The Night Before the Battle – Bunker War Room

The map of Slovenia was marked in red and black ink, lit by flickering desk lamps and the eerie glow of one of Maya’s fingertips. The air crackled—part static, part tension, part divine energy barely held in check.

Dean leaned over the table, brow furrowed. “She’s gathering power near the ruins in Bohinj. Old, deep magic. Feels like a damn pressure cooker about to blow.”

Jack nodded, arms crossed, face harder than usual. “She wants to rip open the veil between life and death. And if she succeeds—”

“She won’t,” Maya interrupted, stepping beside him.

Everyone looked at her. She didn’t flinch.

Her glow was stronger now—subtle but undeniable. Her hair shimmered at the tips like threads of light. Even her eyes, once hazel, now held flecks of gold.

“She’ll come looking for you,” Castiel said gently. “You’re the reason she’s awake.”

“I know,” Maya replied. “Let her.”

Jack’s fingers twitched. Maya brushed against his arm—not to reassure him, but to ground herself.

Dean straightened. “Alright. Everyone rests. We roll out at dawn.”

“Dean—” Jack started.

“No. You both need sleep,” Dean said firmly, eyes darting between Jack and Maya. “Especially you, glowstick.”

Maya exhaled, letting some of the tension bleed off.

She knew what was coming.

And for the first time… she wasn’t afraid.

---

That Night – Jack’s Room

The door creaked open.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Maya asked softly.

Jack was sitting on the edge of the bed, head in his hands. “It’s louder tonight. The world, I mean. Like it knows something’s about to change.”

She crossed the room and sat beside him. Their knees touched.

“Everything’s changing,” she said.

He looked at her. “You’re not scared.”

“I am,” she admitted. “But not of Lilith. Not of what I can do. Just… of losing someone before I say what I need to.”

Jack’s breath caught. “Like what?”

Maya didn’t answer right away.

Instead, she took his face in her hands. Gently. Slowly.

And kissed him.

Not like the others—this one was still intense, but deeper, slower, trembling at the edges. As if time might stop for them, just for one more breath.

Light flared around them. The whole room pulsed.

When they finally pulled apart, Jack whispered, “That was… different.”

She smiled. “We floated again.”

He laughed softly, forehead resting against hers. “We always do.”

---

The Next Day – Bohinj Ruins

The trees were blackened. The air tasted like ash and ozone.

Lilith stood at the center of the ruined field, barefoot, her eyes burning red, tendrils of power coiled around her body like smoke.

“So,” she purred, “this is what God brings against me? His puppet prince and a half-lit candle?”

Jack stepped forward, face dark. “You don’t belong in this world.”

“Oh, Jack,” Lilith grinned. “Neither do you. You’re too human now. Look at you—weeping for her. And her? Please. You made a goddess out of grief.”

“Damn right,” Maya said, stepping forward, energy sparking down her arms. “And I’m not just grief anymore.”

The ground trembled.

Lilith lunged.

Jack intercepted first—wings flaring for just a moment before the magic collided. They flew back in a clash of light and shadow, their power ripping apart the stone ruins. Maya ducked, then turned, eyes glowing.

“You want me?” she screamed. “COME GET ME!”

Lilith turned—and Maya unleashed.

Not just light.

Memory.

Emotion.

A blast of everything she had felt—the fear, the fury, the love, the resurrection, the choice—and Lilith stumbled, shrieking as if it burned.

Jack returned, blood on his lip, but eyes fierce. “She’s weak to it. She can’t handle real humanity.”

“Then let’s drown her in it,” Maya said.

Together, they attacked—light and god-force slamming against shadow and spite.

Castiel and Dean were fighting off summoned spirits around them. The sky cracked above. The earth split below.

Then—Lilith screamed.

A crack appeared across her face. Like glass.

Her form flickered.

And for a second—just a second—she looked afraid.

Jack saw it too. “Now!”

Maya didn’t hesitate.

She drove forward, wrapped in golden light, her body floating off the ground. Her hands glowed like burning stars.

And she touched Lilith’s chest—right where her heart would be.

Lilith shattered.

Not into pieces.

Into dust. Light. Screams. Silence.

The world stilled.

No wind. No sound. Just… silence.

Then Maya collapsed.

Jack caught her before she hit the ground, cradling her in his arms. “Hey. Hey. Maya.”

Her eyes fluttered open.

She smiled weakly. “Told you… she’d regret it.”

Jack exhaled a shaky breath and pulled her close.

---

One Hour Later – Outside the Ruins

Castiel patched up Dean, who groaned. “Next time, someone warn me when a nuke is gonna go off in the middle of my damn ribs.”

“Noted,” Cas said dryly.

Jack sat on the back of the Impala, Maya wrapped in a warm jacket, her head against his shoulder.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I will be.”

Jack looked up at the sky. “It’s still not over. Something’s… shifting.”

“You mean the final wave?”

Jack didn’t speak.

But she could feel it.

Whatever Lilith had been planning—someone else knew.

And the final battle was no longer just about balance.

It was about who gets to shape the future.

And Maya?

She was ready.