The heavy silence that fell over the camp seemed to smother every breath. Aletha stood before them, her eyes like black ink, with ethereal spirits swirling around her like a starving pack.
Zetch stepped forward, fists clenched.
— Aletha… this isn't you. You have to fight it. I know you can hear me!
Her cold gaze turned toward him.
— Shut up! she screamed, her voice torn by a rage that wasn't hers. The only thing I want… is Caden. He alone must die.
A shocked silence followed. Even the campfire flames seemed to falter.
— Aletha… no… Bella whispered, taking a trembling step closer, tears in her eyes. What you hear, those voices… they are lies. They aren't real, they only want to break you!
— You know nothing! Aletha spat, her hair rising as if pulled by an invisible tide. Anyone who stands in my way will regret it.
Zetch and Bella exchanged a look, then stood side by side. They would not back down.
Aletha clenched her fists, her eyes blazing with a strange blue light.
— You asked for this. Spirits, destroy them!
A spectral roar rose, and the ethereal figures leapt, claws and fangs glowing with otherworldly light.
Caden unleashed flames from his hands, raising a wall of fire to shield Zetch and Bella. The blaze lit up the night, forcing back some creatures that screamed in pain, but others tore through the flames, their claws slashing the air.
Zetch slammed his fists into the ground. The earth shook, stones burst upward, forming a brutal wall that crushed several enemies.
— I'll hold them off, Caden!
But three clawed spirits already lunged at him. With a gesture, he raised a pillar of stone, throwing them back.
Bella lifted her arms, summoning a raging whirlwind. The gusts howled, sweeping several creatures up and smashing them against the rocks.
— Fall back, I'll scatter them!
But the spirits were endless. They reformed again and again, clawing, biting, shrieking in eerie voices. The pressure was unbearable.
— We can't last much longer! Bella cried, breathless.
Caden stepped back, his flames pushing away two creatures trying to surround him.
— Then we have to strike together… once, with everything we've got!
Zetch, sweating, understood at once.
— Yes… we'll combine our power!
Bella nodded, her eyes burning with fierce resolve.
Caden gathered his strength, a circle of fire whirling around him.
Zetch pressed his hands to the ground, cracks of light splitting the earth.
Bella raised her arms, the air roaring like a storm, forming a vortex ready to explode.
— Now! Caden shouted.
The three elements joined in one point. A column of fire, stone, and wind surged upward, exploding in a torrent of destruction. The shockwave ripped through the ground, reducing dozens of spirits into fading dust.
Silence followed, heavy and scorching. The survivors shrieked and pulled back, enraged.
Zetch gave a tired grin.
— It… it worked.
But Aletha, who had watched until then, clenched her fists. Her face twisted with fury.
— Enough! If you think you can escape me… you are wrong!
She raised her arms, and a massive wave of water crashed out of nowhere, slamming Caden back. With a motion, she hurled liquid spears, sharp as blades. Bella deflected them with a burst of wind, but the impact made her stagger.
Zetch charged, raising blocks of stone, but Aletha crushed them into dust with a single gesture.
— You are nothing against me!
Caden rose again, his flames roaring higher.
— Aletha! If you want my life, then take it… but you'll fight me yourself, not through them!
Aletha screamed, summoning a raging storm of water that swirled around her in a monstrous whirlpool. The spirits howled as one, charging again.
The ground shook harder. Stones cracked loose. The noise became deafening.
Then suddenly, part of the battlefield collapsed in a massive landslide.
Caught in the chaos, Caden and Aletha, locked in their clash, were swallowed by the void.
— Caden!!! Aletha!!! Bella cried, running to the edge.
Zetch grabbed her arm, his face frozen in horror.
— No…
Their figures vanished into the dust and crashing stones.