CHAPTER 144
125 Points
CHAPTER 156
The figure at the forest edge stepped closer, and I could feel the energy pulsing off him like heat from a fire. Every hair on my body stood on end. The trees around us swayed violently, even though there wasn’t a breeze. The moonlight fractured across the clearing, reflecting off the pack’s weapons and energy shields.
I tightened my grip on Asher’s hand. His calm gray eyes met mine, and I drew strength from him. Gage’s golden aura flared, Kaelen and Kaelric held their positions, and even Arlo stood tall, small but determined. Every bond between us thrummed in the night, echoing my
heartbeat.
Eryx’s face was tight with tension. “This… this is what we feared.” He said. “The Eclipse isn’t just power…it’s alive. It can test, it can judge, and it can destroy. Whoever this is… they’re the key to surviving it.”
I swallowed hard, my chest tight. “And if we fail?”
Eryx shook his head. “We don’t fail.”
The figure’s voice rang through the clearing, low and echoing like thunder. “You hold the bloodline. You think you are ready. But the Eclipse does not bend to will alone. It tests, it demands, and it will consume what is weak.”
I felt the air shift, thick and heavy, almost like it was alive. The first wave of shadows surged again, not fully formed, but enough to make us duck and brace. Their energy was chaotic, writhing like black fire in the moonlight.
“Everyone!” Eryx shouted. “Focus the bond! Trinity, lead it!”
I inhaled, calling on every connection I had…Asher, Gage, Kaelen, Kaelric, Arlo. The power from the bloodline thrummed in my chest, bright and searing. I sent it outward in waves, creating a lattice that spread across the clearing. The shadows struck it and screamed, but the lattice held.
Kaelen moved like lightning, slashing through the nearest shadows with blades of concentrated energy. Kaelric sent explosive bursts outward, scattering the smaller forms. Gage’s golden aura flared around me, stabilizing the lattice and keeping me grounded, while Asher’s steady gray shield held me safe from attacks that broke through. Arlo’s blue energy flickered, filling gaps, stabilizing weak points.
The figure at the forest edge didn’t move, didn’t attack directly. It watched, waiting, testing, its presence twisting the air. And then it spoke again.
< CHAPTER 156
“Your bond is strong, but the Eclipse sees beyond strength. It sees fear, hesitation, and doubt. It will exploit it all.”
I clenched my fists, drawing more power into the lattice. “I am not afraid!” I shouted, “Not with them beside me!”
The energy between us pulsed, bright and sharp, and the shadows screamed as the bond struck back. For a moment, it seemed like we had the upper hand,
Then Rafe appeared.
No matter how many times we think we have killed him, the Eclipse draws him back in, making him more powerful.
He emerged from the darkness, eyes wild, a twisted grin on his face. “You think this ends with me gone?” He sneered. “The pack is mine, Trinity. And Asher owes me everything.”
I felt the bloodline surge in anger, the lattice flaring as I reacted. “Not while I’m alive!”
The shadows around him twisted, drawn to his dark energy, and he lunged, stronger and faster than before. Kaelen and Kaelric met him immediately, their blades of energy clashing with his strikes. Sparks flew, the ground trembled, and the air rang with the sound of power colliding.
Gage and Asher moved to my side, holding me steady, while I fed the bond into the lattice. The bloodline screamed through me, demanding control, focus, unity.
“Rafe!” Asher shouted. “Stop this! It won’t give you what you want!”
Rafe laughed, throwing himself into the attack with reckless fury. “I don’t care! The pack is
mine!”
The battle escalated. Rafe’s strikes were deadly, but he underestimated the strength of the bond, the combined power of the bloodline flowing through all of us. Kaelen’s precision cut through his attacks, Kaelric’s explosive energy pushed him back, Gage’s golden aura struck like a hammer, and Asher’s shield absorbed the worst of the damage.
I focused, summoning the pure essence of the bloodline. Energy poured through the lattice, connecting every member of the pack in a web of light and strength. The shockwave struck Rafe directly. He screamed, clawing at the energy, but it held him in place, immobile.
“This ends now!” I yelled, letting the full force of the bloodline surge outward.
The energy struck him again, more powerful, more concentrated. The grid shimmered, then solidified around him, burning the shadow from his body. He tried to resist, but the bond, the bloodline, the combined will of everyone present was stronger.
CHAPTER TAR
+25 Points
With one final scream, Rafe collapsed, energy dissipating mito nothingness. The clearing went silent. His threat, finally, was over.
i sank to my knees, gasping, my chest burning. Asher crouched beside me, holding me tight, Gage’s hand on my shoulder. Kaelen and Kaelric stood nearby, breathing hard, exhausted but alive. Arlo’s blue energy flickered and dimmed, and he let out a long breath of relief.
Eryx stepped forward, eyes soft but serious. “You did it.” He said. “But this… this was just a taste. The Eclipse is coming fully. And it will demand everything.”
I nodded weakly, trying to catch my breath. “I can feel it. The energy… it’s building. Faster than before. Stronger.”
The figure at the edge of the forest…still cloaked, still waiting…spoke again, its voice echoing through the clearing. “You survived the first strike. That is your only victory. The Eclipse will not stop until it tests every soul connected to the bloodline.”
I looked at my bondmates, at my brothers, at Eryx. “Then we keep fighting. We hold it together. Whatever it takes.”
The moon shone brighter, silver light spilling across the clearing. I could feel the power building in my chest, the bloodline thrumming, reacting to the approaching Eclipse. Every shadow, every energy pulse, every heartbeat of the pack was a warning…things were not done
yet.
I tightened my hands around Asher’s, letting the bond flow through me, steady, strong,
unbroken.
Kaelen and Kaelric nodded beside me, Gage’s golden light flickering in agreement. Even Arlo’s small frame hummed with energy, connected to the lattice, connected to me.
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