CHAPTER 153: CHAPTER 154: THE SHADOW REALM

SHADOW LORD COMMANDER POV

The shadow world was filled with the sound of my dragon’s scream as it died. I watched as everything fell apart.

"Impossible!" I roared and hit the crystal ball hard with my clawed hand. As I looked at the white fire spreading across the battlefield, blood dripped from my hand. My perfect plan was falling apart.

I had to wait for three hundred years. I’ve been planning this moment for three hundred years while building my troops and corrupting people. Lady Vex was supposed to be my most powerful tool. It was meant to be impossible to stop the dragon.

They were both now just ash.

"Commander," my deputy whispered behind me. "The divine power is getting stronger. It’s starting to affect our realm too."

I spun around and backhanded him across the face. He flew twenty feet and crashed into the wall of my throne room. Dark blood spilled across the black stone.

"I can see that, you fool!" I snarled. "Do you think I’m blind?"

The white fire from the mortal world was seeping through the barriers between realms. My shadow world was starting to burn. The darkness that had protected us for ages was being eaten away by that cursed baby’s power.

I stalked to the edge of my balcony and looked down at my army. Thousands of shadow animals cowered in the growing light. Some were already disappearing as the holy energy touched them.

"Cowards," I grumbled. "All of you."

My lieutenant stumbled to his feet, his face twisted with pain. "What are your orders, Commander?"

I closed my eyes and felt the pull of the mortal world. The holy power was like a beacon, calling to every supernatural being in existence. It wanted to change us all, turn us into something pure and good.

The thought made me sick.

"Prepare the portal," I said quietly. "I’m going to Earth."

"Sir?" My officer looked shocked. "But if you leave the shadow world now, you might not be able to return. The holy power could trap you there."

"Then I’ll just have to make sure I win before that happens," I said.

I had never actually set foot in the mortal world before. Why would I need to? I had always sent others to do my dirty job. Demons, corrupted people, shadow beasts - they were all expendable.

But this was different. This was personal.

That baby - that reborn goddess - she was ruining everything I had worked for. And the girl, Aria, she was somehow directing power that should have been mine.

"Tell me about the Luna," I said to my officer. "The one called Aria."

He pulled out a dark paper and read from it. "Born eighteen years ago. Believed to be an omega until lately. Mated to the Alpha sisters. Has a newborn daughter who looks to be the source of the divine power."

"What else?" I asked.

"She... she beat Lady Vex’s mental attacks multiple times. She fought corruption. And now she’s channeling god-level power without dying."

I laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound. "Interesting. Very interesting."

The truth was, I was amazed. Not many mortals could stand against my troops and live. Even fewer could resist the kind of dark magic Lady Vex had used.

But that also made Aria dangerous. If she could really manage divine power, she could destroy everything I had built.

"Sir," my lieutenant said slowly, "maybe we should retreat. Wait for the divine power to fade, then try again later."

I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. "Are you suggesting I run away like a frightened child?"

"No, sir," he gasped. "I just-"

"I am the Commander of the Shadow Lords," I said, my voice getting darker with each word. "I have mastered twelve different worlds. I have enslaved entire species. I have never lost a battle."

I threw him to the ground. "And I’m not going to start now."

The portal started to glow behind me. Dark energy swirled in the air, forming a doorway between dimensions. Through it, I could see the human world burning with white fire.

"Besides," I said, moving toward the portal, "there’s something you don’t understand about divine power."

"What’s that, sir?"

I smiled, showing my sharp teeth. "It has to come from somewhere. And that baby can’t channel the power of every god that ever existed without effects."

My officer looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she’s going to burn out," I explained. "All that power running through a three-day-old mortal body? She’ll be dead within the hour. And when she dies, all that beautiful divine energy will be free for the taking."

I stepped through the portal, feeling the strange sense of traveling between worlds. The mortal realm felt different than I expected. Warmer. More alive.

But also more fragile.

I appeared on a hilltop overlooking the fight. Below me, I could see the aftermath of Lady Vex’s loss. The white fire was still growing, but it was starting to flicker.

"Just as I thought," I said to myself. "The power is fading."

I could see Aria in the distance, holding her bright baby. She looked tired. The triplets were standing around her, but they seemed weaker too. The holy power was draining all of them.

"Perfect," I whispered.

I raised my hand and called to the ghosts that still remained in the dark corners of the forest. They came to me eagerly, making a cloak of living darkness around my body.

Time to introduce myself properly.

I began walking down the hill toward the fight. With each step, the ground beneath my feet turned black. Plants withered and died. The air grew cold.

"Aria!" I called out, my voice carrying across the distance. "Little Luna! We need to talk!"

She looked up at me, and I saw fear flash across her face. Good. She should be afraid.

"I am the Shadow Lord Commander," I stated as I got closer. "And I have a proposition for you."

"Stay away from us!" one of the triplets shouted. I think it was Kael.

I laughed. "Oh, I’m not here to fight. Not yet, anyway. I’m here to make a deal."

I stopped about fifty feet away from them. Close enough to talk, far enough to avoid the worst of the holy power still radiating from the baby.

"Your daughter is dying," I said simply. "All that god power running through her tiny body is killing her. You can feel it, can’t you?"

Aria’s face went pale. She looked down at her baby, and I could see the truth in her eyes. The child was getting weaker.

"I can save her," I continued. "I can receive the divine power safely, without harming anyone. All you have to do is give her to me for one minute."

"Never," Aria said, but her voice shook.

"Think about it," I said. "What’s more important? Your pride, or your daughter’s life?"

The baby’s golden glow was definitely getting dimmer. She had maybe ten minutes left before the power burned her out completely.

"You’re lying," Lucien said. "You just want the power for yourself."

I shrugged. "Of course I do. But I also want your daughter to live. You see, dead goddesses are no fun. But a live goddess under my control? That’s interesting."

"We’ll find another way," Aria said desperately.

"There is no other way," I answered. "And you’re running out of time."

That’s when I felt it. A familiar presence coming from behind me. I turned around and saw something that made my blood freeze.

Lady Vex was walking toward us, but she looked completely different. The holy fire hadn’t destroyed her after all. It had changed her into something new.

Something that might be even more dangerous than me.

"Hello, old friend," she said with a smile that promised pain. "Miss me?"