Chapter 354: Eliminating Him For Good
—--
"So this is the effect of the blood moon?" Madeline mused as she watched the day begin its transformation into a surreal red, blending daylight with the impending lunar magic. With everyone busy, she and Samantha decided to take a walk around the forest close to the tent, following Alain who kept playing around with the animated plant, and even conversing with the muted plant.
Samantha sat beside Madeline on the leaf-carpeted ground, her green eyes unable to reflect the same excitement hers eagerly bore. She still remembered the first appearance of a blood moon, and how could she possibly forget? It was the day she restored GreenHollow to what it used to be... it made her curious of her identity back then, of her powers, but now that she has come to understand what she truly is, there was no more excitement, but constant worry.
"Can you feel it?" Madeline whispered, her voice carrying a hushed wonder as she breathed in the fresh air. The breeze rustled gently, sweeping autumn leaves onto their dresses, and Samantha’s gaze shifted surprisingly to a tree that was getting wrapped in vines, and she knew for sure that it wasn’t her doing.
"Have you always been able to do that?" Samantha turned her head to Madeline, "your vines grew bigger than when I last remembered them."
"I’m sure it has something to do with the effect of the blood moon, my powers aren’t as deep as yours. I’ve never seen anything like it though, does the blood moon hold anything auspicious?" She was looking up to the heavens again, obsidian eyes flickering with pure enthusiasm, and Samantha curiously followed her gaze.
The dual spectacle of both the sun and the distant moon painted the sky, a mesmerizing juxtaposition of light and impending darkness – that was what it felt to Samantha. She could feel her powers pulse within her, but unlike Madeline who was able to use her powers at free will, Samantha couldn’t bring herself to do the same, especially on the occurrence of a blood moon.
She knew this because she already tried. Watching Madeline train her ability in a forest like this also boosted her to join, but when her vines erupted from the ground, they were no longer green, but pure black, and that made her freeze in fear.
They looked similar to the ones she conjured when Marius had her under his spell, and it frightened her to her wits that she stopped immediately. Luckily, Madeline hadn’t noticed it, and just recalling the sight of her precious vines sent her shuddering internally.