TBATE: CAERA | VALKYRIE ASCENSION

Chapter 13: Awakening-(3)

SERIS VITRA'S POV:

"Caera!" I shouted, panic lacing my voice. She was in my arms, trembling violently, her agonized screams echoing through the room. I tightened my hold, desperately stroking her back in an attempt to comfort her, but it was no use—she didn't respond at all, her cries only growing more pained.

"Caera, please, look at me!" I called out, my voice growing more frantic. But there was no sign of recognition in her wide, fear-stricken eyes.

It didn't take much to understand what was happening. After all, I'd endured this same torment myself. But Caera's awakening... it was too soon. I knew she carried more Vritra blood than most—nearly 40%—an amount even greater than Cadell's. But still... this timing was completely unexpected.

Her screams reached a new crescendo, sharp and agonizing, when I suddenly felt something warm and wet on my hand—blood. I froze, watching in horror as her head twisted at an unnatural angle, and two obsidian-black horns, slick with fresh blood, erupted from her skull. The horns split and extended in three directions—forward, upwards, and backwards—sharp and menacing.

A surge of mana fluctuated around her, and before I could even react, an ominous black energy engulfed her entire body, swirling chaotically like a living storm. The force of it slammed into me, pushing me backward.

"Caera!" I called out again, struggling to keep my voice steady, but the black energy only intensified, its presence suffocating and unyielding. My heart pounded wildly as I watched, helpless, while she was lifted off the ground, suspended several feet in the air by the swirling dark energy.

"Caera, are you okay?" I tried again, my voice barely a whisper against the roar of power surrounding her. But she didn't respond—couldn't respond—as the energy surrounded her completely, leaving me rooted to the spot, a horrible sense of powerlessness seeping into my very bones.

"Lady Nezera, what's going on?" Nessa's voice broke through the chaos, breathless and filled with alarm as she sprinted towards me. But I couldn't tear my gaze away from Caera's form, still cocooned in the swirling black energy.

I wanted to respond, to explain somehow, but no words came out. All I could do was watch in mute horror as the dark energy swirled and crackled around her like a ravenous storm. Nessa's eyes widened in shock as she realized who was trapped within the dark vortex.

"Caera...?" she whispered disbelief and fear mingling in her voice. But the words hung in the air, swallowed by the overwhelming power surrounding Caera's body.

The scene was terrifying—unnatural. The sheer potency of the energy  was enough to make me draw a large portion of my mana to resist the pressure. Just when it felt like the suffocating pressure would crush us, the black energy began to wane, retracting into itself. Caera's body slowly floated down, descending back towards the ground.

"Nessa, hold on!" I shouted, forcing myself to move. Reinforcing my body with mana, I launched myself towards Caera the instant she was low enough, catching her before she collapsed. Nessa was right behind me, her eyes still wide with shock as she hovered anxiously at my side.

I checked Caera's condition as quickly as I could. "She's unconscious... but she seems okay," I murmured, relief washing over me despite the lingering tension. Nessa's shoulders sagged slightly, the panic in her eyes easing just a fraction before it was replaced with a shocked expression as she muttered, "Horns...?"

"Later, for now let's get her to her room," I said, and Nessa nodded, as I carried Caera gently in my arms. I laid her down on the bed, the silence thick and heavy, our breaths still ragged from the ordeal.

But the moment Caera touched the mattress, the same ominous black and red energy surged out of her again, coiling like a serpent around her body. This time, it brought with it a suffocating pressure—one far more intense than before. The very space seemed to vibrate with the force of it.