"No, my child!" Nina's voice now held an unwavering determination and a supernatural resonance. "This is not the time to learn the traitor's name! If you are killed here, this Beast World will cease to exist forever. I care more about your life than that name, because you are not just my son's mate... you are Guardian Andromeda! You must save our four sons and this world! But to do that, you must fully master your powers and learn to use them. Only then will you be able to save this world!"
Genia's steps froze. Death was raining down from the sky, but a strange peace and a divine glow had appeared on Nina's face.
"Do you remember what Gia and Mara told you?" Nina raised both her hands in the air. The fire blazing around her reflection was growing even more intense. "When we four mothers were being killed as part of this conspiracy, the Forest Goddess appeared to us in our final moments. She entrusted us with a sacred responsibility. She distributed among us four mothers the ancient and limitless powers of the Guardian Andromeda, which had been dormant for centuries."
A terrifying blue arrow was hurtling straight toward Genia, but a burst of fire from Nina destroyed it mid-air.
"The Forest Goddess said that when the right time comes, and the Guardian Andromeda returns to this world, we will return her powers to her," Nina's spiritual voice echoed throughout the Black Valley. "Gia gave you the power of the forest and the earth... and today, I, Nina, the Third Queen of the Black Tiger Clan, entrust you with the sacred power of fire, which has been waiting for you in my reflection for centuries!"
With that, Nina's reflection began to gather all its energy. All the lava emanating from the bloodstone and the fire in her reflection began to converge. In an instant, the fierce fire transformed into a huge, blazing ball of fire. This ball blazed like a small sun, its light completely dispelling the darkness of the Black Valley.
Genia's breath caught in her throat. She saw that Nina's reflection was now completely engulfed in the fire. And the next moment, the blazing fireball began moving straight towards Genia at a terrifying speed.
"What is this... what are you doing, Mother?!" Genia let out a terrified scream. She ran backwards. Her human mind couldn't comprehend this magical process. She thought the fireball would burn her to ashes.
"This fire will kill me! No!"
But the fireball was faster than Genia could move. Before Genia could save herself or hide by falling to the ground, the massive fireball struck Genia's chest with full force.
Genia squeezed her eyes shut and screamed, expecting pain. She felt her skin burn, her bones melt.
But nothing happened. Instead of the burning and pain, an intense, numbing heat enveloped her entire body. The fireball struck, creating a deafening explosion that reduced all the blue arrows falling from the sky to ashes and flung the killers far from the valley's edge.
Genia felt as if she were caught in a tornado. The howling of the strong winds and the roar of the flames echoed in her ears. There was only a blinding golden light before her eyes, and then... everything went silent. Suddenly, a sharp gust of cold wind brushed Genia's cheeks.
The ground beneath her feet was no longer dry and rough, but instead felt like soft snow and grass.
Genia lost her balance and fell to her knees. She gasped desperately. Her eyes were still closed, and she groped for herself.
"I... I'm alive?"
She touched her face and clothes with his hands. There was no burn, no wound.
She opened her eyes with a start. The scene before her had completely changed. The suffocating darkness of the Black Valley, the bloodstone, the blue arrows, and the assassins... everything was gone. She looked around.
In the distant hills, she saw some familiar torches flickering. These were the borders of the Black Tiger Clan. She was very close to James's territory!
Genia was completely shocked and numb. "Mother Nina... sent me here? She teleported me?"
A storm of thoughts raged through her mind. Just moments ago, she was about to learn the name of the traitor who had destroyed all four tribes. She was so close to that truth! But the attack ruined everything. And Nina had thrown that fireball at her to save her.
"But... why did she throw that fireball at me?" Genia muttered to herself. She couldn't understand what had happened.
Mother Nina was talking about handing over the power to her, so why that deadly-looking fire?
As Genia placed her hands on the ground to get up, her eyes fell on her hands, and she froze right there. That ball of fire... hadn't disappeared.
Right between Genia's palms, floating in the air, the ball of fire was still there. It was no longer as huge, but had shrunk to the size of a small, blazing golden-red ball. It wasn't burning her hands, but rather, it emanated a very soothing, sacred, and powerful warmth.
Genia's wide-open eyes stared at the ball of fire. It wasn't just any fire; it was pure, magical energy. It was a portion of the Guardian Andromeda's powers, entrusted to her by the Forest Goddess, which Nina had preserved in her reflection for centuries.
Genia now understood that Nina hadn't attacked her. She had used that ball of fire to protect her from her enemies, teleported her safely to Shantanu's territory, and entrusted her power to her as a shield.
Genia's heart raced. She raised her hand hesitantly, but under a strange hypnosis.
As she raised her hand, the magical ball of fire rose slightly above her palm. It floated in the air right before Genia's eyes. It was rotating on its own axis, as if it were a living thing recognising its true owner. The golden and red flames of the fire were creating a very beautiful, magical pattern.
The glow of that fire was reflected in Genia's eyes. All the fear and fatigue within her suddenly seemed to vanish. The green crystal of Gia, which was pressed into her chest, also began to pulsate with a bright green light at the sight of this ball of fire.
As if nature and fire were desperate to meet each other. After hovering in the air for a while, the ball of fire suddenly accelerated. Before Genia could think anything, the blazing fireball, like a streak of bright light, rushed straight towards Genia's chest and penetrated her body.
Genia's entire body jerked back. Her eyes closed automatically, and a faint, magical scream escaped from her mouth.
As soon as that magical ball of fire entered Genia's chest, it seemed as if all the energy of the universe was awakened within her body. It was no ordinary fire, but a centuries-old sacred flame that was part of the soul of Guardian Andromeda. The ball of fire coursed through Genia's veins and touched the green crystal of Gia, which was already pulsating in sync with her heartbeat.
With that supernatural union of fire and nature, a third, extremely cool, and calm energy also emerged within Genia. This energy was as gentle as water, yet as fierce as waves.
Genia suddenly realised that this was the power of water bestowed by Mother Mara! When Mara's reflection met Genia's in that magical waterfall, she not only conveyed her message but also silently instilled a part of her power into Genia's soul, something Genia hadn't yet realised.
Due to the power of that water, Genia's appearance gradually began to transform, despite the effects of the water of forgetfulness. A strange depth appeared in her eyes, a divine glow appeared on her skin, and her charm became intoxicating, a charm that even made fierce men like James, Kevin, and Alex fall in love with her.
The power of Mother Mara was physically transforming her into the true and immaculate form of Guardian Andromeda, the most powerful and beautiful being in the Beast World. Today, when these three powers—earth, fire, and water—met together within Genia's body, a terrifying and magical explosion occurred that resonated only within Genia's soul.
Genia's body rose a few inches into the air. Her hair swayed in the strong magical winds, and her eyes radiated a brilliant golden-blue light that eclipsed the darkness of the night. The dormant powers of the Guardian Nebula now fully recognised their mistress.
Genia felt an unstoppable power within herself, capable of destroying any clan leader in the blink of an eye. But even amidst the awakening of this immense power, Genia's soul felt an emptiness. She possessed three powers, but the Guardian cycle was still incomplete.
Rexon's mother had died, the first and most mysterious of the four mothers. The fourth element of air, or space, that could complete this cycle was still missing. The magical intuition resonating within Genia told her that she could find this last and most crucial part only in Rexon's domain.
Genia would receive the last of her powers in the same main stronghold of the Black Tiger Clan, where Rexon's mother breathed her last.
But before Genia could take her steps towards James's palace, Nina's fire, buried deep within her heart, revealed one last secret.
Genia's eyes suddenly flew open, but she couldn't see the snow-covered forest before her. A blurry veil fell before her vision, and the next moment, she felt herself standing in the same terrifying "Black Valley."
This wasn't reality, but rather a scene from Nina's last memories, etched in that fire, that now played out before Genia's eyes like a live movie. The scene was that cold full moon night. The "bloodstone" of the Black Valley glowed blood red.
Nina's real, living body paced restlessly near the rock. Her face held both fear and hope, as if waiting for someone to save her and her clan. Then, the sound of footsteps pierced the dense fog.
Genia saw with her spiritual eyes an elderly but extremely impressive man emerge from the fog. His robes bore the Black Tiger Clan's distinctive royal insignia, worn only by the clan's highest and most respected officials.
Genia's breath caught. This man was no ordinary courtier; he was a key member of the Black Tiger Clan's "High Commission"! The very High Commission, tasked with providing sound advice to the Chieftain and protecting the clan.
Nina breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the man in the scene.
"You've come," Nina's voice echoed. "Have you found a cure for the poison the White Tiger Clan is trying to inject into our veins?"
But in response, the High Commission member's face revealed no loyalty, but a devilish and greedy smile. He pulled out a blue magical vial from his robes, boiling with the same poison.
"The break has already been made, Queen Nina," the traitor said venomously. "But that break is not for your survival, but for the destruction of this Beast World."