Chapter 79

  Awakening (Part II)

  (Constance)

  The world had changed, and yet there were still parts that remained tangible, parts that remained the exact same.

  Power was still the absolute, for power was what could change the scope of the world. For months Constance had to settle for the fact that her bonded one was just outside her reach. For the first few days Constance accepted her fate, that she would need to wait for Frank to come for her.

  Then when it was clear that Frank either could not or would not leave, that was when Constance looked for alternate methods of fulfilling this unyielding burn that was deep within her soul. For a corrupted one, like her, you cannot choose who your bonded partner is, nor who they will be. Instead, all you can do is focus on finding that one true source of inspiration that dulls the ache.

  Frank Fotos was that inspiration, at least for Constance. Since her transition, she had been mostly held in a dull animalistic fog of noise and base instincts. Looking back, the fact that she was captured was of no real surprise, for she was feral, falling straight into traps that were designed to capture her versus kill her. From there she was cut, diced, and spliced by monsters that all clearly thought of her as nothing more than an animal.

  Looking back at that time, it was clear she was an animal. In fact, that was why she had been left to rot, for she offered nothing. Her mentality was fractured and broken by her transformation, no semblance of her old self, nor who she was now becoming.

  Her entire life was that of constant survival, and pain. There was so much pain that her mind could only focus on those parts that hurt, never allowing her mind to settle. Then he came.

  Nothing exceptional about him, at least not at first. Just one of the fowl smelling monsters that came in to torture her, to try to break her down even more. The only thing that none of them realized was that you can’t break what is already broken. Her mind, her consciousness were all shattered beyond reproach at that point. Then he did something, he healed her. With the pain starting to leave her shattered mind, her body was able to relax, which led to her finally being able to focus. It was at that exact moment, the one where her true senses finally came back to her that she was able to see what, or more importantly, who had saved her. That’s when she saw him.

  Call it Stockholm syndrome, call it what you will, the result was the same. After years of torture in the darkness, where her mind and consciousness were unable to see or even focus around the pain, he came. He came and removed the pain.

  Not just that, not only did he remove the pain, but he shattered the pain entirely. Making it so she was able to finally settle into her true powers. And her powers were beyond exceptional. Seeing her savior, her spirit reached out and imprinted itself onto him. Childish, that’s what she would have called such an action now, your emotions finally stabilize, and you fall for the first person who makes you feel alive. Yet, that’s what her mind, body, and soul had all done.

  In her mind, Constance knew what she was doing was crazy. That level beyond borderline obsession that anyone not fully corrupted by the dark wouldn’t understand. There was a psychological need to be bonded that came from the curse of corruption that she was afflicted with.

  Worse, only now that she was fully awake and aware was she able to understand why her affliction was so intense. For it seemed that she had one of the most pure connections to the ancient one. Which after evaluating the source of her current predicament made sense. Her aunt, Christie, the one who turned Constance was a generational talent. One who was powerful that just her joining a battlefield could flip the entire dynamic of any battle or skirmish going on.

  Under Christie’s leadership, humanity seemed like it would have a chance to finally take back the lands that had been lost. That’s when the ancient one herself came to the field and personally selected Christie as her own. This in turn shattered Christie’s mind, but she had help due to being directly bonded to the ancient one.

  That was how Christie was aware enough to realize who Constance was, when she came to kill her aunt. This was also why Christie chose to turn Constance, instead of killing her. Their bond, even in her undeath was enough to stave off Christie’s hand and make it so she would choose Constance as her own progeny.

  The only problem was that Christie herself was barely conscious, her powers were still far outside of her control. Meaning that she couldn’t fully control how much of her own powers to give to Constance. Which was why what happened to Constance’s psyche was so devastating. That is until he arrived and gave her clarity for the first time in forever.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Of course, that wasn’t the only change that had occurred. Somehow he had purified her corruption, making her far more powerful than even her aunt who theoretically had a more direct link to the Ancient one, to the Dark Queen herself. This was when her second mental bond was made to the Dark Queen. Not to Christie as would normally happen, but to the great one herself.

  It was that purification, and greater connection that ultimately led the Dark Queen to move. Like a tsunami, once the Dark Queen begins moving, she is unstoppable. That is the aspect that is most riveting and concerning about the Dark Queen. The way the world will seemingly stop rotating even if for a moment, if she but wills it. That was how Christie and Constance both were rescued, she, the Dark Queen came for them. Well, not directly, for the Dark Queen does not move, less the world itself will change direction for a moment.

  Once she was back, her mind began to expand rapidly, aided by the ancient powers that flowed within her body. Powers that were given directly by the great one herself directly to Christie, who then bestowed them to her without any filtering or diluting of potency.

  The end result of so much undiluted power being pumped directly into her body and system made it so that she could theoretically do any action that the Dark Queen herself could perform. While she had first focused on basic survival skills at first. Times had changed to make it so she needed to focus on some of the more esoteric powers that were inherent to the dark one.

  That was the problem, she had so much raw power, and yet she felt powerless. Her mind and body told her that she could and should go after her bonded pair, the one who her mind, body, and soul all chose to be her counterpart. Yet, she was denied. At each and every venture she was told of how the corrupted ones all banded together long ago, in an effort to stop infighting. The idea was that they would all unify together, and as one they would eliminate the mortals that still tainted the lands of this world. Until such a time as the last living mortal was destroyed, their nonaggression pacts would remain in effect.

  The contracts were all signed and enacted by the elders of each group. Meaning that should any child of the ancients break the pact, then the backlash would fall back onto the signing progenitor, which would then filter down through the progeny.

  However, there were loopholes and workarounds. With a contract as powerful as the one being signed there was no room for interpretation, no ability to apply the spirit of the law. Instead, the wording was very direct and succinct. No one from another tribe or group was allowed to set foot upon the land of another without express permission. The wording and execution were undeniable, but very literal.

  This was how, Constance found and then practiced the art of flying. Really, it was a matter of shifting gravity, pushing her body away from the ground with as much weight and force as possible. By angling the direction of certain repulsion techniques, she could use gravity to propel her forward, while also maintaining a certain set distance from the ground.

  It took her months of trial and error, working with these new powers, strengthening her understanding of the esoteric nature of these powers and then using them to get where she wanted.

  Finally, once she was ready to go, the Dark Queen herself forbade her. Forcing Constance to train harder, to be able to move faster. Constance did as instructed, she even practiced moving while sleeping, while carrying different sized weights. While flying around and grabbing different sized weights from the ground at a full flight. She practiced the minutia of her power so much that she had not touched the ground for the past week. Right now, her hovering over the ground was as natural to her as breathing was back when she was still living.

  Then before she left, the Dark Queen granted her a meeting. She entered a room so dark that it even disoriented her heightened senses.

  “I understand you wish to fully bond with your soul’s chosen?”

  Constance wanted to answer in the affirmative, but found her voice restricted. Her body tensed under the weight and pressure of the old being before her. Thus all she could do was nod.

  “Good, then go with my blessing, and my blood.”

  At that, a ceramic bowl appeared before Constance and seemed to manifest itself within her hands.

  Whoosh.

  After receiving the bowl, Constance found herself being pushed out of the dark hall. The only reason she did not fall was the fact that even in this state, her mind kept up her gravitational resistance, forcing her body to float out of the meeting hall.

  Once she was out, she was surrounded by the dim light of the moon, which felt like the midday sun beating down on her after being in the dark chamber. Looking into the bowl Constance saw one tiny dot of dark black blood. Seeing that speck, it was clear just how much power resided within that one drop.

  Drooling.

  Seeing the drop of blood, Constance felt her body quiver with want and desire at the prize that was before her. With such a drop, her own powers could expand by leaps and bounds. At least that is what every instinct she had now told her. Yet, she calmed herself realizing that this was a gift from the Dark One herself to her betrothed.

  Focusing her mind, she calmed herself, then proceeded to add her own blood to the drop. Instantly the power within the one drop seemed to dilute almost instantly, which meant that her Frank could take and consume the mixture without losing his mind, hopefully. Even if he did, she would be there for him, just as he was there for her.

  “Good, you were not tempted by the power. There is still hope for you yet,” the thoughts of the Dark Queen filled Constance’s mind, as she realized this had all been a test. But before she could think too deeply about what would have happened if she failed the test, the Dark One continued. “Now go, and give the blood to your soul’s counterpart. So long as you do not set foot on the land of the edge walkers, and offer the sacrament as a gift of power, they have to accept both you and the offering.”

  That was how Constance now found herself here, next to her Frank. As she got close, she felt her body tremble with excitement. Just being in the same room as her Frank made her body come to life with emotions and responses that she had not felt since she last drew breath.

  Seeing him there, on the bed, Constance couldn’t help but realize how their fates had turned as now she looked down at the man who could not move nor resist what was to come next.

  “I’ve come to make an offering to your champion, may he grow strong enough to unite the lands,” Constance said, the words that the Dark One had etched into her brain coming to life.

  Tension.

  Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Deep down, she knew she was crazy, but she couldn’t help it, her soul had chosen him. And unless she wanted to forever be without half her soul for the rest of her life, she had to try something.

  Which was what she did as she strode forward, and began applying the now dried blood offering directly to Frank’s forehead, using her own fingers as the applicator. This way, there would be a direct touch, again just as Frank had done to her, while she was unable to move.

  “Come back to me,” Constance spoke, knowing that Frank was nearby but unable to take control over his body for whatever reason. Then in a much more silent thought she continued speaking directly to Frank’s consciousness directly, “I need you.”