Bloody wedding 2

: Inside the grand halls of the citadel, the bells of alarm tolled, their echoes ringing across the stone like a dirge. King Edward stood tall, his voice commanding as he declared a state of emergency, summoning every knight, every soldier, to arms. The great gates thundered open as steel-clad warriors marched out to meet the tide of horrors, their banners whipping in the storm. Meanwhile, within the keep, Queen Selene remained composed, her presence a pillar of calm amidst chaos. She guided the nobles to safety, her voice steady, her authority unquestioned, quelling their panic with quiet dignity. Outside the citadel walls, chaos burned like wildfire. There stood Princess Kalia and Sir Leo, facing Rex Gladvor. “What does this mean?!” Kalia cried, her voice trembling between rage and dread. Rex only laughed, dark and hollow. “My dear, you carry something I desire above all else. Surrender, and I will withdraw. Resist, and this kingdom will drown.” Her resolve faltered. For an instant, the weight of his presence crushed her will, her knees weak as if chains unseen bound her in place. She felt the thought of surrender whispering through her veins. But then Leo’s roar cut through her despair like a blade of fire. “You bastard!” With blazing fury, Leo lunged forward. Rex unsheathed his sword, but his strikes were drowned beneath the storm of Leo’s assault. Steel shattered, sparks flared, and within heartbeats, Rex’s weapon was nothing but fragments scattered upon the ground. A final blow tore through him—bone, flesh, and sinew rended apart until Rex was reduced to fragments, his laughter silenced at last. The king’s forces surged into battle, and Leo, bloodied but unbroken, joined their ranks at Edward’s side. Together with the elite guards sworn to protect the realm’s nobles, they carved a path of steel and fire, their presence igniting new sparks of hope amidst the despair. Within the citadel, Kalia rushed through the halls, her heart pounding until she found her mother. “Mother, I must tell you something,” she said, breathless. Selene turned, her expression serene despite the storm raging outside. “This is not the time, my child.” But Kalia would not yield. “It cannot wait.” She spoke quickly, recounting what had happened, her words heavy as stone. At last she whispered the truth: “Rex… the aura around him. It felt… like yours.” The Queen’s eyes widened, her composure cracking for the first time. She froze, her voice a whisper of disbelief. “…Impossible. In the kingdom, the tide of horror seemed at last to falter. Thanks to the combined strength of Leo, King Edward, and the royal knights, the nightmare had been driven back. The once endless hordes of beasts now numbered only a few scattered creatures, hunted down one by one through the burning streets. But within the citadel, all was far from calm. Queen Selene’s face was tight with unease. Her voice trembled as she asked, “Kalia… Rex’s body. Where is it?” The princess blinked, startled. “It’s… in the garden. Where Leo left him.” Selene seized her daughter’s hand and dragged her outside. They hurried to the royal gardens, but when they arrived, the place was eerily empty. Only the torn earth remained—no trace of Rex’s corpse. Kalia’s breath caught. “This is impossible… He was here.” Selene turned to her daughter, her eyes shadowed with fear and grief. “Listen to me, Kalia. We must find Leo and your father. And then—you must flee. Both of you. Leave the capital, and run as far as you can. Do you understand me?” Kalia’s heart pounded. Confusion twisted inside her chest. “Mother, what is happening? Please, tell me!” “There is no time for explanations,” Selene snapped, her voice unsteady. “If my fears are correct… this entire attack was orchestrated by the Cult.” Kalia’s eyes went wide. The Cult. She knew that name all too well. For years, it had been whispered in every land—an order of shadow and blood, thought destroyed by the King and his knights. “But… wasn’t it wiped out?” Kalia stammered. Selene shook her head, horror gleaming in her eyes. “No. The Cult is far greater than we ever realized. What you saw tonight… is but a fragment of their design.” From across the courtyard, the figures of King Edward, Leo, and the surviving knights appeared, returning after quelling the chaos. Relief washed over Kalia at the sight of them. But Selene did not waste a heartbeat. She stepped forward, her voice urgent, commanding. “Leo. You must take Kalia and leave at once. Even if you must drag her by force. Find a way to reach the Fairywood Forest. You must reach it—at any cost.” The king’s brows furrowed. “Selene… what are you saying? What does this mean?” But before she could answer, a voice, familiar and venomous, cut through the air. “I’m afraid… I cannot allow that, oh Great Spirit of Nature.” Rex drifted slowly above the ground, as though death itself had never claimed him only moments before. Kalia and Leo froze, horror widening their eyes as they instinctively moved into a guarded stance. Queen Selene’s voice cut sharp through the tension. “Do you know who I am, and yet you dare reveal yourself before me, walking corpse?” A low, rasping chuckle escaped Rex. “Do not bother pretending at strength, Great Spirit of Nature. Foolish spirit… who abandoned her place among the divine to live among mortals. Your power has withered.” The King’s eyes hardened, for he alone had known her secret. But for Leo and Kalia, the revelation struck like lightning. They had always sensed the Queen was no ordinary woman—but to be one of the Great Spirits, ancient embodiments of the universe’s laws themselves, kin to the very Queen of Spirits and Fairies? The truth left them staggered Rex’s grin widened as he continued, his voice brimming with malice. “And besides… I am not alone. Another of the Great Spirits walks with me. Tell me, Selene, do you still believe you have reason not to fear?” He lifted his head skyward. “She has arrived.” At once, the night fractured. Darkness burst into blinding brilliance as if the midnight sky had been torn open by a second sun. From the rift above descended a figure—terrifying, majestic. She was a woman of impossible beauty, her skin pale as freshly fallen snow, her form draped in a mantle of black. From her back unfurled four jagged, crystalline wings, sculpted of living ice, refracting the light with an otherworldly chill. The air itself seemed to freeze as she descended slowly, regally, until she touched the earth. Rex lowered his head reverently, stepping behind her. The spirit pulled back her dark cowl, revealing a face so flawless, so cold, it could freeze the very blood in a mortal’s veins. Her lips curved into a chilling smile. And when she spoke, her voice resonated like a blade of ice through the soul—powerful enough to shatter the heart of any ordinary man. “My sister… how many millions of years has it been, since last we met?” “What is a Great Spirit of Ice doing, consorting with the Cult?” Selene’s voice rang clear, her tone sharp with disbelief. “Sister, answer me.” The pale figure’s chilling smile lingered as she replied, her voice resonant and cold as winter storms. “I fear I am not merely their ally… I am one of their generals.” A sharp Intake of breath rippled among those present. Leo’s grip tightened on his blade, and Kalia’s heart pounded as the weight of the revelation sank in. Still, all remained poised, ready for combat. Selene’s eyes narrowed, her voice tinged with sorrow as much as fury. “Has your exile from the Spirit Realm made you so blind, so foolish? Answer me, Lina—does our eldest sister know of these vile games you play?” Lina tilted her head ever so slightly, her expression unreadable. Then, she let out a faint, mocking laugh. “And what if she does? The proud Queen of Spirits and Fairies watches alwayss, from her lofty throne. She watches the world suffer, watches civilizations rise and collapse into dust… and she does nothing. She has no care for this fleeting mortal plane. Tell me, Selene—how am I any different? At least I choose to act.” Selene’s chest rose and fell, her aura trembling with restrained power. For the first time, grief seeped through her regal mask. “You have truly lost your mind “Enough talk, sister. I did not come here to chat.” Lina raised her hand slowly, her pale fingers shimmering with a frost that seemed to pierce the air itself. “Stop!” Selene’s scream shattered the silence, her voice carrying desperation and command alike. But it was useless. With a single motion of Lina’s hand descending, the world changed. In an instant, the entire kingdom froze—cast in absolute silence, turned into a colossal monument of ice. Towers, walls, forests, rivers, every living soul—all entombed in crystalline frost. Then, with a sharp snap of her fingers, the frozen kingdom crumbled into dust. What had been a realm of life and glory only a heartbeat before was erased in a storm of glittering ash. Nothing remained of the people, the homes, or the legacy of generations. Nothing—except four figures, standing amidst the void. A shimmering barrier of emerald light surrounded them, pulsing with raw, divine power. It was Selene’s shield, born of her unsealed strength. Inside its embrace stood the King, the Queen herself, Leo, and Princess Kalia—the only survivors of the annihilation. Selene’s aura flared violently, her hair flowing like a wild storm, her presence no longer that of a queen… but of a Great Spirit unleashed. The four stood amidst the wasteland—once a proud, ancient kingdom, now nothing but barren earth stretching to every horizon. The King staggered forward, his eyes wide In disbelief. His jaw trembled, and for the first time In decades, he seemed on the verge of tears. His voice cracked as he spoke, filled with grief and fury “Our home… our people… our kingdom, reduced to nothing! I swore to protect them—to safeguard the throne, the walls, the very heart of this land! And now—gone! All gone!” With a guttural roar, he drew his blade, the steel trembling in his hands. Rage burned in his eyes as he prepared to charge toward Lina. Leo did not hesitate—his own sword flashed free, his stance firm. He was ready to throw his life away at his king’s side. But Selene’s voice cut through the storm of emotion, calm yet resolute. “Stop.” Her words held weight. A soothing aura flowed around them as she continued, “The lives are not lost. I pulled every soul away before the frost consumed them. What was destroyed were stone walls, wooden homes, the things that can be built again. The people live.” Kalia’s lips parted, a fragile spark of relief glimmering In her tearful eyes. Yet the King remained rigid, his anger unquenched. Though her words eased his heart only slightly, they were enough to soften the despair crushing his daughter. Then Lina’s lips curled into a wicked smIle. Her voice dripped with venom. “Are you certain, sister, that It was worth It? To use your true power so recklessly? You who abandoned your seat among the gods, daring to walk as one of these mortals. Did you forget the law? Those who forsake their place among divinity are forbidden from wielding such strength. By choosing this path, you have severed yourself. You no longer belong to the realm of men… or the heavens.” Her cold laughter echoed across the empty plains, filling the void where a kingdom once stood. The Queen’s radiant form began to fracture—pieces of her body shimmering as if made of fragile light, breaking apart bit by bit. Kalia was the first to notice. Her eyes wIdened in horror, her breath catching in her throat. With trembling hands, she unleashed her magic in desperation. A brilliant aura of emerald light spread outward, enveloping the courtyard. Wounds upon the King and Leo vanished as their flesh knit back together, and vibrant plants burst from the barren ground. But none of it touched Selene. “No… no, please!” Kalia cried, tears streaking down her face. Her mother’s voice was soft, steady, filled with both sorrow and pride. “There’s no need, my little one. Haven’t I told you before? No matter the power we wield, we are not the ones who decide who lives and who dies. Your magic is beautiful—it embodies life Itself. But It is also steeped in sorrow. Remember thIs: you cannot protect everything. You are human… and you must be proud of that.” She turned her fading gaze to the KIng. “Edward… thank you. For the time we shared. You may believe It was but a fleeting chapter in my endless existence… but to me, those years with you are more precious than the hundreds of millions I endured before. To live as a human—it was beautiful. You gave me that gift.” Her eyes then met Leo’s. “And you… I entrusted my daughter to you becausee I knew you were more than what the world saw. I see your past clearly—its chains, its shadows. Yet you defied them. You chose your own path, not one forced upon you. You are a knight, noble and strong. That is why I entrust her to you once more. Protect her. Your strength has no true limits. I believe In you.” Her body shone brighter, collapsing into fragments of pure light. Selene—the Great Spirit who had abandoned her divine seat to live among mortals—had sealed her fate. The moment she drew upon her true power as a Spirit, her mortal shell was doomed. There was no return. This was the price of choosing humanity