The air around Alexandra is bitterly cold, sharp enough to sting her lungs with every breath. A shiver ran through her body as she realized where she was standing, a narrow cliff edge, its jagged rocks slick with frost.
Below her stretched a city in chaos, burning like a vision torn straight from hell. Flames rose in great, twisting columns of orange and crimson, devouring homes and towers alike. Thick black smoke swirled into the night sky, choking out the stars.
The sounds that drifted up to her are worse than the sight itself. Screams of terror and agony echoed from below—men, women, and children intermixed with guttural, inhuman groans that sent a chill racing down her spine.
Whatever creatures were roaming that city, they're not human. The flames and smoke obscured her vision, yet their cries caused her stomach to knot. A hand touched her arm, warm against the freezing air.
"Dear," a familiar voice called softly. Alexandra spun around, heart pounding, and her breath caught when she saw the woman standing before her.
She's breathtakingly beautiful, almost otherworldly.
Her skin was pale and flawless, as white as freshly fallen snow, while her long black hair shimmered like a raven's feathers against her delicate features. Those striking contrasts had always captivated Alexandra, and even now, in the middle of chaos, the sight of her made Alexandra's heart ache. This is her lover, the woman she adored more than anyone.
The woman's hand brushed gently through Alexandra's hair before she leaned forward, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. The touch grounded her, if only for a fleeting moment.
Behind her lover, Alexandra noticed a group of survivors gathered in a huddled cluster. Their faces were streaked with ash and blood, their clothes torn and burned. Every single one of them bore some injury, broken limbs, deep cuts, or burns, but in their eyes shone a relief. They had escaped the inferno below, though the terror still lingered in their expressions.
"We have to leave now," a young man said urgently, his voice trembling with desperation. "It's the only way to stop them from spreading beyond the city. We need to cross the mountains before they escape."
Alexandra's gaze shifted toward him. There's something familiar about his face, a sense that she should know his name, but the memory refused to surface. "You can't possibly make it past the Three-Colored Lake," Alexandra heard herself say. Her voice sounded strange to her ears, rough and weary. "You're injured. You won't be fast enough."
"Not if you give us a drop of your blood," an elderly man spoke up, his tone filled with both hope and dread.
Alexandra's entire body stiffened. Her hands curled into fists, and fury flashed in her eyes. "My blood is dangerous to you!" she snapped, her voice breaking. "If you drink it, you could turn into one of them! Or worse—you'll die!"
Images filled her mind unbidden: the horrific transformation of a human into a Wendigo. All it took was a single drop of her blood on a mortal tongue, and the change was immediate. Flesh warped, bones twisted, and the victim's humanity was erased. They became monsters that hungered for human flesh and drank blood without mercy.
But there was something even more terrifying: Wendigos could disguise themselves as humans, hiding their true nature until they struck. A single bite was all it took to spread the curse further, turning another innocent into one of their kind.
The young man stepped forward, his jaw tight with determination. "We don't know what will happen for sure," he argued. "Selena survived, didn't she? She's okay."
At the mention of that name, Alexandra's breath hitched. Her rage faltered, giving way to a flood of memories that threatened to drown her. "Selena…" she whispered, her voice soft and trembling. "But she shares my bond—my soul."
Selena stood quietly, her hands wrapped tightly around Alexandra's arm. Her heart is racing, and she can't take her eyes off the woman beside her. Alexandra is breathtaking, almost unreal. Her sun-kissed skin is flawless, like fresh honey, while her long black hair frames her face like silk. She's strong, beautiful, and terrifying all at once.
Selena's chest ached as she stared at her. She loved Alexandra so deeply it hurt, even knowing she wasn't human. Alexandra's presence was overwhelming—her very touch felt like fire and ice at the same time. Selena couldn't understand why someone like Alexandra would even look at her, let alone stay by her side.
Alexandra had not been born in this world. She was a forbidden being, summoned by the townspeople through a dangerous and outlawed ritual. For years, the city had been under attack by terrible monsters.
People died every night, and no help came from the capital. Out of desperation, the townspeople turned to a ritual so old and dangerous that it had been banned for generations. And Selena had been chosen as the sacrifice.
On the night of the summoning, she had been bound in chains, standing at the center of a dark stone chamber lit only by red candles. Ancient runes glowed beneath her feet as the townspeople chanted, their voices shaking with both fear and excitement. They were ready to trade her life to call forth a being powerful enough to save them.
And then Alexandra appeared, the air split open with a roar of light and sound. Many of the summoners fell to their knees, terrified, as Alexandra stepped through. Her power filled the room like a storm.
With a single flick of her hand, she could destroy any monster. She's a thousand times stronger than any man and a hundred times faster. Her very presence made the stone walls tremble.
But unlike other summoned beings, Alexandra didn't devour her sacrifice. Most demigods, the creatures called through this kind of ritual, would immediately consume the person who summoned them.
They would take their life and soul, absorbing their strength to complete their mission faster. That was why they were called half-gods, beings who could either save the world or destroy it, depending on their nature.
Alexandra, however, didn't follow this rule. The moment she saw Selena, her heart stirred with something she didn't understand. Selena had been crying, terrified, staring up at her with wide, desperate eyes.
And she didn't want to hurt her. She didn't want Selena to disappear. Instead, she reached out and touched her cheek gently, as if promising to protect her. It was the first choice Alexandra had made on her own, not out of duty or power, but out of pure desire to keep Selena close.
From that moment on, she decided Selena would live. And Alexandra would be the one to protect her, no matter the cost. But Alexandra soon discovered the terrible truth. The townspeople had already sacrificed Selena's parents long before, using them in earlier rituals to call forth other demigods.
Those beings had been weaker and far more unstable than Alexandra. Some were destroyed by the monsters they were meant to fight. Others turned against their summoners, bringing even more death.
But Alexandra is different. She isn't just a demigod; she's far stronger, a being on the level of a Lesser God. Compared to others of her kind, her power is unmatched. Almost all human magic is useless against her, and she even had the power to bring the dead back to life, though she rarely used it.
Still, Alexandra was bound by one rule: she would only remain in the human world until her task was done. When the monsters were gone, she would return to her own realm. Until then, she would only obey the voice of her summoner, the woman who had been offered as a sacrifice. No king, no army, no priest could control her. Only Selena.
Alexandra was summoned to destroy the monsters and save the people. At first, she did exactly that. With her unmatched power, she tore through the creatures that plagued the city, scattering their bones to ash. Every swing of her hand and every burst of her magic brought hope to the survivors.
But as the days passed, Alexandra began to slow down. Selena noticed it first. At night, when they were alone, Alexandra would hold her close, her face buried against Selena's neck, whispering that she didn't want this to end. Alexandra was bound to the world only as long as the monsters remained.
If she wiped them all out, she would be forced to return to her own realm, and Selena would be left behind, alone. Selena felt the same. She couldn't imagine life without Alexandra. So they made a silent, selfish choice.
They fought the monsters fiercely but never completely destroyed them. A few always survived, scattered and hidden in the shadows. It was enough to keep the summoning spell active, enough to keep Alexandra tied to the human world and by Selena's side.
But the townspeople noticed. Their numbers were dwindling, and they grew angry when they realized the monsters were never truly gone. Their fear turned to hatred, and that hatred was aimed at Alexandra and Selena.
The desperation even led some of them to turn themselves into a wendigo. And so, the townspeople decided that if Alexandra would not finish the fight, they would force her to. They came up with a plan, a cruel one.
To cross the Three-Colored Lake, a cursed body of water that surrounded their last safe haven, they needed a sacrifice. The lake is unlike any other. Its waters shimmered in three different colors, each section deadlier than the last.
The first section is pale blue, the calmest, though still dangerous. The second glimmered red, its surface rippling like blood. The last is black, wide, and endless, and no one who had entered it had ever returned. Deep within it lived an ancient, monstrous creature, a horror so powerful it could devour even a demigod.
The only safe way to cross the lake was through a brutal rule: a sacrifice must either be thrown into the waters to distract the creature, or a perfectly healthy human had to run two kilometers nonstop across the surface of the lake. If they faltered, even for a second, the monster would rise and devour them whole.
The townspeople chose Alexandra and Selena as their sacrifice. And now, in the guise of running away from the chaos that happened in their last town, they are going to build a new one far from the chaos, a place where monsters don't dare to cross, a land beyond the Three Colored Lake.
They forced them to keep on moving, no matter how hard. And once they were unguarded, they struck without warning. Alexandra fought back, furious, but she didn't want to kill them outright, not when Selena was in danger. In the chaos, several men grabbed Selena, while others pushed Alexandra toward the blackest part of the lake.
Selena screamed, thrashing and kicking, calling Alexandra's name. "My love!"
Alexandra roared in anger, her power surging like a storm, but the townspeople shoved her into the darkest waters. The moment her body hit the lake, everything changed.
The water was icy cold, biting into her skin, and a deep, guttural roar echoed from below. The black water churned as something massive moved beneath the surface. It was ancient, hungry, and eager. Its presence clawed at their minds, filling Alexandra and Selena with pure terror.
Selena broke free and dove after her, unwilling to leave Alexandra behind. The two of them clung to each other as the water around them began to boil and scream. Then they felt it—the thrill of death rushing through their blood. Their hearts pounded so hard it hurt. A terrible voice seemed to call their names from the darkness below, stretching them thin with fear.
"Love!"
"Selena!"
The world twisted. Both women screamed, their voices swallowed by the lake's roar—
—and suddenly, they were no longer there.
Alexandra jolted upright in her own bed, gasping for air, her body drenched in sweat. She looked wildly around her room, her hands trembling. It's quiet. Too quiet.
Selena woke at the same time in her own room, clutching her chest, her heartbeat racing. Tears blurred her vision as she realized what had happened.
It had been a dream or perhaps something more, something they couldn't explain. The burning city, the monsters, the lake, even their love—it had felt so real. It happened again, and it always drives them crazy.