CHAPTER 30 – Blood Beyond Saving

"ALDRIC!"

My scream shattered the air as the blood dagger pierced his chest. A deep crimson light burst from the wound—not ordinary blood, but living magic bound by an ancient oath.

Aldric's body staggered backward, collapsing into my arms. His eyes remained open, gazing at me as if in apology. His hand rose weakly, brushing against my cheek.

"I'm… sorry," he whispered. "But at least… now you know the answer."

"No," I choked out. "Don't say that. I can… I can still heal you—"

"Too late," Astor's voice cut in, soft but laced with venom. "The blood dagger is no mere weapon, Seraphine. It is the final key. Once driven into flesh… the hidden contract begins devouring Aldric's soul. The soul of Astoria. And that… is exactly what I need."

I glared at him, hatred burning in my gaze. "You… you lied to everyone. You never wanted to break the curse. You wanted… immortality from it."

Astor chuckled darkly, his laughter echoing through the altar's vaulted ceiling. "One of us had to pay the price. Elara nearly succeeded last time. But she was weak. She chose love. And that… saved me."

Magic flared from within me, heating from the depths of my soul. Elara rose inside me—not just as a voice, but as power. As fury.

"You won't win this time," I said, my voice trembling. "Because I'm not just Elara. I'm not just Seraphine. I am both. And I choose to destroy you."

Pillars of magic erupted from the earth, forming seals around the altar. Astor hissed, stumbling backward.

"Fool," he growled. "You think you can contain me? I am of Valeria's blood—I am the rightful heir of this curse!"

"Precisely why," I whispered, raising my hands to the altar's ceiling, "you must be the first to be sacrificed."

Crimson-gold fire burst from the ground. Ancient symbols formed in the air—a circle to sever a blood oath, a spell even Elara had once failed to wield.

"With my blood," I shouted, "with Aldric's blood, and with the curse you passed down, I sever this pact—and trade your eternity for annihilation!"

Astor raised his hand, hurling a blast of dark magic at me. But it rebounded the instant it struck the shield of light surrounding my body. A light born of love. A light born of forgiven betrayal.

Aldric lay trembling on the floor beside me, but his eyes remained open. "Do it… Seraphine… don't stop…"

I closed my eyes and unleashed every ounce of magic I held. In that moment, my soul and Elara's merged completely—the boundary between past and present dissolved. I was no longer a shadow of anyone else.

I was the end of it all.

Astor screamed as his body cracked, red light crawling like burning roots up from his feet. He tried to flee, but the magic circle had closed.

"No—no! I'm the only one who can hold Valeria's power! Without me, this blood has no ruler—!"

"Valeria will choose for herself," I said, stepping closer. "And the line she chooses… will be the one that chooses love, not sacrifice."

With one final thrust, I pressed both hands to Astor's chest.

And he—burst into light.

Instantly, all flames on the altar died out.

The spells in the air vanished.

The blood-stained corridors ceased their pulse.

The curse… fell silent.

I collapsed to my knees, gasping. Beside me, Aldric lay still—his face pale, but his chest…

Still rising and falling.

"Aldric…" I whispered, shaking him gently.

Those eyes opened. Tired, but alive.

"You…" he said faintly, "you did it."

I nodded, tears streaming freely. "I was so afraid of losing you."

"You didn't lose me," he gave a faint smile. "You saved me."

But before I could answer, the ground beneath the altar began to crack. The red light that had vanished… returned. But this time, it came from within me.

My body froze.

"What… is this?"

Aldric tried to rise, but he was too weak.

Then I heard her—Elara's voice. Not from within… but beside me. Her soul had separated from mine, forming a silhouette of a woman in a deep violet gown, her eyes soft yet hollow.

"Elara?" I breathed.

She looked at me. "I was meant to vanish with the curse. But part of my soul… still lingers."

"Lingers… on what?"

She gave a sad smile. "On one last secret."

Suddenly, from the shadows of the altar, stepped a little girl—around seven years old, with wavy silver hair and violet eyes that mirrored mine.

She held Elara's hand, then looked up at me with a gentle smile.

"My name is Lysandra," she said. "And I… am the part of your blood that never had the chance to be born."

I froze.

"What… do you mean?"

"In your past life," Elara said, her voice like wind through forgotten halls, "you were pregnant with Aldric's child… but before she was born, you struck a deal with the curse to seal away your most powerful magic. Part of your soul… became her."

I turned to Aldric, who stared at us, eyes wide.

"Our… daughter?" I whispered.

But before I could reach for Lysandra—the entire altar began to shake again.

The red sky above tore open once more, and strange sounds poured in—sounds that did not belong to this world. Sounds from a darkness older than blood.

Elara went rigid.

"No… no… this wasn't part of the pact…"

I turned.

From the cracked sky above the altar, a massive hand emerged—formed of black magic, wrapped in chains of light, and it gripped the altar.

Lysandra ran toward me. "Mother—! They're coming!"

I caught her small form before she stumbled, clutching her tightly. Her body was cold—not flesh and blood, but the echo of something that was never meant to live.

"Elara, what is this? Who are they?!"

Elara stared up at the torn sky, her face awash in a fear I had never seen before—not even in the face of death had she looked like this.

"When I sealed my power," she said, trembling, "I made a deal with an ancient entity… a force beyond the Valerian curse. A force that… should never have been awakened."

The crimson glow turned pitch black, and screams echoed from beyond the sky. Screams that did not come from living beings.

Aldric forced himself upright despite his injuries. "What do we do?"

"Don't let them touch Lysandra," Elara said quickly. "If they succeed… the piece of Elara's soul inside her will become a doorway."

"A doorway… to this world?" I asked, breathless.

She nodded. "They're not part of the blood curse. They're a force even Valeria hid. And now, because we broke the contract… the seal is crumbling."

The black hand lowered farther, and eyes appeared—no whites, only gaping voids of primal magic. Three eyes, then six, then nine, all fixed directly on us.

Lysandra clung to me. I reached for Aldric, pulling him closer. "If this isn't part of the curse, then it's not my fate. But I'll fight them anyway."

Elara smiled faintly, her form beginning to glow. "Seraphine… I've stayed inside you far too long. Maybe it's time I truly leave… and give you what power remains."

I shook my head quickly. "No. You don't have to—"

"This isn't a sacrifice," she interrupted gently. "It's… redemption."

She knelt, pressing both palms to Lysandra's forehead. A violet light flared, then flowed from Elara into the girl's body.

Lysandra let out a soft cry, but soon light spread from her feet, forming a new magic circle on the altar's floor—older, more complex, and more powerful than anything I had ever seen.

"Elara…" I murmured.

She turned to me one last time. "You are my greatest legacy, Seraphine. Not because of the curse, but because you chose a different path. Now, you're the one who can sever not just the pact… but the world behind it."

And with one final flash of light, Elara vanished—her soul merging completely with the altar and with my daughter.

The sky boiled. The cracks widened. Now two hands emerged from the darkness, gripping the world as if to tear it in two.

But from the center of the altar, Lysandra began to float, a sphere of violet-gold light surrounding her. And from her small body came a voice—not hers alone, but the echoes of Elara, of Valeria, and the ancient wardens.

"In the name of the First Blood, with the unnamed magic, and the love that binds mother and child… we reject the world that comes!"

A blinding explosion of light erupted from Lysandra, striking the massive hands. Their screams echoed, tearing across dimensions, and the sound of shattering turned to retreat.

I closed my eyes, clinging to Aldric. Light enveloped us, and everything stilled.

Then… silence.

When I opened my eyes, the altar was in ruins. No cracks. No red sky. No darkness.

Just morning.

Fresh air drifted in through the shattered walls. Sunlight danced among the broken stones.

Aldric gripped my hand. "We're alive?"

I nodded. But my eyes searched for Lysandra.

In the center of the altar, the little girl sat among the rubble, smiling at me. "The curse is gone, Mother. But I… am still here."

I walked to her, embracing her in silence. I didn't care who she had once been, or where she came from—what I knew was that she was mine. A child born of love and pacts. And I would never let her go.

But far above the newly healed sky, a thin black line still split the clouds.

And I knew… this wasn't the end.

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