One moment, Dyn was calm.
Casual. Charming.
And then—
Like a switch had been flipped—
She snapped.
Her voice—a bark.
Her energy—wild.
Her rage—untamed.
"No. No. NO! You can’t run this time!"
She tore through every corner.
Every shadow.
Every possible hiding spot.
But—
Elysia was gone.
Again.
"Where are you hiding her?! TELL ME!"
Aiaris barely had a moment to process.
She turned—and then suddenly—
Dyn was on her.
Her hand clenched around Aiaris’ throat.
Her palm glowing purple—crackling with Arcane power.
"W…w…w-what?!"
"Where is she?! TELL ME!"
Aiaris tried to breathe.
Tried to process.
Her own heart pounded.
This wasn’t just an interrogation anymore.
This was a threat.
A death sentence.
"Sh…sh…she’s in her room!"
- "Enough.
You’re involved in this, too. Aren’t you?"*
Aiaris coughed harder.
Dyn’s grip tightened.
The Arcane glow around her hand darkened.
Her rage—a wild storm, uncontrollable.
"TELL ME!"
Aiaris’ body jerked.
Her breath strangled.
Her vision blurred.
For a split second—
She thought—
"She’s going to kill me."
And then—
Dyn let go.
She stumbled back.
Her own hands shaking.
Her own breath ragged.
She looked at Aiaris—
Her wide, terrified eyes.
Her quivering hands against her bruised throat.
And Dyn realized—
She had almost killed her.
"No… no… What have I done?"
Aiaris coughed violently, gasping for breath.
Dyn—dazed, horrified, panicked—
Hurriedly grabbed a glass of water and handed it to her.
"I—I’m sorry. I… I didn’t mean to… I… I lost control. I’m sorry. I’m sorry."
Aiaris, still weak, barely holding herself together, croaked out the only word in her mind.
"Elysia…?"
Dyn froze.
Then, her eyes darkened.
She exhaled sharply.
And then—
The words left her mouth before she could stop them.
- "She ran away.
Again."*
"What?? Why would she run?"
- "She’s a fugitive, Aiaris! Don’t you know?!
YOUR ELYSIA IS A FUGITIVE ON THE RUN!"*
Silence.
Aiaris froze.
The room—too quiet.
Her breath stilled.
Her entire world—shattered.
"No… No. That’s wrong. That’s not true."
And then—
BOOM.
A distant explosion.
A violent shockwave rippling through the mand.
The walls shook.
The ground trembled.
The air hummed with raw Arcane power.
And then—
The sky cracked.
A massive plume of purple lightning smoke twisted into the sky.
It was dense.
Violent.
Dark.
And it was coming from—
The Castle of the Virtis.
"What in the…?"
Outside, the mand awakened.
People stumbled from their homes.
Faces turned toward the sky.
Their expressions—fearful.
Because they all knew.
A purple lightning explosion like that?
There was only one kind of fairy who could do that.
And she was in that castle.
Dyn’s breath shook.
Her rage burned.
Her mind spun.
There was no doubt anymore.
She clenched her fists.
Elysia.
Fiesa.
Whichever it was—
She was there.
"I’ve got you now."
The walls shook.
Lightning arced across the ceiling.
The air crackled with violent energy, charged with the force of the battle raging within.
Fiesa stood in the center—panting, bleeding, shaking—but standing.
The four Virtis surrounded her.
Four against one.
A trap.
She should have known.
"You should have surrendered, Fiesa. Now look at you—"
She gestured with a mocking smile to Fiesa’s bruised arm, the torn fabric of her tunic, the blood trailing down her lip.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"—tired, weak, alone."
"You talk too much."
The moment she said it—
A flash of Arcane energy hurtled toward her—
Too fast.
Too close.
Fiesa barely dodged.
The attack seared past her face, burning a lock of her hair.
BOOM!
The second Virtis struck next—
Her hand raised—spinning a dark purple orb of Arcane energy.
She hurled it—
"Not fast enough!"
She swung her arm—blasting the attack away—
But she barely had time to recover before—
CRACK!
The third Virtis appeared behind her—
A knee slammed into her spine.
Fiesa gasped in pain—stumbling forward.
"She thinks she’s a warrior!"
Before Fiesa could move—
A palm infused with Arcane energy struck her in the stomach.
BOOM!
A shockwave rippled through her body—
She crashed backward, slamming into a stone pillar.
The impact cracked the wall behind her.
Her vision blurred.
Her ribs burned.
"You are powerful, Fiesa. But not powerful enough."
Fiesa clutched her ribs.
She forced herself up.
She had to keep fighting.
She had to—
SWOOSH!
The Second Virtis lunged—
Twin blades of Arcane energy forming in her hands.
She swung—
Fiesa dodged—just barely—
One blade sliced past her cheek, drawing blood.
The other—
Fiesa blocked with her forearm.
A burning pain shot up her arm.
Her knees buckled.
She was getting slower.
Weaker.
"I won’t lose to you!"
Third Virtis smirked.
And before Fiesa could move—
A bolt of Arcane energy struck her chest.
BOOM!
Fiesa was sent flying—
Her body crashed through a stone railing—
She fell.
She hit the lower floor hard.
Her breath left her.
Her vision spun.
Above her, the four Virtis stood.
Looking down.
Predators.
Hunters.
Their expressions victorious.
"You still refuse to kill her? I'll spare your life… if you do it."
Fiesa coughed.
Blood dripped from her lips.
She tried to stand.
Her legs shook.
Her body burned.
But she wouldn’t fall.
"No! You have to kill me too if you want her dead."
Head Virtis crouched before her.
She studied Fiesa’s face.
Then—she smiled.
"Oh, Fiesa. You did a great job—bringing this book to me. No doubt. But... you shouldn’t forget why I created you."
Fiesa said nothing.
She was panting.
Bleeding.
Unable to speak much.
But her rage burned brighter than ever.
- "When Elysia learned the truth about us, do you know what I saw in her eyes?
Revenge.
Rage.
Determination.
The fire of a fairy who would stop at nothing to end this… To end the Ritual that these mindless fairies follow every cycle."*
Fiesa’s breathing hitched.
"You used her!"
- "No.
You used her.
I simply gave her rage a form.
Gave her ambition a form.
I gave you form—inside her."*
Fiesa clenched her fists.
Her body trembled.
With anger.
With realization.
With pain.
- "You grew in her.
You controlled her.
It was you who used her."*
"She’s in pain because of you!"
- "Me?
Oh, Fiesa.
No.
It wasn’t me who killed those two fairies.
It wasn’t me who became a fugitive.
It wasn’t me who is hunted across all ten realms.
It was you.
Or should I say…Elysia?
Hmm?"*
Fiesa froze.
Her mind spiraled.
Her heart pounded.
For the first time…
She felt it.
Doubt.
Was she really just protecting Elysia?
Or had she become the monster she was created to be?
Fiesa trembled.
Her body was failing.
The wounds burned.
Her breath came ragged.
But worse—her control was slipping.
Elysia was waking up.
No. No. No.
"No. No… Elysia, stay back!"
Head Virtis watched the struggle unfold.
Her lips curled in amusement.
She enjoyed this.
The fall of Fiesa.
The rise of Elysia.
"Yes… Let her come out."
Fiesa clutched her head, shaking, her body flickering between forms.
Her tunic dark and heavy—then lighter—then dark again.
The fight was internal.
"No! No, Elysia!! Not now. Not here!"
But Elysia was oblivious.
She had been asleep.
Her mind locked away while Fiesa fought.
But now—
Now she was waking up.
And Fiesa could do nothing to stop it.
Head Virtis stepped forward.
A slow, taunting stride.
Then—
She kicked Fiesa.
CRACK!
Fiesa’s body soared through the air—
Shattered through the main door—
And crashed onto the dirt outside.
The castle doors burst open.
Wood splinters rained down.
Dust swirled.
And Fiesa—
Fiesa was barely moving.
She tried—**desperately—**to hold on.
She dug her fingers into the dirt.
Her body flickered again—
Elysia’s face surfacing—then fading.
No. No.
"No, Ely! I can't let you—!"
But her grip slipped.
And Elysia surfaced.
Her bright eyes flickered open—
Confused.
Lost.
Afraid.
"…What?"
Her body ached.
Her vision spun.
She looked down at her hands—
Bruised. Bleeding.
Her arms covered in wounds she didn’t remember getting.
"Why am I hurt? Where am I?"
Fiesa’s voice echoed inside her.
But Elysia didn’t understand.
"Welcome back, Elysia."
Elysia turned.
And her stomach dropped.
That face.
That cold, wretched face.
The one she feared.
The one she hated.
Head Virtis.
Elysia’s blood ran cold.
Her mind swirled.
How was she here?
How did she end up in the place she swore to never return to?
"No… No, no. How am I here?!"
"You’re home."
No.
No. No. NO.
This wasn’t home.
This was where it all began.
Where she begged for her life.
Where they made Fiesa.
Elysia struggled to stand.
She stumbled on weak legs.
Her mind tried to catch up.
But nothing made sense.
"RUN, ELYSIA! NOW!"
"Look at you… Broken. Weak. This would be the perfect time to kill you, wouldn’t it?"
She tilted her head.
"But where’s the fun in that?"
Then—
A voice cut through the night.
A sharp, commanding voice.
A voice full of fury.
"STAND BACK! She’s mine!"
The air shifted.
For the first time, Head Virtis looked mildly interested.
She turned.
And saw Sattira Dyn—
Arcane energy glowing in her hands—
Eyes burning with determination.
"And who are you, my friend?"
Dyn’s grip on her Arcane gun tightened.
She wasn’t here to play games.
Not this time.
Not again.
"The one who’s going to take you down."
The battle wasn’t over.
Not yet.
And this time—
Elysia wasn’t fighting alone.
The battlefield was set.
The night was thick with Arcane tension.
The air hummed with danger.
And in the center of it all—
Elysia.
She was worn.
She was wounded.
She was weak.
And worst of all—
She was confused.
"RUN!! NOW!"
"W-what…? What is happening??"
Dyn didn’t take her eyes off Head Virtis.
Her grip tightened on her Arcane gun.
"She’s mine to kill!!"
"Why not? But I am going to kill her first."
The two enemies locked eyes.
Both wanted the same thing.
Both wanted Elysia.
"Stay right where you are—whoever the hell you are. I won’t think twice before shooting."
"Like your little toy can kill me? Please… go ahead. Give it a try."
"Oh, no. You don’t know what you’re dealing with."
"No, darling. It is you who doesn’t know. Not me."
"Wait! Where’s Elysia??"
Too late.
Elysia was gone.
While they were busy fighting over her—
She took her chance.
She ran.
She fled into the ruins.
Into the debris of the shattered castle.
Into the dark.
"GO!"
She turned to her Virtis.
"FIND HER!"
She hid behind a half-collapsed wall.
Her body trembled.
Her wounds ached.
Her mind spun.
She didn’t know how she got here.
She didn’t know why she was hurt.
But one thing was certain—
She had to survive.
"Listen to me, Elysia."
"You have to find the Book of Shrishgic."
"It has—"
"WHAT?! STOP! JUST STOP!"
Fiesa silenced.
Elysia was breaking.
Too many secrets.
Too many half-truths.
Too many questions with no answers.
"Tell me what’s going on! Why is that book here??"
"I can’t tell you now. But listen. I have to protect you."
"No! Enough of your games! Look at me right now!"
She spread her arms—
Gesturing to her bruised, bleeding body.
"LOOK AT ME!!"
Fiesa didn’t flinch.
She never did.
She was built from rage.
She was built from vengeance.
She was not meant for mercy.
"I know. But listen."
"Right now—I’m your only escape."
"If you don’t leave now—they will hurt mum."
Silence.
Elysia’s chest tightened.
Her pulse pounded.
"What? Mum?? Why?"
"If Dyn is here, that means she’s already met your mother."
- "And if she doesn’t find you—"
"—she’ll use Aiaris to lure you out."
"No… No. Not Mum."
"Yes. So listen."
"Get up. Find the Book of Shrishgic."
"I know how to end this."
"How?"
"Do you trust me?"
Silence.
Elysia stared at nothing.
She was terrified.
She was lost.
But she knew one thing—
If Fiesa truly wanted her dead…
If Fiesa wanted complete control…
She could have taken it long ago.
She could have killed her already.
But she didn’t.
"I do."
"Then go."
"Let’s show them who we are."