The Void can go and kiss my ass. It won’t make a zombie out of me.
I’m a fighter, and I will rid the world of darkness.
“That’s it. Keep going. Don’t stop,”Vita encourages.
Even though it feels as if I am wading through a pit of tar, I don’t stop. Even though all the air has left my lungs, and the cold seeps into my veins, I go on.
The light at the end of the tunnel? Is it a myth? Well, even so, I will create light.
Fuck misery and despair. I’m going to seize my happiness.
I’ll never give up.
With a loud battle cry, I lift my sword in a wide arc and slit it through the Void. It tears through the darkness, creating a rip in time and space, and light burns my eyes.
It’s blinding, but I keep tearing at the darkness, and the Void shakes around me. It dissolves and then with a final slash, I finally chase it away.
Light explodes everywhere, but I don’t look away. I keep my eyes peeled forward, and I can’t believe it.
Beyond the Void there is light, and it’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
Vita speaks to me once again.“See? What did I say? Remember, darkness is temporary. But if you give it power, it will only consume you. I know it’s easier said than done, but that was why I chose you, Belle. I knew you would be the one to lead the world to light.”
I smile as grass spreads beneath my feet. Flowers sprout up everywhere, and now I gaze across an endless field of green. The sky is dazzling, and the sun shining, and what is this place?
Heaven?
I hear voices next, peering around.
I’m not the only soul here. There are other humans, like me, ones who must have given in to the Void. They look as if they all just woke from hibernation as they get to their feet, and judging by some of their outdated clothes, some of them have been here centuries.
I spy a World War I soldier, and a woman wearing a dress from the 1800s. There are several people from my era too, and every single one of them looks at me in wonder.
I freed them from the Void. And now they regard me like I’m some hero, and maybe I can save humanity from the darkness.
I will find the light at the end of the tunnel.
Chapter eighteen
Enzo
Bellereturnedfromherlastest challenge triumphant, and I have never been more proud to call her my mate.
Maybe being banished was a blessing in disguise because it led us straight to Belle in the end. I can’t even imagine my life without her now, and she truly will be the one to save us.
It even looks as if she conquered my little brother, and I’m proud of Nero. Finally, he has learned to move on and find happiness again.
But I don’t think he has anything to worry about with this one. Belle is not quite like other humans, and now that she possesses the Sword of Vitality, it will grant her immortality.
Now we will never have to bear the pain of losing her to old age.
I don’t even think Belle is aware of the power that lives inside her. It was there all along. From the day she came to our castle, preparing to sacrifice herself for her village, and from the day she returned to us and broke the spell, the sword just amplified it.
She truly is the noblest being who ever lived, and I would quite happily bow down to her and call her my queen. Sheisour queen, and it’s about time my uncle got knocked down a few pegs.
He has ruled for far too long, and it is time for a new era. An era of Belle.
We all felt it the moment she shattered the Void. Where there was once darkness, now there is light. Not only did she save herself in the process, but she rescued the other humans who had been trapped there for centuries too, and the way they all regarded her as if she was a queen, no, agoddess,touched me.