The air was barely breathable as the cloaked man half-ran half-stumbled through the dark tunnels. It was air not meant for mortal lungs, but the last thing on the cloaked creatures mind at that moment was potential lung damage.
He ducked under a low hanging pipe and made a sharp right at the end of the tunnel. Foul hot air blew furiously around him, whistling in his ears, getting into his eyes until they burned, the tears evaporating as quickly as they formed. Yet he kept running deeper into the maze of fetid tunnels. A low-pitched grunt behind him signalled how close his pursuer had gotten now. He felt so trapped, like a bird with its wings cut off. He never had to use his legs this much in his entire life.
The precious artefact in his hands gave off its own kind of burn, but the cloaked figure had long decided that this was worth his hands, that it was worth the pathetic life he had lived until then. That I’m sure soon to lose, he thought desperately, gasping through the fumes that only seemed to grow thicker. He felt a cold breath on his neck as he finally broke free of the tunnels, his directions proving true. In front of him lay a vast cavern, full of hot pools of molten power that ran though giant pipelines. Symbols had been engraved into every inch of this rum, all glowing faintly, all feeding the fire, the sacred fire that fuelled the world that they were in.
He jumped off the ledge, just as claws caught his shoulder, his fresh blood causing a shrieking howl to fill the vast space. Its shriek was cut off abruptly as it’s owner finally caught up.
He nearly spun out of control, unravelling hidden wings that caught him and beating powerfully, leading him to land mere inches from a vat of sparkling neon blue. He had no time to think, his flying jump had finally put distance between him and the monster who now licked his blood of its claws. He shot forward, using his wings to leap as he ran straight for the blazing fire that hunh like a curtain of light, its flames red and black. It was like staring into an eclipse as darkness seeped through the flames.
A whistling sound was heard just before a powerful bolt of electricity shot past his ear. He glanced behind him and saw his worst fear. The dark eyes of the wizard who had hunted him these past few months glittered behind the shield that protected him from the heat.
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“It’s over Lucian. There’s nowhere else to run.”
His voice was quiet though it seemed to whisper right into his ear. Lucian froze. The voice had been in his mind. Any second and this Wizard would take full control of his mind and body. Already his gloved hands were reaching forward, a spider-like web of blue light growing in front of him, ready to catch its fly, ending everything Lucian had worked for up until that point.
Half mad with pain and exhaustion and feeling a suicidal courage take over him, he stepped right up to the edge of the fire.
“NO!” A powerful voice commanded in his head.
“STOP THIS!”
Lucian's hands hesitated for only moment before he resisted the voice. His eyes now burned blind, the fire a roar in his ears, he did not see the grotesque creature that had been his hunting dog leap up at him as he held up the artefact and threw it with all his might into the fire. The creature shrieked as it landed on him just as the train gave an all mighty shudder, the pipes shaking in their hooks, the walls trembling. All along its carriages, divine glass was shattering.
The sacred fire of the train that had burned for eons turned a blood red. The dark Wizard watched as Lucian's body came apart as the red flames leaped forward and seized him. His ensuing screams of agony were lost in the roar. The Wizard’s shield held, but not for long. The walls began warping and the molten pools began to shake and splash over. With a quick flick of his wrist, the monster who had attacked the Lucian vanished.
“Time to leave I think” he muttered darkly. This is not good, he thought. This is not good at all.
He began to turn away from the fire, but then paused. A face had appeared in the flames. Black with molten red eyes, and a manic grin. Long skeletal fingers came out of the fire, and suddenly glittering black flames streaked through the air. The Wizard’s eyes widened as it shattered his shield, the hot air and fumes immediately closing in on his eyes and lungs. He through his arms up, a wave of ice following his movements, but the black flames came again and seemed to pass right through his defence. It smothered him. The Wizard felt weightless and painless for a brief second before agony bloomed in his chest. The last thing he remembered was the cold kiss of air and his body falling into oblivion.