Eternal Undying Chronicles

Malefica's heart throbbed painfully as the recoil of her triple Reload Goddess spell sent waves of agony through her body. She staggered backward, blood spewing from her mouth, her pale face contorted with shock. Her mind churned with Cassandra's cutting words, digging into the long-buried wound of her mother's death—a figure she had never known, yet whose absence haunted her existence.

Cassandra's cold gaze bore into her, unrelenting. She stepped forward, her tone dripping with venom.

"What a grave sin you have committed, Malefica. You caused your mother's death. You should be punished threefold."

Malefica's trembling hands rose instinctively as her two grimoires flapped wildly beside her. Gritting her teeth, she manipulated the space around her, summoning an invisible spatial gate. The faint shimmer of displaced air rippled, and with a swift motion, she dove through it, reappearing several meters away. Her breathing was labored, her complexion pallid, and her grip on her grimoires faltered as she struggled to regain composure.

Cassandra's icy glare followed her, unwavering.

"Running away, Malefica? Is that all you're good at?" she taunted. "Just like you ran from the coven and left it to die. What a grave sin you have committed."

Malefica's chest tightened as the weight of her guilt threatened to crush her. Cassandra's words weren't just attacks—they were daggers twisting into the deepest cracks of her soul. For a moment, her knees buckled, but she forced herself upright, refusing to yield.

"Glass Mirror!"

The incantation reverberated as Malefica's voice broke the suffocating tension. A shimmering, ornate mirror materialized in front of her, its surface glinting like liquid silver. Despite her focus being elsewhere, the mirror displayed her reflection—a tired, broken visage with fear and defiance warring in her eyes. Its glass pulsed faintly, attuned to her life force, ready to intercept any blow meant for her.

Cassandra sneered, her expression hardening.

"A substitution spell? You want the mirror to take your damage. Malefica, are you that afraid of losing? How pathetic. Not so high and mighty now, are you? Not when you're losing."

Without hesitation, Cassandra moved toward another shimmering spatial gate, vanishing into it. A breath later, she reappeared behind Malefica, her presence a cold shadow of judgment.

"You've always been a coward, Malefica. Do you know how many witches have been lost over the centuries because you refused to take your rightful place as the head of the coven? That is sloth, and sloth is a deadly sin. Should you not be punished… threefold?"

Her voice was sharp and unyielding, and the magic entwined in her words pierced Malefica's defenses like jagged thorns. The mirror, absorbing the brunt of the attack, groaned under the strain. Cracks began to form, spider-webbing across its surface until the once-pristine reflection shattered into a thousand glowing shards, scattering like fireflies into the air.

Malefica stumbled as the blow partially broke through her defenses. A streak of crimson marred her lips as she wiped her mouth and steadied herself, her eyes flickering with renewed determination. She inhaled deeply, her grimoires fluttering as she extended her hand.

"Dome of Silence!"

With a forceful wave, a translucent dome of shimmering energy encased the space around them. The world within turned eerily quiet, suffused with an oppressive stillness. No sounds could escape, no spells could echo, and even the faint hum of magic was swallowed by the silence. It was a void of noise, isolating the two combatants in a soundless, suffocating battlefield.
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Cassandra's lips curled into a knowing smirk. She began to move her mouth deliberately, her voice stolen by the silence, yet her expression conveyed her words clearly.

"You created a dome of silence so you wouldn't have to hear the bitter truth," she mouthed, her lips forming the unspoken accusation. "The truth is hard to swallow, isn't it?"

She paused, her smirk widening.

"I suppose you can't hear me now. That's fine."

Malefica watched Cassandra's lips move, her expression calm yet seething with unspoken malice. The dome of silence enveloped them, rendering the battlefield eerily quiet. The absence of sound was oppressive, pressing against Malefica's thoughts. She clenched her fists, the weight of her weakening magic gnawing at her resolve.

'I'm running out of time,' she thought grimly.

Her curse was flaring up, sapping her vitality and magical prowess. Every breath came with the faint taste of blood. Her gaze flickered to the sky where a massive trent plummeted, its gnarled form crackling with energy.

"Alicarde is doing his part," she muttered, her voice inaudible even to herself.

"I can't fail."

She exhaled shakily, her body trembling as she tried to assess her options. Most of her remaining spells were volatile, potentially lethal, and aimed to kill. But she couldn't kill Cassandra—not unless she wanted to shatter what little remained of her relationship with the coven.

Cassandra, undeterred by the silence, crouched low, her hand brushing against the scorched ground. Her lips moved, mouthing words Malefica couldn't hear. Then she slammed her palm into the earth.

A luminous white energy surged from her fingertips, and in an instant, flowers bloomed from the soil. Their pale petals unfurled in an unnatural rhythm, glowing faintly in the stillness. Like a wave, the flowers spread outward, encircling Malefica with alarming speed. Their delicate beauty belied their sinister intent.

The air shimmered with a faint aura as the magic from Cassandra's dagger drained rapidly, feeding into the flowers.

Malefica's dome of silence should have nullified any auditory attack, but these whispers bypassed the barrier entirely. They were directed at her soul, each haunting murmur slicing through her like a blade.

Malefica staggered, her vision blurring. She clutched at her head as blood trickled from her eyes, ears, and nose. The whispers clawed at her, dredging up memories and regrets she'd buried long ago.

'Focus,'

she urged herself, barely able to stand. Her lips parted, and she whispered the first syllable of her true name, hoping to anchor herself.

But Cassandra was ready.

The soul flowers pulsed with light, carrying Cassandra's voice directly to Malefica's core.

"Solitaria," Cassandra intoned, her voice resonating within the flowers. "Hear me."

Malefica's body convulsed as her true name was spoken. The air around her rippled, and the weight of her guilt bore down on her like an avalanche.

"You caused the coven's fall," Cassandra continued, her words sharp and cutting.

"You abandoned your sisters. How many lives were lost because of your cowardice? Because of your sin?"

The whispers amplified, returning every accusation threefold. Malefica screamed silently, her knees buckling beneath her. Blood poured from her wounds, pooling at her feet as her soul bore the brunt of the assault.

Her magic faltered. The shimmering gate she had conjured earlier shattered into nothingness. The dome of silence crumbled like ash, and the oppressive stillness was replaced by Cassandra's relentless voice.

The grimoires that hovered beside Malefica fell to the ground, their pages blank and lifeless.

Cassandra stood over her, her disheveled appearance doing little to diminish the triumph in her gaze.

"You can't cast anything notable now," she said coldly. "The most you can manage is basic magic. You've lost, Malefica."

Malefica coughed, blood spilling from her lips as she looked up at Cassandra. Despite her battered state, she smiled faintly.

"Tell me, Cassandra," she rasped. "Are you satisfied? Have I been punished enough for my transgressions against the coven?"

Cassandra's expression faltered for a moment, a flicker of pain crossing her features.

"No punishment will ever be enough," she admitted softly. "But it's not my place to punish you. Once they find Marian, the ritual will be complete."

Malefica's smile widened despite the blood streaking her face.

"You're right," she said weakly. "It's not your place to punish me. But this much pain... I've taken it for the coven. To show my resolve."

Cassandra frowned, her suspicion mounting.

"What are you talking about?"

"You've grown, Cassandra," Malefica murmured. "Far from the naïve young witch of yesteryear. But let me show you...my magic"

Cassandra's eyes narrowed as Malefica slowly raised her hand to the sky.

"You said I can only cast basic magic now," Malefica continued, her voice soft but steady.

"That's fine. Basic magic will be more than enough."

Cassandra opened her mouth to retort but froze as the atmosphere shifted. Above them, the sky darkened, and faint pinpricks of light began to materialize. The lights danced and twisted, forming intricate patterns that coalesced into countless magical seals.

Cassandra's eyes widened in horror as the seals began to multiply, each one bearing the runes of basic spells. But together, their combined power was anything but simple. The seals fused, birthing more complex arrays, each radiating an overwhelming aura. The sky was soon awash in a kaleidoscope of colors, the brilliance of the magic illuminating the battlefield.

"How... how is this possible?" Cassandra stammered, her voice trembling. "How can you cast that many spells at once?"

Malefica's gaze never wavered as she stood, her body weak but her spirit resolute.

"For a thousand years, I was cursed to cast only three spells a day. So I found a way to cheat the system. I learned to cast countless spells simultaneously under the guise of one. This is one of the ways I've bypassed my curse."

Cassandra's legs gave out, and she collapsed to her knees. The sheer scale of the magic unfolding above them was incomprehensible. The heavens themselves seemed to dim under the weight of Malefica's power.

"This… this shouldn't be possible," Cassandra whispered, her voice barely audible.

Malefica closed her eyes, her lips curving into a faint smile as the seals above began to descend, their combined energy building into a singular force that could reshape the battlefield—and perhaps even fate itself.