Chapter 198: Bleeding Into Reality
A piercing scream tore from Aliana’s lips the moment her memories forced her to witness the final horror.
Jacob’s body, completely engulfed in shadows before...
She saw her own hand slowly lift in front of her, and then...
Splatter!
All she saw was a gruesome spray of blood and tiny fragments of flesh flying through the air until everything was swallowed by darkness.
Aliana’s eyes remained clamped shut, a violent tremor racking her frame as the brutal truth of that night finally broke through the surface.
Shock was a word far too small to describe the sheer trauma devastating her mind.
She was so consumed by those resurfacing memories that she didn’t even realise that, while she kept her face buried against Gavriel’s chest, the same shadowy darkness that had engulfed Jacob was now swirling violently around the two of them, as though it were bleeding out of her memories and manifesting into reality.
Gavriel, who held Aliana’s trembling form tightly against his own, was overcome by a crushing sense of helplessness.
No matter what he did or said, he couldn’t stop whatever she was reliving.
The moment her scream tore through the room, it felt as though an invisible hand had gripped his heart with panic, and then he felt it.
Raw powers were beginning to radiate from her body.
Gavriel’s eyes caught the dark powers that were leaking from Aliana’s body. It coiled around the two of them, growing more violent with every passing second until everything around them started to tremble. Objects were being swept into the shadowy vortex that was rapidly taking on an increasingly terrifying form.
"Ana! Get a hold of yourself!" Gavriel’s voice rose with panic as his grip around her tightened, but there was no response.
Instead, he felt her body burning even hotter.
He quickly pulled back and cupped her cheeks, only to watch her tightly shut eyes suddenly snap open, revealing irises that glowed a terrifying blood red before rolling back.
And in that moment...Gavriel knew that she was slipping away. That she was losing control.
Ivan and Evelyn, who had remained on their feet watching everything unfold, felt their own divine powers instinctively stir within them because what stood before them was the unmistakable manifestation of dark power.
The very darkness they had spent their lives fighting.
Yet instead of feeling the urge to attack her, an instinct to help Aliana rose within them.
The lights began to flicker erratically around the room, and Evelyn stepped forward to intervene, but Ivan caught her arm before she could get any closer to the couple.
Snapping her golden eyes to meet Ivan’s molten orange ones, she urged, "Let go, Ivan. I need to help her."
But Ivan’s expression remained firm.
"You can’t help her, Eve. The moment your divine powers come into contact with hers, you’ll end up doing far more harm than good."
Distress and guilt were plainly written across Evelyn’s face. She couldn’t help feeling responsible for saying the very words that had triggered something inside Aliana, pushing the situation to the point where it had spiralled so horribly out of control.
"Then what do we do?" Evelyn asked urgently, her voice laced with worry. "We have to do something before things get even worse!"
Ivan clenched his jaw before shifting his gaze back to Gavriel, who continued desperately calling out to Aliana.
"Gavriel, we can’t touch her. You have to use your own powers to bring hers under control before it’s too late."
Gavriel glared at the two of them and sneered, "Have you lost your mind? It will harm her."
He turned his attention back to Aliana, who released another distressed whimper, her hands crushing the fabric of his shirt as she clung to him.
"Do you truly think so?" Ivan replied, his voice dead serious. "As far as I can see, the nature of her power is no different from yours. You need to connect your energy with hers, because her senses are completely unresponsive to her surroundings right now."
Gavriel’s eyes flashed to dangerous red as he glared at Ivan once again. "She is a human."
"How can you possibly still say she is human when she is displaying such terrifying power?" Ivan shot back, giving Gavriel an incredulous look.
Evelyn, who had silently watched the exchange until now, finally stepped in.
"She may display the physical signs of being human, but I can sense it. She is far more than that, and whatever has been suppressed inside her, for whatever reason, will destroy her if you do not let go of your stubborn beliefs and help her!"
When Gavriel’s lethal gaze shifted to the woman responsible for this chaos, Eve pushed on without fear.
"Don’t you want to protect her?" she asked, her voice calm yet piercing. "Or are you willing to let her die because of your own stubbornness?"
Evelyn’s words were harsh, but they cut deeper than Gavriel cared to admit.
The mere thought of losing Aliana sent a violent shockwave through his own emotions. The dark powers he had been desperately suppressing because of her close proximity began to fracture
But as he helplessly held her, something stirred deep within his soul.
A sudden, phantom image of himself holding a lifeless body surfaced in his mind, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared, leaving his hands trembling.
Ba-dum! Gavriel’s heart skipped a beat at the image.
"Ugh!" Just then, Aliana cried out in agony as her head fell back, her skin flushing a deep crimson while veins stood out beneath the delicate skin of her neck under the immense strain.
At the same time, the darkness swirling around them exploded with even greater intensity, rapidly spreading throughout the room and forcing Ivan and Evelyn to instinctively step back.
Ivan snapped Gavriel out of his stupor. "Do it now! You need to physically connect with her! Make her feel your presence with your power and try to calm her down. We will form a barrier so that her power does not leak out any further to destroy this place."
Gavriel’s jaw clenched tightly before he sneered in a low, chilling voice at Ivan, "If my powers harm her instead of helping her, I promise you even your God will not be able to save you two from me."
They scowled at his threat, but Gavriel already shifted his full attention back to Aliana.
Leaning closer, he rested his forehead gently against hers before closing his eyes, desperately trying to rein in the storm of emotions raging inside him.
"Come back to me, Aliana," he whispered softly.
When he opened his eyes again, they had turned the same deep blood red as hers.
His gaze drifted to her tightly sealed lips before he closed the remaining distance between them, capturing them in a gentle yet desperate kiss.
Without wasting another second, Evelyn raised her hand, and a radiant golden dome blossomed around the couple, sealing them within its protective barrier while waiting and hoping it would work.