From in between the trees, Daren pops up from the thick forestry, closely followed by Rose.
"Hey! We were waiting--" Daren begins to say before noticing the injuries on both of them. "What the hell happened?!"
"It was the group from before." Kate says immediately. "They appeared out of nowhere and attacked us, but we managed to fend them off."
"By the gods!" Rose exclaims as she rushes to their side. "Is there any serious pain anywhere? Do you need to lay down? Is there something I can do? Hey Daren! Come here and heal them!"
Kate is taken back by Rose's unstoppable and genuine care, that is a feeling she hasn't felt in a long time.
"I'm on my way--"
Daren gets cut off as the earth begins to shake violently again.
"An earthquake?" Daren asks as he puts his hands on a tree.
"Please don't be a dragon, please don't be a dragon, I beg the gods, please don't be a dragon," Rose says in a panic as she grabs onto Kate.
Suddenly, above the treetops, a giant head can be seen, at least fifty feet in size. The only thing the group can see is that the giant man has a big grin and a beard that goes on forever. Then the voice begins to sound, so loud that every other sound is drowned instantly. His yelling doesn't help.
"Now that I have everyone's attention," the giant says. "I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Hadrik, but my friends call me 'the dwarf'. I came to this tournament for only one reason: to test my strength against the strongest mages in the world! So, what do you all say?! Shall we have a fun little practice bout before we get our objectives? I'll be waiting right here for any challengers! I'll try to hold back as much as I can, but I can't make any promises. Hahahahahaha!"
His laugh is loud and jolly, the same you hear from friendly bartenders and innkeepers.
"Some of us clearly didn't come here for that purpose..." Barry thinks. "But still, such a bold claim and call... he must be confident."
The giant shrinks as he laughs and disappears behind the tree tops.
"Damn!" Daren says, a smile on his face. "That has got to be one of the most impressive shapeshifters I have ever seen! He must have a lot of magical power to be able to turn into something that big!"
"Can you please heal Barry and Kate before giving him more compliments?" Rose asks politely yet urgently.
"Oh yeah, sorry," Daren says as he heals both Kate and Barry.
"Where does the blood go?" Barry thinks as he sees the once red soaked clothes be miraculously cleaned.
"Do you have no knowledge of even the basics of shapeshifting magic?" Kate asks Daren. "You can't just turn into something ten times bigger than your normal size, no matter how powerful you are. It violates the fundamental principles of shapeshifting. This was obviously an illusion."
"Oh yeah? Since you're so sure it was an illusion, could you perhaps care to explain how he managed to make such a realistic earth tremor while he was busy maintaining the illusion spell?"
"How am I supposed to know that? Maybe he has an ally that specializes in earth magic. How is that even relevant?"
Barry stares at the tree tops, and begins to rub his chin.
"Hey, I'm sure we can figure this out if we all think this through together--"
"You're both wrong," Barry says, interrupting Rose.
Daren and Kate both turn towards him at the same time.
"Kate has a point with the fundamental laws of shapeshifting," Barry explains. "But an illusion doesn't make sense either. There are no illusion spells that can reach this far out, no matter how powerful or skilled you are as a mage. There's something else going on."
"Well, it doesn't matter either way," Kate says. "This is obviously a trap. I honestly can't imagine how anyone could be stupid enough to fall for something so--"
Suddenly, as if to prove Kate wrong, the bodies of Barry, Kate, and Daren begin to vibrate loudly as they get enveloped by a white light.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..." Kate says.
"What? What's happening?" Rose asks.
"Rose, catch!" Daren says as he throws her his transceiver.
As soon as the transceiver falls on Rose's hands, the trio gets teleported away at the same time. The sensation the three of them feel can only be described as that of getting every fiber of your body decomposed and then slowly reassembled, while maintaining consciousness and feeling it all. Barry's eyes clear and he can see that he is surrounded by a few dozen mages, with Daren and Kate standing right next to him. Everyone is confused and disoriented.
In the middle of the clearing, a small man stands, short, about four feet, long beard, and leather armor painted black on. It is the giant that challenged them all.
"So that's why they call him 'the dwarf'..." Barry thinks.
"Good evening, gentlemen!" A familiar voice comes from above.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..." Barry whispers to himself as he sees Eiden floating in the air casually.
"I am deeply sorry for interrupting you all from your daily activities, but I thought this would be a splendid opportunity for all the participants of the tournament that were in the area to get to know each other better!"
Eiden raises his eyebrows and begins to look all around him, eyes still close.
"Huh..." he says. "In all honesty, I was expecting this to be a trap of some sort, or atleast a well thought-out ambush, but it seems I was mistaken. How disappointing."
"Barry," Daren whispers. "Take out your transceiver and tell Rose where we are. Tell her to come towards us, and we'll meet each other halfway, as soon as we manage to get out of here."
"On it," Barry responds as he takes out his transceiver.
Barry notices the volume of the transceiver to be at the maximum volume and quickly lowers it so no one else can hear it.
"That could've been dangerous." Barry thinks.
He puts it on his ear and taps the device lightly.
"Rose, can you hear me?" Barry whispers.
There is no response.
"Oh I forgot, you need to tap the device once for me to hear what you are saying."
"Barry? Barry, where are you? What happened?" Rose asks.
"Rose, listen to me closely, I can't talk for long. We were teleported to where the giant appeared a minute ago. Do you remember where that was? Can you make your way to us?"
"Yes, I know the general direction. I'll be there as soon as possible. Be careful!"
As Barry finishes talking with Rose, he notices a loud murmur coming from the people around him, and everyone is moving to clear the center of the clearing, where Eiden and Hadrik are both taking battle stances, preparing to duel.
"What's happening? I wasn't paying attention." Barry asks.
"They're going to duel without any magic." Daren responds.
"What?! How did that happen?"
"The dwarf challenged Eiden to a fight, and the Stillwater claimed it would be rude to decline his challenge after coming all the way here. He also said it would be boring to kill the dwarf with a flick of his finger--"
"So he said no magic?" Barry interrupts. "Yeah, that seems about right."
Suddenly, Barry notices someone standing in front of him. An oddly familiar visage. Barry looks closer and realizes who it is.
Azarius, the Sage of the West, impossible to not know about him if you live on the western continent.
One of the strongest mages in the world, the elite four, the Sages. Each represents one of the main continents in the world.
An old man, almost eighty years of age, long beard white as snow, holding a long wooden staff on his right hand, wearing normal mage robes, as well as a pointy hat. The living image of the stereotypical mage.
"Barry! Hey, Barry!!! Are you listening to me?!" Daren exclaims.
"I'm sorry, could you repeat what you just said? I didn't catch any of it."
"I was saying that this is the perfect opportunity to make our way out of here. They won't pay us any attention when they're too focused on watching the fight."
"It's too dangerous to be here, regardless of who's fighting... If Kate gets seen, that'll DEFINITELY cause a lot of problems for us..." Barry thinks.
"Let's get out of here." Barry says.
Barry looks over at Kate, who had put on her green hood and cloak to hide her gender from the crowd. They all move very cautiously, to avoid disturbing anyone and making their appearance known, Kate does so much more cautiously. As they try to get away, the people ignore them as they all try to to get a better view of the fight behind them.
"Hey! Watch where you are going you little runt!"
Barry turns around as his worst fears become reality. A very large man, at least a head taller than Daren, is looking furiously at Kate, who seems to have bumped into him by accident. Kate tries to move silently past him, but the man grabs onto her cloak and lifts her in the air.
"Don't you dare ignore me, you son of a--"
As the green hood drops from Kate's head and her face is revealed, the large mage paralyzed with fear for a few seconds. He then immediately drops her, backs away three feet and starts screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Aaaaaah! Stay away from me, monster! Stay away!"
Everyone's attention is directed at the trio. Even Eiden and Hadrik stopped their fight to look in their direction.
"Not this again," Daren says, exasperated.
"What are you screaming so loud about, you imbecile?" Asks a mage who is wearing red robes and has a particularly crazy look on his face. "It's just a banshee. There are dozens of us here. She doesn't stand a chance."
"It's not just a banshee," says another mage. "She has allies. I saw her speaking to those two a few seconds ago."
"What kind of banshee allies herself with mages you fools?" Kate shouts at them, with a very determined look on her face. "Don't insult me. I've come here alone. And I'm going to end you all by myself as well."
"She's trying to protect us?... What happened to all that talk about not trusting us?" Barry thinks as he takes a step forward, only for Daren to suddenly stop him.
"Hey, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves." he whispers to Barry. "Why should we risk our lives just because she refuses to get purified? We can't go on like this forever."
"I already told you that she isn't a banshee!"
"I don't know, is she? When I got to you two, I didn't sense the magical aura of any other mage in the area, and even if they had covered themselves and gotten rid of any trace, there wasn't any blood from anybody else in the scene. Your injuries were from Kate, weren't they? I know that you and Kate have had some past history in whatever the Beacon Of Hope is, but what makes you so sure that she's the same person from back then?"
"..."
Barry's eyes darken, as the reality dawns on him. Daren, who he always viewed as a hero, someone who would always help those in need, is turning his back on Kate when she needs him most. Even after hearing her request for safe passage, and spending all this time with her, to think he would just do such a thing.
And yet, it all made sense to him. Of course Daren can't trust Kate. How could he? He wasn't there at the Beacon Of Hope. He doesn't know what he and Kate had to do to survive there. The struggles and hardships they went through just to be here today.
It was then that Barry remembered something he had been taught twelve years ago, by his old teacher, Master Galf.
"Kid, one of these days, there's gonna be a time when there won't be someone to look out for you like I always do. That's why I'm telling you now that when that time comes, when you and the people you care about are in danger, don't hesitate. Sometimes, you have to be your own hero."
Barry takes a deep breath, and continues stepping forward.
"Barry? Where the hell are you-" Daren says, before getting interrupted by Barry, who spoke with a cold voice.
"Do what you want, Daren. Stay or leave, it doesn't matter. But I made a promise to her. No matter what, I will be by her side."
Barry turns off his device, and his tremendous magical aura erupts violently.
As all the mages turn their heads, astonished at the sudden increase in pressure, Barry's footsteps are all that are heard as he approaches Kate and extends his staff.
"What are you--" Kate begins to speak but is interrupted by Barry.
"I won't let a single one of you lay a finger on her." Barry says, as his magical aura starts blazing like a raging flame.
Kate looks at him for a few seconds, before turning her attention back towards the crowd.
"You really weren't lying about that promise, huh?" Kate asks.
"I told you, I'm not leaving you again." Barry says. "Besides, I can't let you get yourself killed without finding Diane."
"Since when did you start caring about her?" Asks Kate.
"Since the moment you mentioned her back when you tried to kill me." Barry says. "I've been thinking about it ever since, and after I thought about your past actions, it all clicked. If she really is still alive, then she's another person I have to make amends with."
"Done with you little reunion?" The mage in red says. "You should've just stayed back and let us kill the banshee. Do you seriously think you can turn the tides against this many mages?"
Barry starts to laugh, as the mage notices an eerie lack of fear in his eyes.
"What's so funny?" The mage asks.
"Oh, nothing," Barry says. "Just found it funny when you said 'us'."
The mage hadn't noticed, but while the two talked, every other mage began to step back and away from the mage in red. Eiden is nowhere to be seen, while the dwarf begins to run towards the group. The Sage of the West stands away from the commotion, stroking his white beard while simply observing.
"What's wrong with all of you?!" The mage in red asks in a fury. "Don't you see that they can't win this fight? There are only two of them! Just two! Together we will destroy them!"
"Don't you sense his aura or have you just gone mad?!" The brutish man from before shouts. "He's at least a contestant for the Sage title!"
"Blasphemy!" The mage in red shouts. "He's wielding a stick! He probably can't even use magic! And I'll prove it!"
The mage in red shoots a fireball towards Barry, but before he can react with his own defensive spell, Kate creates an ice wall in front of him, which melts on impact with the fireball, protecting them from the explosion. The mage prepares yet another attack, but suddenly, Hadrik appears and places himself between Kate and Barry, panting heavily.
"Hold on... just... give me a sec..." he says, everyone looking at him confused. "Man... I just can't get used to running with these little legs..."
"I have no quarrel with you, dwarf!" says the mage in red. "Step aside, and let us deal with that monster and the man protecting it!"
"No can do, I'm afraid," the dwarf says. "I can't just stand idly and let you hoodlums treat a lady with disrespect!"
"A what?..." the mage asks, shocked. "Please tell me you are not as dumb as that one over there. Can't you feel that magical aura coming from her? Even someone like you should be able to understand what it means, and what needs to be done. That woman behind you is a banshee. An abomination born from the deepest pits of hell that needs to be eradicated."
"Oh?" Hadriks says, with a smug grin on his face. "Is she now?"
The mage frowns at Hadrik.
"I see that there's no use talking to you." he says. "Very well, then."
The mage lifts his hands up in the air, and an enormous spinning column of fire begins to form around him. All the other mages are now backing away even further to avoid getting burned to ash.
"Dwarf! You are going to regret picking a fight with me! Behold! Behold, the power of Felran, the strongest fire elementalist of the Eastern Continent!"
The fire continues to increase in size.
"Shouldn't we do something?" Barry whispers to Kate.
"Let's see what the dwarf does first." she responds.
"I see you've already accepted your fate. You're not even trying to raise a barrier around yourself. Don't worry, I'll make this quick. I can't really guarantee it'll be painless, though. YAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
Hadrik doesn't say anything, and begins to start clenching his right fist, hardening the aura around it considerably.
"DIE!" The mage exclaims, as he sends all of the fire towards the dwarf in the form of a beam.
Hadriks waits for the fire to reach him, and just before it hits him, he punches it with all his might. The fire, instead of dispersing, gets sent back to its caster, at double the speed. Before he can even know what just happened, Felran gets incinerated, leaving behind only a pile of ashes.
"Woah! That was one hell of a move..." Barry thinks. "He is seriously packing some fire power..."
"That filthy son of a walrus!" Hadrik says. "He was seriously trying to kill me!"
Seeing the threat that the dwarf poses, the threatening aura of Barry, and the so called banshee, everyone but a few brave, or perhaps foolish, decide to walk away. The few who still have a drive to fight, begin to surround them yet again.
"Enough!" Shouts Azarius, the sage. "There will be no more bloodshed this day. If any of you children still feel like throwing a tantrum, I am the one that you'll be fighting next. Do I make myself clear?"
Some of the mages look like they are actually thinking about the old man's proposition for a few seconds, but in the end they all decide against it, sheathing their weapons. The sage starts walking towards the four, and as he walks, all of the other mages rush out of his way to give him clear passage.
"Greetings, friends!" He says, smiling while looking at the four of them, in turn. "I apologize for not stopping this ridiculous fight sooner. I'm afraid that curiosity got the better of me, and I was hoping that letting things run their course would provide me with the rare opportunity of seeing the great hero Daren in action. When it became clear that this wasn't going to happen, I just had to put a stop to this tomfoolery!"
Barry takes a look at Daren and goes back to addressing the sage.
"Why are you helping us now?" Barry asks.
"Well, I couldn't just stand by and watch these overgrown bullies attack a defenseless young lady."
"Defenseless?!" She asks, clearly offended and furious.
"Young lady?" Daren asks, confused.
Before the sage can finish his part of the conversation, a mage dressed in black with a snake tattoo on his bald head interrupts them by making a loud tsk-tsk sound.
"This will not do, Sage of the West." the man says. "This will simply not do."
Azarius turns to the man, calmly smiling
"A follower of the God of Death honors us with his presence?" He says. "If I did anything to offend you, then by all means, please state your complaint!"
"My complaint is simple, Sage. My god requires more sacrifices to be made this day, and you deprived him of them by interrupting this fight."
"Oh? But I was quite sure that despite his title, Ulruk, the God of Death only delves in necromancy and is not actually ruler of the realm of the dead. Why did he suddenly begin to take an interest in the affairs of people who are still alive? If you are in search of fresh corpses, I assure you that there are plenty to be found lying around these parts after yesterday's events."
"Do not question the great Ulruk's judgment, heathen. Your actions have angered my god, and now you will taste his wrath!"
A mage who is wearing a silver circlet on his head and green robes grabs the necromancer by the arm.
"Calm down, Zack." he says. "There's plenty of time left till the end of the day. We can just kill some more people after we get out of here and the number of deaths will be the same."
"Unhand me, fool! I'm only traveling with you because my god ordered me to. Do not pressure me to tell you what to do! This matter has nothing to do with you or your God of Fate!"
The necromancer pulls himself out of his ally's grasp and starts casting a spell.
"Tell me, Azarius," he says. "Have you ever heard of the still winter?"
"That phrase again..." Barry thinks, still puzzled as to what it means.
"I've heard several accounts of it when I visited this continent in the past, yes." the sage answers calmly. "But none of them were what I would call reliable. Supposedly, it was a great war that was waged on this continent between stillwaters and ancients some six hundred years ago."
"Indeed," Zack says. "But what would you do if I told you that the remains of the stillwaters who died in that war can still be found deep underground, scattered throughout the continent."
"What the hell?" Barry thinks, as he sees skeletons begin to rise from the ground below.
"What would you do if I told you that I could bring these stillwaters back to life as my puppets, with almost all of their former magical prowess still intact?"
The skeletons now are attacking all of the mages around them while they are running away, screaming in terror. The sky itself has darkened as fire and brimstone start to rain. Kate instantly puts an ice barrier over everyone's heads to shield them from the flames, yet it melts almost as fast as she reinforces it.
"What would you do, sage? Tell me!"
"Well, since you asked me so politely," Azarius says, smiling. "What I would do is this."
The Sage of the West smashes his staff into the ground, causing a very intense vibration in the air around everyone. The skeletons stop rampaging and begin to vibrate loudly. After a few seconds, all of their bones shatter into pieces at the same time, and the rain of fire is brought to a half, and the sky starts to close up once more.
Zack, the necromancer appears to be dumbstruck, as he desperately looks around himself to see if there isn't at least one of his undead minions escaped the onslaught.
"That was an impressive spell, no doubt." Azarius says. "But in the end, despite their ridiculous amount of magical power, those skeletons were only a bunch of old dried up bones bound together by magic. A powerful enough sound attack can shatter any object as long as you correctly match its vibration frequency. Now, if I'm not mistaken, that spell of yours has a duration of about five minutes and can only be used once per day. Unless you have some other trick up your sleeve, I believe there are a few people who would like to have a word with you and your companion..."
All of the mages that had run away because of the skeletons are now surrounding the two, and they want blood.
"I'm tired of your shit, Zack." says the necromancer's companion. "Every single time it's like this. I'm tired of always saving your sorry ass. Next time we're in a town, you're the one buying the drinks."
The mage with the circlet on his head then throws something on the ground, which explodes and fills the whole area with a thick gray smoke.
"Quick!" Says one of the mages. "Disperse the smoke! Don't let them get away!"
An air elementalist blows all of the smoke away, allowing everyone to see Zack and his friend are a few hundred feet away from everyone, running towards the trees.
"After them!" Says a mage, and they all start chasing the two of them.
Eventually, the mages disappear into the forest, the only people still remaining in the clearing being Barry, Daren, Kate, Azarius, and a young boy, maybe in his late teens who seems to be Azarius' loyal retainer.
"It really never ceases to amaze me how easily people can be fooled by simple illusions like that!" Azarius says, while stroking his beard.
"You also sensed how they were still standing there, invisibly, and then teleported away when the decoys went off to the forest?" Barry asks.
"Yes, of course! Who do you take me for?" Azarius says. "I figured they learned their lesson, so I let them off with a stern warning for now."
"Barry! Kate! Daren!" Rose's voice shouts from the other end of the clearing. "Thank the gods, you're okay..."
As she approaches the group, she pauses to catch her breath. She had run all the way to them without pause.
"What happened?" She asks. "How did you all end up in this place?"
"It was Eiden." Daren says. "He teleported us here along with about fifty mages, probably in the hope that he'd get to watch us all kill each other, but he eventually got bored and teleported away. Most of the other mages left a few seconds after, chasing after a necromancer who tried to kill us all but failed miserably."
"I see..." Rose says.
She turns towards Hadrik and walks over to him, offering him a handshake.
"You must be the shapeshifter from before! I'm very pleased to meet you! My name is Rose. Did you manage to find the challenger you were looking for?"
"Aye, lass!" Hadrik says, grinning, as he grabs her hand and shakes it. "I believe I have!"
"Did he... did he just look at me?" Barry thinks. "That better not mean what I think it means..."
"That is good to hear!" Rose says, smiling.
She then turns to Azarius.
"I'm sorry, do I know you from somewhere?" She asks him. "You look very familiar."
"I do not believe we have met before, but my portrait appears in the newspapers every once in a while, so you may know me from there. My name is Azarius. Pleased to make your acquaintance!"
"Master Azarius," says the young boy. "I do not mean to be rude, but may I ask why you chose to intervene in this fight? Weren't you the one who taught me that banshees are foul demons that are not to be trusted?"
"Henry, I've told you many times before, there is no need to be so formal when you address me. You can simply call me Azarius. As for your question, before I answer you, I must ask you this: Do you remember the first lesson I taught you about banshees? Do you remember why banshees need to possess human or animal bodies in order to survive?"
"Of course! The banshees were originally born on the magical plane of existence, but they were banished long ago, cursed to live the rest of their lives on our earthen plane. On this plane, it is not possible to live for long without a physical body, so the banshees were forced to adapt, by stealing the bodies of other living organisms. Once a body is seized by a banshee, the body stops aging, but due to the incompatibility between the banshee's soul and the physical body, the link between the two will decay over time, which forces the spirit to change hosts once every few decades."
"Very good!" Azarius says. "Now tell me, so you sense any kind of other-worldly aura radiating from this woman's body? Does her magic aura appear in any way to be different from that of any other mage you've encountered in your life?"
"No, but, I don't understand... how can this be?"
The sage smiles, to which Barry simply nods his head, as he already knows what he is going to say next.
"That is because she isn't a banshee. She is a woman with magical powers. A female mage, if you will."
"What?!" Daren blurts out. "How can you be so sure? You can't possibly tell me that you are basing your entire reasoning on something so vague!"
"You surprise me, healer in armor." Azarius says, thoughtfully, as he strokes his beard. "The way you phrased your last sentence suggests that you do not believe this woman to be anything other than a banshee. And yet you seem to travel alongside her. Most peculiar."
Daren is looking a little flustered after hearing the sage's remark, but Azarius pays him no mind and instead steps towards Barry, who takes out his device and turns it on, shrinking his aura.
"What about you, Barry?" He asks. "From what I could gather, the four of you are all traveling together. How would you define your relationship with the young woman named Kate?"
"She's... an old friend..." Barry answers, as he eyes Kate sheepishly.
"There is too much in the way to even consider us close as friends, " he thinks, images of the incident flashing before his eyes. But how else can I describe it?"
"An old friend? I take it that you've known her since before this tournament?"
"You could say that..."
"So, you and her... you are both from the Beacon of Hope?" Azarius asks, stroking his beard very slowly.
Barry takes a short glance at Kate, their eyes meeting. Cold, just as usual.
As Barry hesitated to answer, images of their experience at the Beacon Of Hope began to flash before his eyes. He takes a breath, and dismisses them before continuing.
"Yeah... we are..." Barry answers, looking at the ground.
"Wait a minute." Daren chimes in. "Didn't Eiden say something about that this morning? He said she... and you, were both survivors of the Beacon?"
"Yeah... We both spent some time there..." Barry says.
The images continue to flash in his head, as Barry feels a familiar sensation that he had not felt in a long time. He started to breathe heavily.
"What does that even mean?" Daren asks. "How is it possible for a woman to use magic? Did they give you your magical abilities? What is the Beacon of Hope?"
"To put it bluntly," Azarius says. "The Beacon of Hope was a human experimentation facility disguised as an orphanage. The purpose of that institution was to create mages artificially. Kate's magical powers, as well as Barry's, are a direct result of those experiments."
The Beacon was more than just an experiment facility, it was the back alley for the twisted minds of people who wanted power. Not even hell could compare to the atrocities they committed, and Barry could only imagine how worse they got after he left.
"She's... he's... what?..." Daren asks, seemingly in too much of a shock to be able to form a coherent sentence.
"I... I owe you an explanation Daren." Barry says, trying to control his breathing. "And I promise you I'll give you one. Just... give me a little bit of time."
Daren seemingly just stares into space, trying to put everything in his head in order.
"Kate, you were a mage?" Rose asks Kate.
"Yes..." Kate answers her. "What did you think I was?"
"Well, those mages we met in the forest this morning kept shouting that you were a banshee, so I kind of figured that's what you were... Everyone seemed to know what it meant, so I didn't want to appear dumb by asking."
Kate laughs softly.
"I guess labels aren't really very important to you, are they, Rose?" She says, smiling.
"Still, I have to admit..." Hadrik says, grinning. "I didn't expect to meet three survivors from the Beacon on the same day. This tournament is really something else!"
"Wa-wait a s-second!" Barry stumbles on his words. "Di-did you just say that there is another survivor on this continent?!"
"Aye!" Hadrik says. "And she's mighty strong too! She took me out with almost no effort. I'm pretty sure that she was using lightning in the same way elementalists use fire or water. Being an artificial mage sure has its perks!"
"Co-could you--"
Barry doesn't get to finish his question, as Kate shoves him aside. Barry stumbles on his feet and falls to the ground, which Kate ignores. As he falls, he suddenly begins to experience more flashing images, and his breathing becomes even more rugged as his vision starts to blur.
"Do you know where she's headed?!" Kate asks.
"Erm... She and her friends in dark blue robes have a camp set up not far from here," Hadrik says. "From what I understood, they had no plans to leave until tomorrow."
"Could you take me to them?!" Kate manages to blurt out loudly.
The dwarf is slightly taken back by Kate's sudden request and change in attitude.
"Please..." she adds, in a lower and pleading voice.
Barry manages to control himself a little and stands up, looking at Kate and Hadrik speak.
"Hmm..." Hadrik says. "You are asking quite a lot of me, lass. I only barely escaped with my life last time. Is this woman your friend?"
"Yes..." Kate answers. "She is a very old friend..."
Hadrik gives Kate one long pondering look before speaking.
"Tell you what." he says. "I'll agree to lead you to your friend's camp on one condition!"
"Name it!" Kate says, her face lighting up.
Hadrik grins.
"Your friend over there has to beat me in a duel!" He says, pointing at Barry.
Kate's eyes fill with shock as she backs up a few steps, taking a few seconds to respond.
"HIM?!" Kate shouts, with anger and shock in her voice. "You want to fight him?! Out of all of us, you choose him?!"
"Shit!" Barry thinks to himself. "Why me?! Why now?! Calm down Barry! Get your breathing under control! Think of something good and calm yourself, and this will all go well..."
"Well, I'm quite positive I saw him single handedly fighting a dragon in the sky a few hours ago. You rarely get to meet a worthier opponent!"
Kate gives Barry a cold and disgusted glance before addressing the dwarf.
"Can you please reconsider this?!" She pleads. "Look, we can do something else, I will fight you myself if I have to. Just don't put my odds of finding my friend on him."
"Well, no can do lass," Hadrik says with a firm tone. "I came here to fight strong people and that's that. No offense to you, I'm sure you pack as much of a punch as your friend, but he's the one I want to fight. Look, I'm not going to ask for an all out match. I just want a sparring match! One versus one. The first to make the other hit the ground will be declared the victor! What do you say?!"
Hadrik looks at Barry, just as Kate looks at him. Only one thought crosses his mind.
"Alright... I have to do this... just stay calm and keep yourself focused... You got this!"
Barry calms himself down, and grabs his staff.
"Are weapons allowed?" Barry asks the dwarf. "I'm better at using my staff than my fists."
"That will be fine by me!" Hadrik says. "We've got a duel!"
Hadrik begins to walk towards the center of the clearing. Barry begins to follow him but before he gets there, Kate whispers something to his ear.
"You better not screw this up," she tells him coldly. "You have seen what I can do when I'm mad."
"Barry responds with nothing but a simple nod, as he continues to try staying focused.
The two head towards the middle of the clearing, where Barry aligns himself with Hadrik leaving about 20 feet of ground between them. The others now stepped away to give them the space needed for their fight.
"There's something that's been bothering me..." Barry thinks as he looks at Hadrik. "He's been shapeshifting this entire time, his aura gives it away. That's not his real form. The laws of shapeshifting magic dictate that it can only be used to change your size to one equal to or lesser than your original form, or to transform yourself into another creature. That can only mean one thing... He is a giant disguising himself as a dwarf!"
Barry pays more attention to Hadrik's body, specifically his arms and legs.
"He has a giant's strength, at least a portion of it is most likely retained when shifting to such a smaller size. One punch and I'm done for. I've still got one advantage though, and that's the fact that he isn't used to the difference in proportions of his body, just like he mentioned earlier about his legs."
Barry takes a deep breath and assumes his fighting stance, both legs bent, body form straight, staff held only by his right hand, left hand in front of him in complete tension.
Hadrik cracks his knuckles as he sees Barry ready up.
"Well, Barry," he says grinning. "Here I come!"
The dwarf begins to charge directly at Barry in a straight line. Suddenly, just before he reaches him, he picks up speed and appears right in front of Barry, almost looking like he teleports.
Hadrik immediately goes for a punch, which Barry quickly blocks with his staff, as Barry spins around Hadrik and positions himself behind him.
Barry goes for a strike to the head from behind, but the dwarf quickly drops down to the ground, faster than anyone should, jumps forward and gets away from Barry.
"You almost got me there!" Hadrik says. "Not bad, Barry! Guess I'll have to get a little more serious!"
Barry quickly glances at Kate, who is simply standing there, cold eyes on her face, yet her hands clenched together, almost in a pleading stance.
Barry looks back at Hadrik, who, seemingly out of nowhere, appears behind him and kicks him from behind. Barry is knocked back a few feet, but he manages to not fall down by using his staff to support his weight.
"Damnit... Playing defensive isn't going to work on him..." Barry thinks. "I need to get a good hit in and close the distance before anything goes wrong... I can't fail her now!"
Barry assumes another fighting pose, left arm and right leg extended in front of him, left leg behind him and right hand grabbing his staff. He then takes a deep breath before rushing towards Hadrik, the dwarf grins and also begins to run towards Barry.
The two meet in the middle as Hadrik tries to punch Barry, but he blocks it with his staff. The sound the elven steel makes as it is struck by such tremendous force is ear splitting, it sends a sound wave so strong that even the Sage of the West seems a little bothered by it.
However, in this fight between the unstoppable force and the unmovable object, there is bound to be a winner. Barry's staff, made of one of the strongest metals in the world, gifted to him by his master, begins to bend inwards.
"Damnit!" Barry thinks. "I can't move away from this attack! The sheer force of it will send me to my feet if I try to avoid this! I--"
Barry glances at the group, and he sees that Kate now has a very worried look on her face, with her hands joined together, pleading.
The images begin to start flashing once again. The very same images he saw that day, when he caused all of those deaths at the Beacon. He desperately tries to maintain control, but the thoughts continue to invade his mind. The voices in his head speaking to him, reminding him of his sins. He takes one last look at Kate. He took on this challenge for her sake. He needs to win. It's her last hope at finding Diane. He failed them all once, and now, he'll fail them again. Just like he failed everyone else. Every single one of them.
Barry's breathing begins to become erratic, as his heart starts beating out of his chest. his vision gets blurry, as an electrifying sensation begins coursing through his body. The pressure built up, until it exploded with one sentence.
"Get away from me!"
"Like hell I--" Hadrik tries to say, before suddenly being sent flying backwards several meters, crashing on his back.
Barry's staff is sent flying at an incredible speed and lands right next to Daren, piercing the ground below.
Barry has reached his breaking point. This is it. What he's always dreaded would happen again. An Explosion.
A huge surge of magical elements is released from his body, sending spells to all the surroundings. Fireballs are thrown in every direction, burning trees to ash on contact. Water blades slice off tree trunks like if they are made of paper. Giant tornadoes form around him, taking trees off the ground like nothing. Giant boulders begin to rotate around him, as shards of ice are sent everywhere, piercing through tree trunks like butter, all while an electric field begins coursing through the ground.
Hadrik recovers from the attack and jumps back up, just to see the immense magical display. A fireball heads his way, but instead of deflecting it like he did with Felran, he quickly dodges it.
"I get hit with one of those and I'm as good as boar for dinner!" He says.
"What the hell is happening to Barry?!" Daren shouts, as he creates a barrier in front of everyone.
"This must be what he meant by exploding!" Kate responds, as she creates an ice barrier in front of Daren's barrier.
"We have to help him!" Rose says. "He's in pain!"
Barry's body began contorting, as if many different forces were pulling him apart. He screams out in agony as the spells continue.
"What the hell can we do?!" Daren asks. "It's too dangerous to get close to him! My defenses would be--"
Suddenly a fireball strikes Kate's barrier, breaking through it instantly while an ice shard appears behind it, piercing right through Daren's barrier effortlessly. The shard of ice passes dangerously close to Daren's face, leaving a large cut on his face. A water blade suddenly appears and heads right for Rose.
"Rose!" Daren shouts as he tries to reach her.
"No!" Kate shouts as she tries to freeze the water mid air, but it was all in vain.
The water blade cuts through Kate's and Daren's barriers and approaches Rose at incredible speeds, but right before it touches her, it suddenly loses its form and falls down to the ground.
"My my..." Azarius says, stroking his beard. "So this is what the power of the Original looks like. I heard rumors that the Beacon's first and most powerful artificial mage got away, but I didn't expect to run into him."
"Master Azarius!" the young boy, Henry, calls out extremely afraid "I do not mean to be rude, but this situation is very dangerous! You have to stop him! You are the only one with enough knowledge of magic and power to stop this madness!"
"Indeed." Azarius says. "You are correct. This has to stop before anyone is killed."
Azarius begins to casually walk towards Barry. Each spell that is sent his way, it's instantly stopped by an invisible force. The fireballs are extinguished, the water blades lose their form. The ice shards melt, the boulders crumble. The tornados dissipate, and the electric field simply doesn't affect him.
"I'm sorry about this, young one." Azarius says. "It will hurt a little, but it'll stop all of this madness before anyone is seriously hurt."
Suddenly Barry's screams cease, as all the attacks stop, and he plummets to the ground, unconscious.
"Barry!" Daren shouts as he rushes towards him. "What the hell happened to you?!"
"Judging by the sheer amount of magical power he released, his inability to control it, and the pain he was in..." Azarius says. "This is most likely a severe case of Magical Dissonance."
"Magical dissonance?..." Asks Rose. "I don't know what that is... Do you know what that is, Daren?"
Daren simply stares at Barry for a few seconds, reliving the events that just happened.
"I think I've heard of it once a long time ago," he says. "But I can't exactly remember what it is."
"I'm not surprised." Azarius says. "Magical Dissonance is a very rare syndrome that affects how well someone can control their magic, usually because of an internal conflict. In most cases, it's caused by an extreme traumatic experience. Most cases of this that I have seen usually had to do with mages who had lost loved ones as a result of their powers, like if your fellow soldier were caught in the range of one of your spells, for example. Even I am still puzzled as to the exact cause of this phenomenon, but we know for sure that someone with this syndrome is always at the risk of releasing an uncontrollable amount of magic in a short amount of time, often leading to their deaths. This is because their own body rejects their magic and any use of it will lead to a disruption of the inner harmony needed to properly wield magic. To put it bluntly, he is at war with his own magic. I'm surprised he has survived this long with such a condition during this tournament, he must have really been restraining himself."
"Barry..." Daren raises his hand up in the air and casts a healing spell. "I... I didn't know... you should have told-- no... you told us that you didn't like to use your magic before, that it always led to problems... but..."
"But the idiot didn't say that it would be this catastrophic." cuts in Kate. "Honestly, he should have just declined Hadrik's proposal and let me take care of it..."
"You can't be serious!" Daren says, as he lays Barry's head down. "How low can you get?! He accepted it because it was the fastest way to get to YOUR friend!"
Kate stares at Daren with furious eyes, yet there is something in them that tells Daren that there is more to this story.
"I'm... sorry..." Barry says, sluggishly. "It... was... my... fault..."
"Barry!" Daren says, as he immediately kneels down next to him. "Hey, are you okay? Does something hurt? I can cast another spell if you want."
"No... that won't be... necessary..." Barry says, as he sits up in a sullen tone." I... It happened again... didn't it?"
"Barry..." Daren puts his hand on Barry's shoulder. "This wasn't your fault..."
"I'm... really sorry..." Barry says, as he takes a quick look at Kate, who is looking somewhere else, yet there is a weird look on her face. "I screwed up... I'm really sorry..."
"Aye!" Hadrik's voice comes crashing through the clearing. "That was one good fight up until the end there!"
"Hadrik...?"
"And even though you used magic at the end there," Hadrik says with a grin. "I'll take my loss and take the lass to her friend!"
"Re-really?" Barry asks.
"Aye sir!" Hadrik says. "You pulled some really impressive moves back there, so I'm not mad I lost this one. Besides, that "explosion" thing didn't seem to be on purpose, so I'll just let that slide."
"I-I... thank you..." Barry says.
He takes a look at Kate, who is seemingly unphased, still giving him a cold look. However, it seems that Daren's words had an effect on her, as a slight hint of empathy is seen in her eyes.
She sighs, before speaking to Barry.
"Thank you... Zero..." Kate says, half-heartedly.
"Don't mention it..." Barry answers. "Hey... Daren?"
"Yeah, what is it?" Daren asks.
"Could you do me a favor and help me up?" Barry says. "I can't really feel my legs right now."
"Before that," Daren responds. "I think this is yours."
Daren hands Barry his staff, bent in the middle.
"Huh... I never thought I would see the day this staff would be bent..." Barry says. "I have to hand it to you Hadrik, that was one hell of a punch."
"Aye, pass me that." Hadrik says. "I don't want a fellow warrior to have a faulty weapon because of a simple spar."
Barry hands Hadrik the staff, which, with a little struggle, he manages to bend it back to its original form, leaving only a few dents. You could hardly tell it was bent.
"Huh, thanks..." Barry says, as Hadrik passes him his staff back.
"Hadrik... I would also like to thank you..." Kate says. "I have a lot of money with me, I promise I'll make this worth your while."
"What are you talking about?" Hadrik asks her. "I already said we have a deal, didn't I? There's no need for you to pay me anything. Now hurry up and get your backpack. It'll be a lot harder to find our way through the forest once it gets dark."
"Of course," Kate says. "I'll be right back."
"My friends," Azarius tells the group, as Kate hurries past him to get her backpack. "It has been a great privilege to meet you all, but I'm afraid we must take our departure as well. I only have one question before we leave... I couldn't help but notice that the four of you seemed to have been acquainted with the young stillwater from even before he teleported us all to this clearing. Would you by any chance know any information that could prove useful if we were to ever have to face him in a battle?"
"I've got a feeling that the sly fox is hanging around here... He definitely sensed what happened earlier... Well, it doesn't hurt to have allies..." Barry thinks.
"We don't know very much about him, really. since we only just met him this morning." Barry says, as he grabs onto Daren to stand up. "From what I could experience, he has a ridiculous amount of magical power and can use multiple types of elemental magic. He also seems to be able to completely ignore the traditional laws of magic. When we first met him, he just bypassed all of Daren's magical protections to put him to sleep with a simple wave of his hand. Oh, and one more thing. He appears to be virtually undetectable when he becomes invisible. I couldn't even sense a hint of his magical aura when he was hiding his presence."
"Interesting..." Azarius says. "Well, unless he also found a way to completely eliminate his physical presence from this plane, we can rest assured that he at least isn't listening to our conversation right now. I just used a sonar spell to detect all objects and persons in the area, and we are the only mages in this clearing. I also have another question for you. Do you know if he has any enemies here on this continent?"
"Yes, he does. Tyrath, the dragon I fought in the sky a few hours ago, was looking specifically for Eiden and wanted him dead. I believe that he's made an enemy of the... lessathi as well. He told us to deliver a message to any ancients we find, and tell them to 'remember the still winter'. Given what you've said, I can only assume that it is meant as a threat."
"I see," the Sage says, as he strokes his beard. "This could prove to be invaluable information, if we are ever to make an enemy of him ourselves. The stillwater said earlier that he wasn't participating in the tournament, but it never hurts to be too careful. Thank you for sharing this with me."
"No need." Barry answers. "Anything for the man who stopped me from killing everyone."
"Master Azarius," the mage's pupil says, as he approaches everyone, holding a map.
"Azarius," the sage says. "Just call me Azarius."
"Yes, master Azarius."
The sage sighs.
"Tell me, Henry, what is it?"
"I noticed that there is an unusually large concentration of magic around this area," Henry says, while pointing at the lower side of the map. "Perhaps it could be what we are looking for?"
"Perhaps..." Azarius says. "At any rate, it is not far from here, so I suppose we could make it there before it gets too dark to see anything. Mark the location on the map."
"Understood."
As Kate returns with her backpack, Azarius turns to Barry.
"Barry," the sage says. "There is still a lot to discover about your case of Magical Dissonance, so please refrain from using your magic in stressful situations."
"Got it." Barry responds.
The sage then turns towards everyone.
"Goodbye, my friends," he says. "I wish you all safe travels, and I hope we'll meet again."
"Goodbye, Azarius! Goodbye, Henry!" Rose says, as everyone waves to them. "I'm sure our paths will cross again someday!"
Henry looks back towards the group with a surprised expression. He isn't used to people acknowledging his presence as he travels alongside the Sage of the West. He nods curtly to Rose, and then hurries to catch up with Azarius. The two disappear into the depth of the forest.
"Well..." Kate says. "I suppose we should get going, Zero."
You didn't have to say that name out loud, Barry thinks.
"Zero?" Daren asks, as he turns towards Kate and Barry, who uses his staff as a cane. "I-I'm so confused right now."
"It's... a name I used to go by... back in the Beacon." Barry answers.
"So, does that mean that when Eiden called you that, when we were in that time stop spell, he knew about you all the way back then?" Rose asks.
"I... I'm still trying to figure that part out." Barry says. "I don't remember meeting him... but I do-"
"I... guess this is goodbye..." Kate says, interrupting Barry. "We've had our ups and downs, but I'm really glad that I got to spend this short time with you. Thank you, you two, for the patience you've shown me."
Kate takes a deep bow, signals for Barry to follow, and prepares to take her leave.
"Kate, what are you saying all of a sudden?" Rose asks. "You do realize that we are coming with you, right?"
"We are?" Daren starts to say, but Barry pokes his foot with his staff. "I mean, uh... of course we are. Naturally!"
"What?" Kate asks, shocked. "No, Rose, you can't! What about all the sick people waiting for you in your hometown?"
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that!" Rose says. "With all the shortcuts we've been taking so far, I am days ahead of my original schedule. I would've never had the courage to take such a direct route if you hadn't been there to escort me. Accompanying you on your way to meet your friend is the least I can do to pay you back. And besides, Hadrik said that the camp you are headed to isn't that far from here. Isn't that right, Hadrik?"
"Aye!" Hadrik answers her. "It's true!"
"There, you see?" Rose says, smiling. "Everything works out just fine."
"But... I couldn't..." Kate starts to say, but Hadrik interrupts her.
"It's settled then!" He says loudly, drowning Kate's voice. "We'll all go to see Kate's friend! Now come on, follow me, I'm going to try to take a shortcut."
With those words, everyone grabs their backpacks, and hurries to follow Hadrik. Kate just stands there for a few moments, unsure of what to do, before Barry puts his hand on her shoulder.
"Give them a chance." Barry says to her, as he uses his staff to pass her. "Unlike me, they haven't given you a reason to say no. Besides, there's nothing wrong with having more friends around, right?"
Barry then turns around and heads back to try and catch up with everyone else.
Kate stands there, thinking about what Zero said to her.
"Friends, huh?" She thinks to herself, as she is reminded of a warm feeling from her past in the Beacon. A small smile forms on her face.
She eventually turns around to follow Hadrik as well, stopping next to Zero and places his arm around her shoulder, helping him walk.
"Just try not to slow us down." she says.
Barry is shocked for a few seconds, but eventually smiles at her.
"Wouldn't be much of a protector if I did."
The group ventures into the forest, as Kate gets ready to reunite with an old friend.
Hey guys, Edge here. Just wanted to say sorry for the late upload of this chapter. Turns out I forgot to post about the reason for the delays, but basically, midterms were coming up last month and I needed to get my priorities straight. Midterms are over now (I failed a lot of them lol) and hopefully I'll be able to work on the next chapter without any delays. Thanks for reading this far if you made it here, and I hope to see you all again in the next chapter.
Oh and if anyone has any questions and wants to talk to me about it, you can find me on the Magium discord server linked here. https://discord.gg/JjHQhSTkPf