The wind was hitting the treetops hard, and the shadows of the forest seemed to lengthen in the darkness that enveloped the scene. Lucian walked with firm steps, pain and rage mingling in his chest like a storm that found no respite. His mother, behind him, followed him at a slow pace, as if the distance between them was a barrier that even she could not cross.
In the silence of the night, only the rustling of broken branches could be heard, while the tension grew, almost palpable, between mother and son. Lucian stopped suddenly, without warning, and his mother bumped gently against his back. He looked at her with fury in his eyes, but his words came out choppy, as if each sentence cost him his soul.
-Why, mother? -His voice was low, but the anger was felt through every word, as if his whole being was about to explode. Why did you lie to me for so long? Everything you told me was a lie! You raised me with stories that weren't mine! -Tears began to well up in his eyes, but they were not only tears of pain; they were also tears of rage. You told me that my father was the same man as Seraphina and Edwin's! That he was my father! And now you tell me he wasn't, that it was all a lie! -A glare of fury filled her eyes, as her voice grew louder. Why, mother, why did you keep all this from me?!
A few feet away, two small figures watched the scene with wide eyes. Seraphina and Edwin, hidden in the trees, exchanged uneasy glances.
-Why are they screaming? -asked Edwin in a fearful whisper, clinging to his sister's arm.
Seraphina did not answer immediately. Her hands trembled slightly as she tried to process what she saw. She had never heard Lucian speak with such fury.
-I don't know... but something is wrong," she finally replied, her voice barely a trickle.
Both brothers felt a shiver run down their spines when they saw their mother's expression. They had never seen her look so despondent.
Lucian's mother tried to take a step toward him, but her feet seemed pinned to the ground, as if the magnitude of her son's words had left her breathless. Her face reflected the anguish of the mother who had lived with too heavy a burden, a burden she had tried to hide in order to protect her son. In a trembling but determined voice, she spoke:
-Lucían, my son, what I have hidden from you... I did it out of love. I raised you with your siblings, Edwin and Seraphina, in the hope that you could live a peaceful life, far from the dangers that haunted us. I knew that if I told you the truth, the weight of it would have been too much for a child. How could I have told you that the man you thought was your father... wasn't really? What happened to me with him... with Grey... is not something that can be easily explained. -He paused, searching for the right words, knowing that the pain he was causing Lucian now was something irreversible. Grey Thunderborn... was the man who stood by my side after I fled the kingdom. It was he who helped me when I needed it most, and together we built a family. From him your siblings, Seraphina and Edwin, were born. But there was something dark about him, a curse that consumed him. I couldn't tell you about it... I didn't want you to know, because I knew it would destroy you.
Edwin swallowed and looked at his sister with a pale face.
-What do you mean? -He asked in a trembling voice, "Why is Lucian so angry?
Seraphina shook her head, not knowing what to answer. This was all too confusing. They had grown up believing that Lucian was their older brother, that their family was one, united and unbreakable. But now, it all seemed to be crumbling in front of their eyes.
Lucian looked up at her, his breathing ragged with the fury that didn't seem to subside. Disbelief still invaded him, but there was something in his mother's words that stopped him, as if, deep down, he felt that the truth was even more complex than he thought.
-What now, you tell me I'm the son of a king? -His tone became sarcastic, as if the revelation was something completely impossible to accept. Of a king? After everything you told me about Grey, about that man I thought had given me life, you come to tell me that my true origin is linked to something much bigger? -Lucian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, his mind was about to explode from confusion and pain. But the rage was still stronger.
Seraphina felt her heart squeeze in her chest. She had never seen Lucian so affected, so angry... so broken.
-Edwin, I don't like this," she whispered, holding his hand tightly.
-We have to do something..." Edwin murmured, his eyes shining with a childish fear he couldn't hide.
Lucian, looking at his mother with a mixture of pain and fury, took a deep breath.
The bewilderment inside him did not disappear, but something in her words made him doubt, although not enough to forgive her.
-What am I supposed to do now, mother? What am I supposed to do with all this lie, with this truth that I never asked for? -Her voice grew weaker, as if the weight of the words was costing her too much. How can I go on after knowing all this? How can I trust you after you kept from me what I am, what I really am?
It was then that two small figures burst through the trees.
-Lucían! -Edwin shouted, running towards him with tears in his eyes.
Seraphina followed him immediately, her face full of anguish.Before Lucian could react, they both hugged him tightly.
-What's wrong?-Edwin sobbed, burying his face in his older brother's chest. Why are you screaming like that? Why are they fighting?
Seraphina pursed her lips, her voice cracking as she spoke.
-We don't want you to go," she whispered. We don't want you to leave us.
Lucian felt a lump form in his throat.-asked Edwin in a fearful whisper, clinging to his sister's arm. Seraphina did not answer immediately.
Her hands trembled slightly as she tried to process what she saw.She had never heard Lucian speak with such fury.
-I don't know... but something is wrong," she finally replied, her voice barely a trickle.
Both brothers felt a shiver run down their spines when they saw their mother's expression.
They had never seen her look so despondent. Lucian's mother tried to take a step toward him, but her feet seemed pinned to the ground, as if the magnitude of her son's words had left her breathless.
Her face reflected the anguish of the mother who had lived with too heavy a burden, a burden she had tried to hide in order to protect her son.In a trembling but determined voice, she spoke: -Lucían, my son, what I have hidden from you... I did it out of love.I raised you with your siblings, Edwin and Seraphina, in the hope that you could live a peaceful life, far from the dangers that haunted us.I knew that if I told you the truth, the weight of it would have been too much for a child. How could I have told you that the man you thought was your father... wasn't really?
What happened to me with him...with Grey...
is not something that can be easily explained.-He paused, searching for the right words, knowing that the pain he was causing Lucian now was something irreversible. Grey Thunderborn...was the man who stood by my side after I fled the kingdom.It was he who helped me when I needed it most, and together we built a family.
From him your siblings, Seraphina and Edwin, were born.
But there was something dark about him, a curse that consumed him.I couldn't tell you about it... I didn't want you to know, because I knew it would destroy you. Edwin swallowed and looked at his sister with a pale face.
-What do you mean?-He asked in a trembling voice, "Why is Lucian so angry?
Seraphina shook her head, not knowing what to answer.This was all too confusing.They had grown up believing that Lucian was their older brother, that their family was one, united and unbreakable.
The beast grinned, showing dagger-sharp fangs.
-So here you are... the child of prophecy.
His voice was not a sound, it was a guttural growl that seeped into the bones like poison. Suddenly, without warning, the demon moved his arm and a whirlwind of shadows flew towards Lucian like a whip made of darkness.
But before it reached him, a burst of golden light stopped it.
The angel stood in his way.
His sword, now glowing with holy wrath, blocked the attack with a force that made the air vibrate. Her wings spread like shields of light, protecting Lucian and his family from the impact.
But the demon only smiled more sadistically.
-Are you going to protect him, angel? -his voice was pure mockery.
The angel's eyes glowed with intensity. He did not answer. He only gritted his teeth and raised his sword, pointing it at the demon in an act of defiance.
The sky roared with another clap of thunder. The ground split into fiery cracks.
And the battle began.
The demon moved with inhuman speed, its massive claw descending like a guillotine. The angel barely had time to react, his sword crashing into the beast in an explosion of light and shadow. The impact was devastating. A tremor ran through the ground, uprooting trees, causing birds to flee in terror into nothingness.
Lucian and his mother were thrown backwards by the shockwave, barely managing to stay on their feet.
The two titans attacked each other relentlessly, each blow like a thunderclap that shook the world.
Dark blood spattered the air as the angel managed to sever one of the demon's claws, but in response, the beast impaled him with one of its sharp limbs, piercing him from side to side.
The angel let out a roar of pain, but with a holy fury, he tore the claw from his body and, with a flutter, ascended into the sky.From above, his sword burned like a flaming sun.
The demon prepared to meet him, its ghastly laughter echoing across the battlefield.
But something changed.
The air vibrated with an unknown energy.
The gravely wounded angel lifted his face to the sky and let out a deafening scream, a shriek that shook existence itself.
The clouds parted.
The sky was torn.
And from that celestial crack, a being of light descended.
Its silhouette was impossible to describe in human words. It was fire and glory. It was judgment and salvation.Its mere presence caused the demon to instinctively recoil, its body trembling for the first time.
The celestial creature spread its golden wings and, with a single flap, extinguished the darkness in an instant.
The demon growled, but this time, not with arrogance. This time, with fear.
The real combat was about to begin.