"W-wait! Say that again!" Musa cried out, distressed, after the other fairies had informed her.
"Dakeria has... stolen our souls?" Aisha asked.
"How is that even possible?!" Stella exclaimed.
Bloom raised her hands to calm everyone down while Tecna steered the spaceship from Magix back to Alfea.
"We're not entirely sure. But Arcadia and Faragonda believe that Dakeria might be a death fairy who offers souls to her dark deity."
"Arcadia? You were in the Golden Kingdom?" Aisha asked.
"That was our only lead. Arcadia once banished the death fairies from this world, but they must have found a way back. They may have even spread to other worlds," Tecna explained, typing energetically on the control panel.
"Incredible..." was all Musa could say. The worry was evident on her face. Worry... and fear.
It had been a shock. For all of them. The Winx had faced overpowering enemies before, but never had a mere demonstration of power almost caused them to lose a member of their group. Even Stella, who usually seemed so confident, looked intimidated and thoughtful as she gazed out the window.
Amber glanced at the fairies. She didn't dare explore their thoughts. Perhaps the wound was still too fresh. The fear of losing more of their group, just like Nabu...
The cold tightened around her throat. Dakeria felt almost at home in the Omega Dimension. Except her home wasn't littered with electronic junk and frozen criminals.
The icy wind made her thoughts drift... Val'garath. The kingdom of warriors in the northwest...
She remembered the mountain range that circled the capital in the valley. The bridges that led from the peaks to the fortress on the mountain in the center of the city. The king's fortress... The deep forests and rocky beaches... The battlefields she had led her troops onto...
She shook her head. It wasn't the time to dwell on memories. She had to focus on her goal and continued on her way.
She quickly found the three wizards.
Or at least what was left of them.
It looked like they had been frozen and then fallen from a great height. The ice was shattered. Just like their frozen bodies. They must have been lying here for a while.
Dakeria sighed.
Such a waste...
A cracking sound caught her attention.
Out of the corner of her eye, she recognized an ambush – a group of criminals who had freed themselves from their icy prison. They were cloaked and wore masks to protect their faces from the cold. Five men with makeshift machetes made from scrap metal. And these fools still believed their little ambush had gone unnoticed.
Perfect.
Dakeria spun around and aimed her hand at the group... A greenish thread of arcane energy connected their bodies to Dakeria's hand.
The men slowly withered.
Dakeria's magic seemed to drain the life from them.
Their bodies collapsed.
Dead.
Dakeria's eyes glowed green.
She turned back to the shattered remains of the wizards of the Black Circle.
The life energy she had gathered, she now directed at the wizards.
Slowly, very slowly, their bodies began to regenerate.
Dakeria stepped closer to one of them, a pale man with long, blood-red hair.
His soul was still there... Intact.
Fascinating.
Normally, the soul of a dead person should leave this world. But in this one, there seemed to be boundless hatred, combined with a desire for revenge, a striving for power... His pure will kept his soul trapped in his refused to accept death...
Not bad.
Dakeria turned away from him and observed his companions.
One of them, a man with harsh features and long blond hair covered by a wide-brimmed hat, seemed to have regenerated. Why wasn't he waking up...?
Dakeria smiled coldly. So that's how it is...
She felt herself being grabbed.
"Who are you?" a voice hissed in her ear.
The other men, who had pretended to be asleep, stood up and eyed her suspiciously.
"... A successful distraction... And solid teamwork. I respect that," she said calmly.
Her eyes began to glow, and the man who had grabbed her so swiftly suddenly let out a pained scream and released her.
His hand was burnt black.
His dark eyes glared at her angrily.
The blond man took a fighting stance, but the red-haired man, who seemed to be the leader, signaled him to hold back. That must be Ogron. He studied her first and then the dead around her.
"I don't intend to fight you..." Dakeria remarked coolly.
"Then what do you want from us?" the blond man growled.
"Calm down, Gantlos."
"But Ogron-!"
Ogron gave him a look that immediately silenced him. However, it didn't stop Gantlos from glaring darkly at Dakeria.
"I didn't revive you just to kill you again," Dakeria said calmly.
"Why not? What do you want from us?" asked the man who had grabbed her earlier. He had dark skin and even darker hair and wore a coat made of blue-gray fabric.
"Killing is a waste. What good is it to cause my victim physical pain when I can torment the soul for eternity?" Dakeria said to him, then continued, "You have information about the so-called Winx fairies. You have already fought them. Would you do it again?"
"-But...!"
"Calm down, Anagan," Ogron said and then turned to Dakeria. "What do you hope to gain from this?"
"The soul of the Dragon Flame fairy. Bloom."
"We don't have any powers anymore...!" Anagan said.
Ogron gave him a look that immediately silenced him.
"That's not your concern. Help me, and I will grant you new powers. All you have to do is swear loyalty to me," Dakeria said.
"Why don't you just extract the information you need from our souls?" Gantlos growled.
Dakeria smiled. Apparently, she liked the question. "Simply because there's a huge difference between theoretical information and actual combat experience. Moreover... this is the price Duman demanded to fight for me."
"Duman is alive?"
"Indeed. So... You have a choice. Fight for me and avenge your last defeat... Or stay here and live your empty existence without magic. The choice is yours."
A cruel choice. She knew that. Of course, they could refuse, but then this woman would simply kill them and take their souls. They had no choice but to follow her.
Ogron stepped forward and shook the offered hand.
Immediately, he felt stronger... even stronger than before. He felt like he could capture the Earth fairies single-handedly.
Dakeria looked him in the eyes and smiled coldly.
She knew how he felt. She would exploit it shamelessly. But for now...
Dakeria opened a portal: "Step through. I have something else to do..."
Meanwhile, the Winx had arrived in sight of the school seemed to lift the fairies' gloomy thoughts a bit.
As they walked down the ramp onto the campus and saw the many young fairies, the mood instantly improved.
"Hey, look!" Aisha said, pointing at the soap bubble butterflies a young fairy had conjured.
"Yeah, I see it! Fashion by Amaury Ducè. Summer collection from three years ago!" Stella said, eyeing the fairy critically. "But THAT top with THAT skirt?"
The fairies giggled.
Suddenly, something in Bloom's bag lit up. Arcadia's casket!
"Go on, open it," Tecna said when she saw Bloom hesitate, "It must be important."
"You're right..." Bloom said and snapped the little golden casket open.
A hologram of Arcadia appeared.
"Your Majesty..." Bloom said.
"Hello, Winx..." Arcadia began, but was interrupted by the grumpy voice of Griselda:"What is going on here, girls?!"
She froze when she saw Arcadia's face in the hologram.
"Don't worry, Miss Griselda."
The Teacher of discipline adjusted her triangular glasses and tucked her maple under her arm: "Well, I'm sure Director Faragonda will want to participate in this meeting."
"I was about to suggest that," Arcadia's hologram said.
"Good, then we'll go to her office. Come on, girls!" Bloom said, beckoning the others to follow her.
Together, they made their way to the director's office.