Inside the diner the wind howled through the torn roof. Red lightning flashed above the broken ceiling while the blood beam from the ritual circle continued shooting into the sky.
The pentagram drawn across the floor pulsed slowly, feeding the cracks spreading through the clouds above.
The Dark One stood calmly in the middle with the Book of the Dead open in its hand.
When Wednesday, Selene, and Enid stepped inside, it didn't even turn toward them immediately. Its gaze remained fixed on the sky as if the outcome had already been decided.
"You came too late," it said at last. "There is nothing you can do."
The blood beam intensified, painting the diner in a dim red glow.
"For thousands of years we tried to reclaim this realm," the Dark One continued. "Again and again we were pushed back."
Now it finally turned.
"And now… that dream is completed."
Its twisted eyes studied the three of them with clear interest.
"And who came to stop me?" it asked slowly.
Its gaze settled on Wednesday first.
"A witch bloodline."
Then it shifted to Enid.
"An Alpha bloodline."
Finally it looked at Selene.
"And you."
The creature tilted its head.
"You are his kin, correct?"
Selene's grip tightened around her gun.
The Dark One continued speaking as if analyzing them was more entertaining than killing them.
"Your ancestors were powerful," it said. "They were strong enough to imprison us in another dimension."
"But I can see clearly that their power has disappeared."
Its voice carried a note of quiet amusement.
"You don't even possess a fragment of their strength."
Wednesday stepped forward, chainsaw still rumbling in her hands.
"But we are enough to kick your ass," she said.
Selene attacked first.
She moved forward in a blur and drove a powerful kick toward the Dark One's head. The creature leaned slightly to the side, letting the strike pass inches from its face.
Selene didn't stop moving.
The moment her foot touched the ground she pivoted and fired.
Two gunshots thundered inside the diner.
The bullets streaked toward the Dark One.
The creature lifted one hand.
Both bullets froze in midair as if the air itself had turned solid.
They dropped harmlessly to the floor.
"Worthless," the Dark One said.
Then something crashed into its back.
The heavy wooden table slammed into the Dark One's back as Enid hurled it with the full strength of her partial werewolf form.
The impact splintered the wood.
The Dark One didn't move.
The creature stood there calmly while broken pieces of the table slid off its body and crashed onto the floor.
Then it turned its head slowly.
Enid's confidence vanished instantly.
Before it could react further, Selene and Enid moved together. They lunged from opposite sides and grabbed the Dark One's arms, locking its movement for a brief second.
That moment was enough.
Wednesday stepped forward.
The chainsaw roared violently in her hands as she drove the spinning blade straight into the Dark One's chest.
The teeth tore into its body.
Blood sprayed across the ritual circle as the chainsaw dug deeper.
For a second it looked like it worked.
Then the Dark One laughed.
"I have no heart to destroy," it said calmly.
Its arms moved.
The force of the motion alone was enough.
Enid was hurled across the diner like a ragdoll. Her body slammed into a table first, splintering it apart, before the momentum carried her straight into the wall. Wood and plaster exploded outward as she crashed through it and tumbled into the courtyard outside.
She hit the stone ground hard, rolling across the gravel before finally coming to a stop. Blood smeared the ground beneath her as she tried to move, one arm trembling as she attempted to push herself up.
A sharp breath escaped her lips.
Her body refused to cooperate. One leg bent at a wrong angle, and every attempt to move sent fresh pain through her ribs.
The Dark One lifted a single finger.
The air warped.
A thick wooden log ripped free from the shattered roof above and shot downward like a spear. It drove straight through Selene's stomach and pinned her to the floor.
She gasped as the wood nailed her body to the ground.
Wednesday barely had time to react.
A blast of unseen force erupted from the Dark One and hurled her backwards through the diner wall. The wooden structure exploded outward as she was thrown outside.
The entire front of the diner collapsed behind her.
Wednesday hit the ground hard.
Dust and broken boards rained down around her while the wind from the red storm above howled across the ruined street.
Something landed in front of her.
The Book of Dead.
The ancient pages flipped wildly in the storm wind.
Wednesday pushed herself up slowly, blood running down her arm. For a brief moment she stared at the open book while the memory of the vision flashed through her mind.
Then her eyes locked onto the page.
She immediately recognized the symbols—the same ones she had seen in the vision. Without hesitation she began reading, her voice steady as the harsh Kandarian words spilled from the page.
"Kanda… Estrata… Montose… Kandos… Kanda…"
The sky responded immediately.
The cracks spreading through the red clouds widened violently. Lightning flashed through the fractures as something enormous began forcing its way through from the other side.
The sky tore open.
From within the rift, massive arms pushed through first. The hands were colossal, pale and sinewed, gripping the edges of the crack like someone ripping open a door.
The sky itself began tearing apart under the pressure.
Then a massive head forced its way through the opening.
Its presence swallowed the entire sky above the village. Hollow eyes glowed like dying stars while its enormous face leaned down through the rift to stare at the world below.
The ground trembled under its gaze.
Its eyes moved across the ruined diner… across Enid… across Selene pinned to the ground… and finally stopped on the Dark One standing inside the broken building.
The creature's expression twisted with rage.
"You are dead."
The voice wasn't a shout.
It was a roar that shook the entire sky.
*****
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