We find ourselves in front of an old house where the Leviathan Axe was lodged in the ground when suddenly a powerful gust of wind blew the battle axe out of the ground through a glowing door.
Through the door we find ourselves in the Boiling Isles as the Leviathan Axe flew into Ardyn's hand and the Owl House Title logo appeared.
Iki wo sutte haitara kurushii koto
Kizu ga hitotsu fueru tabi ikiteiru koto
Looking around Ardyn sees the Owl House with Hooty and King watching Eda teaching Luz magic.
TsuArdynfurusareta sonna kanshou mo itsuka kitto
Yoru ni tokete kieru
We then find ourselves at Hexide as Willow and Gus wave at them while Amity merely looks away with a small blush on her face.
"No enough" yugandatte
"No escape" machigattatte
"No fear" koroge mawatte
Susumeba iin deshou
As Eda struggles to fight off the curse she briefly fights off the feathers before we see Romani chained up against the wall before a large shadow grows.
Looking up they saw Emperor Belos glaring down at them with staff at the ready and all his coven ready to attack. Standing behind him is a shadowed figure with a demented grin on his face.
Sore wa marude shinwa no you na
Iro, katachi no jubunairu
Spinning her staff Eda creates a powerful blast blowing the guards away before Lilith leaps in and the two sisters clash making magic explode all around them. From the smoke Ardyn, Luz, Amity, Willow and Gus ran towards the top.
Summoning an ice glyph Luz makes a bridge of ice allowing Amity's abomination to charge forward ramming them away as Willow made a road of vines for Ardyn to run ahead.
Ibitsu na mama hibiwareteiru
Kono seArdyn de hitotsu kagayaku
Kirei na tsuki
Running to the top, Ardyn and Emperor Belos clashes axe and staff before the shadowed figure fires a powerful blast knocking Ardyn back.
Holding out his hand a gilded sword forms in Ardyn's hand before he thrusts his weapon clashing with Belos and the shadowed figured creating a bright light.
FATE/BOILING ISLES
Book 1
Chapter 15: Agony of Fate.
The last couple of days were… interesting to say the least.
A few days ago, it was grudgby season at Hexside, and everyone is paying attention to Willow. Since Willow and Amity have made amends, Willow has become more confident, and everyone is being nicer to her. Amity has also cut ties with Boscha and her friends, keeping her word that she would not let them bully Willow again.
Willow's newfound popularity soon begins to bug Boscha; therefore, she starts bullying her, with Ardyn, Luz, and Gus when the three defend her. Worst of all, everyone, including the teachers, let her get away with it. During grudgby season, Boscha is extra unbearable, and reasoning with her is impossible. According to Amity, the only way to get through to her is grudgby terms, so Luz challenges Boscha to a grudgby match on Willow's behalf, much to everyone's shock. Willow tries to get out of it, but the deal is set. If Willow's team wins, Boscha does not get to bully Willow again. But if Boscha's team wins, she and her friends will get to use the group as target practice. Both agree to meet at the grudgby field after school.
At the grudgby field, Luz begins training Willow and Gus with Ardyn observing them to make sure they don't go too far, and they explain to her the aim of the game: getting the ball through the hoops while dodging magic traps. Everyone keeps telling her this is not a good idea, and that Willow has never played grudgby, but due to Luz's overconfident and positive attitude, she won't listen. The training does not go well, and Luz pushes Willow and Gus too hard. After almost getting them hurt with a move called the Thorn Vault, Willow and Gus call it quits. Willow tells Luz the game is off and leaves with Gus.
Amity finds Luz with Ardyn, who's trying to help her feel better. The three of them have a heart-to-heart talk. Luz just wanted to help Willow stand up to Boscha which Ardyn can concur. Amity tells them that before Boscha, she was grudgby team captain until she left the team. The team was playing against Glandus High for the Island Championship, and at the last minute, she changed the game plan to the Thorn Vault. It went disastrously wrong, and her teammates got hurt. After that, she never played grudgby again. Amity also blushes at Luz and Ardyn who got invested in the story, signifying Amity's crush on Luz and Ardyn.
After this talk, Luz confronts Boscha on the grudgby field and tells her they forfeit and that she takes Willow's place as their target for practice. Boscha starts to attack Luz with grudgby balls without mercy. However, Ardyn decided to show up with his Leviathan Axe and cut down the flaming grudgby balls with a look that would make hell freeze over. Worried for Luz and Ardyn, Amity runs off to get help from Willow and Gus. Willow enters the scene to help out Ardyn and Luz, and re-challenges Boscha to a match. Amity also joins the team with Ardyn on the side as a backup player.
The game between Boscha's and Willow's team begins. Luz, Willow, and Amity manage to tackle everything Boscha and the field try to throw at them. The game between the two teams comes to a tie. There is time for one more play to determine the winner. Willow's team goes with the Thorn Vault, which hypothetically wins the game. However, Boscha's team officially wins by catching the Rusty Smidge which automatically declares her team the winners.
…WHICH IS COMPLETE UTTER F**CKING BULLSHIT! IF THE RUSTY SMIDGE AUTOMATICLY MAKE YOU WIN THE GAME, THEN WHY EVEN PLAY THE DAMN GAME IN FIRST PLACE! THIS IS LIKE THE F***ING GOLDEN SNITCH FROM HARRY POTTER-
… Anyway. Boscha then feels a sense of loss because her friends show new respect for Willow. They offer her a spot on their team, but she declines.
Luz, Gus, and Willow rush over to Amity, who has hurt her leg. Luz offers to carry Amity, to which she tries to shrug off, but Luz picks her up anyways. Gus then requests another montage, which involves the three of them practicing more grudgby, Gus using his magic to change the score on the board, and having tea with Eda, Romani, Musashi, King, Ardyn, and Amity, who is now sporting a leg cast.
All the while things were pretty good…However all good things must come to an end.
Emperor's Palace
We open on the Emperor's Castle, its flags bearing the sign of the Emperor's Coven. Wild Witches are being brought across the drawbridge on a paddy wagon, most hidden in shadow, the ones we do see looking resigned to their fate. Something explodes out of the castle's chimney. Lilith is watching the procession from atop the castle walls, then turns and heads inside. Lilith approaching a stained-glass window of Emperor Belos, robed witches bowing at his feet while a Hand of the Titan reaches for the sun behind them.
"I haven't forgotten what you've promised me. I will bring you my sister, Emperor Belos." Lilith said to herself.
"Then why the delay?"
Lilith eyes widened as she turns around in surprise Kikimora behind her. "Kikimora!"
"The Day of Unity is fast approaching, and other teams have bound many rogue witches to covens, and yet the Owl Lady still roams free. Are you... protecting her?" Kikimora askes with a raised brow as Lilith shook her head.
"Rest assured, Kiki. I have everything under control." Lillith said with a smile as she snaps fingers and guards approach upon command. "Today, we capture Eda, once and for all."
At the Owl House:
We find ourselves at the Owl House where we see Ardyn sleeping in bed. The alarm on his phone went off as the young Hybrid reaches out to turn the phone. Ardyn opened his tired eyes as he gave off a tired yawn. He stretched his arms to get rid of the kinks in him and notices that Luz was not in the room.
'Probably got up early.' Ardyn thought as he began to remember what happened to him last night and why he was tired.
Flashback:
After dealing with Boscha and having that little get together, Ardyn decided to take to turn in for the night first. As he begins to sleep, he entered his mindscape and arrived at Charles Patricius. When he saw that no one was there to greet him, he decided to go look for them himself. After a few minutes, he saw everyone standing on the edge of the platform, looking up at something in the sky. Ardyn followed their gaze and saw what was going on with wide eyes. He saw both Gilgamesh, the Archer-Class Servant, and Enkidu, the Lancer-Class Servant having a brawl with weapons for Gilgamesh and chains for Enkidu.
"What in the world is going on?" Ardyn asked as Charlamagne looked towards his Master with a tired grin.
"Seems that both Gilgamesh and Enkidu are having a reunion. Best you stay put." The Saber-Class Servant said. Ardyn was confused as he looked towards both Gilgamesh and Enkidu then took notices that they looked like they we're ready to unleash their strongest attack as The King of Heroes pulls out a sword unlike Ardyn has ever seen.
It has an abnormal shape that doesn't match what would normally be classified as something specialized like a sword. It is something that was born before the appearance of the concept that the world calls a "sword," so it is not something that can truly be called a sword or have the shape of any known blade. While it has a grip, handguard, and is the same length as a longsword, the section that should contain a blade, deviates from the normal form of an edged weapon. The "blade" itself and the tip of the sword, spun in a spiral shape, are dull. It has the shape of a cylindrical, drill-shaped pillar made up of three independently rotating segments engraved with crimson cuneiform lettering that spin slowly in an alternating direction like querns, the middle segment spinning clockwise and the top and bottom segments spinning counterclockwise. The drill design was modeled after bedrock excavators used to drill underwater tunnels. While it is shaped as a sword, its way of being is closer to a wand. Its three sections respectively represent the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. It exemplifies the world's way of being by having each one of them rotate in opposite directions. The "cosmos" is thus represented by matching all three of these representations. Everything together represents the universe.
Such is the way of the Sword of Rupture, Ea, one of Gilgamesh's Greatest Treasures.
"Ea! Sing praise as you like!" Gilgamesh said, causing Ardyn to look and see the Sword of Rupture began to build up energy with the cylinder-like blade spinning, causing what looked like a hurricane to build around him. Enkidu smiled at his friend, knowing what he was about to do.
"I'm happy… To compare my abilities against you like this once more." Enkidu said as energy began to surround the area he's around. Flowers began to bloom around him, glowing a golden hue. "To put it in modern terms… I'm going to go all out Gil."
"I will tell you of the beginning. Heaven and Earth split, nothingness congratulated creation, my Sword of Rupture cleaved the world!" Gilgamesh chanted as the Sword of Rupture began to build more energy as the tip of the weapon created a sphere of red energy. Lightning of red and gold strikes around the battle area from what Ardyn could see.
"I will awaken the breath of the planet, for I walk with humanity. Therefore..." Enkidu chanted as branches and vines began to surround him to form a giant tree with a lotus flow for the top.
"Mortar of the stars, heaven's hell is the eve of creation's celebration." Gilgamesh said as he finished hi chant as Ardyn felt like reality was beginning to shatter.
"Enuma Elish!" Both Servants shouted as their attacks collided, causing everyone present to cover their eyes.
End of Flashback:
'Kind of wish I knew how it ended.' Ardyn thought as he looked at his phone to look at the time. '7:08. That should be enough time for a shower,'
Ardyn placed his phone down as he grabbed a towel, his school uniform and clean underwear, then walked to the bathroom to take a shower.
A few minutes later:
Ardyn walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel while dressed in only his uniform pants, leaving him shirtless. As he placed his towel around his neck, Ardyn walked by a window where a coven guard was thrown to the ground by Hooty. The hybrid boy backtracked, and his eyes widened when he saw Hooty extended from the door fighting the coven guards like they were nothing.
"The hell?" Ardyn mumbled as he walked to the living room where Luz and Eda were watching Hooty take out the guards. "Hey, didn't know Hooty was the one to kick ass,"
Eda chuckled. "Hooty may be a thorn in my side, but he can find a way to dig into your heart," she said as Ardyn nodded before noticing a cauldron on the coffee table and walked towards it.
"Is this some kind of magic spaghetti?" he asked, reaching to touch it as Eda smacked his hand away with a spoon.
"That magic spaghetti is Witches wool. It repels powerful spells. Every witch worth their salt has a cloak made from this stuff," Eda said, picking some of it up to show the two kids.
"Cool… Can we have one?" Luz asked causing Eda to rub her neck.
"If there's enough, sure. With the Emperor's Coven at our doorstep, I need all the protection I can get. They've really stepped up their attacks lately," she said.
"I think I finally understand why the Emperor wants you so badly. He's got the hots for you," Luz said, causing Ardyn to gag and Eda gave Luz finger guns.
"But in all seriousness, Emperor Belos wants to control all wild magic through his coven system. He ordered both Anna and my capture years ago because we refused to fall in line," Eda said making Ardyn frown.
"Is that why my mom left the Boiling Isles? She's on the run from Belos?" he asked as Eda sighed at his nephew's deduction.
"Possibly. Your mom has been on Belos' list for years, but no one can track her down and since I knew about her and since I'm one of the most wanted criminals on the Boiling Isles, Belos won't stop until he has me." she said. Ardyn gained a worried look. Eda noticed and rubbed his hair affectionately.
"Hey, don't get so worried. I am a master escape artist. The only thing that's slowing me down is the curse and that hasn't bothered me for weeks!" Eda exclaimed, throwing her hands up. Unfortunately, multiple feathers sprouted out of Eda's arms, armpits, and hair.
This caused Eda to frown.
"Oh, crap." Eda said in a deadpan tone. Luz and Ardyn backed up as Eda transformed into the owl beast. Ardyn summoned the Levithan Axe and moved to protect Luz.
"King!" Luz called as King walked in with a nightcap in his head.
"What's happen-WEH!?" King exclaimed, noticing Eda.
"Elixir! Get the Elixir, now!" Ardyn exclaimed. Eda roared as she charged at the two teens. Ardyn used his axe to block Eda's attempts of biting his head off. He tripped over his feet and fell to the ground. He grunted as Eda pinned him to the ground. Ardyn used all his strength to keep Eda back.
"Luz! King! Hurry up! I can't hold her back any longer," he said as King with Romani and Musashi ran in with a bottle of the elixir.
"Ardyn!" the small demon called, throwing the elixir. Ardyn caught it and shoved it into Eda's mouth. Eda backed off and stood there with the bottle in her mouth for a few seconds before spitting it out and growling at Ardyn.
"The hell?! It didn't work?!" Romani exclaimed as King put his hands to his face.
"Oh no! It's just like before! We need more elixirs!" he exclaimed as Ardyn turned to him.
"You knew this?! Ugh, you know what? Forget it. Come on!" Ardyn said, scooping King up and grabbing Luz's wrist with Romani and Musashi following them.
They ran up the stairs with Eda chasing them. Kicking the door to Eda's room in, King ran to the closet and grabbed three more elixirs just as Eda burst through the door! Luz pulled two plant glyphs out and placed them on the ground while Romani drew a green circle in the air. Vines sprouted out of the papers and tied Eda to the ground. Eda screeched as Ardyn and Musashi grabbed the vines to keep her down.
"King, now!" Ardyn said as King threw the three elixirs into Eda's mouth only to get the same results.
"Damn it! King, grab some more!" Musashi shouted.
While this was happening in the real world, Eda is gasping, now standing in a void. Her childhood bedroom materializes out of the gloom. Her younger self is sleeping. Eda sighs sadly at her younger self. The door opens behind her, revealing a indistinct shadow. Eda looks at it with a scowl on her face.
"You know, I'm getting a little tired of this game." Eda said as she approaches the shadow, trying to grab it. "So, why don't you just show me your face?"
In the real world, Eda is now holding Luz's face as Luz holds an empty bottle of elixir to Eda's mouth.
"Hm? Phew! Thanks for that, guys," Eda mumbled with an elixir in her mouth. She pulled the bottle out of her mouth before seeing more empty bottles around her room as she stood up. "And… those," she said.
The movement, however, causes her scarf to come undone to reveal her gem, half of it still dark. "Hold up, your gem is still dark," Ardyn said as he pointed to it. Causing Eda to quickly covered it.
"No it's not! You're nuts!" she said, causing the others to look at her with a blank look on their faces. "Okay it is."
"The curse has been getting worse and you've been hiding it!" Ardyn said as Eda sighed.
"Okay, you're right. It's taking more elixir to turn me back and more magic to keep the curse from rearing its feathery head," she said,
"So, what happens if you don't have any magic left? Do you die?!" Luz asked.
"No! Man, you're morbid. I'll just be stuck as the owl beast …forever. It's a fate much worse than death, if you think about it," Eda jokes, trying to lighten the mood, causing Ardyn glared at his aunt.
"Aunt Eda, this is serious! What about what you said when Luz and I first came here? Us weirdos have to stick together, and we can't do that if you're hiding stuff from us!" he yelled. Eda walked towards him.
"Hey, everything's going to be fine. I just have to limit my magic use a little," she assured her nephew as Eda bent down to his level. "Now come on, where's that signature smile?"
Ardyn, however, shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away from her, his bangs casting a small shadow over his face. He didn't feel like smiling. Eda could go away forever, and she was making a joke of it. Eda sighed and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Hey, if it makes you feel better, we can talk about this after school," she said as Ardyn looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Promise?" he asked.
"Promise," Eda said as Ardyn looked at her one last time before hugging his aunt.
"Okay, I trust you. But no more lying. I hate when people lie to me," he said as Luz ran to join the hug followed by King.
"King wants hugs too!" he said. This made Ardyn laugh a bit as he and Luz pulled back from the hug and ran out the house.
"Have a nice day!" Eda called from the door.
"Take care of yourself! Stay safe and no magic!" Ardyn called over his shoulder as Eda shook her head and closed the door.
"Good kids, always considerate. I should give them something. And I know exactly what," Eda said, lifting the pot of witches' wool. "Hey Romani, I need you help with something."
"If it has to do something with feathers, you're on your own!" Romani shouted from his room, causing Eda to have a deadpan look on her face.
Meanwhile with Ardyn and Luz:
Luz walked to school with her hands in her pockets, thinking of anything that could help Eda.
'Maybe I could go to the library for an ancient healing spell? Or maybe I can talk to Eda's potions guy for something stronger?' Luz thought, brainstorming the situation involving Eda and her curse.
"Thinking about Eda?" Ardyn spoke up as Luz looked towards him. "I know that we need to help her but I don't know if we can do more for her.
"I know but I really want to help her. You also want to help her too, don't you?" Luz said until she and Ardyn heard something on their left side. Looking towards a blue bush, Luz and Ardyn moved the leaves aside to see Hooty and five wounded Emperor's coven members having...a tea party?
"The roughhousing was nice and all, but my favorite part of our play dates is tea time afterwards." Hooty said, holding a pot of tea with his snake like body and pouring it. The tea just spilled on the ground as one of the five wounded members tried to crawl away, but Hooty would let him. This sight made Luz move away from the bush slowly, disturbed by Hooty's "play date" before she took off running to Hexside in a panic.
'Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, SO MUCH NOPE!' Luz and Ardyn thought as they ran as fast as they could, a bit scarred from the new information they learn about the house demon. After a few minutes of running, the two teens arrived at the magic school to see a "bus" beast with steps in front of it and several students around it as Principal Bump held a clipboard. Whatever this was, it was something big.
"Is there a field trip today?" Luz asked as Ardyn shrugged as they came to a stop by their friends.
"Hey guys how's it- Woah!" Ardyn said before he stopped as he looked at Ryker who looked like he had a rough night sleep as he yawned. "What happened to you?"
Ryker looked at Ardyn with a blank look on his face. "You don't want to know." He said as the Ardyn and Luz looked at him in confusion before Emira snuck up to her boyfriend and hugs his arm into her chest. This caused Ryker to blush.
"Let's just say Ryker and I had a… 'magical'… time together the last few nights." Emira said with a coy smile as Ardyn and Luz just blushed at what she meant. Luckily, Gus came in to make sure that the two don't die from embarrassment.
"Are you guys ready for the greatest field trip of your lives?!" Gus asked.
"Yeah… but where exactly are we going?" Ardyn asked as Gus held up a book.
"We're going to the Emperor's Castle!" he exclaimed as Ardyn felt his shoulders tense as his blood ran cold and he looked at Gus with a worried look.
"We're going there today? Like today, today?" he asked as Ardyn knew this was a bad idea, especially since he's the nephew of the most wanted criminal in the Isles AND the son of a rogue witch who has been on the emperor's list for who knows how long. One mess up and Eda's getting captured in two seconds flat to come save him!
"Yes we are! Just look at all the cool stuff we'll see," Gus said, holding up a book in Luz's face.
"Like what?" Luz asked.
"Like the ancient relics of the covens," Willow said, grabbing the book and turning to a page to show a picture of a gauntlet that is tan and brown and resembles the texture and appearance of an older gardening glove. "Check it out. This is the Plants Coven's Green Thumb Gauntlet! It can grow whatever you can imagine!"
"Woah. It looks like a powerful object," Luz said as Gus took the book to point to a white sphere, like that of a pearl. It is covered by a two-headed golden snake with blue eyes.
"And that's the Oracle Coven's Oracle Sphere! It's said to reveal the path to make you your best," he said. Luz grabbed the book.
"That's a lot of power," she said, looking through the pages before stopping on one that caught her eye. It was a picture of a typical wizard-style hat. Its main color scheme is royal blue with a golden band wrapped around the cone-shaped part of the hat. It has a hand peeking out of the side of the hat which is meant to represent the logo for the Healing Coven.
"The Healing Hat, made from magic back in the savage ages. It is said to cure the deadliest diseases and heal any curse," Luz read causing Ardyn to reach over to grab the book.
'Any curse?! So, this could heal Aunt Eda's curse! Finally, some luck is on my side today,' Ardyn said in his head. He just has to sneak away from the group while they're on the trip and find where the hat is being held.
"See? You guys can miss this trip! It's a chance of a lifetime!" Willow said, thinking Ardyn was excited for the trip.
"Okay students, all board those who are going on the trip," Principal Bump called as everyone rushed onto the bus.
Ardyn walked after them as he looked at the information with a determined look. He knew the risks of going after this relic, but it was and probably is the only thing that could cure Eda.
'I'm going to have to be careful. The last thing I need is putting anyone in danger,' Ardyn said in his head as he looked at Luz who was sitting with the two other kids. 'Especially Luz. I wouldn't forgive myself if something bad happened to her because of me.'
The bus took off, the wings flapping as everyone was talking excitedly about the trip. All except Ardyn, who was quiet as he looked at the front, trying to think of how he could get the Healing Hat.
'It's going to be guarded no doubt, I don't want to use the Leviathan Axe to cause a panic, so a frontal attack isn't going to work.' Ardyn debated in his head. There was a small tug at his ear, but he ignored it. 'I guess stealth is my best bet. But how am I going to get around without getting caught?'
A hand waved in front of his face, breaking Ardyn out of his trance as he blinked and turned to see Luz looking at him with a concerned look.
"Are you okay? You looked really frustrated," she said.
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about something," he mumbled causing Luz to frown and placed her hand on top of his.
"If there's something bothering you, you can tell me." Luz said.
"Luz, I'm telling you it's nothing, I promise," Ardyn said as Luz gave him an unconvinced look but chose not to pry. Luckily, Willow jumped into the conversation.
"Look! We're almost at the castle!" she said. Ardyn looked over the bus and saw a squared-out area surrounded by large ribs with a plus shaped piece of land and the castle right in the middle.
"That's a strange place to put a castle," Ardyn mumbled.
"Maybe. Emperor Belos built it as a symbol of unity. Before he came to power, folks were doing magic all wrong. He taught us that the only way to respect what the Titan gave us, is through joining covens," Willow explained, causing Ardyn to frown slightly.
'This feels like more of a cult than anything else." he said in his head.
"Too bad Amity couldn't come, she would have loved this," Willow said.
We find ourselves at Amity's home in bed with her foot still in a cast. Her gaze turned to the poster of Lilith in a pose with a sword.
"Shut up."
"Hey, um, out of curiosity, how powerful do you think Belos is?" Ardyn asked as Willow laughed slightly.
"No offense to Eda, but the Emperor's the most skilled witch to ever live. He can even talk to the Titan," she said as the bus landed. Principal Bump stood in front of the students.
"Now, the Emperor's assistant will be your tour guide. So, please don't make me regret taking you here," he said as Ardyn pulled his hood up as he and his friends walked onto a platform that moved to the castle.
"Children of Hexside, Emperor Belos welcomes you to his castle. We're honored by visits from students. You'll soon be a part of a coven. Some lucky few might even find their home here in the mighty Emperor's Coven," Kikimora said as a few students began to murmur excitedly.
"You are the Isles' future. My job is to teach you its past," Kikimora said, leading them inside. Everyone gasped at how incredible the castle looked as they walked through.
"Today, the Isles are a place of peace and prosperity. But that wasn't always the case. Up until 50 years ago, witches and demons practiced wild magic during what we called the Savage Ages," Kikimora said as she kept walking as the students followed her.
"Witches had access to corrupt knowledge, and that dishonored the Titan," she said as Ardyn looked around the castle trying to see if there was a way to sneak from the group.
"That was until our great Emperor ascended to the throne and taught witches how to use magic properly," Kikimora said, motioning to a painting of the Emperor and a few witches. Ardyn looked at the painting with narrowed eyes. Something didn't sit right with this Belos dude.
"Our next stop is the Emperor's personal collection of relics," Kikimora said, walking down the hall. The students followed her as Kikimora opened the door to show the relics on their own pedestals.
"These items are reminders of our Great Emperor's overwhelming power. From the curious and mighty. To the very handy. And even the most valuable" Kikimora said. Ardyn looked at the Healing Hat memorizing it to its last detail. As much as he wanted to grab it now, he had to wait for the perfect opportunity.
"Ardyn, come on!" Luz called as Ardyn ran to catch up.
"In the Emperor's Coven, we require members with sophistication, elegance and grace," Just as Kikimora said that, the door slammed open to show Lilith with feathers in her hair. Lilith spat some feather out of her mouth before walking forward. Ardyn and Luz hid behind his classmates and pulled their hood over their head.
"Make way for Ms. Lilith Clawthorne, students," Kikimora said.
"Oh my gosh!"
"It's the head of the coven."
As the students mumbled among themselves, Ardyn and Luz carefully moved behind a pillar.
"And if I'm not mistaken, she's on her way to see the Emperor himself. Let's all wish her luck," Kikimora said, trying to embarrass her.
"Good luck, Ms. Lilith," the students said as Lilith blushed before taking a breath and looking at students over her shoulder.
"Thank you, students. Good luck with puberty," Lilith said as she looked over at Ardyn who pulled his hood further over his face to not make eye contact. Lilith thought nothing of it, thinking he's just shy, before walking away.
"This way students," Kikimora said as the group followed her. Except for Ardyn, who is going to follow Lilith before Luz grabbed his arm.
"Where you going?" Luz asked in confusion as Ardyn looked at her in concern.
"I need to check on something. I will try to get back before we return to Hexside." Ardyn said as Luz looked at him for a moment before nodding as she lets go, making Ardyn head to the direction where Lilith was going.
He followed her up some stairs and hid behind a corner as Lilith walked to a giant gold and red door. The raven-haired woman took a breath as she fixed herself before the door opened and she walked in. Ardyn quietly moved to the door and peeked inside the keyhole.
Inside, there were numerous guards in the room with one standing beside Belos who was sitting on the throne that was underneath a giant beating heart. He wears a golden mask with two long upward-facing horns. His eyes are hollow through the mask, creating the appearance of having empty eye sockets. He wears a large white and brown cape with gold trim over a baggy gray tunic and black pants tucked into both his golden gloves and brown boots. Standing next to him is a young man who wore an ivory-colored hooded cloak with a golden triangle clasp, like other members of the Emperor's Coven. Under the cloak was a golden-yellow tunic with darker sleeves and a dark brown belt, black leggings, dark brown gloves, and boots. He wore a golden pauldron on his left shoulder and a pointed two-faceted mask with a thin eye-slot across it. Underneath his tunic, he had a blueish-gray shirt and golden chest armor with brown straps.
Lilith kneeled before him.
"I am at your service, Emperor Belos," she said. The Emperor, now known as Belos, was breathing heavily before a guard came over with a palisman on a plate. Belos grabbed it.
"Just a moment, Lilith," he said as he carved a crack opens the palisman's neck before dumping the green essence into the eyeholes of his mask and sighing in relief.
"Ahh, much better," Belos said as his eyes glows. Ardyn backed away from the door with his hands over his mouth.
'What the fuck?! Did he just…suck the palisman's soul!? Uh-uh! Nope! That's messed up!' Ardyn exclaimed in his head, horrified by what he just saw. As much as he wanted to leave, he needed to hear what the two were going to talk about. So, he placed his ear to the door to hear the conversation that was about to begin.
"How's the hunt for the Owl Lady? I heard you attempted a raid this morning."
"Yes, but we were—"
"Unsuccessful? That was obvious enough. It's been over a month since you promised to bring me the Owl Lady. Well, where is she?" Belos said cutting her off.
"If I just had more time, I—" Lilith tried to explain.
"I'm getting bored of your excuses, Lilith." Belos said stopping her from explaining herself. "Don't worry, I'll give you the time you need. Bring the Owl Lady to me by tomorrow. Your sister will join the Emperor's Coven and in return, I'll heal her little curse. Also, I would like for you to bring Ardyn Bronwyn Pierce here as well."
"What do you need the young hybrid for my liege?" Lilith asked as Belos chuckled.
"Let's just say one of my… associates would like to speak with him about something that belonged to Anna Bronwyn. However, if you fail..." Belos said as from what Ardyn could hear it sounded like he gauntlets nails dig deep into his throne, the heart above the throne beats faster. "You will be stripped of your rank and banished from my coven. You do know what happens to covenless witches, don't you?"
"I… I understand. I will not fail." Lilith said her voice filled with concern. Her footsteps can be heard as Ardyn got out of there before she left the throne room. He ran down the hall. He needed to grab that hat and get out of here to warn Eda and Luz, ASAP!
Back at the Owl House:
Eda was sitting on the living room couch knitting a navy-blue cloak while a purple one rested on the table.
"Yeah. I have a feeling Ardyn and Luz are going to love these cloaks," she said.
"Kind of surprised that you wanted to do something nice for them." Romani said as King blinked and looked at them in confusion.
"Cloaks? I thought you were making a cake?" King asked as Eda and Romani looked at him with an incredulous look.
"You thought we were knitting a cake?" she asked as King scratched his head.
"I…Anyway, if there's no cake, then I have to get to work. Would you look at us being all generous to those kids? When they first got here, I thought we were going to eat them or something," King said, running to the kitchen. Crashing noises were heard from the kitchen as a picture fell to the ground. Eda walked over to pick it up. It was a picture of Ardyn, Luz, and Amity during Grom.
"They definitely changed the feel of this house. Luz always had a good heart but was impatient and bit off more than she could chew. And Ardyn? I'm going to be honest, the kid had a few trust issues which made sense with what his parent's origins are and his short temper and stubbornness would get him in trouble but despite that, I think he's finally growing up. They both are," Eda said.
"Glad you see it that way, Eda." Romani said with a small smile on his face as Musashi came in with a box of party supplies.
"I heard from King that wanted to bake a cake so how about we give them a party." Musashi said as the two witches smiled at the Servant and nodded. This caused the Samurai Woman to smile as she begins to put up some decorations.
Back with Ardyn:
Ardyn was hiding behind a curtain as he tried to calm his racing heart. What had he just witnessed? After catching his breath, he peeked out the window. He saw his class boarding the bus leaving the castle. The tour must've been over and now they were leaving with… him behind them? Ardyn squinted as he got a closer look and saw himself with Luz, Willow, Gus and walking off the bridge.
"How in the-?"
"Ardyn," a voice from behind him said. Ardyn yelped and turned to see Luz, Willow, and Gus behind him. The younger boy was trying to focus on four illusion circles.
"Guys…" Ardyn said as Willow folded her arms.
"You were planning to steal the Healing Hat, weren't you?" she asked.
"I…" the hybrid boy said as Luz gave him a glare. Ardyn flinched slightly at his crush's look.
"And don't try and lie," Luz said as Ardyn sighed.
"Yes, but hear me out. You know that Aunt Eda has this curse and it's zapping away her magic and if we don't find a cure, she's going to turn into an owl beast forever," he said as Willow shook her head.
"Ardyn, by all means you cannot steal that relic," she said. Ardyn opened his mouth to protest but Gus stopped him stepping.
"But… you can borrow it," he said, causing Ardyn blinked.
"...Say what now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as Luz punched her crush in the arm.
"You really think we were going to let you do this by yourself? I told you before if one of us goes down, we're all going down," she said as Ardyn looked at his crush and friends before smiling.
"Thanks guys. We're getting that hat and I know how we're going to do it. It's time for a heist," Ardyn said, smirking. From there, Willow, Luz, Ardyn, and Gus sneak through the halls when they see a guard coming down the stairs. They duck behind a small bush, which Willow grows into the shape of a unicorn. The guard stops, nudges its horn, and continues on. The three run off; Another guard is standing in a hallway. The four notice them and come out of a door stacked together awkwardly under one uniform. Luz, at the front, waves, high-fives the guard, and finger-guns as they retreat. The guard is very confused; Luz looks at the vent as she draws out a fire glyph and melts the vent; they reach yet another hallway, where Gus illusions up a double of Kikimora to send a guard off. Once the guard leaves, the illusion Kikimora does the worm. Gus laughs, oblivious to Luz and Willow's confused looks and Ardyn's deadpan look. Soon enough, they arrived at the relic room. Ardyn walked over to where the Healing hat was. Very carefully, Ardyn grabbed the hat. He looked around and nothing happened. Ardyn sighed in relief as the hat glowed with magic.
"Woah. I can feel the magic," he said.
"Same here," Gus said. Ardyn turned to see Gus and Willow using the Oracle orb and the Green Thumb Gauntlet. Luz shook her head.
"Put those back, guys. We can't leave any evidence that we were here," she said as Ardyn nodded.
"Yeah, let's get this hat to Eda and get out of here before anyone notices," he said.
The four teens froze when a voice rang through their ears.
"That is cleaver thinking... but it's too late for you, Hybrid."
'Oh crap. It's Belos.' Ardyn said in his head as he recognizes the voice, causing him to back up as Luz grabbed his sleeve.
"We've got to go, now," Luz said. They turned to run to the door but stopped when iron doors covered the exits.
"Shit!" Ardyn said as he handed the hat to Luz and stepped forward.
"What are you doing?" Luz asked.
"Knocking this door down," Ardyn answered as he focuses his magic into his arm with power glyphs as he punches at the door, making a giant hole in the metal for escape. "Yes! Come on! I doubt the guards didn't hear that, let's get out of here, "
"Not so fast," a voice said as Ardyn turned to see a white raven pointed at his face. The staff reached upwards to pull his hood down, showing his blond hair and pointy ears. Ardyn backed up as he joined his friends. "Hello…nephew. Aren't I lucky to find you here?"
"I don't know what that's supposed to mean but if you lay one hand on me or Luz, Eda will take you out. But if you lay a hand on Luz or any of our friends, I'll take you out," Ardyn warned as he glared at her, causing Lilith to give a small laugh.
"You? Take me out? What could you possibly do to me?" she asked, smirking. Before she could react, Ardyn summons out his Leviathan Axe and smacked her in the face with his axe's handle. Lilith staggered back, holding her nose. She looked towards Ardyn who was in a fighting stance, holding his weapon in his right hand while the other was outstretched, magic surging from his palm. Lilith growled and teleported towards him. Ardyn put his axe up and blocked her attack.
"Ardyn!" his friends shouted as he turned to them.
"Get out of here! Get the hat to Eda!" He shouted.
"I am not leaving you!" Luz shouted.
"I'll be fine just go! Now!" Ardyn said. Luz hesitated before she and her friends ran off. Lilith noticed and pushed Ardyn down. The hybrid boy grunted as he fell to the ground as Ardyn turned to see Lilith rushing towards the others.
"Guys, watch out!" he cried out as Willow used the plant gauntlet to summon a tree arm and attempted to grab Lilith's staff. Lilith easily knocked Willow away, sending her to the ground.
"Ahhhh!" Gus shouted as he and his clone charged at Lilith with some swords they found. However, Lilith dodged their attacks before knocking them away. Ardyn looked towards Luz.
"Luz run! Now!" he shouted as Luz turned to run but the hat was grabbed by a magic hand made from blue fire.
"Now, human, that doesn't belong to you," Lilith said as Luz grunted as she tried to pull the hat back before losing her grip and falling to the ground. The hat fell to the ground before erupting in flames much to Luz and Ardyn's horror.
"No! That was supposed to heal your sister!" Luz shouted, causing Lilith to scoffed.
"Hmph. These decrepit relics are useless," she said, stepping towards Luz. Before she could get any closer, Ardyn jumped on Lilith's back from behind and use the Leviathan's Axe handle around her neck to keep her from reaching towards Luz.
"Get away from her!" he shouted as Lilith grunted as she tried to get Ardyn off her. She managed to grab Ardyn by his arms and pinned them behind his back before creating a sphere of blue magic around him.
"Let me go!" he shouted, trying to break free. Lilith then turned towards Luz who was helping her friends up. She uses her magic to trap Luz in a sphere before bringing her to Ardyn.
"Listen, children, if you want to see your friends again, send this message to Edalyn," she said, tossing her staff. The staff picked the two kids up and took them out of the castle.
"Ardyn! Luz!" Willow and Gus shouted as Ardyn & Luz looked at Lilith with a glare.
Lilith gave them a smirk.
Eda was finally finished with Ardyn's cloak. She smiled as she folded it and placed it beside Luz's as the door opened.
"I spy with my little eye something coming this way," Hooty said, causing Eda to smile as King came in with a giant cake.
"Can you help me climb inside?" he asked as Eda shook her head and walked over to help. Once King was inside the cake, a knock on the door was heard. Eda walked over to opened it only to be greeted with the scared and worried looks of Luz's and Ardyn's friends. And there was no sign of either with them.
"Where's Luz and Ardyn?" Eda asked.
"Lilith has them. We were trying to get a healing hat to cure you and we were ambushed by Lilith and now both are being held captive," Willow said as tears filled her eyes as Eda looked behind them to see Lilith's staff floating off the ground. She clenched her fist.
"You kids get home. Your parents must be worried," she told the kids who nodded and headed for home. Eda turned to Romani and Musashi who walked in.
"What's going on Eda?" Musashi asked as Eda heads out the door.
"Trouble. Stay here until I get back." she said as the two looked at each other before nodding. As much as they want to help her with her endeavor, they knew someone must hold the fort down. So, they nodded as Eda calls out Owlbert and flew off. Romani waited for a few moments before he turned Musashi.
"I'm going to follow her. She will be surrounded by Coven Guards when she arrives. Stay here and make sure no one from the Emperors Coven comes here to claim the house." Romani said as he summons his palisman staff and took off after Eda. After a few moments while he flew in the air, he lost track of Eda as he looks around but couldn't find her. "Damnit! Where did she go?!"
"Oh, just head toward the Emperor's Castle. She'll be there to get her students." A young echo-like voice spoke up.
"Oh thanks. That's really-" Romani started but stops as he now just realizes that someone was behind him. Turning around slowly, his eyes widened in surprise at who was. "Oh no…"
"Hi~"
Standing in the bridge of the castle, Lilith was waiting for her sister as the entire Emperor's Coven watched from various windows and perches on the castle. News of her new plan spread, using the Owl Lady's apprentices to draw her out and beat in a Witches Duel like she did at the Covention. Only this time, she would have nowhere to run as she could be surrounded.
"Come on, Edalyn. You know you have no choice, so why must you be late?" Lilith said to herself as she looked up, seeing Belos having the highest seat to watch the duel. Suddenly a bright flash of lightning struck as Eda appears, floating in the air with her staff in hand and a glare on towards Lilith!
'Perfect timing.' Lilith thought as she smirks.
That is until Eda throws Lilith's staff, missing her head by a few inches as it crashes into the castle wall as a crater! Lilith look to herself before refocusing on her angry sister.
"Edalyn! So glad you accepted my invitation for a Witches Duel." Lilith said before Eda fired several blasts around her! Eda charged at Lilith, coated in yellow lightning as she sped around her sister, firing multiple blasts at Lilith as the coven witch summoned a shield to block one blast! Quickly summoning her staff from the wall, Lilith fired back as Eda knocked the blast away!
"Where are they?!" Eda demands as fly towards Lilith.
"Calm yourself, sister!" Lilith said, holding her left hand out as Eda came to a haunt in the air before her. "Your students are fine, I guaranteed it."
With a spin and a tap of her staff, Luz and Ardyn was brought out to the opening in a blue magic bubble!
"Eda!" Luz said, hands on the bubble and banging on it! "No!"
"You can have them back, provided you accept my demands." Lilith said as she walked in front of Luz. "Turn yourself in and join the Emperor's Coven! He can heal your curse if you just submit to his order."
Eda growled at her sister, not just for the ridiculous demands but for imprisoning her students like an animal!
"You really must be an idiot to listen to that bonehead! He doesn't want to recruit me or heal me! He wants to control me!" Eda said to her!
"Then I shall take you in by force!" Lilith said as she spins her staff at the ready!
"You know, Lily, you always looked down on me because I was a wild witch." Eda said as she lands on the bridge. "But unfortunately for you, that just made me work harder than you!"
Spinning her staff, Eda summoned a large owl of pure magic as she was shadowed with glowing eyes before charging at Lilith! Eda knocked her into the air as the coven members watched from inside. Lilith stopped herself as appears Eda appears behind her. Lilith quickly disappears to dodge Eda's swing and reappears behind Eda, who disappears again to kick Lilith away and chase after her! From inside the magic bubble, Luz and Ardyn was forced watch as Eda and Lilith zipped across the sky as golden and blue lights!
'We have to get out of here! Eda's using up too much magic and if she doesn't stop, she'll turn again!' Luz thought as she prepared to use her glyphs, only to feel nothing as Luz noticed THEY WERE GONE! 'My glyphs! Where- LILITH! She must've taken them before putting me in this damn bubble!'
Ardyn had the same idea, but Lilith took his Levithan Axe so that he couldn't escape so easily. Also, he couldn't use magic without the chance of hurting Luz in the process. With their options of escape becoming less and less, Luz and Ardyn looked back to the sky battle and saw Lilith firing a magic beam at them!
"Shit!" Ardyn cursed as the bubble rolled down the bridge, to the edge of the right side!
"Kids!" Eda shouted as she charges to save them! Eda used the boards of the bridge to roll Luz and Ardyn back to her original spot before Lilith forced herself between them, almost crushing Eda! Eda retaliated by using her staff to create 3 Hooty golems and tie Lilith up!
"This ends now!" Eda shouted as she spun her staff, gathering giant amounts of magic and held it in front of her to fire a giant beam at Lilith! Lilith gasped at the sight and quickly moved the bubble in front of her, using it and the kids as a shield!
"Aaaah!" Luz and Ardyn screamed at the beam!
"No!" Eda shouted as she quickly redirected the beam, making it blast into the castle wall! "Lilith, you coward! Stopping using them as a shield!"
Both witches were exhausted, using large amounts of magic in such a short amount of time. Both sweaty and out of breath as Lilith freed herself from the Hooty golems.
"It appears you are slowing down, sister. Tell me, is it that dreadful curse or are you just getting older than I am?" Lilith asked with a smirk. Eda growled at Lilith again, the darkness of her gem growing as Luz gasped at the sight!
"No! Eda, stop! Your magic will run out! Eda!" Luz said through the bubble, banging it with her fists but it muffled the sound.
"Damnit she cant hear us!" Ardyn said he tried to punch the bubble with everything he's got, but thanks to using a lot of magic to destroy the relic room door, he couldn't do much in magic.
"Maybe the curse is slowing me down but isn't that pathetic for you? To not be able to beat at my worst?!" Eda shouted as she summoned a large spell circle, breaking it in to 11 different ones and firing a barrage of magic blasts! Lilith moved Luz out of the way and made a shield for herself, protecting her from the blasts, while Luz was rolled further back on the bridge. Luz looked around for anything to help before seeing a pointed rock right next to the bubble!
"Bingo!" Luz said as she and Ardyn began moving the bubble to it! "Ardyn!"
"Right behind you!" Ardyn said as he followed suit with Luz's idea of getting out.
"So, what if you are stronger than me?! I grew to work harder, become smarter and craftier!" Lilith said as she kneeled behind her shield, trying to remain strong.
"And that landed you a job as a lapdog for a tyrant!" Eda replied as she continued her attacks! Luz and Ardyn rolled to the rock and made it shatter, freeing them as they quickly stood up!
"Eda! You need to stop!" Luz shouted to her, but she was ignored.
"Eda! Your magic!" Ardyn shouted as well but like Luz, he was ignored.
"You always thought you were better than me, thought that I could never beat you!" Lilith replied as her shield began to crack!
"I AM BETTER THAN YOU!" Eda shouted at her! Lilith was reaching her limit, growing angry at her sister with every reminder of how Eda outshined her all the time. Becoming so angry that she revealed something that shocked her sister, the hybrid, and the human to their cores!
"THEN WHY WERE YOU SO EASY TO CURSE?!" Lilith shouted before gasping, quickly covering her mouth! Luz and Eda gapped at the witch, ceasing the magic attacks as Eda remembered the night she was cursed! Only this time, instead of a dark figure, it was her sister in their youth!
"You did it?! You cursed Eda?!" Ardyn said in shock, anger, and disgust! "How could you curse your own family?!"
"I-I-I know! But if you just let me explain." Lilith said, reaching out to Eda. Too bad Eda didn't want to listen, growing more furious than before!
"RAAAAAAAHHHH!" Eda screamed as she charged at Lilith sand shattered her shield and knocking her into a wall to form a crater! Luz came out of her emotional state and ran to Eda, still worried about her!
"Eda! You can stop! We need to leave before your magic runs out!" Luz warned her, seeing the gem growing blacker by the second! Lilith rose from the ground, seeing Luz run to Eda and hearing the information she screamed. Smirking, Lilith coated Luz in blue magic and made her halt mid run!
"What the!" Luz said, looking back to Lilith.
"You should've stayed in the bubble, human. It was more to keep you safe than imprisoned." Lilith said as she threw Luz of the side of the bridge!
"Aaah!" Luz screamed as Eda came out of her rage! She saw her apprentice falling and knew she was more important than her rage towards Lilith!
"Luz!" Eda said, drawing an unstable spell circle and catching her, though she was struggling to hold her.
"LUZ!" Ardyn shouted as he uses what's left of his magic to conjure vines to help Eda out with getting Luz out of there.
"Wait! Eda no! You don't have much magic left!" Luz said, floating above a pit of spiked rocks!
"I know, kid but I get to choose what to do with my magic." Eda said through her teeth, still struggling as her magic sparked in her hand. "And until you came, all I ever did was waste it on myself."
Floating into the air, Lilith smiled evilly as she waved her staff and coated her hand in blue magic. Suddenly, a large projection of her hand appeared in front of Luz and pushed her down further!
"No! No! Stop!" Luz shouted at her! The gem on Eda's chest was bubbling, the blackness of the curse almost consuming it as Eda looked at it and back to Luz and Ardyn.
"Okay, Luz, Ardyn, listen to me. I'm going to go away for a while but I'm not sure if I'm going to come back, alright?" Eda said as her eyes slowly began to blacken. "Promise me you'll watch over King and feed Hooty for me. Make sure Romani knows what happen and he'll figure this out."
"Don't! Eda, please...don't." Luz said as tears began to pool in her eyes.
"EDA, DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT!" Ardyn shouted.
"Luz. Ardyn. Thank you so much...for coming into my life." Eda said, falling to a knee. Clenching her hand, Eda released a burst of magic while screaming as Owlbert flew to save Luz, blinding Lilith and the Emperor's Coven! The girl was lifted back to the bridge and ran to Eda as she laid on her back with Ardyn nearby!
"Eda! Talk to me, please!" Luz said to her as Eda rolled to Luz.
"Aaah!" She suddenly screams in pain before opening her eyes, revealing nothing back darkness, and roaring to the sky! "Rooooooh!"
Luz and Ardyn quickly moved away as Eda transformed, becoming the owl beast again as she stalked towards Luz, Ardyn, and Owlbert. This caused the young hybrid to summon his Levithan Axe, ready to fight her again.
'No, Eda! No!' Luz thought, backing away in fear until Eda was suddenly pulled back! Luz looked to see Lilith had landed on the bridge and holding her staff to Eda, using magic restraints to keep her contained.
"There, there sister. It's alright. The healing can finally begin." She said with a smile, looking up to see Belos give her a nod before he left the scene.
'Excellent work, Lilith.' Belos thought.
Meanwhile with Ardyn, the hybrid kept staring at Lilith as she smiled with pride. How could she be smiling after what she did?! After almost killing Luz?! The young man grits his teeth, almost trying to break them as hot tears fell from her eyes!
"You...you...YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Ardyn screamed, charging at Lilith! Lilith turned to see Ardyn swinging his weapon towards Lilith. Her eyes widen as she saw the blade of the Leviathan Axe was about to end her life. However, before the axe could reach its target, Ardyn was suddenly shocked by red lightning!
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Ardyn shouted in intense pain as he soon passed out from the attack while his body was surrounded by a red sphere, holding him in place.
"Getting a little rusty there Lilith?" A voice spoke up as the group turned to see someone approaching them. It was the masked teenager wearing a golden mask as he walking towards them with two spheres with two individuals inside their respective sphere. Luz's eyes widen as she notices who the two were.
"ROMANI! RYKER!" Luz said as she saw Romani and Ryker were knocked out, more than likely same thing happened to them as what happened to Ardyn.
"I was handling the situation." Lilith said as she looked towards the other two who were knocked out. "And why are they here?"
"Emperor's orders. While you were handling the Owl Lady and Hybrid, I was sent to retrieve both Archaman and the other Hybrid." The mask teenager said with a shrug. Meanwhile with Luz, the human kept staring at Lilith in shock. How could she okay with this after what she did?! After almost killing her, cursing Eda, and hurting her friends?! Hurtling Ardyn?! The human girl grit her teeth, almost trying to break them as hot tears fell from her eyes!
"You monster!" Luz said as she charged at the Head of the Emperor's Coven. Lilith turned to the human and saw Luz jumped on her back and tries to drag her down. This caused the Golden Guard to chuckle at the sight of his senior being handled by a smaller girl.
'The human is persistent.' Lilith thought before grabbing Luz by her cowl!
"Enough, human! Leave this place." Lilith said, carrying Luz to the front of the bridge and throwing her to the ground. Reaching out, Lilith grabbed Owlbert as Luz got it her feet.
"Put him down!" Luz demanded, still glaring and crying at Lilith.
"No. This palisman belongs to Edalyn, who is with me. Her real family." Lilith said, tapping the bridge with her staff to make it retract to the castle. "Take my advice and go back to your world, this one belongs to us."
Smiling on last time, Lilith watched as the human grew small in the distance before the coven doors shut. It was over, Lilith had finally captured Edalyn with the Golden Guard hauling the unconscious Ardyn, Romani, and Ryker into the castle and Luz...
She lost in a way like she never felt before in her life.
The walk back to the owl house was silent, the only sound was Luz's footsteps as she made it back to her home in this realm. When she arrived she saw Musashi coming up to check on her but she was silent as she saw that the others are not back with her. Hooty had just awoken from a nap and saw his human friend approaching.
"Oh Luz, you're finally home." He said to her, but Luz didn't reply as she opened the door with Musashi following her. "Luz?"
Looking inside the owl house, Luz found only darkness before finding a celebration set up in the den? Balloons and streamers hung up, party hats are on the couches, and confetti scattered on the floor. There were two things that were folded with bows wrapped around each on the table while next to a large, strawberry cake that had burned out candles. Suddenly, King burst out from the cake and took deep breaths of air with his arms up.
"Surprise! I was the cake!" He said before noticing the mood, Luz just standing near the door; Eda, Romani and Ardyn was nowhere in sight. "Hey, where's Eda, Romani, and Ardyn?"
Luz didn't reply to him as she walked towards the wrapped presents, slowly opening one of them to reveal a purple cloak/cape with a hood and a tag attached to it.
'To a young witch from her proud mentor.
- EDA' it read.
Luz stared at the tag for a few moments, slowly beginning to shake as she slid to her knees.
"Damn it...damn it." Luz mumbled, curling her hands around the cloak before she dropped it on the floor.
"Luz?" King asked as Hooty stretched over to them.
"DAMN IT!" Luz screamed as suddenly banged on the coffee table with her fists, crying in rage and sorrow as she repeatedly bashed the table! "RAAAAAAAAAH!"
"LUZ!" Musashi said as she ran over to the girl and held her from hurting herself further. Hooty and King were shocked, backing away from Luz as she continued to struggle and scream for about 5 minutes until she slowly stopped. Her screams of rage became cries of sorrow was she placed her head on Musashi's shoulder and cried!
'Eda... Romani… Ryker… Ardyn.' Luz thought as King and Hooty went to comfort her as well. This lose, it was nearly soul crushing. How could Luz, how could ANYONE, recover from this?
Recover from absolute defeat?
To Be Continued...