Chapter 30: The Sacrifice of a Queen

The Sacrifice of a Queen

As the void around them deepened, the energy of the Mind Stone pulsed, guiding Kirk and Tanica through another vision.

This time, the scene formed around Tanica alone.

She stood in the ruins of what once had been a magnificent palace. The sky was darkened by storms, the ground cracked from battle. The air carried the echoes of a desperate fight—a battle that had been lost.

And at the center of it all was a woman, kneeling, her body trembling from exhaustion and pain.

Tanica's breath caught. It was her mother.

"Mother!" she cried, but her voice did not reach across the vision.

Queen Tunica Petrona, the last ruler of the Celestians, was surrounded by shadowy figures. Their twisted forms pulsed with a dark, corrupted energy. The ones responsible for the fall of her people.

A deep, guttural voice emerged from the darkness. "Give us the child, Queen. Surrender the heir, and we may yet allow you to live."

Tanica's heart pounded. They were after me… even before I was born.

Her mother, though battered and bleeding, lifted her chin with regal defiance. "I will never surrender my daughter to you."

The figures advanced, their presence oppressive, suffocating.

Queen Tunica raised her hands, and suddenly, a brilliant golden light erupted from her body, pushing the darkness back.

Her power, the very essence of the Celestians, was tearing her apart.

Tanica clutched her chest. Her mother had given everything—her life, her strength—to shield her from those who sought her for their own ends.

And it had worked.

The darkness screamed in frustration as Tunica's final act of defiance ripped a hole in reality itself. Through that breach, Tanica—still an infant—was sent hurtling away from the battlefield, into the safety of the mortal world.

The vision began to fade, the last thing Tanica saw was her mother collapsing to the ground, her body limp but her expression victorious.

Then… nothing.

The Truth Revealed

Tanica gasped as she was pulled back into the present, her body shaking. She could still feel the raw pain, the sacrifice.

Her mother had been presumed dead, but in truth, she had endured agony beyond comprehension to save her.

And now, Tanica knew the truth.

She wasn't just anyone.

She was the lost heir of the Celestians—the last of her mother's bloodline.

Kirk placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Tanica… what did you see?"

Her voice was unsteady, but her eyes were filled with fierce determination. "My mother… she fought until the end. She protected me with everything she had."

Kirk's expression darkened. "Then we owe it to her to finish this trial. To find out why they wanted you… and what they were trying to prevent."

Tanica wiped her eyes and nodded. "No more running. It's time we claim our birthright."

As the Mind Stone pulsed once more, the final stage of their journey in this realm

Bloodlines of Power

As the Mind Stone pulsed with energy, Kirk and Tanica felt a shift in their surroundings. The vision of Tanica's mother faded, and in its place, a vast celestial archive materialized—endless halls filled with floating glyphs and ancient scrolls that shimmered with cosmic energy.

A whisper, not spoken but felt deep in their minds, guided them forward.

"The truth of your bloodline must be known."

Kirk frowned. "We've seen parts of the past, but there's still more. Why did my father never tell me any of this?"

Tanica looked around, her fingers brushing against one of the floating glyphs. The moment she touched it, the room came alive.

A new vision unfolded before them.

A Forbidden Union

A radiant throne room appeared, bathed in golden light. At the center sat a Celestian Queen, her beauty ethereal, her presence commanding.

Kirk staggered back as recognition struck him.

That's my grandmother…

Her silver hair flowed like liquid starlight, and her piercing blue eyes carried the weight of millennia. She was the Celestian Queen from centuries ago—the one who had broken every law of her kind.

Before her, standing tall and powerful, was a Ve'khaaran King—his armor gleaming obsidian, his aura crackling with untamed energy.

The air between them was charged with forbidden love and defiance.

Kirk clenched his fists. This is where it all started.

The Celestian Queen, his grandmother, spoke with quiet intensity.

"No Celestian Queen has ever birthed a son. The power was never meant to be passed to a male."

The Ve'khaaran King took her hands in his, his deep voice unwavering. "Then let fate be rewritten."

The chamber shook, and suddenly the scene shifted.

Now, the Queen stood before her people, her newborn child in her arms. A solemn decree was spoken.

"I abdicate my throne."

Gasps filled the vision, and the Celestians murmured in shock.

No Queen had ever done this.

Her voice was steady, yet filled with sorrow. "My son, Damon Willo, carries the blood of both Celestian and Ve'khaaran. But he cannot inherit the Stones. The line of Queens must remain unbroken."

Tanica's breath hitched. "That means… if your father had been born a girl, he would've been Queen."

Kirk's jaw tightened. "But because he was a son, the power never passed to him."

The vision blurred, fast-forwarding through time.

Damon Willo grew, trained, and became a warrior—the rightful Crown Prince of the Ve'khaaran people. But even then, he was hunted.

The Dark Ones had descended, corrupting the temples that held the Stones. The Ve'khaaran warriors, the guardians of the Stones, had fought valiantly, but many had perished.

Tanica realized something horrifying. "That's why your father hid. Why he disappeared."

Kirk's stomach twisted. "They weren't after him for power… they were after him for knowledge. Because he knew where the Stones were hidden."

The Fate of the Stones

The Mind Stone's energy surged again, bringing them to the moment everything changed.

A Celestian council gathered, their expressions grim.

"We must separate the Stones."

The decree was final.

The Five Stones—Heart, Mind, Soul, Sight, and Creation—were scattered across time and space, hidden so that no single being could ever wield them again.

Except…

One day, a Celestian Queen would rise again.

Tanica's breath caught as realization hit her like lightning.

She wasn't just any Celestian.

She was the only Celestian left who could inherit the full power of the Five Stones.

That's why she had been hunted before she was even born.

That's why her mother had sacrificed everything.

And that's why… the Stones were calling to her now.

The Awakening

The vision shattered.

Kirk and Tanica stood once more in the celestial archive, but something was different.

Power thrummed in Tanica's veins.

Kirk's storage ring pulsed, and the Heartstone fragment floated out—this time, hovering toward Tanica instead of him.

She reached out, and the moment her fingers touched it—

BOOM!

A blinding light erupted from the fragment, surrounding Tanica in a cocoon of golden fire.

Kirk shielded his eyes, stepping back as the energy pulsed violently around her.

And then—

A voice, ancient and resonant, filled the chamber.

"The Queen awakens."

—

What happens now that Tanica has begun unlocking her true power? What new dangers await them as the Stones react to their rightful heir?