Celestial Guardians: Uniting Dimensions (Celestial Guardians Series, #1)

Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Kevin's POV

The clash of light and darkness tore through the air, but something about this fight gnawed at me, a whisper in the back of my mind I couldn't ignore. My breath came in shallow gasps as I stared at Sofia—this version of her. Her every move was precise and calculated, but there was a hesitation in her strikes, a glimmer of something that didn't belong to the Sofia we had known and fought before.

The Destroyer killed her. We saw it with our own eyes. So how could she be standing here, wielding dark energy like it was second nature?

I gritted my teeth, frustration boiling in my chest. "Who are you?" I demanded, stepping forward. "You're not the Sofia we knew. Are you?"

Her lips curled into a cold smile. "Perceptive, aren't you, Kevin? No, I'm not your Sofia. I come from a different earth and a different timeline. One where the Destroyer never touched me, and I mastered powers you couldn't begin to understand."

A different timeline? My mind reeled, the implications crashing over me like a wave. If she wasn't the same Sofia, then we were fighting someone who carried the knowledge of a life we couldn't predict.

Nel and Jamaica exchanged a glance, their confusion mirroring my own. But there wasn't time for questions. She launched another attack, dark tendrils of energy snaking through the air toward us. Nel blocked one strike with his blade while Jamaica's arrows cut through the others, leaving streaks of celestial light in their wake.

I stood frozen, watching the battle unfold in front of me. Without the artifact, I was nothing more than an ordinary human—a liability in a fight that required powers I no longer possessed.

"Kevin, move!" Nel shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts as a burst of dark energy shot toward me. I barely rolled out of the way in time, the ground behind me exploding in a shower of dirt and debris.

I scrambled to my feet, frustration clawing at my chest. I couldn't keep standing on the sidelines while my friends risked everything. But what could I do without my powers?

Then I remembered.

The Celestial Mother's words echoed in my mind, as clear as if she were standing beside me: Your true power lies not in the artifact but in the purity of your heart.

It wasn't about the artifact. It never had been.

I closed my eyes, blocking out the chaos around me. I reached deep within myself, searching for the spark that had always been there—the unwavering belief that no matter how dark things became, there was always light to be found.

And then I felt it.

A warmth spread through my chest, growing stronger with each heartbeat. It was like a dam breaking, power flooding through me in waves that left me breathless.

When I opened my eyes, Nel and Jamaica had stopped fighting, their faces frozen in shock.

"Kevin?" Jamaica whispered, her voice barely audible over the crackling energy surrounding me.

I looked down at my hands, glowing with a soft, blue light. My wings stretched behind me, firmer and brighter than before. The heavenly water arrow appeared in my grasp, its ethereal glow pulsing with raw energy.

For the first time since losing the artifact, I felt whole.

"You're back," Nel said, his voice tinged with awe.

"Not just back," I replied, stepping forward. "Stronger."

Sofia hesitated, her confident smirk faltering as she took in my transformation. "Impossible," she hissed. "You lost the artifact. You're nothing without it."