Chapter TWENTY
Darkness swallowed first. Then a breath tore out of my lungs like I had just clawed my way out of drowning.
I opened my eyes, I was back again in the mysterious forest.
But the forest... wasn’t the forest anymore.
Trees lay shattered and toppled around , their trunks sliced clean through like a blade sharper than reality itself had cut them. The lake beside was gone—evaporated—leaving only a cracked bowl of dirt. Black goo clung to the severed wood, writhing slowly, alive in a way that made my skin crawl.
What... happened here?. I thought as mories of my father’s head soaring through the sky started to co back to .
I should’ve felt pain. I should’ve felt fear. I should’ve felt sothing after Klaus beat to the edge of death.
But when he cut off my father’s head... a part of died with him.
Everything inside beca a silent, empty vacuum.
Tom...
Even he might already be dead, I thought. No one could survive alone this long outside human territory.
I forced myself forward, step by agonizing step, replaying every cruelty the world had thrown at since the day John found bleeding in the woods. Every humiliation. Every nightmare. Every loss.
"This is all the Lightning Pack’s fault," I whispered, voice trembling with anger. "All of you should pray I die here... because if I don’t, I will make sure to descend my wrath on every last one of you."
Minutes dragged like hours until I finally saw her—the woman—sitting beneath the shade of the Wolfmort tree as if she had been waiting for .
She tapped the space beside her without even looking up.
I sat.
"What happened here?" I asked.
"Nothing," she replied calmly, as if the destruction around us was ordinary. "Just a few demons trying to escape into the surface world. Though I repelled them it still took a lot out of ."
"Demons?" I blinked. "How the hell are demons getting in here?"
"The Wolfmort has been a barrier between the underworld and the surface for thousands of years. Now it’s dying. Cracks are beginning to form. And things slip through."
That explained the black, crawling goo.
She turned to . "Luna... do you know why you are here?"
"You saved from being killed by Klaus," I said.
A small smirk curved her lips. "Oh no, my child. You’re wrong. You’re already dead. As we speak, your body lies in a morgue."
A cold shock ripped through .
"No. No—if I’m dead, how can I still feel pain?"
"Because of your traits. When you awakened, your healing magnified. It allowed to save your soul and bring you here. But returning you?" She shook her head. "Impossible. Klaus damaged your soul with the pressure of his domain."
My knees buckled. Rage and grief clashed inside , choking .
"No," I whispered. "No way. That bastard doesn’t get to kill and walk away. I’ll claw my way out of the underworld if I have to—do you hear !? I will drag myself back just to destroy him!"
My voice cracked, raw with fury.
The woman watched quietly, then said, "There is a way."
I grabbed her hand instantly. "Tell ."
"It’s dangerous," she warned.
"I don’t care." My grip tightened. "Tell ."
She t my eyes. "You can repair your damaged soul... but only by destroying it first."
My breath froze.
"If you eat a leaf of the Wolfmort tree, your soul will shatter and reconstruct itself. It will heal stronger... far stronger. You may even gain a domain of your own. But every reconstruction will erase an emotion permanently. You get to choose the ones you’re willing to lose."
The world stilled.
Lose parts of myself... to return?
To avenge?
I didn’t hesitate. "I’ll do it."
Her eyebrows lifted slightly—surprised by how quickly I agreed.
She stood, plucked a leaf glowing with eerie blue veins, and placed it in my hand.
"The process will be unbearable. Are you prepared?"
I didn’t answer.
I shoved the leaf into my mouth.
My soul began to show cracks.
Light exploded. Agony consud —pure, soul-splitting agony—and yet... I didn’t scream. Not once.
I destroyed myself.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
With each shatter, an emotion blinked out of existence:
Compassion.
Love.
Fear.
And when I was finally reconstructed for the last ti, I knew Luna was gone.
A new being opened her eyes within .
Raven.
I descended slowly back to the spiritual ground. The woman’s gaze sharpened, recognizing the thing I had beco.
"Congratulations, Luna—"
I cut her off.
"My na is Raven. Luna is dead."
Power thrumd through every fragnt of my reconstructed soul—cold, sharp, limitless.
Even she looked at with sothing close to respect.
"My mistake... Raven," she said softly. "As you are now, your soul alone could battle ten ancient vampires. And with the Wolfmort’s fruit already strengthening your body, you will be capable of fighting even an Archduke level vampire."
I smirked. The world suddenly felt too small.
"What should I call you?" I asked.
She stepped closer. "Call Elena."
"How do I give you the sacrifices you asked for?" I asked, unflinching.
Elena touched my forehead.
A burning sensation carved an octagon mark into my skin—icy and perfect.
"Use this to contact ," she said. "When you have their souls and their blood."
I nodded. "I’ll call you when they’re ready. And trust ... there will be many."
She raised her hand. "I’ll send you back now."
A vortex of light opened beneath .
And just before it swallowed , Elena whispered, almost to herself—
"If only the world knew what monster I just unleashed..."
I closed my eyes.
The power of my rebirth surged through , wild and cold with a smile on my face.
I whispered into the void:
"Burn, it shall.
The world will burn."
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