A Z R I E L (A Freenbecky Fanfiction)

CHAPTER 23

It was dark

Quiet

And cold...

Aelia's eyes darted around.
She was alone.

The trees stretched endlessly in every direction, tall and twisted, cloaked in shadow. The wind murmured between their branches, brushing against her skin like whispers. She didn't recognize this place, there were no stars, no moon, only a suffocating black sky above.

A rustle from behind startled Aelia, She spun around, heart lurching.

Nothing.

Only trees swaying with the wind.

"Hello?" She called out.

No one answers.

And then, a surge of power struck her from behind, sending her flying through the air. She hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs.

A cough escaped her lips. Her hands clawed at the dirt.

And she heard it

A laugh echoing through the forest.

A laugh so sinister, low and dark it made her tremble.

And then the wind shifted

Suddenly, she wasn't in the forest anymore, She was back on the deserted road

Where she almost died on the hands of an abyssal.

Another wave of pressure slammed into her, lifting her body from the ground.
It was like before—that same suffocating energy, dense and cruel, pinning her in place.

Her eyes widened in terror as she saw her.
Lilith.

Floating just inches away from her face.
Smiling, eyes glowing with fury and death.

Aelia gasped, her lungs burning for air. She thrashed in place, fighting the invisible chains that held her tight.

She's scared.

She was losing it.
Everything in her told her to give up, to collapse.

But she clung to one name.
One person who'd never let her fall.

"Azriel"

But instead of her, something else was summoned.

The sky above turned red

Ash fell like snow

And she wasn't on the deserted road anymore and Lilith wasn't there anymore.

Aelia blinked, heart pounding, and found herself standing barefoot on cracked obsidian.

The surrounding air turns an oppressive heat. It feels like she's burning

And then a roar rolled through the air, deep enough to rattle her bones.

Her pulse thundered, she stepped back

And then—it rose.

A serpent-like creature, its body endless and covered in scales that burned like dying stars and bled smoke into the sky. Fire escaped from its mouth with every breath. Eyes, molten and ancient, locked on hers with otherworldly intent. Swimming in the sea of flames.

The earth cracked beneath her and wept lava as the creature stalked closer to her.

She staggered backwards.