Watching The Second Coming Of Satella

Chapter 1: Greetings From The Empress Of Nothing

Chapter 1: Greetings From The Empress Of Nothing

Hello dear readers! Let me state before you all read into this new project.

I'm writing this story with my friend AWZ. So I have full permission to make a react fic for her story. I've been wanting to get Evil Emilia to interact in Watching Him Die for a long time, and AWZ was gracious enough to not only allow me to use the Second Coming of Satella but to also help edit the chapters for quality's sake.

Now, this reacts fic can join Hopeful Reunion and Dragon's Candidate with the WHDAAA canon collection that I'm making.

Love you guys. Enjoy.

The portal spat Jack out violently, his body tumbling through the air before crashing onto the damp, unforgiving ground. Pain lanced through him as he struggled to pull himself up to his hands and knees, each ragged breath sending a stabbing agony through his battered chest. His once pristine goggles were smeared with blood and grime, handing askew on his face. The dark fabric of his hood, designed to shield him from the harsh elements, lay tattered and singed.

Tears mingled with the dirt and blood on his cheeks as he forced himself to stand on trembling legs, a choked sob escaping his throat. Behind him, a deafening roar shook the cracked earth beneath his feet. Heart pounding, he cast a desperate glance over his shoulder, his eyes widening in horror at the scene of utter devastation that greeted him.

The once majestic forest was a hellish landscape, with ancient trees reduced to charred splitters and drifting ash. Towering flames painted the sky an orange-red, their hungry tongues licking at the clouds. And at the center of it all, the dragon—a living nightmare of glistening scales and molten fury, its maw belching forth an inferno that devoured everything in its path.

Yet the dragon was not the only terror that stalked him. To his right, a different kind of horror crept forth, born not of fire but shadow. The Witch lingered at the edge of the forest, her form cloaked in writhing tendrils of inky black mist. It poured from her outstretched hands like a tide of liquid death, smothering all life it touched. What vibrant trees were left, withered in an instant, their leaves curling and their trunks crumbling to dust under the relentless onslaught. The mist advanced with chilling purpose—an inexorable wall of oblivion.

Jack's heart seized in his chest, primal instinct screaming at him to flee. He lurched forward, each step an agonizing battle against his battered body. The searing heat of the dragon's breath scorched his back while the Witch's deathly mist nipped at his heels. Darkness encroached on the edges of his vision but he pushed onward, knowing to stop was to die.

He reached the edge of the clearing, where the forest began again, this time untouched by fire or dark magic.

The untouched forest beckoned ahead. Mighty trees stood proud and tall, their leaves rustling gently as if urging him onward to safety. With a final burst of desperate energy, he plunged into their sheltering embrace.

The roar of the dragon and the deadly hiss of the mist faded behind him, muffled by dense foliage, but he dared not slow. He ran until his lungs burned and his muscles screamed, heedless of the branches that tore at his clothes and skin. Finally, he could go no further. Collapsing against a broad trunk, he gulped air in great, shuddering, greedy gasps, his body shaking uncontrollably.

"Fuck... Wh-Where are this world's protectors?! Why haven't any of them come forward yet?!"

His head spun as he tried to process what had happened. Blinking away the frozen tears that clung to his lashes, he forced himself to focus on his unexpected savior.