Chapter forty-four
Tragedy hits
“What brings you two here, being so botherso?" Penelope whispered softly as she laid Victoria down on the cool grass in a nearby arena, carefully positioning her away from any danger.
Veronica knelt down, her fingers probing gently at Victoria’s chest. A painful gasp escaped Victoria’s lips.
"Several ribs are broken," she said crisply, her tone betraying no hint of panic. Before anyone could react, Veronica snapped her fingers, and a radiant, glowing orb materialized above Victoria’s chest, illuminating their surroundings with its radiant glow.
With a swift gesture, Veronica directed the orb downward, and Victoria gasped again—not from pain, but from the enchantnt enveloping her, the tingling warmth soothing her injuries.
"You see? It’s curable, just as I said," Veronica murmured, a satisfied smile gracing her lips as she watched Victoria's condition improve.
But the serene mont shattered like glass when a chilling sound sliced through the air, a whistling that froze Elizabeth’s blood.
Instinctively, she looked up.
What she saw sent a wave of dread crashing over her. Horror gripped her heart as a dark, foreboding cloud raced toward them, moving with unnatural speed and nace.
An icy shiver spiraled down her spine, and she knew, deep down, that this was no ordinary cloud. From the heart of the darkness, a silver knife materialized, hurtling toward her with lethal precision.
Elizabeth flinched, frozen in place, her feet seemingly glued to the ground by sheer dread, paralyzed by the encroaching malevolence.
Then, through the swirling mist erged a figure cloaked in darkness—Morris. He wore a sinister smirk, his once-pristine silver hair now flailed wildly around him. Blood trickled from his lips, but he didn't seem fazed as he aid directly for Veronica, knife glinting alarmingly in the dim light.
Veronica’s eyes widened, shock mingling with fear as she took a step back, searching frantically through her pockets for her own weapon.
But by the ti she locked eyes with Morris again, it was far too late.
Morris lunged forward, effortlessly twirling like a wraith, his silver braid rippling behind him as he leaped into the air. A sudden gust erupted from his palms, lifting Veronica’s sword into the air, shattering it into jagged pieces that fell to the ground near his feet with a finality that echoed their hopelessness.
Horror washed over Elizabeth as she stared at Morris’s calculated gaze. He seized Veronica by the collar, forcefully yanking her closer, twisting her head back cruelly.
"What the hell are you doing?" Emily shrieked, her voice thick with outrage as her jaw tightened in disbelief.
Morris didn’t reply, his focus narrowed on Veronica as he brandished the knife, pressing its glinting blade against her throat.
"Stop! She’s your girlfriend! How can you do this to her?" Elizabeth shouted, rushing forward without thinking. Morris shoved her back hard, and she hit the ground, the breath knocked out of her. As she struggled to recover, a whirlwind of anger bubbled inside her, but she caught a glimpse of Morris—his eyes were full of hurt, as if he was fighting back tears. He glared at Veronica, his voice low and icy. “You think I’m gonna let you save them? You’ve got another thing coming. You’ll pay for this with your life.” Veronica’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears, her face a battleground of rage and despair, but she bit her lip, refusing to let anything spill.
She held her head high, but Elizabeth could see the cracks beneath her tough exterior. It hit Elizabeth hard. She felt this wave of pity swell for Veronica. In a world where friends turned against each other, there was Veronica standing alone, left hanging by everyone she'd trusted.
Every encounter had been a brutal hit intended to crush her spirit, yet here she was, still fighting. Elizabeth couldn’t shake the thought of what was hidden beneath that hard shell. Veronica was so much more than the fierce persona she displayed—she was a woman weighed down by her vulnerabilities, desperate for the support she never got. Veronica had built this tough barrier, a tough-guy act just to keep the world at bay. Elizabeth couldn’t even imagine the endless painful monts Veronica had faced, feeling like she was drowning in mockery and judgent with nothing but her own sorrow for company.
"No way, that’s just wrong!" Elizabeth shouted, her voice thick with urgency, echoing the protests of the others who had gathered around.
But Morris just shrugged it off with a smirk.
Suddenly, chaos erupted.
Ti seed to slow as the knife glead under the dim light, its bloodied blade a sinister reminder of past horrors.
Morris pressed it cruelly against Veronica’s throat, the pressure escalating as his hands shook uncontrollably, eyes clinched shut as if preparing for the abyss.
In a sickening stroke, he inflicted a deep cut, a final act of pure malevolence as he severed the delicate thread of life that bound Veronica to this world…
Glimring vapors and thick liquids of various hues swirled within the containers, each one promising untold possibilities. Datura's fingers danced over the vitals, finally selecting one of the violet hue that shimred like a twilight sky.
"This vitality holds imnse potential," Datura explained as she grabbed the magipen—a sleek tool imbued with ancient magic. Tilting its spiral end inward, she pressed down, allowing the thick liquid to flow forth smoothly, clinging to the tip of the pen with an almost eager anticipation.
The magipen radiated a golden glow, reflecting off Datura’s focused expression.
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"Observe closely," she instructed as she maneuvered the pen over the screen. With a swift twist of her wrist, she splashed the vibrant liquid onto the surface, where it burst forth, taking the shape of a sharp, jagged rock that clung defiantly to the display.
With a flick of the magipen, the rock lifted off the screen, hanging in midair like a sentinel ready to guard against intruders. Datura then retrieved another vital, releasing a fine mist from its nozzle that enveloped the rock, rendering it entirely invisible.
"And that," she said with a satisfied smile, "is how it'll work."
As Morris lted away into the swirling mist, laughter reverberating ominously in the silence, Elizabeth’s heart raced.
She rushed forward, panic consuming her as Veronica crumpled to the cold ground like a marionette with severed strings, a crimson waterfall cascading down her neck in a grueso arc, painting the earth below in shades of despair.
“No, Veronica!” Elizabeth’s voice broke, raw and desperate, as she knelt beside her friend’s fragile form, her hands trembling violently, desperate to hold onto the remnants of life still flickering within her friend.
Grasping hold of Veronica’s hand, she clung to it as if her frantic grip could sohow anchor her to life, to stave off the encroaching darkness.
“Liz, be careful, okay? Keep our place safe—Don’t cry for —Save the others—Just rember what we gotta do—You’re strong—You can pull through this—” Veronica’s voice was barely a whisper, shaky and tired, but all the desperation was there.
Despite a thin trickle of blood slipped from the corner of her mouth, she mustered a serene smile, her final expression radiating warmth amidst the chaos.
“For I’m really your true sister, you know? No one else will ever get it the way we do. It’s you and against the world, always has been.”
With a gentleness that belied her pain, Veronica's eyelids fluttered closed, her head hit the ground in a sickening thud, her arms dangled lifelessly beside her, her breath escaping like a fading echo, leaving Elizabeth in the grips of silence as the world around her dimd into an endless void.
Staring down at her friend’s still form, Elizabeth felt as if the ground beneath her had vanished, leaving her to hover in a sea of unending sorrow. Tears stread unbidden down her cheeks, splattering softly onto the ground, each droplet mourning the loss of a cherished bond.
Her heart felt as if it had been wrenched from her chest, enveloped in an all-consuming darkness, a turmoil of emotions crashing within her. For a fleeting heartbeat, hope had flickered in the shadows; then, in the next agonizing instant, she was plunged into the depths of despair.
Grief coursed through her like a violent storm, and she shuddered, the choking sensation of loss twisting her heart with the cruel hands of betrayal, coldheartedness, and rcilessness, leaving her gasping for solace amidst the shattering reality.
The sun disappeared behind the blanketing, dark clouds, and heavy raindrops splashed on her face, blending with the tears streaming down her cheek.
Elizabeth tilted her head upwards and looked up sorrowfully. Her throat was stuck with grief, and her eyes shone with tears.
Her jaws tightened, her eyelids reddened by sorrow.
"Why? Why in the na’s of the heaven do those things keep happening to ? What the hell have I done to deserve this?" her shrill voice echoed throughout the rain, yet soon drowned out by the thunder and lightning.
But silence engulfed her, thick and suffocating, as everyone turned a blind eye to her anguish.
Elizabeth’s vision blurred, clouded by a surge of fury bubbling up from the depths of her chest. It was a rage she could hardly contain. With every ounce of will, she fought herself to stand tall, to steady herself, to walk past Veronica's lifeless form without faltering, though every instinct scread at her to flee.
Her sister—her true sister—who had pulled her from the brink more than once, now lay cold and motionless as a stone, snatched away by the treachery of a coward.
The reality of losing Veronica hit Elizabeth like a fist to the gut, struck her like a thunderclap, and she vowed, right then and there, that her sister's sacrifice would not be in vain, just as the oracle had foretold.
As if a shadow had passed over the sun, a wave of emptiness washed over her, threatening to swallow her whole, such heavy and unrelenting that it was hard for her to breathe. How could Morris so callously end Veronica’s life?
He had no idea what dark storm was brewing in the depths of her heart. Vengeance—her fiercest ally—was awakening. With a deep, shuddering breath, Elizabeth squared her shoulders and steadied herself.
Each step felt laborious, as if she were tugging burdened chains behind her, the weight of despair dragging at her heels, as if trudging through molasses, drawn down by lancholy, while every nerves of her crackled like dry leaves in a scorching fire. Though she felt as if her inside was twisted into a tight knot, she forced herself to keep walking.
She knew, deep down, that she won’t bail Veronica’s trust—she had to press on; she couldn't afford to crumble—she had to show them what she had got.
Suddenly, slicing through the oppressive stillness of the arena like a scythe, a high-pitched, chilling laughter pierced the air. It was a cruel sound, sharp as glass, reverberating off the clearing with a mocking resonance that made Elizabeth's ears ache, a taunt that sent a shiver running down Elizabeth’s spine and igniting a fierce blaze of determination coursing deep within her.
"De Angelo was such an idiot, don't you agree? She was so pathetic—" the voice swirled in Elizabeth's head, filled with the sa bitterness that had made him turn his back toward his friends.
Though it didn’t sound like Morris’s voice, Elizabeth didn’t care.
"Shut up!" Elizabeth scread. She felt sothing surging inside her head. And suddenly, Elizabeth found sothing struggling out from her back.
A tumultuous churn broke out, an unsettling force that threatened to pull her under—as if an invisible current was dragging her into an inky abyss. The atmosphere around her rapidly shifted, turning bone-chillingly cold.
Each breath she drew felt like inhaling shards of glass, freezing her insides into brittle icicles that threatened to shatter at any mont.
Then, in a fleeting mont, the numbing cold began to dissipate, replaced by a ferocious heat that ignited from her spine. Excruciating struck her, it coursed through her body like wildfire, the pain searing and intense, as though her very nerves were ablaze, burning with an intensity that made her skin prick with heat. The atmosphere thickened, carrying the tallic scent of blood that hung heavily in the air.
A swelling tide of rage and despair crashed over her, pushing her to unleash a raw, heart-wrenching shriek that shattered the stillness of the night. As she turned in disbelief, her wide eyes beheld an awe-inspiring sight: two colossal black eagle wings burst froth from her back, unfurling majestically on both sides, each feather was rich and dark, shimring like polished obsidian, and they glistened in the rain, reflecting kaleidoscopic raindrops that danced across the ground.
Ethereal green mist curled around the wings, swirling like smoke, wrapping every plu in an enchanting embrace that seed to pulse with life.
In that breathtaking mont, a surge of invulnerability ignited within her, a tenacity she had never known simring to the surface. She cast her gaze downward and gasped as flas burst forth from her palms, flickering and crackling with a fierce luminosity.
For the first ti in her life, Elizabeth felt an extraordinary strength welling up within her, a fierce toughness that surged from the very depths of her heart.
Waves of control washed over her, clouded like a misty shroud. The exhilarating flas twirled in her palms, lingering through her fingertips, and sizzling in the darkness.
Suddenly,a shadow swept past her in a blur, jolting her tense senses. Instinctively, Elizabeth turned on her heels, her heart racing as she faced Datura.
The woman stood within the dim light, her dark attire flowing around her like tendrils of smoke, every edge sharp and unyielding. Datura’s eyes sparkled with a cruel, calculating glint, as her mouth drawn down to an evil curve. The stage was set, tension thrumming between them as thunder bood above.
"Co on, pathetic. How's the feeling to watch your little friend die?"
Datura wanted her to break.
But Elizabeth was going to fight back without fear.
She was gonna get Morris first, to show him what she had got.
And she was going to win.
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