Princess Of The Skulls - Chapter 98: Chapter 98

The ancient evil's scream of fury tore through dimensions as it realized what we were attempting. The sound was not heard but felt, vibrating through the bones of every person on the battlefield like the death cry of a dying god. Above us, the dimensional tear began to writhe and twist, reality itself becoming a battlefield between order and chaos.
"Hold the formation!" I commanded, though my voice was already strained by the massive working. The combined life force of hundreds of people flowed through me like molten metal, burning away everything that was merely human and leaving only the essential core of will and purpose.
The skull relics around the circle blazed with light as the spirits trapped within them joined their voices to our cause. I could hear the whispers of every necromancer who had ever lived, every soul who had chosen to stand against the darkness that sought to devour all creation.
"You cannot contain what has always been," the ancient evil's voice echoed from the collapsing tear. "I am the space between atoms, the moment between heartbeats, the silence between words. I am inevitable."
"You are afraid," I replied, my consciousness expanded beyond mortal limitations by the power flowing through me. I could see the true nature of the ancient evil now—not a being of malevolent intelligence, but a fundamental force of entropy that had gained awareness and purpose through eons of existence.
"You're afraid because you know that consciousness can choose order over chaos, creation over destruction."
The working reached its critical phase as the dimensional tear began to seal itself. But the ancient evil had one final gambit—if it could not escape, it would attempt to corrupt the prison itself, turning our working into a gateway that would allow it to infect reality from within.
I felt its influence pressing against my mind, offering visions of power beyond imagination. I could rule not just a kingdom but entire dimensions, command armies of the dead across infinite realities, become a goddess of bone and shadow whose word was law across the cosmos.
But I also felt Kael's presence anchoring me to something smaller and more precious—the memory of choosing love over power, of finding worth in connection rather than domination. The corruption in his arm blazed with otherworldly light, but instead of serving chaos, it had become a bridge between realities that strengthened our work.
"I choose the mortal world," I said, pouring my decision into the magical matrix that held the prison together. "I choose love over power, hope over despair, the beauty of temporary things over the cold perfection of eternity."
The ancient evil's fury reached a crescendo as it realized its final gambit had failed. The prison was not just containing its physical essence—it was containing its philosophical influence as well, preventing it from corrupting the fundamental forces that held reality together.
"Now!" I screamed, channeling every ounce of power the circle could provide into the final sealing. The skull relics around the battlefield shattered one by one, their stored energy released in a cascade of light that burned away the last traces of dimensional instability.
The tear above us collapsed with a sound like reality itself sighing in relief. The ancient evil's presence faded to a whisper, then to silence, trapped forever within the dimensional matrix we had woven around it.
But the cost was devastating. I felt my connection to the life force of the circle beginning to fade as the working completed itself. Around me, hundreds of people collapsed as the energy I had borrowed from them returned to their bodies, leaving them drained but alive.
"Seraphina!" Kael's voice seemed to come from very far away, though I could feel his hands on my face.
"Stay with me. The work is complete—you can let go now."
I tried to focus on his face, but my vision was fading as my body struggled to contain the aftershocks of the massive magical working. I had expected this—no mortal form could channel that much power and survive unchanged.
"The kingdom," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "The people need—"
"The people need their queen to live," he said firmly. "I'm not losing you now, not after everything we've been through."
I felt him pressing something against my chest—the master skull relic I had given him, now pulsing with the last reserves of his life force. He was trying to anchor my spirit to the physical world, using the corruption in his body as a bridge between dimensions.
"Kael, no," I protested weakly. "You'll kill yourself."
"Then we'll face whatever comes next together," he replied, his voice filled with the same determination that had carried us through every battle. "I told you once that I would follow you into death itself. I meant it."
The darkness that had been closing around my vision began to recede as his life energy flowed into me.
But I could see the cost in his face, the way the corruption spread up his arm and across his chest as he gave everything he had to keep me alive.
Around us, the surviving members of our army were beginning to stir, their strength slowly returning as they recovered from the working. Master Dorian approached, his face grim with understanding of what had transpired.
"Your Majesty," he said quietly, "the prison is complete. The ancient evil is contained within dimensional boundaries that will hold for millennia. But the cost—"
"Was worth paying," I finished, though my voice was barely a whisper. "How many did we lose?"
"None to death," he replied, surprise evident in his voice. "The working drew only life energy, not life itself. Everyone who participated will recover in time."
"And the corruption?"
Master Dorian looked at Kael, whose body was now more otherworldly taint than mortal flesh. "Stable, but changed. He exists partially in multiple dimensions now, anchored to this reality by his connection to you."
I looked into Kael's eyes, seeing the love there unchanged despite the transformation he had undergone.
The corruption that had once been his greatest weakness had become the bridge that allowed us both to survive the ultimate working.
"My Queen," Prince Erik's voice came from somewhere above us, "what are your orders? The kingdoms are looking to you for guidance on what comes next."
What came next? I was no longer entirely human, transformed by magic beyond mortal comprehension.
Kael existed partially outside normal reality, his body a bridge between dimensions. The political landscape of the continent had been reshaped by our shared struggle against cosmic forces.
But I was alive. We were alive. And that meant there was still work to do.
"Help me stand," I said, accepting Kael's arm as I struggled to my feet. "It's time to address our allies."
As I looked out over the assembled forces of the continental alliance, I saw something that had never existed before—unity forged not through political convenience but through shared sacrifice. These people had risked everything to stand against entropy itself, and in doing so, they had become something greater than the sum of their kingdoms.
"My friends," I called out, my voice carrying across the battlefield with supernatural clarity. "Today, we have accomplished something that will be remembered for a thousand years. We have chosen order over chaos, hope over despair, love over the void that seeks to devour all things."
The cheer that arose from the assembled army was like thunder, echoing across the dimension-scarred landscape. But even as they celebrated, I could feel the weight of new responsibilities settling over me.
The ancient evil was contained, but not destroyed. The dimensional prison would require constant vigilance to maintain. The political alliances forged in this crucible would need careful tending to prevent them from fragmenting back into old rivalries.
And somewhere in the space between what I had been and what I was becoming, I would need to find a way to be not just the Queen of Bones, but the woman who had chosen love over power.
The hardest battles were still ahead of us.