CHAPTER 44: The Divide Awakens
1039 Words
The forest came alive.
Not with life—
With hunger.
Black mist poured endlessly from the cracks splitting the dead earth while twisted trees groaned violently around them. The air itself turned colder, heavier, poisoned by something ancient and wrong.
And the Hollowed kept coming.
Hundreds of pale glowing eyes emerged between the trees.
Watching.
Waiting.
The guards instinctively formed a defensive circle around Heaven.
Holland looked ready to faint dramatically.
“There are too many.”
Cassian drew his sword slowly.
“Yes.”
“That was not reassuring!”
Father Orion gripped the ancient map tightly while staring into the growing darkness around them.
“The Divide senses the celestial flame.”
Lucifer’s expression darkened immediately.
Of course it did.
Every cursed thing in existence suddenly seemed drawn toward Heaven now.
The Hollowed creatures moved closer gradually, their gray skin stretched tightly over twisted bones while whispers echoed unnaturally through the forest.
“The light…”
“She burns…”
“The Wellspring…”
Heaven shivered softly.
The mate bond reacted instantly.
Lucifer stepped closer to her automatically.
Protective instinct had become second nature now.
The shadows around him deepened across the broken ground.
“You will stay behind me.”
Heaven frowned immediately.
“I can fight.”
“I know.” Lucifer’s voice lowered dangerously. “That is exactly what concerns me.”
Because using the celestial flame again could worsen everything.
The Hollowed suddenly stopped moving all at once.
Then every pale gaze lifted toward Heaven together.
And they screamed.
The sound ripped violently through the forest.
Inhuman.
Broken.
Endless.
Then they attacked.
The creatures surged forward in enormous waves through the trees.
Cassian shouted orders instantly.
“Hold the line!”
Steel flashed.
The guards collided against the first wave while Holland dragged Heaven backward despite loudly panicking himself.
“This is horrible! Why is everything trying to kill us?!”
“Less screaming!” Cassian snapped while cutting down two Hollowed at once.
“I scream efficiently!”
Lucifer moved.
Darkness exploded outward from him violently.
Entire sections of forest vanished beneath shadow as dozens of Hollowed creatures were ripped apart instantly.
Yet more kept coming.
Too many.
The Divide itself seemed to be producing them endlessly from the black mist rising through the earth.
Father Orion’s face paled further.
“It’s feeding on fear.”
Lucifer heard that immediately.
“Then everyone stop being afraid.”
Holland stared at him blankly while ducking behind a shattered tree.
“That feels impossible right now!”
A Hollowed lunged suddenly toward Heaven from the mist.
Lucifer killed it before it reached her.
Then another appeared.
And another.
Every creature wanted her specifically.
The celestial flame beneath her skin reacted violently to the danger surrounding them.
Golden light flickered beneath her veins again.
Lucifer felt it instantly.
“No.”
But the Hollowed sensed it too.
The creatures shrieked louder.
“The flame!”
“She calls to us!”
More figures began emerging from the mist.
Not merely Hollowed anymore.
Something worse.
Tall shadow-like beings with empty faces and elongated limbs stepped silently through the dead forest.
Even Lucifer stilled slightly upon seeing them.
Father Orion whispered in horror—
“Wraithborn.”
Cassian’s expression darkened.
“You know these things too?”
“They should not exist outside the Divide.”
One of the Wraithborn tilted its faceless head toward Heaven unnaturally.
Then spoke without a mouth.
“The Wellspring awakens.”
The voice echoed directly inside everyone’s minds.
Holland looked traumatized.
“Oh, I deeply hate that.”
Lucifer’s shadows sharpened violently.
The Wraithborn moved faster than expected.
One suddenly appeared directly beside Heaven.
Lucifer reacted instantly—
Too late.
The creature touched Heaven’s wrist.
Pain exploded through her body.
Golden light burst outward violently.
The entire forest shook.
The Wraithborn screamed as celestial fire consumed its shadowy body instantly.
The remaining creatures recoiled sharply.
But Heaven collapsed to one knee gasping.
The flame surged wildly beneath her skin now.
Unstable again.
Lucifer reached her immediately.
“Heaven!”
The mate bond screamed painfully between them.
Every ounce of her pain tore through Lucifer like blades.
Golden cracks spread faintly across her arms once more.
The Hollowed began screaming louder at the sight.
“The flame grows!”
“The gate opens!”
Father Orion looked horrified.
“What gate?”
No one answered.
Because suddenly—
The earth split apart.
A massive crack tore through the forest floor while black mist erupted skyward violently enough to blot out the heavens.
Something ancient moved beneath the Divide.
Something enormous.
The Wraithborn immediately knelt toward the opening.
Lucifer’s expression changed instantly.
Recognition.
Not complete recognition.
But enough.
“Impossible.”
Cassian looked toward him sharply.
“You know what that is?”
Lucifer slowly rose to his feet while keeping one hand firmly on Heaven.
The shadows around him darkened into something monstrous.
“Yes.”
The ground trembled harder.
Then a gigantic eye opened beneath the*** earth.
Golden.
Ancient.
Watching.
Holland made a sound somewhere between a scream and prayer.
“What IS THAT?!”
The eye blinked once slowly.
And suddenly every creature in the forest bowed lower.
Even the mist itself seemed alive now.
Lucifer’s voice became cold.
“That,” he said quietly, “is one of the Old Gods.”
Silence crashed over everyone.
Because even the name felt forbidden.
The eye focused entirely on Heaven.
Then a voice echoed through the Divide itself.
Not loud.
Not soft.
Absolute.
Child of the Wellspring…
Heaven froze.
The celestial flame pulsed violently in response.
Lucifer stepped fully in front of her immediately.
Protective.
Defiant.
The Old God’s eye shifted toward him slowly.
Fallen King.
The shadows around Lucifer sharpened.
“You will not touch her.”
The creature seemed almost amused.
You love the vessel.
The mate bond surged painfully.
Lucifer’s expression became murderous.
“She is not a vessel.”
The eye narrowed slightly.
You speak as though fate cares for your grief.
The words struck brutally hard.
Heaven slowly stood despite the pain burning beneath her skin.
“What do you want from me?”
The eye stared at her silently.
Then—
Choice.
- Writer
