The scene faded and another started immediately after. Nova recognized it as the Bloodmoon throne room.
Gold shields rose throughout the chamber, and Ashbane burst through the doors. A gold shield went around him, but he cut through it with ease. He and Nova circled one another. Elle's gold shield collapsed and she struck Ashbane from behind as Nova attacked head-on. Dark magic erupted from his wrists, tendrils snapping out to seize Elle and haul her off the floor.
Rex burst through the hidden portrait just as Nova dodged Ashbane's blade. The tendrils caught him mid-step and pinned him to the wall. Fin and Jax followed and were bound just as quickly. Hyran and Aeron entered from the opposite side and were seized immediately.
Nova kept moving, dodging strike after strike as marble exploded around her. Ashbane cornered her against a shattered column. She blasted the stone beneath his feet, forcing it to collapse, and his blade skimmed past her face by an inch
Fin's grip on Nova tightened as he watched the vision unfold. What happened next shocked everyone.
The scene appeared to freeze and the water stilled under.
Ashbane and Nova froze. A crowned woman stepped into the vision, white light glowing around her. She mirrored Nova, the same green eyes and focused expression, her hair a shade more blonde than white. Ashbane's dark tendrils continued to move, even though time was frozen. They crept toward Nova. The woman raised her hands, silver magic flaring to life. One pulse struck the tendrils, and they recoiled violently, ripping back as if burned. She vanished.
Reality resumed:
Nova's back slammed into the throne stairs. Ashbane's sword came down in a straight line toward her throat. She caught the blade with both hands, palms pressed against the steel. Her arms trembled. Her face flushed red with the strain. Blood poured between her fingers at an alarming rate, the silvery sheen darkening to red, and streaks of it turning black.
Time froze:
The woman appeared again. Silver light flared, driving Ashbane's tendrils away from Nova. She turned, struck the tendrils tightening around Fin's neck, and they unraveled.
She vanished.
Time resumed:
Fin shouted, the distraction enough to break Ashbane's focus. Nova tried to escape. Ashbane kicked her down, pinning her beneath him, smirking as he leaned closer.
Nova kicked him in the balls, hard. Ashbane's face twisted into a perfect portrait of pain. The scene froze.
From across the lake:
Cael's quick snicker broke the silence. Rex and Jax both looked as if they were fighting the same reaction, jaw tight, eyes bright with suppressed amusement.
The frozen scene continued:
The woman appeared once more. Dark tendrils seeped out of Ashbane, reaching for Nova along the exact path she was about to roll toward in an attempt to escape. She released another burst of silver magic, striking the tendrils. They recoiled the moment they were hit.
Time resumed:
Nova rolled clear as Ashbane's blade slammed down inches from her throat. She bolted at Alpha speed, Ashbane nearly on her heels.
Time froze:
Ashbane's fingers brushed Nova's side, his thumb a breath from her waist. The woman appeared again as dark tendrils curved ahead of Nova's escape. Silver light flared. She blasted the tendrils back and struck Ashbane's hand, forcing it away. Her look told him exactly how close he was to annihilation.
Silver light struck the tendrils at Elle's throat. They recoiled. The woman touched Elle's forehead, healing her in an instant. She moved through Fin, Rex, Jax, Hyran, and Aeron, silver magic clearing pain, mending damage, and burning away Ashbane's influence.
She vanished.
Time resumed in slow motion:
Nova spun right. Her hand swept back as silver magic tore through the air. A portal began to open behind her, directly in front of Ashbane, its edges peeling apart as if reality itself were being ripped.
Tendrils burst from Ashbane, moving faster than the portal could form. They seemed aware, intent on stopping him from entering. The woman lifted her hand and struck them with a sharp pulse of silver light, forcing them to recoil.
Nova's knee struck the stained-glass window. The pane fractured in slow motion, shards breaking outward yet hanging suspended in the air. Before her face crossed the threshold, she spun on her right foot, trying to reverse her momentum and catch the ledge.
The vision followed her out through the shattering window, revealing the jagged ravine below.
Her momentum was too great. She was going to miss the ledge.
The woman appeared behind Nova, floating in open air. She exhaled, a controlled breath like wind, pushing Nova forward by a few inches as she continued to fall in slow motion. Two of Nova's fingers caught the ledge a heartbeat later, scraping across glass shards.
Nova strained, reaching for the edge with her other hand, but her grip slipped. She was still going to fall. The woman exhaled again, nudging her forward by a single inch. Enough to change the outcome. Not enough to spare the pain.
Inside the throne room, Ashbane's body crossed the portal threshold. On the other side lay the war summit grounds, ruined by black rain. He realized where he was being sent and screamed in rage. The portal began to collapse. Dark tendrils shot out from Ashbane, reaching back through the shrinking opening. The woman raised her glowing hands and struck them with silver light. They recoiled instantly, forced back into the ruined summit as the portal sealed completely.
The woman vanished.
The vision snapped back into real time:
Nova's other hand caught the ledge. The hand that slipped rose again, refusing to let go. Shaking, with a final burst of strength, she hauled herself through the broken window.
She collapsed inside the tower amid shattered glass, breath ragged, blood streaking her arms and back. Her gold shields flickered once, then died.
No one was able to move still.
Time froze a final time:
The woman reappeared, her expression marked by displeasure. Dark tendrils lingered throughout the room, creeping along the walls and floor. She lifted her hand and struck them with a focused burst of silver light. This time, they recoiled and then dissolved completely, disintegrating into nothing as if they had never existed.