Bella looked Caden straight in the eyes, a sad smile on her lips.
"Why didn't you tell me the truth?"
Caden no longer understood anything. The shadows around him trembled.
Bella continued in a soft, almost melancholic tone:
"There's nothing wrong with loving someone else, you know."
A terrible guilt tightened around Caden's chest. He pressed a hand to his heart, his face twisted in pain.
"Please… don't feel guilty," Bella went on. "I know you never wanted to hurt me. And yet you did… by making me believe you loved me."
Caden's consciousness began to fight back. His clearer voice rose:
"I wanted to make you happy… Besides… I thought that… with time… I could return your love."
Bella shook her head, tears in her eyes.
"Who told you love works like that? Caden… when love is sincere and deep, it doesn't fade so easily. And did you ever think about what I felt… when you were with me, but your mind, your love, and your thoughts were elsewhere?"
Aletha, hidden behind a tree, watched the scene, her heart pounding wildly.
Caden lowered his head. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
"I'm sorry… so, so sorry…"
Bella asked him in a trembling but firm voice:
"Tell me sincerely… who do you truly love with all your heart? Who fills your thoughts and your dreams?"
Caden closed his eyes. Tears flowed freely.
"The person I love with all my heart… is… Aletha. But it's not mutual."
From her hiding place, Aletha felt her heart race. She stepped out, a trembling smile and tears of joy on her face.
"That's not true. I love you…"
Caden and Bella turned around. Caden, shaken and in tears, stammered:
"But… I thought you didn't love me. When I told you I was with Bella, you didn't do anything. On the contrary, you seemed happy…"
Aletha shook her head, tears falling.
"Yes… I was happy. It was the easiest way to hide how broken my heart was. You have no idea how hard I tried to silence what I felt… every time you were near me, every time our hands touched, every time we were alone. I hated myself for loving my best friend's boyfriend. And I didn't know you loved me. I thought you loved Bella… after all, you've known each other for so long."
Caden approached her, his voice broken:
"I love Bella… but only as a friend, a sister. At first I thought I loved her. But it was only affection. It's you… you're the one who made my heart beat for the first time. And it has always been for you."
Aletha let out a choked laugh through her tears.
"Well, damn… all that drama for nothing…"
Bella smiled, her cheeks wet.
"Yes… for nothing. But Caden… you no longer have any reason to carry that darkness inside you. It has no reason to exist anymore."
At those words, Caden closed his eyes and fought with all his strength. The shadows wrapping around him writhed, silently screaming. He let out a cry, focusing his pure will. A golden light burst from his Lion mark. The black marks on his body cracked, then vanished completely in an explosion of light.
At the same moment, Nox felt his connection to Caden break. He staggered, weakened. Frost, still fighting, seized the opening and unleashed a series of earth strikes and telekinetic blasts that threw Nox backward.
"So, Nox… you didn't see that coming, did you?" Frost said, breathless. "You, with your habit of manipulating other people's feelings."
Nox smiled, amused despite the pain.
"Oh… so it's feelings you want…"
He feinted. In the opening, he launched a powerful dark spell. Frost took it full force and collapsed.
Nox was about to strike again when Caden, Aletha, and Bella arrived running, followed by Zetch and Lyseria. Together they combined their powers in a massive attack that slammed Nox to the ground.
Then Zetch stepped forward, concentrating all his magic. A brilliant light erupted from his mark. His eyes shone with intense radiance. Luminous patterns appeared across his body. His hair lifted, taking on a brown-and-gold hue—the color of pure earth.
A powerful shockwave exploded around him.
"By the earth of truth and purity…"
A sphere of earthen, glittering energy formed between his hands.
"May the darkness that corrupts the soul be consumed… May the light erase lies and cruelty… May the shadows that veil the heart disappear forever!"
He launched the sphere straight at Nox. It struck him full force. Nox screamed in pain before disintegrating into black dust. At the same instant, all the remaining shadows evaporated into the night wind.
Silence fell over the battlefield—heavy and liberating.