The Extra Wants Control

The woman chuckled, a sound like wind chimes in a blizzard. "Again huh...That\'s why you went to sleep that day, didn\'t you. You " Her words hung heavy in the air, an accusation wrapped in a knowing smile.

Verona\'s face contorted in anger. "Stop right there," she hissed, her voice dangerously low.

"Sigh..." the woman sighed, a sound that sent shivers down the spines of those gathered. "You are a coward," she said, her voice devoid of malice but dripping with calm absoluteness. "But I don\'t care about that. Let me hold my son and give me control, sis. You owe me."

Verona\'s nostrils flared. "Owe you?" she asked, her voice threatening.

"Yeah," the woman replied, a glint in her icy blue eyes. "I told you about what will happen. What our son will go through. And I\'ve been telling you we should make \'that\'... We already wasted enough time and..." she trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

Before Verona could retort, the woman raised her voice, silencing her. "Sis... The future is not definite, but..." she paused, her gaze flitting to Neveah, "...I am.

I only said what I said because I\'ve seen the child, I could vaguely tell his personality, how he thinks, the way he moves as if he knows what will happen or what\'s supposed to happen, him gathering miniscule power, not knowing how strong you are... how strong we are. I still don\'t know why he\'s doing what he\'s doing. And why he chose to hide who he is. But in that aspect, he is similar to you.

Isn\'t he."

Verona\'s jaw clenched, her eyes locked on the swirling mist that hid her sister\'s true form. "I\'m not hiding..." she muttered, defiance laced with a hint of doubt.

The woman\'s laugh echoed through the space, a chilling sound devoid of warmth. "Really?...Even you don\'t believe that," she said, her words sharp as ice shards.

"Our son will be taken by those women," the woman continued, her voice turning serious. "They will strip him of his strength since they can\'t kill him directly. That\'s why I made you teach him the other method. Our method. The method of not cultivating some stupid stars."

Verona\'s expression remained stoic, but a flicker of unease crossed her features. "You want to give him that? We\'ll be basically making a second me," she protested.

The woman shrugged, the movement unsettling in its fluidity. "Not quite... Besides, aren\'t children basically copies of their parents? And we won\'t be taking his free will. But let\'s just ask him. But you already agreed to it, didn\'t you?

The reason you made him stay stuck at 5 star for all these years? You know how frustrated he was that he couldn\'t move forward?"

Verona opened her mouth to argue, but the words died on her lips. A pang of guilt flickered in her eyes, a flicker quickly replaced by a steely resolve. "What use will the stars be if he was gonna be weakened anyway?" she said, her voice cold.

"Right?Now we make him strong the right way, our way." Said the voice.

Within the cold stone walls of a secluded castle tower, Verona lay sprawled upon her bed. Her usually sharp eyes were clouded, her features slack in a state of partial slumber. Within the hazy landscape of her mind, a conversation played out – two halves of the same whole, arguing amongst themselves.

Suddenly, the world around them stilled. It wasn\'t a physical stillness, for Verona and her inner voice, they could still move their body but they didn\'t they just watched. The world itself seemed frozen, encased in a shimmering glass bubble. Then, in an instant, they felt it – Neveah\'s presence, yanked away with an invisible force.

"It\'s happening," one Verona stated, a touch of relief laced with fear in her voice.

"Calm down," the other Verona chided, a hint of desperation creeping into her tone. "You can\'t go against them as you are. You are weak and you\'ll make the same mistake as father. I know you are not scared of death, but don\'t you want to see Neveah\'s progress, his journey? So hold on."

Verona bit her lip so hard it bled, her nails digging white crescents into the palm of her hand. Frustration and a potent cocktail of emotions flickered in her eyes.

"If only you ascended a while ago instead of sleeping... You could\'ve done something," the second Verona sighed, her voice laced with a sharp edge of blame.

Verona ignored the jab, both feeling and ignoring the weight of the Goddesses\' gaze on Elnova. It was a gaze that burned with icy superiority, disinterest masking a deep-seated control. They saw Elnova as a speck of dust beneath their omnipotent notice.

The weight of her decision, made during that long sleep, settled on her like a suffocating shroud. Had she made the right choice, choosing this path of hidden strength for Neveah? Or was it all a foolish gamble, destined to fail?

" I hate this..." Said Verona

" I know sis," said the voice in her head.

**************

The world remained frozen, a silent tableau holding its breath. Verona, trapped in her vulnerable state, gritted her teeth, channeling all her remaining will into a single purpose – seeing her son again. The echo of the Goddesses\' presence lingered, heavy and oppressive, before finally fading away like smoke on the wind.

Seizing the opportunity, the voice that mirrored Verona took control. The voice, well the \'other Verona\', took control saying Verona was very emotional and shouldn\'t be allowed to move or make decisions now. So she took over.

With a surge of unfamiliar energy, Verona\'s body, no longer \'hers\' in this moment, rose from the bed. Cloaked in swirling mist, the form solidified, taking on an ethereal beauty\'. This was Verona, empowered by the other, stronger and logical half of her being.

"Hooh," the voice, laced with a quiet strength, resonated from Verona\'s lips. As she stretched her hands. "Let me meet my son officially."

The remaining sliver of Verona within, simply nodded, but not after showing her possessiveness by sayin, " MY SON."

The Verona in control knew she could argue, but the futility was evident.

With a whisper that tore through the frozen world, the form that was now Verona shimmered out of the castle tower, leaving behind a fading echo of power. The world lurched back to life, the silence shattering with the rustle of leaves and the chirping of birds.

************

Verona materialized in a flurry of swirling mist, the forest clearing coming into sharp focus. Her form, usually cloaked in cool winter hues, had changed. Her skin now shimmered with an otherworldly pale luminescence, and her eyes, once icy blue, burned with an intense violet glow. The air crackled with unseen energy as she surveyed the scene. Relief battled with affection as she spotted Neveah.

But her gaze quickly shifted to the figures surrounding him, landing on Aethelred. The High King of Dragons stood tall, his regal bearing a facade masking the turmoil in his eyes. Before Verona could unleash the storm brewing within her, Aethelred spoke, his voice strained.

"Boy…you better give me a proper explanation of what you\'ve done… Or else." She heard the dragon King say as she was coming to this space.

"Or else what, King of Dragons? Tell me, what will you do to my son?"

"Who are you?" Aethelred asked, genuinely confused and surprised. He regained his composure as his elite guard gathered around him.

Verona\'s lips curled into a snarl, her voice laced with ice. "Who I am is irrelevant," she hissed. "But you... you dare threaten my son?"

A ripple of shock spread through the clearing. The some racial leaders exchanged startled glances, Bjorn looked at Valeriana meanwhile whispers breaking out amongst the gathered crowd. Valeriana was too young she hadn\'t seen the woman, Bjorn, Aethelred and Ilyana had no businesses to meet the Vampire queen.

Though there was a time when Aethelred was looking for Verona but at the time Verona was sleeping.

The strong woman infront of them was a stranger.

Only Kali, remained impassive and quite, a flicker of recognition passing through her emerald eyes. She was unfortunate enough to meet the woman, and the memory still sent shivers down her spine. When it dawned on her... Her gaze became serious.

Just then, a new arrival added to the tense situation. Count Chatham with an aura of power radiating from her newly acquired 11-star rank, landed gracefully near the commotion. Having been summoned to the scene as the vampire representative, she found herself amidst a maelstrom of tension.

Her eyes scanned the scene, finally landing on the stunningly beautiful woman with violet eyes and a regal presence.

"I greet the Monarch of the Night," Chatham proclaimed, bowing her head deeply. "The Vampire Queen!"

The revelation hung heavy in the air. Shock rippled through the crowd, even affecting Aethelred for a moment. Everyone, except for Kali, stared at Verona in bewildered awe. The whispers intensified, a wave of panicked recognition washing over the clearing. The rumors, the legends, the whispers of the ancient and powerful Winter Queen – they were all true. And she was here, defending her son?

And her son is Neveah?