Chapter 4- KEEPING A PROMISE

"Domain expansion, Dragon who rules the night!" she intoned, her voice resonating with ancient power.

Time seemed to stand still as the world around her faded into shadows with new barriers enclosing the huge area occupying the giants and herself, cutting them off from the outer world. In the heart of the darkness, Alina unleashed the full force of her forbidden magic.

The air crackled with electricity as shadows danced and twisted, coalescing into the form of a colossal dragon. Its scales gleamed with an ethereal luminescence, casting an eerie glow that bathed the battlefield in an otherworldly light. With a deafening roar, the dragon surged forward, its jaws snapping shut with bone-shattering force. The monsters screamed in agony as they were consumed by the darkness, their forms dissolving into nothingness.

Alina stood at the center of the maelstrom, her body suffused with the power of the dark night. With each passing moment, she felt the forbidden magic coursing through her veins, a potent reminder of the price she had paid for this strength. "I... can't hold on any longer." Alina staggered, changing her hand seals to end it all. The dark power was something she couldn't afford to use for long. Due to her golden light bloodline, no one knew the price she had paid for tapping into the power of darkness. She was never supposed to use it...

As the last echoes of her battle faded, Alina exhaled slowly, her eyes fixated on the cube that had stopped spinning fast and was now ominously still.

The shroud of darkness embraced her like a lover, whispering secrets of untold power and endless possibility.

A sinister voice, serpentine in nature, slithered through the shadows, tempting Alina with promises of untold might. "You still need this power, Alina. Why don't you let me help you? Let me guide you to the true essence of a dragon, the apex of all creatures," the voice urged. "Let me in, Alina. Let me help you. You only need to allow me in," it urged again, sounding so pure but Alina could sense the underlying malevolence it belied. As the voice kept coercing her, dark scales slowly encroached upon the golden ones on the other half of Alina's body.

"You need rest, Alina. You've worked so hard. Rest and I'll avenge those you've lost. Just rest," the serpentine voice hissed, attempting to lull her into submission. Yet, Alina knew too well, the perilous implications of letting it in. Resilient, she gathered her will, strengthening her resolve.

"No," her hands slowly began weaving intricate seals, forming a barrier against the invasive force. "I will seek vengeance on my own."

"You this ungrateful reptile! Don't be foolish! I am only trying to help you! You won't last long in this state that you are!" The serpentine voice grew agitated, but it started laughing darkly after saying Alina wouldn't last long. What it said seemed to be true, but Alina, with unwavering determination, completed her banishing hand seals. "From the abyss, you were summoned. Back to the abyss, you will return!" she roared in draconic, creating a vortex that tore through the cube's walls, accompanied by haunting screams.

"You will regret this!!" the voice thundered, threatening Alina before fading into nothingness with the dissipating vortex.as the ominous cube enclosing Alina, vanished after it.

A thud sounded as Alina collapsed to the ground, laying still and exhausted as the dark scales on her body receded together with her golden scales.

The shadow barriers vanished and the moonlight cast its faint glow upon her once more while the wind carresed her spent body, carrying along with it distant howls and snarls.

The short silence was broken by different rustling sounds coming from different directions around her. The regular monsters were coming and they weren't any less dangerous with one as big as an average adult dragon. They wanted to feast!

These monsters, normally aggressive,wouldn't have hesitated to rush forward but they paused their steps, snarling and pacing frantically without proceeding further. The lingering aura of the colossal night dragon made the monsters hesitant, providing Alina with some precious moments to breath.

"Welcome," she finally began, rising slowly from the ground. "I have a proposition for you." With a limp, she made her way towards the fallen giants, remnants of her previous battle. The monsters snarled as they watched this meal of theirs having the luxury of moving about while they were still being stuck due to a measly aura. "I promised to take down as many of you as possible," Alina continued, placing her hands on both of the fallen monsters. The other four had been consumed by the colossal dragon and she had left these two just for this moment.

The approaching monsters hesitated, sensing her intent. They started moving backward as Alina removed her hands and moved back while the giants stood at their full height. "And I intend to keep that." Alina said, closing her short welcome speech to her monster audience. The monsters on the other hand, seeing that they weren't wrong about her intent, turned tails and fled. It was all a trap!

"Go. Be it the great, the regular, or the small ones, kill as many of your kind as you can." Alina instructed, a new sigil forming on her forehead as her golden pupils turned black once more. One of the monsters roared as it went after them, releasing a dark poisonous fog that engulfed the fleeing monsters.

"Stay here. If any of your kind approaches this place, just kill." She instructed the other monster left.

Alina's strength waned further, blood trickling from her nose as she struggled to maintain her composure. The weight of everything was finally taking a toll on her body. The sigil on her forehead flickered and her body swayed.

"When you're both at your limits...kill each other," she issued a last order before retreating into the forest.

Alina put a hand to her mouth as she coughed up blood, staggering further into the forest, leaving behind a scene of chaos and destruction.

....

In a distant part of the forest, five packs of wolves, each consisting of twenty members, sprinted through the shadows with a singular directive echoing in their minds: "Find the dragonkins and save them! Eliminate every witch you encounter. You must spare none!"