Chapter 36: Final Blow

HUGO

The exhaustion of being here was overwhelming, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of disgust. Pretending everything was okay was a task in itself. I’d managed to alert a few people about the impending danger, hoping they’d spread the word.

But I wasn’t sure if everyone would heed the warning—there were always those who loved to challenge the system.

A strange sensation began to creep up my chest, and within seconds, it morphed into pain. I scanned the room for Danica, but she was nowhere in sight. However, Daisy was there.

“Where’s Danica?” I asked her.

She shrugged. “I don’t know, she was just here.”

The pain was intensifying, and I ventured deeper into Creed’s house. Eventually, I stumbled upon a room that looked like a library. Books were scattered all over the floor, and there was Danica, leaning against a window, gasping for breath.

I rushed over to her. “What’s wrong?” I asked. Her veins were bulging out, a deep blue against her pale skin. I turned her to face me, and I noticed stars appearing on her forehead and around her eyes.

Her pupils were pitch black, and veins were visible on her temples. “What happened?” I asked, cradling her face in my hands. She was burning up, her chest heaving.

“What’s going on?” Daisy walked in, echoing my thoughts.

“We need to get her out of here,” I said quickly, noticing Daisy’s horrified expression. “I need you to make sure that no one is in our way,” I instructed, supporting Danica by her waist to prevent her from collapsing.

Daisy left the room, and after a while, I began to move. The hallway was clear, and I guided Danica outside as quickly as I could. Just as we were about to leave, a male voice called out.

“Are you all right?” some guy, whose name I couldn’t recall, asked.

“Moment of weakness. It’s chronic. She’ll be fine, just needs to lie down and take her meds,” I replied, half turning toward him but keeping Danica’s back to him.

“Do you need some help?” he offered, stepping forward.

But Daisy returned just in time, taking Danica from the other side, not because she couldn’t walk, but to deter the man.

“We’ve got her!” I assured him, almost slamming the door in his face. “Can you drive?” I asked Daisy, and she nodded.

“Just drive to the forest,” I instructed. She looked like she wanted to argue, but she didn’t. I sat in the backseat with Danica. She was conscious but seemed to be in a trance.

Occasionally, she would glance around but remained silent. Her hand was gripping mine tightly, and I had no intention of letting go. Even if she broke my hand, I would sit there quietly.

Her long black hair was sprinkled with stardust and streaks of silver. She finally looked at me, her eyes filled with sadness. It seemed like she wanted to say something, to warn me, to make me understand something, but I couldn’t decipher it.

I held her face in my hands. “Danica…tell me,” I urged. She didn’t blink, but a sparkly substance trickled down her cheek, replacing the salty tears that should have been there. It was beautiful yet unsettling.

She took my hand and placed it over her heart. It was a familiar gesture, reminiscent of the time her heart had stopped beating. Now, she was showing me that her heart was alive again.

The hearts of celestial rulers stop during part of their transition to prevent them from exploding due to the overwhelming energy. They resume beating in the final stage of transition, when their hearts explode in the sky and swap places with the celestial.

Their blood turns into boiling stardust, their skin fills with silver. That’s when they become full celestial beings, when they gain power from the gods.

The explosion of stars is what kills many celestial rulers. They endure the horrific transition, but they aren’t strong enough for the final blow. This was my greatest fear.

Danica had had too little training, too little time to understand everything. And I had had too little time with her…

She turned her gaze to the road, where Daisy was driving at an alarming speed.

Suddenly, something appeared in the middle of the road, and Daisy barely managed to hit the brakes. It was Astra. She looked at Danica and walked into the forest, where a burst of light exploded.

“What’s going on?” Daisy asked, looking at us.

Danica lowered her gaze to her lap. “Transition…the final stage,” I murmured, watching as her lips pressed into a thin line.

“Should I stay here or…,” she began to ask, but I didn’t give her an answer.

I stepped out of the car, extending my hand to Danica. We ventured deep into the forest, her hand in mine, but she was eerily silent.

And I was scared out of my mind.

We stopped in a place where nothing was visible except the distant light. I turned to face her. “What are you feeling?” I asked, perhaps the one question she didn’t want to answer, but it was the one that haunted me the most.

It bothered me that I couldn’t decipher her emotions. It wasn’t my place, but I felt an odd compulsion to understand what was going on in her head.

“What happens at the final stage of transition?” she asked in a whisper. She knew this was her last transition. It was too soon, but she was aware.

And that’s why I hadn’t told her anything. I wanted to keep her hope alive for as long as possible.

“You’ll become one with the Celestials. Your body will exchange powers with the sky. It will drain you, then fill you up, making you the ruler of all celestial,” I explained, looking up at the sky. I decided to tell her everything.

She knew this wasn’t going to be easy.

“And it will hurt. A lot. It will take everything you have to endure it. It will hurt like nothing else has ever hurt you,” I confessed, cradling her face in my hands. Her eyes met mine, and it felt like a knife to my heart.

“I need you to give it everything you’ve got. You have to get through this,” I pleaded. My heart felt heavy, dragging me down.

I allowed myself to cry, not caring about anything but her. All I wanted was for her to fight.

Her voice, shaky with uncertainty, broke the silence. “I’ll try as hard as I can…but…in case I don’t make it,” she paused, swallowing hard as tears glistened on her cheeks.

“I love you, Hugo.” I never thought those words could be so painful to hear. So bitter and hurtful to hear something so beautiful.

I pulled her into a slow, gentle kiss. But her response wasn’t the same as before.

Her lips trembled against mine. I held her close to my chest.

I knew this was coming. I had been silently hoping that we could somehow avoid this.

Of all the people she could have bumped into at the park three years ago, it had to be me.

And she had to start this tragic chain of events. It was cruelly ironic.