novelraw Chapter 311: _Waters Of Fate
Chapter 311: _Waters Of Fate
Aurora’s POV
*****
Her ears rang, a sharp, unbearable headache hitting her skull. Her eyes flickered open, hazy from her moment of unconsciousness.
That’s if it could be defined as a "moment". She didn’t know how long she had been knocked out—but she thought death was what awaited her next.
Apparently, it wasn’t.
When her eyes opened fully, she saw a vast chamber. Of crystals. Pure, untainted crystal mirrors, coated every inch of the chamber around her. From the floors. To the ceiling and walls.
Nothing else was in the vast space, and light refracted from each individual crystal piece. Ensuring there wasn’t even a spot of darkness.
"H–Hello?!" Aurora shouted, gritting her teeth as memories flooded her. It didn’t help with the skull-splitting headache, but she didn’t have a choice.
She remembered it all.
Lucian tells her to come back to Lunaria. She and Seraphyne get attacked by modified Umbra beasts on the way. Those Umbra beasts merged into one super being that absolutely wrecked her and Sera.
... Sera.
A chill ran down her spine when she recalled how her mate was slammed into a tree by the beast. The image of blood spilling down Seraphyne’s lips flashed in her mind, making her legs wobble.
Her chest tightened, but just when she took a step forward... Chains rattled. A burning pain coiled her wrists, seeping into her bones and forcing her awareness to sharpen.
She was chained to the wall behind her. Silver chains clung to her wrists, suspending them above her head. Her legs were weak from all the standing, but all she could do was step back and lean against the wall.
"You’re finally awake, child." A familiar silvery voice suddenly echoed through the chamber in a scattered cacophony.
Jolting, she squinted, trying to hide the spike in her heartbeat. About five meters away from her, a figure materialised. One she recognised despite never seeing her in real life.
"A–Amara?" Aurora stuttered, blinking erratically. "I... What do you want with me? Why am I—"
"One question at a time, princess." Amara spread out her arms, grabbing her hood. She lowered it, revealing a kind smile. Or one of a chameleon good at blending in. "Or you can wait until you get the answers yourself."
Taking slow steps forward, the witch continued with a sigh. "I apologize for my... Unorthodox method of bringing you here. But you wouldn’t have come if I sent a letter for tea time, would you?"
The Princess sneered. "You’re psychotic! You’ve been haunting my dreams all these nights and now—"
"Haunting?" Amara interrupted again with a snigger, finally getting a few feet in front of her. "Oh, no. Trust me, darling... When I ’haunt’, you’d barely be coherent enough to recall the tale." She grinned, stretching her right hand forward.
Aurora flinched, closing her eyes and looking away.
"Tsk... Relax." Came Amara’s amused scoff as she grabbed a few strands of the princess’s hair. Then... She clutched her necklace, ripping it off her neck in one pull. "Pathetic. I can already feel them trying to track you through this."
Feeling the sudden emptiness on her chest, Aurora whipped her head back to her. Without thinking, she lunged, trying to grab the necklace back.
"Argh!" The silver chains burned, so hot that she could smell her skin melting. "Give... Give it back."
Amara ignored her, speaking almost absentmindedly. "Tracking you while you’re here would be an impossible task. This is my chamber of prophecy—a pocket dimension sitting between the boundaries of time, fate and destiny."
Pausing for a beat, Amara lowered the hand holding the necklace. She didn’t destroy it or hide it away. Just kept it lingering in sight, as if to spite Aurora even more.
Well, it was working.
"All this talk and you still haven’t told me what the fuck you want with me." Aurora didn’t miss a word. "You haven’t been haunting my dreams? Then what the fuck would you call it? Tell me!"
Her scream tore through the silence, making the ground tremble. So much so that even she was taken aback, gawking at the mirrored surfaces with confusion.
What in the—
"Those ’dreams’ were your mirror into the waters of fate." Amara blurted, tone sharp. "True divination on autopilot. Except I had to give your visions a little... Push."
Just then, Aurora remembered something the witch told her in her visions. About the women in the Stormborn bloodline having the dormant gift of prophecy.
So... That wasn’t a load of horse crap?
"You can’t feel it, can you?" Amara walked closer until she was only a step away. "The shifts in the waters of fate. Each one is more turbulent than the last."
Waters of fate?
Aurora stared into her crimson eyes like she’d lost her mind. Maybe she has. Or maybe she had knowledge so vast it seemed like madness.
"Again..." Amara sighed, raising her right hand. "You’ll understand in due time. Your true purpose in the grand scheme of things. For now, all you need to do is bear witness..." Without warning, she shot her hand forward, pressing her thumb between the Princess’s eyes.
The latter gasped, head thrown back as darkness clouded her vision within seconds. A soul-chilling cold gripped her, heavy and real.
"... Bear witness and observe. Help me find a possible future that’ll lead to my absolute victory." Amara laughed darkly, pressing her thumb harder on Aurora’s forehead.
In a blink, the darkness was replaced by multiple images flashing past her in quick succession. Images that made fear coil deep into her chest.
First, she saw Lucian. Her brother sat in the Lunarian throne room, face scarred and colder than anything she’s ever seen. His eyes were dead. Like he’d lost everything and was no longer afraid to lose his life.
Then the scene melted away like wax, shifting into a scene where a boundless desert sprang with fields of lush greenery. The Dark Lands.
Another flickered, showing the Lunarian palace collapsing, its once majestic spires falling to the courtyard like dust. Above, the moon cracked, eventually splitting in half.
"Yes..." Amara’s voice whispered in her mind. "More. Show... Me... More..."
At this point, Aurora’s emotions surged like a wave. Tears stung her eyes, her teeth gnashed with rage. She screamed, struggling to keep her sanity with all the image flashes.
These weren’t scattered scenes of one possible future.
No.
Each was from a different possible future, hitting her with the emotions and experiences of everyone in these timelines.
Soon, the scenes stopped at one. In this one, Elian levitated above all of Evaros, arms spread like a god bringing salvation. His eyes burned bright silver like twin stars—until he raised his hand.
A clench of his fist was all it took to make the continent bleed. Cities crumbled into sinkholes. Armies were decimated. Meteors fell from the sky like rain, until all that was left was a wasteland.
Then, through the destruction—
—Elian’s eyes locked on Aurora. Those cold, void-like eyes.
Terror shot through her soul.
That... That wasn’t Elian. It couldn’t be.
He—
The scene shattered like a broken mirror, bringing her back to reality. She let out a shallow gasp, lowering her head and stumbling until she hit the wall behind her hard.
Meanwhile, Amara took a couple of steps back, too. There was a problem.
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the pocket space, making it hard for Aurora to keep her footing.
Amara glanced back, trailing her eyes on the walls and ceiling. Runes flashed across the walls, ancient and screaming like siren alarms.
"That’s... Impossible." Amara’s voice dripped with shock.
As for Aurora, she felt an energy surge. A familiar one that equally felt purer. More pronounced and domineering. And oddly reminded her of her father.
"L–Lucian?"
Another explosion hit, this one sounding much closer. Cracks spread through the crystal ceiling, sending a rush of relief and fear through Aurora.
This power—