The Devil's Bride
By Rapwizzy Debaron
Episode 96: Shattered Wings, Unbroken Oaths
Smoke rose from the battlefield, thick and bitter, as though the earth itself mourned the chaos. Bodies of angels and shadows lay strewn like broken feathers across a canvas of ash. Cries echoed faintly in the distance—those who still clung to life, or perhaps ghosts refusing to fade.
Lucian stood in the aftermath, his armor cracked, obsidian blade dragging behind him like the weight of all his sins. The glow from the First Flame had dimmed, but its presence lingered—resentful, wounded, but not yet vanquished.
Seraphina knelt beside Gabriel, who clutched his side, blood seeping through silver robes. His once-proud wings lay crumpled and burned.
"You shouldn't have fought," she whispered, tears streaking down her soot-stained cheeks.
Gabriel coughed a weak smile. "You think I'd miss the end of the world?"
Lucian turned his gaze toward the smoldering mountain in the distance—where the First Flame had retreated.
"It's not over," he muttered.
The Last Seraphic Witch stepped into the clearing, her eyes glowing with residual magic. "The Flame is not defeated. It sleeps. It learns. It will return."
"Then we'll be ready," Seraphina said, standing, light flickering along her scorched wings. "Even if we must build a new army from ashes."
Suddenly, the sky rippled—no longer dark, but neither light. A rift opened above them, revealing a figure cloaked in shadow and stars. It descended slowly, with the silence of doom.
Lucian stiffened. "Another challenger?"
The Witch's face paled. "No... that's not the Flame."
The being landed softly, its presence quieter than breath but heavier than eternity. It removed its hood—revealing eyes older than time and lips that curved in mourning.
"I am Aetherion," the voice intoned, soft as lullaby, sharp as fate. "The Balance Keeper."
Gabriel struggled to sit up. "You're just a myth…"
"I am necessity," Aetherion replied. "And the scales have tipped far too much in favor of love and rebellion."
Lucian clenched his fists. "You came to stop us?"
"No," Aetherion whispered, "I came to test you."
The ground cracked beneath their feet, and suddenly the battlefield transformed. The corpses vanished. The flames stilled. Seraphina found herself standing alone—on a cliff of light, Lucian gone, the world silent.
Aetherion stood across from her. "Love has power. But does it have truth?"
She looked into his ageless eyes. "Love doesn't need to be perfect. It only needs to be chosen."
Aetherion's form shimmered. "Then show me."
Suddenly, Seraphina was hurled into a vision—her past, twisted and rewritten. Lucian betraying her. Her throne in ruins. Her child… burning.
She screamed.
But something inside her held fast.
A voice.
His voice.
"I am with you, always."
Lucian, even in illusion, stood beside her, his touch warm and real.
She shattered the vision with a cry of defiance, wings exploding into golden fire.
Back on the battlefield, she collapsed, panting.
Aetherion bowed. "You pass."
Then he vanished.
Lucian rushed to her side, pulling her into his arms.
"What did you see?" he whispered.
"Enough to know," she said, "that our love can even withstand gods."
They stood, backlit by the rising sun—their war not yet over, but their bond stronger than destiny.
To be continued…
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evil's Bride. Episode 97 awaits with divine trials and forbidden truths… 🔥👑💔