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|| UNEXPECTED || CHAPTER 40
THE BATTLE BETWEEN LIGHT AND dark raged with unrelenting fury. It was a storm of fury, chaos, and relentless magic.
The air was thick with the smell of smoke, blood, and raw magic, making it difficult to breathe.
Each movement was a risk, every spell cast a desperate attempt to either defend or destroy.
Amid the chaos, Nyx stood tall, her eyes glowing with the intensity of a dark flame. Her wand never faltered, sending curses and hexes through the air faster than anyone could react.
Tom was beside her, always in sync with every step she took, every move she made.
Their bond was undeniable, their connection like the very earth beneath them. They had fought together, bled together.
They were so close to victory. The forces of the Light, led by Dumbledore and his most trusted followers, were weakening.
The screams of fallen enemies mixed with the ferocity of curses being cast, painting the battlefield with chaos.
But Nyx felt a strange twinge in her chest. A pull, something she couldn't explain.
She couldn't afford distractions, not now. The Light would not win, not after everything they had sacrificed. She took a breath, shaking off the sudden chill that had gripped her heart.
Tom was fighting beside her, casting curses so powerful they shook the ground beneath them. Nothing, not even the greatest of wizards, could stop them.
And then, in the midst of it all, Nyx's eyes found him.
Dumbledore.
The old wizard stood at the frontlines of the battle, his face etched with sorrow but steadfast determination.
He had always been the symbol of hope to so many, but to Nyx, he was the symbol of everything she had left behind. Everything she had fought against.
"Nyx," his voice rang out, cutting through the chaos of the battle. His eyes held a strange sadness, a deep sorrow that made her stomach churn. "Please. You don't have to do this. You don't have to fall any further into this darkness. There is still time. You can still turn back."
Nyx's heart clenched at the words. He was trying again. He always tried. The man who believed so deeply in redemption. The man who wanted to save her. But she wasn't his to save. She was lost to the shadows long ago. The path had been chosen.
Her lips curled into a cold smile as she shook her head, her voice steady and unwavering. "No. I made my choice long ago. And there is no turning back now."
Her wand flicked, and another light wizard crumpled to the ground with a sickening thud. But even in the midst of the battle, Nyx couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong. Something—someone—was watching her. She glanced toward Tom, and for the briefest of moments, their eyes locked. His gaze was unwavering, intense, and filled with a silent promise. He was by her side. He would always be by her side.
But the moment was fleeting, and before she could even process it, Dumbledore's voice rang out again.
"Please, Nyx," he said, his voice almost pleading. "You don't have to be this. You're stronger than this. You're better than this."
His words cut through her like a blade. For a moment, her grip on her wand faltered, and in that instant, after seeing her distracted, Dumbledore made his move. A move that would start a war he never saw coming—
"Avada Kedavra."
The words rang out like a death knell, and time itself seemed to freeze.
Nyx's eyes widened in shock. The curse shot from Dumbledore's wand with a blinding flash of green light, too fast, too sudden for her to react.
Her body jerked as the curse collided with her and a scream tore from her lips, though no sound escaped her.
Her vision blurred and for a moment, everything around her went dark. Her legs gave way beneath her, and she crumpled to the ground, her body collapsing into the cold earth.
Her breath came in shallow gasps. Her heart pounded in her chest, but it was slowing. Too slowly.
She could feel the darkness consuming her, the magic ripping through her veins like fire.
The coldness of death wrapped itself around her like a suffocating blanket, and for a split second, she saw it all again—Tom's face, his eyes filled with love, with devotion. She saw their children—Selene and Apollo—running to her, their little faces lighting up as they reached out for her.
But it was all slipping away. She couldn't hold on.
And in the last moments of her life, as the world faded to black, she whispered the only thing she could.
"I love you, Tom."
TOM STOOD FROZEN IN PLACE, his eyes wide as he watched the green light hit Nyx. His heart stopped beating in that moment.
Everything around him seemed to go still as the world fell away. His grip on his wand loosened, the weight of it suddenly feeling like nothing. He stared, horror-stricken, as Nyx collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
"Nyx!" he screamed, his voice raw and desperate. His body moved before his mind could process it. He ran to her, but his legs felt like lead. His heart was heavy, impossibly heavy, as if the very air was suffocating him.
When he reached her, he dropped to his knees, pulling her lifeless form into his arms. Her body was cold, too cold, and it hit him like a wave. She was gone.
His Nyx, the woman he loves, was gone.
"NO!" His scream shattered the air, so primal and filled with rage that it seemed to shake the very foundations of the world.
The battle around them seemed to pause. The sounds of magic ceased, the fighting stopping as all eyes turned to him. But Tom didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore.
His entire being was consumed with a fury that could rival the deepest pits of Hell itself.
His gaze snapped to Dumbledore, his eyes burning with an intensity that made the old wizard take a step back. For a moment, Dumbledore's expression softened, but that only fueled Tom's rage.
"You!" Tom's voice was a growl, thick with hatred. "You did this. You took her from me. You took everything from me!"
The world seemed to collapse around him as he rose to his feet, Nyx's body still in his arms. His hands shook, but it wasn't with fear.
No, it was with a fury so deep that it could not be contained. He lifted his wand, pointing it at Dumbledore, his voice a deadly whisper. "I will destroy you. And everything you stand for."
Dumbledore's eyes were filled with regret, but there was no turning back now. The damage was done. And Tom's anger was too far gone to be quelled.
All he cared about was the woman he had lost. His heart, once so full of love, was now a shattered piece of nothing.
He held Nyx's lifeless body in his arms, his hands trembling as he whispered into the silence, "I will make them all pay. For you, Nyx. For us."
The Light side wanted a monster—they would get a monster.
And Tom Riddle stood amidst the ruins, holding the woman he loved, his heart shattered beyond repair.
