Chapter 469 - Unanswered Prayers

This chapter had me pulling my hair out! Apologies for the wait. Found myself a little stuck and it took me until today to work things out. I'll do my best to have a chapter tomorrow, but one day may end up not being enough if it's a difficult chapter so keep an eye on the community chat for updates.

Hope you like the chapter!

Godfrey’s light pierced the shadow of Owalyn like the sun through storm clouds. In that moment, Hump felt utterly exposed, stripped bare beneath the traitor Chosen’s gaze, his very soul laid open. And yet, he wasn’t afraid. Not with the divine power of the Seal of Elenvine coursing through him like liquid fire.

With an application of essence he activated Accelerated Thought. The world slowed. Time stretched thin as his mind raced. He gathered his essence to his staff, a beacon of golden light forming in its focus, a mirror to Godfrey’s brilliance—Light against Light. This was the power of a goddess, and in Hump’s hands, he felt invincible.

A spell was on his lips. Power blazed from the very core of his being.

Godfrey moved before he could utter it.

Even with time slowed, the motion was a blur. Hump didn’t see the strike, he only felt it. Agony exploded through his chest. His vision reeled. The world tilted violently as gravity abandoned him, and he was flung across the chamber like a broken doll. With his mind sped up, he felt everything. The crack of his ribs. The jerk of his neck as it whipped backward. The crushing slam of stone as it rose up to meet him. He hit the ground hard, his bones jarred, pain radiating through every nerve like fire.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

The fire quickly turned to a cold ache. His body didn’t move the way it should. Limbs refused to obey. His breathing came in ragged gasps, and he tasted metal. Still, he pushed through the haze, pressing himself up enough to face Godfrey.

A dozen beams of light filled his vision—blinding spears of golden essence. They shot forward in radiant streaks. The worst part was that he could see them coming yet there was no chance of getting out of their way. He tried to cast Dimensional Snap—a few feet to either side and it would be enough—but he was too slow. Godfrey’s magic was faster than anything he’d faced. The spears pierced him across his body.

His muscles gave out, every limb sagging to the ground, his body a sack of dead weight. Blood pooled beneath him, warm and slick. Even with the seal’s power, his magic failed to answer. His body refused to rise. Darkness edged in, cold and creeping. The pain was dull and distant. A chill settled into his bones.

He lay there, eyes half closed, the tiled floor blurring in his vision. His thoughts were muddled with agony. The fire of divinity dimmed.

But in the silence, he felt something. A flicker.

Panic.

Not his own—but Nisha’s. Distant, but unmistakable. She was still there, hidden in the veil of Owalyn’s shadow, calling out to him with all her might. She wanted to run to him, to fight. To set the chamber afire and a blaze of fury.

Owalyn held her back. Kept her safe.

Have to do something, Hump thought. His first instinct was to cancel Accelerated Thought, but that would be suicide in his current state. He needed to think through the misery. His eyes landed on his staff still in his hand and the artifact dangling from it.

The Silver Sprig.

It was right there. He dragged his arm toward it on his fingertips, clawing at the ground like spider legs where he grabbed hold of it. With all the will he could muster, he drew upon its power. Warmth surged through him, and with it came the pain. The blissful numbness of encroaching death vanished. He wanted to scream, only his mouth didn’t obey him. Instead, he bit down on his teeth through the agony, intent on healing his wounds.

He directed the essence toward the most central injuries first where he assumed he was losing the most blood, focusing the healing power of the Silver Sprig. It was working, but not fast enough. He was losing too much blood. It was becoming harder to think.

Is this really it?

Nisha called to him desperately. Fear. Desperation. Fury!

Hump fought harder, but he couldn’t… the tiredness was getting too much. The pain. Even the warmth of the sprig did nothing against the cold now.

A second power joined the mix. The Silver Sprig crumbled in Hump’s hand, but its warmth rushed through him even faster.

He recognised this power well—Owalyn.

***

Celaine didn’t react in time as Hump was struck down, swatted aside so casually. One moment, he stood strong before her, the next he was crumpled on the ground against a wall. Her stomach dropped at the sound of the crash. He was tough for a wizard, but that blow was devastating.

She couldn’t even call his name, trapped in her own body as Owalyn controlled her.

A roar of rage erupted beside her. Nisha transformed, her black scales turning gold, her body shining with essence, her purple eyes glittering with light of the stars. The little dragon Celaine knew vanished for a moment, replaced by a furious beast with no control over her wrath. Her fire battled Owalyn’s shadows—churning flames of gold and red mixed with darkness like the blackest smoke.

Emilia, Dylan, and the prince readied their weapons. Bud’s sword was already in his hand, his voice joining Nisha’s as he lunged toward the traitor Chosen. But they never made it. All of them halted mid-step, frozen in place.

Celaine felt Owalyn’s power radiate from her—the killing intent of the Huntress. It flowed through her body as if it was her own, only a hundred-fold as powerful.

“What are you doing?” Celaine asked, struggling against Owalyn’s hold over her. “Let me help him!”

“I cannot, child,” came the calm voice of the Mother within her.

“I can’t let him die.”

“It would mean your death,” Owalyn said. “To allow it would go against the favour that brought me here. Fear not. Your wizard yet lives. Trust in me.”

Godfrey’s attention turned to her. Celaine’s breath caught. His gaze was like a blade, but before she could feel it fully, Owalyn rose within her, a protective presence unfurling like a cloak over her spirit. With Owalyn as one with her, she did not fear the traitor Chosen.

“You are not of the Pantheon,” Godfrey declared.

“I am not,” Owalyn replied through Celaine’s voice.

“Then who are you?”

“I am Owalyn, Queen of Dragons, Arrow of Death, Hunter of Gods.”

With each title, Celaine felt the air change. These were not mere words, but truth, laced with intent. Her soul shook at the power that resonated in each of them, her vision of Owalyn stark in her mind. She saw the hunt at the winter solstice, racing through the forest with hounds and dragons. She saw the archer, poised with her bowstring drawn back, an arrow of silver so brilliant it was as if the moon had leant its light. And of course, there was the hunter, her eyes seeing through everything, and anything she set her sights on was mere prey.

“Are you here to kill me, Hunter of Gods?” Godfrey asked with a smirk.

“No.”

“Then why? You are no ally of the Pantheon. I did not foresee your presence here, nor the presence of any god.”

“I am here to return a favour and protect my charge.”

Irony curled Godfrey’s lips. “The end of Elenvine has come, and the only deity to appear is not of the Pantheon. All that prayer—all the faithful calling out at this very moment for help—and it is you that comes! But you are only an apparition. I applaud you for showing up, but your power is not enough to stop me. It is time for this age to end!”

Godfrey placed a hand upon the Seal of Elenvine, then with a sweeping gesture of the other, the seal shattered. Its light died. The ancient runes of Lady Light scattered through the air in an explosive wind of essence. And from within, a deep darkness came. The veil between worlds ripped open like tearing fabric, revealing a gaping rift of blackness at the chamber’s centre. Dust and debris spiralled into it, drawn in by its power. Celaine felt its tug at her clothes, her hair drifted toward it, but she stood firm, anchored by Owalyn’s will.

“I am not here to stop you,” Owalyn ringing with joy. Celaine felt the gleam of Owalyn’s amusement. “Too long the Pantheon have ruled. With this, Traitor of Light, their reign shall end.”

Godfrey regarded her with disdain and raised a hand toward her. Light exploded from his palm, obscuring Celaine’s vision with blinding light. “Then begone, goddess. Today is my hour and I shall not have you interfere.”

Owalyn’s presence receded, but not without leaving behind a gift. Her intent rushed through Celaine. Enlightenment trickled into her mind. Not words, but feels, instincts, understandings. The way of the Huntress—the Killer. Her path. The will of the Huntress filling her soul, clear, ruthless, decisive.

“Be strong, Celaine,” came Owalyn’s whisper in her mind. “For we hunt together still.”

And then she was gone. The oppressive hold over Celaine’s body faded and she was back to herself. Her companions were free of Owalyn’s hold. The shadow fell. Nisha stepped up to her side, snarling at Godfrey, her scales still radiant with gold.

“Tobias! Stop this madness!” Prince Gregory screamed.

Godfrey didn’t even look at them. A golden wave erupted from him, sweeping through the chamber with enough force to slice a person in two. Emilia leapt back. Celaine raced for Nisha, grabbing her with both arms under her torso and jumping with the surprised dragon, narrowly getting over the golden line, though the residual essence was enough to send Celaine flying into the back wall. Bud and Dylan went to Prince Gregory’s defence, a wall of essence and blessings of nature forming before them. Their defences cracked, but Bud stood, leaning into the storm and roaring. His feet carved lines in the ground as he was slowly pushed back, until he was beside Celaine, each of them at the very edge of the chamber.

Runes of molten gold burst forth from the floor’s seams, connecting in a radiant circle around Godfrey. The golden light flowed like living fire, rising along the walls, crawling into the roots of the Tree of Damnation. Gold veins glowed through the trunk all the way to the surface, igniting the red leaves high overhead into gold, barely visible through the gap in the roof. Sunlight itself seemed to fall into the chamber.

A deep, resonating crack echoed through the ground like the world torn in two. A giant claw emerged from the trunk above, blotting out the sky through the hole.

Baelkor was breaking free.

“There is no reasoning with him now, Prince,” Bud snarled. “We must stop him through force.”

Bud always knew how to make it sound heroic, but Celaine had no clue what they could do against this man. He was beyond them. Beyond Anthony, and any foe she’d ever faced. Before him, she saw no avenue of victory. No weak spot in the armour for her arrow to slip in. They were little more than insects before him.

***

Hump gazed up at the great claw emerging from the Tree of Damnation, still not daring to move, even as he felt his body healing. The skin of Baelkor was charcoal grey with the texture of graphite. Illuminated by the golden radiance of the tree and Godfrey’s power, it seemed like it didn’t belong. It didn’t fit.

Spells and blessings filled the world above through his small viewpoint. Smoke, essence, magic—all of it bombarded the tree, trying to pierce its defensive barrier and destroy the rift. In places, it was already breached. Fire raged up the tree. Bark peeled from it, streams of red and golden essence pouring out in a mist that filled the sky. But Baelkor was already fighting back, his magic protecting the tree.

Hump didn’t think he would be much help up there, but down here, he could stop it at its source.

In his hand, the Silver Sprig turned black and withered as Owalyn drained it of its power to heal him. Moment by moment, its warmth pierced deeper, until he felt whole again. And then the sprig dissipated to dust, its power drained entirely. There would be no repairing that. Hump lay still, not wanting to draw Godfrey’s wrath once more. Right now, he was presumed dead. That was his only advantage.

“Work quickly,” Owalyn said. “He will not be fooled for long, and my power in this form only extends so far. I have warned your allies not to come for you.”

Hump’s heart lifted. He felt a glimmer of hope, and for once, he didn’t feel like an idiot for it. There was an actual goddess on his side.“I thought he had banished you.”

“The fool thinks he can banish me with a word,” she said. “My spirit lingers, but it will not last long. Hurry.”

“What do I do?”

“I am not here to tell you what to do.”

“No, you were here to hide us,” Hump snapped. “You hardly held up your end of the bargain.”

“I did as you asked. It is not too late for me to get you out of this city, but do not test me, wizard.”

“I killed a lich for you! At least give me a clue.”

“The rift,” Owalyn said.

Hump’s eyes went to the black void at the centre of the room, and right in the middle of Godfrey’s formation. He stared at it, wondering what Owalyn meant. Activating Spirit Sight, he saw the flow of essence spiralling toward it, drawn in hungrily. And growing.

The rift was feeding on essence, and Hump had more essence right now than ever.