Like glass shattering, the space began to fragment and break. Purple lightning tore through the air with a thunderous roar. I could feel a torrent of raw chaotic energy spill out into the courtyard. Within the ring of blood, an image began to form. Demonkin as far as the eye could see across a ruined landscape. Glowing red eyes waited with anticipation and delight. Standing in front of the horde was a young man, licking his lips in satisfaction. Envy stood among his seven generals just on the other side of the fractured space.

I struggled to stand under the full weight of Irene’s domain. Her attention was fully focused on the thousands of floating glyphs creating the portal that would bring death to this realm. With one labored step, I forced my body to resist the invisible pressure bearing down on me and move across the courtyard. I had to move now or everything would be lost. Another step, my foot-dragging weakly across the ground, then another.

Irene looked over at me with a bemused smile. “Do you really think I will let you interfere after I spent all this effort?”

Irene’s domain bore down on me with increased intensity. It was all I could do to remain standing as the invisible weight tried to force me to my knees. I could barely even breathe as I spoke.

“Interfere?” I said through ragged breaths, “I am just trying to move out of the way.”

“Out of the way? What are you…” Irene asked.

She glanced around in confusion for a moment before a shadow blocked out the sun. She looked up to see an island floating high above the clouds.

The island paused for a second, as a gentle blue light suddenly went dark. Like the ton of rock and stone it was, the island began to plummet towards the ground.

Irene’s eyes went wide. The glyphs creating the portal scattered as she scrambled to move clear of the meteor crashing down on her head.

In her panic, Irene’s domain stopped suppressing me and I began to run with all my might. Leaving Irene with one last taunt, I shouted back, “If there is one thing I have learned thanks to you these past few days, it is how to set a trap for a crow.”

I smiled as the glyphs creating the portal between realms began to fall apart. Realizing she would not be able to cross the courtyard in time, the blood formed into new glyphs that surrounded Irene in a bubble.

I leapt behind a statue that decorated the courtyard as the island slammed into the ground. The earth shook as houses collapsed and buildings were crushed. Stone cracked and splintered as a mushroom cloud of dust was sent into the air.

Shards of stone pelted the statue, leaving it ruined beyond recognition but saving me from the shrapnel created by the manmade meteor strike. My legs still shaking, I scrambled to my feet as I looked at the devastation.

The mansion and what remained of the island sat in a deep crater devoid of remains. The shattered space connecting the two realms still floated, undisturbed by the effects of the impact. I could not hear him, but I could see Envy shouting furiously as he ripped one of his nearby Demonkin to shreds in a furious rage. I could not help but stick my tongue out at him, which of course enraged him even more.

The door to the mansion opened and my family rushed out, all wrapped in a soft blue light that had protected them from the fall. They sprinted over to me, Charly leaping to hug me when he was close enough.

“Wren, are you alright?” my mom asked. I could hear the concern in her voice as she also pulled me close for an embrace.

“I am fine,” I replied as I pulled myself free of the two affectionate hugs. As happy as I was, now was not the time. I looked towards the crater and squared my shoulders. I could still feel it, the overwhelming pressure from Irene’s domain. It was weaker than before, but still very much there. I motioned towards my family as I drew my dagger. “We may not be fine for long though. Get ready for a fight.”

“Who could possibly survive something like that?” Donte shouted in surprise.

“Irene.”

My dad’s eyes narrowed as a series of glyphs dissolved in his hand. Silver light wrapped around our bodies. The third eye appeared in Donte’s forehead and a soft blue light joined as well. I felt the pressure from Irene’s domain nearly disappear as the Preateritum ruin began to protect us. We all looked towards the crater with batted breaths as we prepared.

The first sign of movement was the blood scattered across the crater. It came to life, moving across the ground like a snake as it slithered towards a section of rubble. There was a moment of pause as I held my breath. Then, an explosion tore apart a section of the rubble. A shower of dirt and rocks rained down as a figure slowly floated up.

Irene’s eyes burned with fury. Her hair was a disheveled mess. Her sleek black dress was ripped and torn. Her arm hung limply at her side, bleeding and bent at an unnatural angle. Other than that, she was completely unharmed.

Irene screamed in rage as all the blood gathered around her into new glyphs. “I am going to murder all of you!”

My dad jumped forward first as he created a wall of ice between us and Irene. The wall barely had time to form before it was decimated by an amber flame. The glyphs around Irene were shining brightly as fire flew in every direction. The city was bathed in orange light as the broken and shattered remains of buildings began to catch fire.

Charly fired his crossbow through the flames. The bolt flew true, aiming right for Irene’s head, but before the strike could land, a new glyph formed from the sea of blood. This glyph formed a bright red bubble that surrounded Irene, protecting her from the explosion.

My dad swung his sword, creating a series of icicles that peppered the shield. Simultaneously, my mom appeared behind Irene in a flash of lightning and struck with all her might. All three attacks did not even leave a dent on the shield protecting Irene.

My dad frowned as another piece of paper dissolved in his hand, covering my mom’s sword in an additional silver light. My mom struck out three times in quick succession, but these attacks were just as fruitless at the last.

“I am the one who brought glyphs back to this realm. Do you really think the little scraps of knowledge I handed out can possibly compare to the original?” Irene chuckled as she floated up and out of strike range. “I will admit though, these desperate struggles are amusing. I am curious how you, Aurielle, will react to your family’s deaths. Will you cry? Will you scream in rage? Will you vow revenge, just like I did? Let us find out.”

Irene snapped her fingers and figures stepped through the surrounding wall of flames. The now-familiar sight of bright orange eyes flowed into the ruined courtyard. Irene’s undead, both human and Demonkin, completely cut off any possibility of escape.

My dad grit his teeth as he raised his sword. My family moved to stand back-to-back, prepared for the Demonkin to charge. All, except my mom. She stood, staring blankly at the figure of Orias at the front of the horde. His emotionless gaze was locked onto her.

“Oh? Did you know this one?” Irene remarked with a grin, “How wonderful! I was thinking of killing you myself, but I think this will be much more fun. You can experience exactly what Aurielle forced on my father when she marched her army on my home!”

With a wave of Irene’s hand, all the undead began to move in unison. Orias at the front, they all charged towards my mom.

Shouting a series of curses, I sprinted towards my mom. Four undead moved, blocking my way.

Irene laughed maniacally as I sliced at one of the undead with my dagger. “No, No, Aurielle. You have to watch. Watch as she is ripped apart limb from limb, just like my family.”

My dad and Donte moved past me, their blades clashing with the undead soldiers’. Using the opening they created, I sliced through the leg of one undead and slipped past it. Irene chuckled as more undead soldiers moved to block my path.

My mom smiled sadly at Orias as he approached with the horde of undead at his back. “Seeing you like this Orias… It breaks my heart… but that will not stop me from fighting back. I hope you can still put up a decent challenge as an undead.”

My mom moved in a flash of lightning, appearing at Orias’s back in an instant. She swung her blade, aiming to destroy the glyph on his back. By either instinct or luck, Orias shifted his body just enough so the blade missed the glyph. My mom’s sword barely sliced through the giant man’s unnaturally tough skin, leaving a wound that did not even faze the undead.

Orias spun, swinging a massive fist at my mom’s head. My mom ducked under the fist, her blade aiming towards Orias’s foot in hopes of hindering his movement. However, the surrounding undead had no intention of giving my mom a fair fight and attacked her from behind. My mom was forced to give up her attack and flash away.

The moment my mom reappeared, more undead were already on top of her, forcing her to use her talent again. My mom stayed near Orias as she dodged the undead and looked for an opening. It seemed like she had the upper hand thanks to her talent, but I could tell my mom was in trouble.

The fight on the wall earlier had already pushed my family and me to our limits and now we were forced to fight again without any break. Even as I struggled to get past Irene’s undead, I could see my mom’s face getting paler. Her breathing was ragged and worst of all, she was reacting slower and slower with each flash of lightning. She was running on fumes.

Reaching out with my mind, I connected with a figure running this way. A roar shook the city as golden flames shot into the sky. A few seconds later, Nox burst into the plaza with Esben and his few mercenaries close behind.

“This thing again?” Irene complained, “When I am finished killing your family, I need to spend some time dissecting this creature.”

Glyphs formed around Irene and a torrent of flames swirled towards Nox. Not even breaking his stride, Nox leapt towards the flames and opened his mouth. The flames around Nox vanished, swallowed whole by the gluttonous cat as he landed among Irene’s undead.

“What?” Irene shouted in surprise.

Following my orders, Nox immediately cut a specific path towards my mom, clearing out dozens of undead in the process. His golden flames burned everything it touched to ash. Nox received several wounds in the process. The lion roared in pain but pushed on without fear.

With the nearby undead distracted, my mom was finally free to focus on Orias. She was breathing heavily but she still had a smile on her face as she faced off against her former friend.

Orias charged at her, but my mom sidestepped the attack and even left a thick cut on the back of his heel. Orias faltered for a second as his foot became unresponsive. In that second, my mom erupted in a storm of electricity, blinding Orias and throwing him further off balance. With an impressive display of footwork, my mom spun behind Orias in this moment and struck the glyph on his back.

The giant man froze as power left his body. Orias slumped lifelessly to the ground and my mom reached out to catch him. Tears streamed down her face as she gently lowered him to the ground.

A few seconds later, my dad, Donte, and Charly finally managed to break past the undead blocking our way pushed back any undead still threatening my mom.

Seeing that my mom was safe, I let out a sigh of relief. Above us, I could see a scowl of annoyance on Irene’s face and knew it was only a matter of time before she ended this game and finished things herself.

Even if Irene did not act personally, there were too many undead for us to fight while exhausted like this. Even if she did not order any to self-destruct, it was only a matter of time before we would fall.

I could not let that happen. Even if I had to do something drastic, I would protect my family.

Moving quickly, I slipped past an undead swinging at me and followed the specific path Nox had cleared while reaching my mom. The specific path that led directly under the fractured space between realms.

It took a few seconds for Irene to notice my mad dash towards the portal. She screamed in rage as glyphs formed around her, but by then, it was already too late. I reached out to the unfinished portal and felt the raw chaotic energy within.

Normally, I would let the energy from my own talent flow into the portal, destabilizing it and closing the rift, but not this time. This time I drew the chaotic energy through the portal.

The pure chaotic energy burned through my body, shredded my skin, and tore my blood vessels apart. The agony nearly made me black out. Anyone else doing this was a death sentence, but I was the immortal calamity.

The chaotic energy became fuel for the flames in my body. It was like gasoline as my body erupted. A wing of bright green flame sprouted from my left shoulder blade while a wing of pure blue fire emerged from the right.

My body began to float up as it was completely submerged in the rift between realms. I turned towards Irene. Fighting against the pain ripping apart my body, I smiled.

“It is time I ended this game.”