Alastair walked out of the house, his entire being wrapped around a mass of confusion. He still could not understand the words the mystic spoke to him. Or was he unwilling to accept it? Was Cara truly rejecting his protection? Was she truly trying to get away from him?She knew he would try and find her right? Why was she shielding herself? And how was she doing it? Or was it subconscious? Was the Phoenix doing it? All of the options in his head were driving him insane and so like he had developed a habit for, he trudged towards the bar.Alastair saw his shadow rising like it had done earlier but he did not pay any attention to it. The shadow rose and stood by his side. He sighed. Not only was he insane, but he was also directionless. How bad could things go for him?"Where are you going?" The shadow asked."Where does it seem?" He asked the shadow who Just kept walking beside him."You cannot get drunk today. You need a clear head to do the things you are supposed to do...""Yeah? Li
Alastair followed the men as they kept walking under the hot sun. The heat of the sun made the pain on his face and his bruises worse. He could have brewed a healing potion but he was following a lead that led somewhere he did not really know. He just had the feeling that he needed to follow them. The men, on the other hand, had noticed that Alastair had been following them since they left the bar. They didn't react at the moment. They too were curious to know who he was. As they continued walking, the men took a sudden turn to their left and entered an alley.Alastair slowed down. He knew what was about to happen and the effect of the alcohol was starting to wear off him. That was part of the good things associated with being a mage. Their bodies had a way of self-regulating minor disturbances quicker than the bodies of normal humans. That was why he requested two cups of the strongest ale. That was what it took to get him drunk.The moment Alastair stepped into the alley, the two
"You do not want to do this."Alastair said to Apollo who smirked. He began to walk closer to Alastair, holding his hand up and conjuring a bright red light from it. The light spread across his entire arm and when he stretched the arm toward Alastair, the bright red light shot from it and blasted Alastair toward the ground.Alastair fell and his head crashed against the ground. That was a new kind of magic, one he had not seen before then. He quickly stood up and formed a shield as another of the red light came. The light hit his shield, cracking it in several places and as the light persisted, it shattered the shield and almost hit Alastair again, however, he was fast enough to use his Powers and jump over it."Creative. I'll give you that."Apollo said and smacked the ground. The ground began to shake with such force that Alastair had to wrap magical energy around himself to prevent himself from falling. Then, large vines burst out of the ground and screeched.The Vines crawled towar
"What the hell was that?"Nomi asked Alastair as he kept the energy within the barricade. Another tremor came again and Nomi yelped. She was thinking the walls would come down on her and sadly, she did not trust Alastair enough to know that he would keep her safe. She only just met him, did she not?"What the hell is happening?"She asked again and that time her voice going a little too high. She was scared and she made no efforts to conceal it."I would say Apollo is getting ready to work. You know what his plans are, right?" He asked her."The plan to destroy the world and build a new one from its image? His image? Of course, I do. It is the only thing he spoke about when we were married. The very thing he married me for. But he doesn't have enough power to launch that mind of attack, does he?"Alastair groaned. The barricade was not bulging and it was taking so much time, a substance he did not have. He shot in even greater energy and held it in. The barricade vibrated and was begi
Alastair groaned as he tried to open his eyes. His head was heavy and he could barely feel his legs. He tried to move but he could not, a terrible wave of tiredness was upon him. And he could not hear a single thing as well. As he tried to move to the side, his hearing suddenly returned and he could hear how heavy his breath was. And when his sensations returned, his entire body was in pain."Ahh"He groaned as he saw the large molds of bricks that had fallen on his legs. He could feel his legs getting crushed by the bricks and he knew that if he did not move them as soon as possible, they would destroy his legs.He managed to stretch out his hand towards the molds and coughed as he inhaled the dust. His lips were hurting and the smell of blood filled the air. Then he turned the palm of his hand upwards and as he did so, he tried his best to breathe and calm his nerves.His magic flowed.The bricks began to elevate, one by one, and as they did, Alastair could feel the weight on his l
Alastair and Apollo fell from the air, with Alastair falling into a house filled with fruits and Apollo falling on the hard ground. Alastair could hear him groan and even his own body was aching. He had not healed.The door to the building suddenly ripped open and a vine grabbed Alastair's leg, dragging him out of the building. As the vine was about to impale him, Alastair dodged it and grabbed a dagger from the ground with Which he was able to cut the vine."I had such high hopes for you. Seeing you after all these times. You were always like a little brother to me. I thought I could still treat you the same way but turns out you are not meant for greatness."Apollo told him as he approached, his hand lighting with that same energy. Alastair tried to stand but Apollo was faster. He kicked Alastair in the face and Alastair felt blood sip from the large wound on his cheeks.Then he grabbed Alastair and threw him against a cart that was just sitting around there. Alastair groaned as he
"You must leave this place. We no longer want people like you here."The words the city people had spoken to him made him shudder. They had witnessed everything that happened, his fight with Apollo, his use of magic, and most importantly, his murder of Nomi. He had tried to convince them that he did not mean to kill her but for people who have suffered as much as they have, they were not ready to listen to reason.They wanted magic gone.They wanted him gone as well. And so, Alastair turned around and began to walk away from the city. Guilt's huge arms wrapped around him. He tried not to blame himself for what happened with Nomi but he could not find an excusable reason.He should have looked before he attacked. He should not have been in such haste to kill Apollo. He should have observed the presence before he struck. But he did not do any of those. He just killed her.As he left the city, he wondered where Apollo had escaped to. When he was back, the sorcerers were all gone and so w
"Blaize!"Alastair said through his teeth. Blaize gave him a sneer as he approached, his hands clenched into a fist. How did he find him there? What did he track? Did he not remember to wipe off his footprints when he was done fighting Apollo? Alastair could not remember. Perhaps that was where the error came in."You have been one hell of a runaway, Alastair. I must confess, you did a really good job at hiding. One would have never suspected that you could hide in a place such as this, considering your status after all."Blaize said and walked closer. He was at Alastair's face by then."You sink lower than these people here. You are dirt."He told Alastair who just sighed. He has been hurting himself with the most hurtful words that could ever be spoken and so Blaize's words had little or no effects on him."Have you come to kill me? Why aren't you doing it yet? You seemed eager to be back at the keep. Why do you hesitate?" Alastair asked"I came to kill you, of course. And I came to
***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