CHAPTER XXXIV
"The Forbidden Summoning"
Deep within the heart of the maze, where the walls hummed with ancient magic and the very air seemed to pulse with secrets, Carmine sat alone in the shadows.
Her legs folded beneath her, her palms pressed to the cold ground, she whispered an incantation over and over — her voice steady, eyes closed in perfect focus.
The words were ancient.
The magic… forbidden.
And yet, she chanted with unwavering resolve.
> "This is the only way," she told herself. "They wouldn't understand. No one ever did."
Because Carmine knew something the others didn't.
A truth passed down to her in secrecy — not through scrolls or fairy teachings, but from her own mother, long before the maze had ever opened.
A truth that blurred the line between protection… and destruction.
> "Fairies must never use magic inside the maze," her mother had warned. "But you, my child, carry something older. You may not cast spells — but you can call a servant."
And that servant… was Vorgath.
Yes, that Vorgath — the very creature of nightmares.
A dark force of chaos that once nearly swallowed Fairyland whole.
To most, she was evil.
But to Carmine's bloodline… she was something more.
> A protector. A secret. A weapon passed through generations.
And now, with danger pressing in and betrayal thick in the air, Carmine had made her choice.
She would awaken Vorgath.
Not to rule.
Not to curse.
But to protect herself — no matter the cost.
She raised her voice now, her chant louder, clearer. The ground beneath her began to glow, symbols forming in a twisting circle of violet and black beneath her feet.
> "Come," she whispered.
"Answer your call. I am of the blood. You owe me your shield."
The air turned cold.
The wind died.
And suddenly — the magic around Caelum snapped.
Wherever she had been, whatever spell had held her — it broke like glass under a hammer. Her eyes flared. Her breath returned.
> Vorgath had been released.
The creature that had taken over Caelum stirred… and vanished.
And in its place, Vorgath — raw and furious — rose from within her, dark energy crackling around her like wildfire. With barely a sound, she appeared before Carmine… and knelt.
> "You called me," Vorgath said in a voice like a storm. "And I have come."
Carmine's eyes lit up with awe.
She had done it. She had summoned her.
She was no longer prey in the maze.
> She was the master now.
A crooked smile curved on her lips as she looked down at the once-feared shadow kneeling before her.
> "You belong to me now," Carmine whispered.
"You will protect me. You owe me."
Vorgath's expression didn't change.
She didn't rise. She didn't argue.
For a moment, it truly seemed… like she was obeying.
But then…
A shadow passed behind her.
A massive, dark shape — darker than the maze itself.
A force older than both of them.
It moved silently, almost like smoke — until it hovered behind Carmine, towering and still.
Carmine's lips parted as she turned, and her heart plummeted.
> A voice echoed from the blackness.
> "You've misunderstood everything, little fairy."
It wasn't cold.
It wasn't cruel.
It was sad.
And powerful.
> "I didn't come for you," the shadow continued.
"I came for her — for Cael. The only one still tied to the light. The only one whose fate hasn't yet turned to ash."
Carmine's lips trembled. "No… I summoned Vorgath. I did. You're mine—"
> "No," the voice cut her off, softer now.
"Your mother never taught you the whole truth. Because she didn't know it."
> "Vorgath was never your servant."
> "She was Caelum's curse — and her protector."
Suddenly, Vorgath stood.
The air shifted.
The kneeling illusion shattered like glass.
And in her place stood Caelum — eyes glowing faintly, her breath shallow, her body finally her own again.
> "I'm not here to hurt you," she said to Carmine, voice calm but tired.
"But don't ever summon her again. Not like this."
Carmine stepped back, shaking, unsure of what to believe anymore.
The magic she trusted.
The loyalty she assumed.
All of it had been… a lie?
Caelum turned away, her expression unreadable, her body still echoing with remnants of Vorgath's fading power.
> "Some things," she said quietly, "aren't meant to be controlled. Only understood."
And with that…
She walked into the dark once more.
Leaving Carmine alone in the flickering light of her shattered spell.
And behind her — the maze whispered.
The real war was just beginning.
"A Mother's Dread"
High above the twisting corridors of the cursed maze, far beyond the reach of vines, demons, and illusions, Mother Fairy sat before her shimmering monitor — a floating orb of ancient magic that showed her every move, every breath, every secret unfolding below.
Her eyes, golden and wise, were fixed on the scene playing out now.
And as she watched Carmine summon something she was never meant to touch, her calm expression shattered.
Her breath caught.
> "Oh no…" she whispered, the words heavy with dread. "What has she done?"
She stood from her throne so suddenly that the glowing winds around her flared. The walls of her chamber trembled, sensing her unrest.
> "She's awakened her…"
A hand flew to her chest as the horror of it settled deeper in her bones.
> "Vorgath has returned…" she murmured.
"We sealed her away… with so much pain… with so much sacrifice…"
Her voice cracked — not from weakness, but from heartbreak.
> "And now... Carmine, in her desperation… has broken the very balance we fought to protect."
She turned swiftly to a nearby fairy attendant, her tone now sharp and commanding.
> "Go. Bring me the King and Queen of Skyland. At once."
The fairy bowed deeply.
> "Yes, Mother," she said, and with a shimmer of light, disappeared in a trail of stardust.
As the chamber fell silent again, Flash, who had been standing silently nearby, stepped forward, concern etched across his face.
> "Mother… what's going on?" he asked, his voice tight. "Why do you look so… afraid?"
Mother Fairy didn't answer at first.
She walked slowly to the edge of her viewing mirror, staring into the swirling vision where Caelum had just reclaimed her body — where dark power still shimmered faintly around her like a curse that never truly left.
And then, softly — like a prayer spoken too late — she said:
> "Because I fear I am about to lose all three of my daughters…"
Flash's eyes widened. "What do you mean? Caelum is still alive. Olivia and Ivory—"
> "You don't understand," Mother Fairy said, cutting him off gently. "It's not just about life and death…"
She turned to face him, and for the first time in centuries, her eyes were wet with tears.
> "This is about fate. About choices that are unraveling the threads I have tried so desperately to hold together."
Flash stepped closer, his voice barely above a whisper.
> "You think they're going to die…?"
Mother Fairy didn't answer.
She couldn't.
Because in her heart… she didn't know anymore.
The silence in the chamber grew heavy — the kind of silence that follows a prophecy spoken too late.
And then…
> She said nothing more.
She simply closed her eyes.
And let the fear settle over her like a storm.
Because for the first time since the beginning of this war…
> The Mother of All Fairies didn't know how to stop what was coming.
To be continue....