The water of the lake finally returned to a calmer state, yet the silence that settled was unnatural; it weighed heavily on my shoulders and filled the air with an uneasy anticipation. My fingers still trembled slightly, a reminder of the force that had flowed through me—something ancient and dormant, waiting for the right moment to awaken. Luna remained by my side, motionless, her dark eyes studying every detail of our surroundings, every ripple in the sky, every breath of the world around us. I wanted to speak, but my voice got lost in a tangle of thoughts and sensations.
"You can feel it," Luna murmured, almost as if answering my own confusion, "something is about to cross over here, something that does not belong to this world."
Before I could question her, the atmosphere shifted. The air grew heavy, dense, charged with silent electricity. Small stones and leaves began to move as if obeying an invisible current. My body reacted instinctively: every fiber alert, my senses amplified with each passing moment. Then I realized my powers were not limited—I could interact, even unconsciously, with the forces approaching.
It was at that moment I noticed something that made my blood run cold: beside Zade, Jace advanced toward the lake's edge, moving in a way that did not correspond to normal steps. His motions were precise, calculated, as if each gesture were choreographed perfectly with the energy emanating from the environment. Their presence began to expand, distorting the air between us. A shiver ran down my spine, and I realized that, in some way, the entire city was beginning to respond to their presence. Distant shops emitted metallic sounds, windows vibrated, trees leaned slightly, as if pieces of a massive mechanism were about to shift.
"Ana," Luna said, her voice firm yet laden with urgency, "focus. What you carry within you is not just a gift. It is the bridge, the key that connects dimensions."
As I tried to process her words, I sensed movement behind me. The lake's reflection revealed a shadow that should not have been there—a dense, shifting form, distorted, as if absorbing the light around it. A guttural scream echoed through the air, not from a human, but from something existing outside any known logic. The lake bubbled violently, and waves of energy coursed through my arms, through my bones, into my chest.
Before I could react, Luna gripped my hand firmly and said:
"Now!"
Without fully understanding how, my thoughts connected with the force stirring before us. A portal began forming on the lake's surface, invisible but perceptible. My heart raced. The portal seemed to draw in air and light, gradually but undeniably distorting reality. Small figures began emerging from the center—contours resembling human shapes, but deformed, shadowed, carrying a threatening aura. Deep in my being, I knew they could not be confronted conventionally.
Then I noticed an even more disturbing detail: atop the ridge surrounding the city, a bright light appeared between the trees. Impossible to ignore. The glow seemed to respond to my presence, pulsing in sync with the portal I was creating unconsciously. I felt a mix of fear and fascination. Something deep within me awakened—a force I had never accessed before—allowing me to perceive fragments of Zade and Jace like never before. I could sense their intent to dominate, to consume, to extinguish, yet a barrier still prevented me from fully anticipating their actions.
"They didn't expect you to awaken so quickly," Luna said, her gaze cutting across the lake, landing on the two men. "This could be dangerous."
The wind intensified, carrying a metallic scent, like ancient blood, and particles that seemed to glimmer with their own light. The sensation that the very earth was alive grew stronger. Then, one of the figures emerging from the portal advanced toward our shore. It had no defined body—only concentrated shadow and energy—and I felt a direct impact against my chest, a pressure that nearly brought me to my knees. My magic reacted instinctively: the water between us receded abruptly, forming an invisible barrier that held the creature at bay.
It was then that Luna finally spoke my name with intensity, and everything around seemed to freeze for a moment:
"Ana Rhode… you are not alone."
Her words stirred something inside me. My body glowed with a warm sensation, as if a current of energy had been released. I could see patterns in the movement of the water, shapes responding to my will without rational thought. For the first time, I realized my ability was not merely perceptive but influential. Every gesture I made shaped the world around me, even instinctively.
Yet, before I could explore further, the unexpected occurred: Jace advanced across the lake, his body gliding over the surface as if the water were solid. The creature emerging from the portal sensed him and writhed, seemingly dominated. Tension reached its peak when Zade raised his hand toward the sky, and a black current formed, connecting the clouds and creating a column of energy that began sucking in all the surrounding light. The lake bubbled violently, and an intense cold pierced my body. I was terrified, yet fascinated; something inside me screamed to act.
"Ana, focus!" Luna shouted, gripping my arm firmly. "Now is the time to realize what you truly are."
My breath quickened. For the first time, I could visualize the energy around Zade and Jace—not just as a presence, but as lines, patterns, and structures responding to my newly awakened force. It was terrifying, overwhelming, yet liberating. I felt I could fight, even without fully understanding the scope of my powers.
When I finally met Luna's gaze, something shifted: an invisible bond formed, and fear was replaced by determination. The creature emerging from the portal recoiled, as if recognizing it could not advance against the newly awakened force within me. But before I could celebrate, I heard a low, deep laugh, thick with arrogance:
"This is only the beginning, Miss Rhode."
The sound came from Zade, and my perception spiked: the world around distorted for a moment, reflections in the water and nearby windows trembled, and a sense of imminent catastrophe swept through the city. I knew, with icy certainty, that the danger was not just in the lake or the portal—the very fabric of reality in Seven Lakes was about to be tested.
And at that moment, as the twilight painted the sky in shades of orange and purple, I understood that I could no longer delay: my powers and my courage would be the only hope to prevent the Underworld from invading the real world, erasing everything we knew.