The light was still faint, yet it pulsed within Stella like a heart struggling to beat again. Her hands trembled—not from fear, but from the resistance it took to keep going. Her eyes opened fully, and the sword in her hand gleamed a nearly white-gold.
Dan stood beside her, his face dusted with grime and a deep cut across his brow. His chest rose and fell with effort.
— Stella… can you hear me?
She nodded slowly.
— Yes… but he's still inside me. Whispering… trying to break me.
The strange man stood ahead, shrouded in thick, living mist that writhed like serpents. He seemed to feed on her weakness, tilting his head slightly as he smiled.
— I am what remains when you crumble… when you hate yourselves… when you fail. I did not come to destroy. I am you.
Stella staggered, a chill crawling up her spine. Echoes of past voices began to reverberate around her. Screams. Cries. Accusations. The weight of every memory she had tried to bury.
Then Dan's hand pressed firmly on her shoulder.
— Hey. Look at me.
She turned slowly. His dark brown eyes were steady, yet gleaming with restrained emotion.
— You are not what he says. I've seen who you are, Stella. And I know you're strong. You just need to remember.
The words echoed louder than the screams inside her mind. She gripped the sword. The light wavered, then shone brighter.
The man lunged like lightning, shadows molding into black claws.
Dan shoved Stella aside and took the impact to his chest. He was thrown meters back, crashing through part of a ruined wall. Blood streamed from the corner of his mouth, yet he rose.
— Son of a...
Blue flames began to form slowly around his fists. His irises glowed a deeper hue. The air itself seemed to shift.
The enemy turned back to Stella, raising his arms. From the surrounding mist, silhouettes began to form… ghosts from the past. The friend she hadn't been able to save. The child harmed because of her. Each face a blade. Each whisper a stab.
— You hurt everyone, Stella. Your light only blinds. You are a lie.
She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
— I… I didn't want to…
The shadows advanced, ready to engulf her.
Then, a blue explosion tore through the air.
— STAY AWAY FROM HER! — Dan roared.
The impact hurled the strange man backward, the mist burning like paper before celestial fire. The blue flames swirled violently around Dan in the shape of a wolf.
He dropped to his knees, exhausted, yet smiling.
— Go, Stella… it's your turn.
She lifted her gaze. The shadows recoiled. Her sword began to glow with a different light. Soft… yet unwavering. Like a ray of sunlight after a long night.
— They do not blame me. I blame myself. But enough.
She advanced.
Each step shattered a shadow. Each strike dissolved a burden of guilt. She spun the blade with precision and shouted, releasing a wave of light that surged toward the enemy.
The man struggled to regain composure, but now he staggered. The mist around him trembled. For the first time, he seemed hesitant.
— You cannot defeat me — he growled. — You cannot!
Stella stopped before him, raising the sword.
— I don't need to defeat you. I need to defeat myself.
She drove the blade into the ground.
A wave of light engulfed the field. The shadows vanished. The strange man screamed, and for a brief moment, the human form inside the demon appeared—a frightened, lost ordinary man. His eyes met Stella's.
Then he fell, unconscious.
Silence.
Dan approached, still breathing heavily.
— You… did amazing.
She looked at him, tears in her eyes.
— Am I… free?
He nodded with a half-smile.
— You are. And I am too. For now.
They sat side by side on the ground, surrounded by ruins and the fading light of the sky.
Yet deep down, both knew: the war was far from over.
---
On the other side of the battlefield, the sky opened between black clouds. The confrontation between Tekio and Velkros had entered a new dimension.
Tekio panted, but something had changed. His energy… was no longer just fury. It was sharper, more precise.
He clenched his fingers. Sparks danced along his arms. Something burned within his chest — but it was not pain. It was presence.
— What is… — he murmured.
Velkros' blade cut through the air toward him, but Tekio deflected it with greater ease than before. The enemy frowned.
— What was that?
Tekio stepped back two paces, placing a hand on his head. Something echoed… a voice.
"Don't let him touch your heart. Feel the flow. Don't stab it, follow it…"
He turned, eyes wide.
— Who…?
The voice faded, but for an instant, amid sparks and light, a blurry image appeared behind his eyes: a woman, short white hair, eyes as intense as the storm… and a knife.
The knife appeared in the real world for a moment, lodged beside Tekio—subtle, yet real.
He looked at it. His body reacted before his mind.
He grasped the blade. As he did, his energy reshaped.
Velkros narrowed his eyes.
— Hm… what are you hiding there, boy?
Tekio didn't answer.
His breathing calmed. Thunder followed his steps.
"Now, attack as she would…"
He ran.
Velkros smiled.
— That's more like it…
---
To be continued…