Chapter 218: The Sun, The Witch and The Soul
Edward’s pale blue eyes swept the area before he asked, "I’m guessing Evelyn is still inside?"
"She is..." Damien replied, his brows drawing together with worry for her. He let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his light blond hair. "I swear, that couple is going to be the death of me. They’ll have my hair falling out at this rate!"
A small smile tugged at Edward’s lips as he pictured Damien bald for a moment. But then a low groan sounded behind them, and he snapped his head towards the greyish figure lying on the ground behind Damien. At first, he wondered if the man was suffering from some sort of disease, but when the figure lifted his bloodied face, Edward’s eyes widened like saucers.
"I-is that....Prince Valen?"
Damien turned to see Valen shifting weakly despite the beating he had given him, and scoffed, "He’s no prince, alright. Just a persistent little cockroach who refuses to die no matter how many times I try to squish him."
"By the Gods, does this entire family practise dark magic?" Edward muttered in disbelief as he got a clearer look at Valen’s grotesque appearance. A deep frown formed on his face. "I wish King Solan could see exactly who he was pushing our princess towards. It bloody well boils my blood just thinking about it!"
Thud!
Damien was about to reply when a sound came from the door of the Vault of Ages. His head snapped in that direction, and his dark crimson eyes widened in shock as he saw Evelyn’s unmoving body lying before the gate.
Edward turned a split second later, a sharp gasp tearing from his lips. Before either of them could speak, both men sprinted toward her, only for a blinding golden light to erupt from her body, hurling them back with sheer force.
The rumbling that had ceased moments ago roared back to life with renewed ferocity. The explosion of golden brilliance was so immense that its thunderous echo rolled across the entire land. The sphere of blinding light grew so vast that anyone who witnessed it from afar would have thought the sun itself was rising upon the world.
Some time back, before the explosion...
Back where Alex and Caleb were standing with Zevran’s soul, they watched the destructive storm around Ivan intensify so violently that they were forced to step several feet away to avoid being caught in it or becoming part of the flying debris themselves.
The tempest in the sky raged on, lightning striking in relentless succession, adding to the already ominous atmosphere. By now, Zevran had revealed the true origins of Ivan and Evelyn to the two men, leaving them speechless as they stared at their prince in awe and reverence. They had always known their prince was extraordinary. After all, no one else came close to Ivan’s power. No one, until the day a princess who shone like a star stepped into their prince’s lonely life.
Alex had known from the start that she was special, unlike any woman he had ever encountered. For all her beauty, grace and gentleness, she carried immense power, enough to rival their formidable prince. She was the only woman who had ever managed to move a man like Ivan in every possible way. And now he understood why....because they were destined to meet. Because they were bound by something far beyond mortal comprehension.
A breathless, disbelieving chuckle escaped him as he continued to stare at his prince.
While Alex chuckled, Caleb, on the other hand, stood agape. He was so stunned that his poor brain could not process the explosive revelation. The only word circling his mind was "celestial beings." And all he could do was connect that term to Evelyn’s beguiling, otherworldly beauty.
Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "I knew it! She’s so beautiful! She had to be a goddess! Such beauty can’t belong to the mortal realm!"
Silence followed.
Both Alex and Zevran frowned and turned toward him with identical looks of disapproval. Before Alex could chastise him, Zevran beat him to it. "You should be grateful I’m only an apparition. Otherwise, I would have driven my sword through your neck for speaking of the Divine One in such a manner."
Caleb’s eyes snapped to Zevran, and he bowed his head at once to both of them. "F-forgive me! I meant no disrespect! In fact, I respect the princess more than anything! It was foolish of me to blurt something out of sheer shock!"
Alex only sighed and turned back to look at Ivan, only then noticing something that made his eyes narrow.
"What is that?" he asked in a tight voice, prompting the others to follow his gaze.
Caleb’s eyes grew wide. "Is that....a woman?"
Zevran’s expression darkened. "Humanity has fallen so low. Quick! Do not let her get near him!"
At Zevran’s command, Alex and Caleb shot into the air, swords drawn, closing the distance between them and the figure approaching Ivan. Whether she could still be called a woman was debatable. Her appearance was so warped and unholy that the sight of her made their stomachs twist. She emitted so much dark energy that it was suffocating.
Fighting against the raging wind, they charged at her. The woman, who had been flying through the air toward Ivan, immediately pulled back, narrowly avoiding the blades that would have sliced into her.
She let out a crackling, unhinged laugh at their futile attempt to stop her. Her blackened, hollow eyes fixed on them as their feet finally touched the roof’s surface, and she snarled, "Oh....so you’re the prince’s dogs?" She clicked her tongue in mockery. "Don’t worry....you won’t be serving him for long."
Her crazed gaze then shifted back to Ivan, who remained engulfed within the storm.
An evil smirk curled over her darkened lips, making her look every bit the wicked witch she was, and she whispered, "It seems he’s having a bit of trouble....dying."
Alex and Caleb then realised it was none other than Viva herself, finally revealing her true colours. Alex spat furiously, "You vile woman! You’re the one responsible for His High Highness being like this! I won’t let you!"
With that, he and Caleb launched themselves at her again, blades poised to strike. But before they could reach her, she summoned the pulsing dark stone into her hand and unleashed a spell straight at them. The blast hit with brutal force, flinging them away and sending them crashing to the far edge of the storm surrounding Ivan.
Both Alex and Caleb groaned in agony, the impact leaving their bodies trembling. They tried to push themselves upright, only for blood to spill from their mouths. The attack had clearly damaged their internal organs, leaving them unable to rise.
The deranged Queen Viva, drunk on dark power, shifted her focus away from the injured vampire and back to the prince she had come for. She was genuinely taken aback by the sheer destructive force Ivan was producing under the corrupting influence. She couldn’t understand why it was happening, but as the dark energy continued pouring out of him, a vicious smile curled over her lips. At last, she was getting what she wanted....his complete annihilation. There was no turning back now, so she might as well hasten the process.
Then something else caught her eye.
A faint golden shimmer glowed around his right shoulder, slowly spreading toward his heart. She narrowed her eyes at the sight and licked her lips. "Ah....so that damned brooch I took from you still left a remnant of its power inside you. You poor thing. Let me make it easier for you....my prince."
With that, she focused on the dark stone in her hands, and thick smoke pulsed outward like a living thing, slithering straight toward the eye of the storm. Before it could touch the destructive vortex, a pale blue luminous figure appeared, placing himself in front of the attack and deflecting the blow that would have reached Ivan.
Viva’s eyes widened in shock at the sight of him. Her smile vanished as she breathed, "No....impossible. King Zevran?"
The pale blue shield he had conjured from the last remnants of his power was already beginning to fade, but the fury blazing in his eyes remained undiminished.
"You wicked woman! I am ashamed to think my legacy was passed down to such vile creatures as you!" Zevran’s voice thundered with righteous anger.
Viva was utterly baffled to see King Zevran, who should have been dead for thousands of years, was now standing before her. ’What is this? Why? How is he here?’ Her mind raced as she took in his form, and then the truth settled. He was translucent.
A vicious smile crawled back onto her lips. "I see....you’re dead already. Tell me, what can a soul possibly do to me? I suggest you crawl back to your grave and stop meddling with the living."
"This soul just stopped your attack," Zevran replied.
"Yes....you did, and it caught me off guard," she said, her gaze drifting back to his form as it began to flicker. "But seeing as you’re about to disappear, I’m guessing that was the only attack you could manage to deflect. It seems you’ve exhausted whatever power remained inside you."
