Chapter 4
Nicolas POV
Having the hopes of an entire empire on your back is something only few can carry as a burden.
Nicolas had no thought that he was one of those foolish scoundrels.
The image of himself stuck within the white walled chambers of his court and making decisions he cared not for, with people he gave no second glance to, urged his mind to succumb to headaches constantly.
The closest he would ever allow himself to be in reach of a high seat of power, would most likely be as a thoroughly educated meat shield.
If his parents were to hear of such thoughts, they would have him locked up in a dark closet and have him made to bang literature of various politics into his skull each day. He was sure they'd love that.
Graceful footsteps urged his body forward through the yellow cobbled walls of the academy.
The flutter of his robes in the warm morning sunlight energized him for the task he set himself to complete.
A task that he needed to see through. If only to relinquish his cherished friend's foolish burdens. Plenty of thoughts materialized rapidly in his mind, the door to the infirmary nearing in his vision. In a few moments, he reached the cream white door.
It's smooth surface an indicator of the heinously large pools of money the academy had.
No regular person, not even a regular awakened could afford willowed oak. Mere braches could only be afforded by mages of the fourth tier and above.
A very precious resource it was.
Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he steadied his heartbeat. Making sure to give himself a few precious seconds of preperation.
Helios typically had a reasonable mind, but at times his lack of self-belief seeped into his interactions. The foul emotions tended to leave a sour taste with whoever he talked to, if only for a short time. Hopefully he won't be a blackened mess, thought Nicolas.
Opening his eyes he grasped the shining silver knob and softly turned it, he quietly strode through the door, making sure to watch out for anyone unpleasant enough to recognize him.
Fortunately, the room was empty, save for the comically childish bunny posters and the bubbling Bunsen burner on the lobby desk.
The smell of medical chemicals tickled his nose and the sight of steam made him wonder where Gretchen had wandered off to.
The wait wasn't long as the nurse made her way out of one of the backrooms and caught his gaze.
She calmly locked the door and walked to her desk. Eventually, 'turning off' the blue flame.
Nicolas walked up to her, raising his eyebrows in surprise as she swooped her hand over the flame. It unnaturally followed her movements and latched onto her hand, coating it in a blazing blue.
She placed some sort of jar on the desk, its lid open as she moved her hand in a swift circular motion before dipping the flames in the jar. As if they were a sort of gelatinous liquid. Everything was all in one fluid motion, a sign of her experience in handling the unusual fire.
His steps halted as he reached the front of the desk and watched her close the jar slowly. As his mouth opened to speak, she beat him to it.
" Don't tell me you you're also in need of treatment, kid." She asked, her eyes narrowing slightly." Your little trio seems to think my magic is only meant to patch up your foolishness. Let me at least see other faces besides yourselves, we're in a giant school after all."
Nicolas gave an awkward chuckle. He understood her, he'd really forsake dealing with three troublesome teenagers who always seemed to find their backs on a hospital bed. They were her regular customers. Well , Lucas and Helios more so than him.
" That's an unnecessary worry Ms. Gretchen" he told her. " Although we can sometimes go a bit overboard there's no denying we're your best visitors." He said, a slight smile forming on his face.
She rolled her eyes." My best and most attention seeking visitors at that. Well, since you're not here for a broken leg. I'm assuming you're here for Helios."
Nicolas nodded .
She motioned with a head tilt towards the room to her left." He's in there. A bit moody, but healing well enough to be back up in two days. Just don't make him do anything stupid."
He thanked and assured her and turned towards the door, ready to see his friend. But was suddenly stopped as he took a step forward.
" Ah, I forgot to ask!" Gretchen exclaimed , her voice tinted with concern." How's Lucas doing. Hopefully he's not swimming too much in guilt?"
Nickolas had wondered when she would ask him that. It almost seemed to him as if she'd forgotten.
Well, almost.
Sighing, he turned to answer her. " Not as well as he could be, but I did my best to lighten him up. The technique he'd used was too high level for their spar." He said while shaking his head.
"But in realizing that mistakes like these tend to happen and that we're being taught to lessen them as we grow. The guilt has settled to a better degree now."
"..I see. " she frowned and crossed her arms in thought. "Nicolas.."
"Yes?"
" I worry about him a bit. I'm sure you know he has a lot of internal issues to deal with?" said Gretchen softly." Do me a favor and help him see the positives he has in life. Especially having friends like you guys..okay?"
Nicolas smirked. " That's a given. No matter what that fool does we'll be his support when he needs it. There's no ridding himself of us as long as I'm alive."
Gretchen cracked a smile he thought was one of relief and perhaps…admiration? Maybe she didn't have the luxury of such a friendship.
He'd never seen her mingling much with the other teachers. Though, her worries made him feel that she at least liked them. Not for their titles, but simply for who they were.
So whether the heavens fell or the sun burst into oblivion, he'd make sure that the three of them had each other's backs. It was a feeling that made his heart beat a little faster at the thought, but one that warmed him more than he gave credit for.
However, for them to gel together till such a time, he had to make sure to fix whatever problems were brewing at this moment.
Only then would the bond they shared thicken to it's extremes .
These thoughts anchored his steps and mind as he walked towards where Helios lay, opening the door to a future where they would hopefully continue to share each other's happiness.
Lucas POV
Lucas drifted in the dark expanse of an infinitely stretching cosmos.
The purple hue of the surrounding space littered with star like dots of white that shone their radiant light through the darkness.
Giving him a staggering sense of Deja-vu.
Why in the name of the gods was he back here? It couldn't be the same dream. It hadn't appeared for two days! Why would it unless he consciously willed himself to remember.
Everything encompassing his current expanded senses immediately felt…heavy. It felt like it pressed onto his chest and mind, impeding him from breathing the way he knew how.
Why was he here? What was this place's purpose.
I want out.
He breathed a breath that didn't exist.
His chest heaved a weight far beyond it's capacity and his senses exploded into oblivion.
Every action lost its repetitive ease, every comfort seemed gradually stolen, leaving him empty to the black claws of space. Or was it his mind? Delirium quickly shrouded his rationality.
For minutes these thoughts chipped away at his clarity as he imagined his chest heaving rapidly.
He felt the air come into his lungs in minute bursts. The quantity feeble with each breath.
He looked at the distant specs of white. Each pulsation of light seemed to bang in his ears, vibrate through his body and steal each struggling breath.
His mind was slowly muddying from the intense pressure. His shallow breaths gave him a sense of lightness that zoomed him out of his current experience. An experience he rarely felt.
Panic.
It wasn't the stars that drummed in his head, he realized in bits and pieces.
It was his heart.
It banged and banged. Louder and louder. His breath becoming non existent and his eyes enveloped in a frighteningly dark embrace.
The blackness spread over his vision, eliminating his senses until-
Bang!
A deafening vibration reached his ears and his body jolted from all directions. A cloud of white slapped itself into his vison . Instantly burying the expanding darkness beneath it.
The banging in his head gone along with it.
His senses gradually returned. His mind piecing itself back together and the clutter of thoughts stabilized themselves from the prior moment of panic.
Was he back? Why was the world white now. And why did he feel an inexplicable pull to look to his right.
Without thought he abided by the command , turning his head until his eyes met with the back of him.
Lucas's eyes widened and his heart jumped.
Next to him was he who had seen the supposed unseen and laid waste to hundreds of men within a blink of an eye.
The royal figure in the white robes .
How could Lucas forget such a person. The image of what he'd done had been burned into the flesh of his brain. Unwilling to depart at each night of contemplation.
The figure had his back turned to him as if he'd been waiting for something once again.
Lucas held his breath, waiting. For what, he didn't know. It was an instinct within him that whispered: Don't move.
For what seemed like hours the figure stood still. The milky white expanse was the only thing around them. Stretching infinitely beyond Lucas's vision.
The image remained unchanged, until the soft thud of feet stepping the ground reverberated throughout the empty whiteness.
The man had turned to face Lucas.
Now he could see the view of the man's face.
The void like construct masking his expression and the multitude of swirling galaxies which lay within it made Lucas's gaze tremble. The galaxies slowly rotated in a show of grand complexity.
Lucas felt his body lose itself.
Whatever senses he regained seemed to no longer be his own as the gargantuan feeling of standing in front of a presence beyond himself filled his mind, numbing it and grinding it to a halt.
Only a single eroding question branded itself into his brain.
Is this…a god?