"Congratulations to our 12th graduating mage, Viri Inumbro!"
It was the headmaster who mentioned my name. Claps came from all around, some slower than others. I opened my eyes to see myself on a stage with fifteen others. Some of them were smiling and waving while others eyes were focused on the floor, filled with sorrow. One black- and red-haired kid looked me right in the eyes. He truly looked like he had "seen some shit" and I didn't want to find out what he experienced.
After our celebration we sat at one of the many circular tables that littered the room and ate a celebratory feast. I wasn't hungry at all. All the energy and mana I got from Shadow's consumption had made me feel rather full for some time now. I sat at one of the tables in the back with Gil and Aevi. It seemed as if I had sort of made friends with them. It was strange since I took their reason for being here away from them.
"Soโฆ. what will you guys do now without magic? I still feel pretty bad about the situation as a whole. It really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Some things... more than others...."
Gil displayed his signature genuine smile, "Well my teacher already spoke with me on it when I got teleported back. I'll be transferring to finish up my 4th year of school at a normal high school nearby."
Aevi nodded, "I will also be transferring, but not to high school. I'm going straight to the writing college that I always wanted to go to and thanks to you, I finally can."
Her eyes gave off a mixture of satisfaction and hunger. It was pretty unnerving because of the way she naturally looked. It was hard for me to say anything back to that cute fanged smile.
"I guess someone as prestigious as you would already have enough credits to graduate. What do your parents think? I thought they only wanted you to be a mage, right?"
She nodded once again, "I made this decision on my own and I won't budge. I am not bound to their ideals anymore. We are not linked anymore either. They will probably kick me out, but I have enough money saved up from the stories I sold to publishers over the years to pay for housing at my new college anyway."
I was surprised how much fire was in her voice. It was so different from when we first met.
She reminded me of Fiona. She had a dream as well. Fiona wanted to be a botanist and use her magic to make her creations help with treating mages and boosting their powers. Now that would never happenโฆ.
I couldn't believe these two seemed so happy to have the thing they had spent the last couple years honing and spending their time learning vanish into thin air.
"What about you, Viri? What will you do with our magic and the title of a Mage?" Gil asked.
I itched my chin, "Uh. Well I didn't have magic till a few days ago, so I never really planned for anything special after school to begin with. I intended to be a corporate worker till I could save up enough for retirement and could live peacefully and with the one I loved, but being a Mage will open many more opportunities for me that I never thought of."
They both nodded.
"Well I wish you Goodluck in the field of Mages. This line of work isn't for everyone," Gil said, happily.
"Likewise," Aevi added.
"I hope we can all meet again sometime in the future, haha. This has really been a life defining experience."
Aevi got up after wiping her face and putting on her recently acquired backpack. She came on over to where I sat. She placed a hand on my shoulder since she was my height when I sat. The warm touch I felt did make my heart pound a little fast. The reminder of that warmth, filled me with a torrent of sorrow once again.
"I have to go confront my idiot parents now. Take care."
She then walked over to Gil and kissed him on the cheek which made us both nearly jump out of our seats.
"Tell me what school you end up going to so I can see you again. My college also has a fencing major...oh and here's my number.
She handed him a small slip of paper.
"Uh, I thank you, madam. I'll keep that in mind, Aevi. Take care."
She smiled, "I hope we meet again."
She looked back at us one more time and walked through the many groups of people talking in the auditorium and out the door.
"You're a lucky bastard Gil. The women always come your way."
"That may be true, but If I had a girl, I don't know if I will ever get what I truly want for a relationship."
His eyes changed to serious mode as he looked my way.
Sweat dripped from my brow, "Sorry there was someone I liked, and I know I won't be able to see her again and I'm not sure if I will ever get over that"
He hung his head, "I see. Well it's time I get going as well. I really hope we meet again Viri, I got to see a side of you that I always wanted to see. It only took a little death game to bring it out."
"I'm not so sure you should joke about that, but I guess that's just how you are."
He didn't agree or disagree but got up and slung on his backpack as well.
"I truly hope we meet again, though my gut tells me you will be different if we do meet again. See you."
I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but I watched him disappear into the crowd. It was over.
Hours later after I got my diploma and met with many representatives of prestigious colleges, I was finally able to walk home. I didn't live too far and I really needed some time to myself after all of this.
The cool breeze hung on my back as I walked through perpetual darkness, but my muscle memory from walking home every day made sure I didn't go astray.
I was thinking about what they said and trying to make something of it. Then I thought about her again.
๐๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ.
"What is my dream? What do I want to do now that it's all over"?
"๐ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ."
I looked to my right to see Shadow floating at my side. His entire body except for his face was covered in flesh, though he still looked more ethereal than tangible. It was still creepy though; his body type was now etched like my own.
"Oh, it's just you. I guess we haven't talked since we got back right. Are you always going to look like that now, cuz if you can't make it disappear like you used to, you're gonna need some shadow clothes or something?"
"๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐. ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ. ๐ ๐๐ฆ ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ."
I continued my stroll. My wounds had been healed hours earlier, but I still felt pretty sore all over. This ordeal had changed me, my mind, especially. I could never go back to being my lonesome and spiteful self.
"It's no problem, I was glad to have some magic after all this time of being made fun of. Thank you as wโAck! What are you doing? That hurts. Hiii!?"
A black spear was stuck into my chest. The same one that had saved my life originally. It felt like forever ago. Why was it there?
"๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐, ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ข ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐จ. ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐. ๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ง๐งe๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐๐ญ๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ. ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฉ."
The seriousness of his voice had brought me back to my reality.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ? ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ. ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ. ๐๐บ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ต๐ณ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฆ!
Blood spurted from my chest. My whole body felt like it was on fire.
๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ญ๐ฐ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ.
I activated Aevi's time zone and placed us in it. My jerking movements and his own were frozen.
๐ป๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐. ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐. ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐, ๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
I knew it as well. I would die. I just wanted more time to go over what had happened and why had I been betrayed. I thought about seeing how happy Gil was when he left. Not being held down by his amazing magic to pursue what he truly wanted. The same went for Aevi, who could now be the writer she always wanted to be because she didn't have magic anymore and didn't need to associate with it. I then thought of Fiona again. She was gone as well. Maybe I will finally end up together with her like we had always planned.
๐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐บ ๐จ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ. ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐บ ๐ญ๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ. ๐๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ถ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต. ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ. ๐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ. ๐๐ข๐ช๐ตโฆ ๐๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธโฆ.
๐ฐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐. ๐ฏ๐๐๐
The memory with my dad played back through my head. The existence of Celestials, the Angels and Gorgos, the Demons. He also mentioned that the Gorgos made pacts with humans.
๐บ๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ? ๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ค๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ.
His laughter boomed through my mind.
๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ . ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐ ๐? ๐พ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐บ๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
๐๐ฐ, ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ต!
๐ซ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐? ๐ป๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ? ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ.
๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
My time zone disappeared. Blood and organs flew out of my chest like a floodgate had been opened. I could feel my lifeforce fading away. I looked over to my shadow one last time. He looked human now. His naked flesh full of life and his faceโฆ.it looked just like mine.
"Um...bra..."
"Yes, that is what I was, but not anymore."
The last thought in my mind was an image of Fiona. Her golden locks, her verdant eyes and her precious smile.
"...will...meetโฆ. againโฆ."
"We won't."
His voice sounded the same as mine. My body flopped sideways on the ground, the last sands of my hourglass running out.
๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ...๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ.
"What will you do for it?"
A voice was echoing in my head.
๐๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ. ๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ.
"Lord Tempus has approved of you. Now look back."
I had little time, but I investigated my past that was recorded from Aevi's magic. I sifted through each memory once again until I found the worst one of all. I saw her lying down on the ground once again. If I could still feel, my heart would have shattered once again.
๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต...๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ. ๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต. ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ช๐ต.
I peered into the record of me running into the new neighborhood, right after I had started to get a handle on my magic.
"Then you shall go."
A void filled the vision in my mind, and everything went dark.
2
A few moments passed and I opened my eyes once again. The sound of footsteps filled my ears. I was running.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐? ๐๐ข๐ด๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ?
It was the middle of the day in an all too familiar setting. I remembered where I was. Right before I came here, I recalled gazing into the records of my life to see this very moment. An old man was behind me and told me to go back. This is my chance to make things right.
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐?
I stopped running.
"Ah hey there um--I mean shadow. I don't have time to explain, but I'm here to save Fiona."
๐ฐ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐.
"Yea. maybe later. There's someone I need to save first."
I broke into a sprint and ran through the neighborhood until I reached the corner of a place I really didn't want to remember.
๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ.
I noticed a blue hourglass on the top right corner of my vision. It was like having a heads-up display in a video game. No matter where I turned, it still floated above my right. I had to strain my eyes to clearly see, but once I did, I could easily tell what was going on inside it. The top side was 95 percent full.
๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ.
I did exactly what Aevi did when I fought her. I filled my blood with time and lots of it. My limbs moved faster than my mind could process as I zipped around the corner. The speed was a lot quicker than I expected and as I blasted into the new area my eyes gazed at two massive figures. The golem and the goliath. Gigas and who I now learned was Riley Prism, a senior I never had class with. I ignored them and focused on what was closer to me. My heart filled with hate.
There was the love of my life. Fiona, my Fiona. The most precious person in the world to me, backed into the wall. Sanguino was right in front of her face.
"If you won't do it with me, then I will have to end you here. I said I would only protect you if we could have a little fun."
I knew Sanguino was a dirty guy (at least in the mind), but to see this was on another level. He created a sword of blood in his hand. It was long and dark crimson with a large enough edge to make a donut in someone's stomach.
I was getting control of my speed now. Everything around me seemed to slow down. I wanted to get between them before he attacked. I tilted my head to see Fiona's face. A few tears dripped down her face, while her golden locks were all over the place. She didn't look like she was even going to try to use her magic. She did hate fighting.
Sanguino put both hands on his sword and thrusted his arms back and then back forward.
"Later bitch!"
His grin was as malicious as a familiar shadow. I stopped myself right between his sword and her body as she let out a scream.
"SANGUINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
All the rage I had bottled up from my loss had surfaced. I knew what I needed to do and couldn't go out of control. This was my chance and my only one. I had to purge away this anger.
I created a large icicle in my hand just in time to parry his attack on Fiona. Sanguino's eyes grew wide in surprise.
"What the fuck!? Who the hell are you?"
He dropped his weapon and took a step back.
๐๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ ๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐'๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ธ๐ข๐บ.
I stepped fully in front of Fiona, covering Sanguino's view. I looked back to see Fiona. Her tears were gone, and the color had returned to her face. She mouthed something to me, but I couldn't hear it over Sanguino's yelling.
"You look familiar, but it doesn't matter! Move out of the way. Your weak ice magic is nothing against my superior blood magic. I'm from a long line of blood mages that were the grandest of mages!"
He summoned a few spears of blood above his head.
"Step aside or prepare to die as well. I wouldn't want to soil my clean hands with your dirty flesh."
I didn't budge. I had no reason to fight him as long as Fiona was safe. That was my conviction.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ. ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ. ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ.
๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐ป๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐.
Umbra shot out of my body with his signature spear and stepped in front of me.
"๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฅ."
"Who the fuck are you calling a fool? A mere shadow is nothing against one born of pure blood."
I turned around to face Fiona. It felt like an eternity since we last spoke.
"Fiona...heyโฆ. long time no see."
She immediately pulled my body in and embraced me in the warmest hug I had ever felt. It was as if everything around us dissipated from the world. The only things in existence were the two of us. I looked up to see my hourglass once again. The top had only 40 percent of the grains of sand left. I embraced with her a little longer before pulling back. I heard the sound of a spear clashing with a sword behind me, but I ignored it.
"Viriโฆ.to think you were also summoned to this. I hoped you were not one of the selected. How cruel can fate be."
I put my hand on her shoulder and gazed down into her beautiful green eyes that I longed for so long to see again. My chest was still filled with pain, but I could feel it slowly dwindling away.
"Listen. I don't have much time to explain, but I came from the future to save you but also do something else if possible."
She nodded as I pulled out my phone. I opened the "notes" app and began typing. Her gaze was fixated on my face the entire time. I could tell because one of my eyes had not left her since we fully reunited. Once I finished typing, I slid my phone back in my pocket.
"To be blunt. I want us both to survive this, but as the Headmaster said, there can only be one winner. Luckily, my body will now retain the time magic no matter even if it is the future me. Long story short, I wrote a plan in these notes that I want my past self to see once I go back to the present. I need you to show it to him, but not when he is around."
I pointed behind me to Umbra who was clashing with Sanguino. The battle looked even.
"I know you have a lot of questions, especially about all my different types of magic, but ask them in like a minute or two. This plan all revolves around convincing Gil Fulmen and Aevi Tempus, while making sure my shadow hears nothing. I know you will be able to do it."
I patted her smooth as silk hair, "Then we can finally get our happy ending."
The hourglass had under 20 percent left in it. I would not be able to stay here much longer.
"What will happen to you?"
I scratched my neck, "Me? Well I will go back to the future where I came from. If you are successful, then I will be saved as well... probably. The past alters the future and creates a new timeline. It reminds me of the old cartoon about world lines and microwaves, haha."
Fiona nodded. She was always a quick thinker even though she did not look like it.
There was less than 5 percent left now.
"My time's about up, it's in your hands to you Fiona to see this through. Protecting you is my only goal, everything else comes second. I need to do this to--"
She leapt into my arms and pressed her lips up against mine. This sensation, this feeling of warmth. It was something I had never felt in 18 years upon this earth. Even the hug she just gave paled in comparison to the world fire that enveloped my lips and spread down my body until it lit my heart ablaze.
๐ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ข ๐ฌ๐ช๐ด๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ. ๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ.
Was this what a relationship was like? I wanted more, but....
Before I knew it, the last few sands from the top of the hourglass fell through. I saw the white light once again cover my vision. My mouth still worked for another second or two.
"I love you Fio--"
Once again, I was whisked away, back to my hopefully brighter present. I flew up a red spiral staircase. Each step had a portrait of an event that happened after the Sanguino fight. As I reached the top of the staircase, I was greeted by a white door and in front of it, an old man.
"Were you able to do it, youngster? Were you able to save the one you loved?"
I nodded, a smirk that had long left my body reappeared on my face, "I think I really did change the past. Hopefully, it was for the better."
I thought of Gil and Aevi, ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค. ๐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ. ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ช๐ต. ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต. ๐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ.
"Old man. Who exactly... are you?"
The old man's head was as shiny as his smile. His beard was white with blue highlights running throughout it. His eyes were masked under white shades that were a few generations too late for him.
The old man laughed "All will be answered in time. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ will explain."
"What do you mean "she." Who are you referring to?"
I wanted him to answer. I wanted him to tell me more. I wanted a lot of things, but I only got one answer. He pointed to the door behind him and grinned. Before I walked closer to it, I asked him a few questions and he gave me some meaningful answers. I was happy. Then the door flew open, a blue vortex swirling inside. Its force was strong enough to suck me straight off the ground. As I flew over, I saw the old man giving me a sendoff goodbye with a wave.
3
The first feeling I felt as I returned was the searing pain of a spear being thrusted through my abdomen.
"๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐, ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ข ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐จ. ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐. ๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐๐ญ๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ. ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฌ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฉ."
I remembered these words. It was right after I got stabbed. I hadn't even activated Aevi's time zone yet. I attempted to pull the spear out with my hands, but my strength was draining away.
"๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฒ. ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐. ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง'๐ญ ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ ๐ข๐ซ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง."
Sweat poured down my face as more blood leaked out of my body. Even so, I steeled my resolve and looked directly at Umbra's still-faceless face. He had said something different. It was exactly what I wanted to hear despite this situation.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ. ๐๐ญ๐ญ ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ!
"You don't know it yet, but you lost the moment you manifested into my shadow."
He looked at me, intrigued. I kept on talking.
"A mere Gorgos doesn't stand a chance against a mage like myself with my plant and sword magic."
"๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ง'๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ง๐จ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ข๐. ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐. ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ, ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ?"
I checked my memory. Sure, enough new memories had formed with what I had changed in the past. I couldn't look over those now though. I just had to hope my plan worked. If what he said was true, then I had nothing to fear. Now all I needed was to give the signal before I bled out.
"It matters not what magic I have and what magic I don't. There is only one thing I need in my life and she is always with me. The others as well! They are all important to me and I WON'T LET YOU TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!!!"
Umbra howled with laughter.
"๐๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐. ๐๐จ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐."
Vines shot out from the trees on either side of the street, wrapping around the neck, legs, arms and spear of Umbra. He was completely out of my body and that's when he was most vulnerable.
"๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐--"
Swords of all assortments flew down onto his body. Impaling him into the pavement. As the spear was released from his grasp, the rest of my strength was depleted. I dropped to the floor; the spear was still sticking out of me. I grimaced with the burning agony.
"I'll slow down his bleeding, just keep that thing restrained."
The grey hair of Aevi tempus glistened in the night as she appeared from behind one of the trees. Gil Fulmen appeared from one behind her. He looked directly at the pinned Gorgos, a smile plastered across his face.
"Demon. I am Gilgamesh Lightmare Fulmen of the Paladin Guild. We descend from the holy paladins of old, you know of them. They were half celestial half human and one hundred percent Gorgos slayer."
Umbra struggled under his bindings. It seemed that Gil was an actual threat to him.
"๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐, ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐จ. ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ซ๐๐, ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐, ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐."
I thought back to our original battle vs him. Gil had used a sword of light to keep him in place. Aevi came over to me and put me in what I call "Silver Time." Golden Time was supposed to be you in your prime, so being so slow that a snail could easily speed past you would definitely be the opposite. It sounded better than "time zone" when you were the one inside it.
"Viri! Viri are you ok?"
"He's going to be fine. I'll reverse his wounds once Gil deals with the problem child."
Fiona had come to check on me. She looked almost the same as I last saw her, except her hair was braided down her right shoulder. What surprised me more was her clothing. She wore a black tank top with combat boots and black skinny jeans. It was like she had already planned for the attack at night long beforehand.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ. ๐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ข๐ด๐ฌ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต.
Even in Silver Time, I could still watch her bust come in near contact with me, her cleavage was slightly spilling out through the top. It was a nice relaxer to get me away from the slow and painful death I was experiencing. Why was I having such perverted thoughts now though?
I looked back over to Gil who was about to strike down the incapacitated Umbra with multiple swords of light. He also wore all black with a leather jacket (that looked way too good on him) and jeans with black converse. Aevi had a black hoodie and dark shorts as well.
๐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต, ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฉ? ๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ณ. ๐๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ.
Umbra continued to struggle, desperately trying to break free from his new prison. No matter how much his highly transparent human skin tried to wriggle around it, the swords of light and thick vines that were summoned with Fiona's magic kept his entire being where it was.
"I think my ancestors are smiling upon me, shadow. Can you say the same? Wellโฆ you wouldn't really have them soโฆ anyways, I will now present you with judgement!"
Gil was right behind his head now, I could see it like a stop motion movie, so yea it did take a while to play out, but I preferred it this way. I'm not the kind of person who gets pleasure from others suffering, but I just couldn't help myself from reveling in the riches. This demon manipulated me and nearly killed me. Watching his execution in .1x speed had to be a blessing more than a curse.
๐๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ.
Gil had no weapon in his hands yet he stood above the squirming creature and held both of his hands out, palms facing the sky. He furled his brow and shut his eyes as tight as he could.
"I call upon the best of the best, as it is my birthright. Please grant me my request, All Father."
As he finished his chant, I couldn't help but create a question or two.
๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ? ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ข๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ต ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ๐ด.
A golden light flowed through Gil's hands, covering them in a light strong enough to banish even the darkest corners of the world away. It was like someone had turned the light on in this tree infested neighborhood where this had all occurred. I would have covered my eyes, but I neither had the energy to move my body, nor the patience to wait a few minutes for the action to finish. The glow got slightly fainter as Gil opened his eyes and looked into his palms.
"The summon was successful. Looks like ๐๐ฆ has determined that this demon is worth slaying."
A wide grin was painted across Gil's face now, the complete opposite plagued the one below him.
"๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ...โฆ. ๐๐๐๐! ๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐!"
Umbra struggled even more when he saw what Gil had summoned to his aid. The sword was at least five feet in length. Its entire body and hilt covered in gold. The hilt was made in a way to resemble what looked like a cross. Coiling around like a double helix was a spiral of silver spikes that ran across its entire body. The light around the sword strongly illuminated from those spikes.
"It's one of the three holy swords of light, ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข. Looks cool right? I was only able to access it due to my Celestial Factor"
He held it up to his face with one hand, his eyes quickly scanning over the entire weapon. I wanted to ask him what a Celestial Factor even was, but now was not the time.
"I would say I did a pretty swell job summoning it and in a finely baked form, wouldn't you say so, demon?"
"....."
The widened grin once again surfaced on Gil's perfect face, "That's what I thought. Well let's get this over with."
๐๐ฐ๐ธ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ต๐บ, ๐ฆ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐๐ช๐ญ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐บ.
Gil raised his holy sword right above Umbra's head. We all know what happens next.
"๐๐๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ข๐ญ," He turned his fading head to me.
"You don't want me to die right? You won't have a shadow without me, you won't be able to gain any new powers either. That's what you wanted right? To be like your parents and have strong magic."
I wanted to plug my ears, but I knew how long that would take in this Jell-O-like state. What he was saying did make sense, but I knew what he really was like. My judgement would not falter.
๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด.
"๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ง๐ข๐๐ค ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ. ๐๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ๐ง'๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐, ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ. ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฆ๐. ๐๐จ๐ฎ. ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐ฐ๐. ๐๐! ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ. ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ค, ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐๐จ๐๐ฒ, ๐๐ง ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ, ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ?"
I wanted to speak, but I knew how long it would take, yet I did.
"I D-o-n-'-t C-a-r-e."
With that I sluggishly moved my head up to Gil. He nodded. With that, the guillotine had finally been dropped on this evil being.
"I banish you to the darkest realm. May you return to the ShadowLands. Rest in peace."
As his eyes dropped down, so did his holt sword.
"๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐!"
The sound that happened right after was a mix of screeches and metal. Something was severed from somewhere else, it sounded nasty and grueling. Then a golden light surrounded the body of Umbra, blinding my frail eyes. When it was over, nothing of him remained.
"We can heal him now."
Aevi canceled Silver Time and ran over to my leaking body. She placed her palm on the gaping wound in my chest. A faint blue bubble encompassed it, it spun in a counter clockwise direction. It was too fast for the eye to follow, but I had seen it before. She was reversing time on my body and therefore reversing the damage.
She slapped her hands together, "There. All better."
"Thanks."
She thrusted out one of her hands, "You can stand right? I don't think I would have missed any of it."
I nodded and turned towards the two others that gathered to her side.
"I didn't want to believe something as crazy as shadow trying to kill you, but to think you were actually telling the truth." Gil said.
I scratched the back of my neck, "I don't exactly remember what I wrote down and my mind is kind of scrabbled, so I can't really recall what happened after I saved Fiona..."
Gil cracked his usual smile, "Well I guess Fiona should explain since she went through the whole thing and definitely did the majority of the planning."
We all looked her way. She had a serious look on her face, but the facade crumbled quickly after the three of us eagerly glared at her. Her cheeks became the same color as roses.
"Uh ok...so after Viri saved me from Vlad Sanguino, he showed me a plan on his phone that I needed to show to his past self once he left. I also had to make sure that the shadow thing was distracted which worked out great when he fought vs Ben Jiang. The note went something like this: Shadow will kill me right after graduation night. Take everyone you want to survive and activate your hourglass. It might take some convincing for Aevi and Gil to come around, but they both have dreams and prefer not to fight so I'm sure it will be alright. We can't get through this aloneโฆ"
She formed a fist and touched her chest and paused for a brief moment to compose herself.
"So, after Vlad got pushed away and killed the two giants, he was crushed by the weight of them and the force blasted us into the desert where we encountered Ben Jiang. I was able to show the plan to your past self then while the shadow engaged with Jiang. You didn't know how to use this hourglass power, but you said you could figure it out if you looked a little in your mind."
I nodded. It was probably like when I first discovered my powers after taking them from the deceased.
"I was able to be stored inside your small hourglass that appeared from your chest. I saw the world clearly on the inside, but you told me I looked like a small green marble resting on the many grains of sand."
The hourglass just appeared from my chest when I wanted a way to save all of those I cared about. It must have been part of that old man's power. The power to store others inside it. What a strong spell. It can be used offensively I bet too. I'll call it: Temporal Jail.
Fiona continued, "You and the shadow fought to defeat Ben and ended sending him into some dark void. I don't know what happened after that. Once we reached the deserted city, we ran into Gil Fulmen and then Aevi Tempus. You let me out of the hourglass and I explained to them a solution where all of us could survive. They nodded and became gold and blue marbles inside the hourglass. With that the Headmaster summoned you away, not knowing you were carrying three others till we appeared on the stage. "
She let out a giggle.
"It was really surprising to everyone else that was present. Their eyes looked like they would pop out of their sockets. It was a really funny scene", Aevi surmised.
"Anyway, the Headmaster couldn't send us back and so the four of us all became Mages and graduated together. After our dinner and talking about our futureโฆ."
She blushed again and she said that and fidgeted slightly with her fingers, dropping eye contact with all of us.
"Er...well after that, I said goodbye to you and we planned to meet the next day. After you left, we sprang into action. I already explained the situation to Gil and Aevi inside of the hourglass and they were totally ready to help out. My home was the closest and Aevi was able to speed us there to not only get clothes to match the night, but also create a pincer attack for where I knew you would be walking home. Then here we are."
I blinked a few times, trying to piece it all together. It really didn't hit me until that moment.
๐ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ ๐ด๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ, ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง.
Aevi chimed in, "I'm still a little confused on how you acquired my magic, but I guess if you came from the future it can only mean one thing: Orokin Tempus chose you."
I tilted my head, "Orkoen Tempos? Who's that."
Aevi rubbed her temples, "Orokin Tempus you dipshit. He's the ancestor of my family's magic and the cultivator of the Tempus's strength."
I put some thought into it, trying to think.
"Ancestor...ancestor hmmโฆ Oh was he old and had a really shiny head? Man, that old dude could grin."
She nodded, "You were able to go back because Old man Tempus accepted you as one of us, even though you weren't of our blood. He must have taken a liking to you for whatever reason."
I thought back to the conversation we had right before I was sucked into the door.
"Why did you choose me? Why was I able to change my past when so many others were not able to?"
He itched his large beard, "I guess you can say I am a sucker for romance and wanting to do anything for that special someone you love. Most of my descendants are selfish and only thought about their own goals and dreams. Even though you were not a proper part of my lineage, I still acknowledged you because of this. You cared for someone else and wanted to do anything to protect her and change her fate. So, I let you use my magic that can only be used once every fifty years. I don't think I made a mistake either."
This old man really seemed to care for what I wanted to do. I didn't know people like him still existed after what I had experienced.
"Thank you, old man. I couldn't have done this without you."
He made a smile, "I hope you know the price of this is a life of hardships and ordeals that most will never experience, but I'm sure you are already aware of that."
I nodded, "I am willing to go through anything as long as she can see tomorrow."
It was his turn to nod and with that, I was sent out into the world of moving time once again. I focused once again on what Aevi was saying.
"No one has been able to speak to him for at least a couple hundred years. It is truly a strange occasion"
I couldn't stop nodding; I also sensed a hint of jealousy in her voice with her casually cold and matter of fact demeanor.
"That would also explain how you had access to the hourglass, another fragment of Orokin's magic that has been sealed away for generations."
"Heh...that's cool, I guess. Maybe that old geezer really is a sucker for loveโฆ"
I turned towards Fiona. She tried to cover her embarrassment with her hands, but to no avail. She peeked through the openings in her hand. I was curious if I could replicate the hourglass spell again in case we get into another bind in the future. However, I could do no such thing.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข.
With my mana as it was now, I could only use basic magic like lightning or ice. Using one time zone would drain almost half my pool, I guess I could only use them in emergencies now or increase my mana. Man, I wish I still had shadow magic.
"Fiona Bellis. Though I may be a noob when it comes to magic, a renowned loser at our former school, I would love it from the bottom of my heart to date you and laterโฆ."
The tips of my ears turned bright red, "Well later something else."
I continued," There's a world out there that is cruel and unforgivable and full of people that want to get in your way. That's why I don't want to go out alone. There is also something I didn't get to finish saying before I left."
I faced her, my face like a peach, "I... Love... Y-You. Yea that."
Her face mimicked mine and turned away. I needed to distract myself as well while she composed herself.
I turned to Aevi and Gil, "You might not remember, but when we actually fought, I learned about both of your dreams. Don't let your parents and reputation hold you back from doing what you want to do. Your life is your own. I can speak to your parents about continuing their legacy for you, Aevi."
She waved her hand, "Nah, don't worry about it. I thought of a solution to make both parties happy. Just go comfort her now. You both have more to say to each other after that heartfelt confession, right?"
I nodded. I looked over to the beautiful girl of my dreams once again. Her form was majestic while her hair illuminated the darkness away. Her curves gave me more pleasure than a guy like me should have had. I was really happy to see her here. If not for having people that cared for me, I would have easily succumbed to the darkness of my shadow. My broken heart had finally been re-forged in iron.
I held out my hand, "Please follow me on this endeavor. I thought that getting magic would be the high point in my life, but I should have known I would be wrong. You are the only color in my darkened world. I thought that before, but I know it now. Let's go off together."
๐'๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐บ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ง ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ. ๐๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ!
The spotlight was thrown her way once again. She resumed her adorable squirming. She was never good at receiving a lot of attention. Her spec ops army clothing did not go with her body or facial expressions. After a little bit she finally started to calm down.
"Uhโฆ wellโฆ I alwaysโฆ. Always felt something whenโฆ I was with you. Even thoughโฆ erโฆ Even though my parents prided themselves on their reputation, I still wanted freedom to do as I pleased. It sounds kind of selfish right? But I didn't care. When weโฆ When we got transported into that awful death game, I was really hoping you weren't there. I knew what would happen if you had to choose between me and surviving. I was worried about you being able to even surpass one of our former classmates. That's why I prayed to God that you wouldn't be chosen because of your lack of power, but of course you got sucked in anyway..."
As she spoke, she gained more confidence in every word. It was like a floodgate had opened. She was speaking with her heart. A few tears spouted from her eyes.
"Then when I had fallen into my darkest time and had completely given up hope, you, my Viri, had come to save me from this cruel fate. It made meโฆ. It made me so ha---... So happy. I thought we would never meet again and not only that, you also had magic, something you always wanted and was ridiculed for lacking. Every time I heard rumors from girls in my class about you, I wanted to come rush to your aid and help you. But now I see that it was really the reverse and that's all... That's all I really wanted."
Her tears were masking her adorable face and it didn't look like it was going to end soon.
I looked over to Gil.
He winked back.
I turned towards Aevi.
She replied by glaring daggers.
I approached her with a careful calculated plan. I would stretch out my arms, then wrap them around her and pull her into my embrace. The plan was perfect, foolproof I might say. The only problemโฆ. I had never hugged anyone before, not even my "parents". I started phase one, but I felt more like a robot when I tried to comfort her than an actual human. I also realized why my parents had named me Viri and what our last name meant.
๐๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด. That on the nose huh?
I hoped my Latin was right, but now wasn't the time to get into the details. I was still pursuing my perfect plan.
๐๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ธ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ธ๐ฌ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ? ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ!
While I tried to calculate the best route to commence the hug, something jumped into my chest.
"Allโฆ accordingโฆ to planโฆ haha..."
I responded to her actions with my own, pulling her closer and closer into my chest. Her warmth was like no other. I had almost forgotten what she had done when we first met again in the past. Both our faces had gained the same shade of pink, but it didn't matter. I had her. She had me. Her breast fell against my chest with their softness, but there was a feeling more pleasant than that and that was the warmth of her soul. I could feel it pouring into me, connecting us together like a bridge. I felt her love, I felt her pain, I felt her happiness. I felt it all and I'm sure my emotional feedback had reached her as well. I couldn't see her face as it was still pressed into my uniform, but I knew what she felt and vice versa.
๐๐ฐ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ. ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ.
"Well I think it's time we take our leave and let you two lovebirds do what you need to do. I have my own dream that I need to face."
He patted my shoulder, "I hope to see you again, Viri. I am happy for your success, but my heart also burns slightly from it."
He smiled and walked off, "Pay it no mind. I won't forget the man with no shadow. To the next time our paths cross" Gil said, his face full of passion.
๐๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ? ๐๐ฉ ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต. ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐? ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต๐ด. ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ด.
Even with these weird circumstances, I was glad that I could once again think about the future and share it with someone else.
"As Fulmen said. I hope to see you around, but I really hope you will read a work of mine once I hit the big leagues.
"I'll take ten." Fiona said.
Aevi grinned, displaying a singular snaggletooth., "Right and I'm also going to tell my parents what I'm doing and I won't let anyone stop me. Just because I became a Mage doesn't mean I have to dance into their grubby palms"
She pointed her finger at my head, "If you make Fiona cry for a bad reason, I will make you move 10 times slower then you have already experienced."
A slight chill ran down my spine, "Yea, I'll do my best so keep those hands to yourself."
She let out a low laugh and slapped my back, "Thank you, Viri. We couldn't have all got out of this without you. Please take care and you too Fiona. I wish we had more classes together, you're so adorable!"
She poked her little head over my shoulder, "I feel the same way. And I'm not all that you say I am. You are way cuter."
I thought this game might go back and forth, but that wasn't the case.
"I'm cuter, yes. We will leave it at that. Haha."
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐จ๐ช๐ณ๐ญ๐ด.
She grinned once again and melted in with the shadows behind us.
"Now it's just the two of us huh?"
"Yea, I wouldn't want it any other way."
She put her arms around me this time and gave me a big old squeeze. It was pretty adorable.
"Soooo what should we do now?"
She waved the question away, "Doesn't matter as long as we are together."
I nodded, "Well here's an idea. It was somewhere I wanted to attend, but it seemed out of reach with no magic. Let's go take the National American Mage University (NAMU) entrance exam!"
She nodded, "It sounds like a wonderful idea."
With that settled, I put my arm around her shoulder and she mimicked mine. There we were walking side by side, not a care in the world. I looked up to the darkened sky. I didn't know what this next chapter of our lives would be like, but it would be better than anything that has happened in the past.
I looked over to the most important person in my world, "I think I love life again, heh."
END of volume 1