The ground still smoked. The sky was dark red, and the air smelled of iron and ash. Among the ruins, the flames slowly died out, leaving only silence.
Boom.
A heartbeat echoed, deep and heavy.
Boom.
A second, weaker, almost lost.
The wind whispered through the debris of the warehouse, carrying ash and the scent of blood. Two bodies lay near each other, covered in dust and smoke.
In the distance, two figures moved slowly through the shadows. Megan and the elf walked among the ruins, initially without speaking.
— "This is where it all stopped," Megan said, looking toward the place where the ground was torn apart.
The elf stopped and glanced around. Tension marked his face, but his voice remained calm.
— "Not everything. I sense a faint resonance. Something still burns."
Megan tightened her cloak, looking in the indicated direction.
— "It's a familiar energy. But I don't know if it's his."
— "Theirs," the elf corrected, not looking at her. "Two sources. A rhythm that refuses to fade."
Boom.
Boom.
The sound of hearts mixed with the wind. One beat faster, another irregular. A sign that pain still kept life bound to the body.
Megan raised her hand to her temple, trying to focus.
— "If they're still alive, they won't remain like this for long. The aura of this place is unstable."
The elf nodded, staring at the shattered ground.
— "We can't intervene yet. The energy that has taken them… it's not human. If we approach now, we'll destroy them."
Megan fell silent, listening once again to the echoes.
Boom.
Boom.
The hearts beat slowly but steadily. In the air, a force clung to life like a small flame refusing to extinguish.
— "Then we wait," she finally said. "But what if the other one wakes…"
The elf gave her a brief look. The red of the sky reflected in his eyes.
— "Then there will be nothing left to save."
The wind stopped. Ash fell slowly over them. In the heavy silence that followed, the two hearts beat again.
Boom.
Boom.
The wind calmed completely. The elf stepped forward, then another step, until the ash stuck to his boots. Megan followed, but he stopped her with a short gesture of his hand.
— "Stay there," he said.
He approached the two. The first he saw was Tiberku. His body lay on his back, eyes half-open. In his chest, a deep, scorched hole. The tissue was blackened, and the ground beneath him was covered in dried blood.
The elf stopped abruptly. He lost his balance for a moment, bracing a hand on the ground.
— "No…" he whispered.
His gaze moved to Renji. His body had collapsed beside Tiberku. Lying on his side, covered in blood, and where his left arm had been, nothing remained. Only torn flesh and burn marks.
The elf shook his head, struggling to breathe normally. He knelt and placed a hand on Renji's shoulder.
— "Renji… can you hear me?"
No response. Only the faint sound of breath. His chest rose and fell slowly, almost imperceptibly.
The elf looked around, searching for any sign of life in Tiberku. He placed his palm on his neck. Nothing. He moved his hand across the chest, but the air was empty.
— "No… not like this," he muttered through gritted teeth. "Not now."
Megan approached slowly, taking careful steps.
— "What happened to them?"
The elf looked up at her. His face was pale, eyes wide with fear.
— "They were slaughtered… but they live. Renji is breathing… somehow."
He looked again at the severed arm. The blood had stopped flowing, indicating the wound had partially closed, but the flesh was charred.
— "It's a magical reaction," Megan said. "His body is trying to heal, but the aura is unstable."
The elf nodded.
— "I don't know how much longer he can hold on."
He leaned over Renji and gently turned him. His eyes were closed, but sweat covered his forehead. Beneath the skin, veins pulsed red, as if the energy still burned within him.
The elf bit his lip. He took a cloak and placed it over Tiberku, then turned to Megan.
— "Help me move Renji. If he stays here, he'll die."
Megan hurried to his side.
— "Where are we taking him?"
— "To Eris," he said shortly. "If there's anything left of him, she will find it there."
Megan lifted Renji in her arms, feeling his inert weight. His body was cold, but his heart still beat. Each beat echoed faintly in the silence of the burned field.
Boom.
Boom.
Megan glanced briefly at Tiberku.
— "Him…?"
The elf didn't answer. He gritted his teeth and gestured for Megan to move forward with Renji in her arms, eyes fixed ahead, without looking back.
Megan held Renji tightly in her arms. His body was heavy and cold, and dried blood stained her clothes. The elf moved silently ahead, eyes fixed northward.
— "We can't leave Tiberku here," Megan said without stopping.
The elf turned his head briefly over his shoulder.
— "It's too late."
— "It's not. Eris can try something if we bring him too."
The elf stopped abruptly and turned to her.
— "Renji is barely breathing. If we waste time with a lifeless body, we'll lose both."
Megan's gaze hardened.
— "Tiberku is more than a body. He died protecting him. I won't abandon him."
The elf clenched his fists. He seemed to fight within himself. He looked at Renji, then at the ground where Tiberku lay, covered with the hastily thrown cloak.
— "Fine. But we move fast. No time for rituals."
Megan nodded slightly in agreement. She set Renji down, pressed her hand to the crystal on her neck, and crushed it between her fingers. Blue light spread across the ground, forming a circle under Tiberku.
— "I'll seal him temporarily. The body won't decay, and his energy will remain stable."
The elf watched carefully, then said in a cold tone:
— "It's enough. Now we leave."
Megan lifted Renji again. His face was pale, and his breath barely audible.
— "If he dies on the way, we lose both," she said without looking.
The elf moved forward swiftly.
— "Then don't stop."
The ground cracked beneath their steps. Behind them, the blue light of the seal slowly faded, leaving the burned field in darkness again.
Megan walked more slowly, Renji dangling inert in her arms, blood staining her clothes. The elf opened the path, watching every step carefully.
The air thickened above. Red clouds gathered again.
Megan brought two fingers to her temple and closed her eyes briefly. A short impulse, almost imperceptible, spread through the air. It wasn't a message, but a pure, urgent vibration sent directly to Eris.
The elf glanced at her briefly, saying nothing. Megan opened her eyes and continued walking.
At the sanctuary, Eris flinched. Objects on the table shook, and the light of the seals ignited suddenly.
She stood up, heart racing.
— "Megan?"
No answer. Only the faint echo of the signal, like a rapid beat in her mind, then silence.
Eris understood one thing: Megan was in danger.
She turned to one of her apprentices.
— "Open the east gate. I leave now."
— "Mistress, without escort?"
— "There's no time. Someone is injured."
She took her cloak, passed through the circle of light, and disappeared.
Far away, in the burned field, Megan and the elf advanced through the ash. The wind carried the smell of smoke, and Megan did not know that Eris was already on her way, convinced she had to save her.
Ash rose in the wind, and Megan struggled to walk, holding Renji. Her breath was irregular, and blood stained her clothes.
The elf stopped briefly and looked ahead. His eyes detected a flow of energy not belonging to the area.
— "Megan… something is coming after us," he said shortly.
Megan felt a faint vibration in the air, a familiar sensation. She tightened her hold on Renji and brought two fingers to her temple, sending a short, unstable but clear signal: help.
Megan slowed her steps, barely breathing. When she saw Eris, something inside her gave way. Tears ran uncontrollably. Shock paralyzed her: she carried a corpse in her arms, and Tiberku… might also be dead.
— "Eris… please…" she whispered between sobs, trembling. "Go faster! You have to bring Tiberku too… I don't know if my spell will protect him from death…"
Eris flinched. Her gaze fell immediately on Renji. The missing arm, the clotted blood, the irregular breathing. In a fraction of a second, she understood how serious it was.
— "Renji…" she whispered, voice firm but shocked. "It's much worse than I thought."
Megan held Renji desperately and looked at Eris, face wet with tears, trembling:
— "Please… do everything you can. And Tiberku… you must bring him too. I don't know if I managed to protect him."
Eris nodded briefly, without blinking. In a swift movement, she opened a luminous gate to the sanctuary. Blue light spread over the burned field, stabilizing Renji's aura for a moment.
— "Step through quickly!" she said firmly but calmly. "We must reach the sanctuary before something irreversible happens."
Megan stepped through the luminous gate, holding Renji close, tears still flowing, her shock and despair visible in every tremor.
Eris reached the place where Tiberku lay covered with the cloak. The crystal Megan had placed glowed faintly, keeping the body stable for now, but the silence was oppressive.
She lowered her hands over the body, feeling the fragile energy that still lingered. Then something shook her. A trace. Invisible but strong. The aura of a demon still near Tiberku.
Her heart leapt. Her eyes sparkled with desperation. Nothing else mattered. Her breath quickened, her hands trembled, but she did not hesitate.
— "You will not touch him…" she whispered through gritted teeth, determined.
Without pause, she went straight for the source of the demonic energy. Every step was urgent, the luminous gate behind them fading slowly, leaving the gray field in semi-darkness.
There, in the shadow, she felt the cold, threatening presence of the demon. His aura pulsed violently, drawn to Tiberku's energy and the still fragile energy of Renji.
— "You stop here," Eris shouted with a clear, powerful voice, though trembling. "If you touch him, you will not escape!"
The demon blinked for a second, surprised by her force and determination, but did not retreat. His energy vibrated dangerously close to Tiberku's body.
Eris took a deep breath, focusing all her power. Desperation and fury for what had been done to her friends mingled with pure magic, ready to strike the first blow.
The demon felt her strength, a shiver running through the air. The fight was imminent, and Eris was determined not to wait.
Concentrating all the sanctuary's energy, she raised one hand and, without blinking, uttered a short incantation.
A wave of blue light erupted from her palms, hitting the air and ripping the demon's aura. The creature was lifted off the ground, floating before her, paralyzed, powerless to move.
Eris frowned, her voice cold and sharp:
— "Megan's aunt died protecting Megan. I will not allow this to happen to her or anyone I care about."
The demon burst out in a cold, guttural laugh:
— "Ha! You think you can stop us? We are stronger than any mortal!"
Eris clenched her fists, the energy around her pulsing violently. In a single precise motion, she cast the next spell. The blue light became a pure magical blade, cutting straight through the demon's body.
The creature was torn in two, floating for a few seconds before dissolving into particles of energy that vanished into the air.
Eris stepped through the luminous gate, Tiberku still unconscious in her arms. The sanctuary was bathed in a soothing blue light, but the atmosphere remained tense.
Megan stood beside Renji, still trembling and tearful, while the elf watched carefully, concerned with every movement.
Eris quickly approached them, her steps echoing in the charged silence of the sanctuary. Her eyes were firm, but they reflected concern for both injured.
— "Place Tiberku here," she said firmly, carefully laying him on a central platform. Her spell began to pulse around him, stabilizing his breathing and pulse.
Megan still held Renji close, watching him with fear and helplessness.
Eris lifted her eyes to Megan and the elf:
— "You must focus. Renji and Tiberku cannot fight. All that matters now is keeping them alive."
The elf stepped forward, offering silent support. Megan gently raised her arms to give Eris space to work, eyes full of despair.
Eris began concentrating all the sanctuary's energy on the two, luminous lines forming over their bodies, pulsing with the rhythm of fragile hearts.
— "Stay calm," Eris said, eyes fixed on both. "Every second counts. We will keep them alive."
Megan exhaled deeply, trembling, leaning against the platform, unable to overcome her shock.
Boom.
Boom.
The rhythmic sounds resonated through the sanctuary's silence, fragile and staggered. Megan knelt, trembling, holding tightly whatever she could.
Boom.
Boom.
The rhythm gradually weakened, each beat carrying the weight of an irreversible decision. A long pause followed, silence penetrating deep into the sanctuary. The magical light pulsed faintly, flickering, as if trying to sustain everything above.
Megan held her breath, watching those around her, shock and fear numbing her senses. No one made a sound.
The pause stretched, prolonged, like an echo of uncertainty. Time seemed to stand still.
And in that oppressive silence, it was clear that something had been lost.