“Okay guys, is everyone here?” Rose sat down on her bed as the other students sat down on the carpet and on Aura’s bed.
“I think so,” Moirrey stated shyly.
“Can’t we just get on with it?” Kasen said.
“Yeah,” Rose cleared her throat.
“Aura and Dominick have gone missing.”
“Wait, what?” Victoria chimed in.
“They found evidence in a dungeon in Silverkeep that there was a struggle and the DNA samples match those of Dominick’s and Aura’s. I have no idea where they are but I can guarantee you that it’s the Shadows behind this,” Rose explained.
“Look, Rose. I know we were on the same team for Magic Sports a few times but I’m not willing to risk my life for someone I barely know. I’m sorry.”
Evan got up and walked out of the room.
“Please, guys, I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t think it was serious. This is Aura and Dominick’s lives at stake,” she said, behind tears.
“But it’s also ours,” Paul walked out of the room behind Evan.
“Moirrey? Victoria?” Rose looked at them, pleadingly.
“I can’t. I wish I could,” Victoria patted Rose on her shoulder.
Moirrey lowered her head in shame and walked out behind Victoria.
Everyone had abandoned her in her time of need. When she needed them the most they left.
When Dominick would’ve risked his life without hesitation, they threw him to the side.
When Aura would’ve eventually given in, they didn’t even think about helping her or him.
“Let’s do it,” Kasen proclaimed.
Rose looked up.
Kasen was the only left out of the group.
“Forget them. They’re scared. Dominick won’t escape me; not when he owes me a rematch,” Kasen walked over and held his hand out.
Rose grabbed a hold as Kasen helped her up.
They nodded and Kasen left for his room to gather the things he needed.
A FEW HOURS LATER
Rose had thrown all of her belongings that could fit into a backpack into her backpack.
There was a knock at the door.
Rose’s heart started beating as she looked through the peephole.
Kasen stood there, looking around, waiting to be let in.
Rose twisted the door knob and ushered him in quickly.
“What’s the rush?” Kasen asked.
“First of all, my friends were kidnapped. Secondly, the principal and vice principal are definitely going to try and stop us,” Rose closed the door behind him.
“How are we supposed to get past them?”
“Maybe a tunnel?”
“Like a tunnel underground?”
“Yeah, one of my companions can dig for us,” Rose put her hand out; palm up.
“C’mon, Digsby,” she whispered.
“Digsby?” Kasen chuckled a little bit.
“Don’t judge. I named him when I was a kid,” she turned her head away, bashfully.
“But why Digsby?” Kasen pressed the issue.
“When I summoned him for the first time; the first thing he did was dig a tunnel into the ground and tried to hide from me,” she replied.
“Oh. Honestly, I would too,” Kasen snickered under his breath.
Rose huffed at him before directing Digsby to the spot she wanted him to dig.
“How will he know where to go?”
“He shares my thoughts,” she sat down on her bed.
He shuffled around awkwardly before settling on the floor. The stifling silence filled the room as the two of them realized they never talked without Dominick around. Aura never really liked Kasen at all. Rose gave him a fair chance and withheld judgment; albeit she never got to learn anything about him.
“Hey, Rose, how long will this take?” He asked, impatiently.
“2 hours, at most,” she said, looking up at the ceiling.
“UGH!” He grumbled.
“Kasen, I have a question,” Rose sat up and looked at him.
“Shoot,” he threw a paper ball into the air and caught it.
“What makes you so obsessed with fighting Dominick?” She kicked her feet.
“I don’t really know. His power is unique, yeah, but there’s something else. He pushed me to my limits like no one ever did before. He’s kinda like me .We don’t stop fighting. That and I never really got to fight anyone on the same level as me,” he threw the paper ball into the air once more.
“Yeah, he doesn’t stop. He doesn’t know this so you can’t tell him but he saved me in a sense,” Rose stared off.
“What do you mean?” Kasen tossed the paper ball to her.
“I mean,” she caught the ball, “that I wasn’t there, mentally. At first, I was just going to flirt with him a little because it was obvious Aura had a crush on him but I genuinely found myself caring for him in a way I didn’t think was possible. The way he fights inspires me to fight against my father’s expectations.”
Kasen was quiet for a moment before speaking again.
“Speaking of Dominick, did you see?”
“Did I see what?"
Kasen held out his handheld portable transmitter as a video projected from it.
It was the entire fight at Enchantopia. The raw footage that only a few of us in attendance saw firsthand.
“Where did you get this?” She looked at him.
“It’s spreading throughout the school like wildfire," Kasen started picking at a piece of wood on the floor, "They've been saying things like, "What is that?" and calling him names like freak, weirdo, loser, manaless garbage," Kasen had a look on his face; not one of anger for Dominick but anger about the people talking about him.
"They all act so tough when the thing is, our strength is not dependent on our magic or how much mana we have. It’s about how far we can push ourselves and I guarantee you,” he pointed to the door with his thumb, “not a single person out there has more fight in them than Dominick,” he laid down.
Aura stared at him. The boy she thought she knew wasn’t there anymore. She had a newfound admiration and respect for Kasen.
“What?” Kasen was staring at Rose with a skeptical look.
“Nothing,” Rose smiled to herself.
He looked at her knowingly,
“I judge people based on words they say and the way they fight and he’s one hell of a fighter.”
“You’re right about that," she replied.
TWO HOURS LATER
Digsby hopped out of the tunnel; startling Kasen awake as I called him back. Kasen rubbed his eyes and stood up off the ground. He lifted up his arms and stretched.
He grunted before staring at me.
“What now?” He asked.
“Now we go into the tunnel,” Rose pointed to the hole in the ground.
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“It took him 2 hours to dig that thing and now we gotta crawl through it for 2 hours?”
“No, it only took him an hour because he made multiple exits and different pathways in case of emergency. I know which one we’ll be taking,” Rose jumped into the tunnel.
Kasen sighed before jumping in behind her.
“Dominick,” Nomad stood across from me, staring intently.
“Yes?” I responded.
“What is your biggest weakness?”
“My biggest weakness? Like in my technique?”
“Your biggest weakness. What do you feel is what holds you back and prevents you from winning fights you could’ve won?” He lifted up his staff and slammed it back onto the ground.
“Well if my enemy’s magic is too powerful; it can shatter through the Colosseum and honestly the walls are kinda flimsy when faced with powerful physical attacks.”
My mind flipped between Kasen and Gramps.
“So how do you plan on getting over those weaknesses? To become the best version of yourself that you can?”
I looked at him dumbfounded.
“If I knew that, don’t you think I’d be doing that?” I replied.
He scratched the back of his head before speaking.
“We don’t have much time. I will teach you one thing that will be beneficial against the Shadows. Use your Colosseum.”
“Colosseum of the Damned.”
The elliptical structure lifted out of the ground; shaking the ground as it rose. The structure stood mighty as Nomad walked in through the front entrance.
He looked around to the seats then to the arches that were scattered across.
“Okay…” he muttered to himself.
He dug around in his pocket before pulling out a blindfold.
“Put this on.”
“What, why?”
“I’m going to be teaching you a technique that I think you can use… Didn’t I explain this already?” He asked, genuinely confused.
“Yeah but why the blindfold?” I held it up in front of him.
“Oh, right. The technique is called Arena Bind. I met someone with a domain like spell and he created this himself," Nomad explained.
I lifted the blindfold up to my eyes and held it against them. I reached my hands to the back of my head and tied it to stay on my head.
“This is going to surprise you but…”
The darkness suddenly began morphing into an empty room with a giant chair in the middle of the room. Leather straps rested on the arms and feet of the chair as voices began to echo.
“Aura, we won’t kill you but you’re gonna wish you were dead when we’re done with you,” a voice spoke. No face or body came into vision as I looked around for the source.
“DON’T YOU TOUCH HER!” I shouted, sprinting and reaching for where the voices were.
Except they were everywhere.
“Dominick, why can’t you save me?” Aura suddenly appeared in the chair, bound by the leather restraints around her arms and feet.
“I’ll get you outta here.”
I ripped off the restraints and picked her up off the chair.
“Can you move?” I asked her.
“Yeah, I can move,” she stared at me for a brief moment before looking backwards.
“THEY’RE COMING!” She screamed.
“GO, AURA! I CAN HOLD THEM OFF!”
“IF YOU DIE, I’LL BRING YOU BACK AND KILL YOU MYSELF!” The metal chains clinged to the bounds that held her as they smacked against the ground.
Time stopped for a moment.
“Dominick, it’s me, Nomad,” a voice said.
“Nomad? This isn’t real?” I asked.
“It isn’t but you’ll forget that after this conversation. Arena Bind will allow you to slow down your enemies for a brief moment in time; it’s almost like Time Manipulation. The trick to it is to trust your instincts hence the reason for this debacle. Good luck.”
Time started moving once more.
“APPREHEND HIM!” The hooded figures flooded into the area.
“COLOSSEUM OF THE DAMNED!”
The Colosseum rose from the ground, encapsulating all of us within its boundaries.
“We know about your little trick, Dominick,” the Figures pulled out weapons from underneath their cloaks.
The first one lunged, his knife a blur. I leaned backwards, narrowly avoiding the blade. The knife wooshed through the air where I had been standing. Using the momentum, I kicked him square in the chest; sending him tumbling into some of the Shadows. More of the Shadows had encircled me, tightening the noose, cutting off any chance of escape I had.
I looked around frantically to find a path for an escape route if necessary.
The final member waltzed into the last crevice.
I was trapped.
“EVERYONE! THE BOY DOES NOT LEAVE HERE! DEAD OR ALIVE!”
An order from their leader rallied the troops and everyone rushed me at once, brandishing their weapons. Chaos ensued as their blades clashed. They cut through each other in a frenzy to reach me as they began to crowd around me. I darted between their blades and bodies, dodging blades as they swung at my head. I grabbed a knife that was swinging towards me and redirected it towards the sender, penetrating his shoulder. He screamed in agony as his cries began to fade. A dagger zipped past my ear; almost taking it off while another one landed in the dirt below.
A blade swiped beneath me. I jumped over it as I tumbled between bodies; trying my best to not die here. I broke off, finally, into a sprint for the far side of the colosseum. The onslaught followed closely behind as I was barely able to stay ahead.
But there he was… A large silhouette looming overhead; the dim light blanketing him. His eerie grin was the only visible feature on him as he stomped closer. He lifted his baton high before crashing it down. I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed my sword and deflected it. The brutal force of his strike made my muscles scream in pain as I barely held on. The pain rippled through my arm as he prepared another strike. I grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back. I lifted him off of the ground and threw him into the other Shadows in pursuit. They tumbled like Dominoes as I made my way away from the fray.
It didn’t slow them down one bit as more figures showed up behind them. I can’t stop. I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to. My muscles didn’t feel the same way as they began to give out on me.
“No, no, no, no, COME ON! DON’T FAIL ME NOW!” I screamed at my legs to no avail.
The rest of the Shadows caught up to me as my legs gave out.
I fell to one knee.
“I WILL NEVER-”
I succumbed to my fate.
I grabbed the blindfold and lifted it off of my head.
My body was sweaty and tired from the fighting. Although, I wasn’t where I was before.
I looked around.
“YOU CALL THAT TRAINING? I JUST DIED!” I yelled at Nomad.
“You fought hard,” Nomad’s voice was calm yet stern, “but you allowed your colosseum to fight against you.”
“That wasn’t the problem,” I rubbed the back of my head, “there were too many of them—I tried to fight them off but they overwhelmed me.”
Nomad crouched to meet me on the ground. His eyes were brimming with more emotion than I’ve ever seen.
“You have potential, kid. You need to focus and erase all distractions. Nothing but now should be on your mind. So don’t think, just do. Don’t react, maximize your Colosseum and make it your own. It IS yours. So control it.”
“How am I supposed to do that? I’ve never done anything like it before—” Nomad thwacked him on the head with his staff.
“WHAT THE HELL—”
“Look,” Nomad pointed forward.
Shimmering blue lines appeared in front of him. My eyes widened as I saw the barriers form at precise points, exactly where I had been surrounded before.
“Is that magic?” I asked.
“No, it’s simply a way to control your colosseum. You’re quick but that’s not always enough. You need to control this Domain the way you need to. The way you want to. The Shadows rely on numbers but you can take that advantage away with Arena Bind.”
He rose, offering me a hand. I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up.
“We’ve got a day at most so let’s get back to it,” Nomad said.
“I don’t think we have that much time,” I replied.
“We will since I need to find their location anyways so you need to train until then.”
“I’ll master this, Nomad.”
For Aura.
Rose and Kasen made their way through the intricate tunnel that Disgby previously made for them with little to no difficulty at all besides the fact that Kasen complained the entire time.
“Are we finally out?” Kasen whispered.
“Yeah but we’re not out of the woods yet.”
The street lamps suddenly turned red. An alarm started blaring from inside the giant barrier that stood between the school and the outside.
“Rose Parsons, Kasen Briggs, stop where you are,” A familiar voice boomed.
We swiveled our heads to see the Principal's silhouette looming in front of the gate.
“NO! WE CAN’T JUST SIT HERE WHILE YOU TWIDDLE YOUR THUMBS! EVERY MOMENT YOU SPEND HERE IS A MOMENT THAT AURA IS SUFFERING. THAT DOMINICK IS SUFFERING! AT THE HANDS OF THOSE MANIACS!” Rose screamed; her eyes glistening from the tears that finally broke through.
Kasen put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, the street lamps reflecting off of her pupils. They nodded and faced the principal head on.
“I see,” The Principal threw down his coat.
He cracked his knuckles and then twisted his neck slightly; cracking also.
“CHAOS MAGIC: TEMPORAL ZONE!”
The Principal pointed towards them, his face as inscrutable as ever.
The air distorted as it felt like danger was ever looming closer. The hairs on her arm stood up.
“SPIRIT MAGIC-”
“MIRROR MAGIC: DEFLECTION!”
A colossal mirror emerged in front of us.
The two spells clashed before the mirror shattered; sending the spell back towards the caster. The Principal snapped. The spell squandered in front of him.
“Ah, so that's how it’s going to be…”
A figure stood in front of us, shielding us from the Principal.
“I will not let these students lose their dear friends because of the incompetence of the Magic Defense Force,” Mr Lainhart spoke.
“Mr. Lainhart, you’re putting these students in danger by letting them go by themselves. Please step aside,” his mana seeped from him; like a slow moving mist. The mana had a primal feeling to it; like a beast hunting its prey.
His eyes ignited in a smoldering red, fierce and unyielding, like a lion stalking its prey in the darkness.
He’s going to kill Mr. Lainhart.
“GO, KIDS! NOW!” He lifted his hands up.
“MIRROR PRISON!”
Mirrors appeared in the air and on the ground surrounding the Principal.
He simply stared at the two as they sprinted away.
His eyes, ignited like twin rubies catching fire, never left them until the mirror blocked his vision.