The Curse of Arctodus. The Power of Orion Stars

Before Maya and Gael could head to battle, they saw a column of yellow light in the west. It was strange, mysterious. Maya took a few steps back. The light falling from the sky seemed to take shape—the gigantic shape of a bear.

“What the hell is that?” Gael asked, more to himself than to get an answer.

That colossal bear seemed to be constantly disintegrating: parts of its limbs appeared to be incomplete. Both witches could only see its back and part of its side. When it moved, Maya understood what was that.

“It's Arctodus…” Maya whispered. Gael didn't hear her. “I think it’s a Threshold Deity. That’s what that man told me. We have to go there.”

Gael nodded. They weren't in a position to hesitate or ask for questions. Maya began to run immediately toward the direction of that light, to the place of that majestic bear was. A pair of blue butterfly wings appeared on her back, and on Gael's as well. Flying was much easier to get to that place.

Thomas had been attacked by surprise. He was wounded; his back was injured, and a some blood fell to the ground. He wasn't going to die. His power wouldn't be extinguished—not at that night. That scream of pain, desperation and perhaps that fear caused the Threshold Deity, the great Bear of Extinction, Arctodus, to manifest. Adrián and his group recoiled in fear. One tripped and fell; they were paralyzed by terror after seeing that deity.

That being had no eyes. Where they were supposed to be, it was nothing, was empty; there was only a faint yellow light that seemed to be slowly going out. Its fur was fragmented, as if parts were missing.

Thomas's appearance also changed. He remained human, but his now-translucent body became, in appearance, larger and taller. His eyes were totally white, and his face lacked emotion. The man's skin seemed to have changed color to an ash-gray tone. Like the Threshold Deity, it seemed that parts of his body were missing, disintegrating as it move.

His hands took on the appearance of a bear's paws; it seemed he was wearing gloves, terrifying gloves that looked like those of that bear. On his chest, at the level of his heart, a bright yellow light shone: his connection to the Threshold Entity.

Thomas decided who to eliminate first: the leader, Adrián. Not only he can't move, Adrián also felt an unusual cold—an unnatural cold, as unnatural as the heat that Splendor was exerting in Espliego. They wanted to defend their leader, to help him, but they couldn't do anything. The magic of Splendor's blessed was failing.

The blessed of Arctodus pointed at Adrián, who groaned slightly out of terror, unable to understand what was happening. He felt his heart skip a beat; his body trembled.

“It is time for the Judgment of Extinction” Thomas said. His voice sounded like an echo that repeated twice, as if two people were speaking at the same time. “Your presence here has ended.”

Adrián then felt a void, an incredibly devastating loneliness. Painful, real, and one that seemed to consume him. Thomas knew it, understood it. None of those people were going to adapt, were going to accept their end. Adrián began to disappear, slowly.

It took about three minutes, but he did. Not even Thomas knew where his body and soul will  go. The wound on his back played against him; he was tired, wounded, and that limited his ability to fight. That was when Arctodus moved; on its own, the divine entity moved its right arm, creating a gust of air toward the group Thomas had in front of him. Arctodus disappeared after this, leaving Thomas alone and wounded.

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Maya and Gael had some problems on their way to the place where they had seen that giant bear. The heat was overwhelming. They couldn't even fly before they fell due to exhaustion.

“Are you okay, miss Maya?” Gael asked. Both were losing altitude, and it was clear Maya was tired. 

“I'm fine, thank you” Maya replied, trying to keep the trnquility, but without success. Gael then decided to descend.

Maya didn't have time to complain or demand the reason for being brought to the ground. They were near the place where the giant bear appeared. She noticed a spark, with a similar size of a firefly; it was deflected from her body.  She knew it, It was a direct attack from the enemy star. At the same time she detected no magial frecuency from any human. The star deity cpould be near.

“I can assume you haven't taken a break since…” Gael began to say while searching for any magic frequency.

He was also looking for Magic-less people, some who didn't evacuate when the order was made; he didn’t find any living being there. Maya, in her stubbornness and on her personal mission, kept walking without paying attention to Gael's reproach. Alnilam witch helped her walk, observing, still aware of what was happening.

Finally, they arrived without complications at the place where that giant bear appeared. In the middle was the witch who had surely summoned it, surrounded by some people who were clearly from the Splendor clan.

Gael was the first to react, deflecting the enemy's attacks. That way, Thomas wouldn't have to endure that corrupt magic any longer. Gael decided to turn them against the attackers. He redirect the attack of the Splendor bleassed. The group seam because the pain.

The determination to finish quickly made her regain her courage.  Maya only dream about  having a bath, to eat something and rest. The ground around Maya created a circle in where she was the center. She began to sing. The light around her transformed into several butterflies of various sizes.

Maya began to walk toward the group of witches, who watched in confusion. It looked more like a show, a spectacle given by a novice singer. Even wounded, they laughed, they mocked; Thomas watched in silence, he was safe. He finlly managed to take a break and withdrew silently. Not before pointing out the fisure to Gael—the place that had to be closed to avoid a magical catastrophe. Gael nodded, understanding a bit of what Thomas told him.

When Thomas disappeared among the chaos caused by the battle with the Splendor witches, Maya continued where the witch of Arctodus left. The butterflies surrounding her transformed into daggers that went straight for the enemy. Gael had an idea and deflected those daggers, sending them into the sky. Maya kept singing, creating more butterflies, more daggers that were deflected thanks to Gael's magic.

The Splendor blessed, about five people, attacked Maya—they tried to. Several fire spheres went toward Maya, but none hit her. They were being deflected in all directions, creating fires and more chaos. They tried again, failed again with the fire onky growing up

Maya was tired, and it showed in her voice, in her singing. Gael then sent the blue daggers toward the enemy. It was as if they had been attacked by real weapons; the wounds and the damage were real. The advntage that Gael and Maya had there was evident. Gael even combined his own magic and put in on Maya's wepongs to make them more dangerous. When he confirmed they were lifeless, he just gave a slight nod so that Maya would relax.

Immediately, Maya stopped singing, fell to her knees on the ground, she didn't hide her face of exhaustion. She had used too much magic, ignoring the consequences and risking her own life. The battle had been won—perhaps too quickly, too soon and easily—but the war was not over because of that.

The fire caused by Splendor's magic was still active and was surrounding them. They had no way to put it out. They were lost. Gael launched a light into the sky, revealing the location of both, and just prayed to their respective stars that help would arrive soon.