Chapter 7 - THE RISE OF THE OBSIDIAN KING
The ground cracked open like a broken egg. Deep, red molten magma erupted from the fissures, turning the magnificent courtyard into a blazing hellscape.
Out from the abyssal trench rose a colossal titan of dark obsidian stone and burning red magic—a creature forty feet tall, wearing the ancient, forgotten crown of the First Dark Emperor.
It wasn't a shadow monster. It was Lord Vane—transformed and merged with the ancient dark core beneath the palace!
“Father?!” Celeste gasped, pulling herself up from the rubble, her eyes wide with horror and awe.
The titan’s voice echoed across the sky, shaking the glass out of every palace window. “LORD VANE IS DEAD! I AM THE OBSIDIAN KING REBORN!”
The titan looked down at Celeste. “You were a useful puppet, my daughter. But you failed to destroy the Sun royal line.”
With a casual flick of its massive stone finger, the titan blasted Celeste with a beam of dark plasma! Celeste screamed as she was flung across the courtyard, slamming hard into the stone wall, her silver gown torn, her body broken and defeated.
King Arthur and Captain Kael rushed down from the balcony, standing in front of Mara with drawn swords, though they looked like ants before the massive shadow beast.
“Aurelia, run!” King Arthur yelled, his voice desperate. “This is the ancient calamity that built the foundations of this kingdom! No mortal can defeat it!”
“I am not running, Father,” Mara said, her white aura pulsing brightly despite her exhaustion. “If this kingdom falls tonight, there will be nowhere left to run.”
The Obsidian King roared, raising a massive fist that glowed with enough dark energy to level the entire royal palace in a single strike. “DIE, SUN CHILD!”
The massive fist came crashing down like a falling mountain!
Mara raised both hands, creating a giant dome of white light over her father, Kael, and the remaining guards.
CRASH!
The force of the strike shattered the earth around them. The shockwave blew away the palace towers, sending stones flying into the night air. Mara fell to her knees, blood dripping from her nose as she held the magical shield against the crushing weight of the titan's hand.
“You cannot hold me!” the titan boomed, pressing down harder. “Your mother gave her soul to me seventeen years ago! Your blood belongs to the dark!”
“My blood belongs to MYSELF!” Mara screamed!
She pushed her hands upward, forcing the titan’s massive hand back! But the effort was too much—the white light around her began to flicker and break. She was burning through her life force.
Suddenly, a weak, trembling voice rang out from the edge of the ruined wall.
“The... the core...”
Mara turned her head slightly. It was Celeste, lying in a pool of her own blood, crawling toward the shattered pieces of Eleanor’s dark heart.
Celeste looked up at Mara, her face free of pride, filled only with tragic realization. She had spent her whole life serving a father who viewed her as nothing more than a disposable tool.
“His power... comes from the dark heart...” Celeste choked out, tears washing away the soot on her face. “Destroy the heart... destroy him...”
Celeste used the last of her strength to kick the glowing dark heart toward Mara!
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HOOOK / CLIFFHANGER:
The dark heart rolled across the bloody stone, stopping right at Mara’s feet. But as Mara raised her blade to crush it, the titan laughed hysterically! “Foolish girl! If you crush that heart, your mother’s soul will be destroyed forever—and so will YOUR MAGIC!” Mara held her sword high, forced to choose in a fraction of a second: save her magic and her mother’s soul, or save the kingdom!
