“This is everyone?” Desaray looked at the hundred or so people and sighed. It was not as many as she was hoping. 

    “Yes… I am sorry, I do not have much power or influence. The leaders of the people said I was telling tall tales and was trying to trick people. I was about to be kicked out. Only this many were willing to trust me.” Yi Ling’s uncle looked downcast. 

“You did what you could. For now, let’s take our leave. We need to leave this place as soon as possible.” Desaray did not wish to stay any longer if it meant dealing with the Demon Queen of Darkness in her own backyard. It was not something she could easily handle at this time. She had no idea how to fight someone who could control the shadows. Just by how much power she was using at this time, it was already enough for her to sense how powerful this demon queen truly was. She was leagues ahead of Cinder. “Juna!”

“On it!” Juna controlled a few of her roots and surrounded the entire group of people before pulling them in and disappearing from the land. 

Not long later, a figure appeared in the air, hovering over the spot where Desaray and the rest once were, and tapped her chin. “I could have sworn I felt the Demon Queen of Cinder here. And also another surge of strong power that is on par with us Demon Queens. This world is truly different from the other.” Her gaze slowly moved toward the root sticking out of the ground. She looked at it for a few seconds before turning and looking at the settlement not far away. “I guess since I am here, I will deal with this first.” 

When Desaray reappeared outside the capital, the sun was shining, causing those who had been sitting in darkness for so long to break down crying. The root on Desaray shoulder nudged her neck and Juna’s voice whispered into her ear. “Desa, the settlement that you just left from is now gone. A figure appeared after I transported you all. She seemed to have sensed my root but did not destroy it; instead, she took out the settlement, and I mean, she sucked the entire thing into her shadow as if she was eating it. There is not a living soul left there. Over ten thousand gone.

“That woman’s power was scary. We need to figure out how to deal with it.” Juna couldn’t help but shiver after witnessing such a scene. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

    “I will be holding a meeting later today. I know you can not come so you will need to attend with your root. Have Sir Harland present as well.” Desaray was now called Serenity City, the capital since the main city was no longer the only city in all of Serenity.

“Understood. I will fill him in.” Juna knew how grave the situation was. She wished she could just go to Serenity now, but she was still controlling the roots to move Rain Ford City to the kingdom.

Desaray sighed as she turned to Yi Ling and pulled her aside. “I know this will be hard to take in, but the settlement is gone. Everyone inside seemed to have been eaten but the Demon Queen of Darkness.” 

    “Ev…..” Yi Ling tried to keep herself from freaking out as she asked: “Everyone?”

“Yes. We left just in time.” Desaray placed her hand on Yi Ling’s head. “We were lucky. We got out who would could.” 

“I know. I know…. It’s just hard to believe that those who stayed are gone just like that. If we were just a bit more forceful….” Yi Ling wanted to cry, but she could not. She bit her lip and clenched her fists but soon found herself being pulled into a hug. 

    “You should not blame yourself. You were not the only one there. I was there, too. We gave them the option. They did not heed our warnings, so it is not yours or anyone else fault but their own for not listening.” Dsaray gently rubbed Yi Ling’s back. Yi Ling did not move. She only placed her forehead on Desaray’s shoulder and tried her best not to freak out.

After a few minutes, Yi Ling finally pushed away and looked at Desaray. “I am fine. I will go speak with my Uncle. I am not the best person to be telling everything the bad news. He is better at it than me.” 

    “Alright. I will need you to ask your uncle to also come to the meeting I am holding later with the council of elders. We need to come up with some kind of plan to fight against darkness.” Desaray had no ideas at this time. She could only hope that, working together with her people that they could find a way to deal with this Demon Queen of Darkness.

“Okay.” Yi Ling turned and made her way over to her uncle. 

Cinder stood next to Desaray with her hands clasped in front of her with her head down.  When Desaray turned and looked at her, she knew the girl was probably thinking she was useless. “You are not at fault either.”

    “But I thought I was powerful enough to beat her…. If I had known darkness was such a powerful element, I would not have boasted about being able to fight her.” Cinder was embarrassed and depressed at the same time. She had thought as the Demon Queen of Cinder that, she could fight on par with the other Demon Queens, but it seemed she had been mistaken.