Magika [Completed]

Chapter 34

"Reborn?"

"Indeed. Death is not the end of everything, but the end of a cycle, and the beginning of another."

Aldeheid nodded his understanding. "That's why you weren't afraid yesterday."

"There was nothing to fear." She grinned. "Have you been to the city yet? There's much more to see there and..." Her words trailed off, and her eyes became distant as she stared at a space over his shoulder. "Oh dear gods."

He opened his mouth to ask her what was going on, but then he felt it – the sinking of his stomach, the quickening of his heart and the itch in his feet that demanded that he run as far away from this place as possible. He'd felt it before, in the port city, and before they fought Glaciados, but his mind wanted to reject it, to believe that he was being paranoid.

"What is this?" Aldeheid asked.

"The monolith, it got through." Lephiria said the words as though she were entranced.

"What? What monolith?" He seized her gently by the shoulders. "Tell me."

"There's a thin space beyond the city. Magic was leaking from it for a few days now. Gebarro led a team out there this morning." Her eyes became dark. As though a shadow was cast over them. "They'll have to fight it. There's no other way."

Aldeheid swore. "Was Kitaya with him?" When she nodded, his heart sank. "I have to go." He took off down the hall, dashing back into his room as fast as his legs would go. Arms shaking, he struggled to get his enchanted gear on.

Images of their battle with Glaciados flashed through his mind, stoking the flames of fear that had settled in his chest. He unsheathed his sword and grasped the handle tightly before taking several deep breaths. It wouldn't be like last time.

The last thing Aldeheid removed from the trunk was the meager bit of ether stones he had left. He added the one Lephiria gave to him. They'd have to do.

His footfalls were quick and light as he pounded through the halls of the Bastion, the sounds echoing through the empty corridors. When he crossed the circular atrium, he noticed that the snake statue was absent. The brief shock slowed his gait for a moment, but he pressed on.

Outside, the desert was cast in a blurry haze of blistering heat. He coughed as the dry air stung his throat, and his gear became cool against his skin. Shouts and screams reached his ears as the people in the city ran into the shelter of their homes.

Just west of the sprawling expanse of flat-roofed buildings, a plume of sand rose high into the air. Figures flitted in and out of it, and bursts of fire, ice and lightning lit up the day. A piercing bellow rocked the desert, so fearsome that it made the sand churn and the ground tremble.

Aldeheid clapped both hands over his ears as the sound invaded his body to shake his bones. His enchanted gear tingled against his skin, working to fight off both the thundering roar and the unnatural heat.

He grunted and pushed forward, ignoring the pain in his bones, until he was at a flat-out sprint. The stone buildings of the city blurred past him and gave way to the sprawling dunes of the desert beyond. The shifting sand slowed his stride but did not temper his resolve.

He was capeless, not useless, and he'd be damned before he sat back while everyone else fought tooth and nail with the monolith.

As Aldeheid neared the battle, sand swirled around him and stung his exposed skin. From there he could hear people shouting amidst the howling wind and the explosion of spells. His forward sprint was slowed to a hulking push through a brutal wind that threatened to rip him from his feet.