The sun dipped below the horizon one late afternoon as the village was bathed in the soft glow of twilight. The tranquillity was shattered as a distant rumble echoed through the air, followed by the unmistakable sounds of battle. Shouts and the clash of weapons grew louder, filling the once-peaceful village with chaos.
The sky was lit up with bursts of magic. It started with a few random streaks of magic flying overhead. But before long, the magic on both sides flew fast and thick. The buildings caught on fire as the ground shook with explosions.
Aidan groaned as he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. The shaking had woken him up. “Honestly, what’s with all the noise? Is there some party on I don’t know about?” Muttered Aidan as he sat up.
Kaelira burst into Aidan’s room, her eyes wide with urgency, causing him to jump. “Aidan, we’re under attack! Soldiers from the temple are here. We have to move now!”
Aidan’s heart pounded in his chest as he stared at her for a second before his brain finally caught up. He grabbed his gear and followed Kaelira outside, Hopping as he pulled on his pants.
As he followed her through the doorway into the village, the scene of utter devastation before him caused him to stop dead. Buildings were ablaze, casting an eerie glow against the encroaching night.
The acrid smell of smoke filled the air, mingling with the cries of the wounded and the dying. Village soldiers ran in all directions, their faces twisted in terror, trying to escape the relentless onslaught as another group Aidan didn’t recognise chased them.
Explosions rocked the ground, sending plumes of dirt and debris skyward. Aidan ducked his head as he followed Kaelira through the chaos. She stopped a few times as groups of soldiers ran past. Aidan stopped dead at the sight before him as they rounded a corner of a building.
In the centre of the village square, the Elder and a figure cloaked in radiant light were locked in a fierce battle. Each clash of their powers sent shockwaves through the village, toppling walls and shattering windows. The very ground beneath them trembled, splitting open to reveal fiery chasms.
A crater below them was forming with each magical blow. They never touched the ground as they continually floated. Aidan stared at the Elder. Gone were her green eyes, which glowed crimson red and seemed to pulse as she cast magic faster than Aidan could understand.
“Who is that?” Aidan shouted over the din, pointing towards the figure fighting the Elder.
“A Saint,” Kaelira replied, her voice filled with dread. “We have to go, Aidan. Now!”
“Wait…” Called Aidan as Kaelira dragged him away from the Elder’s fight. She pulled him into a doorway as a group of village soldiers attempted to fend off the temple soldiers in front of them.
Their makeshift barriers proved futile against the well-trained invaders. Aidan watched as the temple soldiers moved with lethal precision, cutting down anyone in their path. Screams of agony pierced the night as groups of soldiers were torn apart, and the village square became a battleground strewn with the dead.
Aidan and Kaelira sprinted through the chaos once she had confirmed it was clear, dodging falling beams and leaping over the wreckage of what once were homes. The ground quaked with each step, the roars of the combatants echoing in their ears.
As they ran, Aidan caught sight of a mother clutching her child, their eyes wide with fear, trapped beneath a collapsed structure. They hadn’t left with the other groups.
“No.” Said Aidan as he veered off course. He reached the burning building and began lifting the debris, trapping them with every ounce of strength he could muster.
“We have to keep moving!” Kaelira shouted as she pulled him back to their escape route.
“No!” Aidan shouted, his voice raw with desperation as he struggled to get back to the mother. He watched in horror as a ball of light smashed into the building where the mother and child were trapped before his eyes. Their screams echoed in his ears, tearing at his soul. Tears streamed down his face. “I could have saved them!”
Kaelira stopped pulling him abruptly, turning Aidan to face her as dirt and debris rained down around them from another nearby explosion. Aidan flinched, his body trembling as Kaelira gripped his shoulders. “You would have died if we had tried to help them. You need to survive. We need to escape. There was nothing we could have done.”
Aidan’s gaze was drawn upwards as a brilliant flash of magic lit the sky overhead. The Elder unleashed a torrent of magic against the Saint. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the village. The air crackled with raw energy, and the ground beneath their feet seemed to vibrate with the force of their battle.
The few Buildings around the two figures fighting that were still standing collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust, as the very fabric of the village was torn apart. The realisation hit Aidan hard – if they stayed, they would be caught in the crossfire.
Kaelira grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the forest. “We have to find Liora and get out of here. The Elder will hold them off, but we can’t stay.”
“Can she win against a saint?” Asked Aidan. Kaelira looked away, not answering Aidan’s question, as she pulled him in a new direction.
They dodged bursts of magic and burning buildings. As they rounded a corner, they were confronted by a temple soldier. The soldier lunged at them, sword raised, but Kaelira was faster. With a swift motion, she conjured a searing bolt of energy, striking the soldier square in the chest.
He crumpled to the ground, lifeless. Kaelira didn’t pause to catch her breath, her eyes filled with cold fury. “Quickly, this way,” She said, motioning for him to follow again.
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They found Liora near the edge of the village, her eyes wide with fear but determined. She was helping the wounded people to escape. Her hair was burnt, with scorch marks on her clothes.
“What’s happening?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“No time to explain,” Kaelira said, her grip tightening on Aidan’s arm. “We need to get to the forest and regroup.”
“Lead the way.” Nodded Liora. “There’s nothing we can do now. The Elder and Saint have both started using fourth-order magic. If one of those spells hits, there won’t be much of this area left.”
Aidan’s heart pounded as he followed the two women towards the treeline edge, the screams of the dying and the roar of the battle haunting every step. He glanced back one last time, seeing the Elder and the Saint cast simultaneously. The village was shrouded in white light as the night turned to day for a second.
Flames roared higher, casting grotesque shadows on the ground as the magical energy made his hair stand up. The sight seared into his memory as the two continued to blast each other with magic.
Aidan tripped as a temple soldier appeared; the soldier sneered as he swung his sword around, causing Aidan to duck under the sword blade barely. As Aidan finally got a good look at the soldier, he noticed this one was different, cloaked in dark, swirling energy.
Kaelira pushed Aidan and Liora behind her, stepping forward to confront the new threat. “Oh, come to play, have you? Very well, try to keep me entertained better than the last group.” The soldier chuckled darkly.
With a fierce cry, Kaelira unleashed a barrage of magical attacks. The soldier countered, sending blasts of dark magic her way. The air around them hummed with the intensity of their clash.
Kaelira moved with deadly grace, her power flowing effortlessly. She easily dodged the soldier’s attacks, her eyes blazing with fury. She overwhelmed him with a final, powerful spell, the dark energy dissipating as he fell to the ground, dead. Kaelira stood over him, breathing heavily, her face etched in pain.
“We have to keep moving,” she said, her voice barely heard over the noise behind them. She turned to Aidan, who stared at her with awe and fear. “We can discuss this later. Right now, we need to move, survive.”
Aidan nodded, and the weight of their situation finally settled heavily on his shoulders. They turned and fled into the forest, the sounds of battle fading behind them. As they ran, Aidan couldn’t shake the image of the mother and child or the sight of the village being consumed by flames. The pain of their loss was a deep, gnawing ache in his chest.
Moving deeper into the woods, the reality of their desperate escape set in. Each step was a fight for survival, the dark forest echoing with the sounds of their ragged breaths and the relentless pursuit of their enemies.
The first group of soldiers appeared suddenly, their swords gleaming in the dim light cast by the glow of their touches. Aidan’s heart pounded as he instinctively raised his hand, summoning a [Fire Bolt]. The bolt of fire streaked through the air, hitting the lead soldier squarely in the chest. Flames erupted, and the soldier screamed as he was engulfed, the fire spreading to the surrounding brush.
“Keep moving!” Kaelira shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos. She and Liora darted forward, engaging the remaining soldiers with the ringing sound of steel against steel. Aidan followed, his mind racing. He had to conserve his mana but knew they couldn’t hold back. He didn’t have a sword to help with, though he figured he would most likely only get in the way.
Another soldier lunged at him, sword raised. Aidan’s instincts took over. He conjured [Mage Armor], feeling the protective barrier envelop him. The soldier’s blade glanced off the magical shield, and Aidan retaliated with a swift [Arcane Strike]. His fist connected with the soldier’s torso, the magical energy amplifying the blow. The soldier crumpled, lifeless.
They fought through the forest, each encounter more brutal than the last. The soldiers showed no mercy, and neither could they. Aidan’s mana dwindled with each spell cast. Kaelira grabbed him as she finished off the last soldiers around them, “Here.” She said as she handed him a mana potion. Aidan nodded before he downed it straight away.
A tingling feeling rushed through him as the potion took effect. As a noise caused him to duck under a wild sword swing, he fired another [Fire Bolt], setting a cluster of enemies that had tried to sneak up ablaze. The sight of the burning soldiers was horrifying, as the smell of burnt flesh almost made Aidan throw up.
A few frantic minutes passed as they neared a clearing. Aidan stopped as he noticed a particularly vicious-looking group of soldiers waiting to ambush them. Aidan felt a surge of fear but forced himself to focus. He had only enough mana for one more spell. Summoning everything he had left, Aidan unleashed another [Arcane Strike] on the nearest soldier, the force of the blow amplified by his magical energy. The soldier fell, lifeless to the ground. Aidan didn’t have a chance to relax as the next soldier charged.
Kaelira’s spell cut through the air, striking down the soldier with pinpoint accuracy as he tried to advance on Aidan. Liora moved like a shadow, her agility allowing her to outmaneuver the remaining soldiers, slipping behind them as she cut them down one by one. Blood stained the ground, the air thick with the metallic scent of battle.
Aidan’s mind raced as his clothes stuck to his body. Sweat dripped down his face as he felt the last of his mana slipping away, but he refused to succumb to panic. His head was pounding along with his heartbeat as he struggled not to throw up. He had heard of mana depletion but never experienced it. His whole body ached. The feeling was worse than anything he could have imagined.
Aidan watched as Kaelira dispatched another soldier in front of him with a powerful blast of energy; her face held no emotion, almost like she was wearing a mask, as she took down a different soldier with a swift, precise strike to the throat.
“We have to keep moving!” Kaelira shouted, her voice barely audible over the clash of steel and the screams of the dying. Aidan nodded as he struggled to push through his exhaustion. They broke through the last of their pursuers, the forest growing quieter as the immediate danger passed.
Panting, they stopped to catch their breath. Aidan looked at Kaelira and Liora, their faces etched with exhaustion. “What now?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“We keep moving,” Kaelira said, her voice firm despite the fatigue. “We must find a safe place to regroup and plan our next steps.”
Aidan collapsed as everything caught up with him. “Do you think anyone else managed to escape the village? Should we go back to look for survivors?”
Liora snorted. “Are you stupid? Go back? We barely managed to escape.”
“We escaped. Let’s not worry about anything else right now, ok.”Said Kaelira, putting her hand on Liora’s shoulder.
Liora nodded, her eyes reflecting a frightening gleam. “Yes, you’re right. We’ll get through this, Even with the dead weight with us.”Her eyes never left Aidan’s as she said each word.
He knew she saw him as dead weight. But as much as he wanted to argue back. Aidan knew she was right. He was deadweight right now. He could barely case a few spells before he ran out of mana.
Aidan sunk on the uneven ground and closed his eyes. But he could still feel Liora’s eyes on him. He thought they had made progress, but it was back to how she was when they first met. The hot and cold emotions made his head hurt.
Pushing the thoughts away, He replayed the bits of the fight he had seen between the Elder and the saint. The magic they were throwing around was beyond anything he had seen. The closest he could place it was like the anime fight scenes he had watched on Earth.
Aidan listened to the two women moving around. Kaelira was trying to talk to Liora but with little success. Just as he decided he needed to ask about the magic they had been using, the tell-tale ping sound echoed through his ears.
‘Level Up!'