Chapter 22 - The Magic of Darkness

Zachary thrust out his arm, a beam of darkness roaring from his palm. It shrieked as it tore through the night, hungry and absolute.

“Wall!” Aiden barked, leaping forward. Stone surged upward, a thick barrier of earth blocking their path. But the beam carved through it like paper, shards flying as the darkness punched through and slammed into both Aiden and Valerie.

The blast hurled them down the cobblestone road. Pain roared through Aiden’s chest as he tumbled. He groaned, forcing himself onto trembling arms. “Val—”

He crawled to her, dragging himself through the rubble. She was on her side, coughing, her dress scorched along the edge. He reached for her shoulder, helping her sit.

“You okay?” His voice cracked, desperate.

“I—” Valerie started to say, but a wince cut her words short. Aiden’s eyes dropped—and froze. A dark blotch spread across her leg, pulsing faintly like a living brand.

“What is that…?” His voice dropped into horror.

Valerie tried to smile through the pain. “It’s nothing. I can still—ahh!” She sucked in a sharp breath as the mark burned deeper into her flesh.

“Use healing magic!” Aiden urged.

She pressed her palms to her leg, water shimmering. The glow spread across the blotch—then fizzled. Nothing changed.

“No…” Valerie whispered.

“Restorative Spring. Now!” Aiden clasped her hands in his, forcing the Heartlink to flare. Green light spilled out, warm and soothing, wrapping the mark. They focused harder, straining. But the dark blotch pulsed stronger, the glow dissipating into nothing.

Aiden’s stomach turned cold. “It’s not working.”

Valerie’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Then… What do we do? If Heartlink healing can’t—”

“Ahh—!” Aiden winced suddenly, clutching at his neck. He felt heat burn beneath his collar. Valerie gasped, reaching for him.

“You have one too!” Her hand hovered, trembling. “It’s spreading to you!”

Aiden’s fingers brushed the spot—dark, jagged, pulsing. His throat tightened. Damn it…

Valerie’s tears spilled over. “If it can’t be healed… what are we supposed to do?”

Aiden forced a ragged laugh through the pain. “We… stop him. That’s all. Maybe if we defeat Zachary, these marks will vanish.”

Her lips quivered. “That’s your theory?”

He gave her a lopsided grin. “What? Don’t tell me you never played a game where killing the boss cured the curse.”

Despite the fear, Valerie laughed shakily. “You are unbelievable. I've never played a game...period.”

He offered his hand. “then I have truly failed you. Come on. On your feet.”

She took it, standing with a hiss. For a moment, they leaned on each other, their shadows stretching long across the broken street.

Then Valerie’s eyes lit with sudden fire. “We do what we did with Gortin! Steam Veil to blind him, then Blazing Javelin to finish him off. As strong as we can make it.”

Aiden’s brows furrowed. “That attack could kill him. Can you live with his blood on our hands?”

She froze, biting her lip. Zachary floated closer, darkness rolling off him in waves. The aura pressed on them like a storm.

Her eyes hardened. “If we don’t…everyone here dies. I won’t let Jaxson and Avery’s day end in the town's blood.”

Aiden nodded slowly. “Then we have one shot. Mud won’t work, you know, since he’s floating. It’s this or nothing.”

Valerie gripped his hand tighter. “Then let’s do this.”

Zachary’s guttural voice rolled across the street, low and terrible. “Enough stalling. I’m tired of waiting.”

He vanished in a blur, appearing before them in an instant. But Aiden and Valerie were ready. They pressed their palms together.

“STEAM VEIL!”

A roaring cloud burst outward, engulfing Zachary in a blinding mist. He staggered, snarl echoing, clawing at the vapor.

“Move!” Aiden tugged Valerie, pulling them just beyond the cloud’s edge. They dropped to their knees, still hand in hand, and began to focus. Fire coiled in his palm, air in hers, spiraling tighter and tighter. The beginnings of the Blazing Javelin shimmered, light trembling between them.

“Faster…” Aiden muttered. “Come on…”

But inside the cloud, Zachary began to spin. Darkness and wind howled outward, shredding the mist. The veil ripped apart, vanishing in seconds.

Valerie’s eyes widened in horror. “He...he blew it away!”

“Keep focusing!” Aiden’s voice cut sharp. His muscles screamed as he poured every ounce of energy into the forming spear.

Zachary’s shadow flickered—and then he was there, towering over them, the spell unfinished. A sword of shadow stretched from his hand, its edge humming with death.

“You’ve failed,” he growled. “The Creator chose poorly. You two are the worst couple to represent love. I’ll end you quickly—a mercy you don’t deserve.”

The blade rose, black and hungry. Valerie’s breath froze.

Then—CRASH!

A flaming slab of stone slammed into Zachary’s side, the force hurling him into the nearest building. The wall caved inward, debris scattering. The shadow-sword dissolved mid-swing.

Aiden and Valerie turned, stunned.

Maximus stood at the end of the street, leaning heavily on his cane. His arm was still outstretched, smoke rising from his palm. His chest heaved, every breath a struggle.

Aiden’s thoughts stuttered. Did he just… combine fire and earth?

Maximus’s lips tugged into a faint smile. Then his knees buckled, his body collapsing to the ground, still.

“No…” Aiden whispered, a tear streaking down his cheek. He clenched his teeth, forcing back the panic. Don’t fall apart. Not now.

Valerie squeezed his hand, her voice steady despite the quiver in her eyes. “He bought us this chance. Don’t waste it.”

Aiden nodded firmly. “Then let’s finish this.”

Zachary roared, tearing himself free of the rubble, his dark aura flaring brighter than ever. The street quaked as he floated higher, his shadow-sword reforming. His body streaked forward, blade raised high.

At that exact moment, Aiden felt the jolt in his chest, the Heartlink spark that told him the spell had reached its limit. Power surged between them, the Blazing Javelin burning hotter, sharper, ready to unleash.

“NOW!” they shouted together.

The spear launched, a blinding beam of fire and wind tearing through the air. It punched straight through Zachary’s skull and chest, ripping his body in two with searing light.

His sword fell limp. His body twitched, still floating as if the darkness tried to keep him aloft. Then it descended, collapsing to its knees with a hollow thud.

Aiden and Valerie collapsed too, gasping for air. Their shoulders slumped together, faces streaked with sweat.

Slowly, Aiden looked at her, a grin creeping despite the exhaustion. “Think he’ll check the lost and found for his head?”

Valerie shot him a flat look. “Too soon, Aiden. Way too soon.”

He chuckled weakly, looping his arm around her. Together, leaning on each other, they began the slow walk back toward the Guild Hall, their shadows dragging long behind them.

As they limped back toward the Guild Hall, Aiden winced sharply, his hand instinctively clutching his neck. The sting burned deeper than before. His heart sank when his fingers brushed against the same dark blotch still there, pulsing.

His blood ran cold. “Val…” His voice wavered. “Did…did his body disappear?”

Valerie gasped, spinning around. Aiden turned too, but it was already too late.

Zachary’s form loomed behind them, whole and terrible. His arm swung like a hammer. The impact sent them both flying down the street, rolling and crashing along the stones. Pain erupted in Aiden’s chest, sharp and suffocating. The memory of the car crash slammed into him as his lungs seized.

He strained to lift his head. “Val—”

She lay sprawled on the road, motionless. Panic detonated inside him. He clawed forward, dragging his battered body across the cobblestones until he reached her. His hands shook her shoulders, desperate. “Valerie! Wake up! Please!”

Her body twitched, a cough sputtering out blood. She turned weakly, her lips curving into the faintest smile. Relief broke him. But memories of the crash flooded his mind, her smile the same as it was that day.

*Not again. *Not this time.

He pulled her upright, cradling her. “Talk to me. Are you okay?”

She exhaled raggedly, then whispered, “I’ll be fine… just a little sore.”

Aiden choked on a laugh, tears pricking his eyes. “That’s my line.”

But as his gaze fell lower, his chest tightened. The dark blotches had appeared in several spots on both of them, crawling like living veins. His stomach knotted. It’s getting worse.

A laugh echoed down the street—low, mocking, inhuman.

Zachary. His body whole again. His aura writhed, alive with darkness. He strode toward them, eyes burning black. “Not even your precious Heartlink can stop me. I’ll snuff out love. I'll snuff out marriage!" His voice lowering into an unholy bass. "And I'll snuff out you.”

He cupped his hands, shadows swirling. A ball of darkness churned between his palms, growing denser, hungrier.

Aiden staggered to his feet, clutching his chest. Pain shot through him, blood filling his mouth. There's no way I'm two for two with internal bleeding. He spat crimson onto the street. Damn it...I guess there is a way.

He bent, trying to help Valerie up. But her scream cut the air—her leg bent unnaturally, broken just above the knee. She slumped back with a sharp hiss of pain.

“No, no, no!” Aiden pleaded, voice breaking. “You have to get up! Please!” His tears fell freely, hot and frantic. He pulled at her arm, desperate, but her body wouldn’t move.

She only smiled, soft and serene. The same smile she left him with when she died. She lifted her trembling hand toward his cheek, brushing it faintly. His heart split.

Please, not like this…

Zachary’s roar cut through the night. He thrust his arms forward, the orb of darkness igniting into a beam. It screamed as it tore across the street toward them.

Valerie’s eyes widened. “Aiden—!”

But Aiden smiled at her. He forced himself up, every nerve screaming. He stepped in front of her, arms spread wide, his back to beam as it slammed into him.

The impact engulfed him in searing darkness. His body convulsed, blood splattering from his lips. The marks raced across his skin, spreading over every inch.

Valerie screamed, tears pouring down her face. “WHY?! Why would you do that!?”

His body shook violently. But he looked at her, his voice rasping, broken. “Because… I love you.”

The darkness clawed through him, consuming. “I didn't know what this world had in store for us. But I told myself this…if I got another chance…I’d protect you in this life…where I couldn’t in the last.”

Valerie’s sobs broke into gasps. She forced herself up, balancing on her one good leg, dragging her body toward him. “No…you don't get to leave me behind."

Her hands clutched his shirt as she collapsed onto him, arms wrapping tight around his shoulders. He blinked down at her through pain-blurred vision.

“What...what are you...?” His voice shook.

She looked up, smiling through her tears. “I've always loved you Aiden. No matter how strong you were or got…no matter what choices you made...I've always loved you.”

The black marks raced up her arms, across her body. Her skin darkened beneath the spread of shadow. “I won’t live without you. Not in this world. Not in any world.”

She laid her head against his chest. “Our life…was meant to be shared. Always.”

Aiden’s tears spilled freely now. Not out of sadness, but peace. Joy.

I have no regrets this time. No fear. We did what The Creator tasked us to do. We proved that love matters. Even if it was only to one little town, it changed everything.

He wrapped his arms around her as the darkness consumed him fully, the beam still roaring into his back. His last words slipped out in a whisper, warm against her hair.

“I love you, Valerie. Always and forever.”

The marks swallowed his face, the blackness erupting outward, flooding every corner of Auravale. The town drowned in shadow.

Zachary’s laughter bellowed, triumphant. “At last! The light is gone. Love is dead!”

But then—

A pulse.

A blinding white light exploded outward, piercing the shadows. The darkness shrieked, peeling away from walls and streets, burning into nothing. Zachary recoiled, covering his eyes.

“No—what is this?!”

He blinked through the radiance, and his breath caught.

Before him floated a colossal ring of pure light, radiant and unbroken. Two silhouettes stood before it, hands entwined, their presence overwhelming.

It was Aiden and Valerie.