by Aaron Oster
Morgan felt his fear mounting as he ran down the corridor and didn’t run into any soldiers.
Was he too late? Would he arrive back in the room to already find Sarah dead?
He growled, forcing down the fear and running faster. He barreled around the corner…and came to a skidding halt. The corridor was lined with dead bodies, all of them wearing the black and silver of the West Kingdom. Blood and gore coated the walls, some of the bodies so horribly mangled that they could hardly be recognized as human corpses anymore.
Morgan walked forward slowly, eventually floating off the ground and flying down the corridor. He could see that the door on the other end had been blown clean off its hinges, but judging from the angle, and cracks radiating from the frame, it hadn’t been done from the inside. Entering the room, Morgan had his worst fears confirmed. Sarah was gone.
He landed in the center of the room and called out her name, but he already knew she wouldn’t answer. He would have seen her aura before he even drew near the room. But this room was filled with a whole bunch of conflicting auras, and all of them, recent. Morgan felt a light blow on his arm and turned to regard the Queen of the West Kingdom, whose face had gone an unhealthy shade of blue.
“You did this,” Morgan said, feeling something prickling at the corners of his eyes. “This is all your fault!”
He squeezed his fingers harder, watching as the Queen’s eyes bulged as her feet kicked feebly in the air.
“All because of you, my friend is now gone.”
Tears streamed from the corners of his eyes, causing his vision to go blurry. He’d never cried before, but the sadness and anger he was feeling were overwhelming his senses. He wanted the tears to stop, but they wouldn’t obey his will.
His eyes hardened as he watched the Queen’s struggles growing more and more feeble as the life was squeezed from her. Then, he tightened his grip. A loud crackling snap sounded in the room, and Hu Vah’s head rolled to the side as her body went limp. Morgan stared into the blood-filled eyes of the corpse, not feeling at all better for having killed her.
The sadness had not abated and the tears still would not stop. He turned, using Explosive impact, and hurled the Queen’s corpse across the room with all his strength. The body slammed into the crystal wall, sending a web of cracks across the surface as it splattered across the clear material, leaving a gruesome scene for those that would come later.
Morgan turned back to the door, vaguely having plans of going to the palace and tearing it down, when his eyes alighted on a patch of ice right near the doorframe. He felt hope blossoming in his chest as he rushed over, scrubbing at his eyes to clear away the tears. A message stood on the wall. It was short, only containing one word: North. Morgan read the message loud and clear.
Simon had come for Sarah while he’d been occupied. Now it was his responsibility to go save her, no matter the cost to himself. The only problem was that he had no way of reaching the North. Katherine’s pendant was currently inside the spatial bag that Sarah had with her. That bag also contained all of their beast zone keys, meaning that he couldn’t take a portal through one of those either.
Then, he remembered that there was a third option. Marsha - Gwendolyn - had told him she’d be waiting outside the city. She would no doubt have a way to contact Katherine and if she was indeed in the Central Kingdom’s camp, then she could transport them there.
He still wasn’t sure if Sarah was in the actual North or only in their war camp, but either way, he was going to find out. Taking one last look around the room, Morgan grimaced. He would not miss this place at all. Then, he looked around, searching for the telltale violet of Gwendolyn’s aura. It didn’t take him long at all, and Morgan took to the air, smashing straight through the crystal wall and heading at breakneck speed for the outskirts of the city.
It didn’t take Morgan long to track Gwendolyn down, and by the time he’d reached her, he managed to get his anger under control. It would do him little good, so there was no point in stewing over all the different ways he would hurt Simon once he found the man. Even though it made no logical sense, it still took him a tremendous amount of control to do so, something which he wasn’t too pleased about either.
These emotions had come in at a very inopportune time. He needed to be clear-headed and focused if he was going to save Sarah, but every time he thought of her he had to contend with a myriad of confused emotions. Blowing out an aggravated breath, Morgan landed near Gwendolyn. She had already shed the Marsha persona, and her features were back to the way they had once been.
As soon as he laid eyes on her, he felt a sudden, inexplicable longing. And when she approached him, he pulled her into a tight hug. He was so shocked at his own actions that he barely noticed it when she hugged him back, squeezing him tightly and swaying back and forth. A warm, safe feeling overcame him as he stood there. A feeling that despite his worry and everything that had gone wrong in his life, things would be alight.
Morgan pulled back from the woman, growling in annoyance as he tried to shove the unwanted emotions down. It was seriously beginning to mess with his head, and they only seemed to be intensifying. Gwendolyn, seeing the conflict going on inside his mind, laid a steadying hand on his shoulder.
“Relax, Morgan. I know you feel overwhelmed at the moment, but I promise it will pass.”
He brought his eyes up to meet hers and uncertainty blossomed in his chest, adding to the emotional mess that was already going on inside. Gwendolyn had been the one who told Hu Vah about him. It was her fault that they’d been caught in the first place, and the reason that Sarah was now gone.
“Because of what you did, Simon now has Sarah,” he said, shrugging her arm off and taking a few steps back.
“What I…did?” Gwendolyn asked, looking both confused, and a little hurt.
“Don’t pretend that you don’t know what I’m talking about. You told that witch of a Queen all about me. You told her about my ability, my skills, and even where she’d be able to find me. If it wasn’t for you, I never would have been forced into this damn tournament, and Sarah and I would have been long gone!”
His voice slowly rose in pitch, until he was nearly shouting at the smaller woman. Her response wasn’t at all what Morgan expected.
“I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about, Morgan. It’s true that I sent you here in hopes that you’d end up in the tournament, but I would never betray you to anyone! Let alone the Queen of the West Kingdom!”
Morgan wanted it to be a lie. He wanted to see the falsehood, wanted to believe, even as he saw the truth, that she was lying to him. But he couldn’t. All he could see was a woman who cared about him and wanted more than anything to make his pain go away. He sighed, finally slumping to the ground and clutching at his head.
The emotions were becoming too much for him to handle, and they just kept getting stronger. He felt a cool hand on his forehead then, and he could feel Gwen’s fingers lightly stroking through his hair. Exhaustion suddenly claimed him, and he felt his eyes beginning to droop. He felt wrung out, as though he’d gone for weeks without a drop of sleep. There was no physical exhaustion, only mental, but it was something unlike anything he’d ever felt before.
“It’s alright,” he heard Gwendolyn’s soft voice say. “We’ll find Sarah together.”
He laid down right there on the ground, and felt his head being propped up on Gwendolyn’s lap. It brought back unexpected memories of times long gone, when he would fall asleep like this after a long day of travel.
“North,” Morgan whispered.
“What was that?” Gwendolyn asked, leaning closer so she could hear what he had to say.
“They took her North.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go,” Gwendolyn’s voice whispered. “Sleep now, Morgan. I promise you’ll feel better when you wake up.”
Morgan nodded. Even if he wanted to stay up, he was just too overwhelmed. Finally, his thoughts stilled as he drifted off into a deep sleep.
49
Gwendolyn blew out a relieved sigh as Morgan finally drifted off. It had taken everything she’d had to calm his mind and put him under. He was a complete mess, and the fact that he’d been forced to deal with Sarah’s abduction just minutes after absorbing the Skyflare undoubtedly made it that much worse. At the rate he’d been going, he was liable to go on a rampage and wreck half the city.
A smile touched her lips as she looked down at the sleeping boy. His head was propped in her lap and he had a peaceful expression on his face. Her fingers continued combing through his hair, and she felt her eyes growing moist. She never thought she’d be able to do this again.
Dabbing quickly at her eyes, Gwendolyn reached into her shirt and removed Katherine’s pendant. Before she could call her, she sensed someone approaching them. Turning her head to the side, she grimaced as she came face to face with Samuel. The man looked far from happy, and his arms were folded over his chest.
“Samuel,” she said coldly. “What do you want?”
“The boy,” he responded simply. “Give him to me.”
“I wasn’t aware you were in the position to make demands,” she replied coolly.
Samuel’s frown deepened.
“If you know what’s good for you, you will hand him over now!”
The ground shook under the force of his words, and long cracks radiated out from under his feet.
“No. I don’t think I will,” Gwendolyn replied, raising her chin in defiance.
Samuel raised his hand, black energy crackling around his fingertips.
“If you don’t hand him over, I’ll…”
“What?” Gwendolyn cut in. “Strike me down? Come on, Samuel, how stupid do you think I am? You may have held sway over me once, but you can’t hurt me anymore.”
The power around Samuel’s hand continued building, but Gwendolyn met his icy stare unflinchingly. Finally, he dropped his hand and allowed the power to dissipate.
“I don’t know when the mortals of this world started becoming so flippantly disrespectful of the gods, but rest assured, it won’t last for much longer.”
With that said, Samuel vanished, leaving Gwendolyn alone with Morgan once more. She let out a long breath, allowing the tension to leave her body. Samuel’s presence was always overbearing, but the more time that passed, the less it affected her. She still waited until her heart rate had slowed before once again reaching for the pendant and contacting Katherine.
She rose as a portal opened next to her, lifting Morgan over her shoulder with a grunt.
He is much heavier than he had been ten years ago, she thought, and felt a smile curling the corners of her lips.
She just hoped he would be in control of himself once he woke up.
***
Morgan’s eyes snapped open as he heard a familiar voice calling out to him. Turning his head, he saw that he was once again, lying in Dabu’s clearing. The man himself was standing just a few feet away, which was unusual, and his hand was extended to help Morgan up.
“What am I doing here?” he asked as he was pulled to his feet.
“You are here to get some control. Obviously,” Dabu said, giving him a warm smile.
Morgan felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment at his earlier behavior.
“You saw that, huh?”
“But of course. I can’t blame you, though, the Skyflare is an interesting artifact. One can never be sure exactly how it will function,” Dabu replied, heading over to the table.
Morgan nodded, following after and taking a seat across the older man.
“What exactly is it?” Morgan asked once Dabu had taken a seat. “I know it’s been undoing all the damage that was done to me as a child, and that it’s supposed to restore my memories, but what else will it do?”
Dabu rested his elbows on the table, steepling his fingers, and staring at him evenly.
“That…is a tricky question,” he began. “I can’t reveal much without breaking the rules, but I’ll do my best to enlighten you. Since you now have the Skyflare, I can tell you that it is good that you do. Although there is an energy cost to reach the Advanced stage in your ability, it is impossible to achieve unless you have the Perfect Body.”
“Perfect Body?” Morgan asked. He’d never heard the term before, and if it was a necessity to reach the Advanced stage, then he needed to know more.
“Yes. To explain it in simple terms, the Skyflare will perfect your body. This is why it is undoing all the modifications, as well as restoring lost memories. It will also fix any imperfection, no matter how small. A crooked tooth, dry skin, a lazy eye… The Skyflare will fix these all over the next few weeks. It will also cleanse your core and soul, making them receptive for the massive amount of power it will take to move from Intermediate to Advanced.”
“Is that why there is no one out there above the Intermediate stage, because they don’t have the Perfect Body? And is it possible to achieve this Perfect Body without the Skyflare?” Morgan asked.
“It is,” Dabu said, “but it is extremely difficult and takes years of dedicated training.”
Morgan felt his face fall when he thought about delivering the bad news to Sarah. When he thought about her this time though, he didn’t get the same strange mix of emotions he had earlier. In fact, now that he thought about it, he felt completely normal. He opened his mouth, already preparing to ask Dabu about it, when the man answered preemptively.
“I can see that you are wondering how your mood has stabilized so quickly.”
Morgan snapped his mouth shut, and nodded.
“The answer is quite simple. Now that you have reached the Intermediate stage in your ability, I was able to bestow you with a new trait. This will help you learn to keep a perfect balance between body, mind, and soul. There are many upsides to this skill and I believe that it is perfectly suited to you.
“Since the Skyflare is purging all those imperfections from your body, you will soon become more susceptible to pain, fatigue, and even fear. This trait will help you balance those all out and will help you keep a lid on your emotions. It won’t bottle them up as was done earlier, but rather give you more conscious control over them.”
“When exactly did you give me this trait?” Morgan asked, already pulling up his status to check.
“When I helped you up earlier, of course,” Dabu replied with a grin.
Morgan nodded, wondering at the man’s seemingly endless supply of skills and knowledge, but turned his attention to the trait’s description as it popped up in his vision.
Body, Mind & Spirit (Inherited) - You have been bestowed with the gift of balance by an Omniscient. Your body, mind, and soul are now, to a certain degree, under your control. As you grow in power, this skill will grow with you.
Current Control:
Body - 88%
Mind - 71%
Spirit - 49%
Closing his status, Morgan gave Dabu a questioning look.
“I’m sure you’ve noticed that while your body and mind are quite strong, your spirit is somewhat lacking,” Dabu said. “The reason is quite simple, really. You haven’t spent enough time with a stable source of energy in your core. Now that the Skyflare is there, it will take care of most of the work for you. All you need to do is work on your body and mind.”
Morgan nodded, leaning back in the chair, and staring up at the trees above.
“You lied to me earlier when you said you hadn’t reached the Pinnacle stage in your ability yet,” he said.
“That I did,” Dabu replied.
“Why?”
“A simple test.”
Morgan looked at the man, and quirked a brow.
“Allow me to explain,” Dabu said, his ever-present smile not wavering in the slightest. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that your perception has been growing as of late, am I correct?”
Morgan nodded. His perception had indeed been growing, and his understanding of things was deepening to a degree that he’d never though
t possible.
“The reason for that is simple. On the path to Omniscience, supermages slowly gain understanding of the world around them. At first, they believe the knowledge simply comes with an increased Intelligence or Wisdom, but the truth is far more complex. I can’t explain it just yet, but I will be able to soon.”
“And the test?”
“To find out when you started on the path to true Omniscience. The first step is detecting falsehoods in the world around you. This includes a heightened perception and deeper understanding of human nature.”
Morgan was fascinated. He had indeed thought that his perception had come from his growing attributes. Either that, or his advancement in his ability. Now Dabu was saying that he had started on the path of true Omniscience. The path of being all-knowing. It would certainly save him a whole lot of trouble if he could reach the insane level of power that Dabu seemed to possess.
Morgan nodded his understanding.
“Thank you. Would you mind answering some other questions for me while I’m here?”
“If I can.”
“Where is Sarah?”
“In the North Kingdom’s war camp. I cannot tell you the specifics, but she can be found there.”
Morgan felt his shoulders relax somewhat. At least he now had a definite location. Now all he needed to do was reach it.
“Why are so many people interested in me?”
“Because you are an interesting person,” Dabu answered with a grin. He laughed when Morgan rolled his eyes, but continued with his answer.
“You survived the disaster in the Ruined City for a reason. I cannot tell you why, but you will remember in time. I cannot say exactly how much time, but it will come back to you.”
Morgan nodded, happy for now with the answer.
“I know that Samuel and Gold are some sort of gods, but I’ve become aware of a third party. Who are they, and what do they have planned for me?”
