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Chapter 14

The State of the World Outside

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The metronome continued to click away for the fourth day after that fateful night. Four days Since Goldie and Maddy confessed their feelings to one another. Over these few days, they trained and perfected their crafts.

“And this craft will be used only for emergencies.”

In the last few days, Goldie and Maddy formed a dual spell that both of them would use at the expense of Goldie's mana. Powerful light and dark magic would draw its enemies in and decimate them.

Maddy sighed as she looked up to the empty void above. The stars twinkled brightly but ever so dull.

“The Overlord within me has been raging worse. I believe its other half has corrupted the knights and Kingdom of Nora entirely.”

Goldie stood next to her and looked out into the space too. Concerned, she held her fellow witch's hand and leaned on her.

“Can you explain to me what’s happening?”

Madalyn closed her eyes and envisioned the darkness inside.

"The Overlord isn't one being. It's an amalgamation of lesser demons formed into one king. That's the only way we could separate it."

Goldie looked up at Maddy as she tried her best to reach deep into her soul. She wanted to feel her partner's pain, but that was impossible. Goldie could only imagine how tired Maddy must be, fighting with the devil inside. With a sigh, Maddy continued to explain…

“Think of it as a multitude of demonic spirits into one being. In the final fight, Annastella harnessed half of it… and I took the other half. And since then, we’ve suppressed them to the best of our abilities.”

Goldie pondered.

“And that’s why my mother was always sick? She was constantly waring against the Overlord inside of her.”

The golden witch thought about her lovely mother. Constantly weak and would always need care. When Goldie opened her eyes, Maddy’s crisp blue irises gazed deep into her soul. Madalyn was carrying that same weight and pain for eons longer than her mother.

"Since Annastella died, the remaining spirits were supposed to be drawn into the Grimoire of Reason. That trap was supposed to be set, and the remaining spirits would be trapped in this world, raging for however long I have spent here."

Maddy crossed her arms and clicked her tongue.

"And you would die once the Overlord raged?"

The great witch nodded.

"Yes. I wouldn't have the power to defeat such a beast alone. The demon would have killed me but would be trapped."

The sacrifice Maddy suffered through sickened Goldie. All she could do was comfort her though by holding her arm tight.

"But that didn't happen because a piece of the Overlord escaped into Arnold, my father. And when mom died, the half that warred against mom escaped into dad. The Overlord escaped your trap.”

Goldie thought about it. Her mother died only a few days ago in realities time. During that time, the Overlord began corrupting the royal knights and their people. Those distorted voices she heard because she was a Kingsman confirmed that.

The golden witch wrapped her arm around Maddy's to feel safer. Goldie couldn't recall all the events that transpired before falling into the book for the second time. So, to understand, she questioned.

“How is the Grimoire of Reason opened?”

Maddy sighed deeply, closed her eyes, and confessed.

"I'm not allowed to escape. It would reject me if I tried to jump off the world's edge. But… I believe I have a small influence to allow people inside."

Goldie's eyes widened, confused about what she meant.

“What do you mean you… might have allowed me inside?”

The great witch closed her eyes.

"The first time you entered this realm, I wrote a small page in my book about it. I only found it once you came in for the second time…."

Maddy held my hand tight as she confessed what she believed to be a sin in her eyes.

“The first time you came in the Grimoire of Reason… you were crying, right?”

Goldie thought back to that day when Victoria was trying to push her to do what she didn’t want to do. The embarrassment of her bratty behavior caused the golden witch to blush as she turned away.

“Yeah, I was pouting and found the Grimoire of Reason. I… believe I was crying.”

Goldie said, curling her hair with her finger.

Madalyn looked away. She couldn't look her love in the eye as she confessed.

“I felt… like someone important wanted to come inside. And before I knew it, I let you in.”

Goldie's stomach was in knots at first. To her, it felt like a romance story she'd read in her collection of books. Where the chosen one would find the love of their life through coincidence. The princess always thought that those stories had a hint of magic in them.

As she smiled… it was only then that she realized the meaning of Maddy's words.

“Wait…”

The witch didn't want to ask but had to make sure… her deductions were correct. The shame in Maddy's eyes confirmed what Goldie realized.

“You thought… I was mom, didn’t you?”

 

 

Madalyn nodded shamefully.

"Yes. I had never met you before… but something in me felt like that person in my stories, Annastella, came to see me. So, I allowed you in."

Goldie nodded.

“That’s understandable, Maddy. I mean… I get it.”

The golden witch tried to smile, but she couldn't help but feel jealous.

"That made sense… why you thought I was mom again the second time I got inside. I… I heard you call out to Anna."

 

 

With a shake of her head, Goldie brushed away all those thoughtless worries she'd had before their confession. Goldie knew that Maddy was only for her, and that's how she wanted it for the rest of her life. In the past, Madalyn's heart was caged by her mother… but in the present, Goldie knew she held that key.

"So, how can the Overlord get inside without your influence?"

Goldie changed the subject as she held Maddy's arm tighter. This beautiful witch was hers, and she wasn't giving her up.

"Because the will of the Overlord piece within me is stronger. The pieces of Arnold and Annastella influence the people of Nora too. With that power combined, the Overlord's minions theoretically have the power to break the spell we made on the Grimoire."

Goldie closed her eyes and thought about the people within the Kingdom. The teachers, maids, and Victoria too.

“So, everyone was slowly corrupted before the Overlord began their attack?”

“It’s likely the entire Kingdom of Nora was consumed by the deadly sins the moment your mother passed. Arnold’s piece wasn’t strong enough to unlock the book. It didn’t have enough spirits to break inside.”

Goldie finished.

“But since my mom died, there was enough influence to finally open the book? And I just so happened to fall inside before the Overlord was ready to attack?”

Maddy nodded.

"Yes, by the blessings of the gods. Were you upset that day… my love.”

The great witch held her chest and spoke softly…

“The Overlord piece within me is growing exponentially… I fear that our time might have been less than you predicted.”

Goldie closed her eyes. She was beginning to understand why her training was completed so soon.

"How long… were you aware that the book was being opened? You felt the Grimoire being opened for some time, didn't you, Madalyn?"

Maddy sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Around a year ago… maybe more as the war inside me ramped up. The Overlord's minors were clawing inside, and I feared we had far less time than we predicted."

Madalyn grabbed Goldie's shoulders and looked into those brimstone eyes.

“Goldie… if that book is opened before this piece of me is destroyed… it will be too late. The moment that book is opened, and those pieces connect, the Overlord will be unstoppable without an army of Kingsman."

The corner of her partner's eyes was welling up. Madalyn was almost pleading with Goldie as she held her shoulder.

“Don’t let my sacrifice go in vain. The sooner we destroy this piece… the clearer my mind will be. I… don’t want my suffering to be pointless.”

Goldie realized that Madalyn was… scared. The billions of years she sat here, waring with the demon inside her, was a sacrifice too great for any single person, yet she did it. This was the end of her journey, and she feared that it would all be for not.

 

"Then… let's do it. Please explain all I need to know when facing the amalgamation known as the Overlord, Madalyn!"

This battle wasn’t just for the Sian but to end the constant suffering of the woman she loved.

That was the dedication that drove the golden witch’s bravery.