A thunderous roar, sharp as a whip crack, splited the air. The dusty ground shook with a deep, resonant rumble. The blood-stained guard in front of me flashed a face of panic before their body was lost beneath the flood of accumulated rubble. A brick chimney stack toppled from above and mercilessly crushed the guard's body. The mana barrier violently shattered and caused cascading bricks to flood towards me.

"What's happening!?" I whimpered.

"Watch out! Twel!" Aria pulled on my cloak roughly. The rubble flooded in from where the mana barrier used to stand.

"Ah!" I shouted. The three of us fell into Yaffir's storefront, and our backs smashed into the bricks. The sides of the cramped alleyway funneled us together.

— this was danger, real danger. This was the first time I've ever seen someone die like that. I hope I wake up. I hope I — just wake up and it's all fine. Oh god — it's finally all processed — I'm going to die. I — I needed to get Aria and Yaffir to safety — and somehow — gather some potions — and fetch Mum and Dad. We needed to run. I needed to do something here. It was an unsightly mess in front of me, chaotic destruction. I had missed most of it; it happened in only minutes.

Aria gently placed Yaffir against the wall as he slumped into it. Aria teared up and wiped her eyes with her sleeves before she turned to me confidently, "I'm going to go check on our parents." Aria gathered her courage and hugged me. The thoughts in my head swirled, occupying me. "I want you to stay here, Twel, go inside the store, and don't move unless you have no choice." My sister began to climb across the rubble in front of us between loud shakes and booms.

I looked up to Aria with tears, "We should go together, please."

"Don't move. I won't take long, I promise. Head inside." Aria climbed up the rubble and into the chaos.

"A-Aria!" I shout to my sister as she jumps over the rubble and into the street. She had gone. I turned to Yaffir. He had grown quiet and had stopped breathing; his eyes were closed, and his chest was leaking a crimson mist. I was so caught up with everything I didn't even notice how he'd slumped over. The cloaked man might have done more than use a blade on my friend. Maybe he poisoned or cursed him.

I ran inside Yaffir's shop. It was like mine, with a matched oaken interior. Magefire bulbs situated upon sconces lit up the room a dim orange. Various display cabinets showed off exotic materials. Most of the shelves were broken up, and there was a trail of fresh blood across the floor. I hurriedly searched the reagents spread across the ground to see if I could conjure any potion to help Yaffir.

Boom. An enormous explosion shook the entire building. The sounds of screams and chaos flooded into the room with increasing vigor.

I saw an assortment of gems and stones scattered across the room. It made sense, as Yaffir mainly deals in those types of materials. For every couple of gems, I found a reagent he often stocked; I was one of his only customers for this type of stuff. I picked up some ent bark that could act as a neutralizer for rotting curses. Hydra scales were ideal in this case, but I knew seeing any would be rare. There was some moonbloom, but I needed the emberthornes Oswald gave me to use that. Moonbloom was excellent as a base for dispelling adverse effects and healing but needs a common catalyst, such as emberthornes, to be effective. I finished my scavenging by spotting a singular lunar pearl.

Oswald would be happy to see I got my hands on one.

I needed to try without a catalyst. I grabbed a ruby from the floor and a half-drunk flask of Ale from the counter. I ground the ent-bark using the ruby against the floor as a makeshift mortar and pestle. I kept going until the dried-out wooden flakes turned into a powder. I scooped the powder into the flask and added all the moonbloom I could find. The contaminated water didn't allow the reaction to occur well, and without a catalyst, only a tiny portion of the moonbloom reacted. It'd have to do.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

I dashed back into the alleyway, clutching my hastily concocted potion. A blast of intense heat washed over me. I looked up, noticing how the sky was now a deep, ominous ember. The heavens pulsed with an infernal glow. Wyverns, their forms silhouetted against the fiery backdrop, soared through the air with menace. Yaffir's body was engulfed in voracious flames.

Deep orange glowing gates were suspended in the sky. Each seethed with malevolent energy. They appeared to be acting as gateways for an array of hadean creatures. These beings, of various shapes and horrors, spilled forth from the portals' boundaries, descending down.

I quickly climbed up the rubble in front of me; a firebolt landed behind me and spread a burning flame across my body. I tumbled down the rocks and scrunched my face in pain. "Ouch!" I covered my head, my arms burned. "A-Aria!? Are you there?" I shouted out; adrenaline alone now moved my body.

With a non-obstructed view, I finally saw what was going on. Large meteors rained upon the city while building-sized demons walked between streets and crushed entire buildings. Several large infernal towers were in the distance, and the lake that ran through the city's center had turned molten. The streets were filled with lifeless bodies. Guards, adventurers, and residents alike. Burned, crushed, dismembered. I was dead. This is the end. Hell had come to earth.

"Twel!" A limping Aria turned the corner and slumped against the side of the street. I sprinted over to her as fast as I could. "Aria! What happened!" She was severely burned.

"I-I couldn't get to our parents. The way is completely blocked." She winced in pain.

I held her slumping body over me and helped her up. I pulled her back behind the pile of rubble in the alleyway. I held the flask to her lips. I tried to get her to drink my makeshift potion. Anything at this point was worth a try.

"Hah. Having a final drink with me? Twel..." Her eyes were wet, the fire around us reflecting in the droplets.

"M-Maybe it'll make you feel better. It's a potion, Aria." I placed it up to her lips.

She took a few sips before she lowered the drink away from her lips using her burnt hand. It didn't appear to be having much effect on her. Damn it! If only I had carried around some ingredients today. I'm a useless alchemist.

"Aria. You're the best alchemist I know, you know that, right?" Aria smiled; she knew exactly how I felt even at that moment and was selflessly trying to cheer me up. "Both exits on the high street are blocked. Maybe we could hide it out, but even as an optimist, I'm losing hope here, Twel."

Another explosion rocked the ground beneath us. Yaffir's store gave in to the relentless assault, crumbling with a thunderous roar. Bricks and debris cascaded around me and Aria, and bricks fell down around our bodies. We were alive but heavily bruised, and I was becoming numb to the explosions. I looked into the sky, noticing that the meteorites had grown several times in size, each explosion took out chunks of the city. I guess, this was how it was going to end.

"Sorry Aria. I really do want to be more like you someday. You're a pretty awesome sister." Overwhelmed, tears flooded my eyes. I nestled into her side. Her company offered a fleeting refuge from the turmoil around us.

We both made ourselves comfortable on the bed of rock, watching the sky fall down upon us. We could only hope to die a quick, peaceful death from a ball of fire rather than be torn apart by some imp or demon. I had no potions; the only glyph I carried was placed back at my store. If only I could do something, anything:

> "If only I could brew a potion to change fate."

>

> That was my only thought in that moment

— I noticed that the sapphire necklace was glowing blue from under the rocks; it called out to me. I used my remaining energy, maneuvered my burnt arm between the rocks, and grabbed the necklace. I felt like the ocean waves calmed me down in my final moments. Hearing the sea... you know? I've never been to the ocean before—

"Twel. I'm sorry," Aria called out just as the meteor crashed down upon us.

A bright light fills my vision. This is it, then. The end. Thanks, Aria.

----------------------------------------

* * *

The light — it was not death. It was the glow of the necklace.

I slept. I'm not sure, but it did feel like sleeping. Not peaceful sleeping, but sleeping without a doubt.

I rubbed my eyes. I shifted around my back, feeling the stone surface between my shoulder blades. I began to take in my surroundings. My head was still fuzzy. Where was I? I think I'm in a stone chamber. I notice someone alongside me. It appears to be Aria, still fast asleep. I was no longer injured, same with Aria at first glance. Was I ever injured? Was this heaven?

What the hell is happening?