Elijah held his ears, squirming on the floor in pain and discomfort. Smoke billowed from in front of him, in which an explosion knocked him across a large pit in the centre of the chamber. His sunglasses were cracked in one lens, and his jacket had slowly been reduced to ribbons over his time in Berlin. The ringing in his ears were relentless - as a pain in his gut kept him on the ground for a few more moments. To him, these moments felt like years.

Pulling himself to his feet, he'd rip off his jacket reluctantly  - revealing a creased white T-Shirt and a shoulder holster - before looking around the chamber. The walls, floor and almost all the ceiling was a deepslate grey, the centre of the ceiling would open up into a large skylight - the sun of the surface illuminating the chamber with a warm golden hue. Around the pit were deep brown bricks that had become visible as the concrete slowly crumbled off around the skylight.

A few minutes prior, Elijah was standing on a small platform roughly halfway across the gap. He was about to grab the map- a sand-coloured metal with glowing teal runes covering the entire sphere, hovering ontop a marble-white pedestal. He was so close, but it was too easy, the thing he was looking for being so in the open. An explosion from behind him led him to being unable to grab it - and now, as Elijah darted his eyes to the pedestal.

The map was missing.

"...Shit!"

In the corner of his vision, he would spot an elderly man in a black suit darting into a Maintenance Tunnel on the side of the wall. They were holding the map, and when they noticed Elijah seeing him - tried to hide it in his blazer. Elijah would've had a long enough glimps of the map and was not tricked, breaking into a sprint. Elijah felt a sharp pain running down the very bone in his legs, they were killing him - but he had to suck it up and keep running.

The figure would sprint into the tunnel, slamming the door as Elijah reached it. Behind him - he heard the iconic whistle from a squad of GVA Agents entering the chamber from doubledoors across the room. They were armed with pistols - and knowing how the GVA tended to recruit, Elijah decided not to wait around and see what other tricks they may have.

Slamming open the door, they saw the elderly man around 50 yards ahead of him - they turned around and spotted Elijah, as they seemed to hasten their sprint to try and avoid a confrontation. Smirking before looking at himself, Elijah ran after them - sliding under toppled shelves and pivoting out the way of bent pipes that were once bolted to the ceiling. Elijah begun to gain on them, hearing the door behind him slam open as the GVA Agents started chasing after him.

The man with the map would shoulderbash the exit-door open, a large hallway the height of some watchtowers stretching from left to right. Stumbling to regain balance, they'd begin to sprint left and out of sight around the corner. Elijah realised that he may end up losing them if he didn't speed up. He had swore to avoid revealing himself, but given how the fate of the world rested on his shoulders - it was do or die.

The sound of a roaring fire would flood out any other noise in the Maintenance Tunnel, a faint white and purple glow appearing around Elijah's hands. After a few moments, two small flames appeared around his hands. They did not hurt him - in fact, they slightly remedied the pain Elijah was feeling. As custom for Magicians and their magic, any effect inflicted by the magic cannot harm the user - and in most cases, would boost their physical capabilities.

The door to the hallway would slam open as Elijah would fly out of it at high-speeds with the handling equivalent to an Elgin Racecar. Nearly slamming into the damp brick ahead of him, he swiveled and spotted the man with the map down the hallway - sprinting for an airtight door that was comically small compared to the hallway. The roar of the fire would grow louder, Elijah flying after him with high determination.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Elijah landed in front of the man with the map, grinning in his victory.

"Nowhere to run! Now, hand over the--"

The Old Man would put the map in one hand before going for a jab square in Elijah's Chest - a faint 'boom' sound quieting Elijah's flames as he went flying backwards and through the door - slamming into the railing over another pit. Unlike the last one, this one was much deeper and more violent.

The Old Man walked inside, adjusting their tie and unbuttoning their blazer - turning around and shutting the door behind him, tightening them. A muffled siren would fade into sense, a torrent of sewer water filling the hall they had once been in. The faint screams of the GVA agents could be heard as they slammed into the door and swept away.

Elijah looked wide-eyed at the man, before coughing into his hand and standing up with the help of the railing.

"I'm sorry for the premature attack, but I thought it would be the least I could do for my least-useless assassin." The man said dryly - taking a pair of round near-opaque glasses off and wiping them with a cloth.

"I'm so flattered.." Elijah responded, rubbing the back of his head - a mixture of blood and sweat forming on his hand.

"If this were another life- maybe we would be partners." The man said, stretching their arms and waiting for Elijah to safely stand up without the help of the railings.

"I'm sorry Kyrylo, but any chance of that ended when I was assigned thism ission." Elijah spoke with confidence and determination.

"It's a shame.. We could've been so great. Your strength rivals even me - and combined with my smarts, we and the USSR would be unstopapble... Especially with this." Kyrylo took the orb out for a moment - flashing it in a twisted jeer before putting it away.

"You don't understand what that thing can do. It isn't just some ancient relic, it's a weapon! If you were smart, you would realise that--"

"I know exactly what this map does. And I intend to use it at it's full potential."

"...What?"

Elijah would stop in his tracks, tilting his head.

"Explain yourself!"

"The likes of you would never understand. The secrets of this world and the society that engineered such a weapon are lost upon the unsophisticated and the prejudiced. After I lay waste to your country, I will proudly give this to my master - and we will return what was his into his eternal kingdom!" Kyrylo spoke like a madman, before bursting into a raspy cackle - relishing Elijah's expression.

Elijah felt shock, concern, stress.. But most importantly, anger. Kyrylo was delusional enough to not only still use the weapon while understanding it, but betray his own world? For who, some sort of cult leader? Elijah didn't know - but he didn't care. All he cared about now was wiping that grin of Kyrylo's face and watch him be swept away by the sewage below.

"Ahh... He always told me the same thing, every time I asked why he had me do this..." Kyrylo continued, his grin fading into a nostalgic expression.

"That despite the conflicts that this world may incite, despite what leaders, soldiers and influencers do.. There are only two things in this world to be apart of. The side of Magic, and the side of Science.. What side are you on?"

"Whatever side that you hate more!2 Elijah quipped back, drawing a revolver from the Shoulder Holster in one hand - the roar of his summoning of a fireball in the other.

"I'm done talking, surrender or die here!"

Kyrylo's face molded into one of surprise - before shifting to one of anger and pride. A wicked grin formed on their face, as they took their blazer off and loosened their tie.

"Today, you will face the power of a GOD!!"

The entire facility would tremble as Kyrylo would manifest his Magic Aura - shifting pastal colours of gold, red, green and blue. A deep undertone of teal could be seen tightly hugging his body. The ceiling crumbled a little, and the water below thrashed ever so more violently.

Elijah would look in a stunned horror of Kyrylo's unique aura - they were meant to be only one colour. However, he had came too far to give up now. All the allies he made upon the way, all the things he had done in pursuit of this one man. He wondered in his head, as the world seemed to slow down as Kyrylo pounced towards him like a feral animal.

What got Elijah this far? What got him to this place? Why was he going after the map?