Issue 95: The Source of Light

The Source of Light is the ninety-fifth issue of the Winx Club Comic Series.

Synopsis
Recently, Morgana has been plagued by nightmares of a world where only shadows rule and, to make it worse, her dreams could be premonitions of what is to come. Rather than make her daughter worry any more than she already has, Morgana and Klaus send Roxy off to a concert with the Winx to enjoy themselves. Unfortunately, their time at the concert is cut short by the Wizards of the Black Circle launching a surprise attack. The girls are able to defeat the Wizards and retrieve Morgana's stolen necklace, but all is not well as it turns out that the necklace had been influenced by Neruman; leaving Stella under his control. Morgana also realizes that the Wizard's supposed defeat was all a trap so that Neruman could have them destroy the Second Sun of Solaria. The Winx must now hurry to Stella's homeworld before Neruman destroys all light within the Magic Dimension.

Plot
Morgana bolts awake after seeing a group of shadows devour everything in their path in her dream. The next night, she experiences another dream where the beautiful wilderness she has found herself in quickly begins to wilt and die around her. Unable to save the forest, Morgana is left to question why all of this is happening.

Later, at Roxy's home, Klaus, Roxy and the Winx try their best to comfort Morgana over her recent nightmares. Klaus tries to assure her that they were only dreams but Morgana cannot get over how real they felt; how real the animals' suffering was. Stella wonders if Morgana's nightmares could have been a premonition of some sort, but Roxy scolds her for not helping the situation. That is until Morgana realizes that Stella could be right as the mystical barriers within dreams can be broken much more easily than those in the real world. Roxy asks what her mother means by this and so Morgana explains that even with her magical energy fading from her, a small part of it was still sufficient enough to open a window into the future and allow her to see into it in her sleep. Bloom realizes that this window must have led into a possible future where Neruman and his shadows dominate everything and Morgana is stricken with another headache. Klaus and Roxy rush to her side but Morgana claims that all she needs is more rest. Klaus offers to take Morgana up to her room to rest and, as the couple leaves, Roxy begins to worry for her mother's well-being.

Flora tries to cheer Roxy up by telling her to have strength and Stella insists that they will bring back Morgana's necklace and that Morgana will be able to become a powerful fairy again. Roxy hopes that they will be able to as she reveals to the Winx that her mother's necklace is not a simple magical object, but one that is the very source of her energy. One that encloses her vital essence. Musa swears that the Wizards of the Black Circle will pay dearly for having stolen Morgana's necklace but Roxy reminds her that they still need to figure out where they have been hiding. As the girls head upstairs, Bloom remembers that the Wizards just vanished after their last encounter and that even Neruman's shadows have all left Gardenia, too. Tecna confirms Bloom's claims as even her detector cannot pick up any traces of the Wizards' magic in the city. Bloom then tells Roxy that even though they need to stop the Wizards, they have hidden their tracks all too well for them to be traced. Roxy proposes that they try to anticipate the Wizards' next move and insists that it may be because they have not put in enough work.

Klaus and Morgana overhear Roxy's claims as they girls enter Morgana's room and Klaus approaches his daughter, urging for her not to say things like that as she and the Winx have put in more than enough work. He assures Roxy that he is proud of her and tells her that he is aware that she is currently exhausted from everything. Roxy tries to assure her father that he does not need to worry about her but Klaus claims that, right now, she and the Winx should focus on enjoying themselves while they can. He then pulls out a bundle of tickets to a White Crystals concert as he had remembered that they were Roxy's favourite band, and he urges for them to go enjoy themselves there. Roxy, though excited, turns down Klaus' tickets as she cannot go so long as her mother is weak. Bloom agrees with Roxy by claiming that they do not need any distractions as they must find the necklace at any cost. Just then, Morgana reaches out to Roxy and reminds her that she has been by her bedside everyday ever since the incident and that her and her friends have put in tremendous amounts of work into trying to resolve her current predicament. She assures Roxy that she is thankful to all of them for their efforts but insists that they need to take a break right now. Klaus then reminds Roxy that if she and the Winx still want to make it to the White Crystals concert then they will need to hurry. He then promises to take care of Morgana for the night as they enjoy themselves. Roxy reluctantly agrees to taking a break and heads out with the Winx.

That evening, at Gardenia Stadium, everyone is enjoying themselves, dancing to the White Crystals' music. Everyone except Roxy. Bloom sees Roxy worrying from the corner of her eye and the rest of the Winx begin to notice as well. They all circle around Roxy and try to cheer her up as Roxy apologizes for being a burden on them. Flora and Tecna tell Roxy that she is deserving of a bit of happiness, even in the worst of times, until Musa pulls Roxy from her seat to dance with her. While on the dance floor, Musa urges for Roxy to unwind and dance her worries away. Though reluctant at first, Roxy soon finds herself dancing to the band's music alongside her friends.

Bloom smiles now that her friend can unwind, however, she quickly begins to feel uneasy after feeling a hostile presence. Things begin to spiral out of control after Stella accidentally bumps into Gantlos while dancing in the crowd and Anagan leaps on-stage to end the concert early. Bloom soon finds Ogron standing behind her and is knocked back by a magical blast from him. However, even while on the ground, Bloom demands that Ogron tell them the whereabouts of Morgana's necklace. Ogron refuses Bloom's demands and the girls transform into their Believix in preparation for an upcoming battle. Bloom then tasks Roxy, Tecna and Aisha with looking after the rest of the concert goers as she, Stella, Musa and Flora keep the Wizards at bay. Tecna then leads the panicking crowd towards a nearby exit as Stella launches her Dance of the Sun spell at Ogron, only to have the wizard launch it back at her.

Bloom launches her Fire Arrow at Anagan and taunts him for trying to outrun her spell as it will continue to chase its target until it hits its mark. Meanwhile, Gantlos tries to throw one of the speakers at Musa and Flora but Musa is luckily able to block it with her Sonic Screen. Flora then takes the opportunity to bind down Gantlos with thorny vines. With Anagan out cold and Gantlos held down, Bloom tries to assess the situation, still unable to shake her unease. She feels as though the Wizards are weaker this time around as she and the Winx have not even used their full power to take them down like they had to do so in their last encounter. Ogron tries to attack Bloom from behind but Bloom is able to dodge easily, claiming that Ogron's predictability made it easy for her to expect a sneak attack. She then blasts Ogron to the ground with her Heart of the Dragon spell and, with all three Wizards defeated, Stella notices something poking out from Ogron's side. She reaches for it and ends up pulling out Morgana's necklace!

Stella also points out that the necklace must have been on Ogron's person the whole time as Roxy expresses her relief with being able to save her mother now. Stella soon finds herself marveling at the necklace's beauty and she begins to hear a voice telling her to put it on. She is hesitant at first but still cannot bring herself to let go of the necklace. As Bloom notices something sinister going on near her friend, Ogron watches them from the ground with a smirk on his face.

Bloom asks Stella if she is okay and reminds her that they need to get going but Stella cannot pry her eyes away from the necklace's glow. The voice then tells Stella not to listen to Bloom as she is just jealous of her beauty. Roxy then asks for Stella to hand her the necklace as they still need to return it, but the voice insists that Morgana can wait a while longer and urges for Stella to put it on, even if it is only for a moment. Stella eventually caves in and straps the necklace around her neck as the voice welcomes her to the power of the shadows - to the power of Neruman!

From his lair, Neruman praises his shadows on a job well done as, thanks to the cursed necklace, the Fairy of the Sun is now under his control!

Roxy tries to ask Stella if anything is wrong as she is beginning to scare her and begs for the necklace back. Bloom directs Roxy's attention to Stella's eyes, pointing out that she may be under the influence of an unseen force and, from just behind them, Ogron springs to his feet to proclaim that the Winx fell right into their trap. Anagan approaches the Winx to taunt them for being so naive as Tecna demands to know what they have done to Stella. Just then, Neruman commands for Stella to attack her friends and she does so by launching her Solar Storm their way, knocking them all out. She tries to apologize for attacking them but Neruman warns for her not to rebel against him. He then tells her to follow the Wizards of the Black Circle to complete a mission.

The next day, the Winx return to Roxy's house to inform Morgana of last night's events. Roxy suspects that some kind of invisible force may have coerced Stella into wearing the necklace and admits to initially believing that she had just been upset about something. Aisha agrees with Roxy and adds that Stella was made to attacked them as if her personality had changed completely. After hearing all of this, Morgana comes to the conclusion that the necklace Stella had put on was not hers and believes that it was an evil copy as the original necklace could never be influenced by dark magic. She and the Winx then realize that there is only one being capable of creating an evil object with such powerful magic: the Lord of Shadows, Neruman himself. Morgana further explains to the Winx that, with the Wizards of the Black Circle under his command, Neruman had them lay their trap in order to bring Stella to their side. Confused, Musa asks why Stella would be so important to Neruman's plans and Morgana answers by asking them if they remember the nightmare she told them about yesterday. Bloom verbally recalls the dream as the one where Morgana found herself surrounded by a world where only shadows ruled and asks again what that would have to do with Stella. Morgana reveals that while the Winx were at the White Crystals concert, visions similar to that dream kept coming back and, this time, she clearly saw Stella standing next to a dark source. She realizes that the visions were, in fact, premonitions of what is to come and suspects that the world she had saw in those visions was not the Land of Dreams, but Solaria. Bloom realizes that Neruman needed Stella to allow the Wizards to enter any part of the kingdom without arousing suspicion due to Stella being the realm's princess and Morgana reminds the girls that the Second Sun of Solaria radiates light over the entire Magic Dimension. Guarded in the highest spire of Solaria's Royal Palace, the Second Sun also provides everyone with warmth. Roxy reminds Morgana that her dreams showed Solaria as a dark and scary place despite all of this and Morgana suspects that Neruman plans on corrupting Solaria's Second Sun in order to plunge the entire Magic Dimension into darkness and despair. In fact, as they speak, Stella is already leading the Wizards into the spire where the Second Sun is being guarded!

Stella and the Wizards make it to the Spire of the Second Sun, where Neruman telepathically orders for her to have the guards leave. Stella does so but the guards claim that they cannot leave as they have been tasked with guarding the Vault. Stella then lashes out at the guards, threatening to have them answer to the king over accusations of high treason and the guards leave their post to allow her and the cloaked men inside.

Once inside the Vault, the Wizards remove their robes and begin focusing their dark magic into the Second Sun. Stella tries to get them to stop which surprises Ogron. He even admits to this but reminds her that, so long as she keeps the necklace on her person, she will always be a slave to the Lord of Shadows. However, he is interrupted by a voice shouting from behind the windows outside. The Wizards and Stella look up to find the Winx hovering just above them and Neruman orders for Stella to destroy her friends. She launches a blast of light at the Winx, only to have it be blocked by Roxy's Silver Scales spell. Aisha begins to grow frustrated over how they cannot properly fight back due to not wanting to risk Stella's safety, but Bloom assures Aisha that she can handle it thanks to one spell of hers: her Arrow of Fire.

Bloom's Arrow of Fire lands a direct hit on the fake necklace, destroying it completely and freeing Stella of Neruman's mind control! The girls rush through the broken window to check on Stella, who is still reeling from the effects of Neruman's control. She apologizes to the girls for everything she was made to do but Flora assures her that everything is fine now that Neruman cannot control her anymore.

Meanwhile, the Wizards struggle to corrupt Solaria's Second Sun. Ogron urges for Anagan and Gantlos to hold out as dark clouds begin to swarm around the palace, though, unfortunately for them, Stella, Flora and Musa stop them in their tracks with their magical attacks. The Second Sun quickly regains its glorious glow as the Wizards, with no more magic to spare, have no choice but to flee. Roxy and Bloom rejoice over how Morgana's premonition cannot be realized now as the Wizards plead for Neruman to teleport them out of the Royal Palace. Fed up with their constant failures, Neruman abandons the Wizards despite their loyalty to him. The Winx on the other hand, are unable to see Neruman's image, so it looks as though the Wizards are talking at a wall. Tecna suspects that they are communicating with Neruman telepathically and concludes that their luck has run out as it seems that Neruman has no intention of saving them this time.

Ogron pleads for Neruman not to abandon them but he is interrupted by Bloom assuring him that he, Anagan and Gantlos will be bale to leave Solaria soon. Stella advises that they dress warmly to prepare for their icy prisons back in the Omega Dimension. Anagan begs for them to stop as Gantlos proclaims that they still have information that would be important to them: information concerning Morgana's necklace. Bloom demands that they share that information and even promises to spare them of their return to the Omega Dimension if they do. With that, Ogron reveals that the necklace is in the hands of a man named Balazar as they had delivered it to him immediately after stealing it. He further explains that Balazar is the right hand man to the Lord of Shadows - a magician-turned-traitor who escaped judgement from the Fortress of Light Council. After magical templars threw Neruman into his exile in the Dark Dimension, Balazar tried everything he could to free his lord and now, with Morgana's necklace, he will be able to do so. Bloom demands Ogron to explain how that is possible and Ogron reveals that Balazar has already opened a portal into the Dark Dimension, however, Neruman cannot enter it yet. In order to do so, Neruman needs a solid body so Balazar has been feeding his lord the suffering of others to restore his former body. Bloom then asks where they will be able to find Balazar but Ogron insists that they do not know and that everything he told them was the truth.

In that moment, Bloom conjures up a cage made of fire with her Wing of the Dragon spell, going against her "promise" of sparing the Wizards from imprisonment. Stella clarifies that even though they will not be put back in Omega, they can still enjoy a cozy prison in a cell somewhere in the Royal Palace of Solaria. With their newfound information, Aisha laments over how they have ended up back where they started: with no idea as to neither the necklace's or even Neruman's whereabouts. Musa tries to lift her spirits by reminding her that they will not have to worry about the Wizards anymore, but Roxy begins to become more upset and depressed over her mother's condition as it will only continue to worsen now that they cannot return her necklace. Bloom then places a hand on Roxy's shoulder and insists that they will find and return Morgana's necklace.

Spells Used

 * Dance of the Sun - Used by Stella against Ogron but failed.
 * Arrow of Fire - Used by Bloom against Anagan. Used a second time to break the fake necklace, freeing Stella of Neruman's control.
 * Sonic Screen - Used by Musa to shield Flora and herself from Gantlos' attack.
 * Summer Wind - Used by Flora to bind Gantlos.
 * Heart of the Dragon - Used by Bloom in retaliation to Ogron's sneak attack.
 * Solar Storm - Used by Stella against the Winx. Used a second time to attack Ogron from behind.
 * Silver Scales - Used by Roxy to shield herself from Stella's attack.
 * Stereo Crash - Used by Musa against Anagan alongside Flora's Autumn Wind.
 * Autumn Wind - Used by Flora against Gantlos alongside Musa's Stereo Crash.
 * Wing of the Dragon - Used by Bloom to trap the Wizards of the Black Circle in a fiery cage.

Mistakes

 * The yellow ombre streaks in Roxy's hair are nowhere to be seen.
 * The Winx's Believix forms hold minor errors throughout this issue.
 * Bloom's gloves are now full gloves instead of ones that stop at her palms.
 * Aisha's sleeve, glove and bracelet are missing.
 * Tecna has full gloves instead of fingerless ones.
 * Stella's gloves are missing except on page 25.
 * Flora's bracelets are missing.
 * Musa's gloves are full gloves instead of fingerless ones but, from page 14 onwards, her gloves just go missing.
 * Roxy has lime green short sleeves instead of one long sleeve on her left side and her elbow-length glove is on the wrong arm. Her shorts are also a different shade of green from the rest of her outfit.
 * On page 8, as the Winx try to cheer Roxy up, her lime green sleeves go missing.
 * On the next page, her glove goes missing.

Debuts
None.

Main Characters

 * The Winx
 * Bloom
 * Stella
 * Aisha
 * Musa
 * Tecna
 * Flora
 * Roxy

Recurring Characters

 * Enemies
 * The Wizards of the Black Circle
 * Ogron
 * Anagan
 * Gantlos

Minor Characters

 * Enemies
 * Neruman
 * Neruman's Shadows
 * Balazar
 * Earth Fairies
 * Morgana
 * Humans
 * Klaus
 * Royalty
 * Royal Guards of Solaria

Trivia

 * Rather than being placed back into Omega, the Wizards of the Black Circle must now spend their imprisonment in the Royal Palace of Solaria, meaning that the palace and royal family also handle keeping in magical felons alongside the Fortress of Light.