ALINTA AND THE others left the house immediately. As soon as they stepped outside, they saw the massive monster, Vasta, and Luna, who was flying beside Vasta's head. They were stunned when they saw Luna in her new form. With her pointed ears, and azure eyes and hair, they could tell that she was an elf. More significantly, the arrows circling her from behind proved that she was descended from that bloodline.
"Luna is an elf?"
Nobody knew who shouted such words as Vasta roared once more. Alinta had to cover her ears to save her eardrums from bursting.
"Morrigan," Luna said quietly, her gaze fixed on the woman who bore that name. Her face distorted into a nasty grimace as the realization hit her. She had taken great care when performing that particular ritual in order to ensure Morrigan would die horrifically. Seeing her right now, looking well and alive, Luna was naturally discontented.
"It's been a while," Morrigan said. She fixed her eyes on Luna before moving to look at Vasta. Her eyes were filled with a range of emotions before she sighed exasperatedly. Her action didn't go unnoticed by Alinta. Alinta must say, that was such an extremely mysterious, deep sigh. "The children of this realm came from you," Morrigan said, trying to reason out with the woman, "must you do this?"
Luna sneered. "I've painstakingly planned this ordeal for thousands of years. I've already killed a lot. My children, their children, and their children's children--- all of them were sacrificed in order to revive Vasta. In fact," she said coldly, "as my children, this is what they should've done. I never wanted them. I suffered just to have them. Their deaths are a minor matter compared to what I experienced!"
"Luna---" Morrigan called out again, but she was cut off.
"Shut up!" Luna yelled through her teeth. "What do you know? You, as the world's priestess, were supposed to accept multiple mates from different bloodlines; but you sought help from Atara and managed to avoid the bloodlines' wraths; while I, the daughter of the King of Elves, was humiliated and forced to accept men I don't even want!" she screamed, fuming. Her hands were squeezed, almost causing her palms to swell with blood. Painful recollections from her past suddenly flooded her head, and she felt as if she was not far from losing her mind.
Luna shook her head and began to breathe deeply. She finally calmed down and scoffed at Morrigan, "I hate you. I hate Atara. I hate everyone in this world! I wish nothing but for you to vanish out of my sight!"
Alinta pressed her lips together. She was considering using her grandma to avoid tragedy, but Luna seemed to despise her grandmother as well. Her scheme, which she thought would save her, has backfired. She couldn't put it to use now. Well, come to think of it, everyone, with the exception of Morrigan, despised her grandma. Alinta should've known better.
Then, Luna raised her hand, and a black vortex began to emerge from her back. It began small and grew until it was huge enough to accommodate the massive monster. There were flashes of lightning of all colours and hollering malevolent spirits inside the vortex. Some of the souls attempted to escape the vortex but were scorched.
"What's that?!" shouted the blonde.
Severino quickly hid Alinta on his back. His eyes constricted as he observed the vortex. A heavy, rancid feeling crept through his heart. Then, all of a sudden, Severino's heart hammered hard. He collapsed to his knees and vomited blood from the impact.
Alinta tensed up. She extended her hand to assist Severino but paused when she heard the others fall as well. Her eyelid twitched as they all began vomiting blood. Morrigan seemed to be the most affected as her breathing started to turn shallow. Alinta quickly dashed to Morrigan's side and helped the woman regulate her body.
"What the hell is going on?" How come everyone was on their knees, while she seemed to be unaffected?
"This is void," replied Luna. "It is created with the help of energy from heaven and earth. To perfect this void, several souls and living beings were consumed, and it became Vasta's property with the help of the gems and souls of the werewolves." Her eyes squinted as she added, "I learned this spell from Atara."
Alinta was rendered speechless. There were many people who were more qualified to be her grandmother's disciple, but she chose someone who was just as nasty as she was! Unbelievable!
Severino began to throw up black blood, so Alinta then had to regularise his body. She thought about helping the others too, but before she could, a force grabbed her and shot her inside the void. She screeched as lightning and strange forces grazed her body. It was so excruciating that she felt she'd die any minute.
"You will become Vasta's main source of life," she faintly heard Luna say. She could also hear shouts from her companions.
Damn it! Alinta bit the bottom of her lips. If she had known this was going to happen, she would have slain that femme fatale the last time. She would then transform into a dark witch, and she wouldn't have to suffer like she is now.
Enraged and frustrated, Alinta took out every ounce of her energy and channelled it into a spell. Whatever spell it was, she'd cast it as long as it got her out of here!
She recalled a specific page from her grandmother's grimoire. She was able to remember it because it just had five sentences with four words each. So she uttered the magic constantly for nearly a minute, disregarding the electrified pain from the bolts of lightning and the vengeance souls.
Finally, just as she was about to burst, the inside of the void became motionless, and she was swept into nothingness. The procedure was so familiar that she remembered how she ended up in this wretched world.
---
Darkness. There was nothing but darkness. Alinta had no idea where she was headed. This sea of darkness seemed to have no end, until---
SPLASH!
Alinta gasped, dragged herself out of the freezing water, cast a drying spell, and sank exhaustedly onto the ground. She bit her lower lip and pressed her right arm over her eyes. She remained motionless in the mud as she meditated on all that had happened to her recently.
She should've stayed in the forest, which was the first location she saw when she came into this world.
She should not have looked for civilization. If only she didn't, she wouldn't have to deal with those Dark Region Pack members or go to that nonsense summit. She wouldn't have to save those elders, and maybe she wouldn't be forced to be someone else's mate as well!
Bah!
'One should never seriously doubt one's instinct!' she thought, remembering how many times she felt like something was odd. She was absolutely right!
Although she agreed to attend the summit, she should've said 'no' when asked to help the elders. At the time, she should've begun living on an isolated mountain!
It was not a good idea to save the lives of those ugly elders! Despite the fact that there was no longer a plague to solve, she was given yet another problem! The most unlucky thing was, she couldn't ostracise herself from this predicament as what that Luna wanted was her.
Alinta clenched her fist and raised her right arm. Her face darkened and her eyes became ferocious. She almost died!
Hah! The entire world is doomed!
"Here! This place! I heard something fell in this place!"
What now?!
Alinta's face darkened even more. She heavily got up and thought of escaping when the intruders arrived.
"A woman! There's a woman here!" someone shouted excitedly.
Alinta looked up and was taken aback upon seeing the new arrivals. There were several men with spears and lances, and they had good countenances. But what attracted Alinta was their way of dressing. They looked like people from the ancient civilization where only thick furs covered their private areas.
Moreover, they didn't feel like werewolves at all.
What the heck?! Where the hell is she?!
"Oh, you find a woman?" remarked someone from behind the woods. The voice belonged to a woman. It was alluring, lethargic, and forceful all at once. "Interesting. When did women in this place become so easy to have?"
The bushes rustled, and a very familiar aura approached. Alinta was stunned when the woman appeared, and she was rendered speechless. The woman had ink-black hair, eyes so dark you could drown just staring at them, and skin so white it looked like porcelain. She was wearing a long, tight black dress, and her hair was braided, yet it still reached the back of her knees.
Alinta's jaw almost reached the ground as she mumbled, "Grand... ma?!"