Caught between denial and intense terror, Alicia could only stand where she was, staring at the fading remnants of black smoke before her. She could not even make herself understand what had just happened. The gate of hell was suddenly gone…? Ezekiel… her love… her husband. He too, had disappeared along with the gate.
She fisted her hands into her hair, muttering to herself that this was another nightmare. There was no way that this could be real. She just needed to wait for a few seconds, and soon she would wake up in Ezekiel’s arms again, tangled with him in their bed. But seconds stretched into minutes. Yet nothing happened. Her heart seemed to be stretched taut and was on the edge of splitting into two.
“No!!!” she screamed again. This is not happening! He had asked her to trust in him, that all would be well. Stretching her arms forward, twin beams of light shot forth from her palms. It was an energy so powerful it filled the whole dungeon. Only this time, it was no longer coming from the demonic darkness. It was a powerful magic only a silver haired witch could ever wield. Her still glowing body had brightened even more as her powers strengthened to a dangerous degree. Until her dark hair started to bleach itself and turned a shimmery silver again. Her appearance was also returning to what it was when she was the witch queen except for her eyes which was now as red as blood. The type of crimson red that belonged only to the vampire royals. All of those who were watching on in the dungeon were trying to hold their ground as they felt the pressure coming off in waves due to the escalating power unleashed by Alicia.
“What the hell??! Her power’s getting more dangerous!” Alex exclaimed loudly, glancing over at Zeres who was still standing within his own circle. “What is she trying to do?” he shouted at Zeres, wanting an answer.
Zeres had a grave expression on his face, indicating that whatever Alicia was trying to do right now was nothing but bad news. “She is attempting to open the gates of hell again. On her own.” Zeres replied grimly, gritting his teeth.
“What? She can do that?” Alex’s eyes widened at Zeres’ words. He did not expect that Alicia had the power nor the knowledge to do such a thing.
“We need to stop her.” Zeres did not bother answering Alex. His body glowed with bright silvery lights as well and he stepped out of his circle and approached Alicia. Everyone else held their breaths as they looked on, only to jerk in shock when they saw Zeres being thrown back when he tried to cross a certain space around her.
Landing hard on the ground, Zeres clenched his fists. She was so strong now. Her magic… he could hardly believe how powerful she had become. He could not believe that even he could not touch her. Her magic was even stronger than his right now. At this rate, he might never be able to defeat Alicia without shifting himself into his dragon form! It was amazing yet at the same time frightening to see how insane her power levels were right now.
“Shit!” Zeres cursed. “She’s too strong! I can’t even get near her!”
“Tell me, Zeres! Can she even open the gates of hell?” Alex asked again. He needed a verbal response from Zeres.
“It’s supposed to be impossible… But with her current powers, she might actually be able to do it. Still, I’m afraid that she might hurt herself in the process. She’ll die if anything goes wrong! She’s not an immortal like us!” Zeres kept his eyes trained on Alicia but answered Alex all the same.
Alex looked at her. He knew that Alicia was always a rational woman. She was never a woman who would rush carelessly into anything. But right now… she had been overcome with emotions. And he knew full well how someone in her situation would think. They just do not think. The only thing Alicia wanted to do now was to save her beloved. And the thing was that she had the power and capability of doing it. She would not even care if it would kill her eventually as long as she could save her loved one. Worst thing was… no one could possibly stop her at this point unless they use brute force.
‘Zeke, you idiot!’ Alex’s jaws clenched. Even he could still not believe what had just happened. Did something go wrong? Was there something that Zeke miscalculated? He had been watching Zeke so closely because he felt an unease gnawing in his gut. And it was only because he was paying such close attention that he saw it. It did not escape his notice at how Zeke seemed surprised at the overwhelming power stored within Sebastian. Did he really not expect that amount of power? It was hard for Alex to believe that that was the case. Simply because this was Zeke. He never makes mistakes. Everyone else does but he does not. His calculations were always right and done meticulously. His plans always succeeded no matter how impossible it may seem. So why now? What had gone wrong? Did he really miscalculate?
Alicia’s magic strengthened to an impossible degree. The usual pure silvery lights coming from her started to change. Long tendrils of red had tainted the otherwise pure silver beams. It felt like a growing force that once being unleashed, could probably destroy the entire hill.
“Still no idea on how to stop her without hurting her?” Alex questioned Zeres. There was no time for them to even allow themselves to feel sad from the knowledge that Zeke was no longer around.
Zeres shook his head before turning to look at Alex helplessly. “I’ve been trying. There is no way I could reach her mind at all. She’s blocked everything out and is solely focused on opening the gate.”
