The light from the shard faded slowly, leaving behind a silence so thick it was almost tangible. For a brief moment, everything seemed suspended in time, as if the world itself had paused to take a breath. The surge of energy that Mary had unleashed had been unlike anything she had ever felt. It had consumed everything in its path, and yet... it hadn't been enough.
Mary's breath came in ragged gasps as she steadied herself, her hands shaking from the aftermath of the blast. She could still feel the raw power thrumming inside her, but it was different now. It was wilder, more unpredictable, as though it was fighting to break free from the confines of her body.
The forest around them seemed eerily still. The trees, which had once been alive with the sounds of nocturnal creatures, were now silent, their branches hanging heavy and still in the air. The wind, which had been howling just moments ago, had completely died down. The only sound left was the heavy breathing of Mary and her companions.
Lela was the first to speak, her voice shaking with a mixture of fear and awe. "What... what was that? What did you just do?"
Mary didn't answer right away. She was still too overwhelmed by the sheer force of what had just happened. Her head was spinning, and she could feel the shard's energy coursing through her like an electric current, making her skin tingle and her bones ache.
"I don't know," she admitted finally, her voice barely a whisper. "I... I just reacted. I didn't think."
The words hung in the air, and for a moment, there was a heavy silence between them.
"That was… incredible," Loosie said, her voice trembling. She had been standing a little further away, but her eyes were wide as she stared at Mary. "But it didn't stop him. He's still here somewhere, isn't he?"
Mary's heart skipped a beat at the realization. Nethra had been powerful, and though she had unleashed the full force of the shard, he had still withstood it. The blast had thrown him back, but he hadn't been defeated.
"I think so," Mary said, her eyes scanning the darkened forest. "I don't think we've seen the last of him."
Lela stepped closer to her, her eyes scanning the trees with growing unease. "Then what do we do? How do we stop him?"
Mary bit her lip, her mind racing. Her earlier encounter with Nethra had left her with more questions than answers. He had mentioned a prophecy. He had said she was the one who would tip the scales. But what did that mean? Why had he been waiting for her? What was this power that she wielded, and why did it feel like it was slowly consuming her?
"I don't know," Mary said quietly, shaking her head. "But I'm not going to let him control me. Whatever this prophecy is, I'm not going to be a pawn in it."
Loosie shot her a worried glance. "But if he's after you... doesn't that mean you are the key?"
Mary clenched her fists, the shard still glowing faintly in her hand. "Maybe. But I won't let him use me. I don't care about the prophecy."
Lela placed a hand on her shoulder, a gesture of solidarity. "Then we'll stop him together. Whatever it takes."
Mary looked up at her friends, the weight of their words settling in. She knew that she wasn't alone in this fight. But as they stood there, in the eerie silence of the forest, she couldn't shake the feeling that something much darker was still lurking, waiting for its moment to strike.
The First Attack
Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet trembled, and the trees around them creaked with a groan. Mary's heart raced, her senses going into overdrive as she spun around, her eyes wide with alarm.
"Get ready!" she shouted, raising her hand, feeling the energy of the shard flare to life in her grip.
It happened so fast. A dark shape shot out from the shadows, moving faster than anything Mary had ever seen. A blur of black and purple, the figure was upon them in an instant.
Nethra.
He was back, his violet eyes glowing with a malicious gleam. His grin was stretched wide, as though he had been waiting for this moment, savoring it. The air around him crackled with dark energy, and Mary could feel the weight of his presence pressing in on her, suffocating her with every passing second.
Before anyone could react, Nethra raised his hand and a bolt of dark energy shot out from his fingertips, striking the ground just inches from Mary's feet. The force of the impact sent a shockwave rippling through the forest, knocking them all off balance.
Lela screamed as she was thrown backward, her body slamming into a tree with a sickening thud. Loosie, too, was caught off guard, tumbling to the ground as the shockwave threw her to the side.
Mary barely had time to react. She thrust her arm forward, summoning the shard's power to shield them. A pulse of light exploded from her palm, creating a barrier of energy that absorbed the blast of Nethra's attack. The shield flickered, barely holding against the force of his power.
"Stay back!" Mary shouted at her friends. "Get to safety!"
But Nethra wasn't finished. He raised his hand again, and this time, the ground beneath their feet began to crack and split. Dark tendrils of energy shot up from the earth, lashing out like serpents, seeking to bind and restrain them.
Mary's breath came in sharp, panicked bursts. She focused all her energy into the shield, trying to keep the tendrils at bay. But she could feel her control slipping. The shard's energy was too much—too wild, too unpredictable. It was threatening to consume her, to overtake her entirely.
"Mary, you have to fight it!" Lela shouted from behind the shield. "Don't let it control you!"
But Mary wasn't sure if she could anymore.
The shard pulsed with a mind of its own, the hunger inside her growing stronger. It wanted to devour everything—everything in its path. Her vision blurred as the power overwhelmed her, and for a moment, she feared she might lose herself completely.
"No!" she gasped, struggling to maintain control. "I won't let you take me!"
The world seemed to bend around her, the air growing thick with a suffocating heat. But just as she thought she would be lost to it, something inside her clicked—something deep within her that reminded her of who she was. She wasn't the shard. She wasn't the prophecy. She was Mary.
She clenched her fists and thrust them forward, releasing the power in a controlled explosion. The dark tendrils disintegrated, the shield around her collapsing into a burst of light.
But Nethra wasn't done. He grinned, his violet eyes flashing dangerously.
"This is only the beginning, Mary," he said, his voice dripping with malice. "You think you can fight me? You can't stop what's coming."
Mary's heart pounded in her chest, but she knew one thing for sure: she wasn't going to back down. Not now, not ever.
The battle had only just begun.