Next Mage
38.Vision

~Oliver's

POV

"Listen. I just had a vision," Elvira said shakily. Emma and Marilla turned around to look at her, the ice cream spoon still in Marilla's mouth. Elvira inhaled quietly.

"What was it?" Marilla asked, her voice curious and slightly nasal. Elvira looked directly at me, her green eyes darkened, as if she had just witnessed something horrifying.

"I-it was happening," Elvira gulped. "On Earth. The ground was black, everything was black, black and red. I...I saw b-blood..." Elvira's teeth clicked together as she shivered in fear. I felt something twist in my chest.

I had rarely witnessed Elvira at this state; she was usually proud and stubborn, never afraid of anything. Now she was like a skittish animal, shaking nervously. Elvira took a deep breath and carried on.

"I saw blood, and skulls, and the dead bodies...of y-you..." Elvira eyes were distant and blank. I looked frantically at Marilla and Emma, who looked just as bewildered and frightened as I was. I grabbed Elvira shoulders and shook them, as if to snap her out of her trance.

"Elvira...Elvira! You see visions of the future, right?" I questioned hastily. Please don't let this be a vision of the future... I thought.

"It's almost hopeless, but not quite," Elvira's voice was quiet and hollow, but with a slight edge of determination to it. "It was a vision of the future." ~Marilla's POV

"It was a vision of the future."

My heart sank, as if the Ragnarok itself was pulling it down into the shadows. No. No way. I'm not going to die. Not yet. Melted, sticky liquid dripped off my spoon and into the nearly-clean ice cream container.

"But I didn't say we couldn't change it," Elvira said suddenly, her eyes hard with emotion.

Hope arose once more.

"But how?" Everyone turned to look at Emma. "I mean, how would we defeat the Ragnarok? Didn't you say it was only weakened when the Elders fought it? How are we going to...kill it, let's say, if the Elders could not? Isn't it impossible?" She said miserably. Oliver's shoulders drooped.

"Wh-what are you all talking about?"

Everyone whipped around to land their shocked gazes on my mother.

"M-mom?" I uttered, not sure what else to say. Had she listened in on the whole thing? Questions and worries raced throughout my mind. Does she know about the possible Armageddon? What is she going to do? I chewed on my fingernail as an awkward silence passed.

"U-uh..." Oliver started nervously. "What did you...hear?" Mom was looking at us strangely, her brown eyes wide in fear and some other emotion I couldn't quite read.

"The Ragnarok. That was what killed you father, Marilla. I know it. Something about the name... I can't remember very clearly, but I think I recall your father saying that name, saying it was an evil, bloodthirsty creature," Mom shuddered. None of us looked surprised. We had already guessed.

"But..." Mom said once more, looking directly at Oliver. He tried to hold her gaze, but looked away, as if ashamed. "You aren't from Australia, aren't you? You really just are a mage? This blonde girl too...and Emma?!"

"N-no, Mrs Waterson, Marilla and I found out a while ago that we were mages. I didn't live in Myragon before that. I'm perfectly human," Emma said, a little flustered. Emotions built up inside me, working their way up my body, but stopping before they got to my mouth.

I had nothing to say.

"Actually, I-I'm human too, Mrs Waterson. Well, my parents were humans, but I was born in the Mage Realm..." Oliver trailed off. Mom was gazing at me now.

"You would keep this from your own mother?" She whispered. I opened my mouth to say something, but to my despair, my speech betrayed me. I was torn. What could I do? I shut my mouth again, then opened it once more. "I'm...I'm so sorry..." I murmured apologetically, unsure of what else to say. Then mom broke down crying. I crawled over to her and put my arms around her comfortingly, not saying a word.

"Your f-f-father..." She hiccuped. "And...th-this Ragnarok... I-its too much to take in... I don't know what to think...I don't know what to say!"

Elvira and Oliver lowered their eyes to the ground in guilt while Emma stayed silent as well. Mom shook in my arms as she continued to sob quietly.

"We're sorry, Mrs Waterson," Oliver said sympathetically. "Our laws made sure we didn't tell any humans of our existence. But if you already knew we existed..." Oliver glanced at me, then at Elvira. Elvira nodded solemnly.

"We will let you keep your memories of this incident and our existence," Elvira said. "As long as you don't tell anyone else." Mom looked up at Elvira, her eyes slightly puffy.

"Alright. But please, please don't keep secrets like this anymore. And please keep safe. I couldn't bare it if..." Mom's face contorted in anguish as she remembered her past. Dad...

I exchanged a look with Emma, Oliver and Elvira, and realized that Mom's nightmare may really come true.

If Elvira's vision was truly a vision of the future, I, and the whole world, may die just as dad did... That means we have to defeat the Ragnarok, and do it soon.

~Narrator

It was hot and humid in the jungle. Thousands of tiny creatures chirped and croaked and whistled. Dew dripped from enormous, green, teardrop-shaped leaves and onto the Ragnarok's back.

The Ragnarok hissed in frustration as it felt slime and sweat cling to it's body like glue. The Ragnarok shook itself and carried on at a slow pace, stopping every so often to shake an insect out of it's tail or swat a fly that had been buzzing irritably near it's crimson eyes.

Dastardly animals, the Ragnarok thought disgustedly. They are the only flaw that marks this planet's perfection. The Ragnarok was sure that about three dozen little creatures had crawled all over it's body. Tiny legs itched at the Ragnarok's spine as a giant orange centipede crept up it's back. Spiders and ants wriggled under the Ragnarok's claws.

Maybe I'll get rid of them after taking over this place.

The Ragnarok grinned with satisfaction, but not before a fly flew up it's nose. The Ragnarok choked and coughed up the fly, which it squished immediately.

How distasteful, the Ragnarok thought. Abominable, really.

But now it had to focus on the main goal at hand. Taking over the planet Earth. And to do that, it had to journey all the way to where it all began; a place where the first of human life had begun. The first land: Africa.