Chapter 332: Across Realms

In the witch realm, Elara was jolted from her sleep by a sudden gasp, her black robes falling over her legs as she sat up. The divination wards in her private chambers flickered with lingering energy, and beads of sweat cooled on her skin. Her eyes were wide and unfocused as she gazed at the stone ceiling. "The end is coming," she murmured against her palms, the words rasping past her throat in jagged edges. "The end is coming. The age of new progenitors is coming." Her fingers dug into her palms as she held the words inside her skull, a terrible knowledge pressing against the backs of her eyelids. She kept them there, still, for a long while, until the echoes in her mind dulled to an insistent murmur. Whatever it was, whatever she had seen, it did not leave behind images but feelings, a certainty clinging to her bones.

Meanwhile, on New Earth, the sunlight was soft and golden as Francisca walked beside Mob. He kept his wings neatly folded as they wandered over a stretch of land that had housed one of their reconstructed human cities. Six tails swished at her hips in a loose rhythm. "It’s good to be able to stop and think," she said after a while, pausing to perch on a low stone balustrade. "It feels strange. Sitting still and doing nothing while waiting for the next disaster to happen."

Mob smiled. "We are allowed one afternoon, you know."

Francisca sent a sidelong glance his way before bumping her shoulder lightly against his. "One afternoon, then. Don’t get used to it."

He choked back a laugh and she fell silent, her words dissolving into the general quiet of the morning.

Dera practiced her own martial forms in silence. The courtyard was vast and empty save for the occasional drifting cloud that cast shadows over the stone and dirt. Her movements were slow, deliberate, each step and pivot a meditation. The Human Authority pulsed through her veins, a steady rhythm. She was still learning the weight of it, the responsibility and the fear that came with knowing she would have to hold out against their enemies at some point, that she would have to fight for something bigger than herself. For now, exhaustion kept her busy and her muscles burning. Still, even as she paused to catch her breath, her fingers curled tighter around the folds of her sleeve.

Daniel lounged across a deep cream-colored couch in the midst of an opulent room perfumed with incense. His shirt was unfastened, one hand draped over the curve of a demoness curled against his chest, the other tracing idle patterns through the air. The music was loud enough to pulse in his ears, and he had no objections to the woman who bit lightly at his collarbone, her twin whispering something possessive against his neck. This, at least, was his due. He gave himself up to the indulgence without guilt or hesitation, the press of power and pleasure all tangled together in his veins. When one of the demonesses nipped at his shoulder, he only tilted his head to allow her better access, his lashes half-lowered as he let his gaze drift over the dark silk of the room.

The Spirit realm stretched out before Ruka and Temmy in a haze of color and light. The two children tore through one of the floating meadows, the pale grasses swaying in the air currents that wove through the space. A string of laughing spirits chased after them, their voices ringing in high, lilting notes. Temmy scooped one of the younger entities into her arms, spinning until the world blurred around her. Then she collapsed in a heap of grass, Ruka already sprawled beside her as three more giggling spirits piled onto them. They all laughed, the sound bouncing off the edges of the meadow.

In the werewolf realm, the evening fires burned low as Ken and Angel sat cross-legged on a fallen log. Remu kept a respectful distance, her arms wrapped around her knees as she listened. Their conversation was quiet, easy, reminiscing in the space between battles. "You never really learned, did you?" Angel’s voice was cool as she regarded her friend. "Ella trusted you. We all did. You don’t realize how much that cut into us, do you?" Ken’s jaw tightened as he studied the crackling embers. "She’s not wrong," he said after a moment. "Best friends don’t keep secrets from each other, Remu. You know Ella. She won’t see things any other way." Remu looked at the fire, her fingers flexing against her knees. No one comforted her, because no one wanted to smooth the words over the rough stone of whatever came next.

It was night in the rebuilt vampire realm, the black cities and floating districts lit up by the glow of two great crimson moons. On one of the highest terraces, Lucian stood with several members of the Origin, his coat flapping in the breeze. Zane, Anita, and a few others joined him, speaking in hushed tones. Ella, Luna, Vina, and Rey waited nearby as well, their silhouettes stretching long against the rocky outcrops. No one said anything as they watched the twin moons hanging above the city.

"We should keep watch," said Anita finally, her voice low. It had no weight, but the others did not argue. Across the terrace, the others had also fallen silent. Their enemies had been stopped, their forces repelled, and the defenses of the vampire realm reinforced for the next attack. Yet, for all of them, the feeling of safety was as distant as ever. Something pressed at the edges of their awareness, something vast. The Origin clan waited, their thoughts turning to what would come next, and how they would all face it together.

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"...it’s just too quiet. Too calm." murmured Ella.

Something was coming. It was pressing against the edges of their perceptions, but none could quite grasp its shape or form. It was something that had been building, a force that none of them wanted to acknowledge. It was too much for the vampire realm to bear. Even as they waited for an attack that never came, the Origin knew that their time watching the moons would be short.

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"The air feels wrong." murmured Vina, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the hilt of her sword. "Something is out there. Moving." Rey stiffened at her side, his dark eyes narrowing as he watched the horizon. Lucian’s shadows twisted at his feet, restless. Zane kept his hands in his pockets, his red eyes following the same stretch of land the others were watching.

"...Something bad is coming." "We’re not ready," said Anita.

No one disagreed. Even across the terrace, the others had fallen silent, their thoughts turning to what would come next, and how they would all face it together.