"You have very limited time, pick one," They said again and silence followed after that.

Taking advantage of the fire’s light that illuminated the forest, they continued to look, still trying to trace them but still found nothing.

"You are a shifter, right?" The commander asked. He didn’t think there were any witches here and if the one speaking was a shifter, then they had found the one who could end this madness that they have been dragged into.

"What have you chosen?" They asked without replying to his question.

"The Luna Supreme, I see," he said, drawing his own conclusion. He stopped talking to hear what she would or they would say but nothing was said. "I have heard of you."

"Make your choice, you have two seconds," they said and the two elements started moving, closing in on them. When they tried to move, their feet were either buried in the ground or held in place by roots and vines that crawled up on them without them realizing it.

"Water. I choose water," The commander spoke. He hoped he made the right choice and it was what she wanted him to pick. Water could kill as much as fire could. It looked harmless but it could drown them, or in the hands of an elemental master like the she-wolf before them, it could do more than just drown them.

Everything stopped and the fire was dispelled. Those whose feet were buried underground were released but then the vines wound around their bodies, restraining the movements. They sighed in relief when they saw the fire go out and the water stopped and pooled around the ground but it did not sink underground as it should.

"I have made my pick, show yourself," the commander said. A while later, they heard the rustling sound of leaves followed by the appearance of Emily who stood in front of Kora who was then seen a second later. The commander looked at the two young shifters and could not believe that they were the ones who caused such a big ruckus. They looked harmless and one of them was pregnant.

"Are you the Luna Supreme?" He asked. His instinct directed him to Kora but then, two more women made their appearance, they were older than the first two and he became conflicted. With what he had seen, he wanted to believe it would be one of the other two but his mind and instincts had him still looking at the younger shifters.

"Yes," Kora replied. She ignored the shock on the faces of the soldiers and stared directly at the commander. He didn’t look like someone who held a grudge against them, rather he looked like someone who was just carrying out an order that was given to him.

"What now, I have made my choice," the man said. He was surprised but he could not think too much about it, shifters and humans didn’t age the same way, they could be older than they looked and even if they were as young as they looked, a soldier should never underestimate anyone on a battlefield.

"I want to talk, perhaps we could come to an understanding that does not require anyone to die," Gaia said.

"Why?" He asked not believing that it could be so simple. But then, she had the upper and could kill them without having to go through this dilly-dallying but she was doing just that. "You had the upper hand, if anyone should be asking to come to terms, it should be us."

"Do you prefer to die then?" She asked and many of the soldiers looked at their commander with pleading eyes. They may have all the weapons with them but they were immobilized by the vines, there was nothing they could do if she wanted to kill them.

"No. I would like to have my squad return to their families alive and in one piece," he tried and Gaia nodded her head. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"What do you think of us, Commander?" Gaia asked. "Answer truthfully, lie and one of them dies. For every lie you tell, one will die," she warned.

Emily and Rossie looked at her wondering what she was doing. They didn’t have a plan when these soldiers came and now she was leaving them confused. Sophia stared at her trying to understand what she was getting at.

"I think you are just like us, the humans, with the only difference being your nonhuman abilities," he replied and Gaia smiled. "All this while you and your kind have existed among us and nothing went wrong, I think you people just want to have to live like every other living being in the face of the world."

"So why are you here to kill us when you know and believe that we are just like you? Do you just go and declare war against everyone just because of a little difference?" Gaia asked.

"No, attacking the supernatural creatures was an order that we had to follow. I do see what is wrong with using the world shared." He replied. He didn’t know what the questions were for but he would answer them truthfully so his soldiers were not killed when he had the chance to keep them alive.

"I won’t kill you, but I want you to return, and leave this battle. Drop all of your weapons and you will be released," Gaia said and everyone frowned. What was her purpose for the questions?

"Luna..." Emily called but Sophia placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"How can we trust that we would not be attacked once we turn our backs to you?" he asked.

"You have the promise of a mystic, you will not be atya led by me or any of us," she replied. He looked at her and did not understand why she was letting them go.

"Why are you letting us go?" He asked.

"I wanted to know if the human race still deserved to live. There are still a few good people among the humans. It is a shame that the same could not be said about the majority but the good people should not be destroyed along with the evil, they deserve a chance to live," Gaia replied.

The commander looked at his soldiers and nodded at them and said, "Drop your weapons." The weapons were dropped and Kora destroyed them and released the soldiers.

"You can go," she said.

Cautiously, they turned around to leave in the direction where they had come, fewer battle cries were coming from that direction.

"What you said, the few good should not be destroyed with the many bad, what did you mean, there is no way anyone can destroy all the humans, so what do you mean?" Emily asked as she began suspecting Kora.