CHAPTER XXXV
"The Sword of the Forest, the Wrath of the Heart"
Caelum was running — no, charging — through the winding path of the cursed maze, her eyes locked on a single point in the distance.
Ivory.
Still frozen. Still trapped.
And beside her… the demon.
It stood motionless, as if waiting — not with patience, but hunger. Waiting for someone to care. For someone to come. So it could destroy them too.
And Caelum had come.
The moment her feet touched the cracked stone near Ivory's statue, the demon raised its head, its eyes glowing with a vicious red light. Its claws twitched, and with a guttural snarl, it unleashed its magic toward her.
A wave of dark energy surged forward, wild and furious.
But this time… it failed.
> The magic struck Caelum — and shattered around her like glass against steel.
She didn't flinch. She didn't slow.
She stormed forward, her eyes locked on the demon, her body glowing faintly with an inner storm that no shadow could touch.
Before the demon could react again, Caelum reached him.
With terrifying precision, she wrapped her hand around its neck — and lifted.
Higher. Higher.
Until the demon's feet left the ground, its claws swiping helplessly in the air.
And then, with strength born not just from magic but from fury, grief, and something ancient in her blood —
> She squeezed.
There was a crack — sharp and final — and the demon's neck snapped clean from its body, its broken husk collapsing to the ground with a hiss.
The maze trembled.
And at that moment… the spell broke.
Ivory, encased in layers of cursed soil and stone, gasped.
She coughed, her body slowly returning to flesh and light. Her wings flickered. Her eyes fluttered open.
> "Cael…?" she whispered.
When she saw her sister standing there, swordless, fierce, and alive — something inside her broke.
> "You came…" Ivory said, her voice quivering.
Tears gathered in her eyes, but they didn't fall — not yet. She reached forward and grabbed Caelum's arm like an anchor.
> "I tried to save Olivia… but I couldn't. She—she's gone. A creature took her."
Caelum froze.
> "What creature?" she asked, her voice low, deadly.
Ivory swallowed hard.
> "Bowat."
The name alone changed everything.
Caelum's face darkened, her breath sharp and angry. The wind around her stirred with sudden tension. Her hands curled into fists as the forest seemed to listen — and respond.
> "He took her…" she whispered. "Then he dies."
She turned slowly, her voice rising — not in rage, but in reverence.
> "To every tree that hears my voice… every root, every vine, every leaf that knows my name — I ask you not as your ruler, but as your kin…"
> "Grant me what I need."
At first… silence.
Then, the forest answered.
The vines began to sway. The trees trembled. The very ground beneath her shifted, as if preparing to rise.
Leaves flew in a whirlwind around her, glowing with sacred energy.
And then — from the heart of the maze, a blinding light emerged.
A form stepped from the storm of green and gold — tall, majestic, radiant.
> The Tree Goddess.
She carried a blade forged of starlight and ancient root — a sword that hummed with living magic.
She came to Caelum and knelt — not in worship, but in understanding.
> "This sword will cut through every evil," the Tree Goddess said. "Not because it is sharp… but because you are true."
She placed it in Caelum's hands, and in that moment, something changed in her eyes — something final.
Not vengeance.
Not fury.
But fate.
---
Far above, in the celestial chamber of the Mother Fairy, the glowing orb displayed every second of what had just occurred.
Flash stood stunned, eyes wide, barely breathing.
> "Mother… why?" he asked. "Why does the forest listen to her — even though she carries Vorgath's curse?"
Mother Fairy's face was unreadable.
Her eyes never left the vision.
And then she spoke — softly, but with a weight no wind could move.
> "Because nature does not see light or darkness the way we do. It listens not to bloodlines, not to curses…"
> "But to kindness."
She turned to face him now, her voice thick with memory.
> "Even as a child, Caelum spoke to the trees with respect. She thanked every vine she stepped over. She asked permission from every root she touched. She treated the forest as an equal — not a servant."
Flash's brow furrowed. "So… you're saying nature chooses her?"
Mother nodded slowly.
> "She has accomplished what many queens never could… with nothing but gentleness."
Her voice faltered then — just slightly.
Flash noticed.
> "You're afraid," he said. "Why?"
Mother Fairy took a deep breath. Her gaze returned to Caelum — now standing tall, blade in hand, the forest swirling behind her like an army of light.
> "Because on the night of the final reckoning… Caelum will die in the arms of the same nature she served."
> "And when she does… Fairyland will lose its soul."
Flash stepped back in shock. "But she's our last hope!"
Mother Fairy nodded.
> "She is."
She turned slowly away from the vision orb, her expression finally showing something even she rarely allowed to surface:
Grief.
> "And the moment she dies… the land will mourn with her."
> "The trees will wither. The rivers will dry. And only the magic we force from the earth will remain."
> "We will survive, yes. But it will never be life again."
---
And somewhere deep in the maze…
Caelum lifted her glowing sword…
And walked toward the shadows.
Toward Bowat.
Toward war.
"The Hearts of the Fallen"
The maze had grown quiet — too quiet.
The kind of stillness that doesn't bring peace… but dread.
And at the very center of it, beneath a twisted canopy of cursed vines and pale moonlight, stood Bowat — the mimic, the shadow beast, the illusionist. His monstrous form loomed above the stones, and in his clawed hands, limp and pale…
> Was Olivia.
Her body hung like a broken doll, her breath shallow, her eyes flickering with the last bits of consciousness. Her spirit hadn't yet given up — but it was close.
And then—
> "PUT HER DOWN!"
Caelum's voice shattered the silence like thunder.
She burst into the clearing, her sword still gleaming with the magic of the Tree Goddess, her presence radiating fury and purpose.
> "Let go of my sister. Now."
Bowat turned slowly, his glowing eyes locking with hers.
He didn't speak — creatures like him never did.
Instead, he growled.
A deep, blood-curdling growl that shook the very roots of the maze.
Behind Caelum, Carmine, Aurelia, and Celeste appeared — all of them momentarily frozen as the sound echoed around them.
They had faced demons. They had seen shadows move.
But this?
This was something older.
Hungrier.
And for a moment — just a moment — they were all afraid.
Except Caelum.
She didn't wait.
Didn't hesitate.
With one swift, glowing movement —
> She struck.
A single blow.
A clean, perfect arc of light.
The sword tore through Bowat's chest with divine force.
The mimic screeched — not like a creature, but like a soul being ripped apart — before collapsing into ash and darkness.
And as he fell…
Three hearts clattered to the stone floor beside his dying shadow.
One pink.
One icy blue.
And one a furious, gleaming red.
They pulsed gently on the ground — alive, somehow.
Still warm.
Still beating.
---
Olivia gasped and stumbled forward, the spell broken the moment Bowat fell. Caelum caught her in her arms.
> "Olivia… you're safe now," she whispered, her voice trembling with relief.
But Olivia wasn't looking at her sister's face — she was staring at the three glowing hearts on the ground.
> "You see them?" she asked, breathless.
"That means… that means the others are with creatures too. Cael — that's what this is. The hearts… they're not just tokens. They're pieces of fate. Of power."
She pointed at them.
> "Pink. Ice. Red. That's three."
"Which means… we're still missing two."
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed behind them.
Ivory.
She raced into the clearing, her chest heaving, her palms open.
> "Cael! I found them—"
She held out her hands.
And in them…
> A shimmering sky-blue heart.
A radiant golden one.
Caelum's eyes widened.
Five.
> "Only two left…" she murmured.
Now, one by one, the others arrived — drawn by the light, the energy, and the whispers of what had just happened. Fairies from all corners of the maze stood together once more. United — but only for a breath.
Because it wasn't over.
And Caelum… knew exactly what had to happen next.
She turned to Celeste, her expression unreadable, yet heavy with meaning.
The sword in her hand pulsed gently, almost as if it, too, understood what came next.
> "Let them go," Caelum said quietly. "All five hearts… let them return to the Giant Heart now."
Celeste frowned, confused.
> "What about us?"
Caelum stepped closer, her eyes locked on hers.
> "You're not coming with me. Not yet."
Celeste's breath hitched.
> "What are you talking about? Where are you going?"
Caelum's gaze turned solemn.
> "There's something I need to face. Alone."
> "The Giant Heart waits. And I need you to stay behind. Keep everyone safe. If anything happens to me—"
Celeste cut her off, voice sharp with emotion.
> "Don't say that."
But Caelum only gave her a faint, bittersweet smile.
> "I'm not saying goodbye."
> "I'm just asking you… to trust me."
And then she turned back to the others.
The five hearts began to rise — one by one — floating like stars, drawn toward the ancient pull of the Giant Heart's hidden chamber.
And as they floated upward into the maze's dark sky, Caelum followed the trail…
> Toward the final battle. Toward the end only she could write.
To be continue....