Emily’s gaze locked onto the figure in the white cloak as he flung Kael and Umbra aside with devastating strength. Kael jammed his spear into the ground, his feet skidding but managing to halt his momentum. Umbra wasn’t as fortunate; the impact sent him crashing through the flap of a nearby tent, the fabric ripping with a sharp snap.

  A hush rippled through the scene as everyone edged toward the periphery, tension crackling in the air. Emily’s brow furrowed, her arms still looped around Alex’s shoulders, but her focus never wavered from the white-cloaked figure.

  Cosmo. If it was truly him, it meant he had been caught in the same disaster that had brought her here. How had he escaped the grasp of those stingy gods? Was that why he was with them now?

  Emily wriggled free from Alex’s hold, her movements hurried yet deliberate. She hit the ground hard but tucked herself into a ball to absorb the impact, rolling to her feet with practiced ease. Alex reached out, his concern evident, but Emily ignored him, her steps faltering as she inched toward the center of the chaos.

  Her teeth clenched as conflicting emotions churned inside her. Excitement bubbled beneath her unsteady gait—an undeniable thrill at seeing someone from her old world. Her lips parted as if to call out to him.

  But then she stopped cold.

  Did she want him to know she was here? Her chest tightened at the thought. Seeing him again had sent a surge of familiarity coursing through her, but out of all the people to share this twisted fate, why did it have to be him? Cosmo. He wasn’t just a relic of her past; he was part of why everything had gone wrong.

  Sure, she loved this world now, but that didn’t change the fact that this was partly his fault. Her frown deepened, shadows clouding her expression as doubts clawed at her thoughts.

  Kael’s sudden movement snapped her from her thoughts. Vapor coiled around him in thick tendrils as he lunged at the white-cloaked figure. The clash was ferocious, a blur of calculated strikes and unyielding power. Kael fought with precision, every movement honed, while Cosmo countered with raw strength, making each block resonate like a thunderclap.

  Was Cosmo’s power intact here too? Super strength had always been part of his arsenal, but paired with a title in this world? He’d be unstoppable.

  Emily didn’t have time to process the implications. Alex grabbed her hand, his grip firm, and yanked her toward the left. Her footing faltered, but she stumbled after him, her head snapping back to the scene unfolding behind her.

  Cosmo had taken a couple of hits from Kael by now, and each impact was blocked by his body's natural resilience–another of his powers. Where the spear struck, it left nothing more than a damaged robe, but his skin below it was not even bruised.

  Emily stumbled at first, her arm caught in Alex’s firm grip as he pulled her forward. She had been moving automatically, her thoughts tangled in what-ifs and half-formed doubts. But as her eyes settled on Alex’s back, a quiet realization dawned. So what if Cosmo was here? It didn’t change anything. This world was her reality now, and no amount of yearning or anger would undo that.

  A weight lifted, replaced by something steadier. Emily exhaled and wrenched free from Alex’s hand—not in rebellion, but in a conscious choice. She quickened her pace, closing the distance between them until she broke out into a run beside him.

  At this stage, Kael went hurtling across their path as the white robe sent him crashing into the earth.

  Umbra was slinging daggers at the man but he simply deflected all of them by batting them out of the air. Throughout all of this Umbra had not lost his smile, crawling out of the tent he charged right back into battle.

  Emily and Alex didn’t hesitate and slowed for Kael putting an arm over each of their shoulders and running onwards.

  Throughout all of this, the red-robed individual had not shown any reaction but as the Wandering fangs began to slip around the two fighting in the middle, they reacted.

  Throwing her hood back was a stunningly pale woman with brilliant red hair straightened so that her hair fell down his shoulders like meandering waterfalls. The spark in her eye made all who looked at her feel an almost ethereal nature.

  Lifting her hand caused the fire to lick up her arms and scatter playfully.

  Even her half-smile that played on her lips spoke of a beautiful

  Emily and Alex didn’t hesitate. As Kael stumbled toward them, they slowed just enough to catch him. He slung an arm over each of their shoulders, leaning heavily on them, and together they surged forward, their strides uneven but determined.

  Behind them, the red-robed figure remained unnervingly still, their presence as ominous as a storm cloud on the horizon. But as the Wandering Fangs began to circle, slipping around to the two locked in combat, the figure finally moved.

  The hood fell away, revealing a woman whose striking appearance drew every gaze. Her skin was pale as frost, smooth and unblemished, a stark contrast to the vibrant cascade of red hair tumbling down her shoulders like liquid fire. Each strand seemed impossibly perfect as if sculpted into existence.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  A spark of otherworldly energy flickered behind her eyes, so piercing that anyone who met her knew she was beyond their understanding.

  With a fluid motion, she raised her hand. Flames danced up her arms in elegant spirals, their edges flickering like restless spirits. The fire didn’t consume her; instead, it seemed to embrace her, swirling and leaping as though alive, playful yet deadly.

  Even her smile, faint and teasing at the edges of her lips, carried an unspoken promise—a beautiful, inevitable demise.

  Flames rose up behind her in an ever-expanding wall, burning anything unlucky enough to get caught up in their path.

  Emily saw this and cursed under her breath.

  Changing direction she tried to get them through the wall before it crossed in front of them but it was too late. The escape route closed off to them.

  Emily saw that Ashe was near to the woman and she tried to attack with a large stone but she hesitated. The attack had no real power behind it so when the woman saw it, she sent a derisive look at Ashe and shot the attack out of the air with a ball of flames twice the size of the stone.

  Seeing her attack had failed Nox tried to send an attack of his own but the woman was too on guard and blocked them too.

  Emily glanced at Alex and they didn’t even need to speak to know what the other was thinking.

  “Kael go help Umbra, we’ll deal with her,” Alex said.

  Kael ground his teeth and nodded before popping his shoulder back into its socket and charging back in.

  Emily sprinted toward the red-haired woman, her pulse pounding in her ears. Behind her, Alex’s footsteps thudded in rapid pursuit, each step mirroring her own.

  Ahead, Selia had joined Ashe, her movements sharp and desperate. Normally, chains were her weapon of choice—extensions of her strength and precision. But now, she wielded a length of rope, its frayed edges whipping through the air like a makeshift lash.

  The rope lashed out, but it couldn’t hold its ground against the inferno radiating from the dainty woman’s body. Flames rippled along her arms and shoulders, flaring in unpredictable bursts that sent waves of heat rippling through the air. The rope scorched on contact, curling, and smoking as Selia struggled to keep the woman at bay.

  Every swing seemed more futile than the last, the fire’s playful chaos mocking Selia’s attempts to control the battle.

  All too soon the woman got tired of their back and forth so she let out a column of flame in their direction.

  Ashe yelped but she raised a wall in its path to protect the three of them.

  The woman's attack smashed into the rock and scattered, but that was not all it did. The flames it was made of seemed to separate into ribbons and begin to search out anyone who was too close.

  The rest of the wandering fangs had to flee in all directions to avoid them, which was probably her goal in the first place.

  Emily called for Cupcake through their connection, prompting the beast to pick up Ashe. The familiar flash of red fur was all she needed to know that the beast had come through for her. But that left the attacks still traveling towards them.

  Emily whipped out a scythe of blood, killing the projectiles headed for her and Alex.

  Then in the same fluid motion, she reached down and grabbed her scepter. Charging source into the relic.

  The crystal glowed with white light, and Emily shot out a loosely gathered ball of force. Its strength was only half that of the orbs she had been using, but it was more than enough for one person.

  Emily's bolt shot out and hit the robed woman in the shoulder. The detonation flashed around her like a colum of wind but somehow wasn’t able to move her. Emily had seen this spell uproot trees so there had to be some skill in effect here.

  When the woman finally gave Emily her full attention, she did not look happy. Then with several prayers echoing from her throat a serpent of flame began to uncoil from the wall of fire.

  “Godammit. Why is it always snakes!” Emily growled.

  The thing was as big as a car and it was slinking toward her as it reared back to strike.

  Emily got ready to dodge but then Alex flicked half a dozen runes over his blade and suddenly all the surrounding flame in a two-meter radius of them died.

  As the snake lunged, it crashed into the invisible boundary and recoiled, half of its face completely having melted away.

  Seeing an opening, Emily created two spears of blood and shot them at the woman. She seemed to see them coming but chose not to block them, seeming to rely on whatever skill she had used earlier. What neither of them expected was that the blood sheered straight through her defenses and stabbed into her heart and stomach

  The woman let out an unholy wail, her scream bouncing across the battlefield, and Emily saw Cosmo flinch. He looked in their direction, his face expression of shock.

  Emily was about to follow the attack up with another but the woman fell to the ground dead. She could feel the woman's life force rushed towards her, but to her surprise, it passed her by.

  The vitality instead rushed into Cosmo’s left hand, as he scowled at Emily with an unreadable expression. The full weight of his gaze was finally on her.

  What Emily didn’t expect was for the woman's corpse behind her to suddenly explode.

  Alex grunted as the wave of flames parted around them before rushing toward Cosmo and collecting in the sky above his head.

  Emily had to squint through the flames as night turned to day and they took the shape of a bird.

  Alex held a hand over his eyes and took a step back.

  “You have to be kidding me, that thing can’t be here! Emily! Run!” Alex shouted.

  Emily didn’t need convincing. She bolted toward the waning wall of flame, her heart pounding in her chest. Alex’s runes flared to life, creating a narrow gap in the fiery barrier. The heat licked at her skin as she and Alex darted through, forging a path for the others.

  Behind them, Kael disengaged from Cosmo, who had seemingly lost interest in the fight. Umbra, however, was reveling in the chaos, laughing and screaming even as his wounds multiplied. The white-robed man took a single deliberate step toward Emily, his focus wavering as he fought to keep his attention on both her and Umbra.

  Emily reached the wall and started climbing. Her hands burned against the rough surface, but she gritted her teeth and pushed upward. As she reached the top, Cupcake swooped down, landing beside her with a flash of red fur. She glanced back and saw the others scaling the wall in frantic pursuit.

  Her gaze flicked downward to the battlefield. Cosmo had turned away from her entirely, fully engaged with Umbra once more. The chaotic energy of their clash sent shivers down her spine, but there was no time to linger.

  Alex jumped down the other side, calling her name, and Emily was about to follow. But just as she prepared to leap, a piercing scream froze her in place.

  “Emily! You’re not going anywhere!”

  She spun around at the sound of Oressa’s voice, her eyes widening as she caught sight of a beam of light racing toward her.

  There was no time to think. Instinctively, Emily raised a shield of blood, the crimson mass forming a barrier between her and the attack. The beam struck with a deafening impact, its force shattering her shield and illuminating the world in a blinding neon glow.

  The explosion sent her tumbling backward, over the edge of the wall. For a brief moment, as she spun through the air, her gaze locked with Cosmo’s. His head snapped toward her, and she saw his eyes glimmering with galaxies and…distress.

  Then the ground rushed up to meet her.

  Blood points: 310