Chapter 39: Elena Skydawn v/s Lucas Aetherwind

The mood within the Aetherwind estate had deteriorated sharply.

The celebratory air that had filled the hall just days ago had transformed into a charged atmosphere of tension and unresolved animosities.

In the grand chamber, the sound of heated voices echoed, a confrontation unmistakably drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

"You have completely disregarded our son, Lucas!" Elena's voice was sharp, cutting through the chaotic din like a blade through silk.

She stood her ground, her eyes ablaze with indignation.

"You take pride in bringing Sophia and Zoe into our home, but at what cost? You've turned your back on Leo!"

Lucas's jaw tightened, his patience thinning like fraying rope under pressure.

"I have not turned my back on him! I care for all my children, and it is my responsibility as a father to support Sophia and Zoe, as well."

"And what about your own son?" Elena pressed, advancing on him like a stormcloud nearing its thunderous climax.

"You act as though he is not suffering right in front of your eyes! Leo deserves your guidance and support!"

Before Lucas could retort, Zoe and Sophia entered the chamber, their expressions revealing that they had overheard the exchange.

Zoe stepped forward, brow furrowed with anger, frustration boiling beneath the surface like magma in a ready-to-erupt volcano.

"Leo, you need to apologize to us! You've been ignoring us since your engagement!" she demanded, casting a defiant glare in his direction.

To her astonishment, Leo did not respond, his focus elsewhere, seemingly lost in thought as he avoided eye contact.

This dismissal only fueled the fire of Zoe's anger.

"How can you just ignore me? Stop being so self-centered!"

Sophia chimed in, her voice laced with hurt disguised as righteousness.

"Zoe is right; Leo, you've isolated yourself from us! You owe her an apology!"

Elena took a step back, her face filled with disbelief as she felt the room's tension shift into a sharper focus, like a lens narrowing on a fatal flaw.

"So now you're blaming Leo? You're both in the wrong! He has every right to process his choices without your demands hanging over him!"

The back and forth led to an explosion of emotions, and it became clear that each person in the room was struggling to assert their own pain while dismissing the others.

Roxanne, sensing the impending chaos, stepped up to quell the rising tide.

"Everyone, listen! This isn't effective. We're all feeling frustrated. We should—"

"No!" Lucas interrupted, his voice rising above the din like a thunderclap in a storm-swept valley.

His gaze fixed on Leo.

"You've chosen to put your happiness first without regard for the family you're leaving behind! You need to apologize, and you need to recognize the hurt you've inflicted!"

Leo felt a spark of anger flash through him at Lucas's words, cringing at the notion that he owed anyone an apology—particularly the ones who had once plotted his downfall.

But just as he opened his mouth to respond, Elena interjected, her face set in determination carved from steel.

"I've had enough of this!" Elena said fiercely, clenching her fists.

"If you want to settle this through strength, then let's do it! I will prove to you the weight of your choices."

"You may ignore the pain of our son, but I will not let you dictate this family!"

Lucas's expression hardened, the challenge igniting a flicker of excitement in his eyes like embers catching wind.

"You think I'm scared of you, Elena? I'll show you what it means to truly fight for my family!"

---

The Battle Begins

With the air electrified like a storm brewing at sea, Elena and Lucas prepared for what had become an inevitable clash.

Both stood at the Sixth Realm of Calamity, but Elena was at her peak stage, harnessing her holy powers with an unmatched finesse.

Lucas stood at the middle stage, pushing his own divine energy to keep pace like a fading sun trying to hold off the dawn.

"I won't hold back!" Elena challenged, conjuring radiant chains of holy light that danced around her, glimmering like constellations born from her fury.

"You think your light will overpower me?" Lucas retorted, summoning shadows that coiled around him ominously, forming a veil of darkness like serpents of the abyss.

"I'll show you that everyone has their limits!"

As the words left his mouth, the two engaged in combat, the energy crackling through the air like dry wood set aflame.

Elena charged forward, sending beams of holy energy toward Lucas, who retaliated with a vicious swirl of dark tendrils.

The first clash was loud—a sound that resonated like thunder splitting mountains.

Elena expertly deflected Lucas's dark energy, striking back with vicious intensity.

The battle that unfolded was not merely a test of strength, but of their differing visions for their family.

Lucas felt the pressure growing under Elena's onslaught.

"You will see how misguided you are!" he yelled as he pushed against her divine energy.

He sent out a wave of darkness aimed at her, hoping to catch Elena off guard.

But Elena was quick, sidestepping gracefully as radiant light erupted from her core.

"You think your shadows can eclipse the truth? Your darkness cannot extinguish love!" she shouted fiercely.

The dynamic exchange continued, each parent throwing powerful strikes that sent ripples of energy throughout the estate.

Elena's holy energy shone bright and relentless, while Lucas's dark energy clashed against it, a tangible representation of their conflicting priorities.

"This isn't just about power!" Elena shouted as she summoned forth a blinding spear of light meant for Lucas.

"This is about Leo! This battle is for him!"

Lucas dodged, narrowly escaping her attack while focusing more power into his shadows.

"You're making a mistake, Elena! Family doesn't mean we ignore the ones in front of us! You've been trying to push me out since the girls arrived!"

Both combatants continued to exchange blows, the room filled with brilliant light and darkness swirling through the air like twin storms vying for dominance.

Elena's grace and poise contrasted with Lucas's raw force, and it showcased just how passionate each of them was about their definition of family.

"But those two are not my daughters!" Lucas roared, retaliating with a wave of darkness that attempted to envelope Elena.

"They are intruders taking away what could have been our family's joy!"

In that moment of fury, Elena unleashed a surge of holy energy, cracking through the darkness that Lucas had summoned.

"You refuse to see your own shortcomings, Lucas! This should not be about my daughters and yours; this is about all of us working together!"

As their energies clashed, the kaleidoscope of light and shadow filled the grand hall, marking the intensity of their conflict.

The echoes of their battle rippled through the walls, stirring the delicate ornaments and decorations like wind through a glass forest.

As Lucas faltered slightly under the weight of Elena's brilliance, he gathered more shadows, compressing his darkness into a swirling vortex.

"If you can't understand that you're the cause of this divide, then perhaps you need a lesson in consequences!"

With renewed vigor, he unleashed the vortex toward her, a cloud of darkness that threatened to engulf everything in its path like a collapsing star.

For a moment, a wave of fear surged in Elena's heart, but she would not back down.

"Enough!" she declared, summoning the full scope of her power to exponentially amplify her holy light.

With a swift gesture, she interceded, shattering the dark vortex into shimmering fragments of shadow, illuminating the hall in a radiant burst.

"Your shadows do not scare me, Lucas! They are a mere distraction from the truth you refuse to face!" Elena's voice echoed resolutely as she triumphed over his darker manifestations.

With each movement, the space around them filled with piercing light, rendering Lucas's attempts to envelop her useless.

She worked to control the overflowing energy, reminding herself that this battle was not just for strength, but for the family they had both lost sight of.

The swirling remnants of their power continued to clash, and Leo watched from the sidelines, feeling an uneasy satisfaction at seeing the duel unfold.

He knew the stakes—it was his family at the center of it all, and he could feel the tensions that had been pent up for far too long finally erupting before his eyes.

---

The Turning Point

As the intensity of their duel raged, fatigue began to settle in Lucas's movements.

Elena, sensing the shift in momentum, took it upon herself to finish this once and for all.

She charged forward, bright tendrils of light shimmering and swirling around her as she thrust forth with a radiant spear, focusing all her energy into one strike.

"Lucas, this is for Leo!" she cried, launching the beam of light that streaked across the hall like a comet through the night sky.

Lucas barely had time to react; the sheer velocity of her holy spear shattered what remained of his defenses, and he was engulfed in a dazzling eruption of energy.

The force pushed him back violently, throwing him against the wall, the remnants of his dark energy dissipating in the aftermath.

As the blinding light faded, Lucas fell to his knees, breathless and defeated.

The realization of his loss weighed heavily upon him, forcing him to examine the ramifications of his choices.

A silence enveloped the chamber, the only sound being the slow, steady intake of breath from both combatants.

Finally, Elena lowered her energy, the remnants of her holy light shimmering until her aura dimmed.

"Lucas," she said softly, an edge of compassion emerging in her tone, "you need to recognize that love exists in accepting responsibility for the family we've created. It is not enough to ignore Leo in favor of Sophia and Zoe."

Lucas lowered his gaze, the pain of truth settling into his heart like frost on a forgotten grave.

"I was so focused on proving a point that I lost sight of everything," he murmured, shame flooding his features.

"I thought I was doing the right thing."

Elena stepped closer, her expression remained indifferent.

"Your family needs you, Lucas. They deserve to feel your love, but from now on don't even think Leo is our son. He is my son from now on."

---

Aftermath of the Battle

As their heated confrontation settled into something more introspective, Leo felt a wave of relief wash over him.

His mother had prevailed, and she had fought not just for herself, but for him.

"From this day on," Elena stated firmly, addressing Lucas with a steely resolve, "you will maintain distance if you continue to interfere in my son's life. I will not let you go even if it is hell."

Lucas nodded, humbled in defeat, as he stood to leave the hall.

He replied, his voice filled with quiet resignation.

"Perhaps I need to prioritize differently."

He turned to Zoe and Sophia, motioning for them to follow him.

Leo watched as Lucas, Zoe, and Sophia exited the hall, the silence that followed settling uncomfortably in the air like dust after a shattered mirror.

He turned to Elena.

"Thank you for standing up for me, Mom."

"Always, Leo," she replied, pulling him into an embrace.

"I love you, and I want you to know that you deserve to be supported by this family. No one should ever overlook that."

Leo felt buoyed by her words, yet a flicker of anger remained.

This wasn't the end—there were still discussions left to make suffer those two bitches, Sophia and Zoe.