Chapter 97: Witch’s Bargain

Words : 1252 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 97: Witch’s Bargain Sage POV As I ran toward Silver Peak, the ground shook so badly that I almost dropped my spell book. My house caught fire behind me; another reality tear had gone through the wall of my living room. I mumbled, "Not good, not good, not good," as I jumped over downed trees and watched the forest around me twist into shapes that didn’t make sense. Flowers grew from the sky upside down, and rocks blew by my head like balloons. It had been weeks since I last saw these tears. No one knew how fast they were spreading; normal places were changing into nightmares where magic went crazy. And based on what my crystal ball told me this morning, something much worse was about to happen in Silver Peak. A scream could be heard in the trees ahead. It hurt like angry bees were buzzing under my skin as I pushed myself to run faster. Someone young, maybe even a child, let out that scream. I burst into an area and saw chaos everywhere. Vampires fought fairy fighters in the air above my head. Stone giants threw boulders at a group of witches who barely avoided in time. And right in the middle of it all, werewolves were running around trying to protect their pack while everyone else fought. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was the huge crack in the ground where silver light poured out like a deadly waterfall. And climbing out of that crack were things that shouldn’t exist - creatures with too many arms and burning red eyes that made my stomach turn just looking at them. Void Walkers. Just like the old stories warned about. "Finally," I whispered, pulling out my emergency magic components. "Time to earn my reputation." A young werewolf woman stood near the crack, silver light blazing from her hands as she tried to reach two werewolf men circled by fighting supernatural creatures. Every time she used her power, the Void Walkers grew bigger and stronger. That had to be her - Lily Carter, the Triple Moon bearer my grandmother’s vision had mentioned. The one whose sacrifice was meant to change everything. But something was wrong with the magic around her. It felt... different. Twisted. Like it had been changed by something powerful. I started toward her, but a vampire appeared beside me. His face was pale with fear, and he pointed at the Void Walkers. "They’re feeding on all this fighting," he said quickly. "We have to stop the battle!" "No kidding," I answered, already pulling out my spell book. "But stopping a supernatural war isn’t exactly easy." More Void Walkers climbed out of the ground. Their horrible voices filled the air as they laughed at all the hate and anger around them. "Delicious," they hissed together. "So much rage. So much fear. We grow stronger with every angry word." I flipped through my spell book furiously. There had to be something in here that could help. My grandma had been the most powerful witch in three states before she died, and she’d taught me everything she knew about dealing with dark creatures. But nothing in my book was intended for this many Void Walkers at once. That’s when I noticed something strange about Lily’s silver light. It wasn’t just werewolf power - there were traces of something else mixed in. Something that reminded me of the old stories about witches who could touch the space between worlds. My eyes widened as understanding hit me. The sacrifice everyone kept talking about - it hadn’t just woken her werewolf powers. It had done something much more interesting. It had changed her magical signature totally, giving her abilities that shouldn’t be possible. "Fascinating," I breathed, watching the way reality bent around her hands. A plan started forming in my mind. A dangerous, crazy plan that might just work. I pushed through the fighting magical creatures, dodging spells and claws until I reached the group of werewolves near the crack. Lily looked up as I approached, her silver eyes wide with tiredness. "Who are you?" she asked. "Sage Blackthorn," I said quickly. "Witch, magical researcher, and right now, your only hope of closing these reality tears before they destroy everything." One of the werewolf men - he looked like an Alpha - stepped protectively in front of Lily. "We don’t trust witches." "Good thing I don’t care what you trust," I shot back. "Look around you. See those things crawling out of the ground? They’re called Void Walkers, and they’re going to eat all the magic in this world unless someone stops them." Another Void Walker emerged from the crack, this one twice as big as the others. When it spoke, its voice sounded like breaking glass. "Yes, little witch," it said, looking right at me. "Tell them how hopeless this is. Tell them how we’ve already won." I ignored the thing and focused on Lily. "I can seal the tears, but I need to study your special signature first. Whatever happened to you during your sacrifice, it changed your power in a way I’ve never seen before." "Study me how?" Lily asked suspiciously. This was the part I’d been dreading. The part that would make them all hate me. "I need to take some of your magic," I admitted. "Just a small piece. It won’t hurt you forever, but I need to understand how your power interacts with reality itself." The Alpha growled. "Absolutely not." "You don’t understand," I said desperately. "Her special signature is the key to everything. It’s the only thing that can close the tears forever." Lily looked between me and the rising number of Void Walkers. More supernatural creatures were coming every minute, and the fighting was getting worse. The hatred in the air was so thick I could nearly taste it. "What if I say no?" she asked softly. I met her eyes honestly. "Then everyone dies. The Void Walkers will consume all the magic in this world, starting with the most powerful supernatural beings. They’ll save people for last, just to watch us suffer." The ground shook again as another reality tear opened nearby. This one was bigger than the others, and I could see dark shapes moving inside it. "Choose quickly," I pushed. "Because whatever’s coming through that new tear is going to make these Void Walkers look like puppies." Lily took a deep breath, her silver light pulsing brighter. "If I let you study my magic, you promise you can stop this?" "I promise I’ll try," I said. "But there’s something else you need to know." She waited, and I swallowed hard. "Studying your magical signature means I’ll see everything that happened during your sacrifice. Every memory, every feeling, every secret you’ve tried to hide. There won’t be any private left between us." Before Lily could answer, the new reality tear burst wide open. Something huge pushed through - not a Void Walker, but something else entirely. Something that made my witch powers scream in recognition and fear. "Oh no," I whispered, my magic book trembling in my hands. "That’s not possible. The Void Walkers couldn’t have freed—" The thing stepped fully into our world, and I saw its face clearly for the first time. It was my grandmother. The most powerful witch who had ever lived. Except she’d been dead for ten years. "Hello, Sage," she said with a smile that was all wrong. "Did you miss me?"

Chapter 97: Witch’s Bargain

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