Mathias (#1 The Chronicles of the Demon Wolf)
Chapter 16

Clavier presses his hand against Stefano's bleeding abdomen. After hours of battling Arthur and his demon wolf, Stefano was defeated along with his Council. Hundreds of his army died trying to protect the one thing that breathes life to the supernatural world.

The Heart.

The Heart is a large crystal that was unearthed from a volcano in the Kingdom of the Moon Goddess. She commanded the Legion of Angels to bring down the crystal to Earth to act as the Heart—the same as the heart that beats in every living creature. The Heart beats out energy—the leyline, the magic line that used to build the supernatural world before the Moon Goddess breathed out the supernatural species.

It was said that only those who are truly blessed by the Moon Goddess could hear the soft hums of the Heart.

The responsibility of protecting the Heart was bestowed upon De Lucca bloodline until the end of time. Stefano, the sole member of De Lucca family, is the only person who knows the true location of the Heart. However, Arthur found out which begged the question; who told him?

But, Arthur once again proved anything could be corrupted. Without the Heart in its pure form—healthy and incorruptible, there is no way to tell how the outside world would look like now. If the Heart is corrupted, all living creature in the supernatural world would be corrupted—or worst.

"How the hell did he manage to survive your power?" Clavier asks the Daemon High Lord.

Stefano groans as he tries to sit properly. "He must have learned the extend of my power when I trained him. You know, my power is divided."

Stefano's power is not all his. He has to divide his power in order to keep the protection spell around his realm activated when he learned Arthur already escaped the time loop. The protection spell was supposed to keep Arthur from entering his realm but he never expected the son of Lucien could get that strong.

Stefano was not used to be like before. After his almost-fatal injury during the battle against Alistair, the Angel of Death, Stefano grew weaker. The spear that was struck through his body drained his power. An Angel blood who is struck by a weapon made in the Kingdom of the Moon Goddess could suffer a heavy aftermath result. That is why Angels are prohibited to kill or hurt one another.

With that corrupted barrier protecting the Heart with Arthur and Chelsea inside, there is no way for Stefano to breach in without endangering the entire realm. He never studied about the Heart because he feared someone could infiltrate his mind and seek for the location if he comes here frequently. That was why he kept his distance from visiting the location. A corrupted Heart means unstable leylines. A small tap could create a catastrophe event.

Stefano groans in pain when a high pitch sound evades his hearing. The Legion of Angels are beginning to question about his ability of protecting the Heart. Suddenly, everything's froze in time. Clavier is no longer moving. Arthur and Chelsea froze just as him. A bright white light illuminates the underground lair of the Heart before a man in white robes appears along with his four most trusted Knights on his side. It's Hermes, the messenger of the Moon Goddess. His bare feet touch the red clay ground. He bows to Stefano as a sign of respect.

Stefano forces himself to stand despite his injuries. "Did Mother send you?"

"Yes, Brother Stefano." he produces a golden scroll from his sleeves. "Mother has bestowed a new message for you." he unrolls the scroll and begins to read, "Do not feel disappointed, my child. Things happened for a reason. We fail. We succeed. We lose. We win. All happens for a reason. Did you ever question why I sent the Heart to Earth instead of letting it stays in my kingdom?"

That makes him thinking. He never questions every task he receives from her. He did everything under her command without question because he knew she knew better. Now that she asked that question to him, he starts to think of why. Yes, she could have just let the Heart stayed in her kingdom. The Legion could protect it a lot better than him but she commander them to send it down to Earth. There are thousands on Angels who could protect the Heart but she chose only him for the task.

"No," Stefano answers.

The messenger continues, "Before I breathed out lives to the supernatural world, the world was already corrupted. Even long before the humans existed. The energy was so dark even a light could no longer shone on it. Even the plants were dying. Soil was barren. Day was as dark as night. Night was darker than it was supposed to be." Then, she looked at the Heart. "So, I thought if I were to breathe out lives on this Earth, I had to do something to make sure it's inhabitable. I created the Heart. You people might know something called Filter. The Heart is not the source of the energy around us. It is a filter to filter the dark energy and converts it into a good one." Hermes rolls up the scroll and put it back into his sleeves.

"Without the Heart, the dark energy would drain all lives until there's none left," Stefano says.

"Mother has commanded the Angels will not partake in this matter. I'd suggest you to stay out of this."

"But—"

"This matter happened because of the mortals. They must replace their own solution." he walks up close to him. "They must fight for their own survival without our interference."

"And if they lose?"

"Whether they win or lose, it has the same ending. It's just the matter of delaying the inevitable or fast-forwards it," Hermes cut him off. "A command is a command, brother. We do not disobey her command."

"The mortals would not know how to correct this mess. Killing Arthur will not reverse what has happened to the Heart."

Hermes turn to look at the corrupted Heart. "The Dark Age has started, brother. The Reapers are preparing now."

Stefano shakes his head and teleport out of the Heart's lair. He's stunned when he sees hundreds of Reapers are already standing by on the ground and in between the dark horrifying-looking trees. Their heads are looking up to the sky and mouths are moving—silently chanting the Mother's tongue for 'The Dark Age has come. May the Goddess has mercy'. They chant it over and over again.

"The trees..." Stefano trails off. "It traps living being and drain their life out."

"This is just the first phase." Hermes stands next to him, looking calm at what's happening around them. "I have orders to escort you home, Stefano."

"Home?"

"The Kingdom."

"And let these mortals to fight on their own?"

"Stefano!" Hermes shouts his name. "We do not interfere with their matters. Enough with the messes you've created the past millennial. Enough is enough. Angels are supposed to guide these mortals, not cleaning up their messes. We must go now."

Stefano shakes his head. "No, I do not let my people die in suffering."

Hermes sighs. "Very well. You've broken Mother's heart by your disobedience."

Leaving a small gust of wind, Hermes vanishes in thin air with his Knights. Stefano looks around and guilt begins to eat him alive. These people are innocent and yet the Reapers are waiting in front of them—waiting for their last breath. These people were supposed to have a long journey ahead of them but Arthur has terminated all that.

"Stefano..." someone calls him weakly.

Stefano turns around and sees a portal is opened. Clavier stumbles his way out of the portal towards him. Small roots beginning to engulf his feet. The Daemon High Lord rushes to him just before a corrupted tree engulfed him into the trunk. Using his power, Stefano tries to break Clavier free but the tree drains in his power instead.

The Daemon doctor gives him a smile before his eyes shut closed.

Screaming in enraged, the sky erupted in thunders and lightning. Stefano's wings materialized behind him along with his spear. He flies to the sky with rage. The lightning accompanies his figure higher up the sky. His only aim is the lair hidden underground. Focusing his power, he's ready to channel his power to strike the lair.

But, a chain wraps around his neck, pulling his body to the ground. Without seeing who did it, he grabs his spear and strikes the person.

"Ste..." the person materialized before him.

Adeline spits out blood from her mouth. Her blue dress is now stained by her own blood. She pulls the tip of the spear out of her stomach before collapsing to the ground.

A/N

I'm going to write a lot of short prequel/sequel/standalone stories soon. So suggest me which one I should write first or you could suggest another idea.

1) Vincent & Amanda (Prequel to the Alpha's Mate)

2) Mira's life before The Alpha's Mate

3) Stefano and Adeline

4) Brandon Kane and Celeste (Our Family)

5) Liam Blake and Jazmine Diaz (Our Family)

6) Jaxon Creighton & Kaya (Sequel to the Survivor.)