The sky, once heavy with grey clouds, turned pitch black — as if the sun itself had been swallowed by the dark power Alice had unleashed. No light touched the earth. The entire battlefield sank into suffocating darkness.
The temperature plummeted. Every breath the knights took misted white — but something far stranger happened. The snow that had covered the land began to vanish, little by little. In mere seconds, the thick white blanket disappeared completely, as if it had never existed at all. The frozen ground lay bare once more, streaked with blood, footprints, and the bodies of fallen monsters.
The knights stumbled, disoriented by the sudden shift.
"What is happening?"
"I… I cannot see a thing!"
"It is too dark!"
They paused their fighting, their eyes unable to adjust to such absolute blackness. Not only humans — even some of the monsters vanished from sight.
Then…
"Arghhh!"
A knight's scream tore through the dark. Something unseen stabbed him, and he crumpled to the ground.
"What was that?"
"No!"
"Help us!"
Screams rang out from every direction. Knights swung their swords blindly — some striking monsters, others nearly cutting down their own comrades. Human eyes were never meant to see in such darkness. Yet still they fought, even with their lives at stake.
Amidst the chaos…
Celestia raised both hands toward the sky. Pure white light gathered in her palms.
"Light Magic…"
The glow swelled, forming a brilliant moon that hung high above the battlefield. Its soft radiance spilled over most of the fighting ground, pushing the shadows back. The knights could see once more.
"Light!"
"We can see again!"
It was not enough to banish every corner of dark — but at least half the field was clear. Celestia looked around, and her heart sank. Several knights lay still, gone forever. Others were badly wounded, some struggling to rise despite their injuries. Tears pricked her eyes.
"I am sorry… I am so sorry I was too slow to bring you light."
One knight pressed a hand to his bleeding shoulder and gave a faint smile.
"Do not blame yourself, Princess. Thank you for saving us. Without your light, we would all be lost."
Others nodded firmly.
"We will keep fighting! We will not waste your help!"
Celestia smiled through her heavy heart. "Thank you…"
Buoyed by new hope, the knights returned to battle. With Celestia's glow guiding them, they could track the monsters' movements clearly once more. Swords rose again. The roar of battle filled the air.
Suddenly — "Celestia!" Elowen shouted.
She yanked her sister back just as a black blade sliced through the air right where Celestia had stood.
Whoosh!
Had Elowen hesitated even a second… it would have pierced her skull.
Alice stood a short distance away, a terrifying smile stretching across her face.
"You truly think… your light can defeat me?"
Dark aura swirled around her once more, shadowy mist seeping from every inch of her skin. Elowen stepped forward, sword held steady.
"We will defeat you — no matter what it takes."
Alice's smile widened, growing more grotesque by the second. Slowly her jaw opened… further and further… until it stretched past her chest. Celestia stared in horror.
"By all that is holy… what is she?"
One black sphere after another poured from her gaping mouth — one, two, five, ten — all hurtling straight for Celestia's glowing moon.
"No!" Celestia fired beams of light to intercept them — but she was too late.
Boom!
The spheres slammed into the moon. The whole light shuddered. It stayed in the sky, but its glow flickered like a dying lamp. The battlefield dimmed again.
Alice did not waste a moment. She vanished — and reappeared instantly right before Celestia.
"Get away from my sister!" Elowen charged, swinging her blade with all her strength.
Slash!
The sword cut Alice clean in two, from head to waist. Her upper body fell to the ground while her legs remained standing upright. But before their eyes — both halves began to move. Flesh knitted together. Bones snapped back into place. Within seconds, Alice stood whole again, grinning coldly.
"You think… cutting me in half… would kill me?"
Elowen frowned. "Are you immortal or something?"
Alice only smiled and said nothing. Instead she raised both hands — dozens of dark spheres forming once more, launching together at Elowen and Celestia.
"This time… die!"
Elowen's blade moved in a blur. Slash! Slash! Every orb was sliced apart before it could reach them. At the same time, Celestia wove her light magic, blasting sphere after sphere out of the sky. Boom! Boom! Boom! Explosions lit up the air.
Suddenly — Whoosh! A nearby tree burst into flame. The whole area brightened just a little. Vaelrith exhaled a cloud of hot smoke.
"Good thing I have fire magic. At least it won't be pitch black."
Alice gritted her teeth. "Useless lizard!" Her glare burned toward him — but before she could move, Elowen and Celestia were already there.
"Hey!" Elowen called out. "Your fight is with us."
Alice backed away, hurling more dark spheres. Elowen cleaved them apart; Celestia shattered them with light. Their teamwork had never been more seamless.
Alice roared with rage. "I want you dead! I want all of you dead! I will devour everything!"
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Is she a cannibal or something?"
"Silence!" Alice screamed so loud the ground trembled.
A sudden gust of wind blew — not strong, but instantly snuffed out Vaelrith's fire. Darkness swallowed the field again.
Celestia sighed. "Ugh… will she ever give up?"
Elowen tightened her grip on her glowing sword. "Never. As long as she draws breath… she will keep fighting."
Without another word, the sisters charged at Alice from two sides. Vaelrith breathed fire onto more trees, keeping what faint light he could burning. Beyond that dim glow, the knights still fought desperately against endless monsters pouring from the shadows. Covered in wounds, not one stepped back. They stood fast — fighting for Wonderveil, side by side with their princesses.
Elowen darted left as several dark spheres shot toward her. They passed so close she could feel the scorching heat of the shadow magic brushing her arm. She spun, keeping her balance steady.
"Hah… Hah…" Her breath came in ragged gasps. The endless battle was wearing her down. The air felt heavy, as if the darkness choking the land was slowly stealing the very oxygen from her lungs. Sweat trickled down her forehead, stinging her eyes and sliding along her neck — yet her grip on her sword never loosened.
Slash! She struck again, cleaving another dark sphere in two before it shattered into flecks of black light. She kept moving without pause, her eyes scanning every corner. She had to dodge Alice's attacks and make sure no monsters slipped past to reach Celestia. Thank the stars her sister's light still held strong enough to illuminate most of the field — dim as it was, it let them see what came for them.
Not far away… Whoosh! Another tree burst into flame. Vaelrith had set several ablaze on purpose, refusing to let the dark swallow them again. The great white dragon spread his massive wings and swooped low toward the colossal monster ahead.
"ROAAARRR!" The beast roared back so loud the ground shook. Its bellow echoed across the battlefield, and it charged forward with earth‑shaking steps, raising jagged claws to strike. Vaelrith rolled mid‑air — Whoosh! — and the swipe sliced only empty wind. He opened his jaws wide, and a torrent of crimson fire poured forth.
"RAAAHHH!" The wall of flames engulfed the monster completely — yet it stood unmoved. Not a flicker of pain crossed its twisted features.
"Tch!" Vaelrith gritted his teeth. "This thing doesn't even feel my fire."
Elsewhere, the knights were struggling badly. Most gasped for air, their arms trembling from hours of swinging swords — but more monsters kept pouring in, endless and uncountable.
"Hold fast!"
"Stay strong!"
"For Wonderveil!"
Their shouts rang out in unison. Covered in cuts and bruises, not one fell back. Some fought clutching bleeding shoulders; others stood their ground even as their armor crumbled to pieces. Dizziness clouded their minds — likely the lingering poison of Alice's dark magic — yet they held their swords high. Steel clashed against claw; monster roars mixed with human cries filled the air.
Celestia watched them, heart aching with sorrow. So many risked everything to protect their home. She bit her lip softly, then turned her gaze to Alice — still hurling shadow after shadow in every direction.
"Elowen."
Elowen parried a strike and glanced over. "Yes?"
"I have a plan to end this — now." Celestia drew a long, steady breath. "I'm not sure if you'll agree…"
Elowen smiled faintly even as she fought on. "Tell me. I'm always ready to stand with you."
"The plan is… to banish her — to kill her — by pulling her into another dimension."
Elowen blinked, surprised. "How?"
"I'll use my light magic to build a trap. Elowen… you must drive her inside — so she can never escape."
Elowen looked straight into her sister's eyes. No doubt, no hesitation. "Very well. I trust you."
Celestia took the deepest breath she could, standing tall in the center of the field. She lifted both hands toward the sky — and began to chant. The words were ancient, strange, unknown to anyone there. Her voice rose and fell, woven with the growing brilliance of pure white light.
Alice stopped her assault, staring at Celestia with sharp suspicion. "What do you think you're doing?"
She lunged — but Elowen stepped between them. Slash! Her light blade struck fast, forcing Alice back.
"Stay out of this!" Alice snarled. "I'll kill you first!"
She loosed dozens of dark spheres — Elowen cut every single one apart before they could draw near.
At the same moment, Celestia's palms began to glow. What started as a tiny spark swelled and swelled — brighter, larger, until it outgrew a human, floating high above the field. Its pure white radiance lit up every corner of the battlefield. All eyes turned upward.
"What kind of power…?" one knight whispered in awe.
Elowen knew the moment had come. Summoning every last ounce of strength, she charged. BAM! She slammed into Alice, knocking her off balance.
"Hey! What is this?!" Alice thrashed, hurling dark magic straight at the glowing orb. "I'll destroy that thing!"
Elowen would not let her. With one final, mighty shove — she drove Alice straight into the heart of the blinding sphere.
Alice's eyes went wide. "What —?!" Her body began to dissolve into light. And without a second's pause — Elowen leaped in after her. Celestia looked at her sister one last time, then stepped forward and followed.
Whoosh! In a heartbeat, the orb vanished — taking Elowen, Celestia, and Alice with it.
Instantly, the giant monster fighting Vaelrith froze. Its eyes turned blank — and it crashed to the earth with a thunderous THUD! Every other monster faltered, cracks spreading across their forms until they crumbled into black dust, blown away by the wind.
Silence fell over the battlefield. The storm clouds parted, sunlight breaking through to warm the frozen land. Soft snow began to fall again, drifting gently over the scars of war.
The knights stood motionless, staring up at the empty sky, then down at the spot where the light had been. No one remained there. No Elowen. No Celestia. Only the quiet stillness left behind when the war was finally over.
The battlefield, once filled with the crash of steel, screams of battle, and the roars of rampaging monsters, had fallen completely silent.
Snow drifted gently down from the sky once more. Soft white flakes settled over the scarred earth — swords half‑buried in mud, craters left by explosive magic, and the still forms of knights who had given their lives stood as silent witnesses to the ferocity of the fight that had just ended.
The knights remained fixed on the spot where the sphere of light had vanished, still unable to believe what their eyes had seen.
"Where is Princess Elowen…?" one knight whispered, glancing left and right before lifting his gaze to the sky.
"Where are Princess Elowen and Princess Celestia?" asked another, his voice tight with worry.
No one had an answer. They looked at one another in quiet confusion. Several rushed immediately to the place where the sisters had disappeared, searching every inch — but there was nothing. No blood. No shred of clothing. Not even a footprint. It was as if they had truly vanished from this world entirely.
"Perhaps they took Alice far away from us to keep everyone safe."
"We have to find them!"
"Princess Elowen!"
"Princess Celestia!"
Their calls echoed around the abandoned mansion — but only the biting winter wind answered them.
Vaelrith stood nearby, his expression grave. The great guardian dragon narrowed his eyes, testing the air several times, then gazing upward. "Where have they gone?" he murmured. He could sense no trace of Elowen or Celestia anywhere.
A knight hurried over to him. "Vaelrith — can you help us search? Fly high and look over the whole area from above. They might have been thrown somewhere else."
Vaelrith nodded solemnly. "Of course." With one powerful beat of his wings — Whoosh! — he lifted into the sky, his flight sending swirls of snow spinning across the ground. Higher and higher he climbed, scanning the battlefield below: the crumbling mansion, the dead forest, the road leading back to Wonderveil, snow‑covered hills stretching to the horizon.
But there was no sign of Elowen. No trace of Celestia. He flew east, circled back west, then north and south, searching every corner with eyes sharp enough to spot a needle in the snow. Still — nothing.
Down below, the knights split into teams. Some entered the shadowed mansion; others sifted through ruins or combed the forest edges. They called their names again and again — "Princess Elowen! Princess Celestia!" — and still silence was their only reply.
Time slipped by. Half an hour… forty minutes… nearly an hour passed before Vaelrith touched down once more. His face was heavy with sorrow. "I… I could not find them."
A hush fell over the group. Anxiety was written clearly on every face.
"Did they take Alice away on purpose… to save us all?"
"If so — what happened to them?"
"Are they even still alive?"
Questions swirled through their minds, but no one had the answers. The Captain of the Knights drew a long breath and spoke firmly. "Do not lose hope. Princess Elowen and Princess Celestia are no ordinary people. I believe with all my heart they are still alive. We will not give up."
His words kindled their courage once more.
"You are right!"
"We will keep looking — no matter how long it takes."
The Captain's expression turned serious. "Listen closely — tell no one of this. Not Ashveil, not Charles — not anyone, for now."
Several looked confused. "Why?"
"If word spreads that both princesses are gone, all Wonderveil will descend into chaos. The people will panic. Their hope will shatter. We must keep the peace until we truly know what has become of them."
Every knight nodded in understanding. "We will obey."
Vaelrith looked up at the clearing sky, silently sharing their hope that the sisters were safe somewhere. Without wasting another moment, the knights moved out again, spreading in every direction. If there were no clues around the mansion… they would search every corner of Wonderveil. Until they found them — or found what truly happened — they would never stop.