“Are you afraid of me now, Aya?” Severa asked, jeering at her sister.

“N-no,” Oga said trying to put on a brave face over her sister’s newly demonic image.

“Alright then,” Severa said as she stomped her dark staff. “How about we have another sparring match…”

A large red globe of energy enveloped the two sisters and the sacred water. Severa’s teeth, sharpened and gnashing, gritted into a grin as her red eyes leered. “To the death…”

Oga looked behind her to see her allies trying hard to break through the force field it was to no avail.

“That’s an elf blood sphere,” Severa said. “Only those with pure elf blood can enter…”

“Well, then it’s broken,” Oga spat. “Since an orc like me could break through it!”

Oga charged at Severa, staff in hand, swinging it harder than she had ever done before.

Severa deftly blocked the hasty blows with a smirk more satisfied than ever. Oga began to puff and pant, realizing her strength was was wearing out. She quickly motioned with her left hand and caused a small wave of glistening water to splash Severa.

Severa howled in pain and swung her staff with a wide range, causing Oga to leap back. A small smile crept onto Oga’s lips. She had found Severa’s weakness.

Oga quickly cast her staff at the water and unleashed a steady blast of water at her sister. In response, Severa help up a clawed hand causing the water’s motion to cease. Severa’s red eyes glowed brightly as Oga watched in horror as the beautiful diamond water turned blood red. Oga gasped and quickly leaped out of the way, but it was too late, she still felt a splash of red water on her leg. She cried in pain as it stung her and caused a burning sensation.

“I guess this is my power?” Severa asked, looking at her hands in amazement. “It feels so good to finally have magic!”

“That is not all of Queen Ayne’s dark powers,” the masked Everblood said from the sidelines. “Use your will and open the top of your staff!”

Severa concentrated and much to her amazement. The top spike on the staff opened to reveal a pitch-dark crystal.

“With that, “the Everblood’s deep voice resonated. “You can consume the life of your enemy. Drain her energy so you can perform the blood transfer.”

“With pleasure,” Severa exclaimed with wide eyes as a horizontal vortex shot out of her staff and blasted Oga square in the chest.

Oga gasped as she felt her vitality slip from her body. She was dangerously tired. Her body was going to shut down. She struggled to move but it was no avail.

Severa continued to laugh and beam with crazy eyes as she walked towards her dying sister.

Oga tried to inch away but she was firmly held in place.

“Oga,” Cyrus cried as she watched him helplessly.

Oga shifted her attention from the prince to her sister. “S-s-severa,” she stammered. “D-do you really…hate m-m-me?”

Severa paused for a second to tilt her head before speaking. “Yes,” she said at last.

“W-why?”

“Your only purpose,” Severa said with a slight hint of emotion, “Was to replace me…Well now it seems to be the opposite case now. I will replace you and blot you out of history!”

Severa laughed manically and continued to blast Oga with the staff. “It feels so good coursing through my veins. This power I was entitled to all of my life! It will be mine in a matter of seconds.”

Oga’s vision grew blurry. The short ten years of her life flashed by in seconds, and as she closed her eyes one final time, the last thing she saw was Severa’s staff ready to impale her.

Oga saw her mother sitting in a rocking chair in a giant white void. She was beautiful; her wine colored hair flowed down onto her light-blue matron robe. Her equally blue eyes gazed with love onto a crimson red bundle wrapped in her hand. Soon, Oga’s father and a ten year old Severa stood at her side. Oga scarcely remembered Severa when she was her age, and strangely enough, the short gawky version of Severa reminded Oga of herself. Severa peered precociously at the bundle of blankets.

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“Do you want to see your new sister?” Oga’s mom asked Severa gently.

Severa timidly peered at the gift of life with a flushed face and bashful eyes. She slowed reached a finger at the baby who wrapped her tiny hands around it and babbled docilely.

“Aya,” the elven king said proudly. “Is the true future of our kingdom!”

Oga immediately saw a familiar icy coldness envelop Severa’s vision and she yanked her finger away from the infant, provoking a cry.

“Severa!” Oga’s mom yelled as Severa ran away.

The cry of the infant echoed loudly defeaning Oga until she couldn’t hear anything but white noise. Slowly, she heard a voice attempting to cut through the din. “Aya…Aya…Aya…”

Aya blinked her eyes open and saw a beautiful elven woman kneeling over her with a crimson red stain bloodying her chest.

“Mom!” Oga cried, tears filling her eyes.

Oga’s mother’s face was emotionless. Her eyes were hollow voids. Her mouth intoned her words with no expression but Oga could feel endless pain in them.

“Now…Severa…can…have…my…accursed…powers. They…robbed…me…of…my…soul…and…spirit…I never….wanted them….”

Severa yanked her pointed staff out of her mothers body who dropped onto Oga. “They…locked…me…up…for…so…long…I can…finally…be…free.”

Oga cried hysterically as her mother closed her eyes and felt the mercy of death. Oga’s bawling was immediately silenced by a ripping sound. Oga looked up and watched as Severa screamed in pain as black inky tattoos carved themselves into her skin. Colored drained from her face and was replaced with a statuesque gray.

Severa’s body rocked violently. Oga immediately knew that magical tattoos growing onto Aquarian skin was an incredibly pain rite of passage, but this seemed so much more unnatural.

“My power! It finally belongs to me!” Severa screamed to the heavens before her voice suddenly lowered about a hundred octaves.

“Hahaha, at last,” an elven woman said as her voice aged back hundreds of years. “I inhabit living flesh once again.”

The masked Everblood bowed his head. “It is truly a pleasure to see you again, Queen Ayne. With your power we can instill a joint rule in this mortal kingdom of Everblood and Dark Elven Queen.”

Severa’s chalk white face cut through the air with a dry laugh as jagged tattoos curled around her pointed ears. “Of course. And now you will witness the miraculous power I have obtained in the Dark Realm. I will turn transform this sacred Aquarian water source into a river of blood that will spread all throughout this land in a matter of days.”

As Queen Ayne positioned her staff over the blessed waters, Oga inched herself along the floor. She knew that as poorly as Severa behaved, this was never her goal.

Oga made her way towards her staff as Queen Ayne began to chant in a forbidden elven tongue. The calming blue glow of the Water Sanctuary transform into a blood red and black aura. She wrapped her fingers around the elven staff and positioned it upwards causing a large splash of sacred water to fall all over Ayne.

The Dark Elven Queen howled and the red barrier between Oga and Cyrus and his friends vanished. Everyone charged at Queen Ayne at once. Cyrus loaded his mouth up with dragon powder while Van brandished her sword and Antonio wielded a small knife that Van had on her belt.

The wall of fire flew over Oga’s head causing her ears to feel the intense heat. She watched in horror as Queen Ayne levitated into the air and consumed every inch of flame through her nostril. A red Elf Blood barrier surrounded her body as she began to chant again.

Van and Antonio squared off against the masked Everblood. “In the name and honor of Sir Lance Celine,” Van shouted. “I order you to surrender yourself, foul slayer of a noble knight.”

“Yeah what she said!” Antonio responded, earning a look of scorn from Van.

“Ah, Vanessa,” the Everblood responded with a deep laugh. “It seems you have grown in height since I last saw you. Let’s see if you’ve grown in swordplay.”

The Everblood unsheathed a horrifying blade that split into two edges with ripping teeth around it. With its two points curled upwards and bright yellow diamond near the hilt, it resembled a demon’s mouth. The smog aura around it was filled with a malevolence that seemed to draw upon the Dark Realm itself.

With a slight reluctance, Van charged forward with her sword aimed to separate the Everblood’s head from his shoulders. The Everblood’s white mask with two slits made him look absolutely emotionless and unafraid of Van’s charging attack. Quickly stabbing his sword in her direction, Van flinched as she felt a swipe at her back. She turned around to see the Everblood’s sword had ripped a void in the mortal realm and had slashed at her back. Van quickly turned around to swing but she felt another slash at her back. This one cutting through a strap that held her torso armor to her shoulder pad. She gasped as she saw her shoulder pad fall to the ground with a clang.

“You scoundrel!” Antonio shouted. “Never should you undress a maiden without her consent!”

He charged at the masked Everblood who quickly grasped his face with a gloved hand and slammed it to the ground.

The Everblood loomed over Antonio’s body and Van ran over to him and shielded him with her sword. “I see you have become a noble gentlewoman,” the Everblood chuckled. “That won’t prevent me from ending both of you!”

With a final declamation in an ancient elven language, Queen Ayne held her clawed hands up in the air and exclaimed “Demon blood awash over these mortals, rob them of their humanity!”

The waters billowed, changing from sacred white to crimson red and they rose higher and higher. Small blue eyeballs surfaced in them, gazing with inhuman malice. A giant wave swept over everyone, ready to consume their very souls.