A steady flow of blood pooled out from the head of the man who Hazel had speared through the head. Then something else came out with the blood. A thick, red substance flowed, but did not flow down with the blood. Instead, it crawled across the man’s body, to where Hazel’s clawed foot rested on his chest. The moment that it touched her reddish black scales it sucked completely into her, staining it in a slightly brighter red.

Breathing in deep, Hazel turned to look at Warner who barely maintained his consciousness with her hand wrapped tightly around his neck.

Blinking at him, Hazel muttered. “Death is too good for you.” Turning to Amara and the guards around her, she said in a low voice. “You too. You’ll live your whole life regretting what you did today.”

Letting go of Warner, Hazel watched the boy collapse to the ground, whimpering like an injured dog.

Two thoughts ran through Amara’s mind as she processed what she had said. She was going to live, and that there would definitely be consequences to what happened today.

The second of the guards standing by Hazel felt an enormous sense of relief. He believed that Hazel’s words were directed at everyone. That belief quickly faded as he watched the girl take a slow, heavy step toward him. He had barely more than a moment to lament before Hazel’s claws drew bright red streaks through the air, digging deep trenches into his chest.

Like before, a thick, red substance came out from the man’s body and was absorbed into her body.

Slowly, a thick, red, misty aura started to emanate from Hazel’s body, expanding out and filling the room completely. Everyone inside of this aura was immediately overcome by a primal fear. They were all in the presence of a being capable of destroying them in less than a moment. They all froze, hoping to not draw her attention, but nothing they did or did not do would make a difference. She had promised life only to Amara and her nephew.

Every time Hazel moved, the aura that permeated the room reacted accordingly, like it was an extension of her body. With a wave of her hand, the four guards who had attacked Malcolm were crushed, their entire bodies twisting and almost popping before collapsing to the floor.

The few remaining guards all felt their bodies screaming at them to run away, fighting against the instinct that froze them in place. In spite of this, they all knew that it made no difference what they did, since it would only end in a painful, gruesome death.

One of them, falling into madness, turned and tried to run through the open doorway. They made it a short distance before the air itself grabbed at their leg, tripping them. They were dragged, kicking, screaming and clawing at the ground, back into the room where the red aura condensed into dozens of thick darts that shot through their body.

Throughout this entire ordeal, Hazel stood, reaching out toward them. Her expression remained completely neutral the entire time. Then, with the slight movement of her head, the door to the room slammed shut.

Similarly violent fates awaited everyone present. Everyone, except for Amara and Warner.

Puddles of the red substance floated through the air, hovering toward Hazel where it was absorbed.

After finishing with them, Hazel tilted her head and stared up at the ceiling. The entire room then began to shake as cracks formed in the stone that hung over them. The ceiling had broken and collapsed, but it fell little more than an inch before it started to float upward.

Watching her fly up through the hole in the ceiling, Amara dreaded what she had just unleashed on the world.

It was still a few hours before sunset, so everyone on Campus scratched their head when the sky turned red. Then they all felt terror grip their hearts as the red filled more than the sky.

Hundreds of eyes turned to the center plaza to see chunks of dirt and stone rising into the sky as a dark figure flew out in the middle of it all. The figure was small compared to all the debris that surrounded it, but it had a presence that demanded attention.

From Hazel’s perspective, she was being surrounded by curious ants. They were pests, unaware of their imminent destruction. In her eyes, they were all at least partially responsible for Malcolm’s death. Thus, they would all pay a price for what they’d done.

Hazel’s aura spread out far and wide, extending far beyond the walls of the College. She felt her power increase every time she absorbed someone’s Primeval Self, and her aura grew to show it.

Seeing a rather large crowd gathering, she tipped her head to the side and flicker her fingers in their direction. As she did, a large chunk of stone she’d pulled up with her ripped through the air toward them, catching at least a dozen of them unaware.

Hazel could feel the Primeval Self of each and every person around her. Some were stronger and larger than others, but that didn’t change the fact that they didn’t have any means of stopping her from taking them.

The red essence rose from the bodies of those crushed by the stone and flew through the air to Hazel. They tasted almost sweet as her body absorbed them.

Several teachers and employees of the College ran out to see the commotion and froze when their eyes caught onto her form. Nearly everyone was frozen.

A few select people were able to move. Some turned and ran away, while others ran into the crowd to pull people away. One of them was Avery Strahg.

Avery had spent the past few days being very lonely. He had a lot of people who wanted to talk with him all the time, but they just wanted to be seen with him, and he knew it. Malcolm was one of the few who actually spent time with him and he enjoyed it. He’d tried to visit him in the infirmary, but was turned away. He’d then gone to the final match today, expecting to find him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

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After a long time of searching, Avery had decided to just go back to their dorm, only to find chaos in the center plaza.

Hazel paused to observe the destruction and the actions of the people who were able to move. They were now very aware of what was going to happen to them, and most of them didn’t change what they were doing. A small number were quick to act. She took special note of them.

One of the teachers charged forward. They were a Mage, Hazel concluded before they could even summon their aura. A green color flared out from their eyes and hands just before a Magic Ring appeared in front of them.

Glaring at the ring, Hazel furrowed her brow and held out a hand. As she did, a Magic Ring appeared directly in front of the Mage, perfectly mirroring the spell that they were building. Both Magic Rings quickly cracked and shattered, disappearing almost instantly.

Before they could try and repeat their action, another Magic Ring appeared. Jagged, red words dug into its surface, building a spell in barely a moment. With a flash of light, the spell finished and an explosion of white, hot flames enveloped the Mage entirely. When the flames died, not even bone remained.

Seeing this happen didn’t stop the other Sorcerers from attacking. Mages and Warriors throwing whatever attacks they could at her. None of it worked, though. The Mages’ spells were all broken with ease and the Warriors were unable to attack from this distance, so they resorted to throwing things that missed on their own.

Seeing all of this, Hazel frowned. How were they all this weak? Gritting her teeth, Hazel threw a volley of stone and soil at everything around her, ripping more out of the ground as she did. The Warriors were able to dodge with their enhanced senses, but the Mages were slow to act and were all crushed.

With their deaths, she only grew stronger. And the stronger she became, the angrier she grew. The idea that people like this were the reason that Malcolm lost his life was absurd. She was capable of destroying all of them with no effort.

Bloody tears flowed down her face, dripping silently onto the broken ground beneath her.

On the ground, a good distance from the carnage left by Hazel’s attacks, Avery froze, staring up at the sky. Out of everyone present, he was the only one who had managed to take his eyes off of the figure in the sky. He felt something welling up inside of him.

It was something he’d never felt before. It washed over the terror instilled in him and filled his body with cold.

The red aura that filled the air began to thin around the ground, growing visibly thicker in the air until, with an explosion that shook the ground, a wave of red energy erupted out. The wave collided with every building tall enough to meet it, blowing them all apart at that point.

Large chunks of building, with people still in them, fell from the sky. The ground shook as hundreds died. There was one group that remained unscathed, however.

Hazel waited, feeling the souls of hundreds perish in an instant, drawing in the Primeval Self of every one of them. After finishing, she turned toward the one group left alive. Surrounded by rubble and bodies, a glittering dome of blueish ice stood tall.

Inside this dome, Avery fell to his knees, completely drenched in sweat. Standing beside him was a giant, pale blue frog.

“I have ne’er before seen a power so great as this.” The frog spoke. “What is this foe that stands against us?”

The red aura inside the dome of ice slowly began to dissipate as the frog sucked in a deep breath.

“What are you?” Avery asked, falling onto his back.

The frog turned to face him and answered. “I am he who has blessed your blood. Many eons past, I contracted with your ancestor. Every generation since, I have blessed the main family with my power.”

“So, you’re the reason we have this power?” Avery asked, looking down to his hand.

“Aye.” The frog replied. “And I hope to continue. If we perish beneath this foe, then the contract will end.”

“Who is doing this?” Avery asked, struggling to stand.

A crowd began to gather around Avery and the frog.

“In all my years, I have never born witness to a power such as this.” The frog explained. “I can feel that they are grieving. Their fiery wrath will consume this world if it is not cooled.”

“And how do we do that?” Someone in the crowd asked.

“If they are able to see reason, then we must beg forgiveness. If they are gripped by madness, then we must help them see reason.”

“And if we fail.” Another asked.

“Then our fate is sealed.”

A red light shone through the thick ice, causing everyone inside the dome to cry out in fear.

“Hold!” The frog shouted.

It sucked in a deep breath and then spewed out a thick fog that supported the dome that protected them. The ice grew thicker as the fog stuck to it, but the light only became brighter.

Eventually, Avery collapsed to the ground and the frog stopped.

“I cannot do more. If I do, then it will permanently harm you.” The frog said, looking down at Avery.

Avery didn’t have the stamina to even speak and simply dropped his head to the cold floor.

“I hope this is not the end.” The frog said as its body dissipated into fog.

The red light flashed above everyone as Hazel finally broke through.

Everyone cowered in fear as Hazel slowly descended in the middle of them. Her clawed feet scratched at the ground as she slowly stepped toward Avery.

Looking down at him, Hazel stopped. Out of everyone here, this young man was the only other person who Malcolm cared about. They were friends.

Suddenly, an intense pain gripped Hazel’s mind as her eyes started to revert to their normal state.

╚╩╩╩╝ Hazel ╚╩╩╩╝

“Hazel!” A voice screamed in my mind.

Immediately, clarity filled my mind.

“Hazel, are you listening?” It was Emora.

Emora, during the entirety of my rampage, had been trying to speak to me, but I wouldn’t listen. Something had come over me.

Starting to feel very woozy, I mumbled. “I’m- I’m listening.”

“Your power is trying to take over your body. You have to control your emotions.” Emora said in my mind.

“What’s the point.” I muttered, feeling tears well up in my eyes. “Malcolm isn’t here anymore. What am I supposed to do?”

“He’s not dead!” Emora cried out. “I’ve been trying to tell you that!”

I felt my stomach turn as those words processed in my mind.

“How?” I asked.

“Go to him.” Emora said simply.

Ignoring the crying, whimpering people around me, I turned around and flew back out the hole I came in from.

In the middle of the center plaza, an enormous hole sat, revealing the room that Malcolm had supposedly died in. Dropping into this room, I ran to Malcolm’s side and picked up his body with ease.

Holding him in my arms, I felt it. It was like barely there, like a single ember, but I could feel it. His Primeval Self was in his body, frantically trying to heal him.

He was alive. Barely so, but he was.

“You need to get out of here as soon as you can!” Emora commanded.

“Where do we go?” I asked.

“It matters very little at this point.” Emora replied. “You will be in great danger if you stay here.”

“What about Bella and Lord Claude and- and his mom?”

“We can’t worry about them right now.”

“Why?”

“Can you not feel it?” Emora asked. “The tingling in the back of your head?”

They were right. It was barely there, but it was like a warning.

“What is that?” I asked.

“A very ancient evil. One as old as humanity in this world.”

I could feel its presence, and it was getting closer.