CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Lux stood now, not bothering to undergo take-over. She stood in her regular clothes, brushing off the snow, and looked up to find her father with his arms crossed standing before her.
Lux had a glow of anger in her eyes, full of a need to protect and save those important to her. Her mind, now clear, was stronger than it had been before. It was a fortress made of will completely protected by a soul with a purpose. No longer did she have to suppress her human side, now she embraced it and would use it as her greatest weapon.
"You're doing better," said Amaliel, watching Lux simply glare at him. He said it in mock tone, thinking this was her last stand before falling.
Suddenly, Lux burst forward with unmatched strength backup with a new clarity and a stronger purpose. She felt undefeatable with a new burst of energy.
She punched Amaliel straight in the face, sending him flying backward and into the snow. Her strength was greater than it had been before. This was the dawn of her new force, embracing the strength of a human and of the soul.
"Fuck," said Amaliel clutching his face where the punch had landed, he wavered for a moment in shock, "Where is this coming from?"
However, Lux was already there, no answer to be given when he stood, and she delivered a great blow from a kick to his chest sending him back even further.
"You know, I just realized something from the delirium that I failed to see before. I used to think having a soul made a person weak and vulnerable, but that is not true. Having a soul makes you weak only if you choose to believe that. However, if you think it makes you stronger, it will," she said delivering another punch, "But is that not ironic? You power can come from how you perceive your strength or weakness. It is a shame I did not realize it sooner. Our magic comes from the manipulation of the soul, but you do not have a soul to manipulate. I figure that puts you at the disadvantage."
Lux was standing over a bent down Amaliel. She grabbed his suit and threw him back again with a new kind of strength.
"But if I can manipulate my soul, I can make it invulnerable to you. I am stronger because I have a soul, not the other way around."
"You are just a fool," said Amaliel standing, "Having a soul is like putting a target on your head," he said attacking forward.
Lux merely outstretched her arms in an act of shielding. She had done this before, but now she was stronger. She was using all her soul with confidence that it truly was her strongest attribute.
It stood the test, and Amaliel hit the wall, incapable of breaking it. The force of the rebound sent him back, ricocheted from his own blasts.
"What is this?" muttered Amaliel, fallen onto his knees, slowly rising again but clearly weakened from the onslaught of great power from none other than his own daughter.
"This is what it means to be alive," yelled Lux, lunging forward. She channeled every last inch of her power, confidence, soul and determination into her two stretched forward fingers. Her eyes were fired and golden, glossed with fortitude and power to protect and snuff out this cause of pain and suffering.
Silence.
Lux was more fatigued than she thought, and when she stood, she found it hard to focus. She had just used all her magic in that one attack, so, naturally, she would be exhausted.
She stood, though, slowly and looked around. Wind was blowing lightly, her white hair following the breeze.
The fog was gone and snow was falling lightly, more peaceful than before. The sun was just rising over the mountains and bringing the soft pinks and oranges of a new morning through the light snow. It was beautiful and raw at the same time.
The blizzard had died in that time and the clouds were dispersing.
She took a moment, looking towards the sun in her haze, before realizing the absence of the fog.
She had won.
Amaliel stood before her as the stone statue form he was originally built from before her, posed in his typical stature. That with his arms crossed and his face smug, one leg crossed over the other in a relative casual pose. It was a dark stone statue with grey veins, like marble, but expertly carved, nothing any human could pull off. This was a statue fit for gods, or demons.
Lux took a second to look over the stone figure. Cold and lifeless, a stone statue come to life is exactly what a demon was like. He was created to cause suffering, but it can be reversed. She looked back onto her painful childhood and all the abuse she went through.
No tears fell from her cheeks. This was not a sad moment and she felt no ounce of sadness. Your family is not who you are related to by blood but rather those who care for you and love you and comfort you when you are sad. Family does not abuse you or torture you like some sick-minded demon.
Her family was Felix, Tertius, her guild, and her friends who gave her the love she so desperately needed even when she was broken.
And with that thought, Lux delivered a powerful kick to the center of the statue, breaking it into five pieces.
No emotion. No care. Just a purpose.
TBC