Celestia's POV:
Theo gazed at me with his ruby-red eyes. For the first time, I was intimidated by him. It looked as if an evil spirit had possessed him.
" Celestia, come and stand beside me," Theo ordered.
I was horrified, but I did what he said. After I stood beside Theo, I realized that we were actually standing in the center of a star-shaped symbol enclosed by a circle.
"It is a pentagram," I cried out. " This is a demonic symbol. What is happening here?"
Theo didn't answer back. His eyes were closed now, and he was chanting in demonic language. This can't be good! I must do something to stop him. But I was so scared of him.
Suddenly, the pentagram symbol on the ground started glowing red, just like Theo's eyes. This is definitely not good! Rituals like this are performed only to summon impure spirits. If I don't stop him now, then we both will be doomed.
" Theo, stop this," I screamed at him. " This is our island, and you can't wreck it by summoning a demonic entity."
He then finally opened his eyes and looked at me. " Celestia, we are embarking on stage two now. Please don't interrupt me," he announced.
I began to tremble. " This is stage two? Summoning an evil and demonic entity is stage two?"
Theo nodded. " Yes, my love. We are going to summon the Serpent Lord, and he is going to grant us one favor."
My mind went blank! Is it really Theo? Or is he an imposter? I recalled what he told me before. He said that we are going to ascend to the darkness together.
But I thought it was for a good cause of summoning the Celestial creatures from the spirit realm. He told me that learning about the dark side is necessary for that. But I never thought that it would involve this!
" Okay, Theo. I understand we want to ascend to the darkness and attain glory afterward. But this won't yield us any good. So, please stop this ritual."
Theo smirked at me. " What good did you yield by staying on the side of light? You were not even able to summon a single Celestial Creature."
He was right! Now that I think of it, the side of light never really embraced me. For twenty years, I tried hard to unleash my inner angelic powers. But the divine force didn't aid me!
" Fine! I agree that I didn't gain anything from the side of the light. But that doesn't mean that we should have to switch sides. It will only push us further away from our glory."
"Celestia, remember this one thing. If you don't see the darkness, then you will never see the light. Once the ritual is complete, you will know the truth."
If this is the only way to attain glory, then I should probably give this a try. Theo held my hand, and he continued with his ritual. Still, I wasn't feeling very good about this. My father's words kept ringing in my ears like an echo.
He would keep on telling his subjects that nothing good can come out of the shadow forces. But now, here I am, standing in the center of a pentagram!
After a while, there were black fumes of smoke everywhere around us. I thought that I could not get any more afraid, but I was wrong. The serpent lord emerged from the shadows of the smoke.
The Serpent's tongue was blood red, and it was visible even before he came close to us. His venomous fangs were so sharp and long. He had arms and a body of a snake with green scales.
" Silver Shadow," the Serpent Lord hissed. " Reveal your proper form to me."
Theo is already in his actual form! To my surprise, Theo removed his black cloak and stood shirtless in front of the Serpent. Then slowly, a pair of silver-white wings emerged from his back.
So this is his true form? He has got the Siren's wings, but he appeared to me like an Angel. If not for his ruby-red eyes, he could have fooled anyone that he is an Angel!
" That is better!" the Serpent said. "Now tell me, what are you offering me?"
Theo pointed his finger at me and said, " The Golden Dawn has given up her maidenhood to ascend to the dark side."
The serpent turned to me and glimpsed at me with its red and black eyes. " So you are the sacrifice! I am so happy with this sacrifice," the serpent cried out. " The Golden Dawn ascending to the dark side is a pleasure for us demons! The Shadow force will get more power from this."
Am I a sacrifice? I glanced at Theo in disbelief. Did he make me a scapegoat? But this only benefits the demons. This is not a fair deal! Despite reading my thoughts, Theo was calm. His eyes were fixed on the Serpent Lord.
" What does the Golden Dawn want from me in return?" the serpent asked Theo.
" She needs the Saber of Venom!"
Saber of Venom?!!!!!! It is one of the dangerous demonic weapons. That weapon has the potential to slay down even immortal beings like Fae and Mage. I don't want that weapon!
The Serpent closed its eyes and hissed something. Then a saber appeared in its hands. The Serpent Lord offered me the sword, but I hesitated to accept it from him. I don't want to touch that thing!
Theo understood my dilemma, and he immediately got the Saber from the serpent. " I am accepting this on behalf of Dawn," he said.
The Serpent slightly moved back from us and looked at Theo. " You might be able to touch the Saber, but you can't use it. Only the sacrifice could be able to use my sword and slay others."
After that, the Serpent vanished along with black fumes. As soon as it left, the ground was clear, and the pentagram symbol disappeared from the ground.
I looked at Theo. His eyes were normal and green, and he still had his wings out. He gave me a warm smile. "We did it, Celestia. We completed stage two," he said.
" Theo," I blurted out. " I am never going to use this Saber of Venom even if you told me to do so."
Theo kept on beaming at me. " My love, you are eternally bound to me! Did you forget that?"
I started praying to the Holy Aiden that everything that happened should just be an illusion. This can't be my reality!