The man on the throne has a menacing smile playing on his lips.
He gesture for Callieber to stand beside him, leaving me standing in the middle of room. All alone.
The pain in my body is slowly healing by the regeneration magic that Tiara taught me. It's still not perfect, but it will do from the time being.
I might need it.
"So... you're Kira? Right?"
The man on the throne finally speaks up in a low voice.
I feel an intense dark magic brewing in the air. This man is no ordinary dark wizard... It feels like the darkness is part of his body.
"Not going to talk?"
Right, I need to say something.
I tried to open my mouth but no word is coming out of it. I clutched my neck.
Why can't I speak?
"What happened? Is my magic suffocating?"
He speaks again. Suffocating? So this is what it feels like to stand before an overwhelming force. I feel suffocated by the sheer force of his magic.
I drop to my knees, still clutching my neck. Why am I feeling like this now? This is the worse time to feel this. I need to do something.
"Rat, stand up."
I can see the menacing smile etched across his face. The magic flowing inside of me stopped and I suddenly feel empty.
I looked up again, I can't feel his magic now. In a matter of fact, I don't feel anything.
"Your body can't accept the fact that you're feeling overwhelmed by my magic that it stopped your own. How amusing."
He watched me with that same menacing smile, like he was enjoying every second of my struggle.
I tried to push myself up, but without my magic flowing through me, I felt weaker than ever.
It was as if my own power had betrayed me, shutting down in the face of his overwhelming magic.
"You rats are always so predictable. All that power, yet you crumble the moment someone stronger stands in your way."
I gritted my teeth, forcing myself back onto my feet, though my legs trembled under the weight of my own weakness.
"Down."
The moment he said that word, I feel an intense magic, forcing me down to the ground.
As my body hits the ground, it creates a small crater, showing that this man's magic is no joke.
My body screamed in pain as I lay in the small crater, the weight of his magic pressing me deeper into the ground.
"See, this is where rats like you belong. Beneath me."
I wanted to fight back, to use my magic, but every time I tried to reach for it, it was like grasping at smoke. His magic was everywhere, suffocating my own.
"I could crush you right now, but that would be too easy. No, I want to see what you're truly capable of. After all, the Arcane Brigade thought you were worth something. Let's see if they were right."
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into the ground beneath me. I couldn't let him win. Not like this.
"Come on. You're a wizard, right? Use your magic. Fight back."
I struggled to push myself up again, every muscle in my body burning with effort.
Every movement felt like I was pushing against an immovable force, but I couldn't just lie there and let him crush me.
I managed to get one knee under me, then the other. Slowly, painfully, I forced myself to stand.
"That's it, show me that fire. Show me why the Arcane Brigade bothers with someone like you."
I tried to summon my magic again, to find that flicker of ice from before, but his dark magic wrapped around me like chains, strangling the power before I could pull it forward.
The more I fought, the tighter his hold became.
"Your magic is weak, you rely on it too much. You think it makes you strong. But magic is not everything in this world."
He raised his hand, and I felt an invisible grip tighten around my chest, squeezing the breath out of me.
My knees buckled again, and I hit the ground hard, gasping for air.
"I'm disappointed. I expected more resistance. More fight."
His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it, an edge of cruelty.
The darkness closed in around me, his magic suffocating my senses, making it hard to think, to breathe.
I could feel myself slipping... slipping into despair, into the emptiness he was forcing on me.
---
The winds howled across the desolate plains as Esmeralda strode through the battlefield.
She held her staff tightly in her grip, its crystal tip glowing faintly with green energy, casting a soft light in the encroaching dusk.
The scene around her was one of utter destruction, burned trees, scorched earth, spirits laughter, and the remnants of magical skirmishes.
She had felt it, a sharp pull through the magic that bound them as guildmates.
Something had gone terribly wrong. Kira's presence had flickered, weak and unstable, and now... nothing.
Her eyes flicked back and forth, searching for the threads of magic that would lead her to him.
Suddenly, she felt a firm grip on her shoulder.
Esmeralda jumped, spinning around with her staff raised defensively. Her heart leapt into her throat, but the fierce look on her face softened when she saw who it was.
"Arienna?"
Arienna face shows some kind of sadness. She slowly stepped up, looking over her shoulder.
"I can't feel him. What happened to him?"
"I... Let's get inside the fortress!"
Esmeralda's voice was urgent, her eyes fixed on the looming fortress ahead.
She could feel the oppressive darkness radiating from it, the same darkness that had swallowed Kira.
But Arienna hesitated, her hand lingering on the hilt of her sword.
She glanced behind them, her eyes scanning the horizon where several hooded figures stood, their faces obscured by the dusk.
"We can't... there's too many of them here."
Esmeralda looked over her shoulder, realizing the number of hooded figures that had silently surrounded them.
They moved slowly, almost casually, as if they knew their prey had nowhere to run.
"Damn it..."
Esmeralda muttered under her breath. She hadn't noticed them in her rush, and now they were surrounded.
Suddenly, a sharp hiss split the air. One of the hooded figures lurched forward, a blade slicing cleanly through its torso.
Black mist spilled from the wound as the figure crumbled to the ground, revealing an imposing figure behind it.
It's the wounded dark elf, his obsidian skin gleaming faintly in the dying light, stood with his sword drawn.
"I'll handle them,"
He stepped forward with the grace of a predator. His violet eyes locked on the remaining figures, daring them to make the first move.
"Go. I'll keep them occupied."
Arienna looked at him for a long moment, her eyes betraying a flicker of uncertainty.
"What about your wound?"
"It's nothing serious. There are still dark elves inside that need saving. Focus on them. I'll handle this."
Esmeralda and Arienna exchanged a glance, understanding the gravity of the situation.
There was no time for hesitation. The lives of the dark elves inside the fortress, including Kira, hung in the balance.
"Stay alive."
Arienna said softly, her voice barely audible over the howling winds. The dark elf nodded without looking back, his focus entirely on the encroaching enemies.
Without another word, Esmeralda and Arienna turned and ran toward the fortress.
---
Inside the guild master's office of the Arcane Brigade, the air was thick with tension.
Master Merrick, sat at his usual spot behind the office table.
Across from him stood a man cloaked in shadows, his face hidden beneath the hood of his black robe.
Only the light reflected off his chest, the Arcane Brigade emblem emblazoned on it.
The intricate design of the emblem a swirling vortex of magic encased in a shield that seemed to pulse with an otherworldly glow, symbolizing the responsibility that came with being part of the Brigade.
"We've got a deal now."
The cloaked man didn't respond to Merrick's words. He simply gave a brief nod, his face still shrouded in darkness.
With a swift motion, he stepped back, blending into the shadows that clung to the edges of the room.
As his figure disappeared entirely, the room seemed to breathe again, the oppressive atmosphere dissipating as if it had been tied to his presence.
Master Merrick remained seated, his eyes fixed on the spot where the man had stood just moments ago. His fingers drummed rhythmically against the surface of his desk, a faint smile creeping onto his lips.
---
I was floating.
Floating in the darkness. Alone.
I can't move my body. I don't feel a thing. Is this what it feels like to die?
It was a good journey... No... It was fantastic.
Charlotte, Ren, Tiara, Master Merrick... and the other guild members. Thank you for accepting me... even though it was only for a short time.
!!!
"...what... ARE YOU DOING HERE?!!!"
Huh? Is that a voice? I must be going crazy, there's no voice in here, I'm dead after all.
"YOU FOOL!!! GET OUT OF MY DOMAIN!! I DON'T NEED YOU HERE!!!"
That's a voice, I'm sure of it. I kept staring into the darkness until I saw two white circle floating in the air... wait... those look like an eye.
The two glowing eyes in the darkness stared at me with an intensity that pierced through the void.
I felt a sudden pressure around me, as if the very air in this nothingness had become dense and hostile.
"FOOLISH MORTAL!! YOU DON'T BELONG HERE. THIS IS MY DOMAIN."
The voice was deep, filled with anger and something far darker. I tried to speak, but just like before, no words would come. My throat felt constricted, though I wasn't even sure I had a body anymore.
"MORTAL, YOU'RE DEAD! GET OUT OF HERE... I WILL NOT LEND YOU MY POWER!!"
Lend me power? What is it talking about?
"LEAVE, NOW!"
The eyes narrowed, and the pressure around me intensified. It felt like my entire being was being crushed.
"NO... I CAN FEEL THE ENVY IN YOUR HEART, MAYBE I WILL LEND YOU A LITTLE BIT OF MY POWER."
The darkness pressed in around me, heavier now, but not suffocating like before. There was a strange, cold sensation in the air, as if it had suddenly frozen around me, biting at the edges of my soul.
The eyes flared brighter.
"YOU DESIRE STRENGTH, DON'T YOU? YOU YEARN FOR POWER TO PROVE YOUR WORTH. VERY WELL, I WILL GIVE YOU A TASTE."
My mind was reeling, trying to make sense of it all. What was this thing? And why was it offering me power?
"AND STOP CALLING IT ICE MAGIC... IT'S ALWAYS BEEN FROST MAGIC."
The darkness around me began to crack, faint tendrils of cold energy swirling toward me.
My senses, which had been numb moments ago, were now flooded with a sharp, icy clarity.
The oppressive force from those glowing eyes was terrifying, but something inside me stirred, a desire, a need.
"TAKE IT, MORTAL. SHOW THEM MY POWER!!"
The cold magic surged toward me, wrapping itself around my limbs and sinking into my core. My body shuddered violently, the frost weaving through my veins.
It wasn't the gentle ice I was used to. This was wild, fierce, and uncontrollable. It hurts.
But with the pain came strength.
Before I could comprehend what that meant, the world around me shattered like brittle ice.
The darkness gave way to blinding light, and suddenly, I was back in the real world, on my knees, gasping for breath, my body covered in frost.
I felt power, raw and untamed, coursing through me, but I also feel intense tiredness.
"This is so exhausting... I want to go home..."
The man on the throne watched me closely, his smile fading slightly as he saw the frost crackling along my arms.
"Interesting... you were on the verge of breaking, yet here you are, standing again. What did you tap into, I wonder?"
What is he talking about? I want to rest and sleep... standing here is so tiring.