The words echoed around her head, her mind ringing as she remembered what it was like to be in his overwhelming presence... and they were supposed to defeat him... to kill him...
It was impossible.
Her legs shook, and she hurried back out of the bathroom, sitting back down on the bed she'd left what felt like only seconds before. Frantically, she searched for something to distract her—to stop her legs from trembling more than they already were.
Her gaze settled on the picture on his nightstand, grabbing it in both hands, locking it in her vice-like grip.
Bright green eyes stared back at her from the frame, a wide grin on his face as he crouched in front of the camera, blocking out most of the rest of the shot.
Sora blinked.
Was it Oz?
She shook her head, clearing the thought. Oz wasn't a blonde. In fact, she could just about see a younger Oz in the background—held in a headlock by the man who must've been their instructor. A smile curled at her lips, her worries fading as she set the photo frame back down.
Oz would protect them.
He appeared in the doorway moments later, as though summoned by her thoughts. "Well, seeing as the others are either unconscious or otherwise... engaged..." he mumbled, peering back at the twins curling up on the sofa together under a blanket with their hot chocolates in hand. "I think it's time I showed you just what your magic—well, if you can call it that—really is."
"My... magic?" Sora stared at him as he walked away. "What do you mean?" She ran to catch up with him, scowling as he remained tight-lipped until they'd reached one of the enclosed training grounds a short distance from Oz's house.
"The people who tested your magic back in your hometown never got to see this process... most people don't... so most people wouldn't be able to figure out why exactly you turn the crystal that weird mix of colours." Oz folded him arms, holding the crystal out for her to see. In his hands it was an onyx black, a flicker of silver flashing about in its centre. It didn't come as a surprise to her. She'd dodged his black flames for hours on end—and those only came with black magic.
"Wait... are you telling me you know what my magic is?!" She gazed at him, blinking in shock. "Seriously?"
"Yes." He nodded.
"Tell me!"
"In good time, Sora... honestly, learn some patience, would you?" Oz shook his head, not bothering to wait for her to reply. Instead he moved on with whatever he was doing. "The first thing I want you to know is that everyone has a flicker of magic inside of them—even if they are Colourless."
"I already knew that, idiot."
Oz scowled, socking her one on the head before she could blink. "Don't call me an idiot," he warned, glaring at her darkly. "The fact is Sora... you should be dead... for two reasons..."
"Eh?"
"Shut it. I'm trying to explain something here."
"And you just said I'm supposed to be dead! What's that supposed to mean?"
Oz stared at her blankly. "Exactly that," he said, clamping a hand over her mouth before she could get another word out. "On our little mission... when you took that hit for Raelynn—yes, I saw that, but given your injuries I decided not to beat you up for that stupid self-sacrificing streak you seem to have."
"You say that like it's a bad thing..." she muttered through his fingers, yelping seconds later at the hit delivered to her head for the second time that minute.
"Shut it. You're getting me off topic." His expression darkened. "The Rogue you went up against used red magic."
"Tell me something I don't know."
Sora yelped again, internally cursing her smart mouth. She was getting as bad as Raelynn with annoying their instructor. She'd probably have matching bruises too, soon.
"A brat like yourself... who doesn't have even a speck of Magical Resistance Training under their belt should've been burnt to a crisp by that magic... but you only walked away with second degree burns and a dented sense of pride."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying watch what I'm doing," he said, plonking the shard of crystal inside the silvery water, and Sora froze.
Because inside the tank, the crystal had turned a very familiar colour.
The colour of a murky rainbow, colours mixing together as they swirled around inside.
"This is..." she whispered, staring intently at the pulsating crystal. "What did you do?"
"I removed every trace of magic from it."
Sora blinked.
"Everything is supposed to have at least an imprint of magic, or a spark of magic inside it—whether it be human, animal, plant or object... but you, Sora," he tapped her on the forehead, "you don't have a single drop of magic inside you... and that should only be the case for Magical Storage Devices—not human beings."
"So you're saying I'm an alien?" She stared at him, disbelief scrawled all across her face.
"No. You're just void of magic... which seems to have given you a rather interesting ability... which I suppose you could call 'your magic' if you really wanted to."
"Which is...?"
"Patience, brat. Patience." He scowled. "You can nullify magic itself... which is why you didn't die from that red magic... but don't get me wrong—you still have limits... I mean, you did end up with some nasty burns... Gold magic would kill you outright."
"Yay."
"Well, until we've gotten you to the point where you're strong enough to absorb it and nullify it without any injury." Oz smiled. "Now that I've figured your magic out though... let's just say you'll be in for some very fun training from now on."
"Why don't I like the sound of that...?" Sora grumbled, wincing internally at the thought.
"Go back to the others. Training starts tomorrow," he said, shooing her away as a familiar face appeared around the corner of the fencing.
"Ozzy!"
Oz's eye twitched. "What do you want, Becky?"
"Hatchery. Now."
He sighed in answer. "Come on Sora. Let's grab the rest of those idiots and get you to the hatchery..." he muttered. "Seems some more of you lot will be getting your dragons."