s appearance began to shift, her skin glowing with the ethereal light of Lumia.

“I’ve missed this,” Melanie laughed. “The fight with Amanda was boring compared to this!” Her hair ignited into a roaring, blazing fire as she revealed her true form—a warrior of the Kingdom of Hestia.

“You look like the woman I met in the forest,” Ced noted, amazed.

As Enigma unleashed her full power, the vibrant landscape of Khastriya began to wither. The sky turned a bruised purple, and a bone-chilling cold swept through the streets. Helen and Sharmaine joined hands, their voices rising in a harmonic chant that transformed their armor into radiant battle-regalia.

“Let’s fight!” Ced shouted. She began to draw a glowing symbol in the air, her fingers shaking until Melanie placed her hand over Ced’s to guide her.

“Inhale. Exhale. Focus on the lines,” Melanie coached. Together, they traced a sigil that pierced through the darkness.

Enigma watched with sadistic delight. “Go on! Show me more!” She unleashed a tidal wave of black smoke toward them. Helen and Sharmaine stepped forward, using the power of their voices to harmonize against the smog, purifying the very air until it was breathable once more.

While the battle raged, Mailin and Manang Luchia reached Billy and Miss Dominica.

“This is a suicide mission,” Billy said, his face pale as he heard the plan.

Leah of Novaria stepped forward, offering a small, glowing blessing. “As Goddess Lalahon said, we can purify her with your arrow, Mailin. But your strength alone cannot fight the essence of Sitan. Take my blessing; it will ensure your strike hits the mark.”

“But we’re trapped!” Miss Dominica cried. “Beam and Angel are frozen out there!”

“I know what I have to do,” Mailin said, her jaw set. “For my sister.”

“Go,” Goddess Lalahon’s voice resonated through the hall. “Save her soul.”

Back on the field, as Enigma prepared a final, crushing blow against the mentors, an arrow whistled through the air. It struck Enigma square in the back. She gasped, the pain flaring white-hot. She spun around to see Mailin standing with the bow.

“Mailin… what have you done?” Enigma whispered.

As her concentration broke, the stasis field over the castle shattered. Angel and Beam gasped as they regained their movement. Leah and Dave rushed out from the palace to join the circle.

“Ced! Draw the Symbol of Purification, now!” Leah shouted.

Ced’s hands flew through the air, tracing the complex lines, but as she reached the end, she faltered. The lines wouldn’t close. The symbol remained broken.

Enigma began to laugh, a hollow, echoing sound. “Fools! You cannot purify me! And you, sister… how dare you betray me when all I wanted was your freedom!”

“You don’t have to sacrifice yourself!” Mailin sobbed. “There is always a way!”

But Enigma was no longer there. Her eyes rolled back, replaced by a void of pure darkness. Sitan had taken full control.

“Look at them, Enigma,”

Sitan’s voice boomed from her mouth.

“Look how they struggle to save a soul that already belongs to me.”

Deep within the Sulad , the Land of the Dead, Sitan’s shadows coiled around Enigma’s true soul. Far below, the great serpent Bakunawa stirred, waiting for the feast to begin.

A NEW DAWN

Back in Khastriya…

As the lines of the purification symbol refused to close, Ced felt the weight of the kingdom on her shoulders. Suddenly, her eyes cleared. “Wait… I have an idea!”

She closed her eyes and whispered into the wind. Her voice, amplified by her divine connection to the land, echoed in the ears of every man, woman, and child in the realm. “Help me draw this symbol. We cannot do this alone.”

Across the kingdom, the people responded. Children traced the lines in the dirt or on scraps of paper; parents drew them on the walls of their homes. As thousands of people focused on the same sacred geometry, tiny orbs of pure light began to rise from every corner of Khastriya. They drifted toward the palace like a sea of stars, merging into the symbol Ced held in the air.

“Now!” Ced shouted.

The completed symbol erupted, channeling its energy into the arrow lodged in Enigma’s back. A blinding radiance began to dissolve the dark essence that had bound Enigma for centuries.

“Sister, please! Let us help you!” Mailin cried out, her voice cracking. “Free yourself!”

Meanwhile, in the depths of Sulad…

The heavy, rusted chains that had anchored Enigma’s soul to the underworld began to crack and shatter. Sitan roared in fury as his prize slipped through his fingers. “NO!”

But the light was too strong. The chains disintegrated into ash.

On the battlefield, the darkness finally drained from Enigma’s body. She went limp, falling into a deep, peaceful unconsciousness as her true form returned.

“We did it,” Leah breathed, a look of triumph on her face. “Incredible work, Ced.”

“Ate, we don’t have much time. We need to return to Hestia,” Dave urged, opening a shimmering portal.

“Thank you for everything, Ced. We will visit soon,” Beam said with a nod and a smile. Ced watched them go, her heart full as the portal closed behind the heroes of Novaria.

The Aftermath

Mailin took her sister back to the quiet village, where they could finally live without the shadow of the curse.

“Thank you for saving my sister’s soul,” Mailin said as Ced came to bid them farewell.

“I’m just happy I could help, Mailin. I’ll see you around,” Ced replied.

“What do you mean, my Queen?” Mailin asked, confused. Ced simply winked and turned away.

The time came for Ced to step down. She attempted to give the throne to her mentor, Helen, but Helen shook her head. “I have found someone more capable of ruling with a fair heart and true judgment,” Helen said, pointing toward Miss Dominica.

“Of course!” Ced agreed.

In a grand ceremony, Dominica was crowned the new Queen of Khastriya. With the kingdom in safe hands, Ced and Billy made a choice. Their hearts still belonged to the world they had come from. The S.A.P. girls returned with them, quickly becoming icons in the music and acting industries, their voices and stories captivating the world.

Ced returned to her life as a policewoman, standing once again alongside her best friends, Marc and Leanne.

At the Police Station…

“La Fiery rescued the woman kidnapped by the Black Dragon Organization,” Marc announced, sliding the morning newspaper across his desk.

Ced and Leanne leaned in to see the headline.

“La Fiery… she did it again,” Leanne whispered, a proud smile on her face.

“Where is Denny Anne?” Ced whispered to herself, her mind already turning toward the next mystery.

CATCH ALL-NEW EPISODES OF LA FIERY

Gabriela seeks her revenge on the Black Dragon Organization.

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