Ever since I was reborn I could never help but think. Think about why I came to this world, why I had nightmares and visions. Why I felt a pull towards the gray man.

So when I came and stood between Eleanor and the gleeful pyromancer. I had to hold my entire being from freezing. Only because I felt a small gentle pull from the man in front of me.

Please.

I conjured a blade made of ice behind my back and plunged my mind deep into an emotionless state, as I felt the familiar pull. The pyromancer tilted his head at me. His eyes narrowed and his smile widened ever so slightly.

Please, turn back.

The pyromancer flicked his hand and so did I.

Enhanced by mana to be made faster and sturdier, the blade of ice pierced his hand, and yet the man didn’t flinch or grunt. Flames erupted and I used wind to force them away. But they were no normal flames.

Flaming oil. I realized as the flames were thrown off to the side and started to burn on the floor, only to spread as the oil started to move slowly on its own on the floor.

I saw the man prepare another stream and I conjured another blade. This time, not holding back on his life. I flicked my hand before he did and it hit him in the neck. Slashing a side of it wide open.

And yet he stood smiling, his flaming hand went to his neck and burned until all that was left was a chard, non bleeding neck.

The oil grew closer, and I felt my entire body grow hot and the air grow almost unbreathable. I brought Eleanor who kneeled behind me closer, along with her beastkin maid and released a turrent of cold wind all around.

The flames stopped, leaving the slowly dissipating oil on the ground unignited.

“Watch out!” Eleanor yelled pointing with wide eyes at something behind me. The pyromancer, whose eyes were now red with blood and neck chard. Didn’t stand idly in his place. Instead he stepped right in front of me and tried to grab me with his flaming hands.

My mind grew cold. Before I even noticed I leaned into his grab, and with a swipe of my hand, I severed his arms with condensed air. I lightly stepped on his knee pushing myself to his height, and with mana enhancing two of my fingers, I jammed them into his skull.

He spasmed and I managed to see his other eye go distant and glassy. I trembled as a chill went down my spine and stood staring at his corpse which laid on the ground.

No, no no, no no no, this is wrong. This is wrong this is wrong this is wrong.

“Dante!” I heard James call, but I didn’t answer. I felt a hand on my shoulder turn me around until I saw James standing in front me. “Dante? Are you alright? Talk to me son.” James' voice was almost trembling.

“I’m alright.” I said coldly and shook my head, not letting my thoughts continue. I looked at the corpse and realized that the pulling feeling disappeared. It was almost unnoticeable compared to the gray man and the customer Koll had.

I didn’t have time to think. I looked back at Eleanor and James. “El, you good?” I looked at her wide eyes and at the blood that trickled from her head, and noticed that James too looked at me with wide eyes.

James wiped his hand across my face, and wiped his hand on his clothes, leaving a red bloodstain.

“Brat, ya good?” Koll came closer along with Aubree, his hammer bloodied and his steps hurried. I looked behind them and saw the woman they were fighting, her head smashed into the ground. “Yeah.” I replied coldly. “Let’s move on.”

“Aye.” Koll turned to look at Aubree who was looking down between me and Eleanor with his cold eyes. “Ya should go to tha town wall near me smithy, go through one of tha guard towers and jump off tha wall, there is no knowin’ what’s awatin’ in tha other gates.” Koll didn’t wait like James did, instead he put mana into his legs and started moving. And so did I.

“Dante! Wait!” James didn’t wait either, and started running with us leaving Aubree, the beastkin maid, and Eleanor with her hand stretched towards me behind. I didn’t stop but I did turn to glance at him as we ran towards Amara.

“You can’t be here! I don’t care if you can fight! Go with Aubree, we will go and get Amara and Charlotte alright?!” James shouted as we ran. I clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes at him. “I already told you at the smithy, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Listen to tha boy James, ‘cause ‘e aint goin’ ta listen ta ya.” Koll sent me a glance back as we kept running through the chaotic streets, his voice was like steel. “And ya better listen to us, we give ya a command, and ya do it, tis ain't tarainin’ this is tha real thing.”

Koll kept his stare leveled at me, and I nodded. James made sure to keep his pace with me, sweat covered his forehead and his eyes constantly darted to my side.

After a few moments we started to hear the sounds of a struggle, we saw a person, his entire body cut in half from the torso, flying through the air. He had the same appearance as the bandits.

We reached what was left of Amara’s shop, it was entirely gone. Broken buildings were all around and near the center of where the shop was, there was a bubble of water, ever whirling. And inside Amara stood looking to all sides.

She was surrounded.

Bandits stood all around her, some had missing limbs while others looked fine. But all of them had two things in common. A constant pulling feeling. And an insane glee in their eyes. Bloodlust.

“Raugh Ar Dun!” Koll roared and dashed at them, and I internally cursed him for letting the bandits know that we were here.

I dashed as well, James right at my side. But he didn’t stay for long.

He got to the first bandit first. Even though The bandit stood like he was alright, he had a bleeding stump instead of an arm. His focus torn between Amara and the yelling dwarf, and so father killed him with a quick slash to the head with his sword.

I passed James and made my way to a quickly approaching bandit. But before I could attack, an entire tendril of water grabbed him by the ankle and swung him into a broken house.

The tendril, connected to Amara’s buble, didn’t stop with one bandit. it attacked their broken and disorganized ranks, smashing them into the ground, and sometimes becoming highly pressurized and slicing them into pieces.

I didn’t stay in place, I ran to some of the casters who didn’t even notice me, too occupied with attacking Amara, or Koll and James. Which was perfect for me.

When I reached a close enough position to one of the casters, who was about to throw a fireball at Amara, his head snapped to my location and he eyed me for a second, tilting his head. I conjured an Ice dagger and threw it at his head, piercing him between his eyes and making him go limp.

The lack of screams and yells made me look around. None of the bandits remained.

Koll had made a path of broken limbs with his hammer, everyplace he swung it on the ground was shattered, in some places, small spikes rose from the ground, impaling the feet of some of the dead bandits.

James caught sight of where I was and ran to my side. He opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. “I’m alright.” I said, making him freeze entirely in his place as I walked past him towards Amara. The three of us made our way to the bubble as it dissipated, and I made sure not to look at any of the corpse's eyes.

“Yer good?”

“Yes, what is the pla-” Amara stopped as her eyes found me. “What are you doing here?!”

“Get yer mind outta gutter Amara, ‘e ken handle this.” Amara opened her mouth but Koll waved her off. “We don’t have time, We’re goin’ to Charlotte, are ya comin’ or not?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Amara looked at me only one more time and nodded, cold discipline covered her expression. The four of us started to run to the gates. Though with Koll carrying Amara in his hands it could be said that only the three of us ran.

She might have been an experienced caster, but she was no enhancer.

By the time we reached the gates, we saw dozens of dead corpses and broken buildings. But the gates were the worst.

Dead people laid everywhere. Together with the flaming buildings which sent blazes into the air and the utter carnage, it didn’t look so different from my dreams or my visions. For a moment I let myself think about how anyone could ever do such a thing.

Only to remember Regis, to remember myself. The killing, the hatred. I felt a strong sense of vertigo and nearly stumbled. That is until I steeled myself, letting my mind grow cold and distant.

My state didn’t go unnoticed. James gently but firmly put his hands on my shoulder, and Amara, no longer in Koll’s arms, looked at me with worried eyes. Koll looked back at us, his eyes landing on me, and from me to beyond the bloodied gates. Unto the outskirts of the town.

My small wooden home, outside of the town, looked untouched. Peaceful. Nothing like the hell in which we were all currently in.

“We’re almost there, James, carry Dante, Amara stay at tha front. Let’s hope that no one reached ‘er and that all their focus was on the to-.” Koll looked at something behind us and prepared his hammer. We all turned around, prepared.

More bandits.

Like an endless stream of lowlifes that keep getting in our way. I clenched my teeth and basked in the sight of the ever approaching bandits, feeling my feet want to run in their direction. Why do all of them give off the pulling feeling?

“The three of you go, I’ll hold them off.” Amara said. Koll stared at her and Amara stared back at him. “Go, when you get her, go around the town to the other side. I’ll be right on your heels.”

“I’ll be comin’ back to carry ya, yer too slow on foot. Too old too.” Koll took a look at the approaching bandits and turned to the gates.

“My savior.” Amara said dryly with a little smile.

James bent down beside me and tried to reach for me with both hands in order to carry me, but I shook my head ignoring him and coldly ignoring his stiff expression. I had given my thoughts and emotions enough time to hold me down.

I walked towards the gates. Towards home. I gave one last look to Amara before we left, water started to wrap around her into a giant whirling bubble. “Don’t die.”

Amara nodded, not leaving her eyes off the bandits.

We all rushed to the house, hearing the ensuing chaos behind us. The sound of bodies being split apart and ear splitting screams. A moment later we reached the door, and James swiftly got in. “Charlotte!”

A rumble could be heard from one of the rooms, and from it Mother got out, saw James and ran to his arms.

The two embraced each other, James held her in his hands, one hand wrapped around her head. Charlotte did the same, her breathing erratic. They unwarped from each other slightly and pressed their heads together with their eyes closed.

Until Charlotte opened hers widely. “Dante is safe?”

James' expression stiffened and he turned to look at me. Charlotte's expression instantly turned pale. “Wh-”

“We don’t have any time.” Koll was standing by the windows, watching the gates. “A couple of bandits got through Amara, they're makin’ their way ‘ere. Charlotte, James, take ‘im, and go around tha town to ta other side. We’ll handle things here.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What?”

“That’s a command. Yer waistin’ time.” He snarled. “Now go.”

Koll went out of the house and I followed, James tried to grab my hand, but I quickly stepped out of his grasp. Getting out of the house I heard Charlotte cry out my name. But my only focus was on the bandits pouring out of the gates.

There were a dozen of them.

Koll smashed into the approaching bandits. His hammer swung and shattered all that wildly charged at him, until he met with one that didn't go swinging his axe like a meathead, and had to dodge a caster that shot stone bolts from the far lines at the same time.

Shit. I dashed, throwing an ice dagger at the bandit holding an axe, making him lose a bit of his focus, only to dash past Koll and made my way to the other approaching bandits.

The first two were wildly dashing and running towards us, they had weapons in their hands, but no thought in them. Being smaller and faster than them, I severed the first one's tandems as I rolled through his feet, the second one tried to swing at me and I dodged.

Gathering mana in my hands, I jumped at him and put my hand on his face. I pushed the incorporeal mana into his brain and turned it into heat. Intense heat.

His eyes melted and he spasmed.

During the entire time, I had been paying a small amount of attention towards the caster, and I saw him turn his focus to me. I dodged a few stone bolts that were shot at me at high speed. Sinking into the ground behind me.

The sound of two footsteps sounded behind me, and I put blind faith at James and Koll. I dashed forward and a second later Koll and James were by my side.

A few more casters on the bandits side joined the ranks, and so did a few enhancers. We made quick work of the enhancers, fighting in tendon, making sure that the enhancers were covering us from the casters or simply giving the casters a small amount of attention so that we could dodge when the casters attacked in our direction.

But we never had to dodge their projectiles.

I didn’t really realize why until we finished with the enhancers. Each caster was preparing a fireball, they all looked menacing.

They were never planning to help their comrades. I realized.

The fireballs were thrown in our direction. Koll dropped his hammer and quickly placed his hands to the ground, forcing mana into the ground, he used energy to pull out a giant solid wall of dirt. “Dante! James! Come here!”

We darted to his side, and in a second they hit the wall. I looked at the ground around us with wide eyes as I realized that the fire balls were also made from oil that was pouring around the wall into our location.

I willed my mana, and used it to summon cold winds which blew out the flames on the ground around us, but they did not blow oil away, nor did they blow whatever flames were on the wall or on its other side.

And so, they instantly lit up.

Another impact cracked against the wall, making it tremble and shift slightly, flames spewed everywhere.

Koll looked around us until his eyes landed on me. For a moment his gaze lingered, until a maniac smile took over his face “Just like old times.” Koll mumbled, his voice barely piercing the sound of burning oil. He grabbed me by the hem of my shirt and pulled me up.

“Koll?!” James looked at him with intense eyes.

“I’mma throw you at ‘em! Distract ‘em and give us an openin’!”

“Koll wait!” James shouted right as I was thrown high into the air.

Drifting high in the air, I wasn’t thinking about how outlandish the idea was. My mind was cold and my eyes quickly landed on the three casters. I conjured three knives made of ice and threw it at the casters.

The three of them noticed me immediately, but two of them were too slow to react to the daggers as they flew right into their brains. The third one however, was quicker to react.

Being too far up in the air he dogged the dagger easily. His next step was to throw the giant fireball at me. For a moment I didn’t know what to do as the flaming ball of death approached me.

My mind went into overdrive, and the fire ball started to get slower. I realized that I was manipulating mana in my eyes, making blood flow faster. Something I did long ago in the dragon festival.

Wind.

Without even thinking, right before the fireball hit me, I casted the wind on myself with such a force that it threw me off entirely out of the way of the fireball into one of the walls of the town. In a last second before impact, I strengthened my body wide energy, helping me endure the crash.

The fall hurt, but it wasn’t fatal. Thanks to the unlimited free time I had and the hundreds of sessions I had with Koll, strengthening the body to make it faster, stronger, and more durable with energy was nothing.

I tried to get up, and I half managed it. My mind, although cold, felt clouded, dull. And my arms and legs felt stiff. I had to take a moment to breathe, and in that moment, where I stood on the broken wall, I managed to see James and Koll surround the caster from both sides and kill him. One hammer blow to the head, one sword strike to the heart.

I breathed out. All that was left was to help Amara and get out as soon as possible.

I jumped from the wall to the ground, and stumbled a bit when I tried to stand on it, feeling as if I was robbed of my energy. I remembered that the last time I had used mana to control the blood flow in my eyes, I had also been tired, falling asleep not so long after using the method.

Straightening my back and shaking my head, as if to dispel the fog inside my mind, I steeled myself to focus. From where the last caster had died, James ran to my side. “I’m arlig-” I couldn’t finish as he kneeled and put me in a hug. He was breathing and sweating hard.

“Are you alright?”

I returned the tight hug. “...Yeah.”

“Good job, brat.” Koll called out as he ran to us, one side of his cheeks was red, as if he was punched. James’ expression grew dark as he looked back at him, but before he could open his mouth, Koll raised his hand to stop him from talking.

“Later, Amara first.” He turned towards the gates and I started to lightly jug behind him, until James caught my arms.

“No.” He pulled me back, I stared at him, but the look that he had on his face was something I had never seen before, at least when it came to James. The man who was always vibrant and joyful, my kind and warm father, now cold and wrathful.

I looked to Koll and saw him glance back, he gave a small nod in our direction as he jogged to the gates with his hammer.

“Dad we ne-”

“No, that's enough.” He pulled on my arm tighter, his tone was cold as ice. “Don’t you understand that you almost died? How do you think I could live with myself, knowing that I let you die? How do you think your mother would react?”

I gritted my teeth but stayed silenced as he pulled me and started to walk faster towards Charlotte who was running towards us through the scorched and broken field of green bloodied grass.

How do you think I would feel if you were to die while I could have saved you? While I could have saved Koll and Amara?

The mere thought of Amara and Koll, who were still fighting not so far away from us, made me use mana to force my hand away from James. I yanked so hard and fast that he almost stumbled forward, he looked for a moment at his hand and at me, his mouth agape. But before he could reach me I already started running to the gates, where the sounds of battle slowly dimmed out.

I heard James call out to me, his voice loud. It almost made my steps slow.

I heard Charlotte call out to me, her voice frail, it almost cut through my determination.

And as I finally reached the gates to see Amara and Koll stand victorious. A small smile broke around my face, Koll looked at me and huffed, and Amara, who let her buble disperse, looked at me and scowled.

She was lightly breathing through her mouth and she opened it widely to say something.

But right at that moment, I felt a pull. And from behind her a bandit with a spear dashed to her at high speed. Koll and I screamed in alarm, Amara started to gather water again.

And before any of us could reach her.

Her head flopped to the ground.