Make a Wish

Consciousness slowly returns to the young princess. She feels herself lying against a scorching hot ground. The air is thick and musty, making it impossible to breathe. Her head throbs to the beat of her heart as she slowly tries to raise herself. The pain seethes through her forehead like a boiling pot of water.

She slowly makes it to her feet, only to feel weighed down by the horrid aura that surrounds these desolate, ashy plains she stands in. Above her, thick black clouds engulf the sky, a massive ball of black fire resting in the centre of it.

She swallows down a heavy block in her throat as she realises she’s back in the Demon World.

“Fancy seeing you here.” A condescending man speaks to her from the shadows. He steps forward, revealing himself to be Iblīs. The young princess steps away in horror. She can feel his chakra overpowering her own. The feeling is unbearable, and she can feel her body become paralyzed.

Ethereal’s words come back to her. She tries to reassure herself, telling herself that this monster before her is an imposter. He’s not real and he can be defeated. But her worry falls onto herself. Despite all of the training she’s undergone, failure isn’t an option here. When training, if she fails, she can just try again as many times as she wants. But here, one screw up will end it all.

Her body trembles as she forces herself to fight through the paralysis. Magic begins to pump through her veins, feeding her energy and strength. Alphanz laughs at what he considers her poor attempts to resist him.

A flash of light cuts through the dark plains of the Oblivion, three massive demons appearing behind Alphanz. Now outnumbered, the young princess can feel her chakra swallowed up by their own.

“I’ll handle this.” Alphanz informs his demons. He looks down at the princess in his massive form, a wicked smile curved along his face. “She’s no threat.”

Dark light flashes before the young princess’ eyes. She feels a massive force lunge itself at her. She throws her arms in front of her face to protect herself. Doing so, a golden forcefield raises itself in front of her body.

The invisible force lunging at her shatters the barrier and slams into her. All of the air is knocked out of her as she is thrown off of her feet. The scorching ground of the Oblivion slams into her body as she cascades across it.

Warm liquid drips along her trembling body. Hot tears burn her eyes as every vein in her body throbs with pain. Her own magic that is supposed to be like air itself now burns to the touch, poisoned by Alphanz’s dark magic.

The hard tremors from his massive footprints creep closer and closer to her immobilised state. Tears stream down her damaged skin. It only took one hit and she is now out of the fight. All of this courage she felt before, it was just delusional. She begins to wonder why Allah chose someone as weak and useless as her.

The aching in the young princess’ body suddenly eases as she slips into unconsciousness. Blue light engulfs her body and she finds herself standing in an ancient wood, filled with blue, luminescent flora. The peaceful aura it all emanates reminds her of Ethereal’s layer.

“Hello, _____.” A woman speaks in front of her. The young princess looks up to see a beautiful, petite woman draped in a long, celestial teal gown. Long, white hair grows out of her head, hugging the traces of her porcelain skin. “Do you know who I am?”

The young princess immediately relaxes to the soothing voice of this angel before her. At this point, she is convinced that she is dead. But, she can’t seem to mourn for her loss.

She quickly gathers her thoughts and reminds herself that she was just asked a question. “I’m sorry.” She responds timidly. “I do not.”

The angel leans back in surprise. “You don’t? How despicable can that woman be!?” The young princess startles from the sudden outburst. “I see your mother thought that hiding me from your life would keep me from meeting you.” The angel smiles, causing her to glow like a star. “My name is Samawi. I am your great, great grandmother.”

The young princess holds her breath as she stares in disbelief. “So I am dead…”

Samawi shakes her head. “No, My Dear. But you did lose to Alphanz. You’re lying unconscious in the Oblivion.”

The young princess grips tightly onto her chest. “Then why am I here?”

“Don’t look so worried, My Dear. I am here to lend you my aid. The fight isn’t over yet. You can beat this. You just need to find your power within. And that’s where I will come in. All you need is a slight push forward. You will know exactly what you need to do when you wake up.” Samawi lowers her head and slowly disappears in a blinding light.

The young princess’ surroundings return to her. She can feel her body again as a heavy source of magic pumps through it. She begins to feel what Samawi mentioned, the power within. She slowly rises from the ground and stands before Alphanz who continues to creep closer to her. She feels no fear. She finds herself in complete control. All she must do now, is purify him and seal him away.

Alphanz stops in his tracks as the young princess brings herself to her feet. A new sense of confidence flows from her. Eyes glowing like the sun, she stares up at him. He can sense the chakra that has formed in her. It’s different from before.

The young princess grows in size, matching a similar form as Alphanz. Now only a few inches smaller than him, she successfully lands a solid kick to his chest, sending him sprawling along the plains. A heavy dust cloud swarms the area, engulfing everyone in it.

Unable to see, the young princess relies on her newly senses. The three demons watching over their master lunge at her from the shadows. She closes her eyes and builds up her magic in her veins. She allows it to burst out of her, pushing the demons back. They scream in agony as they’re touched by golden, holy light, and shatter into dust.

As the young princess opens her eyes, she sees her remaining opponent. Fear now runs through his eyes. He builds up his remaining strength and protects himself with a barrier.

The young princess breathes in, building up more magic. She gives him a taste of his own medicine and shatters his barrier. Her magic engulfs his entire body, burning it away into dust.

The Oblivion falls silent. She can sense no more enemies remain. Relief overcomes her as her body returns to normal. She can’t sense Alphanz’s presence anymore. It’s a major relief, but she knows there is still Abdelus to deal with. He is far more powerful than Alphanz was. It makes her wonder what his true form is. If it wasn’t Alphanz, perhaps it is Abdelus who is the true devil.

Looking around, she readies herself to depart back to her world. It feels so strange. She seems to know exactly what she needs to do. Samawi’s will guides her forward. A ball of light appears before her, granting her passage back into Ethereal’s layer.

As soon as she arrives, it’s as if what happened was just a dream. She feels normal again, the power within her now a subtle presence. The presence is questionable to her. She doesn’t feel all of the power she felt before.

Zassul’s voice pulls her out of her thoughts. He wraps her up in a tight embrace before she can even see him. “Are you alright?” He looks her over thoroughly for any injuries. Seeing none, he relaxes. But the young princess falls into shock. All of the blood that was forced out of her during the fight has stopped. Her wounds have fully healed. It’s as if she never went down into the Oblivion and fought Alphanz.

Ethereal appears before them. “You did well.” She tells her. “Alphanz is no longer a threat.”

The young princess blinks a few times, trying to clear up her boggled mind. “What happened?” She asks Ethereal. “Abdelus sent me to the Oblivion, but what happened when I was sent away?”

“I intervened.” Ethereal answers. “I’m not all powerful, but I was at least able to evade Abdelus and bring Zassul and your parents back here.”

“M-my parents!?” The young princess’ emotions begin to run awry. “Are they alright?”

Ethereal nods. “Frightened, but they are alright. Abdelus was blinded by rage. He meant to send Zassul to the Oblivion, but he accidentally sent you instead.” Ethereal humbly bows her head. “Forgive me. I deliberately saved Zassul and allowed you to go alone. But you did exactly what I was hoping you would do. You defeated Alphanz. Now only one threat remains.”

Abdelus…