“Uriana?” Clay stared down at his sister as she took a bite of her ice cream. “What’s happening?”

“We’re on our way home from the park” Uriana answered. “Can we hurry up, my feet hurt.”

This girl's mana, I’ve never felt anything like it.

“Not now” Clay whispered to Sephtis. He was completely baffled about what was going on. Clay looked around, realizing he was just a few streets away from his house. “What did we do today Uriana?” Clay asked, turning back to his sister.

“We went to get my mana crystal, but it was broken, then we went to the park, and then got burgers and ice cream” she held up her ice cream cone to emphasize the last part.

Clay was dumbstruck by the situation he was in. “This can’t be real” Clay whispered again, Uriana returning her attention to her ice cream.

I have no idea what's going on. Last I remember you died. Again.

Clay stood frozen, unsure what to do next. He was pretty sure he wasn’t dreaming, you have to be alive to do that. He had never heard of magic being able to create illusions like this, but then again he had never heard of magic turning back time either. This had been his third death, and each time he woke up time had passed, not regressed. This was impossible.

Clay looked down at his sister once again. He had wanted nothing more than to see her safe again, but there had been a small part of him that thought he would never see her again. Having her here now, happily eating her ice cream and holding his hand, he was almost overcome with joy.

Almost.

Clay's head swiveled around, observing their surroundings again. If this was real, then he knew what would be coming next. If he was being a second chance, he was going to be sure to seize hold of it.

There was nobody nearby that he could see, meaning the elves weren’t following him, instead likely waiting to ambush him up ahead. Clay reached down for his handgun almost instinctively, but just grabbed the side of his pants. “Shit” Clay thought. His clothes had reverted back to what he was wearing that day too.

Clay's mind raced on what to do next. He couldn’t just go walking down the street, unarmed with Uriana at his side. His fate would just be the same as last time. Clay grabbed Uriana up into his arms, causing her to yelp and drop her ice cream. Before she could protest, he specter kicked up into the air, stepping to a nearby tree branch. He rapidly stepped through the trees, before landing at the back door of his house.

“What was that?” Uriana yelled at him, visibly freaked out. Clay continued carrying her until he was in her bedroom. “Listen, stay here and don’t come out until mom and dad come back.” After being rattled by being launched through the air, she just nodded her head meekly as Clay closed the door.

So what's the play? They clearly know where you live, and you’re unarmed. You should call for backup.

Clay paused at the idea. He hadn’t thought of calling the NDSA. But at the same time he didn’t really care. “I want them dead, not arrested. After what they did to me, to her, I’m going to kill them” Clay said coldly. He grabbed two large steak knives from his kitchen. “These will have to do.”

Going in a little under prepared, aren’t you?

Clay ignored him. He really would’ve preferred to have a gun, but there wasn’t one in his house and he didn’t have time to find one, or really, steal one, from somewhere else. Clay was betting entirely on a surprise blitz before the elves could even react.

Clay exited out his backdoor, leaping again into the air and stepping onto a tree branch. He looked down in his front yard, but it was empty. The last time an elf had been laying in wait in front of his door, the elf that ultimately took Uriana and killed him. If he wasn’t there now, he must’ve been laying in wait in a location different from the elves that ambushed Clay down the street. He would have to find him after he finished with the ambush party.

Clay stepped through the trees, slower this time and closer to the edge of the street. It didn’t take long to find them, huddled together behind some bushes, talking to each other.

“Are you sure the target was supposed to come down this way?” One of them asked. “Yeah, she was spotted leaving a diner with her brother, heading this way” another answered. “Someone should scout ahead and see where the hell he is.”

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“Six in total” Clay thought to himself.

Clay quickly specter stepped behind the one furthest in the back, raising his left knife and sliding it into the throat of the first elf. He quickly pulled the knife out before stepping to the next one, repeating the attack but with the knife in his right hand. He had just stabbed the third one when the remaining elves turned around, realizing something was wrong.

The elves reacted quickly, one of them lunging towards Clay while the other two leaped back to get some distance. The elf lunging at Clay was moving with incredible speed, clearly boosting himself physically with his mana. After sparring with Valerie enough times though, Clay had become experienced with fighting against this kind of ability, even if this elf was moving much faster than Valerie could. However, unlike Valerie, this elf had never experienced the abilities Clay possessed.

Syncing his specter step up to match the elf's speed, Clay flawlessly stepped behind the elf, already swinging his knife behind him and catching the elf in the throat. The elf instinctively grabbed the knife stabbing him, ripping it out of Clay's hands before he could step away. But the damage was done, and the elf clearly had no healing magic as he helplessly grabbed at the wound in his neck. The other three elves he had stabbed were equally as helpless.

Clay turned back to the remaining two elves, easily dodging an ice spell meant to immobilize him. He stepped up to the next elf, who dodged the first swing of his knife. They were adapting to his attacks, Clay knew he had to finish them off. Grabbing the elf, Clay specter leaped high into the air, dragging his victim along with him. After they were several hundred feet up he let go, letting him freefall back to the ground.

Clay specter stepped behind the remaining elf, who was staring up into the sky at his ally falling helplessly. He had seen Clay step away, and tried to duck, but it was too late as Clay slipped the knife into his throat. Clay pulled it out and watched the elf fall to the dirt, but noticed he had begun healing himself. “You son of a bitch” Clay muttered, bringing his hand down onto the elf and draining its life force away, killing him. Clay had just finished with this elf when a loud thud confirmed the other one had returned to earth. One by one Clay went to each elf, who were barely still clinging onto their life, and finished them off.

Satisfied that there weren’t any survivors, and searching for any other elves hidden nearby, Clay prepared to head back in the direction of his house, when someone spoke behind him. “What have you done?”

Clay spun around. Floating among the trees, and glaring with fury at Clay was the final elf, the one whose image from that day had been seared into his memory.

Clay tensed up at the sight of him, not many mages could fly, even among the elves, he knew it took decades of practice to master. This elf was older than he looked.

The elf raised its hand, engulfing the area Clay had just stepped away from with fire. It was unlike the fireball spell, this time the flames appeared directly where Clay stood with minimal warning. Still, he was able to specter step out of the way in time, but just barely.

The elf let out a large burst of mana, performing a spell that couldn’t be seen, but its incredible power could be sensed. Clay quickly specter stepped, trying to dodge whatever the elf had done, and slammed face first into an invisible wall. “Shit.” Clay felt all around him, confirming he was trapped in a barrier spell.

Clay tried to specter step in multiple directions, but he couldn’t find a route to go beyond the confines of the barrier. He could specter step around objects, but he had never been able to go through them. He was stuck.

The elf landed just outside of the barrier, inspecting Clay closely. “You’re the targets brother. But you aren’t supposed to possess any magical abilities, and I can see your mana pool, it's pathetic.”

Clay turned to the elf, giving up trying to escape the box he was trapped in. “Sorry to disappoint” he sneered, hate filling his eyes. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting you take her.”

The elf stared at him blankly. “How did you know we were here? And where is your sister?”

Clay responded with silence, causing the elves' anger to flare “I don’t have time for this.” With a snap of his fingers, Clay's body twitched and seized with incredible pain, as if he was being electrocuted. After a second, the pain stopped, and Clay was left gasping for breath.

“You can either die quick and painlessly, or this can be long and brutal, your choice kid,” the elf said impatiently.

“You’re the one who’s going to die, one way or another. Just like the others I killed. You will pay for hurting my family.”

The elf flew into a rage, entering the barrier and grabbing Clay by the throat. His strength was incredible. “You talk about harming family, but I’ve known these elves since they were born, they had studied and trained under me since before for decades before you were even born. For them to be killed so quickly, with so little dignity, by an insect like you, pains me more than an animal like you could ever understand. Tell me what I want to know, or I will slaughter your entire family for this…”

The elf backed away, releasing his grip, but not before Clay had drained a significant amount of his mana away. The barrier faded as its supply of mana was cut off.

“What are you?” The elf asked weakly.

Clay silently clutched his knife, stepping towards the retreating elf. Before he could strike though, the elf rocketed into the air, flying away at an incredible speed. Even with Clay's specter step ability, he couldn’t keep up and had to give up trying to chase him down.

Arriving back at his home, Clay sighed with a mixture of frustration and relief. On the one hand, the last elf had gotten away, and that would surely cause trouble in the future. But he had done it, he had stopped the kidnapping and saved his sister.

“This is it, my second chance,” Clay said quietly to himself, pulling open his back door and walking into the house.