SPELLBOUND

Evie's mouth parted as her gaze were fixed on the man. Her pulse was suddenly hammering away so erratically within her chest, and her blood seemed to be rushing within her veins and she could feel her heart now aching harder than ever, since the moment she began seeing this future.

Denial hit her not only when she saw those flaming blue eyes but also in the instant when she felt that very familiar aura of darkness – so familiar that she could even identify it in her sleep. Evie could only shake her head as she kept her gaze on him while internally, she was trying to convince herself that her eyes might be deceiving her.

His face was hidden in his own darkness. The tempest of black smoke which was moving like dark snakes all around him was so incredibly strong. If 'she' was the goddess of light, then he would be the god of darkness.

As he moved closer, his darkness seemed to be pushing against the light that was coming out from 'her' without him even lifting a finger. The black fog that was surrounding him seemed to have its own consciousness and could be seen to be pushing the light back intentionally. Seeing that was giving Evie shivers that could not be suppressed.

Evie forced her gaze to look at 'herself' again. And her heart stopped when she noticed how 'her' eyes looked while aiming at him.

'Her' eyes… they were gleaming with so many emotions that Evie could not catch all of them. And the emotions were so strong that it was just so heart breaking to even look at 'her'. The extreme pain and tormented look in those amber eyes were now so vivid. So vivid and extreme that Evie's entire being began to tremble and her eyes automatically teared up and she wept… as if she was trembling and weeping for 'her'. For this queen who could no longer even seem to allow herself the privilege to shed even a single drop of tear at this crucial moment.

Time ticked by and 'she' kept 'her' stance, as if waiting for something to happen… for a sign for 'her' to take action. 'Her' eyes never once blinked and kept her gaze locked as she looked at him through her bow.

Then abruptly, without any warning, 'she' released the arrow and Evie found herself screaming out after the fact. "No!!!"

Evie's head whipped towards him and saw that the bright arrow was stopped! He had used the darkness as his shield. She did not know whether to feel relieved or dismayed at how easy 'her' arrow was caught. On one hand, she was relieved that the arrow was not powerful enough to immediately pierce through the shield and hit the person that the arrow was intended for. However, on the other hand, she was dismayed and even felt a little disappointed thinking why 'her' arrow seemed not powerful enough.

However, as Evie continued observing, the arrow was unceasingly pushing forward, slowly but surely breaking through the thick and powerful barrier that shielded him behind it.

At that moment, it was like the very essence of light and darkness itself had come to a clash. And ultimately, one of the two would be destroyed. These two powers created such an inexplicable phenomenon that all of a sudden, everything behind the arrow became bright. The darkness that had initially swallowed up the land had disappeared, as though the sun had suddenly risen in a flash and is now at its zenith position in the sky, blazing with all that it is worth.

Time seemed to come to a standstill.

The united army and the dragons who were now being completely overwhelmed by the endless numbers of monsters that kept pouring out of the abyss and were now dying, had dropped their weapons down and fallen to their knees in utter exhaustion as they looked up to their queen above them. The monsters were now starting to be incinerated by the power of the light from the sun, turning them into ashes, one after another.

Now it was as though the land had been divided into half. One half was like the day and the other half was draped by the night. And soon… everyone knew only one of the two would emerge victorious in the end. Either the light or the darkness.

The arrow of light continued pushing forward. The queen of Light's palms were now both facing forward, a powerful beam of light arising from her palms and pushing the arrow forward.

A loud battle cry arose from 'her' and her power suddenly surged and became stronger. The sun shone even brighter, and it was like she was drawing power from it.

When the darkness slightly pushed the arrow back, another cry arose from her, and her powers seemed to have erupted from within 'her'. The beam of light became larger and wider, and the arrow pushed forward even farther. Blood began to trickle from the sides of 'her' mouth, but her eyes continued to shine like the sun, bright and powerful.

Farther… and farther ahead … the arrow pierced through the darkness and as she cried out one last time, something seemed to break.

The barrier of darkness was finally pierced, and the darkness began to disperse.

But as the darkness was gradually swallowed by the light, 'she' placed her palm over her heart and flew forwards at an impossible speed.

He… his visage was now visible… the darkness enveloping him was now gone. But in the middle of his chest, was a black hole that seemed to be swirling with some dark magic.

As 'she' moved towards him as fast as an arrow, a bright light appeared over her chest. And in the next second, 'she' pulled a dagger out from it. A dagger made purely of light.

Tears fell from 'her' eyes as 'she' reached him and then... she plunged the dagger right into the dark circular thing on his chest.

He gasped out loud as blood flowed from his lips.. His eyes turned from the shocking blue into a combination of blue and grey and then he smiled as he looked at her. He lifted his hand and rested it below her ear and said, "I'm so sorry, my love…"