Meanwhile—
Sanctuary crouched under an abandoned bus, trembling, hugging her knees tight.
The Jester Demon stroked her hair.
"They're coming…
but you're faster, yes you are…
you're free now…
don't let them take you…"
Sanctuary shook, terrified.
Her wings twitched.
She didn't know who to trust.
She only knew one thing:
She would NOT go back to the Temple.
The sky split open.
Ghost swung his scythe again—but the King Guardian caught the blade with one hand.
ONE. HAND.
Ghost's eyes widened.
"No—"
The King twisted—
CRAAAAACK—!!!
The scythe shattered into thousands of black fragments, scattering like dying stars.
Ghost gasped in pain as the weapon's destruction echoed through his entire body.
Before he could react—
WHOOOM—!!!
The Queen Guardian slammed into him with a blast of divine force that tore open the clouds.
Ghost spiraled downward, body flickering like a failing flame, black energy spilling from his ribs and eyes.
He hit the air so hard the atmosphere BOOMED like thunder.
He tried to teleport.
Tried to breathe.
Tried to move.
The Queen appeared behind him.
"You will not stop us."
Her hand punched through Ghost's chest, out his back, gripping his spine of shadow.
Ghost choked on darkness.
He felt his essence unraveling.
His vision blurred—
Death light dimming.
He looked up weakly.
"I'm not… your enemy…
But you are about to become everyone else's…"
The King raised both hands—
A blast of raw celestial fire charged—
aimed to erase Ghost permanently.
Sanctuary crouched behind an overturned car, hands clasped around her head.
Humans ran past her, screaming.
A swarm of demons chased them—twenty, thirty, maybe more.
A little girl fell.
Her mother screamed her name.
Sanctuary flinched.
She didn't want to be seen.
She didn't want to hurt anyone.
But—
One of Sanctuary's wings accidentally brushed the side of the car—
and the entire vehicle EXPLODED into white light.
A shockwave blasted the demons backward.
The last demon crawling up the street froze at the sight of her.
Her glow intensified—
Brighter.
Brighter.
BRIGHTER.
Demons dropped to their knees in terror, shielding their eyes, hissing.
The Jester Demon giggled proudly on her shoulder.
Sanctuary stepped forward.
Humans stumbled back, trembling.
One whispered:
"Is she… a god?"
Another fell to their knees.
"She saved us… a goddess saved us…"
One by one, they bowed.
Sanctuary's face twisted.
"No—stop—get up—don't—DON'T DO THAT!"
But they kept bowing, praying, crying.
She shook her head wildly.
"I am NOT your God!" she yelled.
Her voice boomed—
cracking concrete, shaking buildings.
Humans screamed in terror but continued bowing.
"GET UP!"
She slammed her hands against the pavement—
holy light rippled out.
People fell over from the force, horrified.
Demons fled.
The Jester Demon clapped happily, whispering:
"See? They fear you.
They worship you.
You were born for this."
Sanctuary backed up, wings trembling.
"No… no… I just want… to be free…"
Ghost coughed shadows as the King Guardian prepared to vaporize him.
The Queen still had her hand through his chest.
Ghost whispered:
"Sanctuary doesn't need you angry…
She needs you calm…"
The King roared:
"YOU KNOW NOTHING OF WHAT SANCTUARY IS!"
He unleashed the blast—
A beam brighter than the sun.
Ghost closed his eyes.
He couldn't block it.
He couldn't escape.
He was about to be destroyed.
The King's blast fired.
A column of celestial fire — brighter than the sun — shot downward, aimed straight through Ghost's chest.
The Queen Guardian still held his spine of shadow in her fist.
Ghost closed his eyes.
He'd never felt so close to true death.
But—
SOMETHING SLAMMED INTO THE BLAST.
A streak of pink-ash feathers, cracked porcelain skin, and hollow eyes blazing.
GINNY.
Her scream ripped the sky:
"NOT.
TODAY!"
Her Deathlight Wings ignited — holy-corrupted flame erupting outward.
The celestial blast smashed into her—
BOOOOM—!!!
But instead of vaporizing her—
Her wings absorbed it.
Pulled it in.
Drank it like a starving void.
The King Guardian's eyes widened.
"What—?!"
Ginny laughed through the pain, feathers shedding like burning petals.
"Ohhh trust me, I taste WORSE than sin!"
She flipped in the air, redirecting the remaining energy.
The blast curved —
And exploded harmlessly into the clouds.
The Queen ripped her hand from Ghost's chest and lunged at Ginny—
But Ginny snapped:
"Back OFF, marble-mama!"
She spun, flinging a burst of Resonant Decay — necrotic feather shrapnel — into the Queen's wings.
The Queen ROARED as parts of her stone plumage cracked.
Ginny grabbed Ghost under the arms.
He weakly protested:
"Ginny—wait—
you can't… hold me…"
She smirked, chipped lips curling.
"Uhm, excuse YOU…
I literally haul dead people for a living."
With a violent flap —
WHOOSH!
She tore backward through the air, dragging Ghost with her.
The King Guardian charged.
The Queen followed, shaking off burning decay.
Ginny flew faster.
Ghost's body flickered, unstable.
He rasped:
"They'll kill you—"
Ginny laughed.
"They can TRY."
Below them, the clouds broke — revealing a long abandoned highway, cracked and empty.
Ginny dove—
And vanished into smoke.
She reappeared under a shattered overpass, gently lowering Ghost onto the cracked asphalt.
Ghost collapsed, coughing shadows.
Ginny knelt beside him, placing a glowing feather against his wound.
Her voice dropped — uncharacteristically soft.
"You're okay.
I got you.
I got you, big brother."
Ghost's light steadied.
He looked up at her, almost… shocked.
"Ginny…
You… protected me?"
She tapped his forehead.
"Duh.
You think I let anyone kill my family?"
Above them, the sky rumbled.
The King and Queen searched, furious but unable to sense them through Ginny's corrupted aura.
Ghost exhaled shakily.
"What have you become…?"
Ginny grinned, eyes glowing like dying stars.
"Something they should be VERY afraid of."
She lifted him to sit.
"We need to warn everyone," she said.
"Because if Sanctuary's awake…
and her parents are loose…"
Her voice cracked with an eerie excitement—
"…the world is seconds from burning."