The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Smoke coiled in the air, painting the castle in streaks of shadow and fire. Broken debris snapped , still crackling from the aftermath of their battles.
But none of that mattered now.
Because at the center of the destruction stood nma.
No—what had once been nma.
His body was no longer the one they knew.
But now sothing was different with him
He had grown horns, whom curled wickedly from his temples, his dark skin etched with veins of glowing crimson that pulsed with unstable power.
His eyes, once sharp and playful, were now nothing but burning pits of madness. Steam hissed off his shoulders. The earth beneath him blackened.
He let out a breath, and the castle around him bent backward as if it itself feared what he had beco.
"Annie," Zayne muttered, stepping in front of her instinctively. "He's not going to stop."
"I know."
Annie clenched her fists. The sight of him hurt—this wasn't her son who used to toss jokes mid-fight, the boy who risked everything for his people.
This was a monster wearing his face. But she saw it... deep beneath the fury. A flicker. A scream that wasn't making it out.
"Hold back," she whispered.
Zayne nodded. "Just enough to knock him out."
Too late.
nma blurred forward, leaving a crater where he stood. Zayne barely reacted in ti—his arms crossed in front of his face as a fist slamd into him like a falling mountain. He rocketed back through the walls , dirt pluming into the air.
Annie didn't wait. She spun sideways, both hands surging with her Light Creation, her eyes locking onto nma's figure as he lunged again.
She used,
Light Creation // Light Whip
Using it to struck his arm—warping bone and tendon—but he tore through it like paper. A backhand swiped across her face, sending her skidding across the forest floor, carving a trench behind her.
Blood trickled down her cheek. She forced herself up.
"nma!" she shouted, voice cracking with desperation. "It's Annie! Snap the hell out of it!"
He paused. For just a mont. Head tilted. Like sothing reached him.
Then he roared, and the trees behind her burst into fla.
Zayne erged from the smoke behind him..
And used his speed to catch nma by surprise,but nma used his claws to block the attack.
However the force launched the berserk warrior forward, and Annie caught the motion mid-step, pivoting with a flash of yellow light—her magic striking the side of his leg to slow him down.
nma twisted, planting a fist into the ground to stop himself.
The impact sent a quake rolling out from him.
He spun around, face twisted in rage, and started running towards Annie..
Whom dashed to the side, flanking nma, her Creation swirling in her palm—light but sharp like a jagged spear.
She hesitated.
Just for a second.
He turned his head. Locked eyes with her. And in that instant, she saw it.
Tears.
Real tears. Streaming down his cheeks, cutting paths through the soot and ash.
Then his scream tore the air apart, and he rushed her.
Annie ducked low,
And used her Creation to create..
Witch Creation // Light thorns
Into the ground between them—roots twisted upward unnaturally, grabbing at his legs. But nma leapt straight over them, a blur of muscle and demon power , and brought his fist down like a cot.
Annie vanished just in ti, appearing behind him mid-roll, carrying a light sword and swang it across his back.
It hurt nma,as he let out a huge cry,but it wasn't enough to make him lose consciousness .
But he didnt waste any ti .
And turned and slamd both palms into her chest.
Her body hurled backward, smashing into a piece of a wall with a sickening crack. She gasped, pain shooting through her ribs.
"Damn it... nma..."
Zayne was on him again, his eyes glowing , lines of his creation trailing behind every step. He weaved in and out of nma's swings, fists glowing with red Impact.
One, two, three solid blows landed against nma's ribs, jaw, stomach—but each ti, nma tanked it, grabbed Zayne's arm, and hurled him into the sky.
Zayne flipped mid-air, and landed with a heavy thud beside Annie.
While out in the gates of the castle..
Where the undead Giant had wrecked terror, that the soldiers were trying hard to clean,in case anyone was trapped in the debris.
While Elias was still sitting near the Giant's remains, his body was still not clear due to the voices's talking earlier.
But he decided to snap out of it and listened very carefully,to see if the voices were there..
But he didn't hear anything.
He got up..
"Get these pieces of blob to the carriage!"
He ordered the n,who imdiately ran and put the remains of the Giant's body on it.
"Should we throw them out the kingdom?"
Asked a soldier..
"No!I will take them to the place I hunted the Giant!The DARK FOREST..."
Replied Elias.
"What about the intruders?" Said the soldier..
Elias hoped on the horse's back and started riding it.
He turned his head around and said to the soldier..
"I have no worries,since,Zayne is with them."
(Not knowing that Zayne had betrayed them..)
Back to the fight..
Zayne started talking..
"He's not slowing down," he gritted out. Blood leaked from his mouth. "He's burning inside like a furnace. This isn't gonna work, if we hold back ."
Annie wiped blood from her chin and stood.
"I know."
She walked forward.
"Annie—"
Said Zayne with a tired voice.
"I have to try again."
Replied Annie..
Zayne didn't stop her.
She stepped toward nma, her vision clear ,creating a huge light sword,in case he of need . He stood in the smoke, claws twitching, body heaving. His mouth opened as if to scream again.
But she spoke first.
"Do you rember Lilith?" she said softly. "Do you rember what she said? That she hated the ocean because it reminded her of silence?"
nma flinched.
Annie's voice shook, but she kept going. "She's gone, nma. You watched it happen. And you're still here. That ans you have to keep going. For her."
He fell to one knee.
His hands grabbed his head. The crimson glow surged brighter. Unstable. Cracking.
"nma... please co back."
He looked up at her—and for the briefest second, his eyes flickered back to brown.
"...A-Annie?"
Her breath caught.
Then the glow surged again—and he let out a blast of energy that flattened the trees around him.
Annie was thrown backwards.
Zayne sprinted past her and jumped,grabbing nma with all his might,as nma struggled to free himself..
"Now, Annie!"
He scread with all his might..
And Annie started ran straight at nma.
He roared, but breaking Zayne's spirit was gona be tough ,as he scread through gritted teeth, "Hurry!"
Annie leapt into the air—twisted..
And touched nma's forehead with her hands..
Co back to us,my boy.
She said softly and used her light creation to shine a bright light the size of a tear..
Witch Creation // Purification
And the light entered nma's forehead.
His body froze.
The creation rippled through his nervous system, cleansing everything that was in it.
nma's eyes widened.
Then they closed.
And his body fell limp, crashing into the dirt.
Silence.
The forest where their fight had brought them to was ash. Broken. Burnt.
Annie sat down next to him and shed a tear of grief . Zayne grabbed the place where nma cut him on , his breathing was a bit ragged.
They looked at nma's unconscious form, the demonic features slowly fading, the rage retreating into whatever void it ca from.
Zayne looked at Annie. "You okay?"
She didn't answer right away. Just stared at her boy.
"I got through," she whispered. "Just for a mont."
Zayne placed a hand on her shoulder.
"That's enough."
She nodded once, swallowing the lump in her throat.
Together, while holding nma they continued walking towards the castle.
However in one of the forest's branches,Garrick was hiding,as he grabbed his head saying:
"No,no,no they are monsters, not just the boy, them too, I never knew Zayne was so powerful,he could have probably killed the kid if he wanted, and she! She was even stronger"
"How do i do it?How will I make them pay?!"
And like always he used his creation to disappear.
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