"Wake up Yuri. You can't die here Yuri, I promised you didn't I? I'd protect you to the end of our lives, I can't live without you here Yuri. At least wake up, even if you forget me I just want you to live Yuri! Please YURI! Don't die"! Ryker's tears kept flowing but her heart never restarted, no matter how many times Ryker tried to revive her, nothing would happen. The destroyed building around him had disappeared and it was just him and Yuri now, he couldn't register the searing pain of the chunks of wood in his leg. Yuri Nakayama was the only thing in the world now, she was the only thing he cared about and the only thing that wouldn't come back.
"I won't let you die, no matter what. No matter what it takes, I will not go this world without even a sliver of hope, I don't care if I'm greedy. You are all I have and I won't let you die.", Ryker lifted Yuri and held her close to him as his mana exploded outwards with incredible magnitude. His mana was tearing the concrete and plaster all around him. Deep gashes from what looked like a dragon's claw appeared all over the surrounding buildings as well. Ryker prepared himself to dash to the stair well when he heard a rapid beeping that he hadn't noticed previously.
"The second bomb, that guy was trying to tell me about a second bomb wasn't he?!", Ryker jumped out of the office room with a dense White aura surrounding him with streams of orange popping in and out. He set Yuri down on a desk behind him that was bolted into the ground. They had returned to the second floor lobby.
"I have to stop this but I have no idea how to defuse a bomb. I can't throw it because there's too many people outside and first responders are right outside now. Dammit! What do I do Yuuta!", he shouted to the sky as the beeping shifted to a much faster beep, signifying that it had very little time remaining till detonation. " Kiyoshi! Hera! Anyone! Somebody help me"! Only the bomb responded when it changed to a much faster beep that almost sounded like a constant sound now, Ryker only had about 30 seconds before everything around him would be annihilated.
"Hey! Get out of there kid! Can't you hear the timer kid!", A man outside tried to warn Ryker but he ignored him and just stood there holding Yuri's hand with his head down.
"I hear it. I hear all of it. I always hear it, every damn day. I've never escaped it have I? I only had a shield. It's better to take care of your armor if you want it to protect you. That definitely sounds like something Ethan would say right now. This isn't gonna be the end, I will not die here and if I do. I'LL MAKE SURE NOBODY ELSE FOLLOWS ME TO HELL"!
Ryker raised his head to reveal an orange symbol on his forehead and glowing orange eye sockets. His entire eye was blasting off intense light and the symbol on his forehead was pulsating furiously. His mana skyrocketed and his Irises reformed. The hair on his head spiked up and had orange spikes mixed in with the original black ones.
"RAAAAAAAAAAA! WIND SPEAR!", a vortex of intense tornado like winds surrounded the explosive device and formed into a small dome fitting tightly around it. A massive burst of orange mana exploded into the sky forming a funnel going straight up into the sky, surrounding the bomb.
The injured on the floor below saw a small semi sphere of orange light form on the ceiling like an old shield. It would protect them from the coming calamity. From this semi sphere came a wave of wind and shadow magic that stuck to the ceiling like glue, it stood as a second barrier between them and the hellish fury of the blast.
"And now! RISE"! The Wind dome went flying up the orange funnel of light and brought the bomb with it. Several seconds into it's flight a piercing high pitched scream came from the device and a wave of flames and fury rushed up and down the funnel from the focus of the blast. "HAAAAA! Anemos"!
Ryker sent a blast of wind magic up the semi-permeable funnel and upon impact with the blast the magic was destroyed but not without having effect. The flames had been slowed and the shockwave had decreased in severity as was evident when it slammed into the orange shield protecting the bottom floor. Cracks flew out in every direction as bits of fire broke through these cracks but somehow they were holding together. The cracks expanded more and more until it seemed like they were going to break and the entire building would be consumed.
"Die you filthy half-breed!", the mysterious man threw a shadow spear at Ryker from a higher rooftop. It flew at him with ridiculous velocity and made a strange sound like a cave with a monster waiting inside.
"I'LL DEAL WITH YOU LATER! NOW GET OUT OF MY WAYYY!!", his eyes flashed and orange burst and the spear changed to a red color and flew back at it's sender. The man tried to teleport away but the spear stuck into his leg just before he could get away and followed him through the jump point.
"It's almost over. After this, I'll make sure you're okay, don't you worry. HAAAAAA"! Bolts of orange lightning shot all over the place in every direction with blinding speed. Some of the bolts seemed to be pulled toward Yuri's head which caught Ryker's attention but this changed quicker than it had begun. Ryker continued his battle cry for 5 or so seconds before his mana blasted outward even more and his hair changed to entirely orange. The symbol on his head disappeared but everything else remained, his power skyrocketed and his Wind magic completely destroyed the destructive wave. The force of the blast was sent exploding out the top end of the funnel and everyone had been saved.
Breathing heavily, Ryker remained in his strange new form as he relished in victory for a moment before Yuri's situation hit him like a freight train.
"I have to save her. I'm coming Zechariah!", Ryker turned around and grabbed Yuri before he dashed out the massive hole in the wall. Upon his landing, his orange mana dispersed but his hair remained orange. "Zechariah! Where are you!", he shouted as he ran into the bottom floor with Yuri in his arms, she still had warmth but it was fading fast. "Zechariah!", he shouted one more time and this time he received a response.
"Over here boy! Bring her here!", Zechariah was in the back corner helping a little girl with a broken forearm.
Ryker dashed over so fast that he vanished and reappeared in front of Zechariah in an instant.
"How is her breathing?", Ryker looked at him with a terrified expression. He didn't want to answer but knew he needed to.
"She isn't breathing, I couldn't get her back down before. I was banking on you knowing resurrection magic.", Ryker looked down at her lifeless body in Melancholy.
"Your hair. It's orange, and your eyes are orange as well Ryker". Zechariah sat there amazed by Ryker's incredible transformation. "He's a Helios royal!", Zechariah to himself as a hopeful look overtook him.
"Hey Ryker".
"Are you gonna he-".
"Did your power level shoot up when your hair changed color"?
"What does that have to do with this situation, I came to you for help. Not for a gameshow"!
"Answer the question, you might have a chance of saving her"!
"What? I mean yes it did, I've never been anywhere near that powerful before". Ryker's eyes switched to a darker tint of orange as one of the spikes in his hair flashed in and out of orange.
"Looks like you're running out of time Ryker. I can save her if I use all of the mana you have built up right now. Think you can lend it to me?", Zechariah reaches out his hand and within it was a green Earth crystal.
"I'll lend you all the power I have if you need it. Hell I'd die if I need to.", He looked straight into Zechariah's eyes and grabbed his hand. Suddenly the crystal lit up and Zechariah spoke.
"Put your hand on my shoulder Ryker and focus all of your mana to my left hand. I'll handle the more difficult steps to the process.", Zechariah placed his hand on Yuri's heart and pushed the stone down.
A small green flames came from the stone that quickly spread up Yuri's body through her bloodstream.
"What's happening to her?", Ryker felt discomfort forming within his head and it kept getting worse. The discomfort seemed to grow more and more with every second but he just tried to ignore it. His only concern was Yuri's safety and he wasn't going to let her die no matter what suffering he had to endure.
"Ryker, get ready to send all of your power through alright. This is the last step, we CANNOT screw this up.", He pressed the rest of the stone in Yuri's chest as the flames broke through her skin and began spreading over her entire body. Her body was quickly consumed by the flames and what remained was a large flame of green magic.
"3"
"2"
"1"
"NOW"!
"HuuaaaAAAAH"!
Flames of orange and green exploded in every directions and formed into tiny droplets in the air. The drops of light seemed to have something moving inside them but nobody could tell what they were, except Ryker.
"I'm sorry but, resurrection requires a payment. It seems her payment was the greatest year of her life". Zechariah pointed to one of the drops of light that had turned red. Cracks had formed all over it and beams of hot pink were showing through these cracks. What played within the tear drop was the day that Ryker and Yuri had kissed for the first time and everything that had happened afterward.
"No. Her payment was her personality too". Ryker's hair and eyes faded back to black and emerald as the tear drop popped like a balloon. What remained was a small picture, a picture of Ryker and Yuri as children.
"I love you, Yuri".
Light erupted from underneath Yuri's eyelids and the flames in her veins rushed back towards the stone that had been pressed into her chest. The stone was heavily damaged and barely stayed in one peace when Zechariah picked it up.
"I do apologize Ryker, I tried to restore as many memories as I could even after using some of the mana on the surrounding people.", Zechariah handed Ryker the photo and the stone. "It's possible to get Yuri's memories back with these two items, so here you go".
"Thanks, but I want to talk to her before I decide to use it. If she seems happy enough then I won't bother making her remember".