Difficile Theurgy – Part 3

Direct continuation of Difficile Theurgy Part 2

At the heart of the forest, where his master guarded something with her life, Hal’s mind fell into disarray. Something was calling for him, something that he chose to ignore for now. His gaze darted around the battlefield beyond the barrier inside of which he found himself. There lay corpses of well-armed folk that were dressed in casual attire, akin to the dressing style of the people who assaulted him earlier, and similar to how regular merchants would dress.

The world hadn’t changed in the time he spent training. What to him was 100 years of endless training, to the world was no more than a month; for the sage had him training inside a sanctuary she created, that granted him practically unlimited time for training, and safety for doing so. He noticed that not all corpses beyond the fracturing barrier were the same folk. A couple of them were dressed in similar robes to the sage.

“Master…?” He spoke hesitantly, trying to focus his attention on where it mattered. Desperately fighting to ignore the call from behind, and the horror of what was in front.

“Hal?” She gasped; her gaze darted to him for a moment.

“Oh… Hal what con…” She attempted to mutter but her knees buckled, and she collapsed in that instant. The realization that Hal, her pupil, had come to her rescue, caused her mind to at last ease up. The tension and worries washed away in an instant, and the exhaustion of the weeks-long struggle caught up all at once. It all happened in a flash. The sage collapsed, and with her, so did the barrier. The attackers spoke in a tongue that Hal couldn’t understand. A call from whatever was there echoed through his mind silently. He stepped up to catch his master mid-fall, in the same moment he raised his free hand and spoke a single word

“DEFIANCE.”

The fractured barrier that had previously broken into a million shards – like a sheet of glass, through which the attackers were reaching, restructured itself and recovered.

A bloodied hand with a dagger clenched in it, decorated with an etched ouroboros, fell to the ground a step away from Hal. He gave it no attention, nor to the attacker who had screamed out in pain after losing a limb. His gaze was glued to the bloodied and exhausted face of his master. Her breathing was slow and weak, but steady at least. He let out a relaxed sigh, ‘she’ll be fine.’

Crouching down he gently laid her on the ground. He couldn’t afford to lose concentration, the barrier would fall if he wasn’t focused on it, so he couldn’t divert his attention to heal. Whatever his master was protecting, she was doing so with her life on the line, and he wasn’t about to let that go to waste. He pondered on what else he could do, struggling to focus his thoughts into a controlled stream as his mind raced between the call he felt, his injured master, and a group of attackers that were desperate to save their world, at the cost of his. His master’s lips were slightly parted. Her snow-white fangs glistened in the shine of the magical barrier. ‘Right! Blood… I could give her some blood, she is a vampire after all, it should help her recover. Or perhaps, perhaps I could pull a heal spell off without losing the concentration on the barrier.’

In a swift gesture, while maintaining his focus on the barrier, he grabbed the severed arm with the dagger and slit his forearm a little, dripping his blood between the sage’s parted lips. She remained unconscious but the bit of blood, infused with his mana, should help her recover at least a little, or so was Hal’s train of thoughts. The silent call assaulted his mind once more, shattering his thoughts and concentration. His gaze darted between the dozen or so attackers that continued to relentlessly assault the barrier, a few were tending to the wounded in the back. A crack appeared in the barrier, but recovered a few short moments later as Hal regained his concentration. Instinctively, he still answered the call, as his body took a slow step back, and then another. 

“Prepare the ritual, no matter how strong, his magic will falter.” Commanded 1 of the attackers to the rest. The group stopped their relentless assault, giving Hal time to recollect his thoughts and focus his mind.

“Why are you assaulting?” Hal called out of despair.

“For the sake of our world…” The leader of the attackers whispered as he walked up to the barrier and placed his hand against its glass-like wall. Magic crackled and discharged at his touch. He was no simple man. A long scar decorated his lined face. He groaned.

“I will… sacrifice your world for the sake of mine,” clenching his fist. Around his neck, the same symbol as the one etched on the blade of the dagger made its appearance once more. A circular pendant of a serpent eating his own tail. A perpetual cycle of self-sacrifice.

“Selfish!” Hal remarked, but consciousness and guilt struck his heart. It ached. The pain they felt, he could feel too after the vision he had experienced, after seeing their world nearing its doom rapidly. The once lush greenery withering in seconds. He imagined for a moment what would happen to his world if they broke through.

Resolve.

The barrier’s glow got brighter and then shimmered for a moment as the silent call beckoned him again, fracturing his concentration yet again. The call was getting stronger, more irresistible, and his body answered with yet another firm step backward.

“What is it wizard? Scared?” Mocked the leader of the attackers, but his taunt fell on deaf ears.

His hand – against his will, reached behind his back and landed on something warm, comforting, familiar. It was a leaf of a plant, and the moment he felt its warmth – a blinding light erased all his thoughts and concerns. He found himself standing in a lush field of greenery, broken apart only by the vibrant red color of roses. The horizons line was blindingly bright, with no clouds or any apparent edge to the field, nor the whiteness surrounding it.

His mind, just as swiftly, flooded with questions and concerns. At first, he tried to cast teleportation, this wasn’t where he had to be, he had no desire to be away from his master, not at this moment, not when the safety of his world was at stake. It is as if the world around him refused to obey his will. He felt magic surge through his body, and then just as swiftly, it dissipated into the environment. A voice called out from all around him, but simultaneously, from nowhere at all.

“Don’t bother. Stay a while.” He glanced around.

“Who? Where?”

The responding voice was different, it came from a specific point, from an entity even, that stood behind him.

“Not who, and nowhere. The correct question would rather be – Why?” The entity spoke. Hal turned swiftly on his heel, his hand extended, albeit the magic refused his call once more.

“W…what… is going on….??” A shiver ran down his spine as he scanned the creature before him up and down. A dozen or so meters away stood a man, or so he thought. Draped in black as the darkness in the night robes, a hood covered his head, enshrouding his face in shadows that seemed impossible in this realm where light came from all around.

“Still the wrong question.” Replied the robed figure as he walked through the field, his hands gliding over the roses that seemingly parted way for him. He paused at once and glanced down.

“Another one died… That one, could not be saved.” Hal’s mind blanked out from the confusion.

“W…why…?” Through the shadows shrouding the robed man’s face, Hal could see a smile form.

“Good question. The world was consumed by darkness far beyond their control. Without divine intervention, it was destined for doom, but due to darkness in their hearts, there was little room left for belief, and the deity guarding the world surrendered it. Such is the destiny of those who fall to greed and desire. And yet.” His hand glided over a rosebud that had opened up as if by his command.

“A new world now blossoms. In death, there is life. Yet life, always ends in death.”

Hal exhaled slowly, steadying his thoughts. “Such is the way of life, but what is this metaphor?”

The robed man spread his arms out in an inviting gesture.

“No metaphor. I am Overseer, and each of these roses represents a world-seed that I personally oversee.” In an instant he disappeared, re-appearing kneeling down beside a bush with a vibrant yet freshly blossomed rose, and beside it a withering flower.

“This is you, and that’s their world…”

Hal glanced down.

“Me…?” He could feel the smile once more, even though the Overseer did not avert his gaze from the flowers in his hands.

“Correct question. You…” The Overseer pointed at the newly blossomed flower.

“Your world…” He patted a vibrant rose beside it on the same bush.

“And theirs…” he brushed the back of his hand against a withering flower on the same bush a couple of branches away.

“Withering but not yet dead.”

“W…What do you mean…? You said each rose represents a world…?”

He felt the smile turn into a grin.

“World-seed, not a world. Sometimes a seed needs time to ripen, to mature. For that, exist those who nurture the seed, often unbeknownst to them.” The robed figure rose, towering over Hal, easily a meter taller.

“You felt a connection to your world’s sprout, yes?” Hal averted his gaze from the being before him,

“I… did. An unexplainable connection, sense of familiarity.”

The overseer placed his hand on Hal’s head, patting him for a job well done.

“The seeds of life are the seeds of worlds. I oversee, not interfere. The seeds, when they come into existence, sometimes choose a host to nurture them, they need time to take shape after all. The host acquires divine powers…” He continued.

Hal mumbled under his breath,

“theurgy…”

“Correct – those powers far surpass what their native world should allow. You nurture the very life within you and learn to control those powers. Once you grasp them, the seed is ready to sprout, and you, as the host, fulfilled your destiny.”

“A destiny I did not choose.” Hal remarked.

The Overseer nodded.

“Yet one you fulfilled.”

Hal looked down at the palms of his hands. “The seed… caused me tremendous pain and misery in life.”

“Is life not always a challenge? Had you no seed you’d have other struggles. You’d have never met her…”

Hal glanced up at the towering man and nodded.

“Never said it was a bad thing. All living beings struggle, and compared to…” His gaze slowly wandered down to the withering rose.

“The suffering they had to endure…”

“Compassion?” Inquired the Overseer.

“Indeed… feel bad for them… Sympathetic.”

The Overseer smiled.

“Good… The reason you’re here is because of the seed. It connects me, to all these endless worlds, in this vast universe. It brought you here, to give you a choice.”

Hal swallowed audibly.

“Does that mean I can…”

The Overseer nodded.

“Yes, at a cost. The seed is ready, are you?”

Hal’s body shivered.

Fear consumed him momentarily.

His jaw hung open, yet no words came out.

The Overseer took a few steps away.

“Not your life, fear not. The cost is the seed that grants you the power you possess. To save them, you will have to plant the seed from within your soul, into the soil of their world. From death, comes life, though in this case, not yours.”

He glanced over his shoulder at the dumbfounded wizard.

“Make your choice. To save their world, or to preserve your power. Show me your resolve.”

In a blinding flash, Hal was back to where he was a moment ago, in fact, it would seem that he never left. His hand still held onto the leaf of a small sprout behind him, but his concentration completely broke.

The barrier shattered into thousands of pieces that dissolved into the thin air. The assaulters leaped to their feet, seizing the opportunity to strike as the wizard stood motionless, perplexed by the events he had witnessed. His stare was blank. His eyes darted to his master, who still lay motionless on the floor, and then one by one at the attackers that all as one dashed at him.

“A choice…” he clenched his fists.

“STOP! And let me think…”

The command was filled with resolve, and instantly stopped the attackers in their tracks.

“I… can save your world…”

He glanced over his shoulder at the plant, the leaf of which he held in his grasp. It emitted a gentle glow that felt alive and filled with life. Releasing it slowly from his grasp, he walked forward.

“How?” The leader of the attackers asked, hesitation could be heard in his voice.

“We need the tree of life, a seed of life to rejuvenate our world – that had lost its seed…”

Hal’s eyes changed color. They were golden now, emitting the same glow the plant behind him emitted.

“I bear a seed within me.”

He approached his master and knelt down. His veins glowed the same golden color. Warmth filled her body, and then a gasp echoed through the stillness surrounding them. He got back up and approached the leader of the attackers.

“Your world does not deserve to die, not yet…” A single tear rolled down Hal’s cheek.

“Spare mine, and I’ll save yours. Yet if you go against me, I won’t hesitate.”

The glow from his eyes instilled calmness in the leader of the attackers. The tear he saw, he could tell that Hal wasn’t lying. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground.

“Please…” he pleaded. “Save us…”

Hal nodded slowly. His gaze wandered the battlefield. In a single snap, those who had not deceased were healed to full. Yet those who passed on could not be saved by him. As he grasped the shoulder of the leader of the attackers, he felt someone grasp his shoulder too.

“Hal…”

He heard his master’s voice whisper.

“Master?” He glanced over his shoulder, and their eyes met.

“You… don’t have to…” she spoke softly.

“I will though… Their world did not deserve to meet its doom.” He replied.

“Yet they brought it upon themselves.” She replied, her face distorted with concern.

“Majority doomed by few…” He responded.

She sighed. “Your sense of justice is unbearable… You will lose it all.”

He smiled at her warmly. “I’ve gained all I ever wanted in those past hundred years. I need not more except for you.”

She averted her gaze, letting out another sigh. “I won’t be your master anymore, can’t train one with no potential.”

He furrowed his eyebrows.

“I see… Thus ends my dream.” His eyes welled up, but his resolve remained firm.

As soon as his master released his shoulder and stepped away, he clapped his hands and then separated them, tearing the fabric of reality with ease, opening a gateway to the realm of the attackers. They gathered around, in awestruck silence. One spoke to their leader in a language that Hal could now understand.

“Boss…? Can we trust him…?”

“Can’t you feel the radiance? One much the same as the sprout of life. He speaks the truth.” Hal glanced over his shoulder at his master who shot a glare at him, disapproval on her face, though with a hint of support, hidden behind the anger. He gave her a nod. Soon as the gateway was opened, he took a deep breath.

“It is not my place to replant the seed in your world… it is yours.” And suddenly plunged his hands into his chest, they phased through his physical body, reaching to the depths of his soul. Within it, he grasped the seed he sought. In a flash of light that glistened in the full spectrum of colors, both visible and not, he pulled the seed from his chest. Darkness engulfed him in the same instant. Consuming him entirely. Confusion was instantly replaced by concern, that was washed away by an encroaching sense of panic, and then – nothingness.

He was alone in the dark. No guide, no light, no sound, nothing to feel and nothing to smell. Emptiness. Not even his thoughts existed. The darkness lasted for all eternity, until a point in existence, when amidst the darkness he heard voices, cutting in and out of existence.

“He… well…” A familiar masculine voice spoke.

“… proud… him.” Replied a feminine voice.

Hal swam through the darkness in the direction of the voices.

“Was it….?” Inquired the female.

“Seems… … seeks to … chaos.” Replied the other.

“Can’t we…? Stop him … good?”

“Afraid not.”

Hal felt as if his body impacted something soft, like a sheet that hung in the way as he ran past it.

Hal jumped awake in the bed.

“HAAAAHH!!??” Panic drowned his mind instantly. Disoriented and confused he glanced around the familiar room. Having just spent an eternity engulfed in the darkness, suddenly: seeing, feeling, hearing the room, it all was too much, too unfamiliar to him.

“Until next time.” Said the masculine voice. Hal managed to catch but a glimpse of the black robes as the figure beside his master disappeared.

“M…mah…. Ah… wh…where.. what?” His mind plunged into chaos and panic. He crawled backwards in bed until his back hit the wall.

“ma…haahh … where… what… how long…”

She eyed him for a moment, and in a swift step she was beside him. As she sat down on the edge of the bed, he scrambled to crawl away, but she was quicker. Her arms wrapped around his head. She pulled him against her chest.

“Shhh… Listen to my voice. Deep breaths. Slow and steady. In…” She whispered in a soft gentle tone to him, holding him firmly in her grasp. She felt his fingers, his nails dig into her skin as he clung to her arm, squirming and gasping. His whimpers and squeals slowly slowed as she continued to hold him firmly in her grasp, soothing him with her gentle words and caressing him, guiding him through slow breathing to calm his body and mind.

“There you go…” She leaned her head against his and nuzzled the top of his head. The shaking stopped and his breathing was normal.

“Master…?”

“Yes Hal. It is me…” She whispered quietly.

“Master… I… I thought I…” He gasped and clenched against her arm. His body shivered and then he let out a whimper,

“thought I died…” He pressed his face against her, sobbing.

She continued to caress his hair.

“You’re alright. Everything is alright. You’re a hero of two worlds…”

It took hours before he relaxed enough and fell asleep in her embrace. The morning after, when he awoke, she had told him of the departure of the intruders and even informed him of her success in establishing a pathway to their realm. He had been in a coma for a month, and in that time, she took care of him. As he got caught up on the news and updates and finished his breakfast, a thought surfaced in his mind.

“D…didn’t you… say we… would be no more…?” he inquired.

She glanced over her shoulder, licking the spoon she was stirring the stew with, clean, and then licked her pearly-white fangs and winked.

“Well, you might be useless as a mage now, still… somebody’s gotta feed me, and clean the house…” She smiled warmly. “And you, my dearest Hal, seemed like just the candidate for the job.”

His heart skipped a beat.

“I… would love that.” She winked at him again.

“I too, love… I mean, would love, that… Samira, by the way.” He gasped. ‘Samira, what a beautiful name.’

Prompts for this story were:

• Emotion: Panic