CHAPTER 419: WHAT IS DEAD MAY NEVER DIE AGAIN

Even though she had a blindfold over her eyes, Zina had never seen and felt so much the way she did as she ran for the Oak Tree room.

From the servants that whipped past her, to the sounds of death the echoed in the crumbling Cave Manor—she saw them all and heard it.

She couldn’t explain how the seeing itself happened. It was if she could see them in an otherworldly manner despite the fact that the blindfold stole her physical sight.

And her hearing was sharpened to a point that was alien. It was breathtaking, and then just a little scary. It was clear she was reacting to something, and her wolf that was usually docile and silent felt the same.

But it was indeed a struggle to determine whether it was from the staff, or from the Pack Runes that now tightened against her heart like choking necklace would against her neck.

Ignoring the sensations and instead, focusing on the feeling of power that coursed through her veins, Zina made it to the room that housed Oak Tree.

That part of the Cave Manor was completely desolate. Even though the earthquake hadn’t reached there, a strange sensation seemed to run through there.

Not to mention, the staff in her hand revolted.

Literally.

Like it wanted to jump out of her grip and run towards the tree that was its source. But she only gripped it harder, withholding the escape that it longed for.

The closer she got to the tree, the more the staff thrashed violently in her hands, and finally, she bumped into what she rightfully assumed were the tree’s roots.

Then she leaned down, touching the huge stem of the tree.

It felt like the world froze for a moment. Although for what reason she could not exactly fathom. Was it to pay homage to the very Deformed that this very tree preserved for centuries? Or was it to pay homage to herself who served as the final sacrificial lamb to complete this mess?

That was when she felt him.

Rowan the Red Wolf.

She paused at first—hearing what sounded like a low growl. He was probably in half-wolf form. Which meant he was currently a very angry red wolf.

A small smile broke through her lips, then turned to the direction she sensed him slowly.

"May what is dead never die again." She muttered slowly, infusing meaning into her words.

The growl increased, as well as his steps as he walked closer to her.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps—

Then he stopped. Just two steps away from her by her calculation.

"What is dead?" He asked, his voice holding the sharp edge of a blade.

"What do you think?" She taunted back, clenching the staff.

He sucked in an audible breath, and his knuckles cracked as he probably clenched his fists. "Did I underestimate you?" He asked slowly, "no I did not. I have never underestimated anyone in my life before. Nor have I ever overestimated. To each man, I accord them their strengths."

Zina smirked. "Is that so, Red Wolf?"

"But there’s one thing that I admit I was unable to take into account. Your gift of sight—"

She smiled. "True. Your Master never would have imagined that the gods would choose to bless a devil’s spawn with one of their most precious gifts. The ability to see the future."

He took one more step towards her. "Tell me, Thralgor. How much of what happened today did you see? How much of what will happen do you see?" He pressed as a threat.

How to tell this stupid man that visions were hardly as important as actions itself.

"You’re quite adept in asking all the wrong questions. But since you’ve asked then let me humour you—how do you think today will end? With me married to you? With the world under your Master’s nonexistent feet? With the Iron Seas of the West defeating the Arctic North’s long held legacy?"

He chuckled darkly. Voice hoarse in a manner that signified that he was very much still in his Lycan form. "Do not do anything unnecessary. Today’s event has been set in motion for decades, and you’ve not the power to stop it. Since you’re so powerful, then you should know that the Arctic Wolf will fall today!

"The seven witch seers saw it. Other fortune tellers have told the same thing! The prophecies of the old interpreted the same thing! It is you, Thralgor that will be his downfall! Surely you must have seen it as well?! Or perhaps... you’re not nearly as powerful as you claim to be."

Zina sucked in a deep breath, the tresses of the blindfold caressing her neck and the back of her ears. "I saw it as well." She said in a voice that cut through the air while tinged with just a bit of despair, "but guess what? I never saw my child’s death either."

He scoffed. "What are you even driving at?"

"Don’t you remember what I said when you first came here? That which is dead may never die again."

"What does that even mean?!" He screamed in a thunderous voice that bounced off the walls.

Zina smiled audaciously, taking one last step that covered the space between them completely. "It means the disaster of yesterday cannot happen today. That which you’ve stolen can never be stolen again. A curse that has been laid cannot be laid again. For that reason, you can no longer touch my husband as your visions see it. The Arctic Wolf will never fall. Because my role in his life has always been a dual one. Besides being his downfall, I am the one who will proclaim his legacy as the Great Beast Wolf before all."

There was a second of stunned silence, then Rowan dissolved into laughter that sounded hesitant to her hearing. "Just how much delusion have you been feeding yourself with that has given you such audacity? You still do not get it, do you? You might have somehow managed to survive the Nirvana torture, but it is still your blood that fuels the Deformed. This world will be run amok by them, and Master will be the only one true wolf!"

Zina smirked, "Do you know that my husband loves to play chess? He says there’s no game as fulfilling and mind boggling as the Wolf Chess. The weakest piece can become the strongest piece. Even the most dumbest wolves can suddenly find themselves in a situation where they make the wisest decisions."

"Why the sermon?" He scoffed, but there was an unease that lingered in his tone. Like something left out in the cold without clothes.

And Zina could almost swear she knew what it was. And it had everything to do with the fact that he feared the item in her hand. And even then, was too afraid to take it from her just yet.

"I have been curious why you haven’t inquired about the staff in my hands," she muttered, "but your actions have just confirmed one thing I know. So let’s take a gamble; should I die now under the Afternoon Eclipse, will I resurrect again? And if I remain dead as I suspect I will, what will be of your deformed wolves?"

Zina didn’t wait for him to process her words or his answer for the next thing, she was plunging the staff straight for her heart without a single thread of hesitation.