Next Mage
56.Air-2

No fire.

My shoulders sagged as I gazed at myself, reality hitting me like a fist to the face.

Being powerless was like losing a limb.

I couldn't feel the magic, the energy, the fire flooding through my veins anymore. It was as if the world had dulled, the bright reds and oranges fading out into a monotone grey. I looked up blearily as I heard voices shouting. Then everything snapped back into focus.

It was as if one person, among all the grey, was glowing brightly with all kinds of different hues, like a prism catching sunlight. Marilla.

The Ragnarok was almost on top of her, sharp teeth and claws outstretched, as if it were already biting into her neck.

I ran harder; lungs burning; chest aching.

Knowing I couldn't make it.

Wishing I could.

The creature was inches from her terrified face, and Marilla let out a scream so loud it echoed through the beach, travelling into the forest--

And she was swept up into the sky, the tornado carrying her swiftly away from the danger.

I watched as a great sense of relief flooded my body, stopping to stare upwards at Marilla, still screaming and kicking at the great windy tendrils that surrounded her, tears streaming from her usually warm hazel eyes, now gone cold and hard... Frowning and wondering what she was crying about, I wrenched my gaze away from her and focused on the battlefield.

There's still the Ragnarok to defeat, Oliver, I told myself strictly. And the Ragnarok mages too. Concentrate. Just because you don't have your element anymore doesn't mean you aren't completely powerless. Try to find weapons you can use. Just--

Then I saw it.

The Ragnarok, lurching away from Marilla, who was still sobbing, and charging towards...

Me.

My blood ran cold. Turning around, I ran as fast as I could, people and mages screaming after me to run faster.

But I couldn't. I knew I couldn't.

Sooner or later, I would tire, and the Ragnarok would finally catch me, teeth ready to devour me--

I shook my head. Don't think about that, Oliver, I scolded myself. You'll make it through this. You will. Just you wait--

Pain ripped through my body.

I looked down in horror at the Ragnarok's claws sliding out of my stomach, blood spattering onto the ground in red smears, soaking into the sand and turning it a dark crimson.

I cried out in agony and fell to the ground, barely feeling the sharp rocks and gritty particles of sand as they scratched at my face and flew into my eyes, causing them to water.

The Ragnarok's hot breath hovered over my face, and tears blurred my vision as I gazed weakly up at the monstrous creature, it's mouth half-open as if it were contemplating on whether to eat me or not. The warmth seeped out of my bones, my body growing cold as I tried to catch the remaining wisps of energy I had, but they slipped out of my grasp and were carried away by the wind.

I felt something else pierce my leg, digging through flesh and cutting into bone and I heard a small crack; the bone was splintering. Then, as the claw withdrew from my flesh, blood gushing out through the wound, I screamed in anguish. The pain was excruciating.

I could no longer see, the whole world going a grayish-black, with only tiny bits of light flickering through, like the sun trying to penetrate thick fog. Warm liquid seeped through my shirt and trickled down my leg as I felt the Ragnarok's breath leave my face.

Don't... I'd rather die quickly than suffer here...

My thoughts dimmed as shouting filled my ears, and I closed my eyes, feeling a strange, delicious warmness as my breath turned shallow, my consciousness began to slip away from my grasp.

I opened my eyes one last time, gasping for breath, wanting, wishing, pining for a thread of life that I could cling onto, but only seeing an inky black darkness, only hearing an empty silence.

But that unfamiliar but comforting warmth glowed. It was so tempting...so welcoming, like a thick, snug blanket that was wrapped around me like a cocoon... It was as if it were beckoning me to join it, calling me to rest in its bright, soft embrace...

Stepping into the light, I smiled serenely, the glow encasing me in its feathery-light touch, melting the ice in my bones and heating up my veins.

But then the glow flickered, dimming, the flame suddenly dying.

The shadows pulled me in, and I screamed, knowing that no-one could help me as the velvety darkness devoured my soul and wishing that I had realized sooner that the warmth had all been a trick. But it was too late.

Death had already claimed me.