All Chapters of Welcome to Aetherborn: Crushes, Curses & Creatures: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

Trial One: The Skyborn Gauntlet A ring of molten light unfurled into the heavens, spiraling upward until it became a vast labyrinth of gleaming platforms suspended in the open sky. Each translucent step shimmered with elemental energy, winds that howled like living spirits, arcs of lightning that danced across the surface like serpents of pure light. “The Skyborn Gauntlet will test your agility, cooperation, and mastery of your elemental strain,” proclaimed Master Corvin Alderane of Wyverndale, his voice amplified by enchantment, echoing through the clouds. “Survive the winds. Conquer the storm. Only those worthy of the sky shall stand victorious.” With a resonant hum, the trial began. Competitors launched themselves skyward in a surge of motion and color. Wings of every shape and element unfurled, fire, ice, storm, and shadow. Spells ignited midair, forming radiant trails as contestants leapt from platform to platform. The air became a storm of light, a battlefield of grace a

The arena still thrummed with noise, cheers, laughter, the echo of victory. Banners shimmered above, their colors glowing beneath the floating lanterns. Wyverndale’s dragon sigil gleamed proudly at the center. Across the grounds, the remaining four, Kade, Alaric, and Lucien pushed through the crowd, grinning like victors. They found Damien standing near the edge of the field, still dusted in gold from Wyverndale’s triumph. His armor shimmered faintly, the lingering energy of elemental fire dancing along his shoulders. “Congrats, bro,” Kade said first, clapping him on the back. “Your castle pulled it off!” Damien smirked, wiping a bit of soot from his sleeve. “Told you so. Wyverndale never goes down easy.” Lucien let out a low whistle. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t get cocky, flame boy.” But Alaric just raised a brow, arms folded. “So… I suppose this means you’re going to start bragging about that stupid bet again?” Damien’s grin widened. “You remember the deal. Anyone of us whose c

The music from the after-party had long faded into echoes. The courtyard shimmered with the last of the lantern lights, and laughter drifted faintly from the halls as the celebration slowly dissolved into whispers and goodbyes. Across the marble path, Damien stood with Alaric, Lucien, and Kade, the four of them gathered in a loose circle. Lucien had just cracked a joke, something biting enough to earn a smirk even from Alaric, and the laughter that followed was sharp, an attempt to cut through the heavy quiet lingering since earlier. But Damien’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Then… “Damien,” a voice called softly from behind him. All four boys stilled. The sound of her voice was enough to freeze the air. Cressida. As Damien turned, the others followed suit. Their reactions were immediate and raw, Lucien’s smirk evaporated, Alaric’s jaw tightened like a steel trap, and Kade muttered a barely audible, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” “Cressida,” Damien replied, his voice a c

The air around Seraphine shimmered as she opened the heavy tome. It was as though the book had been waiting for her, its spine creaked, the silver inlay along its edges glowing faintly as if waking from centuries of sleep. The scent of old parchment and lightning filled the room. A pulse of light escaped between the pages, soft at first like a flicker of dawn through fog and then grew, brighter and brighter until it swallowed the library whole. Shadows fled. The shelves shuddered. Even the air itself seemed to hum with anticipation. Seraphine gasped as the ink on the parchment stirred. Letters rose from the page like living things, twisting and reshaping into symbols that hovered in the air before her, ancient, luminous, dripping strands of starlight. They spun in slow circles, orbiting her like curious fireflies, each one whispering a note of a language she didn’t know but somehow understood. Her pulse thrummed in rhythm with the magic. Then came the voice. It filled the air, s

The courtyard glowed with silver light. The night was utterly still, every leaf, every breath of air seemed to wait. Selene stood in the center of a circle carved into the stone floor, her hands outstretched. Around her, her four friends took their positions, Vaelen the vampire, Rowan the werewolf, Kael the dragon, and Sevran the incubus. Each stood at a cardinal point of the circle. Their energies pulsed faintly, the colors of their magic illuminating the sigils carved into the ground. Selene looked at them one last time. “Once we begin, there’s no turning back. I’ll need your focus. Your trust.” Vaelen gave a small nod, his expression unreadable. Rowan rolled his shoulders, restless but ready. Kael bowed his head solemnly. Sevran grinned faintly, masking his nerves. “Alright, genius,” Sevran said softly. “Let’s open a portal.” Selene inhaled, steadying her heartbeat. The runes beneath her feet began to shimmer. The wind stirred, whispering through her hair. She raised her