"Ground below, rise with fury! Stone Spikes, pierce and impale!"

The earth churned in response, erupting in a volley of jagged spikes that ripped toward me and Lou. My fingers danced across the Morphblade, channeling Flow as the weapon morphed into a shimmering whip. With a flick of my wrist, I lashed out, the whip snapping with a metallic clang as it deflected each incoming projectile. Glancing at Lou, I saw him nimbly dodging the remaining spikes, his sword a blur of silver against the brown onslaught.

Fury burned hotter in my gut, fueled further by the woman's sadistic grin. Controlling the Flow coursing through my legs, I crouched low, the ground groaning beneath my sudden weight. Then, I exploded forward in a burst of speed, aiming for the woman's smug face.

Just as I lunged, a wall of mud surged from the earth, a sickening squelch as it rose between me and my target. My momentum carried me forward, the Death's Tear blade embedding itself uselessly in the thick mud. Frustration welled up – I'd been too focused on closing the distance, too eager for vengeance, that I'd missed listening to her incantation.

Before I could wrench the blade free, a low tremor ran through the ground. The woman's chant echoed in my ears: "By the power of earth and stone, rise and strike with force unknown. Rock Pillar, ascend and shatter!"

The mud wall pulsed with a malevolent brown light. Then, with a deafening crack, a colossal pillar of stone erupted from within, shattering the mud and hurtling towards me. In a desperate gamble, I yanked the Flow from the Morphblade, sacrificing the attack for a chance at escape. But the pillar was too fast, too massive. It slammed into me with the force of a charging bull, sending me flying through the air in a bone-jarring impact.

The world blurred as the colossal rock pillar slammed into me. Pain lanced through my body, a white-hot agony that stole my breath. But before I could meet the unforgiving ground, a strong arm wrapped around me. Lou.

He grunted with the effort, his face grim as he hauled me back to my feet. "Listen to me, Bug!" he barked, his voice tight. "Magic, you say? That changes things. I thought this Mana stuff was just extinct, after all."

He shook his head, but his gaze never left the woman. Steel gleamed in his hand as he raised his sword. "Leave her to me. You shatter that cage. We’ll think of a plan B after that."

I clicked my tongue. Pride stung, but the truth burned brighter. In this state, I was a liability. My anger clouded my judgment, and facing a magic user head-on wouldn't end well. "Got it," I gritted out, forcing myself to focus.

With a burst of speed, I darted towards the imprisoned slaves, the sting of humiliation warring with the cold hand of logic. Lou, on the other hand, took a different approach. He stalked towards the woman, a hesitant smile plastered on his face.

"Uh, hey there," he drawled, his voice strained. "Listen, about this whole magic situation... I wasn't trying to be rude before, you understand, right? Ladies first and all that."

The woman's laugh was a chilling melody, devoid of humor. A single hand, adorned with intricate red tattoos, brushed Lou's cheek. "No need for formalities, Lou Haventon," she purred, her voice dripping with honeyed malice.

Both Lou and I flinched. How did she know his name? A cold dread snaked its way down my spine. Who was this woman, and what connection did she have to Marloth, the entity she kept invoking? What was Marloth in the first place? The list of unanswered questions grew longer with every passing second.

"Looks like I'm more famous than I thought," Lou quipped, attempting a bravado that faltered slightly at the edges. He lunged at her, his fist a blur aimed at her smug face.

Her reaction was instantaneous. With a ripple of movement, she slipped past his attack, leaving Lou's fist to connect with a sickening thud – not with her face, but with the unforgiving ground. The point of impact shimmered with a brown glow, the earth warping and churning.

"Soil below, become fluid!" the woman chanted, her voice laced with power. "Quicksand, ensnare and sink!"

The spot where Lou had struck liquefied, transforming into a swirling vortex of brown muck. He yelped in surprise as his hand vanished into the quicksand, the woman's cruel laughter echoing in his ears.

I grimaced. Unlike Lou, I wouldn't have been caught so flat-footed. Years of battling mages had honed my instincts, and trained me to anticipate spellcasting. This fight was a stark reminder of Lou's limitations, Sponsor or not. Flow Practitioners, after all, weren't built for such abrupt shifts in reality.

My Morphblade hummed in my grip, morphing into a shimmering longsword, ready to slice the bars and free the trembling slaves. But fate, it seemed, had a cruel sense of humor.

The moment Lou was no longer the sole focus of her attention, the woman whipped her head towards me. A chilling smile twisted her lips. "Stone and earth, heed my call!" she chanted, her voice laced with malevolent power. "Encase in silence, entomb them all. Stone Coffin, seal and bind!"

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The ground trembled beneath my feet as the bars of the cage warped and writhed. Walls of jagged stone erupted around the terrified slaves, encasing them in a tomb of rock.

"No!" I roared, the sound raw with despair. I lunged towards the pulsating stone, but it was too late. The walls began to constrict, the screams of the prisoners turning into choked gurgles as their bodies were crushed between the unforgiving earth.

The silence that followed was worse than any scream. I fell to my knees, the metallic tang of blood stinging my nostrils as it seeped from cracks in the makeshift coffin. Powerless. Speechless. Consumed by a cold, suffocating wave of guilt and rage.

"Damn it!" Lou roared, his aura flaring to life. Silver energy crackled around him, momentarily loosening the quicksand's hold on his hand. With a yank, he freed himself and hurled his sword at the woman, hoping to catch her off guard.

But she remained focused, her lips twisting into a sneer. "Soil and water, mix and rise!" she chanted, a wall of mud surging from the ground to intercept the blade. It clattered harmlessly into the muck.

"Is this all you've got, Sponsor of Experience?" she taunted, her laughter grating on my nerves.

"Not quite," Lou growled, his voice laced with a dangerous calm. It seemed throwing the sword was just a ploy. In a blur of motion, he closed the distance and unleashed a devastating punch that connected with the woman's face with a sickening crunch. She went flying, tumbling across the ground.

Lou wasted no time. He was on her in an instant, his grip tightening on her collar. "Eidos: Necro-Veil!" he declared, his left hand pulsating with his signature silver energy. He was a whirlwind of controlled power, his movements precise and efficient. This, I realized with a jolt, was a glimpse of the full extent of a Sponsor's abilities.

"Spit it out, hag!" Lou barked, tightening his grip on her collar until her face turned a mottled purple. "Who were those people? Why'd you kill them? Were you actually using magic spells? And what's this Marloth nonsense?"

The woman wheezed, her struggles fading. A single bony hand reached out, trembling, and rested on Lou's arm. Then, a manic cackle erupted from her lips, chilling both of us to the core.

"Marloth, oh glorious Marloth!" she shrieked, her eyes welling up with surprising tears. "I plead for your acceptance! I failed to gather the required souls... Take my life, for it is all I can offer!"

Lou and I exchanged a bewildered look. This was even crazier than we expected. I crept closer, morbid curiosity warring with the urge to stay far, far away.

As if on cue, the woman's crimson tattoos flared to life, the red glow nearly blinding. A grotesque grin stretched across her face.

"Thank you, oh merciful Marloth..." she rasped, her voice fading to a whisper. Then, just as abruptly as it began, the life force seemed to drain from her body. Her skin ashened rapidly, morphing into a grotesque, desiccated husk. With a disgusted grunt, Lou tossed the grey mummy aside, clicking his tongue in revulsion.

“Damn it!” Lou cursed, frustration etched on his face. Ignoring him for now, I stalked towards the horrifying stone coffin. Slicing it open revealed a gruesome tableau of mangled flesh and bone. But my focus wasn't on the carnage – it was the collars.

Kneeling, I retrieved the least damaged one. My gut clenched. Though seemingly ordinary metal, it held a single, gleaming purple shard. Clicking my tongue, I fought back a surge of anger. Lou, sensing my distress, approached and took the collar.

"What in the...?" he muttered, examining it closely.

I stood, my voice tight. "Soul Leeching Collar. If worn while someone channels Mana, it sucks the life force out of the victim."

Lou's eyes widened. It wasn't surprising. Here I was, an eight-year-old girl, recognizing an ancient artifact that baffled a seasoned fighter like him.

He sheathed his sword, his gaze fixed on me. "Bug..." he started, then paused. "We need to talk, right?"

I met his eyes for a brief moment before looking away. "Yeah," I mumbled, the weight of my secret pressing down on me.

The silence around the campfire crackled louder than the flames themselves. Lou devoured his grilled meat, his gaze resolutely fixed on his plate. A wave of exasperation washed over me. Here I was, a kid practically begging for him to ask questions! Didn't he understand his stoicism was making my stomach churn with a different kind of worry?

This was the perfect time for him to bombard me with inquiries. It was clear as day I possessed knowledge beyond my years. Yet, the seasoned Sponsor remained frustratingly tight-lipped.

Taking a deep breath, I cleared my throat with a pointed "Ahem." Crossing my legs, I decided to take charge. "Alright, Lou," I started, "let's talk."

But before I could continue, he surprised me. Lowering his meat, Lou finally met my gaze. "Bug," he began, his voice laced with a hint of wonder, "did you know magic used to exist in our world? Records say it vanished around five hundred years ago."

A choked laugh escaped my lips. "R-really? I... I had no idea."

Lou leaned forward, his voice serious. "Unlike Flow, everyone used to have Mana and wield magic. It was woven into the very fabric of reality, not just physical objects. And they were limited by an affinity, only able to control one element at a time. Plus, those casters needed to chant to cast spells, just like that woman we encountered."

Lou held up the retrieved collar, its gleam catching the dying embers of the fire. "The Chasles Academy, and the other Academies like it, dedicate vast resources to recovering these relics. Their functionality hinges on Mana, which as you know, vanished centuries ago."

Confusion clouded my features. Why these academies? To dissect the past? Fuel research? Silence wouldn't provide answers. I shook my head and voiced my question. "What's the point, Lou? Why gather these relics?"

He shrugged, a hint of frustration in his expression. "We were given a mission, but..." He hesitated, tracing circles in the air. "The council of the eight nations seeks the reason behind magic's abrupt disappearance. Makes sense, wouldn't you say?"

I tapped my chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, I suppose." The academies did seem like the logical choice. But wouldn't today's encounter throw a wrench in those plans? I met his gaze. "Except... magic isn't extinct, is it? That woman was using it, just like you said."

Lou slumped back with a sigh. "This whole thing just got a whole lot messier," he grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Once I report back, our Academy will have three major headaches to deal with instead of two.”

He held up three fingers, ticking them off one by one:

"First, how is magic still around, even if it's rare?

Second, what caused the near-extinction of magic and the sudden rise of Flow five hundred years ago?

And finally, something specific to Chasles Academy – what led to the destruction of the Gloria Kingdom?"