A Worthy Sacrifice

Vel'Kareth narrowed his eyes as he stepped forward, his voice calm but laced with tension. "You're the queen of the witches… aren't you?"

Annie stood tall, her grip firm around her trident.

"Yes," she answered without hesitation, her tone as sharp as the weapon she held.

A grin crept across Vel'Kareth's face, slow and sinister.

Then, a sudden chuckle escaped him, turning into a deep laugh that echoed unnaturally through the ruined battlefield.

It wasn't from joy — it sounded more like someone hanging by a thread. His eyes narrowed with a desperate gleam.

"So it really is you," he muttered, half to himself.

"If we sacrifice you… if it's really you… then maybe, just maybe, we can bring him back.

The Purgatorist. And when we do, the war shifts. We take the tide."

Annie's expression didn't change.

She started to raise her trident, ready to finish him off before he could spew another word.

But just as she lunged forward, Vel'Kareth shouted behind her, "Vel'Zorath! Now!"

Out of nowhere, a thick, towering wall erupted between them — not made of stone or earth, but something more refined, like smooth, dark marble fused with magic.

It expanded rapidly, enclosing around Annie and her trident.

The walls stretched upward and inward, forming a solid room that pulsed with faint golden veins.

With a low hum, the room flickered, and in the blink of an eye, Annie vanished.

She reappeared in another space — unfamiliar, sealed off, and clearly built with intention. It wasn't just a room.

It was part of a larger structure — a domain. Castle Creation.

Vel'Zorath's ability.

She didn't have much time to assess before the first blow came.

Vel'Tharion materialized directly in front of her, or rather — several versions of him.

Clones, illusions, copies — all of them moved with the same purpose.

His Multiply Creation had activated instantly, filling the air with attacking variations of himself, each holding a different weapon or spell.

Annie's eyes flicked between them with calm precision. She didn't flinch. She didn't step back.

The first strike came from her left — a sword — but before it could connect, her trident swept through the air in a wide arc.

The copy burst like a popped bubble.

Then another, and another.

She moved like she had already fought this battle before.

Each thrust of her trident was deliberate, measured.

The air was thick with bodies that weren't quite real, but still dangerous enough to land a wound if left unchecked.

Still, she carved through them all, her posture never breaking.

The moment her trident pierced the chest of the final copy, the castle trembled slightly under her feet.

Back outside the structure, Menma was sprinting across the jagged terrain, breath ragged, urgency in his every step.

He burst through a clearing where Lunara, the Guardians, Zayne, and the witches had gathered in anticipation.

Their expressions turned grim as he arrived.

"She's gone,as well!" he shouted. "Annie — I was about to finish Vel'Merath." He stopped a bit to take a breath.

"And then — this wall came out of nowhere. It just swallowed him. I couldn't stop it! But as he leaved, he said we found our worthy target".

Zayne stepped forward, instantly trying to connect through the technology Annie made, but his expression darkened. Nothing. Silence.

"She's not responding," he muttered. "Her link's been cut."

Lunara's voice was tight. "You think it was Vel'Zorath?"

Menma nodded. "It was his creation — that castle. It has to be. He's isolated her.We must save her!"

Inside the castle, things escalated.

Vel'Zorath stepped forward from the far side of the room, his eyes scanning Annie like she was a living puzzle.

Without a word, he raised his hand.

From his palm, small cubic constructs began forming, piecing themselves together like enchanted building blocks.

They were solid — dense, metallic — and glowed with faint lines of energy.

Then he hurled them at her, not one or two, but several, each one spinning violently through the air.

Annie responded immediately.

Her Light Creation flared, and in an instant, a radiant barrier formed in front of her — massive, dome-shaped, and layered.

The cubes slammed into it with force, rattling the entire space, but didn't break through.

Vel'Tharion smirked nearby. "Let's crank it up."

With a flick of his fingers, his ability surged. Each cube that had been thrown suddenly began to multiply.

One became two, two became four, and soon — there were hundreds, all flying at her from every angle.

But Annie didn't falter.

She pushed forward, and the shield she had created began to morph — its shape twisting, shifting, until it split into two large curved panels.

Each now bore jagged, serrated edges — like gaping jaws.

With a sharp command from Annie, the two shield-halves lunged forward, chomping through the oncoming wave of cubes like monstrous predators.

The halves didn't float. They charged, like predators unleashed.

The snapping jaws tore through the oncoming blocks, chewing them down to pieces.

Bits of shattered cubes rained down like hail as the spiked constructs plowed forward without slowing.

Sparks flew with every bite, and the sound was deafening — metal grinding against condensed energy.

Vel'Tharion blinked in surprise, backing up slightly. "What the hell…"

Vel'Zorath stepped forward again, but before he could act, Vel'Tharion multiplied once more — surrounding Annie with even more versions of himself.

Meanwhile, one version broke from the group and moved low, knife in hand, weaving through the chaos.

Annie's attention shifted just in time to catch the glint of the blade. This wasn't a copy.

This was the real Vel'Tharion.

He lunged.

But luckily Annie managed to evade the attack,and used the momentum to create a safe distance among her and her attackers.

"How the hell are we going to sacrifice her?"

Said Vel'Tharion. "She is just to strong for us to handle."

"Don't worry." Replied Zorath, "Soon help is on the way."

(In a different room of the castle)

Both Vel'Merath and Vel'Kareth lay down, tired and hurt from their battle against respective opponents.