"No," Mia said, her voice stronger now, filled with a new certainty. "You're wrong. I am not a tool. I am the one who will end this. I will not let you control me, or anyone else, ever again."
The dark figure's laugh was low and mocking. "You think you can undo what's been done? You think you have the strength to fight me?"
"I know I do," Mia replied, her hand outstretched. The light inside her flared brighter, like a supernova bursting from the core of her being. The darkness around her seemed to shrink back, recoiling from the force she was unleashing.
But the dark figure wasn't done. With a screech of fury, it surged forward, faster than Mia could comprehend, its tendrils of shadow whipping through the air, reaching for her. The very fabric of reality seemed to ripple as the being tore at the edges of the world, trying to tear apart everything that Mia had fought for.
Ethan stepped forward, his hand glowing with the same light he had conjured earlier.
"Mia, we need to hold it off! Together, we can do this!"
Mia didn't hesitate. She drew on the power within her, the ancient force in her bloodline, and for a moment, she could see the threads of the universe, of fate, and time itself, stretching before her eyes. She could feel every heartbeat of the earth beneath her, every pulse of the stars in the sky. Everything was connected. And this darkness, this entity—it was a fracture in that connection.
She focused, pushing against the shadows with all her strength, pulling at the light within her like a tether to reality itself.
The entity's laugh faltered as the light swelled around Mia. The darkness that had once seemed infinite began to shrink, as though the very essence of it was being unraveled by the force Mia had unlocked.
"No more," she said firmly, her voice a chant, a declaration of war. The ground beneath them cracked as the power surged from her body. "This ends now."
The dark figure screeched, its form twisting violently, trying to grasp at the space around it, but it was being pulled back—into the darkness from which it came. Mia could feel its power draining, like the last flickers of a dying star.
But just as the figure seemed to collapse in on itself, it howled, a sound that shook the air around them.
"You cannot defeat me, it bellowed. I am the beginning and the end. Even if you destroy me, something worse will always take my place."
"No," Mia said, her eyes burning with resolve. "I won't let you."
Ethan was beside her, his hand still raised, his expression full of determination. "We can do this, Mia. You can do this."
The energy from Mia's body flared again, this time coalescing into a focused beam of pure light. She could see the dark figure writhing as the beam of light collided with it, slowly, painfully, ripping apart the shadows that held it together.
For a moment, everything seemed to stop. The world stood still, suspended between the light and the darkness, as though holding its breath.