Powerless
Althea’s hands trembled at her sides. Slowly, she turned to Gavriel and gave him a faint, reassuring smile. The mont he saw it, his heart dropped.
“No...” Gavriel growled, trying to step toward her, but the dark mist tightened instantly, locking him in place. That smile. He hated it. He could feel her emotions clearly through their bond, her resolve, her acceptance and her willingness to sacrifice herself.
“Althea!” he shouted. “Don’t you dare!”
Hades laughed, his voice echoing unnaturally through the hall. “Do you truly think you have power over ?” he mocked. “Did you not know that your Lycan strength was born from darkness?”
His gaze shifted to Gavriel, sharp and cruel. “The wolves inside your kind. The shifting. The instincts you worship. All of it ca from fallen ones.”
Gavriel snarled, struggling harder. “You’re lying.”
But sothing inside him twisted painfully. Chaos, his inner wolf, growled in distress.
[What’s happening?!] Gavriel demanded through their bond.
Chaos’s voice ca back strained, weaker than ever before.
[He’s right. I can feel it. His presence binds . I can’t fight him. My power... it answers to him.]
Gavriel froze.
Zander stepped forward, hands glowing as he cast one spell after another. Ancient runes flared brightly, slamming into the dark mist surrounding Hades.
They shattered instantly.
Zander staggered back, coughing, blood slipping from the corner of his mouth. His eyes widened in disbelief. “That shouldn’t have failed...”
Hades laughed louder. “Great magician, reduced to nothing. Your power is only a copy. A shadow.”
Gavriel clenched his fists. “What is going on?!” he demanded. “Explain. Now.”
Zander wiped his mouth slowly, his hands shaking. “There are records,” he said quietly. “Older than our kingdoms. Older than the Moon Goddess belief.”
He swallowed before continuing. “They say the Creator first made mankind. Man and woman. No magic, no beasts. Just free will.”
“But humans were too weak and easily tempted by the devil. They fell from grace and were cast out of the paradise the Almighty had prepared for them,” Zander continued, recalling the ancient texts he had once read out of re curiosity, manuscripts from a distant continent.
“And as humanity continued to grow, Watchers were sent from heaven to watch over them,” Zander went on. “That was when humanity truly fell. Corruption spread.”
Gavriel growled. “Get to the point.”
“Those Watchers disobeyed the Almighty God and they beca demons,” Zander continued. “They fell from the heavens because they crossed boundaries they never should have. Hybrids were born. Power that should not exist. And demons learned to imitate what they could never create.”
Silence fell heavily.
“You’re saying...” Gavriel started.
“That magic, shifting, even divine beasts,” Zander finished, “are borrowed power. Twisted imitations of sothing holy.”
Gavriel shook his head. “We don’t have ti for this. We need a solution.”
Hades spread his arms wide. “There is one way. Join in spreading darkness across this world and destroy the humanity the heavens cherish so much. Join , and I promise you will rule over the earth. All humans will bow beneath you, and you may do as you wish with them. We were ant to be superior—so embrace the darkness within you.”
Zander’s face drained of color. “No! That’s not the way... They say... there’s only one way to stand against true darkness.”
Gavriel turned sharply. “What way?”
“To surrender,” Zander said hoarsely. “Completely. To the Creator of heaven and earth.”
“The Moon Goddess?” Gavriel asked.
“No,” Althea whispered. Everyone turned to her. “It’s not the Moon Goddess,” she said softly. “It’s God. The Almighty.”
A mory surfaced in her mind—an old man from a distant land whom she had encountered in the market when she was eighteen. It was one of the rare tis her father had taken her out with lva. She rembered the man’s calm voice, gentle yet carrying an unmistakable warning. lva had even pulled her away, convinced the old man was mad.
“He told ,” Althea continued. “Darkness would co. That the world would be forced to choose. Power or truth. Darkness or light.”
Zander inhaled sharply. “You’re serious?”
Gavriel clenched his jaw. “So what now?!”
Zander’s voice shook. “To choose the light ans letting go of the darkness completely.”
“And what does that an?” Gavriel demanded. Right now, his only focus was keeping Althea safe, yet he was utterly powerless. Chaos was already slipping beyond his reach, and he could feel the truth in Hades’s words—that sohow, the lycan inside him could be used to control him.
.
“It ans giving up these powers,” Zander said. “Magic. Dominance. Everything that ties us to darkness.”
“No,” Gavriel snapped. “That’s madness.”
“It also ans surrendering our lives as we know them,” Zander added quietly.
Hades clapped mockingly. “Now you understand. It doesn’t make sense, does it? You will return to being like those useless, powerless humans. So why choose that fate?” He sneered. “It’s better to join and wipe out all the worthless humans in this world. Why beco weak when you can remain powerful under my rule?”
Althea stepped forward and the mist did not stop her.
Gavriel’s heart pounded violently. “Althea, stop!”
She turned back to him. Tears shimred in her eyes, but her gaze was steady. “I’m not choosing death,” she said gently. “I’m choosing light.”
“You’re choosing to disappear,” Gavriel said hoarsely.
She shook her head. “I’m choosing to trust and believe to the creator, God Almighty.”
Hades sneered. “Light is weak. It always has been.”
Althea closed her eyes. She shut out the chaos, the screams, and the fear clawing at her chest. Light was never weak. She knew that much. And she knew the demon before them was only trying to deceive them. She would not let him win.
She lifted her face upward, not with magic, not with power, but with faith. Deep inside, she understood that all living things on earth could not have co from nothing. They had a creator. She could feel it with quiet certainty. The God Almighty was the one truly in control of heaven and earth.
“I surrender,” she whispered. “Not to darkness. Not to fear. But to You. Do with as You will. Please let light overco darkness.”
The world stilled. A heavy, sacred presence descended over the palace, unlike anything they had ever felt.
The dark mist suddenly scread. Cracks of blinding white light split the air above them and from the heavens, pure light began to fall.
******************************
Author’s Note (December 24, 2025):
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