Shchek screamed once more.
Then he fell still.
The light casted by Methodius quickly dissipated.
Methodius coughed with blood, falling to his knees.
The shadow that rose from his body did not vanish. It twisted, surged upward, coiling like smoke, until it took shape—a form vast, ancient, and divine.
A man, at first glance—tall, cloaked in black and moss, his robes made of rotted bark and woven night. His hair flowed like riverweed, and his eyes were twin voids with stars hidden inside. Around his neck, bones of unknown beasts clattered softly. His skin shifted constantly, black fur and scales rising and falling like breath.
His voice rumbled like thunder echoing in a cave.
"I am Veles."
Silence fell.
"I'm not your enemy."
Even the trees seemed to bow.
Although his presence was much weaker than Mara's, people could still feel – in front of them was a god.
The first to move was Baba Yaha. She stepped forward slowly, eyes narrowed, lips pursed.
"You," she breathed. "That's why I felt your stink in the boy. So… you used him as a vessel."
Veles nodded once, ignoring her sharp comments.
"Blessed," he said simply. "He carried me well."
Lybid's grip on Maksym's blade tightened.
"What do you want?" Baba Yaha asked. "Come to take vengeance for your sister?"
Veles looked past her to where Mara's ashes still smoldered.
"No," he said, and in his voice was both sorrow and relief. "I loved her. And because I did, I could never end her. But she… she was lost. Her will twisted. She forgot what Death was meant to be."
He sighed.
"Because of 'Him'. Devil"
Veles stepped forward.
"I am here to reclaim what was hers. Her throne. Her burden. Her authority."
He looked at them all.
"If I do not—'He' will."
The air dropped in temperature.
"The Fallen. The Mad One. The Child who devoured his own light." Veles's words curled like frostbite. "He has moved in shadows too long. If I do not hold this power, he will twist it—corrupt death itself."
He exhaled once more." I have already lost much. The underworld has fractured because of 'Him'. I had to vanish. Wait."
A tremor ran through the air.
Above them, the holy barrier cracked—a fine golden line splitting across the sky.
The group looked upward in horror.
"Something's testing it," Kyi said.
"Not something," Veles corrected, "Someone."
He turned to the ashes of 'His' sister.
Mara was still alive, fighting to revive like a phoenix from the ashes.
With a wordless chant, he raised his hands.
The remnants of his sister surged into the air, forming a spiral of black and crimson light. Veles opened his chest—literally, revealing a great hollow filled with stars and shifting faces. The light flowed into him.
His form changed.
His skin darkened further, bark hardening into bone. Horns curled from his head like those of a serpent and bull. Around him now danced small silver flames, soft souls finding peace at last.
Then the barrier shattered.
And the real enemy stepped in.