by Sean Watman
Hovering right above the crater of desolation is the battle cloud. Believe me, when I say that this thing was big, it's an understatement. It was the size of the wasteland, if not a bit bigger, and lightning bolts frequently struck the ground. I had no hiding spot, so I just stood at the edge of the plain, observing. The bolts struck in an irregular pattern but always at the same spot. After listening to the thunder for a while, it began to sound different. It began to sound more and more like that familiar but mysterious sound and less like thunder.
The lightning continued, and after about ten minutes of pondering, I finally knew what the mystery sound was. I was right in one aspect: the sound was definitely not thunder; it was the sound of clashing steel. I had heard this sound during the epic battle between Kris and Lyra, and when the lightning struck the ground the next time, the flash was so bright inside the cloud that I actually saw the outline of two people for a second. One had something in its hand, and the other was on its knees. I had a feeling I knew this person. I did know one of them!
No way … I thought. It's just not possible! But then again, I've already underestimated what this world could throw at me. I shook my head in disbelief, and my heart wouldn't accept what my mind was telling me. I was staring at the cloud, watching the lightning bolts occur with each collision of steel, until one very loud clash sent both of the warriors sailing out of the battle cloud, and my worst fear was realized. This was no clash between normal warriors; this was a Kreydur battle—and one of the contenders was Lyra!
I only figured it out minutes before, but I still couldn't believe it. Since her Kreysor was lightning, the lightning bolts on the ground gave it away. She probably didn't even remember me, but I was sure that she was here. Here, , not an inch away from me. She looked no different from when I encountered her six weeks ago, except that her armor was covered in blood, and her right arm seemed injured. Her beauty transfixed me, and for that one moment, I felt truly happy that I saw her again.
The moment was ruined when she finally noticed me practically gawking over her. Her beautiful eyes showed surprise, as if she remembered me but couldn't believe I was here—mostly I think she was shocked at the forest I call hair. Then her expression changed almost immediately to anger. I immediately felt like I should run. Like far, far away before I got killed.
“You … you should not be here!” she hissed.
“That's how you greet someone who you haven't seen in six weeks?” I retorted, smiling. She then walked over to me, her right arm hanging lamely at her side, and got right in my face.
“I can handle myself fine enough without your help.” she replied hotly. “You will probably only get in my way, and I will not be able to protect both you and myself.”
“What's the situation here?” I questioned, ignoring her insult. “Why's this dude out to get you? What's his Kreysor's element? And why does this place look like the grim reaper just visited?” She eyed me with both surprise and suspicion at my knowledge. She took a step back and spoke.
“We are battling for the same reason I attacked your Kreydur friend, because he is outside of his country's border,” she explained. “Cyclos does not want another country to invade this one due to its lack of a Kreydur. The enemy is from the country of Tundar, the land of ice, and the reason why the forest looks destroyed is that we have been battling for several days now, and the forest has suffered because of it.” It was a lot of information to take in at one time, but I listened and tried to get the gist of it.
I wasn't directly involved here, and I could've just left and tried to forget this encounter, but my heart wouldn't listen. I smiled at her, walked up to her, and placed my hands on her injured arm.
“Fuhrhealminok,” I muttered, making sure that she couldn't hear.
“Excuse me?” she shouted. “Get away from me right now!” By the time she had finished her sentence, the white aura had formed around my palms, and I was channeling the rest of my magii to mending her wounds.
By then I had completely tuned her out along with everything else in the world. It was like my consciousness was travelling with my magii, scouting and healing. There were no severe cuts that my spell couldn't tend to, except for a giant gash that almost made it to the bone. I could repair the damaged tissue, allowing her to move her arm again, but the cut would still remain and continue to bleed if she moved it too much. After pulling off one final scan, I stopped the magic. My eyes opened, and I blinked as they readjusted to being in my own body.
“I've done the best I can do.” My voice sounded so different now, and I imagined that I probably looked as healthy as Kris did when he used too much magii healing my arms.
“The main cut in your arm is less severe, but try not to strain it or the wound will reopen,” I said.
“Thank you,” she said rather softly. But then her mental armor was back on, and she stared at me.
“When did you learn how to use magic?” she demanded.
“There's time … for explanations … later.” I panted. It was getting really difficult to avoid passing out, but I needed to stay focused.
“I need to rest for a minute … I'm drained. Then I'll be able to help!” I piped up.
“You have done enough,” she said to me, her eyes fixed on the horizon.
“Well now! Do I get my injuries healed too? We are both extremely tired, and it does not seem fair for you to have an advantage.” A voice called out in the distance. I followed Lyra's gaze and saw the Kreydur of ice. His tone was bitter and icy, and he wore the same armor as Kris and Lyra. His skin was snow white, and his hair was a short mess of blonde curls. What truly made me afraid of this man, though, were his piercing ice blue eyes. Just looking at them, I could see he was not afraid to kill someone to achieve his own goals.
“Little magician,” he said to me almost casually, “I would appreciate your cooperation with my demands—I do not want to have to kill you.” I was frozen by fear, and I had the appearance and energy of an eighty-year-old man. Lyra was right: I really am only going to get in the way. The man was getting closer and closer toward me, but I couldn't even stand up. Lyra watched and said nothing as if she was contemplating what to do. Well, I'm the one who helped you, damn it! I thought. I was on the verge of another panic attack. My heart was beating so fast that my older body couldn't handle it, and I think it just stopped.
I clutched my heart and gasped for air. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. The world started spinning, and I was getting so dizzy I collapsed onto the ground. It then started turning different colors.
“Jack?” Lyra called out. “What's wrong? Jack!” She rushed to my side, but by then, I was almost dead. I tried to call out to her, but my mouth didn't seem to want to work. Then it all faded into black; the last glimpse of light being Lyra.
“Hey, you idiot!” A voice called out. “I told you not to die on me just yet!” And I don't know how it happened, but my heart let out a slow thump. It did this about five times, then it started to speed up. It finally resumed its normal pace, and I was able to open my eyes and sit up. Lyra instantly moved away, probably afraid of my instantaneous recovery. I thought I should ask her about that after the battle was over. My hair and skin started to return to their normal color as my magii chambers refreshed.
“Oh good, you seem to have recovered your magii,” the ice Kreydur said. He was now sitting on a frozen tree, examining his fingernails. When he noticed me start to stand, he jumped out of the tree and landed gracefully as a bird.
“Now, if you do not mind,” he said, walking toward me and pointing to his right shoulder, which had a gash about the size of my thumb. I immediately started breathing heavily again, and my knees wavered. Lyra instinctively caught me and sat me down.
“He has done enough already!” she shouted at him. “You cannot expect him to perform two major healing spells consecutively—he will die!” Death didn't sound too good. I had just escaped him not even five minutes ago; I didn't think he would be so forgiving a second time.
How strongly she was defending me was also surprising.
“Everyone is either useful or dead weight,” he replied in a steely tone, resuming checking out his fingers. “That is how our society functions, and the sooner you realize this, the better.” Lyra said nothing, but got up and started walking toward him.
“Bolt!” she called out. The man just stared at her and then started to laugh.
“So, you want to handle this the hard way then,” he stated after calming down. “Very well. Glace, show these fools your true power.” Snow from the cloud above him started to fall, and as it landed on his hand, it began forming into his weapon. I looked like a whip, but the lace had spikes protruding from every angle, followed by a blade-like point at the ends.
Lyra was handling her emotions rather well, unlike me, since she could read me like an open book. I stared at Glace and thought, Oh we are dead, so very dead. Well, maybe not her, but I will be. She has Bolt. I have nothing! But all she did was tighten her grip on Bolt's handle. The ground started to shake as these two fighters powered up, and before I even knew what happened, Lyra was gone.
The speed she was travelling at was phenomenal, because as I watched her disappear, not even a second later, she was behind him, ready to kill. But as she swiped, the man was able to see the attack and block it without even turning to face her. Both of them, I realized, were not playing around anymore, they were channelling all their magii into all seven chambers. This was a fight to the death.
I wanted to help Lyra, but there was nothing I could do. She was still locked inside of Glace's lace. She seemed to be overpowering him, until he shouted out, “Extend!” Lyra instantly retreated. It was a good thing she did too, because the spikes started growing and becoming crystal clear, almost as if they were sharp blades made of …
“Ice!” I said aloud. He looked at me, as if amazed that I actually could speak, but then quickly returned his focus just in time to block Lyra's vertical slash. They clashed multiple times in those few seconds, I don't even think I saw half of them, but then the man pushed away Bolt, raised his hand, and shouted, “Tundriemoy!” or something like that. A wave of snow started flowing from his hand. Lyra appeared shocked by the ferocity of the avalanche, and before she had time to react, it buried her. I thought it was all over for her, and it was as if something broke in me, because I started to act as though I was in a trance.
“Waste of my time,” the man said. “Magician! I need you to replenish my magii. Get over here!” My feet quickly marched over to his spot. I knew what I was about to do was wrong, but I didn't care. My mind was protesting, willing my body to stop, but I forced its influence back. Right now, nothing really seemed to matter. I saw one of the only people I actually liked in this place get killed.
“Hurry up! I'm getting impa—” He was cut off. Up until now, I've been avoiding eye contact with this man; I was so ashamed of myself that I couldn't bear to look at him, for him to know how pathetic I really was. When I looked up, though, I saw probably the most disgusting thing since that half-eaten arm in the forest. A spike of some kind was protruding from his stomach.
“Well, this is rather inconvenient,” he said, clearly annoyed by this spike. A pool of blood was forming on his armor, and I was getting so disgusted that I had to look away.
“You underestimated me.” Lyra's voice called out. “After a week long battle, I thought for sure that your expectations of me were higher.” Lyra was alive! She had little snowflakes in her hair, but I didn't care. She was back but looked more menacing. The look she gave that man would make even the strongest man on Earth piss himself.
“What … have you done?” he cried out. He was struggling so hard to move his body, but he could only manage a slight movement in his fingers. I could actually tell that he was enraged at Lyra.
“Bolt's stun effect, it should wear off in around ten minutes or so, but I do not think you will live that long,” she replied in a calm voice. I was now terrified. She had adopted Kris's creepy calm tone of death, and it suited her well. This was the first time I saw this part of her personality, and it turns out that she has a quiet nature.
When she had finished speaking, she finally retracted Bolt from the man's stomach and he didn't even flinch. Well, he's stunned; I don't think he'll be feeling anything for a while, I thought.
She immediately fell to her knees after retracting Bolt, probably because of magii exhaustion. For some reason, my insane exhaustion from before had no effect on me at the moment; it was as if I was running on someone else's energy other than my own.
“You … cannot defeat me! I have come too far, lost too much, to be denied!” He started screaming with rage, his veins pulsing from the effort of trying to move his body.
“You will kill yourself if you strain anymore.” Lyra spoke without even looking up at him, “Everything you have worked for is now finished; you cannot win; just give up.” The man continued to yell. The ground started to shake violently from his efforts. A white aura formed around him and then disappeared. Nothing short of death would stop him.
Lyra, probably convinced that he'd die as soon as he broke free, stood up and started walking toward me. She didn't even turn around when the ground shook.
“Not yet,” the man said. “I will not lose just yet!” And Bolt's effect just disappeared, because he was charging right at Lyra. She didn't even notice until she turned around, only to be met by the charging line of ice that his whip had become. Her reflexes kicked in, and she instinctively raised her axe as if to block, but it was too late. The tip passed right through her left arm, and ice began to form from the hole, freezing her arm. The whip passed through the ice as if it was never there and immediately went back to its master.
“The real battle starts now!” he cried out and then practically teleported in front of Lyra. She backed away, barely avoiding another stab from the whip. Her left arm was immobilized now, and her axe was a two-handed weapon. She continued retreating while he frantically attempted to stab her, probably as a way to freeze her in place.
He had completely forgotten about me. I'm now channeling as much magii as I can into my palms. Forget running away; she's in trouble! I put just enough magii into my thighs in order to get a good speed to approach and find an opening. Without a countdown, I'm rushing into the fray. I'm almost at him when I raise my right fist.
“What the hell?” he said while turning around.
“Die!” I scream, punching him directly in the cheek. The effect was amazing. As soon as I made contact, he went spiraling into a frozen tree, crashing right through it. That gives me a little more time. I don't think he's dead after that one blow, but I knew it would take him a while to recover.
I race right toward Lyra, hoping to get to her before he comes back, when I start to feel cold, . I look at Lyra, and her right hand is covering her mouth, her eyes widened in horror, and when I look down, I notice what the problem is.
“It is impressive that you are able to still channel so much magii.” The man spoke behind me. “It is a shame that I have to kill you; you could have been very useful to me.” He retracts Glace, passing through my stomach as it does so, but stopping half way. Already my heart's starting to slow down, and I'm beginning to lose the feeling in my extremities.
“Impressive is she not?” the man says. “Glace, retract! This boy's done.” As Glace passes through my body, it freezes me more. Ice is pouring out instead of blood, and it's freezing my body in the process. My legs are frozen, and now it's almost at my head. All I can do is stare as the man approaches Lyra, about to give her the same fate.
Chapter 10: The Transformation
For some reason I've ended up returning to my inner world to find the flaming walls replaced by frozen pillars. Even the floor is completely covered in ice. I wouldn't be surprised if it started snowing! I now know the basic drill whenever I come here, so I stand in my spot, waiting for my reflection to appear—only he's not showing up.
Annoyed with waiting, I decide t
hat I'm going to go and search for him. So, making sure not to slide and fall, I carefully begin to make my way across the floor. I never really realized how big my world was, but then again, I never really left the entrance spot. As soon as I start walking toward a pillar, I end up getting stuck right in the middle of a maze. Where's the entrance, or the exit? I have no clue. Using the techniques passed down through generations of movies, I place my hand on the left side of the wall and begin to walk. Either I'll reach the center or the end.
My hand's beginning to freeze after about ten minutes of contact with the ice, so I have to pull it away, but I still continue following the wall. It wasn't until another few minutes that I started to hear voices. I'm now jogging, excited about finding the exit, and following the voices until they start to get louder.
“You are forbidden to enter this place!” a female voice says. “It is under my control now, so find someone else.”
“Judging by what you just said, I do not think that Jack would appreciate being taken over,” the other voice replied. It was my reflection, my older self. I was getting very close now. I just needed a few more walls. Until then, it would be better to listen in and get a grasp on the situation.
“The boy is finished. If you have not already noticed, even his mental realm is now corrupted by my influence!” she continued.
“But have you actually finished him?” my reflection countered. “You can talk about it, but right now he is probably on his way to get his body back.”