Heroes of Veridia: Evelyn's Journey

As the trio chased Caleb through the rain-soaked forest, Sierra's frustration boiled over. "Lucas," she panted, shooting him an exasperated glare, "can't you bring him down already?"

Lucas held back a smirk. "If I try, you'll yell at me for missing. So, no thanks. I'll just stick to shielding you from his explosions like Emily said."

"Bastard," she growled, kicking up her pace. Angered, she snapped a branch mid-sprint and hurled it toward Caleb. He easily dodged, shooting further ahead, his form bobbing in the rain.

Sierra shot another look at Lucas. "Lucas!"

He rolled his eyes. "Alright, stop yelling!" Forming an icicle, he launched it at Caleb, barely grazing him.

Jacob chuckled. "You two need to work on your aim."

As they ran, something struck Caleb from below, and he tumbled down, unconscious. The group skidded to a stop, stunned to see Logan standing calmly in the shadows, the rain pelting his unbothered expression.

Jacob pointed. "See how precise he was?"

Lucas and Sierra shot him matching glares.

Sierra folded her arms, unimpressed. "Look who decided to show his face. Where have you been?"

Logan's voice was as cool as the rain around them. "Flying away earlier drained me. Figured I'd wait here since he'd pass by. Where's his brother?"

"Hiding, like the coward he is," Jacob replied.

Logan's jaw clenched. "Find him. I want to know why they killed Leah."

Sierra's brows knitted together. "Who do you think you are to order us around?"

Logan smirked slightly. "Silly of me to think you three could handle it alone. It's been three of you, and yet he got away."

"Oh, says the latecomer who got one lucky hit," Sierra snapped back.

Lucas shrugged. "For once, I agree with her."

Logan's confidence didn't waver. "Still got him, didn't I?"

"By pure luck!" Sierra retorted, hands curling into fists.

Jacob cut in, impatient. "Are we going to argue here? We still have to find the other guy."

"Go on." Sierra's gaze narrowed on Logan. "I need to teach this guy some manners."

"It's not worth it," Lucas muttered.

But suddenly, Caleb's eyes flickered open. Taking in the scene, he formed an explosive bubble and launched it toward Logan with a ferocity that screamed defiance.

"Logan, watch out!" Jacob shouted.

A sword materialized in Logan's hand, and he raised it to block the incoming explosive, but the moment it made contact, the bubble detonated. The explosion wasn't small—it rocked the area, sending Logan flying backward into a tree, where he slumped, unconscious. Lucas threw up an ice barrier to shield himself, Jacob, and Sierra, the thick shield barely holding against the shockwave. When the smoke and fire cleared, Logan's sword was spinning high into the stormy sky, its trajectory unpredictable.

Caleb, using the chaos as his cover, floated off, his resolve unbroken.

As Logan's sword spiraled high above the trees, a dark charge seemed to build around it, capturing the sky's attention. A single bolt of lightning cracked down with blinding precision, striking the sword mid-air as if drawn to it by some invisible force. The impact was deafening, sending a shockwave that rippled through the rain-drenched forest, igniting the blade with searing energy. But the storm was far from finished.

Another bolt tore through the clouds, again targeting the sword as it spun, the steel now glowing with an almost malevolent radiance. The lightning surged through the forest canopy, igniting branches despite the falling rain. Thunder roared, and the sky continued to unleash bolt after bolt as if the sword had become a magnet for the storm's fury. Each strike grew fiercer, flashing blinding light through the trees and illuminating the terrified faces of those below.

The relentless bolts danced through the forest, arcing from branch to branch, searing bark, and charring leaves. The storm crackled with life, each strike rebounding off the ground and rejoining the cycle, creating a web of electricity that surrounded the clearing where the group had gathered. Their faces were pale, watching as the lightning appeared to become self-sustaining, feeding off the storm and the sword alike.

Sierra stepped back, shielding her eyes from the blinding bursts. "This... this shouldn't be possible," she murmured, feeling the static prickling her skin.

Lucas stared in disbelief, ice powers forgotten in the face of nature's unleashed fury. "If this keeps up, the whole forest is going to burn," he muttered, his voice barely audible above the thunder.

Jacob's face was grim. "We need to get Logan's sword down—or find shelter. Before the storm decides to take us down, too."

'''

Elena leaned over Evelyn, channeling the last of her energy into the battered girl. Her hands glowed softly, and the warmth of her gift trickled through Evelyn's wounds, sealing flesh and erasing the painful scorch marks left on her back. Evelyn's eyes finally fluttered open, and Elena exhaled, relief washing over her. "You had me worried," she whispered, her voice shaky from exhaustion.

Evelyn groaned, rubbing her forehead as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. The forest was still dim, shrouded in a persistent mist, and her mind struggled to recall the events that had led her here. "What... happened?"

Elena gave a small shrug, concern shadowing her face. "I don't know exactly. Selene brought you here and then disappeared."

Fragments of memory surfaced in Evelyn's mind, and she jolted upright, her eyes widening with panic. "Vivian!" Her gaze darted around until it landed on her sister lying nearby, unmoving. She turned to Elena with a desperate look. "Heal her."

Elena hesitated, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I can't. I used all my energy healing you because... your injuries were far worse." She placed a gentle hand on Evelyn's shoulder, her voice soft but firm. "You did everything you could to protect her. Vivian's okay; she's just unconscious. She'll be alright. You did well."

The assurance softened Evelyn's tense expression, and she gave a slight nod, though her eyes remained wary. "What's going on here?"

Before Elena could answer, a deafening crack of thunder shattered the silence, striking dangerously close, and Evelyn flinched, instinctively crouching. Elena pointed up, her expression darkening. "Someone threw their sword into the sky," she explained, her voice edged with concern, "and... whatever's in that sword is making the rain clouds react."

Evelyn stared at her in disbelief. "You... you can make it rain?"

Elena looked almost sheepish. "Apparently... yes."

"When did you learn to–" Evelyn started to ask, but the words died in her throat as a gut-wrenching feeling seized her. She sensed the looming presence of a thunderbolt, s if the electric air vibrated with a hidden warning. Instinct taking over, Evelyn thrust herself forward, using the strength in her legs to push Vivian out of the way. At the same time, she shoved Elena in the opposite direction. Before she could fully move herself, a blinding flash and a searing blast of pain crashed into her, and lightning struck her directly.

The impact was beyond physical pain; it felt as if the lightning raced through her veins, disrupting not only her body but her mind. Her emotions unraveled, replaced by a strange, unnatural calm, an eerie numbness that chilled her to the core. The storm's electric fury seemed to seep into her very essence, leaving her suspended in a state of quiet detachment. Her thoughts dulled, smothered under a blanket of quiet indifference. The agony of the strike faded, and what remained was a stillness—a void in her emotions that felt both wrong and oddly liberating.

Evelyn's hair transformed, soft waves muting into a pale lavender with glints of silver or gray catching the rain-dimmed light as if the storm had drained it of color. Her eyes took on a ghostly hue, an almost translucent mint green flecked with silver, casting an otherworldly, luminous glow.

Elena scrambled to her feet, her heart hammering as she stared at the transformed figure before her. "Evelyn!" she screamed, voice thick with horror, but Evelyn barely reacted. The girl turned, her gaze unfocused and distant, as if trapped in a dream where she could barely register Elena's frantic calls.

For a moment, the rain seemed to fall in slow motion around her, the sky's darkened fury mirrored in her new, spectral appearance. She could feel the lightning's power coursing through her, filling her veins with unnatural energy that left her feeling hollow yet potent like a storm waiting to strike.

Evelyn blinked slowly, her mint-green eyes flickering back to Elena, though the recognition was faint, her expression distant. Elena's hand hovered uncertainly, her face stricken with worry. "Evelyn, say something," she pleaded. But Evelyn only turned her head, her new, unnaturally calm gaze scanning the drenched forest around them as the rain continued to fall. Evelyn closes her eyes as she takes in a deep breath.

As her eyes opened, a soft smile instinctively curled on her lips, almost as if it were a reflex—calm, serene, and unchanging. But beneath it, there was an eerie emptiness, a hollow space where emotion should have been. She didn't feel any of the relief she might have expected upon waking, nor any warmth toward Elena, who knelt beside her with worry etched into her face. Instead, she simply smiled, as if the expression itself was automatic, something that came to her now as naturally as breathing.

Elena's brows furrowed in confusion, but before she could speak, Evelyn stretched her arms, her voice casual, almost light-hearted. "Did I miss anything? You know, other than the lightning strike."

The nonchalance in her tone was unsettling. Elena's worry deepened, and she couldn't help but take a cautious step back. "Evelyn... what happened to you?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly as she took in her friend's transformed appearance—the ghostly glow in her eyes, the lavender hair tinged with an otherworldly sheen.

Evelyn shrugged, her eyes drifting lazily to the stormy sky above. "I don't know, but whatever it was, it was... electrifying." She chuckled softly, but the humor felt misplaced, leaving a strange chill in the air.

Elena blinked, unsure how to respond. "You're... making jokes?" she asked, her tone uncertain, bordering on incredulous.

"Why not?" Evelyn replied, still smiling. "Seems I can't do much else now but go with the shock of it all." Her voice had a dry, distant edge, and her words lacked any real feeling behind them, as though she were merely a spectator in her own life, observing with amusement.

Elena stepped forward cautiously, searching Evelyn's face. "Are... are you alright?" she whispered, her concern barely masking a trace of fear.

Evelyn looked at her with the same calm, serene smile, and it was this unchanging expression, unwavering and a touch too perfect, that made Elena's heart skip. "Oh, don't worry," she said, her tone far too light. "I'm just... grounded." The faint smirk that followed sent a chill down Elena's spine.

As they stood in silence, thunder rumbled again, and Evelyn glanced in its direction, her eyes alight with an unnatural curiosity. "Do you think it'll strike again?" she asked with a dry chuckle. "Might be fun, don't you think?"

Evelyn's gaze drifted toward Vivian, her smile unfaltering as she rose to her feet. "We should probably get rid of that little 'mood changer' before it causes another mess," she joked, her tone unsettlingly light. "Though I wouldn't mind feeling that jolt of electricity again." She let out a soft, detached chuckle, the humor hollow.

Elena's eyes narrowed, a mixture of worry and irritation evident in her expression. "You are not going to experience any of that again," she retorted, pointing up toward the ominous clouds and the sword hovering in the sky.

Evelyn's smile widened a faint glint of mischief in her eyes. "Whatever you say, 'Boss.'" She chuckled as if the title were some private joke only she understood. "But if we don't get rid of that magical sword, someone might get a shock they didn't ask for." She shivered mockingly as if mimicking the feel of another electric surge.

Elena opened her mouth to respond, but suddenly, her knees buckled, and she collapsed, drained as if some invisible force was siphoning her remaining strength. Evelyn's eyes glowed faintly, her lavender hair taking on an unnatural, shifting quality as if brushed by an unseen wind. Around her, a chilling cold seemed to seep into the air, sharper and icier than the rain-soaked forest.

Watching Elena with the same calm smile, Evelyn tilted her head. "What's this? Bowing already, or is there something wrong with you?" she joked, her tone light and teasing but disturbingly hollow. "Anyway, I'm feeling... amazing." She glanced up at the sword, a hint of excitement in her eyes. "Let's get rid of that, shall we?"

Elena tried to respond, but Evelyn's voice echoed strangely, a haunting resonance that left Elena feeling weak, each syllable siphoning more of her energy. Evelyn's hand reached down, scooping up a rock, and with a flick of her wrist, she launched it at the sword in the sky, her enhanced strength sending it spinning. The sword clattered down, and the eerie glow faded from her eyes. The aura around her softened, her hair settling, and as she took a slow, steadying breath, her smile remained, though now gentler, almost... normal.

Elena felt her energy flooding back, her strength returning as the strange, draining chill dissipated. Evelyn gave her a casual, almost friendly smile. "There, that's taken care of." She glanced around, noticing the flickering fires. "Now, I suppose it's time to handle those fires in the middle of all this rain," she quipped, her words still oddly light, yet leaving Elena with an uneasy feeling that something within Evelyn had shifted permanently.