The Portal: Life with the Vampire and Werewolf Queen
Chapter 11: A Family Celebration and Confronting the Fear of Separation (Continued)
As they emerged on the other side of the portal, their feet met the searing, shadowy expanse of the Realm of Endless Strife—a world steeped in the echoes of a tormented past and the oppressive weight of perpetual war. Miya and Jiro immediately noticed the three figures accompanying the beast that had taken Lyra and Vespera.
These were towering entities with skin like weathered stone, eyes blazing like fire, and hands tipped with razor-sharp claws—guardians of an ancient malevolence. The creatures were startled to see Miya and Jiro following, their faces registering a flicker of surprise before twisting into a deceitful grin.
"Well, well, I never imagined the hero's daughter would dare to follow," sneered the leader, his voice dripping with mockery.
"You! What are you plotting? Who are you?!" Miya demanded, her tone sharp with fury.
The leader, a man wielding a mystical staff adorned with dark runes, explained that they belonged to a secretive cult known as the Order of the Obsidian Flame.
Their goal was to awaken the most formidable beast in their history—the Lord of the Underworld, Galesia—and this ritual could only be completed once they had gathered the seven sacred crystals imbued with ancient power. "Our plan will not falter if these two are lost to this world," he declared ominously.
According to them, two of these crystals resided within Lyra and Vespera—the Crimson Shard within Lyra and the Lunar Prism within Vespera—endowing them with their former powers and immortality as queens of the werewolves and vampires in this realm.
"These two must remain in this world until the Day of the Red Moon," the leader intoned, his voice a chilling whisper from the grave.
"We must keep their bodies alive before they are sacrificed…" At his command, one of his companions—a woman with hair like flickering flames—stepped forward, attempting to unravel the spell encasing Lyra and Vespera, who still lay unconscious on the ground. The air grew turbulent, and the symbols etched into their bodies began to glow, signaling the gradual release of their suppressed powers.
"Are you planning to break the spell? I won't allow it!" Miya shouted, her heart swelling with dread and rage. She knew that if the spell shattered, Lyra and Vespera would revert to their former selves as destructive warlords, potentially unleashing further chaos.
Without hesitation, she removed her enchanted bracelet, and in a blinding burst of light, her human form dissolved. "As a hero, it is my duty to thwart evil, and I will not let your schemes succeed!" she proclaimed.
Her true elven nature emerged—sharp ears, skin aglow with magic, and eyes like shimmering diamonds. In her hands appeared her ancient bow, which she swiftly aimed at the adversaries.
"I'll die before you succeed!" she cried, releasing a volley of arrows, each infused with fire and light that struck the creatures.
But before she could inflict significant damage, a colossal beast—nearly three meters tall with horns and a hide like steel—intercepted her. The creature roared, the ground trembling as it faced her in combat.
"A void monster… this will be a struggle in my condition," Miya muttered to herself.
The battle unfolded as a dance of speed and strength. Leveraging her elven agility, Miya dodged the beast's powerful strikes, her arrows finding their mark on its vulnerable joints and eyes.
Each shot left small wounds, yet the creature remained unfazed, its movements unhindered by pain. "This beast is incredibly resilient—how can I defeat it?" she wondered aloud.
With every attack, she chanted elven incantations, amplifying her arrows' energy, but the monster pressed forward relentlessly, its feet tearing up the earth as it pursued her.
"It's like an insatiable beast, unstoppable until its energy is drained," she thought.
For Miya, the fight seemed endless. Her arrows dwindled, her breathing grew labored, yet she refused to yield.
"I cannot surrender—I am a hero like my father," she resolved. In a swift motion, she leapt into the air and loosed a more potent arrow that struck the beast's chest, erupting in a spray of blood and smoke.
However, the creature surged with renewed vigor, lunging at her with its jagged horns. "It's going to hit me—I'm too vulnerable," she gasped. In the nick of time, she twisted her body, but one horn grazed her shoulder, leaving a deep gash.
Meanwhile, the female creature persisted in breaking the spell, her hands moving swiftly as she uttered unintelligible chants.
The air thickened, and the symbols on Lyra and Vespera's bodies glowed brighter, a sign that the magic was nearing collapse. Realizing the urgency, Miya charged toward the woman despite her wound, but the beast intervened, slamming its massive hand into the ground, triggering a tremor that showcased its fury and resolve.
Amid the chaos, a deafening explosion erupted from Lyra and Vespera. Their bodies radiated an intense light, unleashing a tremendous force that ravaged the surroundings—trees splintered, the earth darkened, and the air filled with smoke and flames.
The spell was finally broken, and their true forms as queens of the Realm of Endless Strife returned. Vespera now bore horns piercing the sky, wings of shadow, and blood-red eyes. Lyra emerged with tails like lightning, a fur-covered body, and teeth like swords. Their presence was saturated with rage, an emotion fueled by the resurfacing memories of their past lives as warlords.
Despite their transformed states, their faces were etched with confusion and fury. They stared at their hands, now brimming with power, as memories from Earth—the laughter, the simple chores at the pasture, and the warmth of the family they built with Jiro—flooded back.
"What is this? How did we live such a life with him?" Lyra whispered, her voice thick with resentment. "We were toyed with! Enslaved in that world as weak humans!" Vespera roared, her wings trembling with anger. Locking eyes, they gazed at each other in disbelief, struggling to comprehend how they had cohabited and lived as a family.
"If not for them, we wouldn't have been reduced to this—slaves in a world we didn't need!" Lyra shouted, her eyes blazing with fire.
"This humiliation is unforgivable!" Vespera added, her voice thundering like a storm.
Moments later, the three members of the Order of the Obsidian Flame descended from above, their faces alight with admiration.
"Welcome back, queens! Your power has returned, and the prophecy is nearing fulfillment!" the leader declared. But before he could finish, Vespera unleashed a swarm of bats from her wings, while Lyra released a powerful soundwave that reverberated through the area.
The bats struck relentlessly, and the soundwave caused a violent quake, yet the creatures evaded harm with their magic.
"With all due respect, queens, we are not your enemies but allies ready to assist you!" the female creature pleaded, her voice desperate.
"Join us in our mission to awaken the Lord of the Abyssal Void to fulfill the ancient prophecy!" The offer was met with scornful rejection.
"You wretched beings! Do you think we'd stoop to ally with you? I am the queen of werewolves—no one of your filth has the right to command me!" Lyra snarled, her tails quivering with rage.
"Your presence is an affront to my honor!" Vespera added, her horns glowing with fury.
In their wrath, they attacked again. Lyra leapt toward the massive beast, her claws glinting under the moonlight.
"I'll destroy you all!" she bellowed. The fight turned into an explosive clash—the beast swung its enormous hands at her, but Lyra evaded with lightning speed. In a swift strike, she plunged her claws into its shoulder, severing its arm like timber, blood gushing onto the ground.
The creature howled in agony, yet Lyra pressed on, her eyes burning with hatred as she tore into its flesh.
Meanwhile, Vespera invoked her Blood Spike Ritual—her blood transformed into sharp spikes that erupted from the earth, piercing the beast repeatedly. Each spike inflicted deep wounds, and with a final assault, the creature was riddled with holes, its body disintegrating into ash that scattered in the wind. The ground darkened with blood, and silence fell over the battlefield.
"You don't understand what you're doing—nothing will stop us, and the prophecy will come to pass, willing or not!" the leader warned.
The surviving creatures were incensed by their companion's defeat. "If you refuse to comply, we'll kill the man from Earth!" the leader threatened, his voice thick with venom.
"A man from Earth?" Lyra echoed, momentarily puzzled. "I care nothing for him!" she retorted coldly, her tone dripping with arrogance. "His life means nothing to me—our honor is all that matters!" Vespera added, her wings trembling with indignation. The leader laughed darkly,
"You'll regret this decision!" He then ordered another beast to pursue Jiro and kill him.
"Capture the man from Earth and slay him—ensure he suffers and despairs before his end," he commanded. The beast leapt away to obey, though a flicker of concern briefly crossed Lyra and Vespera's eyes, though they refused to acknowledge it.
As they fled, Miya ran tirelessly, carrying Jiro, her feet swift yet strained by her wounds. The air was thick with battle smoke, and the ground quaked with the pursuing beast's steps.
Moments later, she sensed a rapid object hurtling toward them. In an instant, the beast crashed into them—its massive frame struck, sending them tumbling across the rocky terrain, stones cutting into their skin. Miya weakened, her arms trembling as blood seeped from her wound.
"My body's in poor shape—we need to escape this place," she murmured to herself. Though near exhaustion, she refused to give up.
The beast emerged from the smoke, its eyes glowing with malice as it attacked again. Miya noticed it wasn't targeting her—the creature focused on the helpless Jiro.
Despite her condition, she urged, "Run, Jiro!" and tried to move him, but her legs failed to respond. With no other option, she resorted to her remaining magic. Swiftly chanting an elven spell, she enveloped them in a dense fog, granting a brief respite.
Amid the haze, she lifted Jiro and fled once more, her heart pounding. "Don't worry, I won't abandon you, Jiro," she whispered. Knowing escape was unlikely, she pressed on until they reached the edge of a deep chasm with no further path.
They hid behind a large boulder, but the beast tracked them, cornering them against the cliff. "We've nowhere left to run—this chasm is too deep," Miya realized, panic rising.
"What can I do?" she wondered. Moments later, the beast attacked again, raising its massive hand to crush them. But before it could strike, its body split in two from a precise slash, its blood raining down like a storm.
Shocked, Miya and Jiro watched as Lyra approached from the shadows, her form radiating a fierce aura, her eyes blazing with rage.
"You toyed with me with your deceit, Jiro! You enslaved me on Earth as a weakling!" she roared, her voice thick with hatred.
"You'll pay for this humiliation, you treacherous filth!" she added, her claws raised like weapons..
But before she could advance, a swarm of bats struck her, halting her movement. From above, Vespera descended, floating in the air, her wings quivering with fury.
"This betrayal is unforgivable!" Vespera thundered, her voice like a storm. "My honor as a queen has been defiled by your treachery!" As she spoke,
Lyra unleashed a powerful soundwave, which Vespera countered with her magic, triggering a violent energy burst between them.
"Don't interfere, Lyra! I will punish Jiro!" Vespera shouted, her eyes burning with rage.
"No! I alone have the right to him—no one else will punish him but me!" Lyra retorted, her voice equally inflamed.
The tension escalated as Lyra and Vespera clashed over Jiro's fate—whether he would fall to Lyra's wrath or Vespera's vengeance—their auras threatening his very life.
"Lyra… Vespera…" Jiro whispered, his voice laced with confusion and fear.