Dragonsoul

Chapter 59

Author's note: I am publishing this chapter now so that I won't keep editing and reediting it anymore because I feel it's making it worse. Anyway, I've noticed I have many more typos than usual and though I tried to correct them I am not sure if I caught all of them. Feel free to point out any that I've missed, it would be much appreciated. 

Can sunlight completely extinguish darkness, or does the dark continue to dwell in the deepest recesses of human souls?

The power of Leonie's light turned the last few standing ice monsters into mere trickles of water. However, when it came to Adamina's occupied form, it did not have the same effect.

When the rays of light reached her, they did not erase the darkness from existence but merely chase it away. As a consequence, Adamina was freed from its suffocating grasp, reverting back to what Leonie thought Adamina was before, to her true self.

Her appearance, once freed of the dark presence, resembled that of a purest magical being.

However, Leonie did not get the opportunity to admire Adamina's true nature for long as she came to realize the horrible truth. The darkness was not destroyed by her light as Leonie assumed it would be, but scattered away.

Soon enough, it recovered from Leonie's attack. Before anyone could do anything to stop it, it charged forth and into the beings closest to it.

The moment it went into them through their orifices, a black vine enveloped their bodies, and their eyes became dull. It was as if the suns of their souls were clouded over by the menacing power, and not a trace could be seen of who they once were.

"Mom, stop. You don't want to do this." Dancing Rock said as his mother started approaching them menacingly.

"It's no use. Darkness has full control of your mother now." Toras whispered to Dancing Rock as few of the infected trolls and Hunters started closing in on them.

An enormous tear rolled down Dancing Rock's face as he made the most crucial decision a troll could ever make. The ultimate sacrifice came down to him doing the right thing for everyone involved.

"I am sorry, Toras. I have to put you down and do what has to be done. It's time to use water lilies," he said, gently lowering Toras onto the ground.

"What will they do to you?" Toras asked, coughing profusely as the wound Hunters swathed started to bleed through.

"At first, it will cause us to fall into a deep sleep, but if they are not removed in a few hours, they will kill us." Dancing Rock said.

"But you are alright. Maybe pixies can only cover the infected trolls." Toras offered weakly.

"That's not a risk we can take. Especially now that you are wounded, and Leonie's powers could not destroy that thing. None of us want to become murderers. We've all agreed that we would rather die than allow someone to use us as a weapon of destruction." Dancing Rock said.

After saying that, he waved his hand high in the air. Then a flock of the pixies descended, throwing water lilies all over the trolls.

"I'll make sure we remove them on time," Toras said as all the trolls fell into a deep trans.

Watching the trolls go down did nothing to ease Leonie's tension. After all, they were still left with a few Hunters and Gatherers under the control of an entity that Leonie could not comprehend.

"Brave, you have to be; fear it mustn't see. Fear is its food, being afraid is no good." Adamina said as she crumbled to the ground.

"What was that supposed to mean? Rimar, what should we do? We can't hurt the innocent." Leonie said.

"You are the key, Leonie. You always have been. In your heart, you have more bravery than anyone here can even dream of having. You went through horrible nightmares, you let go of your father for the second time even though it broke your heart. You can do this. All you need to do is believe in yourself and the powers and skills that are part of who you are, that have always been part of you. Believe in yourself and be brave. That way, you can do the impossible." Rimar said.

Her heart was fluttering in her chest like a butterfly trying to leave its cocoon for the first time. Leonie knew what she had to do.

She needed to accept all that she was. All that had happened as part of what made her who she was at that moment.

The most painful realization of them all was that if she wanted to be free and thus brave, Leonie needed to accept the unacceptable, her father's death.

For the first time since he had died, she accepted the truth of his passing. However, what was even more painful was to acknowledge that his death helped her grow. Not only did she grow as a human being, but it made her physically stronger. Thus, she was able to contain and channel the power of her bloodline.

Her father had to die for her to become strong enough to protect the rest of her family. To defend the world. Had he not died, he would have done everything in his power to protect her, even if he knew that the storms were supposed to shape her, make her stronger. As that was what fathers did, they shielded their little girls from the world, no matter the price.

The knowledge was settling in her mind like the first snow on barren ground, and Leonie felt as if it was carving her into someone else. She was no longer a little girl afraid of nightmares. She was a woman ready to protect her home with her own life.

"You distract them while I work my magic," Leonie told Rimar.

"My pleasure. I always thought Buckthorn needed some sense knocked into that thick skull of his." Rimar said with a grin as he swiped his tail at the approaching Hunter controlled by something else.

"I am brave. I am brave." Leonie repeated in her mind willing the words to become a reality.

As she did so, a tingling sensation spread down her arms and into her hands. This time, it was not Rimar's fire that started flowing through her hands, but something brighter, more powerful than the world had seen in a long time.

When she directed her hands towards the approaching Hunters and Gatherers, it did not burn them but purified. Once engulfed in its embrace, the darkness disappeared like water on a hot summer day.

"No, we can't go back. We refuse to be forgotten." Buckthorn's mouth shaped the words.

For a moment, Leonie stopped the power from flowing through her. She did so because she was surprised by the words uttered by the familiar voice.

"Go back to where? Who are you?" Leonie asked, needing to understand what it was all about.

"We are Fears the ones who kept your people safe for centuries only to be rejected as if we no longer mattered as if we were nothing." Buckthorn's voice said.

"Why were you rejected? What happened?" Leonie asked.

"People developed, they stopped fearing things but started conquering them. Instead of staying safe in their caves, they started spreading, exploring, conquering. With each new forest they put under their control, with each new river they tamed, we grew weaker. We helped them survive because without fear, they couldn't know where the danger lurked. How did they thank us for that? With oblivion," the voice said.

Before Leonie could reply anything, Buckthorn's hands lifted, and an arrow of darkness started its flight towards her.

There was no time to summon her magic.

There was no way to get out.

Thus, Leonie waited for the oblivion to take her and prayed for the safety of her family.

"No!" an echo of that one word sounded in Leonie's ears.

It was like thunder before a great storm. However, the storm Leonie expected, her death, was not the one she found.

It was Rimar's body slumped before her that she saw. That was the moment Leonie became more than she ever was.

She burst into a brilliant light that washed away all the darkness and glistened on the skin of those affected.

Finally, she slumped down where her friend was, trying to assess the severity of his injuries as red and green blood seeped out of his body.