"What do they mean?" Cithara asked in a whisper.
"I..." said Aja.
"For her to be Hara, we did many things just to make that wish come true. And now, we should get what we are destined to have!" the demon asked. As he turned his back towards Cithara, memories began to flash out of her mind. It was the demon that she saw at the ceremony in Everdaile.
"What is it you want?" Cithara asked bravely.
"For the eternal night that your aunt's looking for to come true!" the demon replied with no hesitation.
"Well, we're not going to agree," she replied. "Whatever you do, we're not going to agree to that!"
Azarel gestured to one of his men, and for just a quick moment, there came the scene of the two missing Derillan, including her friend Clevor. Each one had their arms and legs tied up with a magical shadow rope. Each of them also had one guard that aimed something toward their necks.
"What if I tell you that I can end the life of your friends at this moment whenever I hear a disagreeing answer?" the demon spoke.
Cithara's gazes dropped toward the innocent creatures in front of her. With the hard decisions that would soon follow, she knew she had to think fast.
"Don't agree to them, Cithara! D-Don't ag-agree!" Clevor shouted. However, every time he let out words, the shadow rope tied around his neck grew tighter and tighter.
"Cithara, help! Help us... please," Izatha begged.
It was a tough situation, but she was left with only two choices – to let her friends die but save the majority of Enchantria or to save her friends but bring doom to their world.
"All I want for you to do is to create a machinery that will merge the magic of the Sacred Gem with this magical ring," Azarel asked as he let Cithara see a golden ring with a dark-colored gem attached to it. At the time her eyes caught a glimpse of the entity, a shiver was sent down her spine.
"How did you get a magical ring?" she asked.
"I'll explain to you later, lady!" replied Azarel. "Now hurry up and build whatever that machine is. Don't you ever escape from me! I'll give you everything you need for the machine, but if you try to use them to fight against us or escape, you'll know what will happen to your beloved friends!"
"Cithara, no!!!" Clevor shouted.
As she marched towards the builder's hall, her mind was still felt with chaos, making her question a reality.
Besides her working place came a pile of wood and other materials for the job. For them to monitor her every move, one of the demons plucked his eyeball and put it at the entrance of the hall so that they had sight of her.
A machine that will merge the power of the sacred gem and the ring? she thought. Are they kidding me? That is so way off my building skills!
Even though struggling from designing the machine that she was told to do, she knew that she still needed to save her friends. Thinking about them, she remembered the other five who were stranded in the cave.
"Areia Aja!" she shouted as she looked at the watching eye. She knew that her aunt might be just listening to her through Azazel's magic. "My friends are stuck in the cave! They need help! Please send assistance to them!"
She cried and cried, but no one answered. She carried on until she finally thought of the perfect design.
For hours, she created an essence extractor that would get the remaining power of the Sacred Gem as she did with the gems she used for the arrows she invented. At the time the ring's magic was activated, she would pour the essence toward it.
"Ah! It turns out you're more clever than what I heard!" Azarel beamed as he saw the finished project. "Oh, and don't worry about your Avallon friends. I made sure that they could still come here tomorrow night."
For the other five to gain access to the sylmora tree, Azarel sent Cithara back at dawn. At the time they came to Liberia, everything was ready.
"Tonight is the night that we waited for thousands of years!" Azarel spoke as he stood behind Aja, who was readying herself for the coronation.
After a few moments, the coronation ceremony at the church was held. With the bells ringing in a cheerful harmony and the people cheering loudly, the crown was successfully given to the new Hara.
"Cithara, why do you seem so quiet?" Wil asked. "You have to be happy now that your aunt is now the queen."
Cithara's gaze turned to him, averting from the moons aligning for just a few moments from that time. "I am," she spoke with a smile on her face. Deep inside, she was crying and asking for someone's help. "I am happy for her."
Soon afterward, the crowd turned silent as Azarel marched toward Aja. Cithara knew the cue and went beside him.
"From this moment on, with the moons aligning with the planets, the world will not see the light of day again," he announced with the ring in his hand. "All of that was made possible by you and this young lady here, Cithara."
"I knew it. She'll be the one bringing us towards doom," one of the Liberians whispered. However, they could not express their emotions to Azarel and the new queen for the reason that their life would be in grave danger.
"What is going on?" Sefira asked.
"Is that... Is that a magical ring, I see?" Marivielle asked.
"This is what I feared," said Hanari. "The inevitable had come!"
With the moons and the planets being in perfect alignment, the ring began to light up. Activating it, Cithara poured the extracted essence of the sacred gem.
At the time the ring was entirely covered with the color of the purple essence, shadows began to appear from it, and that made it drop towards the ground. The shadows began to creep until finally, they covered the whole Enchantria.
Even the Mortal Realm, which was having its sunny weather, was changed into a frightful night, releasing the beasts who had long been to slumber as well.
"Well done, Cithara," Aja grinned.
"Now, me and my love, Aja, can rule the entire Three Realms and spread fear all over the lands!" said Azarel before letting out his evil laugh.
•○GLOSSARY○•
⚔️ Areia
- Elven word: Aunt
⚔️ Hara
- Liberian word: Queen