The tension in the room was suffocating. The boys stood facing their parents, their expressions a mixture of anger, disgust, and disbelief. The weight of the revelation they had uncovered about their parents' horrifying deeds still pressed heavily on their hearts.
Mateo's father broke the silence, his voice sharp and accusatory. "Isn't he your friend? Can't you stop him?"
Amaias narrowed his eyes, his voice cold and cutting. "No, I can't stop her. And you're wrong. Do you even know who she really is? She's not just my friend—she's one of the victims of your deadly experiments. Do you know how much she's suffered because of your foolish plans and your lust for power?"
The room fell silent, the boys' words striking like daggers.
One of the parents hesitated before speaking, their voice laced with disbelief. "She's Kieran's... child, isn't she? His son?"
Another parent immediately shook their head, their tone urgent. "No, that can't be. His daughter was dead. We planned the entire assassination years ago—she couldn't have survived!"
Ziven, who had been seething in silence, finally snapped. He stepped forward, his voice laced with venom. "You're all so clueless. That's where you're wrong. She's not his son. She's his daughter. The same girl you thought you'd killed. The same girl you've been fearing all these years. The one who has every reason to come after you!"
The parents exchanged alarmed looks, their faces pale as the realization sank in.
"Impossible," one whispered. "She can't be alive... we ensured—"
"You ensured nothing!" Mateo interrupted, his voice trembling with rage. "She survived your assassination, your experiments, all of it. And now, because of you, she's been forced to bear a burden no one should ever have to carry. All because of your greed!"
Amaias's voice was cold and steady, cutting through the chaos. "She's more than just Kieran's daughter. She's stronger, smarter, and far more determined than any of us. And she has every right to take you all down for what you've done."
The parents were visibly shaken now, the full weight of their actions crashing down on them.
"Do you understand now?" Arven added, his usual carefree demeanor replaced by raw intensity. "She's not just someone you can dismiss or manipulate. She's coming for justice—for every life you destroyed. And if you think for a second that we'll side with you, you're dead wrong."
The parents were left in stunned silence, unable to respond. The boys turned to leave, their resolve clear. They had made their choice, and it wasn't with their parents.
As they walked out of the room, Ziven muttered, "They have no idea what's coming."
Mateo nodded, his voice low and determined. "And they deserve every bit of it."
For five days, Cior remained silent. No movements, no signs of action—just an eerie calm that hung over everything. The boys' parents began to believe, naively, that perhaps she had forgiven them, that for the sake of her friendship with their sons, she had chosen to let it all go.
But they were terribly, fatally wrong.
She hadn't forgiven them. She was merely waiting. Planning. And when the right moment arrived, she struck.
---
One evening, as Mateo's parents lay sleeping in their room, she appeared. Out of nowhere, Cior materialized, her once-bright wings now a deep, ominous black. The soft glow that usually accompanied her presence was gone, replaced by a haunting darkness that seemed to swallow the room whole.
It was said that an angel's wings turned black only in times of utter despair or profound sadness. Perhaps that was the case with her too. But tonight, the despair wasn't hers alone—she was there to share it, to make them feel every ounce of it.
Mateo's parents awoke, startled and terrified. Seeing her standing at the edge of their bed, her expression cold and devoid of emotion, sent shivers down their spines.
"Please... please forgive us," Mateo's father stammered, his voice trembling with desperation. "We know we were wrong. We beg you, don't hurt us... don't hurt me."
Her lips curved into a cold, lifeless smile. "Why shouldn't I?" she asked, her tone icy and detached. "Did you feel anything when you hurt those little kids? Did they do anything to you? Did they hurt you? No. They were innocent, defenseless. And yet, you destroyed them without a second thought."
Her words sliced through the silence like a blade. Mateo's mother clung to her husband, both of them frozen in terror.
The person standing before them was otherworldly—her beauty was striking, but it was overshadowed by the lethal aura she exuded. She was terrifying. She was dangerous.
"So... will you kill us?" Mateo's father finally managed to ask, his voice barely above a whisper.
"No," she replied, her voice colder than ice. "But I have questions. Tell me honestly, which of you was involved?"
"It was only me," Mateo's father confessed, his voice shaking.
"Good," Cior said, her expression unchanging. "At least you're capable of honesty. For now."
"What are you going to do?" he asked, dread dripping from every word.
She tilted her head slightly, a chilling smile creeping across her face. "Oh, I won't let death claim you. Not yet. You see, before that happens, I want you to understand the pain you've caused. Every. Single. Moment. Of it."
Her tone grew sharper, more sinister. "Do you know the Astleio spell?"
Mateo's father's eyes widened in sheer panic. "No! Not that one! Please, I beg you!"
Cior laughed—a sound devoid of warmth, a hollow echo of cruelty. "As if I would listen to your pleas. Did you listen to theirs?"
With a wave of her hand, she began to cast the spell. Shadows seemed to gather around her, dark energy pulsating in the room. The Astleio spell was a torment like no other. It trapped the victim in a never-ending nightmare, forcing them to relive every single death they caused, to feel every ounce of pain they inflicted—even the smallest cuts, the tiniest moments of agony.
As the spell took hold, Mateo's father screamed, his body convulsing as he was pulled into the nightmarish realm.
"Enjoy," Cior said, her voice mocking and unfeeling. "This is only the beginning."
With that, she disappeared, taking Mateo's father with her and leaving his mother trembling and alone in the darkness.