CHAPTER 66They walked for some time, and to their relief, there were no traps, circles, or illusions. They could feel it. They were getting closer to the waterfall. Their hearts palpitated in their chests as they drew nearer to it. The herb they had lost several good men for was just beyond their reach. As they rounded the corner, they saw the emperor standing by the waterfall. Relief washed through General Cade as he hurried towards him and inspected him for injuries. “Your Highness, are you okay? We thought we lost you. It’s such a relief to find you alive and well.”“I can never fall victim to this cave,” he replied flatly. He turned and looked at the remaining warriors, his gaze lingering on Cayla a smirk tugging the corner of his lips. “I see you survived.”The warriors looked at him. There was something different and eerie about him. His eyes looked hollow and there was something dark. “You don’t seem to have any injuries anymore,” Cade said after a while. “I heal quickly,” he
In ancient times, various creatures roamed the earth. They were called supernatural beings with abilities that were way beyond the understanding of mere mortals.The inception of their creation was to contend with the otherworldly beasts that greatly oppressed humankind; they were literal bloodsuckers; it was an era subjugated by chaos and mayhem.The battles lasted decades before the Versipellis fully immobilized the Vrykolakas. In modern folklore, the Versipellis were the shapeshifters, otherwise known as werewolves, and the Vrykolakas were the bloodsuckers, now known as vampires.Their long, hard battle that eventually ended in victory did not come without a cost. The Versipellis lost their Luna. The backbone of not only the Monarch but also his people, it was a bittersweet moment when she sacrificed herself for their victory.It was a victory that was never celebrated, for the loss of one's mate is like the loss of oneself, a feeling of loss, utter loneliness, and despair, the abs
In the conference room, Ophelia had been anxiously waiting with everyone in the pack. Her mom, the pack Luna, had ordered the wolves to meet at the conference room as her father, Alpha Ryan, had an important announcement that would impact the pack's well-being.The pack gathered and waited for Ryan to arrive and make his announcement. There was a buzz as the wolves were busy trying to speculate about what the information he had in store for them would be.She was unnerved. She could feel something was wrong but couldn't quite place her finger on it. She swung her legs nervously and looked around with so much unease. She had been quite angsty lately.Ophelia looked in the distance with worry-filled eyes. These attacks had changed everything. They had a happy life, and the attack waves abruptly destroyed the flow of their once vibrant and happy community.Silence fell in the room as Ryan walked in with his Luna beside him. He glanced around the hall, which they mostly used to host large
The waning gibbous hung a little too low in the sky, with its silver light cast through the covering of the trees. As an Alpha werewolf, Ryan could feel the power flowing through his body, the adrenaline throbbing in his veins.The air was thick. With each step he took toward the battle line and the crush of each branch and twig beneath his paws, he was like a different being.His eyes, sharpened by wolf senses, caught the details provided by the moonlit sky and the long illuminated shadows of the large trees around them. He could hear the sudden rustling of leaves and snagging of branches.The echo of sounds disrupted the stillness that once enveloped the forest. This couldn't allow Ryan to revel in the feeling his beast form gave him. Something lurked beyond the reaches of his senses, and his instincts heightened and screamed danger.The smell of blood permeated the air, he could feel his connection to his people waning, and the fear in the air could be tasted.# The tension tightene
Gasps of shock could be heard around the battlefield as realization washed over them like a chilling bucket of water. This was the reason they had lost many men. They were dealing with demons, and they were halfbreeds. How could such creatures even exist???So many questions were up in their minds, but there was no time to dwell on those thoughts. A moment of distraction at this juncture would cost them their lives.The tides of battle that were once in favor of the wolves started to turn, the transformation tipping the scales in favor of the half-breeds.After their transformation, the half-breeds didn't hesitate to let out a loud deafening howl, a signal the wolves didn't have to wait long to find out what the howl meant as each wolf was surrounded by three to one. They were prepared; they came in fully ready to raze this pack to the ground. Alpha Ryan was surrounded by ten to one but still managed to hold his ground, a testament that his ability to make his pack the strongest in t
Agitated and out of control, Agatha, one of the women in the bonkers, was resolute and unswerving to join the battle; she felt the telepathic connection with her mate break; her mate was dead. She wouldn't sit by idly and hope that the people that took his life would pay; she was going to ensure she made them pay herself, consequences be damned. She had always been willful and headstrong. She was also one of the pack warriors, and sitting the battle out made her uncomfortable. But she knew the women would need protection if things on the field went south. Losing her mate made her throw caution to the wind; Avery's words didn't register to her. In a different circumstance, she would listen to her Luna, but overwhelmed by grief, there was no room for reasoning. The other women who had lost their mates agreed with Agatha. They had lost their soulmate and did not feel like they had anything left to live for. They were heading out. As if playing a cruel joke on them, the doors to th
The man wasn't in a hurry to kill Ryan; watching the boy fight gave him a strange feeling of satisfaction. He was an impressive fighter, and it brought back memories of his younger days sparring with Ryan's dad. They fought similarly, but that was not at all surprising. Ryan was trained by his father from a very young age. Looking ahead, he saw Avery and smiled menacingly. Her mate didn't neglect training her. It was such a pity that she was just an ordinary wolf. She wouldn't last long. After some time, he grew bored watching the battle and decided to end things quickly. He was a busy man with things to do and places to be. With that thought in mind, he strolled leisurely with his hands in his pocket, humming his tune while approaching Avery. He was going to kill her first before killing Ryan. The rest of the pack would be cannon fodder. *** More chunks of flesh had been removed from Ryan's body, and he was literally moving about with loose skin hanging around his bones, whic
It was early the next day when Ophelia woke up. And she rubbed her eyes groggily. Sleeping on the ground in the woods was not at all comfortable. She woke up and felt sore all over. What was she doing sleeping in the woods? She wondered. The apparent rise of the sun above the horizon was a beautiful sight to behold. However, instead of the usual excited chirping of birds, there was a wake of vultures. She was confused, and her memories were foggy. It took her a moment before the wave of everything that transpired the night before hit her. *** Her father was speaking to the pack when they received news that their borders had been breached. They had been attacked by creatures who could shift: " the half-bloods." How could those things even exist??? She was running into the forest to accomplish a task her father had delegated to her. When she felt the urge to turn around and help, she arrived too late. But early enough to witness the murder of her parents. *** *** Oph
CHAPTER 66They walked for some time, and to their relief, there were no traps, circles, or illusions. They could feel it. They were getting closer to the waterfall. Their hearts palpitated in their chests as they drew nearer to it. The herb they had lost several good men for was just beyond their reach. As they rounded the corner, they saw the emperor standing by the waterfall. Relief washed through General Cade as he hurried towards him and inspected him for injuries. “Your Highness, are you okay? We thought we lost you. It’s such a relief to find you alive and well.”“I can never fall victim to this cave,” he replied flatly. He turned and looked at the remaining warriors, his gaze lingering on Cayla a smirk tugging the corner of his lips. “I see you survived.”The warriors looked at him. There was something different and eerie about him. His eyes looked hollow and there was something dark. “You don’t seem to have any injuries anymore,” Cade said after a while. “I heal quickly,” he
CHAPTER 65The air grew thinner as they walked. The walls began to breathe, gently at first, then more insistently—expanding and contracting with moist, slow exhalations. The floor pulsed under their boots like a heartbeat.Then the light changed.It was a subtle change at first. The torch in their hands flickered slightly as they moved. Shadows lengthened where they shouldn’t have. Raven gripped Theos' wrist tighter.Then the hallway opened suddenly into a chamber filled with mirrors.Cayla’s breath caught.But these weren’t like the mirrors before.They were living.Each mirror showed the reflection of the group moving and holding on to each other. However, something was wrong. There were subtle changes in the appearances and there were some grotesque ones.In one reflection, Cayla’s eyes were missing, and in another, she had missing limbs or weird-looking scars. In some others, she stood with glowing eyes and attacked the warriors. Severing their limbs. And in another, she fell to
CHAPTER 64A faint rumble echoed around them as the mist curled around them.“Where were the others? Where were they?”General Cade and two other warriors, Leo and Kelvin navigated through a vast cavern as they tried to make sense of what had happened. We’re going in circles now members of their group vanished. They seemed to have been transported to different places in the cave. Their top priority at the moment was survival.“You feel that,” Leo whispers.“Yes. The ground has been shaking since we got here.” Kelvin replied.The walls glistened with moisture that came up from below the ground. There was a deafening roar. The earth trembled violently from beneath their feet as cracks and fissures accompanied the tremor.Soon, lava filled up the fissures in the ground. They navigated a narrow ledge over a mile-long chasm. The earth was heavy with the smell of sulfur. A portion of the ledge they were on breaks off and crashed into the darkness below sending dust and loose stones into t
CHAPTER 63The mist was sudden. One moment, Cayla was with the warriors and the next, everything just vanished. There was a mist that came, and it swallowed everything in its path. It was so silent and pale, blending into the floor and the walls around them as though a spectral fog swallowed sounds, light, and sensations and obscured their senses.Now, she was all alone in unfamiliar territory. Dealing with everything the cave had thrown at them as a group was hard, now she had to do it alone. Could she cope? Where was she?Cayla felt a sharp sting in her chest when she coughed. It was as though her innards were being rattled by something. There was a sharp metallic scent that stung her nose assaulting her senses and making her tongue bitter as though she had tasted something foul, bitter.Her limbs felt heavy as her heartbeat slowed. It was like poison was infiltrating her bloodstream and corroding her organs.“General Cade,” she called, spinning, “Raven? Theo?!” She was searching fo
CHAPTER 62The warriors stood panting, silence wrapped around them like a shroud. The corridor twisted again, the walls closer, and the ceilings lower. If anything were to fall from above this time, they would be unable to dodge in time.The stones beneath their feet felt different. It was like the rough floors in the cave's entrance, not the chambers they were walking in, as stalagmites protruded from underfoot. The floors dipped and buckled beneath them.They reached a new chamber and this time, nobody was willing to move first. They stared at it from a distance with furrowed brows. Unlike the other chambers which had only one direction, this moved in two directions, and they could choose which chamber to enter, Cayla stared contemplatively and suggested, “Maybe we should split up. One half should go to the left and the other to the right.”Emperor Wudivra stared at her with a scowl, “There will be no splitting up. We’re not here to explore, we're here to find something, so we stic
CHAPTER 61The ground had caved inwards, taking them with it as shrieks of horror filled the air, and the only other sound was the grinding of distant gears.They fell for an unknown period before they finally landed on hard ground. Their figures were caked in dust as they coughed and heaved. Their eyes soon adjusted to their new environment. The lights lit up in this chamber, and they did not need to carry torches.The corridors were wide, and beyond them were bronze statues. Dozens of them, knight figures carved, each holding a weapon. At first, they looked decorative, but Cayla knew better. “Trap statues,” she whispered, “Probably motion triggered.” “That’s not possible. We just left the chamber of physical traps. We have never faced the same thing twice,” a warrior scoffed.“We did not leave the chamber of traps. We fell below the chamber we were in, so it is safe to assume that Cayla may be right,” General Cade interjected. Another warrior scoffed and moved forward, “They are
CHAPTER 60The stone door closed behind them and echoed loudly through the cavern and down their bones. A dull thud reverberated through the cave walls, throwing a dull vibration under their feet. The dust settled like an ancient breath as the torchlight flickered against the stone. Emperor Wudivra stood at the forefront of the group with his torch held high, his silhouette outlined by the golden flames of the fire that blazed in the darkness. The chamber stretched out before them, vast, looming, and silent. This space felt empty without logic, structure, or pattern. It was not like the previous chamber where the warriors had solved puzzles.This room was without markings or engravement on the walls or stone statues. There was a massive boulder ahead that seemed to hold a mechanical tool. It looked like a lever. If they pulled it, they would cross over or at least have a direction in this vast space of nothingness. With that thought in mind, Emperor Wudivra took a step forward, an
CHAPTER 59Cave of the Gods: Cryptic Symbols.The heavy air inside the cave seemed to press down on Cayla and her group as they ventured deeper into the cavern. They had just finished with the riddles, and a path opened for them. They were curious about what the cave had in store for them. They had only survived the first round.Their footsteps echoed in the silent hallway as they avoided the stalagmites protruding from below the cave. Their steps were the only sound from the water dripping in soft puddles from the stalactites above. Their torches flickered against the cold stone walls, casting long shadows around them that seemed to stretch and move with life. The cave was vast, its chambers filled with various wonders and dangers. It was clear to Cayla that this place had been untouched for millennia, and they wondered how it looked when the gods were in this plane. The statues seemed ancient, each crack and crevice on the stone walls telling a story from a time past. But it wasn’
CHAPTER 58They stepped forward together, and as they did, the stone plaque illuminated, revealing the first riddle carved into its surface."I cannot talk, but I always reply when spoken to. I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have nobody, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?"The emperor’s mind raced. The answer was just beyond his reach, like a word on the tip of his tongue, but it wasn’t coming to him. He glanced at the general, whose gaze was fixed on the inscription, as his fingers tapped against his chin.“I know this one,” he said, his voice steady. “It’s an *echo*. It speaks without a mouth and hears without ears because it reflects sound. And it comes alive when the wind carries the sound to bounce off surfaces. Just like the waterfall echoes around this cave.”The emperor nodded, impressed by his swift deduction. The general recalled the words that eluded. “Echo. That’s the answer.”The general stepped forward, placing his hand on the plaque. The stone sh