CHAPTER 358: ONE LAST FLAME

What Florian had seen of Riona had been real—every moment. He’d been right: those glimpses were fragments of Ol’gaz’s memories. What the demon knew, he knew. Their minds were connected, however unwillingly.

But everything shifted the moment Riona entered Florian’s subconscious.

Technically, this was his mind. But with Ol’gaz in control of his physical body, the demon had gained influence over what Florian could perceive.

At first, it hadn’t even realized it. Manipulating Florian’s view hadn’t been the plan. Ol’gaz had only one goal: kill Riona and be done with it.

But Riona changed that.

The demon watched her. Watched how she kept hearing Florian’s voice. Watched how he kept calling out to her from within. And in that moment, it understood: Florian wasn’t gone. He wasn’t dead. He was trapped somewhere in this same space.

A realization slowly spread through the demon’s monstrous form, twisting its features into something that vaguely resembled a grin, though nothing about it could be called a smile.

Finally, Ol’gaz thought. A weakness. A way to clear the path, crush the pests, and claim the world for myself.

Somehow, though even Ol’gaz couldn’t explain why, Florian remained hidden, despite occupying the same mental space. They could hear him... but they couldn’t see him.

All three shared the same subconscious realm. But Florian was trapped, sealed away in a cage so deeply embedded that even within his own mind, he was invisible. That cage created the divide—the barrier that kept him from reaching Riona. And it was that gap Ol’gaz had learned to exploit.

When Riona finally rose to strike, her power flaring with dangerous certainty, the demon panicked. The prophecy loomed too close for comfort, whispering promises of its destruction at her hands.

So Ol’gaz acted.

Just as Riona prepared to hurl a blazing fireball into the demon’s throat, Ol’gaz projected a false vision. What Florian saw wasn’t Riona attacking it

, but Riona turning the fireball onto herself. She appeared to be seconds from swallowing the inferno whole.

The illusion worked. Florian, desperate and confused, reacted just as Ol’gaz had hoped.

In truth, Florian couldn’t hear Riona at all. Not now, not before she crossed into his subconscious. When she cried out to him from the waking world, there had been no sound. No echo. Just silence. A one-way transmission with no reply.

But Riona didn’t know that. And Ol’gaz was counting on her ignorance.

So, it had been Florian who called out to Riona all along, though his response had been subtly manipulated to serve Ol’gaz’s agenda.

***

The blast was uncontainable. Even though it erupted within the subconscious, its magnitude was overwhelming.

Riona had to steady herself, reminding her heart that Florian would survive. As the ancestor had told her, his body was unlike that of any other vampire. It was crafted specifically to contain Ol’gaz’s power and endure it.

She had expected it to kill the demon in one strike. Everyone had said it would—insisted, even—that she was the only one who could do it, the Blood Moon child, destined and chosen.

But when she opened her eyes, the world hadn’t changed. The demon was still standing. Its grotesque eye twitched, its sagging mouth swayed like it might tear loose, but neither gave way.

Riona furrowed her brow. If the fight was truly over, she had no intention of moving anytime soon. She’d wait, gather her strength, then find her brother, save him, and finally escape his subconscious.

But the fight wasn’t over.

The demon still stood, grotesque and towering. One of its arms was gone, and its abdomen was scorched black, but that was the extent of the damage she’d done. A wave of nausea rose in her gut.

How much more of this Blood Moon power must I use? I don’t feel right, she thought.

The Blood Moon gift always came at a price. It drained the chosen one, and when the wielder was too weak or unprepared, it could turn on them, even kill them.

"What the hell..." she muttered deliberately. She never intended for the Fallen One to hear her thoughts. But knowing he could hear her thoughts anyway, she let the words hang in the air, hoping to distract or soften what he’d already heard.

He had heard her, both her silent fear and her muttered curse, but he said nothing. He was lost in his own thoughts. He knew exactly why her power had failed to finish the demon.

Anyone could see it: Riona wasn’t at full strength. Her broken arm and leg had already drained much of her energy. Fighting the demon had taken even more. And though she had deliberately held back, afraid of harming Florian by unleashing her full power, holding the line defensively had been no less exhausting.

Riona waited a few more seconds, but the silence stretched. Either the Fallen One was too distracted to hear her, or he simply had nothing to say.

She turned, just in time to see the demon’s arms already lunging toward her.

There was no choice. She forced herself to her feet and dove aside to avoid the strike. The attack didn’t stop. It came at her in a relentless flurry. Most of the time, she managed to dodge. A few times, the blows grazed her, slicing shallow cuts across her skin. But eventually, one hit landed—clean and hard.

She staggered. Her strength was almost gone. It was only a matter of time before her body gave in. And when it did, when she finally collapsed, Ol’gaz didn’t hesitate.

Tentacles shot toward her. One coiled around her neck, another cinched tight at her waist. Two more wrapped around her limbs, forcing them still, pinning her down and rendering her useless.

She gasped, barely able to breathe, and panic flooded her. She was running out of options.

Desperation surged. Riona called on the Blood Moon power, not caring about control or restraint—not anymore. She didn’t think about the consequences.

She only thought of one thing: Destroy the arms. Break free.

The second explosion was even bigger, a searing wave of force that lit up the darkness. But Riona didn’t let herself hope. She knew better than to expect Ol’gaz to die so easily.

Everyone had said the Blood Moon power would be enough. That she would be enough. But she had stopped believing in those promises.

Still, she pushed herself up, trembling as she tried to stand. She had to summon another wave—one more burst of Blood Moon power. One more explosion.

But the moment her upper body rose, her lower body failed her. Her last working leg gave out, leaving her crumpled. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and her eyelids threatened to close.

She couldn’t feel her limbs anymore. Her strength was gone, drained by the cost of wielding a power far beyond what her body could bear, and doing it twice.

"No, Riona!" the Fallen One’s voice rang out—sharp, desperate.

"I have to kill it," Riona groaned, forcing her trembling arms to push against the ground, trying to rise.

The Fallen One watched her, and then the demon. He had never felt a weight like this. She had to kill it. He knew that. It was the only way to save the world.

But he also knew the truth: if Riona used the Blood Moon power one more time in her current state... she wouldn’t survive.

You’ll die...