Aerian turned back to see the person.
"Highlord Tiaga" Aerian said in shock. He could not believe one of his father's closest allies is after his life.
"Yes, my dear boy, it is I. I'm sorry for doing this, but you see, I need to eradicate your father's bloodline so that I can take over the throne. Once I get rid of you and your sister, Zekiele, and I get a hold of the Oregon, then nothing can stop me from becoming the emperor."
Highlord Tiaga started conjuring a powerful spell on his silver sword. Aerian wanted to run, but at this point he was tried, emotionally, mentally, and physically. The Highlord raised his sword to strike Aerian, however, in that very moment as Aerian looked on waiting for the sword to hit him, blood splashed on his face.
Someone else had taken the hit on his behalf and had also stabbed Highlord Tiaga in his heart. Both the person and Highlord Tiaga tumbled down on the ground.
He looked at the person, and instantly recognized her. Her smile, her long black hair, like that of Freiya, her dimple, her gray eyes which they share, her tender arm, and most of all, her warmth.
"Mother!!!" He cried out with his tiny voice.
His mother was bleeding nonstop. She was in pain, but she still smiled at him.
"Aerian, my dearest one. It alright, okay. Mummy is fine, okay. Now, run towards the cliff, your father and Zekiele are there. Hurry up, go and meet them okay, and tell them Freiya and I are here. Hurry up dear, go now" Queen Maya said. She knew more people would come for her little one, so she had to urge him to leave as soon as possible.
"Go Aerian, go now"
Queen Maya coughed out more blood. Aerian who was in shock could not move, he was totally quiet, he found it difficult to comprehend what his mother was saying.
Queen Maya looked around to see that more people were coming after her and Aerian. She knew exactly what they wanted. They are after her son's life. They had killed her first son and her first daughter, and now she would do anything to protect her little boy.
So, with the last strength and power left in her, she conjured a strong shield to cover Aerian. No magic could blast through the shield because she used her life to create the magic shield. Once the shield was completely formed, she coughed out a huge chunk of blood and immediately became lifeless.
Aerian, who watched as everything unfolded, could not shout, nor scream. Little tears fell from his little eyes, and when he could no longer watch the gruesome scene, he fainted due to shock.
…
On the edge of the mountain cliff, Emperor Donovan 's lifeless body lay on the cold ground. Before his death, he gave Zekiele, his seventeen years old daughter, the other half of the Oregon.
Zekiele, who had conjured a silver sword and attached it to the other half of the Oregon ran towards Highlord Threfield, and hit him in the chest with the sword. She drew the sword out of his chest, and then summoned the other half of the Oregon from the battle field, thereby having a hold of the full Oregon.
Zekiele hit the Oregon on the ground and everyone completely froze.
She faced Highlord Threfield once again and stabbed him again with the sword.
"Zekiele, please stop!!!" Lyon, the son of Highlord Threfield cries out as he runs over to the mountain cliff.
Zekiele heard Lyon's voice, but she was overtaken by rage and could not decipher what he said. She drew the sword out of Highlord Threfield and then pushed him down the mountain into the abyss.
"What have you done? Why did you do that? Why?"
"How could you? How dare you?"
"Hold on Lyon, I can explain. You need to hear the full story before you get mad at me. Just calm down and listen to what I have to say" Zekiele said.
Before Zekiele could utter another sentence, Lyon jumped down the cliff.
Zekiele immediately grabbed his hand. She could not afford to let Lyon risk his life and die without hearing her out. She could not let the one person who understands her, who knows her, and who she has these strong feelings for, risk losing his life.
As she held on tight to his hand, they stared at each other with tears in their eyes. At that moment, that brief but timeless moment, Lyon remembered all the time they spent together at the Celestial Garden, at the library, and at the training field. He remembered every night they spent watching the shooting stars, and the moon up in the sky.
Lyon remembered the first time they met, at this very place, the Celestial Aisle. She had run off from the new year ceremony at the palace, so that she could read a book. While he, he left the ceremony because he could not tolerate the noise and the numerous greetings and handshakes he had to endure. So he went to the Celestial Aisle which is not far from the Palace to enjoy some quiet time, and that was how they met each other.
He could vividly remember how they talked, laughed, and understood each other in that very moment on the mountain. He could remember how it all felt. The fresh air, the cold wind, the distant werewolves' howl, the starry sky, the round moon, the shooting stars, the mist, her long black hair which reached her waistline, her deep gray eyes which were like stormy clouds, her sharp jawline, her dimpled smile, her pointed front teeth which gave her a cute bunny-like smile. How could he forget that very night, which seemed like the heavens had answered a long-lost prayer which he beseeched the gods in his last life.
But now, everything is totally different. The irony, the very place which he met her for the first time, is the same very place which she took his father life. The same place, however, the air reeks of blood, the wind is spreading death, everywhere is eerily quiet as the wolves are looking for who to kill next, the bloody sky, the blood-red moon, the strange creepy mist, her hair, and face still the same, but that look in her eyes, he can no longer decipher.
As a tear which falls from her eye lands on his face, he quickly jerks his hand away from her. For him, family comes first, and his father is his only family. No matter what it takes, even if it means risking his life, he does not care, he must save his father.
"Lyon!!!" Zekiele screamed as she watched Lyon fall into the deepest abyss in the Celestial World. A place where no one has ever come out alive.
She never thought that where they first met would be the very place she would kill his father, lose him, and also lose her family members.
As she watched him fall, something snapped inside her, she could feel it, she did not know what it was, but she could strongly sense it. The ache, the pain, the hurt, it was coming from deep within in her heart.
She clung to her chest as she fell to the ground. She cried softly as she continued to look down into the abyss, she looked around and cried even more.
Everything, everything her father built was all in ruins. The years of hard work, blood and sweat her sacrificed to ensure peace in the Celestial World has all been ruined.
Her family, her home, her love, her people.
Zekiele continued to lay on the cold bloody ground, all she wanted to do was to cry out her heart. But she knew it was time for her, she knew there was no time to grief. So, she stood up and did what her father would want her to do, she became strong.