VALKYRIE

Chapter 22: Eric's POV

I stood in disbelief. The Dark Leader. He was gone.

He was... gone.

He was actually gone. The threat that kept us awake at night, that could have killed everyone in existence, that hurt our family and close friends.

It happened so fast, I barely realized it was happening. I began to rack my brains for what happened. The Dark Leader had shot a blast of darkness at each one of us, so powerful it would obliterate anything in its path.

I had braced myself, but Juno...

She jumped in front at the last second. She was the reason we're alive now. I ran to her and grabbed her waist, lifting her up of the ground and twirling her around in the air.

She laughed and threw her arms up, looking up at the ceiling. I laughed too.

The Light Leader smiled. I set Juno down and she leaned in to kiss me.

"The Dark Leader is gone. And it's all because of you," I proudly said, happily looking into her eyes.

"You helped a little bit, too," Juno smiled, and let out a chuckle.

"Maybe just a little bit," I teased her, brushing some hair out of her eyes. The Light Leader cleared her throat. We looked over at her, both beaming with happiness.

"You are both extremely gifted. All of the Light Spirits will forever be in your debt. We owe you more than just a gigantic thank you. Is there any way we can repay you?" She asked, smiling faintly. I looked over at Juno.

She looked into my eyes, grinning.

"I think we're fine," I said, squeezing Juno's hand. The Light Leader nodded, looking both happy and proud.

"You have good souls," she told us. "You will be cherished forever by all of the beloved spirits in my kingdom. Your mother is so proud, Juno. Faun loves you both," the Light Leader praised us, looking proud and happy.

"I have an option," the Leader then said. "An option to restore balance between all realms." Juno tilted her head, looking as confused as I felt.

"What do you mean, an option to restore balance?" She asked, slightly narrowing her eyes.

"I could destroy this realm and then create another realm. It could be a new Valkyrie realm, because the old one is almost obliterated. We could stop all the Dark Soldiers and make the rest of the realms run in harmony and peace," the Light Leader explained. I thought about it for a moment.

No more Dark Realm. All would be well. We would never have to worry about the Darkness ever again. The more I thought about the logistics, the more obvious it seemed.

"Of course you should do that," Juno and I said in perfect unison. We looked at each other out of the corner of our eyes and burst out laughing. The Light Leader smiled.

"Very well. I must get everyone off this realm to destroy it. Let us go," she said, and raised up her hands. A flash of light filled the room, and we all disappeared.

Then we reappeared in the Valkyrie realm, all the confused Valkyries next to us. I had almost forgotten that they were in the Dark Realm.

"Everyone, I have an announcement," the Light Leader spoke loudly, getting everyone's attention.

"The Dark Leader has been stopped. He is gone forever." Suddenly, everything went absolutely quiet. You could hear the faint sounds of birds chirping in the distance. A few seconds passed, with everyone standing in disbelief.

Then the Valkyries burst out into a deafening cheer. Everyone was shouting for joy. Some jumped up, some flew around, and some hugged with relief.