And those who are called the Fallen will never rise again.
**Redemption—Ghostwriter**
Two thousand years ago as the Fallen One had spoken of, their world Velmoria had experienced a cathartic destruction that led to the extinction of many species leaving only three peculiar species behind—Humans, Witches, and Vampires.
The so-called cathartic destruction had been made possible by Seven Men who took to the dark side, and currently, one of said men who was supposed to be trapped behind the Forbidden Boundary now stood before all of them.
Even though it was impossible, Ember could see the shadow of a dark smile that tugged at his lips, hidden by the darkness his hood provided. A dark smile that promised destruction as his fingers conjured up ruins on them in the form of a black light.
But her mother, who had been taken by surprise at first, was no longer stunned. Having recovered herself, Ember watched as Valata AshFall handed over her newborn daughter to an elder witch of the coven.
And with a mere flick of her fingers, she conjured a shield thick enough to ward off the next blow from the Fallen One that came almost immediately.
The shield cracked in the middle as the black light was hurled, but otherwise it remained as firm as its conjurer.
"Who dares intrude on the territory of the Azure Witches?!" Her mother gritted, the authority in her voice causing the fire in the fireplace to blaze even brighter as if answering to the command of their master.
Yet again, Ember saw the shadow of an evil smile tugged on the Fallen One's lips. He was unafraid even though he stood before a Supreme Witch, and the reason behind such confidence was muddy but there was one undeniable fact that worked against them.
Her mother, Valata AshFall, no matter how strong, had just endured hours of prolonged labour and blood loss. Ember reckoned her mother's power had depleted to a dangerous twenty percent, but even at that, there was no doubt that the woman could handle the situation.
Her mother reinforced the shield, the crack disappearing while the Fallen One answered in a voice that echoed over the Palace and their desolate surroundings.
"I, Rashel, the Fifth Fallen One from the Fifth Gates of Hell have come to serve punishment on the council of Seven Witches that aided in putting up the boundary two thousand years ago. It's only fair that I start with the Azure Witches, seeing as your ancestors led the movement."
"It's impossible for you to be here," Her mother commented under her breath while she held the shield higher. Her surprise was understandable because the man that stood before them made no sense. It was like watching a horror nightmare—only sung of in history books—come to life.
"So you're Rashel; the gluttonous one?" Her mother said as a form of distraction, using another hand to discreetly conjure an offensive spell while she still maintained the shield with one hand.
If it was just the Fifth Fallen One, then handling Rashel would be quite easy for her mother. Yet Ember couldn't shrug off the feeling that something was wrong.
She had long begun to crawl to Warrior Veta to do the thing her mother couldn't possibly do in her current condition. "Veta," she whispered to the Battle Rank Witch, "you must leave and inform the six other Covens that form the witch council."
Veta frowned. "We can handle one man; fallen one or not." Veta said stubbornly, her chin set squarely.
"It's not just about him being the Fallen One!" Ember whisper-gritted, groaning from the pain of her fractured shoulder, "if the gates have been truly breached after two thousand years of standing unbreakable, then rest assured what has caused it is something we can't possibly imagine."
Ember's mind went to the Fallen God and his bloodied state. Nothing was supposed to have touched him, yet something had. Could it have anything to do with the monstrosity before them? Did he encounter Rashel too? Or perhaps something even worse than Rashel?
And if there was anything the Fallen Ones were good at, then it was channeling. She imagined if this thing, Rashel, could channel such a great amount of monsters that must have escaped the fifth gate as well, then what would be left of the Azure Witches would only be ashes.
Her mother's power would buy them sometime, but they had to be smart in using that time….
Bam! Came a loud clang that caused Ember to whip her face to Veta who was just about to retreat from the room. It was already way too late for Veta's head exploded right before her eyes, splattering blood on Ember's stunned face.
The air seemed to still in the wake of the realization that her mother's shield had been easily shattered the way one would drop glass, and for the fun of it, Rashel had killed Veta who was just about to sneak out of the room.
It was barely one second—it happened so fast.
Her mother realized one too late the same thing that Ember had realised. "He's Grand Channeling. Every other witch should leave the room for the safe room! Battle Witches surround me!"
The Battle Witches among them surrounded Valata while the remaining witches bolted from the door in the cacophony of commotion that now stuck in the air. Yet Ember couldn't move her legs, her face still soaked in Veta's blood that was still warm on her face.
She watched helplessly as her mother spread her hands, drawing from invisible threads of fire that formed a runic language in order to cast an impactful spell.
Eyes shut, she muttered a spell so powerful it shook Ember's core.
Meanwhile, the Battle Witches, just five of them, set into a formation around her, creating a more powerful shield with their combined strengths.
The goal was to buy her mother some time as complex Runic spells that required careful drawing and writing with threads of power took time. It was like weaving a cloth; only this time by a skilled expert.
But no matter how skilled and fast in drawing Runes her mother was, in the face of the immense power that Rashel seemed to possess, she seemed to be even slower.
Like lightning, Rashel's power zoomed over the five Battle Witches and their shields, ruthlessly taking them down the same way he had taken Veta down.