Reborn As Cursed Alpha's Mate
Chapter 256: Return To Axiom

Chapter 256: Return To Axiom

Axion was a realm of perpetual storm, where the sky was both a canvas and a battlefield. Towering cloudscapes dominated the horizon, churning with shades of deep grey, cobalt blue, and flashes of brilliant silver. These clouds were not ordinary vapour but infused with divine energy, crackling with veins of lightning that illuminated the realm in bursts of dazzling light.

The air was alive with a constant hum of electricity, vibrating with power that made every breath feel charged and invigorating. Winds swirled in controlled chaos, carrying the sharp tang of ozone, while deep, resonant thunder rolled like a heartbeat, steady and commanding.

Axion comprised of massive, floating islands that drifted gracefully within the endless sky. These landmasses were connected by bridges of lightning, shimmering arcs of energy that pulsed with life. Each island was unique:

The largest island housed the Thunder God; Arkiam’s citadel, a colossal fortress of, storm-forged stone and shimmering metals that gleamed like polished silver.

Wide, open expanses of rocky terrain where storms were birthed. Where, vortexes of lightning swirled constantly, feeding the storms that spread across the skies below and onto the mortal realm.

The Isle of Tempest Chains was an island which acted as a grim reminder of the Thunder God’s justice or injustice. It was a place of exile, where those who defied him were cast away, their powers drained and their freedom stripped. That was the place where Asara was imprisoned.

In Axion’s lore, the Isle was not only a prison but a place of judgment and penance, where prisoners were confronted by their own hubris and forced to reckon with the storms of their past. Though few ever left its confines, those who did emerge changed, scarred, carrying the burden of their punishment as a cautionary tale for all who would defy the Thunder God’s will.

Kalthian usually stayed with him in his citadel. They had the same mindset and enjoyed each other’s company.

Cassandra and Siroos arrived in Axiom on Fanir’s back. Their faces dripped in determination as their minds raced with plans they had formed.

The royal sentinels gathered around the couple as Siroos helped Cassandra step down from her gryphon. Their royal attires slick against their muscled bodies as they held staffs verberating with magic.

Siroos turned and let Duskborn peek through his eyes, letting a warning growl roll out. Siroos’s skin peeled back from his teeth revealing them as he snapped at them in an attacking position.

They would dare stop him and he would toast them on the spot. Their knees shook as Duskborn’s shrill warning rang out and viscerated the air but they kept their stance.

"We can’t let you pass through unless you have an audience with the god of thunder," the sentinel in front who seemed to be their ring leader said in a shaky voice.

Cassandra placed her gentle hand on Siroos’s stiffened shoulder and he instantly relaxed.

’Let me handle them,’ she told him through the mindlink and he gave a muffled grunt of approval.

Keeping her head high Cassandra faced the three sentinels blocking her way.

"I am here to see my father, let us pass or I won’t be responsible for what will happen to your lives." Her voice held as much authority as it did power. It fizzled under her hands but knew these were just her father’s creations, trained to follow orders.

Their eyes shifted to her hands and they observed how the power vibrated there, ready to blast them. They were no match for her now that she had fully woken.

"We will take you to him." They nodded for them to follow. Cassandra triumphantly crossed her arm with Siroos, he seemed much more relaxed now.

Following the guards, they soon arrived at the throne room where Arkiam made his council. The very place where he had doomed his daughter and her lover all those centuries ago.

The place held grim memories for them both and they could feel the prick at the back of their heads.

Siroos and Cassandra confidently sauntered over to where his throne rested and he sat upon it as an imposing figure of unrelenting power and authority. His sharp, electric blue eyes burnt with the intensity of a lightning strike, cruel and piercing as if they could pierce through the soul.

His ageing face was nothing short of a storm-carved monument to wrath, set in a perpetual scowl that radiated dominance and cruelty. A wild mane of silver and black hair streaked with crackling lightning slid down his back, untamed like the storms he commanded. His skin was nothing less then steel.

Draped over his shoulders was a swirling cloak of storm clouds streaked with flashes of lightning, and his thunder-forged armour gleamed with molten edges. The blue cape flew behind him like a speck of thunder.

The throne itself, carved from a single thunderstone, glowed with an inner light as bolts of lightning danced across its surface, the backrest adorned with symbols of the sky—roaring winds, jagged bolts, and rolling clouds—etched in shimmering silver.

Around him, the air hummed with a suffocating charge, alive with energy. The whole place was steeped in his presence, its atmosphere heavy with static electricity and alive with the sound of thunder rolling like a drumbeat, growing louder with his every movement. The storm clouds above swirled with foreboding, their shadows flickering across the walls in sync with the lightning bolts that illuminated the place as he cast his furtive glance on the intruders.

With one hand resting on the armrest of his throne and the other idly tapping its edge, he exuded the composed menace of a predator surveying his domain, a god whose unyielding strength and authority were as untamable as the storms he reigned over.

His heavy voice echoed through the place, deep and resonant, like thunder itself. It commanded attention but also stung.

"So you finally set yourself free of my curse."

Cassandra had to reel in all the emotions threatening to lose and plastered the fakest smiles she could muster on her face. The hatred and disgust bubbled inside her heart for her father. She held nothing but contempt for the man in front of her who could have meant so much to her.

Siroos savegely stared Arkiam dead in the eye, without blinking or shaking under his strong aura.

"I came to pay you back for what you did to my mate. More than 500 years are due dear father," Cassandra relentlessly jeered, her tone mocking.

Arkiam bristled at the threat and his sentinels braced for whatever would come to pass. "So you grew some horns after I let you reborn. Seems like you need to be reminded of your place yet again."

"Watch your tone when you speak to my mate. Or this time around you might lose your tongue," Siroos threatened with a glare, every nerve in his body was taut, and every spirit inside him was blazing and furious.

"So the bloody-shifter got balls too or are you here for round two of being burnt alive," Arkiam thundered, his voice swirling the thunderstorms around him.

Siroos mocked. "Have you always been this conceited or the power dynamic got to your head and you turned into this evil old creature who doesn’t deserve the status of a god."

"He doesn’t. Someone who can’t believe in love and is an adulterer himself is not fit for this title. Therefore, I challenge you for your position dear father. The battle will continue until one of us surrenders or loses his or her head."

Listening to her daughter just stand there and so confidently challenge him, Arkiam couldn’t help but throw his head back and let out a guttural laugh.

"You seemed to have lost your mind. You dare challenge me, your father; the god of thunder," he snorted with his voice edged in steel, it penetrated the hearts like lightning bolts.

"I do. Accept the challenge or are you afraid to lose?" Cassandra instigated him.

"Lose? To you? A weak goddess of love who couldn’t defend herself or her so-called lover. Seems like you didn’t learn your lesson after all. I guess I need to teach you again. This time I will ensure to seal your soul in the Underworld so you will never see the light of the day again."

Cassandra closed her eyes for a second and smiled a knowing smile.

"Same goes for you, Arkiam. If you lose to me, I will steal your power and bury you so deep in the Underworld that you will never return. So do you accept my challenge?"

Arkiam’s eyes narrowed, he didn’t understand why his daughter would dare challenge him when she clearly couldn’t defeat him. He was an extremely powerful and ancient deity. But he wanted to see where all this would lead to.

"I accept.We fight alone with no one’s interference." His enraged eyes wavered to Siroos.

"No one will," Cassandra ensured him.

The bond became alive in their chests, thrumming painfully. It carried Siroos’s pain but Cassandra’s resilence and strength. Her calmness shrouded him.

’Trust me, Siro. I got this.’

’I do, my Malakti. It’s him that I don’t.’ Siroos pulled her closer and gently kissed his mate just to entice Arkiam further.