Arcane Order's Adopted Son

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: IN UNION

"I don't believe this, I don't believe this," Jim said, pacing back and forth. "You woke us up at 11 at night so we could hear out our enemy-"

"She's not my enemy, she's my mother," I said.

Jim turned to me. Everyone was awake now. The Trollhunters, the aliens, everyone. They all looked tired, so I wanted to keep this short. I didn't want to annoy them any more than they already were.

"Alright, here me out. I'll try to get you all to bed quickly, but this is important." Everyone looked at me like they didn't care or believe a word I had said or was going to say. "You all are probably thinking that there is no threat, since the Genesis Seals are in the ocean, but recently there is a new villain."

"Uh..." Toby said. "Can't we just, you know, take a break?! For what? Like five minutes?"

"Aridam..." Bellroc said. "You must definitely have never heard of him, but now that he's back, you will have had to."

"What does Aridam have to do with us?" Claire asked.

"You thought we were the only ones who wanted to destroy the world?" Bellroc asked.

"He's going to destroy the world?!" Toby groaned.

"Aridam hated all life. Why? We have no clue. But his deep dislike for all things breathing made him seek out the Genesis Seals."

"He's going to kill all life," Jim said, eyes going wide.

"For worse," Claire added.

"Wait...Bell, where's the rest of the Order?" Zoe asked.

"They're at Mount Rainier—no, they're at Mount Rainier. I shouldn't have left them there! Come on, Douxie!"

"I'll go with you!" Zoe added.

Bellroc grabbed my hand, and I held hers and Zoe's and the three of us teleported back to Mount Rainier. We teleported to the mouth of the cave. Bellroc hit the ground.

"No, Bell, Mom!" I shouted, bending down to help her.

"I'm alright," she said, struggling to stand up.

"No, you're not fine. You need help."

"W-what's wrong with her?" Zoe asked.

"She's weak. She's been using a lot of magic."

"I'm fine, Hisirdoux. I need you to check on the others for me." She tried to stand up but fell on her knees.

"Zoe, stay with her," I ordered.

Zoe nodded and leaned Bell up against a wall. I ran inside, clutching my staff, adrenaline pumping through me. When I entered the living room, my heart fell. Everything was a mess. Some candles were still floating while some were slowly melting, turning into a puddle of colored wax on the floor. The huge glass window had shattered. I was careful while stepping over the glass. There were large spikes of ice and snowflakes crawling in the corners of the room. Shrinking vines were everywhere. A single burning flower fell from the ceiling into the open palm of my hand.

"Nari..." I said sadly.

I continued walking, but then I noticed the glass had a distinct pattern. It appeared to be in the shape of the letter 'Y'. Then the letter 'W'. I could've sworn I saw an 'I'. I backed up to see if it spelled out into a message...it did. 'YOU CAN'T WIN.' Aridam...he's back.

"Nari!" I shouted, hoping someone would answer. "Nari?!"

I went down the hallway. It looked even worse. The doors were gone. The portals in the walls were slowly beginning to fade away like Bellroc's strength. There were more falling flowers and helicopter seeds. The hallways were very cold and dark. The temperature seemed to continue to drop like the deep ocean. I looked into Skrael's room, calling his name. His bed had been flipped over. There was a downpour coming from the ceiling. The glass jars on the shelves were shaking. I checked Nari's room. All of the plants were dead. No life. Even Nari's little mushroom pillow had been reduced to ashes. I checked Phoenix's room. The waterfall was melting into an acidic puddle. The ice was slowly losing its color. Her bed curtains had been torn off.