Descended

4. Fragments

Zachary was extremely powerful but he was weak now from Kian's bite. That would work in my favor.

The more the earth gave way, the stronger I got, the stronger my tiger got. The essence of my powers came from the underworld, my mother never kept it a secret from me. She told me this the minute she thought I was old enough to understand. I was dangerous, but she never once suggested binding my powers or taking them away. She never once let me feel like I was different from my siblings. She never once treated me differently or unfairly. That is why I needed to save her life. I owed her too much.

Zachary was trying to break through my barrier but it was no use. The spell I casted was a very powerful one. Only our mother would be able to break it and even if she were standing right here, she wouldn't.

Kian

I can't let her do this. She would die. I didn't search for her all these years for her to die before we even had the chance. I won't allow it.

"But you have no choice."

"There is always a choice."

"So what are your options? The way I see it, you can let your mate open the gates of hell, unleashing death and destruction upon all the planets but that means you'll have to fight her brother, the king. Are you prepared for that?"

"She is my mate."

"So be it. The king's powers come from his wolf. He's strong. They're mentally bonded. Weaken his wolf and you weaken him. Weaken him and you weaken his wolf."

I looked at my mate who was protected by the barrier she'd cast around herself. It was invisible but I could see it.

"The kings blood is strong and it's still in your system. That is why you are able to see the princess's barrier. However, I advise you to not bite the king. Do whatever you must but do not bite him, prince Kian. That is my warning to you."

"How am I supposed to weaken him if I cannot bite him?"

"You'll figure it out."

The voice started to fade from my mind.

"Wait! Who are you?"

"A friend."

With those two words, the voice disappeared.

I've fought creatures before but can't say I've ever fought a wolf. It can't be that hard can it?

Before I could come up with a strategy the earth started crumbling away at my feet. The shaking intensified the more time passed until it was difficult to stay routed in one spot. I flashed in front of the king breaking his concentration and stabbed him in the chest with the blade of fire. The blade of fire was one of the most powerful weapons a vampire could own. It was passed down from generation to generation and only materializes when the previous owner dies. The fact that this sword appeared now could only mean one thing. My father had died and I was no longer Prince Kian of Nemur. I was now king. However, I couldn't focus on that because although the king had fallen to his feet, he wasn't completely immobilized, which he should have been. Just how powerful is he?

"More powerful than you can imagine. I'd say you have about five minutes before he breaks through the magic of that sword."

"Who are you?"

"I told you, I'm a friend. I'm here to help you. Your mate is about to sacrifice herself to save the universe. You should stop her."

In that moment I wished I hadn't wasted so much time trying to stop the king, but tried to save my mate instead, because the image of my mate diving into the pit of hell was one that would be ingrained in my memory for centuries to come. I was too slow. I wasn't fast enough. I couldn't save her. In that moment all I wanted was for death to take me.

Aron

As I was the youngest member of the Ryonan family I was forbidden from practicing unauthorized magic. I was always supervised. Apparently seventeen is too young for me to be doing magic on my own. I didn't buy it though. There must be some other reason. I just haven't found it yet.

I closed the book I was reading and got up from the chair I was sitting in.

Today's schedule:
1. Stop mother's ascension
2. Help my sister's mate
3. Save my sister
4. Perfect the potion of humanity spell
5. Study

All right Aron, it's time to get to work. I closed my eyes and visualized that there were three of me. That was easy enough to do. The minute I did that, my soul split into three different parts and three of myself materialized in front of me. My mother didn't want this ascension so I had to go back to the moment right before her memories were erased. All parts of my soul had to work in unison in order to fix everything. I gave them their orders and returned to my spot on the bed.

Mission 1: Stop the ascension

My mother was being pulled from her unconscious state. Oh no. That's bad. If she leaves now the vampire would die. I could feel my mother's pain. Her body shook violently under whatever unseen force that had seized it. She was resisting. The oracle was forcing his will on her.

"Let go of your past life! Stop fighting!"

I waited. Centuries upon centuries of memories materialized and flashed before her eyes. Now. Now was the time. Before her memories could be erased, I froze time, slowed it down until it came to a complete stop. I grabbed each memory before they could fade into nothingness and locked them away in a place only I could get to. If there are no memories, then there won't be anything to erase, leaving the ascension in a state of limbo. Mission 1 completed.

Mission 2: Help Ariana's mate

Because I had interfered with the natural order of things, the fate of my mother, sister, brother and the vampire, would be altered. The blade of fire appeared before my eyes. That meant that the previous owner had died. I look at it as a blessing in disguise. The blade of fire was the only thing right now besides my mother that could put my brother the king down for a little while.

With time running out I directed the blade of fire to its new owner hoping he would use it wisely.

Mission 3: Save my sister

I had less than a minute, less than a minute to save my sister and join all pieces of my soul together. I had less than one minute to get it right.

The scene in front of me was one I never want to see again. Watching Ariana dive into the pit of hell just to save our mother would stay with me forever but I knew I had to let it happen. I can't change it if it didn't happen.

Once it did, I held my palm out and watched the scene play out in reverse. Right before she could jump off, she fell to her knees and passed out. Her mate was beside her instantly. Sadly I couldn't stay around to see what happened next because my souls were now fighting to get back to my body in one piece and I let them.

Misson 3 completed.