While Tiohr-nam seemed to have understood the gravity of the situation, Dramia only observed her surroundings above the massive tree.

The wind blew past her face, as her expression turned to pure horror.

"What... in the world is happening?!"

Her eyes, opened wide from the scenery forced upon her, couldn't focus on a single spot. She turned around, looked at all sides, and realized once more.

"We're fucked..."

For the first time, she couldn't hold a curse from leaving her mouth.

All around the island, from as far as ten kilometers off the coasts, the sea water had receded. Only beds of seaweed and sea creatures remained, littering the wet sand.

"Tiohr... Damn it! Tiohr!"

Using her wings, she attained her top speed in an instant and returned inside the throne room.

"What are we supposed to do! You know what is going to happen, don't you?!"

"Tell me! What do you want me to do?!"

Her face showed despair, but her heart refused to give up, so she asked.

"..."

The Avatar closed its eyes, and remained silent.

"Tiohr! Don't stay silent! We really don't have much time for this shit right now!"

She swiped her arm violently on her side to make her point across.

"I apologize, I know it isn't the best moment to ask, but what is happening? Why have you said that it was the end of the fairies?"

Kamala, oblivious to the event happening outside, entered the conversation.

"Tiohr-nam! Say something!"

Dramia couldn't register her words, as she was completely breaking down.

"Miss Kamala, the realm as started to shift. I knew it would come at some point, but I never thought it would happen while I was still weakened."

She ignored Dramia, who began to bite her lower lip so hard it began to bleed. Stella, who was completely ignorant of everything, looked in terror at the people around her.

'Why?'

That single word kept repeating in her head as she saw Dramia slowly fall on the ground helplessly.

"What does that have to do with the situation? What is this 'shift' you are talking about?"

Just that wasn't enough for Kamala to understand, so she pressed Tiohr-nam for answers. Worry began to appear on her face, as a bead of sweat rolled down her temple.

"I usually use my roots to maintain the plates of the realm stable, but many of them were chewed upon before Orion arrived."

"They weren't able to regrow in time to stop the movement of those plates, so..."

The Avatar moved her head to the side, and said in a monotone voice, close to the voice of someone who had given up on everything.

"Here it comes..."

"..."

Kamala looked at Dramia, and clenched her teeth. She couldn't bear to the woman like that any longer.

Pushing the chair behind her, she approached Dramia and crouched next to her.

"Don't... bother helping me."

With a frustrated expression, she gently pushed away Kamala's hand, who was trying to support her.

"I do it because I want to. Now tell me, what is happening, and what can I do to help?"

"..."

Kamala placed her hands on her shoulders, and helped Dramia stand up. All the while, Dramia seemed to have made up her mind.

"If I can't count on you, Tiohr, I'll do it myself. I'll think of something!"

"I am still their Queen! I will save them all!"

She turned to Kamala, and walked past her while wiping the blood dripping from her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I will throw the formalities out of the way. Kamala, please help me. A tidal wave is going to it our village and-."

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

"Drown every fairies in the process. I understand now."

Kamala nodded, and thought.

'I lived my whole life near the coast. I have seen the damages rogue waves and tidal waves do to on their path.'

She looked at Tiohr-nam, and asked her.

"By the way, how high are we talking about, and how much time do we have?"

The Avatar opened her eyes wide and stared at Kamala.

"There is nothing you can do about this. Why are you asking?"

"Pardon my rudeness, but that is your own opinion. Just because you have given up, doesn't mean I have to think the same. There is "always" a solution."

Tiohr-nam sighed, and answered.

"The wave, it is going to crash in approximately half an hour. About its size..."

"It is higher than me... and it will crash on all sides. We are at the center of the problem, because of my incompetence."

Seeing her blaming herself, Dramia couldn't help herself.

"This is not like you. Why are you saying that? There are a few things we can do already."

"We can evacuate the fairies to Horizon, though, half an hour seems very short for that. But our best bet is to-"

She couldn't finish her sentence.

"Do not bother Orion with this! I won't be able to look him in the face if I have to show this pitiful result after all he have done for us!"

"That's being stubborn for nothing! Tiohr, open your eyes! We won't survive this! I don't care what you say, I'm bringing him back here, even if you don't want that."

Dramia walked to the portal leading to Horizon, but suddenly stopped before entering.

"I can't... Kamala, please bring Orion. I will stay behind, and bring the fairies together. Take Stella with you."

"..."

But Kamala remained silent. Her eyes wandered behind Dramia, where someone else stood, a serious expression on her face.

"I'll do that."

Surprised, Dramia turned around to find herself face to face with her sister.

"Drania! What are you doing here?!"

"I couldn't stay still after feeling your agitation. The worst is, I managed to learn everything that was happening while sleeping. The shock might have been that great for you to transfer your thoughts to me."

Feeling guilty, Dramia looked away.

"I didn't mean to..."

"I'm glad I stayed behind. Anyways, I'll go get Orion as fast as I can. Wait for me."

She vanished back into the portal, and hurried to where Orion was.

...

As if the timing wasn't bad enough for everyone, Orion locked Ormrdivin's portal behind him, leaving only one choice for Drania.

The portal to Hocride luckily remained opened, so she traveled through it, and flew at top speed toward the dragon's nest, while her sister and Kamala worked on evacuating the fairies, who were beginning to panic.

On all sides, on the thin horizon, a blue line slowly formed, approaching their village. There was no time to lose.

"Everyone! Please listen to me."

Dramia's voice echoed in the village, as she floated above the central plaza of the fairy village.

"It's Queen Dramia!"

"The Queen rarely comes to our village!"

"I knew it! Something happened!"

Worried voices began to fill the streets. Unrest was beginning to take over the fairies.

"Listen well. I will ask this once. Do you want to live?"

Her cold tone reminded everyone that she was truly there. From the looks of it, she hadn't change, and she had everything in control. In appearance at least.

"Of course!"

"What kind of question is that!"

She nodded, watching the will to live of her people still burning bright in their eyes.

"Then move your asses to the manor. This is an emergency. You have ten minutes to pack up your valuables. More than that, and I can't guarantee your safety anymore!"

"What?!"

Worry filled the air, until one fairy turned around.

"Everyone, let's do as she said! Trust the Queen!"

He held his fist above his head, and watched the other fairies looking at him, perplexed.

After a few seconds, they all nodded, and followed his exemple.

~"Trust the Queen!"~

They all said in unison, before running to their houses to pack their belongings.

Speechless, Dramia looked at the scene, and thought.

'Was I always... this much?'

'Why?'

She clenched her fists, and with a resolved expression, flew back to the manor, and joined back with Kamala.

'I'll protect them! Every single one of them!'

...

People began to fill the rooms of the manor as time passed. Kamala, Dramia, and Stella stared in the distance.

Twenty minutes had passed, and Drania still hadn't come back with Orion.

"We don't have much time anymore."

Said Dramia while looking at the sky, half covered in a sparkling blue. The wave was truly gigantic, and it was growing rapidly.

Only now was it finally entering the ten kilometers mark, back to where the water had receded previously.

"..."

Kamala looked blankly into the horizon.

'Can I... delay the inevitable?'

She looked at her hands and remembered her past.

*

"What a disappointment."

She heard the voice of her mother in the back of her head.

"After all you've done, you still can't do anything. Whatever that wish of yours is, it will never happen."

An ominous laugh forced her to frown.

"You will fail! Again! And again! AND AGAIN!"

"That is your punishment for killing me!"

*

She saw blood on her hands, but the moment she blinked, everything was back to normal.

'We'll see! I've built my own path until now! I will do it again, that you like it or not, it doesn't matter to me!'

Clenching her fists, Kamala made up her mind.

"Queen Dramia. No, Dramia. I will delay the wave until Orion arrives."

"What? How?!"

Shocked, the fairy blinked rapidly.

Kamala remained silent, until she forced every ounce of magic out of her body.

"I will show you, that an Apostle is not just a title, but a mark for the strongest humans out there."

With a violently slapping sound, she slammed both hands together, before separating them. Between her hands, two green whirlwind began to wildly rotate around each other, before shards of sand joined them.

"I will put my life on the line, to protect the fairies!"

When she slammed her hands together once again, she released a shockwave of wind that covered the whole village, and Tiohr-nam completely.

Violent winds completely separated the outside from the village, as high walls of sands began to cover a large portion of the ground.

Only moments later, the wave finally arrived at the edge of the island.

"BRACE!"

Shouted Dramia.

*CRASH*

The wind pushed off the water as much as it could, but it still leaked a fair amount into the village.

"Kah-ah!"

"Kamala!"

Forced to endure the full force of the crashing wave on all sides, she spat blood on the ground as she kneeled.

"A-Aaa..."

Stella began to tear up.

"I'm... fine! I won't let you down!"

This wasn't the end yet. The whirlwind shield was rapidly weakening, letting more and more water pour in.

*Huff*

Sweat dripped profusely from every pores of Kamala's body, until her nose began to bleed.

'I need to stay strong! This is...'

"Nothing!"

*THUMP*

Suddenly, her heart stopped beating. As she lost consciousness, she noticed Stella grabbing her long white sleeve, a spinning galaxy in each of her eyes.

'Ah... I see.'

When Kamala opened her eyes again, her body began to slowly cover itself with sand.

'This feeling.'

Kamala awakened, once again.