Next Mage
52.Ragnarok

~Oliver's POV

Tiny golden lights flashed before my eyes. Everything was blurry.

"Urgh..." I grunted, rubbing my head as I squinted and tried to bring the world back into focus. I felt as if I had just been swept up by a tornado and thrown back down again. Blinking and groaning, I attempted to rise, but a wave of nauseousness hit me and I fell back down once more. Underneath me, the grass was soft.

As I regained my focus, I realized that this was the part of the Academy fields that had been scorched in the fire.

Except...

It's not burnt! I leaped to my feet, ignoring the massive head rush I received as a consequence. Rubbing my temples, I began to hike up the small hill towards the gleaming Academy, passing and counting numerous mages as I went by. Cam and Carissa, Amani and George, Marilla, Emma, Aureole, Pax, Terra,... Hey, the even Spirit mages are back! I noted cheerfully as I spotted Kuro, Laila, Rika and even Adrian. Spirit mages... I frowned, feeling like I was forgetting something. Had the bump on the head I received joggled my memory?

I bit my lip and fumbled with my pocket and produced the tiny, see-through box that contained the miniature golden puppy that Elvira had given me before she had--

Elvira! I realized, wincing as a pounding headache took over. I scrambled around frantically in search of Elvira, before finally noticing a frail body and a shock of blond hair slumped against a patch of long, green grass. Hurrying up to her, I realized that Elvira was unconscious, face and skin bleached a sickly white.

"Oh no, Elvira..." I tried and failed to shake her awake, even though I knew she would not respond.

Footsteps crunched on the grass behind me, and I whipped around to see Marilla approaching me with a concerned expression on her face.

"Move aside! I know how to heal!" She exclaimed, tucking her chestnut brown hair behind her ears and bending down to feel Elvira's forehead.

"Okay, Doc, you're in charge," I quipped, raising my hands to show that she was the boss. She rolled her eyes affectionately as a large water bubble appeared and encased her hands.

"Do you have to make a joke out of everything, you ding-dong?" She muttered as she placed the bubble onto Elvira's head, causing parts of her blonde hair to float upwards in the clear, sparkling liquid. The water began to glow. "Maaaybe," I grinned. She rolled her eyes once more. I pouted. "Do you always have to be so sarcastic and berating?" I drawled. Marilla glanced at me, her hazel eyes hurt.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"I'm joking," I murmured, hugging her from behind before she gave me a dripping-wet slap. At that very moment, Elvira woke up, inhaling sharply and gasping for breath, as if she had just been drowning in a bottomless ocean. She stared at us.

Then at the Academy.

Elvira looked at her hands, touched her face, her hair, her arms, making sure everything was intact, before sighing in relief, smiling weakly.

"It worked," she gasped, as if she hardly could believe it herself. "It really worked." Her smile grew and grew, before her smile began to fade. "But..."

She raised her arms, the way she always did before she stopped time, except now, nothing occurred. Elvira was powerless. Pale face falling in defeat, she dropped her arms.

"Thank you," Marilla said sincerely. "You saved us all." Elvira nodded determinedly, attempting to struggle off the ground, making it onto her two feet before wobbling like a newborn horse. Marilla and I caught her before she fell back down, and, limping in the direction of the Academy, we observed the Mages reuniting with their families.

Pax and Aureole rushed over to a very confused Kellen, and, to his surprise, tackled him to the ground in a bear hug.

Terra excitedly bounded over to Sorrel, the Earth Elder, squeezed him into a hug as well, much to his befuddlement.

I heard Elvira gasp as she wrenched out of our grip, hobbling over to her little sister, Aura, who had her face scrunched up, perplexed. Elvira gripped her seven-year-old sister just as tears of joy began to slip down her face. "B-big sis?" Aura sputtered, baffled, as her elder sister gave her a watery smile but still carried on sobbing. Marilla and I grinned each other, then she spotted someone walking towards us in the distance. Actually, a few someones. "Come on!" Marilla squealed gleefully, pulling me along as she danced towards Infernus, Zale, and Kamali.

"Infernus!" I gasped, running up to my old mentor.

"Aha! Oliver! Just the man I was looking for." Infernus exclaimed. "Now, I believe you have some things to inform me about."

Marilla and I exchanged glances.

~Marilla's POV

"Aha! Oliver! Just the man I was looking for. Now, I believe you have some things to inform me about," Infernus said as Oliver beamed.

We exchanged knowing glances. Oliver nodded at me and began to explain.

dashy line thingo

"...and now...Elvira's powerless," Oliver finished, as the Infernus, Zale and Kamali stared at us, stunned. No one said anything for a long, quiet moment. Kamali then turned to stare at Elvira, who was now talking to her little sister earnestly. "She was one of my greatest students," Kamali said mournfully. "But it was for the best. She has done a great deed that will be honored for the years to come." The other two Elders nodded gravely.

"Are you sure all of you are willing to give up your powers?" Zale asked, his penetrating, ice-blue eyes hard.

Marilla and I nodded.

"Very well," Infernus sighed, putting a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "You were the best student a mentor could ever have. Remember that," he said sincerely. Infernus glanced at me. "No offense, young Water mage." "None taken," I smiled and turned to Oliver. "Now that we've done some explaining, I think we should round up the mages," I said. He nodded grimly in return, and together we walked towards the rest of the mages. dashy line thingo

The shiny hulls of our ships crunched against the glittering, ink-colored sand. Everything seemed to hush as we arrived onto the island, the silence turning cold and eerie. A dark forest of spiky black trees was huddled to one end of the beach, while on the other, the murky waves crept up the dark sands to form a small oasis.

No one said a word.

The majority of the population of mages, excluding the Elders, young children and Elvira, trudged dismally across the desolate beach.

I could feel my heart thumping in my chest, pounding in my ears, a rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins. I shuddered, a cold chill slithering down my neck like a slimy worm as we entered the forest.

Twisted trees leered at us through the thick, curling tendrils of fog that surrounded the island. The silence gave way to the buzzing and clicking of tiny creatures that were crawling about in the darkness. Tiny red eyes seemed to peek out at us from the undergrowth, and I suppressed a shriek as a giant crimson centipede wriggled it's way over my foot.

Soon after, we reached the clearing that we had fist been attacked by the Ragnarok mages. The sun cut weakly through the dense grey haze, partly illuminating a single, shadowy form slowly emerging from the dry, swamp-green bushes up ahead:

First a tail appeared, seeming to be made out of tiny, bone-like scales that gleamed and rattled every time the tail moved, spikes protruding from the shiny white surface.

Then two hooked, bony claws reached out from the shadows and dug into the dry ground. A gleaming skull that seemed devoid of any color or skin appeared; followed by an arched, scaly back with knife-like spines pointing towards the darkened sky; then a wide, gaping mouth dripping with saliva and rimmed with rows and rows of sharp, bloodied teeth...

A chill ran up my spine.

"The Ragnarok," someone breathed, their voice hoarse.

My throat seemed to close up, and my mouth went dry as the Ragnarok stepped out of the shadows, it's glowing, blood-red eyes reflecting the dim light that shone through the smog. Everyone averted their gaze as the Ragnarok grinned.