Chapter 14 – "The Warlock's Heart"
Opening Scene – The Sky Splits
The sky was burning.
Xavier and Gus were locked in a blinding storm of fire and blood, their battle lighting up the night like two suns colliding.
Below them, the ground trembled under the weight of a hundred dying demons.
Zak's pack tore through the last of the horde, Rito and Kin fighting beside them, breath ragged, weapons slick with dark ichor.
Then — a surge of light.
Everyone froze.
Blue's aura ignited.
His eyes burned bright azure, his energy pulsing violently — too powerful, too pure.
Zak stared in shock. "He's— he's flying. Without wings."
Blue's body lifted effortlessly off the ground, wind and energy swirling around him. The obsidian-silver katana hummed in his hand, reacting to his power.
In a heartbeat, he was gone — a blur of blue light racing toward the sky.
Father and Son
Xavier didn't see him coming.
Blue struck his father in the chest mid-air — not with killing force, but enough to send him crashing through a cloudburst.
Lightning flashed as Xavier spun, catching himself mid-fall, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Blue—?" he shouted.
Blue floated in the air between Xavier and Gus, his sword lowered, tears in his eyes.
"Dad… let me handle this."
Xavier's jaw tightened — but he stopped. For the first time, the rage in his eyes dimmed.
Then Gus laughed.
"Oh, this is rich," the warlock sneered, black flames circling his hands. "A civil war inside your happy little family? How adorable."
Blue's voice cracked — soft, but filled with pain.
"Enough, Gus… you've done enough. Can't you see?"
He looked up at Gus, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"You're hurting me. I thought we were friends— family. But you just keep hurting us…"
Gus's grin twisted into a snarl.
"Family? With you mutts? Never! I hate you and your kind! I want you all to burn!"
He roared and lunged — black fire erupting from his arms — but Blue barely moved.
The air around him rippled, his energy pulsing once, throwing Gus backward like a rag doll.
Blue shook his head, voice trembling.
"No… you don't mean that. I'll show you. I'll show you we're still family."
The Final Clash
Gus screamed and charged again — a streak of fire and fury — but this time Blue met him head on.
Their clash lit the sky in violent bursts of light — blue and black twisting together, exploding outward in shockwaves that cracked the ground below.
Every move Gus made was countered. Every spell he cast was broken before it could form.
Blue didn't fight with rage — he fought with heartbreak.
And that made him unstoppable.
"Stop fighting me!" Blue cried, striking again and again. "You're better than this!"
But Gus's voice broke, trembling with hatred and fear.
"I'll never stop!"
Then — a blur from below.
Kin's rune-staff struck like lightning, catching Gus across the chest and sending him spiraling out of the sky.
Breaking the Curse
Xavier caught Gus mid-fall, locking him in an unbreakable hold. The Warlock screamed, fire erupting around them, but X's grip didn't falter.
"RITO!" Xavier shouted, his voice echoing across the battlefield. "You're the only one who can stop this curse! Use your fae blood— now!"
Rito froze for a split second, eyes wide with fear.
Kin turned to her. "I'll get you there."
He took her hand and charged forward, cutting through the last of the demons — but they were too far, too slow—
Then, in a burst of blue light, Blue landed beside them.
"Hold on," he said softly — and in the next instant, the world blurred.
They reappeared beside Xavier, the air whipping violently around them. Gus thrashed in X's arms, veins burning black, his body shaking under the curse's hold.
"Now!" Xavier yelled. "Repeat after me!"
He began chanting — deep, ancient words that vibrated through the air, shaking the ground. Rito's eyes glowed green as fae light flowed from her hands.
She repeated the words, her voice trembling but growing stronger with each line.
Blue knelt beside Gus, holding his shoulders down. "Hang on, Gus! Don't give up!"
The witches' black magic began to fade, their power unraveling like smoke in the wind.
One by one, the demons around them dissolved into ash.
Gus's screams grew weaker.
The warlock crown cracked, split — and finally fell from his head, shattering on the ground.
And then — silence.
Gus went limp. The sky cleared.
The blood moon dimmed, fading into pale silver.
Aftermath
Everyone stood still, panting, trembling, covered in blood and soot.
Zak's pack gathered around, surveying the wreckage.
The battlefield was quiet — empty. The demons were gone.
Xavier released Gus, letting him fall gently to the ground.
He stared at the boy for a long moment — then turned to his son.
"You got what you wanted, kid," he said softly, voice edged with exhaustion. "But at what cost?"
Blue looked down, tears falling silently onto the dirt.
Xavier's gaze lingered — full of both pride and sorrow — then, without another word, he blurred into motion, vanishing into the forest.
Rito called out, "X— where are you going?"
He didn't answer.
Zak's eyes followed his fading trail and muttered, "He's going to find her…"
The night was finally quiet.
But nothing felt over.