I shouted into the darkness, stunning mom completely. Mal's laughter almost kept getting louder with my screams, until mom shook me out of it.
"MOON!"
"Huh-?"
I was stunned. Even I didn't understand where that came from, but maybe it was the desperation to survive? A lot was at stake for me and I felt something bubbling in me. Though I was unable to entirely figure out what it was, I could still feel it and I believed strongly in its presence. Mom gulped and closed her eyes, as she breathed deeply and nodded.
"Where's Vic, Moon?" Mom asked abruptly. But she was right, where WAS Vic? Out of all the chaos happening, I hadn't seen him since I left him last night. Where was he? Was he safe? What was even happening? My heart pounded in my chest, as I felt my anxiety take over me.
"Moon. You don't have much time. Act with proper thinking. Believe in your soul light."
I looked at Mom as she said that. Did she know about it? But how?
Questions were rapidly increasing in my mind, but I had no time to answer any of them.
"Mom, Mom I- I need my soul stone. Someone… someone took it away and I don't know where it is. They released Mal, mom. They… they set him free, and I don't know how else to fight back. Please, help me, mom. I need the soul stone. I NEED IT-"
"MOON! Listen to me. Calm down. A troubled heart won't help you, Moon. Think rationally. Do what you're supposed to do. Go to Vic. I promise it will all be over."
Clouds rumbled in the distance as I ran through the roads barefooted. I was still conflicted about my actions and my reality, but something in me advised me to keep going and I was only listening to that voice. I ran through the woods as my dress kept tearing in various places due to the thorny shrubs, but I didn't stop. I ran until I was in front of the Lotus Dome, panting like a dog.
"I won't let you win this time, Mal. I know I couldn't save Dione last time, but I promise you, you won't be able to touch her this time." Vic said.
"You're dumb, Vic. She's nothing but a grave for you. She will lead you to your demise."
"She won't, Mal. She can never. Her existence only speaks of love. No bloodshed can ever last in front of her purity, Mal. She is the faith I carry in my heart, Mal. I know her too well to fall for your words."
"You don't have to fall for my words, Vic. You will soon see your fall in front of me when I tear you down to shreds."
"Nobody but Moon can put an end to this story, Mal. Not even you and your dark forces can do anything to her in my presence, I promise you that."
"Vic, I promise you, you won't even be in the condition to say the same thing when I-"
"Kill me?" Vic laughed, "I can sacrifice myself for my love, Mal. But I know I won't die because of you."
"We'll see about that, Vic-"
"STOP!"
My voice startled both Mal and Vic. They turned to look at me equally shocked. While Vic was more concerned, Mal was simply enraged because of my presence. He roared and punched a wall and it broke down in seconds.
"WHY ARE YOU HERE AGAIN, DIONE? WHY CAN'T YOU LET ME DEAL WITH HIM ALONE?"
"BECAUSE I LOVE HIM," I screamed. Mal fell silent for a moment and I could almost see the pain in his face. But then, he hid it skilfully with his smug smile.
"Love, huh?" He laughed, "Love is a dangerous game to play, Dione. Don't get fooled."
"I was fooled, Mal. I was fooled for the longest time when I believed that I wasn't Dione. I was fooled when I believed everyone blindly, and if I am not wrong, I would soon get the proof of that as well. But not anymore. I'm done with being fooled. I know who I am, Mal. And I know what power I hold."
Mal fell silent again as if he was thinking about something deeply, but then, he burst out laughing.
"Yeah? YEAH? YOU DO? YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR POWERS ARE, HUH?" He laughed again and took a few steps toward me, but Vic guarded me, making him stop.
"Okay, okay, then- then tell me what your powers are. Tell me… who is it, apart from Vic? Is it Anya?"
The mention of her name filled my heart with fear. Anya was missing for the past couple of days. Did Mal have something to do with it?
"Or is it Vlad?" He asked. I could see Vic's expression get darker.
"Or is it Astra?" He laughed in a sinister manner, and it shook my soul. I got reminded of Astra's lifeless face this afternoon as I once again questioned myself. Was I worthy of this?
"Well, whoever it is, Dione, you know how it goes, don't you, hm? So let me see who it would be next." Mal said as he pointed towards the entrance of the dome.
"MOON! MOON- WE ARE HERE!" Anya ran towards the entrance with Vlad close behind her.
"MOON, HOLD ON, NOTHING WILL HAPPEN, I PROMISE!"
"Astra?! But I thought she…"
"Hey, so did you decide? Which one of these rats am I killing next, huh? Or should I start with the big cat, here?" Mal said, looking right at Vic. Vic growled in a low voice.
Astra, Anya, and Vlad came running into the dome, and stood at the entrance.
"But- But how?! A-Astra, weren't you-?"
"i-I don't know, Moon! When I woke up, I was completely fine! But I'm sure this was God's way of letting me know that I still had this big pest to deal with."
Astra and Mal looked at each other as if they could kill each other right away. Anya came running up to me as she hugged me from behind. I turned around to give her a firm hug.
"A-Anya! Where were you? And Vlad? What happened?!"
"I-I don't know, Moon. When the catastrophe hit, Vlad and I were by the river. A tornado was approaching the town, but then, a boatsman offered us a ride to the other side of the river, and, well, without thinking much, we decided to go. But then- we- we didn't know what happened. There was fog… and mist… and then, I lost my consciousness. When I woke up, I was alone… in a cave."
"I was in some unknown location, Moon." Vlad added. So… was this Mal's work? But… Why would he keep Anya and Vlad away if he really wanted to hurt us? Or… was it someone else?
As I began getting a little clarity on everything, the clouds moved away from the sky, making my worst nightmares true, and the moon shone exactly overhead the dome. Its blood-red light infiltrated in, lighting up the dome in a bright red hue. Mal laughed out loud in a sinister voice.
"IT'S TIME, DIONE! IT IS TIME!!!"
My heart shook with every word of his. I could feel my legs trembling as I looked at Mal's dark eyes and his smirk. It made me want to recoil and run away, but I couldn't. My legs refused to move as if some sort of unknown energy was holding me back, telling me to fight. I felt tingles all over my body and the center of my forehead. It was intense, and it almost made me shut my eyes. But even when I closed my eyes, I could see something… someone. Someone in a gorgeous gown walking towards me, smiling. Green aura was radiating off the woman, as she filled me up with a power that I didn't even know existed before. I opened my eyes and looked down at my palm and to my surprise, the same sigil that was there on Dione's hand was glowing on my hand as well.
"What the-"
At the same moment, several sounds of bones cracking made me recoil as both Mal and Vic transformed right in front of me. Their groans and roars filled the dome and shook the night air as they grew twice their sizes and stood facing each other. The foreboding feeling in my heart that I felt on the day I arrived, was finally manifesting into reality and I felt like I was reaching a conclusion to this story. But where WAS my soul stone?!
"GRAAAHH!! ENOUGH CHIT CHAT, YOU PESTS! Prepare to DIE, VIC!" Mal said as he advanced on Vic. But Vic was swift and he moved away, dodging his attack. Vic attacked Mal, but Mal looked like that didn't impact him even a bit. They both went at each other like madmen, while I noticed the others. Astra was ready to attack, and so was Vlad and Anya. But where were they getting their powers from? And if they had their powers, why was it so hard for me to bring out the power that I was just feeling in my heart? It almost looked like a bullfighting competition between Vic and Mal, where Vic was tricking Mal and Mal was using brute force, but Vic's tactic only angered Mal instead of making him tired. I knew this wasn't working. Anger, resentment, frustration, and every other low vibrational emotion fed his energy. This was never going to work!
But right in front of my eyes, the fight turned more fierce as Mal realized he wasn't able to hurt Vic. Frustrated, he ran towards Anya.
"GRAHHHH!!" Mal's inhuman roar shook me to the core, but Anya stood fearlessly in front of him. Almost making a high jump from behind, Anya and Vlad pounced on Mal, making him stagger. Though Vlad was smaller in size, he was still able to get a good grip of Mal. Vic took the chance and hit Mal on the head multiple times until he was on the floor.
"Was that… Was that it?" Mal cackled.
"HAH! You take that, you beast!" Anya shouted at Mal. But my heart said something else.
Pushing everyone out of the way at once, Mal stood up and roared aloud. His voice was hoarse and loud enough to break a few more things in the dome. I stumbled on a rock and fell to the floor as he finally unleashed the anger he was holding within.
"YOU LITTLE PESTS-" He screamed as he held both Vlad and Anya by their throats, and threw them aside.
"ANYA!" I shouted and tried running to her. It was as if history was repeating itself again, and I was afraid it might not be the same outcome this time. But almost denying all my worries, Anya stood up. She was hurt, but she didn't let it show on her face.
"BY THE GRACE OF ETERNIA!" Anya's eyes began glowing beautiful purple, as a hot stream of light flew out of her palms, and hit Mal in the chest. Mal staggered back quite a lot of steps, and it took him a while to realize what just happened. But as if he was pleased to see a worthy rival, he smirked at Anya.
"ZACAM YA ADI!" Astra's voice sounded from above us. I looked above my head and saw how she was floating effortlessly in the air. Her white aura almost seemed to blind Mal, as he screamed again, making Astra land on the floor right next to me.
"Astra!" I bent down, trying to pick her up, but before I did so, someone's strong hands grabbed my neck and pulled me away and in a moment's notice, threw me across the room. I hit the wall and fell to the floor, bleeding through my nose.
"MAL!!" Vic's enraged voice made me turn around as I noticed Vic and Mal go up against one another. The fight that was once between the two brothers, had now begun again, except, this time, it was Mal against the five of us.
"I WILL NOT LEAVE A SINGLE SOUL ALIVE, YOU HEAR ME? DO YOU HEAR ME?! I WARN YOU, DIONE. IF YOU WANT THEM ALIVE, THEN-"
"TAME YOUR DARKNESS, YOU BEAST!" Anya hit Mal with yet another energy ball, but this time, Mal ran up to Anya with the speed of light and hit her hard across her face. She fell on her face hard and dragged along the floor until she hit the other side of the dome. She trembled, as her body got afflicted with several cuts and bruises. It was hard for her to try and stand again after the blow, but she kept trying. Astra landed right next to Anya to try and help her, while Vlad roared from the other side of the dorm.
"HOW DARE YOU!!"
Vlad advanced on Mal, but simple martial arts were not enough to hurt Mal. Mal almost flicked Vlad away like a fly.
"RUN AWAY, MOON!!"
Vic's voice almost made me snap back to reality. "WE WILL BE ALRIGHT!! GO AWAY, PLEASE- HNGH!"
Vic's words were cut short as Mal ran to him from behind, kicking him on the spine. Vic fell on the ground, cracking the floor.
"VIC! NO-"
But it was too late. One moment's weakness had made Vic an easy target for Mal. Mal kept hitting Vic repeatedly, making Vic cough up blood.
"No… NO, I WON'T LET YOU-"
Without another word, I ran towards Mal. While I could still hear the others' pleas to stop me, I didn't budge. Almost with an inhuman force, I jumpe, landing my kick right at Mal's chest, making him fall to the ground. Even though I was way smaller in size, for a good while, I had managed to get a hold of Mal's throat. Mal struggled in my grip, as I felt the same warmth from before, surging through my palms. But this agitated Mal a little too much. He grabbed me by my hair and threw me across the room, as I hit and broke a wall. The intense pain that ran through my body, almost blinded me. I tried to stand up, but all in vain. Even Vic couldn't come to me, since this was his only chance against Mal. I somehow managed to turn to look at them.
The fight was turning more intense, but Mal didn't seem to budge. It was as if he was ready to take down an army if needed to, and every time he would look at me, it would send cold shivers down my spine. The thought of my death scared me. I wasn't ready to die, yet! God, what was I even thinking of, when I decided to come here? If Mal was really able to take me down like that, did I stand a chance against him?
Mal's focus was on Vic. He knew exactly what he wanted and that concerned me the most. I gathered up the courage to get up on my feet. Vic and Mal went at each other, while Anya, Astra and Vlad kept trying to attack from the side. The war soon started to look like a dance of death, as several auras flickered around in the room, and several swift moves from both sides boggled my mind. It was as if they were all fighting Mal just to keep me safe, but what about me? How could I save the ones I care about? I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to them, would I? But where was my power? The soul stone! That was the only way I could end it the way Dione did last time. That was the answer.
"MOON!! THE SOUL STONE! I HAVE IT HERE-!"
Mom's voice made me turn around. For a split second, the fight almost stopped, but nobody ceased their movements. It was as if a well-choreographed act was going on behind me, but I was the one who was yet to take part in it.
My face broke into a wide grin as I saw my mom holding the emerald necklace in her hands.
"MOM!" I broke into tears, but smiled through it, as I ran towards my mom to hug her. I would finally be able to be myself, to feel the light in me. But just as I reached close enough.
"AHHH!!" My mom's shriek froze me in my tracks. Her clothes slowly but steadily began getting drenched in thick dark red. The sword that pierced through her stomach was pulled out once and was shoved in again, as mom only gasped for air. She still held the emerald necklace tightly, and as if with her teary eyes, she told me, "Come here and take it, Moon. Don't waste any more time!" But I couldn't force my legs to move anymore. Tears ran down my face as I stood motionless with my mouth wide open. I was shocked. A wave of emotions hit me, as my mom's body fell to the ground, lifeless, and standing behind her with the sword… was Caleb. My world almost came to a halt. My mom… was dead?!
"Caleb…?" My heart was pounding loud. I couldn't hear any noise behind me. Everything was silent, and I only seemed to hear my heartbeats. Desperation hit me hard as I was forced to gulp the whole reality at a go. Multiple deaths, losing loved ones, not knowing the future of your family- Was this what Eternia meant by change? Was THIS the world she wanted to create?
A new surge of wrath filled me up, as I ran up to Caleb and grabbed him by his collar. Disgust fueled me, and anger decided my steps. It was as if my world was going dark, and I could feel the darkness make me want to destroy everything around me, even if it led to my demise.
"WHY? WHY DID YOU DO THAT, CALEB? HOW COULD YOU KILL HER? JUST BECAUSE SHE REFUSED THE MONEY, YOU KILLED MY MOTHER? CALEB, WHY-"
But Caleb didn't respond. Almost mechanically, he simply pushed me aside, making me fall hard on the floor. He then went and picked the soul stone up in his hands.
"Caleb… CALEB, NO, CALEB!-"
'Crush!'
With just a little bit of pressure, the emerald stone crushed in Caleb's hands and fell to the ground as dust. But it didn't feel like he crushed the emerald. It felt like he crushed me. He crushed my existence. Time seemed to stop around me as I sat there on the floor, completely numb. What just happened? Caleb… He just killed my mother, and ruined the last bit of my existence? WHY?!
But Caleb didn't have to answer that question. He was rid of all his responsibilities as soon as he crushed the emerald, destroying my soul light. Caleb's body convulsed a few times, as the sword fell from his hands. Caleb let out a few groans, as dark blood began oozing out of his mouth, eyes, and ears. In just a few moments, he fell dead to the floor.
My head was reeling. Terror hit me hard as I felt like I was losing the last bit of sanity left in me. I screamed in horror, and almost instantly began crying. And as if to accompany my crying and make me realize how worthless I was, at the moment, Mal's laughter filled the air again. The more I cried, the more he laughed, as if it was the only thing fueling him now. But what was I supposed to do now? How was I supposed to help Vic? How was I going to face dad? What was going to happen to me? Was this the end? My hands trembled as I crawled up to mom, and ran my hands over her body. It was as if I was trying to understand if she was really dead. I wiped the tears off my face and laid my head on her chest, but there was no heartbeat. Blood from her body streaked my face and hands, but I couldn't care less.
"Mom? MOM!! MOM WAKE UP!!! WAKE UP, PLEASE! WHY- WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO END LIKE THIS, MOM? PLEASE WAKE UP, MOM!" I wailed loudly. The war raging behind me didn't slow down, but Mal kept laughing at my situation.
"I told you, Dione. I TOLD YOU TO BE SMART, NOT EXTRA-SMART. SO YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE!"
"The blood of the poison tempter," Astra said. I was not looking at her. I only kept wailing on my mother's dead body.
"Someone killed Caleb earlier and filled him with the blood of the poison tempter. The poison tempter poisons a person and then tempts their dead bodies to work for them for a specific purpose. See the marks, here?"
I sniffled and turned around to where Astra was pointing. She moved Caleb's neck to the other side, to reveal the marks of fangs oozing dark blood out.
"Someone was needed to finish the soul stone." She said. But that wasn't the only revelation for me. Something else struck, as I got up and looked at the fight. Anya, Vlad and Vic were still attacking Mal, and even though Mal was strained, he still kept fighting. Even from a distance, I could see Mal's tensed-up muscles and the sweat dripping from his face. He was no longer a soul. He now had a human body. So that was why he needed Caleb?
A terrible storm rose in my heart, and I had to find the end to it.
"No…" I said. "This… This cannot be the end…"
"Moon?" Astra tried to console me, but in vain. I pushed her aside. I was in a trance. My eyes were fixed on my mother's body.
"This… This is not the end…"
My words momentarily stopped the fight, as everyone looked at me expectantly, but I only repeated what I said, but this time, louder.
"THIS IS NOT THE END!!" I shouted. I wiped the tears off my face as I ran off from the dome. I could still hear everyone else's voices, and I could see the different auras even from afar, but I had to leave. I had to leave to get to the end of this.
A thunderstorm was brewing in the sky. But the storm that was raging in my heart was much stronger and more deadly. I ran through the streets like a lunatic, as I kept screaming and sobbing. I was terrified of the end, and I was terrified of Mal. I ran haywire, until somehow, I tripped over a rock and fell to the ground. My body was aching. I felt exhausted and tired. It was as if I really wanted to die then and there and finish it all. I looked at the sky, and all I saw before I closed my eyes was the moon- shining up above with its dark red hue.