The final, and possibly the best chapter of this book dedicated to the best writer I know on wattpad, SheHopes

[ Laura ]

It must've been an eternity before my consciousness finally decided to throw me back into the harsh current of reality. The reawakening of my senses perhaps took another aeon.

When I was being brought back, the events prior to my not-so-mysterious failure of consciousness, started to roll back in my mind. The cavern. The cafe. My father. Alzaknos...And the darkness.

Even now I could feel the frightening swirls of darkness consuming me. I could feel the stench of sulphur overwhelm me. And I could still hear the pained curses of the underworld ringing in my head.

The air felt fresh, and smelled of a lot of things — amidst the unique scent of earth and moisture, mingled was the slightly less obvious stench of blood.

I tried to open my eyes, but even when I did, nothing stirred in my vision. Something was obstructing my vision. Something wasn't letting light enter my eyes.

I was blindfolded.

What next was planned on my tour to insanity?

Soon it became evident that I was tied up. I could feel ropes cutting into my arms, going round my stomach, binding me tightly to a chair.

"Oh, looks like our guest is awake."

As soon as I heard those words, my courage and confidence to break through this bondage without the enemy noticing flickered away. The noise of foot steps approaching me managed to raise my BP by few more points.

"Wakey, wakey!" The voice said. My only source of comfort was in knowing the fact that Alzaknos was male, and whoever this person was sounded distinctly female.

Soon, I found my brain splitting on two sides: whether or not to try to convince this lady to help me. The chances of bribing an enemy's assistant were pretty slim. And the chances of surviving the Awakening, none. Slim was better than none.

"Let me go and I shall grant you hundred souls," I said, surprisingly in a very proud and commanding voice, just like Anahita's. Then an overwhelming sense of guilt shook me. "Also my friends."

"No need of that, Laura Hannigan. I need only 66 for the Awakening, and I have them all," she said.

I was quite surprised by her answer. If there was one thing demons truly want, other than harassing His followers, it was souls. And even if they had all they needed, no demon could turn down such a generous offer.

"A thousand souls?" I said, half wondering whether I had lost my sanity. I knew I had authority over souls, at least I used to until Heaven decided to disown me.

"There's a simple rule while dealing. You don't give gold to a billionaire. We can have all the souls we'll need, Laura. What we want is Anahita. In fact, had you had offered her right in the beginning, it wouldn't have come to this," she said.

"Besides, I know Anahita's market value, Laura. She's fled Heaven ages ago, and I can't imagine how Michael will give control of so many  souls to a fallen angel," she said, "Don't bluff the queen of bluffs."

"You can't have Anahita. I can't let you raise the Devil's Moon, and risk the entire mankind," I said, feeling an uneasiness in my stomach. I didn't exactly have a good spot to make a stand.

"No? Hmm, that's bad. But that wasn't unexpected," she said and took a brief pause. Then, in the same calm and slightly amused voice, she said, "Plan B it is then."

Before I could think of what Plan B was, my blindfold was swiftly taken off. It hurt when light from all over the chamber, at once, attacked my eyes. At first my vision was strained and blurry, soon the blurs and glows were gone, and what laid before me left me stunned. It was unsettling, yet grand at the same time.

It was a cavern, much bigger and beautiful than the earlier one. There was no locked water in this cavern, however the floor did look moist. Before me, covering the centre of the cavern, was the most marvellous sculpture I'd ever seen.

The more I stared at the sculpture, the more familiar it seemed and finally I was convinced of its identity. The only difference that was between the sculpture which now proudly stood before my eyes, captivating all my attention, and the one at Sebastian's place was that this one was twice as huge, and purely made out of rock. The surface of the sculpture wasn't smooth. The sculpture had numerous pores on every inch of its surface. Looking closely, I realised the rock wasn't exactly black. I could see an uneven layer of redness all over it, as though it'd been showered with some red liquid from time to time. And then it struck me. That red liquid was blood, that's why I could smell it in the air.

Even then, back at Sebastian's place, being near the ominous statue had been hard for me. But now, its presence felt a hundred times more evil. So much menace was filled in the warrior's eye that I began to feel uneasy. The rocky sword that lingered in the right hand of the Devil's Moon was the most terrifying feature of this sculpture, if not that enraged, soul-searching gaze.

"Studying your doom?" asked the voice, and I quickly turned in her direction. I was so possessed by the disturbing statue of the Devil's Moon that the wondering of this mysterious lady had completely left my mind. Everything, Sebastian, Pamela and my father, every thought and worry of mine was gone, and all that was left in my mind to wonder about was the sculpture. But now the spell was broken, and my old worries returned.

I looked at her. She wore a long black gown. Her hair were as white as snow, falling like a river around her, reaching up to her knees. Her lips were painted with the reddest thing I'd ever seen. And a sense of accomplishment colored her dark eyes. I had never seen her in my life.

But then my eyes turned to the locket dangling round her neck. I saw the hideous thing that depicted God being swallowed by a serpentine Satan. And suddenly it struck to me that this woman must be that witch I had met so many days ago.

"Clara?" a shocked voice came from my side.

"Sebastian!" I said, out of excitement and relief, when his voice fell on my ears. I looked in his direction. His face lit up, only momentarily, when his eyes met mine, and so did mine. Sebastian was there, right beside me, bound to his chair just as I was, and beside him was Pamela, still unconscious but looking unhurt.

Just when a weak smile was about to form on my face, I realised that one more member was missing. Where was my father? I swiftly turned to my other side, barely controlling my worries, hoping I'd find him there, safe and sound.

I did find him there, only that he was the worst case of accident I'd ever seen. A tear trickled down my cheeks. What I saw in those moments of numbness and dizziness taking me over, when I accidentally slipped all control, had all been true. The image of Alzaknos tearing through my father's body flashed across my mind, and the realisation of him dying struck me hard, again.

The feeling was so terrible, that in only a moment I lost all my will to live. I was fighting for survival only because I had a faint dying hope that I'd be able to return to my old life again, the one crammed up with studies and grades, and friends who were convinced that there's no thing as sinister as the coming of winter. And more than that, I hoped I'd be back with my father, safe and happy in my house. Now, even if I did make it out, my house would just be a lonely building. With my father gone, I knew I won't last a month.

But then suddenly the thoughts of despair began to leave me, and with its passing came a surge of anger. I could feel Anahita's rage coursing through me. 

"Clara? How could-" Sebastian said, but couldn't complete. Minutes of silence and shock were passed before he spoke up.

Through teary eyes, I looked at him. He had never looked so broken. My father had betrayed me, but in the end he chose me over the darkness. But the way Clara was eyeing at us, I knew she wouldn't back off easily. 

"How could I be supporting demons? Open your eyes, Sebastian. To raise the Devil's Moon had always been my dream," she said.

"And we are so close." Alazaknos appeared from behind the sculpture. With a fat stomach, and a fat bald head, he was as unattractive as any man could be. Yet Clara didn't mind when he pulled her close to him, and pressed his thick lips on hers. She seemed to enjoy the kiss.

"Clara," it was I who spoke, with such rage in my words, that even Sebastian looked surprised.

"Stop this insanity," I yelled, but she only smiled.

"It's laughable. I spent years working on this plan, and you think you can stop me with mere words?" Clara said.

"You're a Deathstar, you can never assist demons!" Sebastian said. The thought of his teacher betraying not only the teachings of the Deathstars, but also the entire mankind was simply unacceptable for him.

"Once Devil's Moon has risen, she'll rise Lucifer who'll throw this existence in a sea of chaos. Is that what you desire, Clara?" A weak voice spoke from beside Sebastian. Pamela had awoken.

"Of course we do," Alzaknos said happily.

"Actually, I don't," her answer surprised Alzaknos so much that he stopped playing with Clara's fingers, which he'd been doing relentlessly ever since he'd appeared.

"What do you mean? It wasn't what we'd agreed for." He said as he roughly pulled her to him such that they were now face to face. His voice had lost all the fake affection, and the cold flame of a demon was back in his eyes.

"No, friend, it wasn't. But it is now. Everything will happen according to my will. And my will is for you to cease to exist," Clara said.

"A witch! A lowly witch like you talk of bringing down the mighty king of demons? This must be the funniest joke of the century. Why don't I show you your place, you slave?" Alzaknos said when his hand, the one holding Clara's, began to turn skeletal.

Clara smiled, a grin of a warrior, as she pulled out a dagger which was hidden in her black gown, and sunk it through Alzaknos' skeletal hand.

Alzaknos laughed. "A dagger? You try to kill me with a filthy little dagger? No dagger can bring me down, you witch, no weapon can end me," Alzaknos said as he tried to grab her throat. But as soon as his hand reached her throat, it crumbled to dust.

"Maybe not. But this will," Clara said as she rose her hands so as to hold his head between her arms. Then she smiled, and black fire began to flicker around her hands. Alzaknos screamed when the fire started to dance on his skin, devouring him. One by one, every inch of Alzaknos began to fall apart, turning into ash.

"What are you?" Alzaknos managed a question when his fat mouth withered away with the black fire.

Another surge coursed through me, but it wasn't rage this time. It was a wave of knowledge. My eyes widened when I saw a memory of the war that happened sixty years ago, when The Deathstones intervened, and I was convinced of her identity.

"You might be the King of West Tethris, but I am the Devil's Moon," Clara said, eyes shining madly with pride.

The chapter was big, so I divided it into two parts. The second part will be updated tomorrow. (writing it now...) I'll also upload a FAQ page tomorrow where you can ask me anything that doesn't make sense.