The battlefield was still, the air thick with the residue of dark magic and sorrow. The fissures pulsed weakly now, as if Solann's battle with Lumumba and his team had drained them of their once-unbearable energy. But the tension had not vanished; it hung in the air, coiled and waiting, like the calm before a storm.
Amara stood at the forefront, her chest rising and falling with deep, controlled breaths. Her eyes locked onto Solann, who remained standing despite the battle's toll, dark vines still crawling up her arms, though less fierce than before.
Lumumba was beside her, wiping sweat from his brow, his sabers ready, but he stepped back slightly. This wasn't his fight anymore. He could feel it—the magic in the air, the connection between Amara and Solann. It was Amara's battle now, one of heart and power, and Lumumba knew she was the only one who could truly reach Solann.
"You've been fighting this for so long," Amara said, her voice gentle but firm, magic crackling at her fingertips. "But you don't have to carry this alone. You can still let go of this pain."
Solann's eyes, still glowing with that sickly green light, flickered for a moment. She let out a low laugh, but it was filled with bitterness and grief. "Let go? Do you really believe that's possible? After everything?"
Amara stepped closer, her magic pulsing with energy, but not in an offensive way—it was a calming, healing light, a stark contrast to the violent, chaotic force that had surrounded them earlier. "Yes, I do."
Solann's lips twisted, her expression one of pain and disbelief. "I was betrayed by men, by kings, by those I trusted. My people were slaughtered, and those who survived were twisted into these creatures." She gestured to the fallen corrupted elves, their bodies contorted and lifeless on the ground. "There is no peace for me. There is no return to what was."
Amara didn't flinch. Instead, she let her magic flow outward, weaving through the air like a soft breeze, countering the heavy darkness that surrounded Solann. "Maybe you can't return to what was, but you don't have to stay trapped in this. The Sovereign is using your grief and anger, feeding off your pain. You've become a weapon for him, but you can be more than that."
Solann's gaze hardened. "More?" she spat. "What more is there for me? I am what they made me. You think I can just forget? Forgive? After everything they took from me?"
Amara paused, her eyes softening. She knew the weight of Solann's words, the truth behind them. She couldn't ask Solann to simply forgive, to erase the pain of what had happened to her. But she also knew that if Solann held onto this anger, it would destroy her completely.
"No," Amara said quietly. "I'm not asking you to forget. Or forgive. But I am asking you to stop letting it consume you. You don't have to forgive them, but you don't have to destroy yourself either."
Solann hesitated, the vines around her twitching, as if uncertain whether to continue their attack or to retreat. The green glow in her eyes flickered again, her expression wavering between rage and... something else. Something softer. More fragile.
Amara saw her chance and pressed forward. "This isn't about them anymore, Solann. This is about you. Your people, your home—it's gone. But that doesn't mean you have to follow them into darkness. The world still needs you. The people who are still alive, who can be saved—they need you."
For the first time, Solann's posture shifted. She looked at the twisted ruins of the Western Kingdom, the land she had once sworn to protect. There was a hollow sadness in her eyes as if she were seeing it clearly for the first time.
"And if I let go, what do I become?" Solann whispered, her voice filled with despair. "If I let go of this anger, this pain... what's left of me?"
Amara stepped even closer, her magic now gently brushing against Solann's dark aura, like a hand reaching out in the darkness. "You become who you choose to be. Not what the Sovereign made you, not what those kings turned you into, but something more. Something stronger."
Behind them, Lumumba stood silently, watching the exchange, his sabers sheathed. He could see the change in Solann's posture, the way her magic seemed to weaken, to flicker between obedience to the fissures and a desire for something else—something better. Lumumba knew Amara had this under control. For once, it wasn't his words that could fix this.
Jon, standing a little off to the side, felt a strange pull in his chest as he watched Solann. His usual bravado and jokes faded into something deeper—something he couldn't quite understand yet. There was something about her story, her grief, that struck a chord with him. She wasn't just a villain. She was... lost. Just like he had been, at some point.
Jon's eyes flicked between Solann and Lumumba, who gave him a quick glance, as if sensing something shift. Lumumba gave Jon a subtle nod. Maybe this wasn't just Amara's battle after all.
Solann's breathing grew more labored, the vines tightening around her arms as if trying to pull her back into the darkness, trying to stop her from breaking free. But Amara's magic was stronger now, shining like a beacon in the gloom.
"It's not too late," Amara said softly, her voice filled with conviction. "You don't have to be their weapon anymore. You don't have to be the monster they made you. You can choose something else."
Solann's eyes filled with tears, her body trembling as the weight of her pain, her anger, threatened to overwhelm her. "I don't know how to let go," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Amara reached out, her hand glowing with soft magic. "Then let me help you."
For a long, agonizing moment, Solann didn't move. The vines tightened, and the air grew colder, heavier, as if the fissures themselves were resisting. But then, slowly, almost imperceptibly, Solann raised her hand, reaching out toward Amara's.
Just as their hands were about to touch, a pulse of dark energy surged from the fissure behind them, sending a shockwave of magic through the ground. The vines around Solann exploded with violent force, sending her and Amara flying backward.
"No!" Lumumba shouted, rushing toward Amara as she tumbled to the ground.
Jon was at Solann's side in an instant, his eyes wide with panic as he saw the dark energy swirling around her. "Solann! You have to fight it! Don't let it take you!"
But Solann's body convulsed, her eyes glowing brighter, her hands clawing at the ground as the fissures pulsed with raw power, trying to reclaim her.
Amara staggered to her feet, her magic surging as she tried to counter the dark energy. "We have to stop the fissures! They're pulling her back!"
Lumumba rushed to Amara's side, his hands glowing with faint traces of magic he barely understood, but instinctively knew he could wield. "How do we shut it down?"
Amara's eyes flickered with panic. "We need to sever the connection. The fissures are tied to her emotions, her pain. We need to disrupt it, but it's too strong!"
Jon knelt beside Solann, his heart pounding in his chest. For a moment, he wasn't sure why he cared so much. But something about her... something about her story made him feel like he needed to help her, to save her.
"Solann," Jon said, his voice urgent but soft. "You don't have to do this. You don't have to fight alone. You've been through hell, but that doesn't mean you have to stay there. We can help you."
Solann's eyes flickered, her body trembling as she struggled against the dark magic trying to pull her back into the abyss. She looked at Jon, her expression filled with pain, but also a glimmer of hope. "Why?" she whispered. "Why would you help me?"
Jon's gaze softened, and for once, there was no joke, no bravado in his voice. "Because you're worth saving."
The words hung in the air for a moment, and in that instant, something changed. Solann's body went still, her eyes filling with tears. The dark magic around her began to waver, to weaken.
Amara took the opportunity, her magic surging as she cast a powerful spell, severing the connection between Solann and the fissures. The vines around Solann's arms crumbled to ash, and the dark energy in the air dissipated, leaving only silence.
Solann collapsed into Jon's arms, her body trembling, but the glow in her eyes was gone. The connection to the fissures had been broken.
Amara let out a shaky breath, her hands trembling as the last traces of magic faded from the air. "It's done," she whispered, relief washing over her.
Lumumba stepped forward, his usual grin returning as he looked at Jon, who still held Solann gently in his arms. "Well, looks like someone's got a thing for tragic villains, huh?"
Jon rolled his eyes but couldn't suppress the faint smile tugging at his lips. "Shut up, Lumumba."
Solann, weak but conscious, looked up at Jon, her voice barely a whisper. "Thank you..."
Jon nodded, his voice soft. "You're not alone anymore."