Blaize walked back to the house, the events of what just happened dancing in his mind. He did not regret what he did, but at the same time, he was not proud of it either. He knew the consequences of his actions, and he knew Rufus might never forgive him.He had ruined the lives of so many people with a single act of lust. He knew he tried his best to resist but maybe he did not try hard enough. Maybe he should have run away and maybe he should not have followed the shadow in the first place.A grave mistake. How would he rectify it?Rufus looked at him with weariness as he approached. It was obvious he and his wife were worried about him. When Blaize walked towards them, he managed to smile, but Rufus did not."You left," Rufus said to him and Blaize sighed."Just went for a walk to clear my head," Blaize replied and Rufus nodded.Did he believe that?They set off immediately and along the way, Rufus always shot Blaize a look of suspicion. He didn't believe what Blaize had told him fo
"How? I am certain no one did."Blaize continued to discredit the fact that someone might have caught them. There was no one else there and no one saw him go into the woods. What if they followed the princess? It made sense for them to keep an eye out for her.Maybe they were already suspecting that she would do something crazy that night and they kept an eye out for her. But why didn't they stop them? It made no sense."Go. Follow the door at the back and head into the woods. They Will kill you if they find you. The only choice you have is to run. Do you understand me?"Rufus said to him."What about you?" Blaize asked."I will buy you some time," Rufus replied but the idea did not seat well with Blaize.He shook his head in negative. If there was anything life had taught him so far, it was a simple fact that no one who has ever made that statement survived the encounter. He could not have his brother dying for his mistake. "You will do no such thing."Blaize said and walked towards
The trolls all turned around and saw him standing there. They looked even more hideous than the last time he had seen them. They growled at him and began to approach but he took quick steps back, watching and studying their moves.They did not waste time.They hurled at him and he jumped up, using his magic to propel himself but one of the trolls sent a punch his way and knocked him to the ground. Another troll hurled at him, however, he was quicker.He quickly jumped to his feet and formed a shield with which he blocked the punch that was coming his way. The shield shattered upon impact and Blaize was shocked. What would that punch have done to him?He dragged himself back and when he did, two more trolls hurled at him. They roared as they did, filled with nothing but bloodlust and perhaps hunger. The trolls nearly got to him but he was fast enough to jump on a nearby tree, in an attempt to avoid them.The trolls grabbed the tree and began to shake it. Blaize thought they would not b
"You need to take it easy there... I'm sorry, what's your name again? Ah, yes. Vector. That creepy man nearly ruined my very first chance of getting the freedom I desired."She said and rolled her eyes. Rufus was Right. Things were never as they seemed in Rusland. He should have been wiser. He should have known better. He had fallen for her tears and her lies and he didn't know what else to do. And he could not use his magic! Why could he not use his magic?He slowly clenched his fist and slammed it on the bar, feeling his knuckles bleed as he did."I will destroy you. I trusted you. Do you have any idea what you have done?""Yes, I do. And I am happy I did it. I am grateful for your help, vector. Not every man would die for the woman they just met. You are truly something."She turned around and proceeded to walk away from the cell but then she stopped again."If you are wondering why you cannot use your magic, I will just tell you. At least, that can be my last favor to you. Accord
"Bring me his head!"Blaize heard the old man yell to the priests as he tried to escape amidst the commotion. He had never been so grateful for a night. The darkness served as a cover for him and when he dashed out of the scene, he could see people trying to get sticks and weapons.They wanted to search for him! The fire kept burning on the pile of wood and as he looked back, he wondered what would have happened if he hadn't been helped. His powers had returned, no doubt, but even at that, he still had a feeling he would not have been quick enough.A woman tricked him. He felt so ashamed. He had never thought it was possible for him to fall prey to such advances. He had always considered himself wiser than most, better than most. Why did he fall? He thought he was helping her but at the end of the day, it turned out that she was helping herself. What happened was a twist he didn't see coming, perhaps the best one that has ever happened in his life."Fuck!"He cursed as he tripped a
The woman walked closer to them. She was dressed in a black dress and had dark hair with dark eyes. Her fingers were long and dark, her face was pale and everything about her screamed sorcerer.She smiled wickedly as she approached the priests, but none of them recognized what she truly was. Were they not familiar with sorcerers? Blaize concluded they weren't for the Priests who had absolute power. They would not even tolerate any form of resistance."Woman, this is not the place for you. You must go back home and pray to the gods for mercy."The old man said but the woman sighed."The gods. Glorious beings in the Celestial realm, those we never see but only settle for the whispers of their voices. The very ones you all so blindly follow."Then she stopped walking. The priests were getting antsy by that time. They could not understand what she was doing."You know, I was once a devoted follower of the gods. My magic was powerful and I thought the gods were on my side. I did not decide
The sorcerers led him past the forest and they headed straight for the Sea. There were four sorcerers walking behind them, two walking ahead of them and Blaize suspected even more hiding in the shadows. He knew he shouldn't trust them, he did not, actually. He just wanted to buy time."We will be arriving at the ship soon. There we will hold the ceremony for your transformation. I promise you, it is going to be disastrous."Fatima said and giggled. She was in the faint line between sane and crazy, and perhaps, her crazy side was more pronounced. Blaize sighed.Suddenly, they heard a horn blaring behind them and the sorcerers stopped and turned. It was the priests. They rose towards them in numbers, about a dozen of them."Do they never learn?"Fatima said and stepped forward. She slit her palms and let the blood flow. The priests kept advancing, charging, and yelling. Then she placed her hand on the ground, but for the few seconds that passed, nothing happened. She was just there, cru
"It's exquisite, isn't it?"Fatima asked Blaize as they boarded the ship. There were several crew members on board already and the moment the sorcerers stepped in, the crew members began to yell orders at each other.The air was quite dry. That did not surprise Blaize for the sorcerers had a way of sucking life away from the things around them. They used dark magic did they not? Could anything good ever come out of dark magic?"I asked a question." Fatima suddenly said to Blaize again. She grinned but her grin was not kind."I think it's grand. Where did you get it?" Blaize asked her and she pouted."Well, I cannot remember exactly, but I remember killing the Captain in order to take control of the ship. Since neither I nor my sorcerers can sail, we needed the crew. But they wanted to be rebellious, so I made an example out of a few of them."She said. It was not surprising. "What did you do with them, exactly?""I threw them overboard, no, did I behead them? I cannot remember. Thes
***Final Chapter***The monster hurled at the ship with a force so great that its punch pushed the ship backward. They were lucky not to have sustained a tear because Alastair and Blaize had formed a shield to block the punch. The shield, however, shattered immediately upon impact.The ship groaned and tilted from side to side, and what came next were screams from the crew as they fell into the sea. The captain struggled to find her balance, however, that was proving difficult. The ship groaned again and tilted to another side, shaking the captain's grip off her sword with which she had stabbed the deck.She screamed as she glided towards the sea, which at that time was already being occupied by monsters that looked like snakes. There was a multitude of them, and their hisses could be heard. They had killed the members of the crew that fell into the sea.As the captain was about to fall overboard, Blaize created a shield that blocked her path and pulled her back into the ship. She exch
"Set sail!"The captain's voice rang through the entire ship as men busied themselves with their jobs. The crew members ran Helter skelter as they tried to get the ship running, and in no time, they did. The ship roared as it sailed on the sea, a sight that sent shivers down Cara's body For Alastair, he just stood beside her and watched other members of the crew as they worked tirelessly. The captain was no longer with them. She was busy shouting orders, screaming at the men, and cursing them as they worked. Considering the fact that she was much smaller than most of the men on the ship, it was a funny sight to see.She soon sent Alastair a gaze and nodded to him. Alastair returned the gesture. As soon as the captain looked away, Alastair smiled softly. The time was finally approaching, and there was nothing to stop destiny from unfolding. He was still lost in thoughts when he suddenly began to feel like there was a pair of eyes looking at him.It was the same feeling he had gotten b
"Stand firm. Widen your stance and fix yourself to the ground. Strike with intent."Alastair instructed Cara as she sparred against him. Her moves had gotten better already but they still needed some more work. She groaned and struck Alastair, putting in so much of her energy that she tripped and fell down when Alastair made a false move."Predict where I will be. It will be what you need most of the time. You need to see the bigger picture when you are dealing with an opponent. Stand up and come at me again."Alastair instructed and Cara obeyed. She was past the stage of grumbling. She knew she needed to become stronger for what was coming.She charged and did her best to predict Alastair's moves. But they were too advanced for her. However, Alastair did not hold back. If she was to fulfill her destiny, she needed to become better than he was. Alastair decided to do a move to throw her off balance but Cara suddenly blocked it.Alastair was surprised. He pushed a bit further and intro
"Why don't you put down the crossbow and we can talk this through like adults?" Alastair said to the captain who scoffed at his guts. Her eyes were blaring with anger, and the only thing in her eyes other than anger was turmoil, pain, and regret.She steadied the crossbow in her hand and fixed her gaze upon Cara. Her eyes never left her. It seemed like she could remember what happened that day, the fire that suddenly blasted them all apart. She could remember the smell of burnt flesh which filled the air, saturating every part of the house. She could remember the smell of her own flesh and the moment that hit her, her face twitched a little. She took a deep breath and pointed the crossbow at Cara. Alastair did not want to use his magic against her for he knew they would be needing her help if they were to get to the isle of mists. But how the captain survived was still a mystery. He was certain she had died."You! You did this to me!", The captain said and pointed to the scarred part
"You didn't even ask for her name." Cara said to Alastair as they walked down the busy road. Their short time at the pub had not turned out the way Alastair hoped. He just kept walking in silence, and the silence was what made Cara uncomfortable."I did not need to," Alastair replied and she scoffed."Why not? She was clearly into you and you liked her as well. What is stopping you?" Cara asked, but then she realized how insensitive her statement was. She should not say such things about Alastair's relationship."Is it because of Miranda?" She asked but he was silent."How do you know she is still waiting for you?" Cara asked again but Alastair still said nothing. She was right. He did not know. But the thing bothering him was that he might not live to find out. "I... I do not want to forget her. I want to cherish our memories together until there is nothing left of me. That is why I cannot look at another woman. But what do you know? You are just a child.".Alastair said and scoff
The night still ravaged on as Alastair and Cara kept walking down the streets. Alastair got the chance to see more of the town, like he had secretly desired. The town was a beautiful place, quite exotic as well.He did not know if it were the decorations, or the thrill in the air but he was certain that that town had seen alot of bad days in the past and they were trying to make out the future as best as they can. He could see a young woman and two kids which looked like they were hers.The woman glanced at him and smiled, a smile which melted Alastair's heart. He saw that she had twin boys, and the imagination of the kind of life he would have been living if he grew up with his mother and brother was vivid.One of the twin boys ran towards him and gave him a popsicle. Alastair smiled as he took the popsicle from the boy, and giving their mother a nod, she quickly led her eager boys toward a candy shop. Alastair sighed as he watched them. He did not even hear Cara stepping up before h
The journey was quiet, and although the moonlight shone upon them like the ever glowing beam of light that it is, Cara was not feeling it. She just kept walking, a step behind Alastair. Her head was bowed, her fists were clenched. Her nails were digging into her palms, although not enough to give her an injury, it still hurt.Maybe she wanted it to hurt. Maybe she just wanted to feel something at the end of the day. She had been so hollow ever since the fight. She could feel Asmodeus crawling around in her mind. She could feel the Phoenix slowly regressing. She could feel the terror that was coming, very one that she was destined to bring upon the world."Are you alright?" Alastair asked her, snapping her out of it. She nodded quickly and looked at him for a moment. "You look disturbed. Is there anything you would like to talk about?" Alastair asked her again but she shook her head. He decided not to press her. If she was ready to talk, she would."Do you miss it? Everything else bef
An energy blast escaped from cara's body and hit all those that were in close proximity to her, James and Denise included. The force of the blast was so powerful that it took them off their feet and crashed them onto the ground. Cara let out a guttural growl as energy began to radiate from her body. The red, hot, energy began to gush out even more as her powers levitated her slowly. The growls continued, and so did the fear on lord Karl's face. He has never seen anything like that. He and his followers were not sure of what to do at that point. They slowly stood to their feet and watched as she stretched out her hand toward them. Her yellow eyes fell on them and with a sudden spark, her energy surged again. This time, it did not hit James and Denise. Both were surprised that the energy phased right through them to hit a sorcerer standing behind them and when they turned around, their eyes beheld a horror unlike what they knew before.The sorcerer's body froze. His eyes stretched out
"Cara... Cara, are you alright?"Cara could hear Fristborn's voice call out to her. She opened her eyes slowly and what she saw was someone she never knew she could see any more. Was she dead, or was she dreaming? She gazed at Fristborn's face and in that split second, she reached out to touch him.But someone else quickly grabbed her hand and she turned and saw Denise standing there. Her eyes roamed back to 'fristborn' but was actually James that was kneeling beside her. She blushed in embarrassment as she quickly say up. They were no longer in the house. From what Cara could see, they were some distance away from the house and it was not too quiet. She could still hear the sounds of guards running around, trying to look for them. The three of them remained silent for a while."What happened?" Cara asked as she rubbed her eyes. It felt like she slept for a long time."You fainted," Denise replied to her. Cara tried to recall what had happened after she felt the surge in her magic b