"Wh-what... what is your name?" Jade huffed, forcing herself to stay conscious despite the searing pain coursing through her body.
The boy with the flute hung loosely in his hand, stood atop the rubble, looking down at her with a mixture of contempt and pity.
"You humans are downright pathetic to the end," he sneered. "I love and respect my master so much, but I just don't understand his infatuation with you pathetic creatures. Even after finding a way to use your magic and break through the weak limitations of being just human—what does it all amount to if you can never accomplish anything?"
He raised his hand slowly, his index finger pointing directly at Jade. A small, ominous beam of black energy began to coil around his finger, darkening the air around it. Without hesitation, he fired, and the beam shot out, puncturing Jade's shoulder with a searing pain that made her cry out.
