The violent storm looming above churned the air, twisting what had once been a pleasant sky into a choked disaster.

  With the sun swallowed by the rising clouds, shadows began to stretch endlessly across the land.

  Darkness spared nothing—not even the ground beneath. It devoured everything, its weight pressing heavily on the plateau.

  Yet, the light of day still fought desperately for dominion, its glow clawing against the encroaching void.

  Stella steadied herself, eyes locked on the distant Devourer she alone had seen through the pillar. But when she turned, her focus shifted.

  May was already waiting—her board ablaze, expression sharp and unshaken.

  Above them, Deveralna had taken to the sky, her serpentine form slicing through the wind, gaze fixed on the dark dome pulsing at the plateau’s center.

  Without a trace of the fear that once plagued her, Stella stepped behind May, one hand gripping her shoulder, the other tightening around Catharsis.

  May felt the shift in weight and understood at once. The time for hesitation had ended. She leaned forward, and with a roar, the board’s flames surged to life.

  A flash of white tore through the gloom as they ascended the incline toward the plateau, Deveralna soaring just ahead.

  But the climb was anything but simple.

  Lightning rained down upon them—bolts fierce enough to carve craters into the clouds themselves.

  "!—"

  May swerved hard to the right, narrowly missing a hole blasted into the air.

  Stella held steady, unflinching through the jolt—her composure a testament to inhuman discipline.

  “Damn it! We won’t make it far if this keeps up!” May hissed, dodging another strike.

  The air was charged, each breath thick with static. She could feel the strikes before they came—tiny shifts in the current, whispers of energy in her bones.

  They had trained beyond the limits of humanity. None of them would fall so easily.

  Seeing May forced into constant evasions, Deveralna made her move.

  “Focus on the path! I’ll deal with the storm!” she called, her voice cutting through the thunder.

  May glanced upward, catching the lamia’s figure darting through the storm. A grin flashed across her face before she locked her eyes ahead once more.

  Her trust was wordless—but absolute.

  Deveralna spun midair, facing the blackened sky. “Oh no, you don’t!” she snarled. “I won’t let you do as you please!”

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Lightning screamed down toward her. But her magic flared, a ring of plasma forming around her like a second skin.

  “Only I have the right to wield this power!” she shouted, her voice cracking through the roar of thunder. “No one in this world is worthy of lightning but me!”

  Bolts struck her barrier by the thousands—each swallowed whole by her magic, their brilliance reduced to mere sparks against her light.

  Minutes stretched into what felt like hours, every heartbeat a struggle against the storm.

  At last, the plateau opened before them, and the dark dome rose higher than any mountain.

  “Isn’t this… a little too fast?” Stella asked, voice edged with worry.

  May’s only reply was a deep frown.

  “Wasting time isn’t an option. I’m counting on you to breach it.”

  “...”

  The wind howled, heavy with tension. Stella raised her chin, gray eyes burning with resolve.

  “I’ll do it.”

  May crouched low, giving Stella room to move. Catharsis spun once in her hand, its gray light pulsing to life.

  “Deveralna!”

  The lamia turned instantly, spotting the dome ahead. With a sharp nod, she dove, expanding her plasma field to encompass all three of them.

  Bolts struck the barrier in relentless succession, each one screaming futilely against the protection she offered.

  “What’s the plan?” Deveralna asked. “We’re going straight for it?”

  Both women nodded. Stella spoke first, her voice cutting through the storm:

  “I’ll breach it open. Leave it to me.”

  Deveralna saw it then—unshakable determination in her eyes.

  May followed, her tone grim but alive with defiance. “This might be the only safe place left… if you can call the Devourer’s nest safe.”

  A faint laugh escaped them all, small but genuine. It was enough.

  We will return home alive.

  Their hearts beat as one as the dome loomed before them.

  “Stella!”

  “On it!”

  Stella’s breath steadied. Catharsis pulsed faster, gray light crawling up its blade.

  She exhaled—once. The wind fell silent.

  Then she struck.

  With a single, perfect swing, Catharsis roared.

  A gray crescent of energy tore through the air, cutting space itself as it flew. The wave bent the light around it, a streak of ruin and brilliance entwined.

  Deveralna’s barrier trembled—then split apart under the sheer pressure.

  When it met the dome, the world seemed to scream.

  The impact wasn’t a crash, but a rending—as if reality itself protested the wound being carved into its flesh.

  The gray energy clung to the dome like living fire, lines spreading, crawling outward—until it shattered in a burst of pale light.

  For a heartbeat, silence.

  Then—a crack.

  A narrow fracture split open on the dome’s surface, glowing faintly. But it quickly began to close as they approached.

  “GO!”

  May’s shout ripped through the tension.

  Deveralna surged ahead, diving straight through the tight breach. May and Stella followed close behind, flames at their backs.

  The board scraped against the edge—throwing both women forward. It disappeared somewhere out of sight.

  May rolled, caught herself, and landed in a low slide. Stella followed suit, stumbling but regaining balance in the same motion.

  The world around them had changed.

  Inside the dome, dim light filled the vast chamber. Shadows swayed gently, as if alive.

  Deveralna dropped down before them, her gaze sharp.

  “Be on guard,” she said quietly.

  That alone was enough to still their breath.

  At the dome’s heart, upon a throne of bones, sat a lone woman.

  She clapped slowly, mockingly.

  “Welcome,” she said, her voice echoing from every direction. “You are the first to ever dare face me in all my years.”

  Her eyes glimmered with dark amusement.

  “I’ve been awaiting you.”

  Then, lifting her head, she smiled.

  “You stand within my domain. You may call me Vor’Lathen.”

  Her expression darkened—eyes flaring blue.

  “Or Skadii, if you prefer.”

  The mocking tone struck like venom.

  Stella’s hands clenched tighter around Catharsis, light surging from the blade.

  “I’ll kill you,” she said.

  Vor’Lathen’s smirk faded into a calm, dreadful stare.

  “Then come,” she whispered. “I’m waiting.”

  And thus began the battle that would etch itself into the fabric of their world—

  the moment Stella vowed to strike down the fiend who called herself Skadii.