Chapter 386 - Darkness- Part 1

Belle hugged Portia in her arms, the smoke oozing out from Portia's stomach that had started to increase and surround them. When Belle held the dying soul in her arms, she tapped back into the forbidden magic. It was easier to make use of the magic not just because she was in the land of the dead but because she had the bone that belonged to Winston. Even though she was back to her mortal form, the powers that came from the bone was still usable. It was how Winston was able to access the forbidden magic after he had created this bone. 

Lucas and Greed were out fighting the death reapers while Barron who was sitting on top of the edge of the window had jumped down on the ground, noticing the volume of black smoke increasing as seconds passed. 

When Edith had told Belle that the only way to remove the imbalance that was taking place was to let Portia back in her body, Belle knew it was not going to be easy. With the soul that was torn away from her when she was a young girl, Belle had always been on the weaker side even though she was vampire. Bringing back something inside her now, she could feel pain.

"I know what you are trying to do," whispered Portia, whose chin was resting on Belle's shoulder, "You think, you will kill me like this?"

"I am only trying to fix things that I couldn't when I was a child." 

The smoke didn't disappear but it started to get inside Belle's body. The pain starting to wreck her where she could feel the piercing pain that shot up through her entire body. It was far worse than she thought. 

She heard Portia chuckle softly.

Portia said, "You cannot fix something that is broken. You cannot make something right after a certain point," Belle didn't know what Portia was getting at but the smoke around them only continued to increase. Belle felt her vision starting to dim in and out. Her heart felt heavy as if she could barely breathe right now. Was it supposed to be this bad? Was it because Portia had suffered in the land of the dead, alone, which was why the pain was getting unbearable? 

Belle continued to inhale the smoke into her body, feeling flashes of memories that weren't hers, inking into her mind.

"Our two existence is going to cause an imbalance in both our lives, we will end up continuing to fight to stay in the living," informed Belle to Portia, "I don't want to fight anymore. I am tired."

Portia was losing the strength in her body, her body turning slack against Belle who was holding her. 

"An imbalance is caused when one thing doesn't exist. Like the day or night being stolen. That's the imbalance. The way life turned out light for you while I was sent here, into the darkness. You and I cannot exist without each other. We are part of the same person, did you forget it, Belle?" Portia asked her in a whisper. "Whoever told you otherwise, it was a lie."

Belle's eyebrows furrowed even further and she finally pulled herself away from Portia, to see her smile with a dazed expression, "Until now I have been protecting you but with me gone, you will have nothing. I wonder how you will fix that."

Portia's body started to disappear and Belle could do nothing but stare. More smoke appeared, circulating around her to finally seep inside while she tried to comprehend the words Portia said right now. 

For a moment nothing happened, and Belle came to believe that Portia was only bluffing, trying to scare her. But she didn't understand why Portia would lie to her, especially when Portia knew the deal Belle had made with her. 

'Whoever told you otherwise, it was a lie.'

Belle suddenly started to cough, her body falling down on the ground. 

"Belle!" Barron yelled her name, quickly coming to her side to see blood dripping down from the side of her mouth, "Lucas! Something is happening to Belle!" he screamed, to gain Lucas' attention. 

Greed and Lucas were almost done sending the death reapers away from the mansion, knocking most of them unconscious. Hearing Barron call him, Lucas knocked the next death reaper before going back inside the mansion to find Belle who was on the ground of the hallway.

"What happened to her?" asked Lucas, taking Belle's head to place it on his lap and he wiped the blood that had come out of her lips. 

"I think she killed Portia, but the smoke went inside Belle," Barron quickly informed, "She was alright but then she started coughing blood." Barron had earlier believed that Belle knew what she was doing but something didn't go right. 

Lucas noticed how Belle coughed, her eyes turning black from red. 

"What's happening?" came the feeble voice of Belle who was gasping for air until she started to cough more blood. 

Lucas stared into Belle's eyes, his hand going to place on her chest to feel her heart that was beating at a low rate, "Your body is trying to corrupt itself." 

"What are we going to do?!" asked Barron in a state of panic in his voice. 

Belle felt her head was going to burst into pieces because of the pain she felt. When Lucas helped her to sit against the wall, she was still trying to breathe and keep herself awake but her sight was going in and out. She wasn't sure how much more time she would be able to handle. It reminded her of the time when the first star, Vivian, had gone under the state of corruption. 

Was she going to die? Asked Belle to herself. She didn't want to die. How ironic that she wasn't dying in the land of the living but in the land of the dead. It seemed like she was the only mortal who had got the opportunity to die here. 

But Belle didn't know what would happen if she died this time, because Portia was gone. 

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