Lisa’s POV 

The howls were growing louder. My heart pounded as the forest seemed to close in around us. The ruins of Eldermoor stood silent and dark, but the air was alive with the sound of approaching beasts. I gripped my cloak tightly against me. My nails were digging into the fabric. 

Sierra whispered inside me. Something is wrong. These are not ordinary wolves. Be alert, Lisa, 

I swallowed hard. My chest felt tight. 

Then the first of them appeared. 

It lunged out of the tree line. It was a hulking shadow with twisted limbs and glowing red eyes. Its body was half wolf, half nightmare. Its maw stretched too wide, dripping with black sludge instead of saliva. I froze and my breath caught in my throat. 

I had never seen anything like it. 

“Oh, goddess,” I whispered while stumbling back. 

More came. They poured into the clearing. They were shapes that looked like wolves but wrong. They 

were snarling and twisting. Their bones were too sharp and their claws too long. Behind them, I thought I 

glimpsed the outlines of cloaked warlocks. Their faces were hidden. Their hands were glowing with sickly 

green fire. 

Rylan shifted. His silver wolf charged into the first monster with a savage growl. Kael’s dark gray wolf followed, tearing into another with his teeth. Blood sprayed the stones. Morana’s voice rose above the chaos. She was chanting words I couldn’t understand. Silver fire spun around her hands, and a blast of light shot forward, scattering a group of shadow–beasts. 

The battlefield erupted. 

I couldn’t breathe. My legs felt like stone. I was rooted in place and staring at the nightmare unfolding 

around me. 

Sierra growled. Move, Lisa! You’ll die if you stand still! 

I jolted back to life just as one of the creatures turned its glowing red eyes on me. 

It charged. 

I ran. My feet slipped on the moss. My lungs were burning. The ground shook under the beast’s weight as 

it thundered after me. I didn’t dare look back. Its snarls tore through the air, so close I could feel the heat 

of its breath. 

“Help!” I screamed. My voice cracked with terror. “Morana!” 

I tripped over a root and almost fell, but then… 

1/5 

< Chapter 120 “Stay down!” 

Morana’s voice rang out. 

+25 Points 

A surge of silver light shot past me, striking the beast. It shrieked and twisted in agony before collapsing into ash. I gasped. My whole body was trembling. 

Morana appeared beside me. Her silver eyes were glowing fiercely. Her cloak snapped like wings in the wind. She reached down and grabbed my arm. Her touch was firm and warm. 

“You cannot hesitate,” she said sharply. “If you falter, Fenric wins.” 

“I…” My voice shook. “I didn’t know….those things….” 

“They are shadows,” Morana said coldly, cutting me off. “Nothing more. Phantoms born of Fenric’s curse. 

But they can kill all the same if you give in to fear.” 

I swallowed hard and nodded quickly. “I’ll try.” 

Her gaze softened only slightly. “You must do more than try, Lisa. You are the key. Come…the altar is calling. We must act before the shadows overwhelm us.” 

She pulled me toward the dais. My legs stumbled but I followed. Every beat of my heart echoed like a drum in my ears. Around us, the battle raged. Rylan’s wolf tore into one beast, Kael slammed another into the ground, and the warriors of Frostbane fought desperately. Yet the shadows kept coming. They were endless like a tide that could not be stopped. 

Morana pushed me onto the steps of the altar. The obsidian stone was cold under my palms as I steadied 

myself. 

“Now,” she said, her voice urgent. “The ritual must begin.” 

I blinked. My stomach dropped. “Now? But…you said you would prepare….” 

“There is no time,” Morana snapped. “Fenric’s magic grows stronger with every passing breath. If we delay, all will be lost. Do you want your friends to die here? Do you want their blood on your hands?” 

My throat tightened. I looked back. Kael was locked in a brutal fight. There was blood on his fur. Rylan was 

surrounded by three creatures at once. My chest ached with fear. 

“No,” I whispered. 

“Then give me your hand.” 

I hesitated only a second before placing my hand in hers. Her grip was iron. She drew a dagger from within her cloak. Its blade shimmered with a strange red glow. 

My breath caught. “What…” 

“The altar must taste your blood,” she said firmly. “Only your blood can open the path. Do not fear. This is the price of power. This is the price of freedom.” 

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I bit my lip. My hand trembled in hers. 

Sierra’s voice rose inside me. It was sharp and suspicious. Wait. Something feels wrong. Why is she 

rushing? The real Morana would never…. 

But the dagger was already slicing my palm. Pain shot through me. I gasped and watched as crimson 

welled up and spilled onto the black stone. 

The altar drank it in. The veins of the rock glowed faintly red. It was pulsing like a heartbeat. The ground 

trembled. 

Morana raised her hands and chanted words I couldn’t understand. The air grew heavy. I could feel the 

energy in the atmosphere crackling and making my hair rise. 

“Blood to awaken,” she intoned. “Blood to bind. The curse undone. The soul unchained. By the pact of ash 

and flame, let the immortal fall!” 

I swayed. I was feeling dizzy. My blood dripped faster. The stone was hungrily drinking it in. 

“Enough,” I whispered weakly, tugging my hand. “Morana, stop…it hurts….” 

She didn’t let go. Her grip tightened painfully, forcing my hand flat against the altar. “Do not resist. This 

must be done.” 

I looked up at her. I could feel the fear rising in my chest. Her eyes gleamed with strange hunger. Her smile … was wrong. It was too sharp…..too cruel. 

And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something that made my blood run cold. 

Another Morana. 

She stood across the clearing. Her silver eyes blazing, she was hurling fire at the shadow beasts beside 

Kael and Rylan. Her cloak was torn but she was fighting bravely. 

I froze. My heart nearly stopped. Two Moranas. 

I turned back to the one holding me. Her smile stretched wider. 

“No,” I whispered, horror twisting my stomach. “No, that’s… impossible.” 

I tried to yank free but her grip was unbreakable. 

Her form shimmered. The silver fire in her eyes melted into crimson. Her voice deepened and twisted. Her face rippled like water….then reformed. 

Not Morana but Fenric. 

He stood before me now, his true form emerging. His black hair spilled over his shoulders, his eyes were glowing like burning coals. His smile was wicked and sharp as blades. 

I screamed. “No! Let me go!” 

He laughed. The sound was low and cruel. “Too late, little lamb. Too late to see through my mask.” 

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I struggled. I tried clawing at his hand but he held me tighter. His other hand pressed my bleeding palm harder against the altar. My blood continued to spill. It was staining the black stone deeper and deeper. 

“Kael! Rylan!” I screamed, my voice raw. “Help me!” 

They didn’t hear me. None of them did. I looked desperately toward them. Kael and Rylan were slashing at shadows that weren’t even real, Warriors swung their blades at empty air. And Morana, the real one, was burning her power against illusions that didn’t exist. 

Tears blurred my vision. “They can’t hear me,” I whispered. 

Fenric’s laugh cut through me like a blade. “Of course they can’t. Their minds are trapped in my mirror battlefield. They will fight until their strength breaks, chasing phantoms while I take what I want.” 

“You’re a monster,” I hissed, my voice shaking. “You’ll never win…” 

“Oh, but I already have.” His lips curled. “Look at you being obedient and bleeding for me. You are mine. 

now, whether you like it or not.” 

“No!” I struggled harder while thrashing against his iron grip. My wrists burned from his hold. “I’ll never be 

yours!” 

Sierra roared inside me. Fight him! Lisa, you must fight! 

“I’m trying!” I screamed both aloud and within. My chest felt like it was splitting open. Panic, rage, despair -all of it churned together until I could hardly breathe. 

Fenric only tightened his hold. The altar beneath me pulsed brighter. The crimson veins were snaking out across the black stone. The statue of the demon loomed above. Its hollow eyes were glowing faintly, as if it was awakening. 

The ground began to swirl. The air twisted and the clearing spinned around me. My stomach lurched. 

Fenric leaned closer. His voice was a dark whisper against my ear. “No one can save you now. Not your wolf. Not your lovers. Not even your precious witch. You are mine, and I will show you the truth of who you 

are.” 

The world tilted violently. My vision blurred. Kael, Rylan, Morana, all of them seemed far away, fighting shadows that didn’t exist. My screams tore from my throat but they were swallowed by the storm swirling around us. 

Fenric’s laughter echoed through the ruins as he pulled me tight against him. His burning eyes were the last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me whole. 

The world spun faster. 

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