ECLIPSE

Here's some Narry inspired by a conversation I was having with @prettyinsoulpunk about Shawn wearing Harry's old clothes and accidentally outing them and this happened...

Enjoy 😄

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"I fucked up" 

Niall yawned and rubbed his face with his hands before dropping his phone on the nightstand. Whatever Shawn had done he could deal with it when it wasn't five in the morning. He turned around and wrapped his arms around Harry's warm body and pressed his face against the naked skin of his back. Harry moved and Niall tightened his arms around him. They were both so busy at the moment Niall wanted to enjoy the few days he had with Harry before he had to leave again to film his new music video. Niall also needed to go back to Ireland for a golf event so they would be apart again and Niall was dreading the moment Harry would pack his bags. He knew he would be back. Long gone were the days when Harry disappeared and Niall didn't know the next time he would see or even hear from Harry but he couldn't help but think about it whenever he and Harry had to go separate ways.

Niall was about to fall back asleep when his phone dinged again and again

"What 's it?" Mumbled Harry sleepily and Niall sighed. 

"Dunno, Shawn's havin' a crisis or somethin."

"Turn off the sound of your phone."

Niall reluctantly let go of Harry's body and reached for his phone when it dinged again. There were three notifications from Shawn and Niall noticed his Twitter mentions were also blowing up. Oh this meant no good. He suddenly felt very awake and against his better judgement he decided to open Shawn's messages.

"I'm so sorry"

"Please don't hate me"

"It wasn't on purpose"

Niall read each texts a few times and only leaving him more confused. Niall debated for a second if opening Twitter was really a good idea at five am but Niall pressed on the notification and it brought him directly to his mentions page. Niall immediately regretted his decision and suddenly Shawn's messages were making much more sense even if Niall still had no idea what happened. 

Narry is real @clarahoran2 

Thank you @ShawnMendes for confirming what we knew all along @NiallOfficial @Harry_Styles

ASDFGHJKL IT'S REAL @CarolinaESNY

I FUCKDKING JNEW IT!!!!! @NiallOfficial @Harry_Styles 

Shawn is the real MVP @NarryHoranStyles

@NiallOfficial @Harry_Styles ASFDHFKFLLJFJHSHAAS!!!?!??!!! IS IT TRUUUUUE????!????? PLS NIALL ANSWER ME!!!!!

Niall's mentions were going on like that forever, there were hundreds if not thousands of mentions asking about him and Harry and as much as it was a daily occurrence it was never like that and almost every Tweets also mentioned Shawn. What the hell has he done? Niall closed his eyes and took a deep breath. No matter what Shawn had said or done it looked like it was too late anyway. Niall turned his head and looked at Harry who was still sleeping peacefully next to him completely unaware about the shit show he would wake up to later. 

Niall and Harry had both agreed to keep their relationship on the down low for now, feeling that a coming out would eclipse the news of their new albums coming out soon. They wanted to release their new albums and then announce each of their tour and then they wanted to come out. Everything was planned, they had interviews scheduled, Niall with James on the Late Late show and Harry with Grimmy. It was supposed to be perfect until Shawn did...something?

Niall turned his attention back to his mobile in his hand, he closed Twitter and opened Google and searched his name. Bad idea probably but he needed to know. Every headline looked the same.

Former One Direction members Niall Horan and Harry Styles together? The news confirmed by a close friend of the couple. Click here to know everything.

Shawn Mendes spills the tea on what's really going on between Niall Horan and Harry Styles after they were spotted together at a concert.

Shawn Mendes is wearing Harry Styles' old clothes, he reveals where he got them and confirm what we already knew. Exclusive video.

Niall rolled his eyes. Every headlines were more ridiculous than the previous but this time they were all real. Headlines about him and Harry usually mentioned a band reunion or why the band had broken up not this. Niall knew Shawn wouldn't betray them, he knew he could trust him. Or at least he hoped because sadly in this business Niall had learned the harsh way you couldn't always trust people even close friends. Niall clicked on the link for the article claiming they had an exclusive video and Niall scrolled until he found it at the bottom of the page. He didn't bother reading what the article said. Niall pressed play and waited for the video to load. 

The image was frozen on Shawn, he was wearing one of Harry's old shirts. The black Saint Laurent one with white little flowers embroidered on it, it was one of Shawn's favourite pieces from Harry's closet. Harry had a closet full of old clothes that he didn't wear anymore since they did not fit his actual style and Shawn had found it in Niall's LA house. Harry told him he was welcome to wear whatever he liked as long as he was careful with them and put them back in the closet since even if he didn't wear them anymore he still loved these pieces a lot. 

The video started, it was Shawn getting out of a club. He was with Brian and Justin and there were a few girls obviously waiting for him. Shawn was smiling widely, clearly drunk, he was talking to the girls and taking pictures with them while one of their friends was filming. 

"I like your shirt," one of the girls said, "it looks like something Harry would wear."

Shawn was grinning from ear to ear when he answered excitedly "it is Harry's shirt, got it from Niall actually."

At the second the words escaped Shawn's mouth his smile fell off his face. Niall could see the moment Shawn realised what he had just said. It was obviously an accident. A very unfortunate accident but Niall knew he had been right and Shawn had not betrayed their trust. Niall closed the video and turned off the sound of his phone. He placed the phone back on the nightstand and closed his eyes. He knew he wouldn't sleep for the rest of the night, Niall could hear the bird slowly waking up and Harry would be next. It was getting close to six and Harry usually woke up at 6:30 for his morning run or yoga. If Niall fell back asleep Harry would wake up to hundreds of notification on his phone too and he would get confused or angry so it was for the best if Niall stayed awake so he could announce the news to Harry himself. For a short moment Niall was tempted to just erase the notifications from Harry's phone and pretend like nothing had happened but he couldn't do that. 

Niall stayed on his back, his hands crossed on his stomach and his eyes wide open. He fixed ceiling fan the ceiling until he felt almost dizzy and Harry starting to stir in his sleep. Niall knew Harry would be awake in a few minutes and he had absolutely no idea how he would tell him. How do you tell your boyfriend one of your close friends had accidentally outed you and your relationship? Harry surely would not be happy about this. He cherished his privacy and liked to do things on his own terms. 

The moment Harry woke up and realised he did not have Niall's arms wrapped around himself he turned around, his eyes still half closed.

"Niall, everything fine?" 

"No," sighed Niall, "we're gonna need to cancel some plans."

"What plans? What do you mean?" yawned Harry, confused.

"Our coming out plan," replied Niall avoiding to look at Harry.

"What? Why? Are you breaking up with me?" Harry asked, panicked and Niall should really have thought a little bit longer about how he was gonna tell Harry.

Niall turned on his side to look at Harry and tried to smile, he couldn't let Harry think that.

"No love, no. Sorry I didn't want to scare you but I did not sleep much. Let me start again."

Harry didn't look convinced but he didn't pull away when Niall reached for his hands. Niall leaned in and pressed a kiss on Harry's knuckles before speaking again.

"Do you remember a few hours ago when Shawn texted me?"

"You said something about a crisis?"

Niall nodded nervously, his eyes fixing the wall behind Harry instead of his eyes.

"He fucked up and he," Niall stopped himself to think about his next words but there was no easy way to say this," he accidentally outed us."

"He what?!" Shouted Harry, "How could he do that to us?"

Niall calmed down Harry and explained everything, he took his phone and showed him the video so he could see for himself that it really was an accident. When Niall dropped his phone between them on the bed Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair a few times.

"Are you mad?" Harry asked.

"No, can't stay mad at the kid. Wish he had been more careful but m'not mad. Are you?"

"Not really, maybe a little I don't know."

"So, what do we do now?"

"I think we have two options," said Harry and Niall hummed for Harry to continue, "we can speak to his manager and with our respective team to shut the story down but it will look suspicious and people will be mad when we come out in a few months or we tell the truth now and deal with it. We wanted to come out anyway now or in a few months," sighed Harry. 

Harry was right and Niall smiled. It was not ideal and they both knew it but it was better than lying to their fans. Harry was amazing and Niall loved him so much. Harry squeezed Niall's hands and pressed a quick kiss to Niall's lips.

"I'll do whatever you decide pet."

"Let's deal with it now then."

Niall nodded and smiled again. Harry turned his body to reach for his phone and opened the camera. He snapped a selfie without warning Niall of what he was doing. He showed the selfie to Niall and it was perfect. Niall was smiling and looking at Harry who was looking directly at the camera a small smile on his lips. Harry sent it to Niall and they decided they would both post it at the same time on their respective social media account. Their team would be mad at them for doing this but they could deal with the consequences later.

As soon as the picture was posted their phone started blowing up again and Niall remembered he had never replied to Shawn's messages. Poor kid was probably panicking and thinking Niall and Harry were hating him. Niall typed a quick and simple "That was stupid but I don't hate you" and hit send. Niall turned his attention back to Harry and pushed him on his back and straddled his hips.

Harry arched an eyebrow and smirked.

"I don't think going out for a run is a good idea this morning but I know another way to keep you in shape," said Niall. 

"I like the way you think," replied Harry before grabbing Niall by the back of his head to kiss him.

Magician’s Resolve chapter 18: One Last Time

“What the hell were you thinking?” Tiergan shouted as he fought back the dragon’s control as he placed his hands on Lailani’s shoulders and held her tightly. “Why did you reset? What the hell made you think that was a good idea?” His eyes twitched, his pupils rapidly turning into slits and turning back to normal as he shuddered and gritted his teeth.

“I-I’m sorry, I just wanted to bring you back! I-I didn’t know what to do!” The girl’s desperate expression pierced the boy’s heart. He froze and took a step back as he stared into her eyes that looked like the sun itself was growing darker. “I’m sorry, okay?” She shuddered and looked down at her feet before swallowing the lump in her throat as she tried to hide her face from her friend.

“You really are a pillock!” Telos growled harshly as he gritted his teeth, usurping Tiergan’s control of his human body and forcing the mist to slowly release from his eyes and mouth. “Thanks to you, I live once more!” The mist quickly threw the boy’s body to the ground as it started to take the shape of the same mighty dragon that the girl had seen in her previous life. Blood started to drip from Tiergan’s eyes as he was left convulsing on the ground, his jaw hung open as if to scream in agony but no sound was made aside from his constant squirming in the dirt.

“Tiergan! Oh god no, Tiergan please!” Lailani fell on her knees and clawed at the boy’s shirt as she dragged him into her arms. “No, not this time, not this time please!” No, no, not again! Not again! She buried her face in his hair and slowly rocked back and forth. His hair was soft and the thin strands weaved in the gentle gusts of wind. The boy became like a doll as he fell limp in her grip, the shuddering slowly becoming sudden pulses rather than constant groveling. Twinges of pain caused her wrist to twitch as she clenched his tunic; her hands turning white from the strain. Why me? Why him? Why can’t I change it? The blue of her veins grew more prevalent as her head grew more clouded.  She remained oblivious to the sounds of footsteps and blasts of magic being released.

Aren’t you determined to save him? A voice chimed in her head, a voice that she had never heard before in her life, yet somehow she knew that they were important. Come on, answer me kiddo. The voice was distinctly male and he chuckled gruffly. He sounded like he was a young man, no older than Desmond or Caolos-Tonn.

Who the hell are you? I just want Tiergan back! Just give me Tiergan back for god’s sake! She whimpered as she continued to cradle the boy’s lifeless body. Purple sparks glittered as they subtly popped off of his chest, slowly fizzling out of existence with a crackling sound. Her head twitched slightly as she heard the young man sigh and grunt to clear his throat.

Uh, look, it’s not really easy for me to explain these kinda things…. His voice trailed off and echoed for a moment before he released another sigh. I guess I’ll have to introduce myself, the name’s Agsuil, pleasure to make your acquaintance. You probably know my sis, Hardwin. The deafened world around them swirled with noise that was eclipsed by the weight of the spirit’s oddly casual voice.

“She really misses you.” Lailani sniffled as she found the courage to look up, her eyes widening in horror as she watched the five great mages struggle to hold their own against the gargantuan creature she had released. Her eyes locked on Hardwin’s movement, the tall woman was appearing and disappearing all over the place as she distorted space to dodge massive talons that threatened to tear her to shreds. The woman had a strange aura of desperation, one that she had never displayed before with such intensity. It wasn’t exciting. It wasn’t fun. The thrill was gone. “I can tell she’s been looking for something for a long time.”

I’ve always been with her, just like Tiergan will be with you if you simply let go of him. Please, let his soul be at peace. She felt a shiver run down her spine as a hand clasped her shoulder, she practically jumped out of her skin but when her head whipped around to look at him she saw nothing but a small figure in the distance. Please let him go. You can’t get a grip of yourself if you’re holding on to someone else now can ya?

“No, I can’t accept that!” Her grip clenched around the boy’s shoulders before she slipped her arms under his and hugged the lifeless body as tightly as she could. “Just shut up and stop preaching to me! I’m just trying to do the right thing. Trying to help everyone survive. Monsters should get to live too, shouldn’t they?” As she buried her face while she whimpered she noticed the scent of the boy’s hair was sweet; it smelled like lavender. “Is it too much to ask?”

The power to reset doesn’t make you a god, neither does the ability to see the future. Agsuil sighed as his spirit manifested into physical form and patted the frightened child’s head with a transparent hand. You’re looking to the past for answers and he looked to the future for purpose. Do you see where the issue is there?

“No, I don’t get it. Why do I have this power if I can’t save anyone with it?” Her tears glistening as they slid down her cheeks, transforming from clear to red as they dropped off of her face. “What’s the goddamn point?” She sniffled and hid the red marks on her skin.

I asked myself that same question. Why is my spirit still here? The young man slowly lifted the girl’s face and stared into her eyes, his entire body becoming as full as a regular person. The crimson tears splattered against him. It might have been because of her, it might have been because of Emp. But what I found is that as long as I’m here, here in the now, I can change something. He smiled warmly and glanced back at Hardwin who had frozen in place as she stared at him. “There are some things you can’t change. If you want to stay sane you’ll have to accept that. If you can change then you’ll need to be brave and have the resolve to make that change. Ya know?” He stretched out his arm and patted the girl’s head with a small chuckle finding its way out. “You can do it kid.” His form vanished in an instant as it was swept away by the wind. A glowing orange shard was the only thing left to prove that he had ever existed, it fell out of the air and clattered against the dead boy’s chest.

“I still don’t get it!” Lailani shuddered as she slowly stood up and laid Tiergan’s corpse on the ground. Purple embers sparked up and latched onto the orange shard as the boy’s eyes started to open.

“Hey, uh, miss?” The raspy voice of a teenage boy drew closer along with the footsteps that were very distinctly high-heeled shoes. “I-I think your friend there, is, uhm, not entirely gone yet.” A woman in a green dress knelt down on the ground and slowly wrapped her slender fingers around the soul shard and took a deep breath as the purple flames ran up her arm and disappeared inside her veins.

Lailani turned around, her jaw hanging open as she realized who the woman was and noted the speaker as a hazy phantom with poofy hair and a floating soul that was colored like a rusty blade. “Sloigh? W-What are you doing he-”

“Shhhh!” The ghost child chuckled as he pressed a finger against the girl’s lips, his entire body rippling as if he were made of water. “She’s trying to focus, just let her work please.” A gray finger pointed past her and started wiggling as the boy bobbed up and down in the air. “Think about how she feels, then look at what she’s fighting. If she can keep going without the better part of herself, why can’t you?” He smiled warmly as he nodded to Hardwin, clapping as she turned around as if he was the sole audience member of a gladiatorial match. The rust colored soul soon shimmered a cherry red as his body started to fill in.

“But I-”

“No.” The wraith cut her off and poked her nose. “Hardwin, Desmond, Kairim, don’t you love them too?” His body became fully physical as he planted his feet on the ground and popped his neck. “Shall we?” Amidst the sound of fire and clattering metal he boy still chimed melodically as he offered her his hand with a soft smile on his face that could melt even the coldest of hearts.

“S-Sure.” Lailani swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked back to Sloigh who was seemingly lost in thought as she stared at her wrist that pulsed with purple energy with golden specks mixing in. The power of the soul mimicking the blood that coursed through her veins. “Let’s go.” She took the strange boy’s hand and started walking towards the dragon that was still thrashing around in hopes of decimating his tiny foes.

“Ya just couldn’t let em die could ya?” Caolos-Tonn grunted as he threw up a glyph shield and was smacked across the ground by the beast’s powerful claws. “Look, I don’t know what ya did but I really don’t appreciate havin’ to kill this thing again!” He glared at the red hooded girl before his eyes opened wide as he realized who was accompanying her. “Emp, I know I’m not crazy. You ain’t suppos’ ta be ‘ere.” He gritted his teeth before he looked back to the rest of the magicians.

“So all of you remember the previous timeline.” Metal from various doors, nails, and other portions of the demolished houses around them started to flatten and mold together as they started swirling around the girl. “I-I’m sorry about that.” She formed a gargantuan spear that was coated in a pulsing red energy. All eyes turned to her, including those that belonged to the dragon towering over all of them.

“You hunted my kind to extinction! I refuse to die here! I will be remembered! I will not fall now!” Telos roared as he flapped his wings and soared into the air, quickly ascending higher and higher. His body got smaller and smaller the further he went from the girl’s eyesight but she pointed the spear skyward nonetheless. “Metal will melt under my breath of calamity, stop trying!” He reared his head back and released a stream of fire as the massive slab of metal hurtled towards him at high-speeds. Smoke clouded the sky and obscured the view of what had happened. After a long moment of shock and silence there was a deafening shriek released from the monstrosity as it began to fall towards the ground with a massive hole drilled through its right wing.

“Duck!” Kairim and Desmond shouted in unison as they tackled their nearest friend to the ground as they cleared out of the way of the beast that crashed into the dirt with such force that the mountains themselves quivered. When the dust and dirt settled everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Empneo was returned to a spectral form but he was still somehow holding up the massive claws that hovered over Kairim who was sprawled across the ground, her legs bleeding as they had been pierced by the talons when they first fell to the ground.

“Kai!” Hardwin shouted as she disappeared with a swipe of her right hand before she appeared alongside Empneo and aided in the struggle to prevent the claws from falling again and finishing the job. “Emp, you better try yer damndest, okay?” She grunted as her knees buckled under the immense weight, grinning widely as she watched the boy nod with a great effort not to lose his grip.

“Kairim, I’m so sorry!” Lailani clawed against the dirt as she quickly wobbled onto her feet and skid towards her aunt. “I’m so sorry, I couldn’t leave him behind and now this happens and I-”

“I understand.” The red robed woman smiled warmly as she nodded slowly. “I’d do the same for Desmond. But he’s safe now, that’s what’s important. The here and the now.” Her face was covered in dirt and when she wiped her cheek on her sleeve it merely smeared a mixture of blood and dust acrossed herself.

“But you’re going to die if you don’t get help soon.” The younger girl tugged on her senior’s arm and whimpered as she barely managed to pull her a foot forward. “I don’t want that, please don’t leave me!” Her throat burned as she inhaled another breath of dust into her lungs, coughing as she struggled to continue to move forward. “It’s all my fault, all my fault! I just couldn’t let him go and now I’m going to lose you instead!” She coughed and fell on her knees from the intense fit that had overtaken her.

“Alright Emp, one more heave?” Hardwin growled as she glanced down at the ground at saw the hole that was in the shape of her feet as she dug into the ground for traction.

“Three...” The ghost-like form was starting to take shape around the boy.

“Two...” Hardwin closed her eyes tightly as she continued to strain.

“One!” They shouted in unison as they threw the talon upward a few inches before they ducked to either side of the claw to avoid being crushed by the tremendous weight.

“No, I shall not die like this! You worms shouldn’t be able to do this! I’m going to crush each of you, that is your fate.” Telos struggled around with groans of pain as he tried to stand on his forearms that had been busted up by the fall, his wings flapped rapidly and tossed droplets of ebony colored blood that burned whatever they touched. White bones protruded from the massive hole in the beast’s wing as he scrambled to his feet, limping down as he tried to stand up straight. “Lailani, Kairim is going to die, do you really want that? Sloigh is the only one of you that can fix her, but she’s too busy with Tiergan.” The dragon called out as he took a step forward and almost crumbled just from that effort.

“I, uh, you’re right.” The crimson clad girl looked down at her aunt who was shuddering in her arms, the blood seeping out of the woman’s legs. Her clothing was saturated with the red splotches that continued to run down her legs and onto the grass underneath. “K-Kai, what do you think?” The girl sniffled as she felt a vile sensation take control of her own legs as she found herself unable to stand up. Her head whipped around as she heard Desmond’s sandals rapidly clap against the ground as he sprinted towards them and threw up a barrier to block a swing from the beast’s claws, the shield throwing the dragon off balance and forcing him to fall to the side.

“Kai, Kairim, don’t just lay there!” Desmond growled as he kneeled down and picked up Kairim in his arms, the woman’s arms hung limp at her side and she was breathing rapidly as her eyes rapidly twitched in response to the sheer amount of pain she was experiencing. The young man buried his head in her shoulder as he slowly turned around and looked down at Lailani. “You.” His eyes twitched a black and white haze flickered again, the cyan heart that had bobbed up and down in front of him in the previous timeline was no longer there; neither was the gray heart that cracked and shuddered under the intensity of the void in his soul. “You selfish, ignorant, irrational, idiotic little brat!” His hands clenched tightly around his best friend’s shivering limbs as he stared into the soul of the little girl who stared back with terror written across her face.  “You did this to her, I want you to remember that.” His eyes slowly closed as his signature blue mist poured out as he took deep breaths and exhaled. The mist weaved and danced in the air before it entered Kairim’s lungs and forced her to doze off. “That will at least slow the bleeding, and put her at peace.” A whistling wind picked up as he opened his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat as he breathed out another cloud of mist as if it were cold outside.  He gently lowered Kairim’s body to the ground and set her down, stepping over her to approach the cowering little girl. Staring into the soul of his former student sent a shiver down his spine as he felt his anger build. “Now for you-”

“Dez, wait!” Hardwin shouted out as she quickly disappeared only to appear between the two of them, her right arm hanging limp as she tried her best to lower into a battle stance. “I saw Agsuil, you can’t hurt her if he’s in there.” She gritted her teeth and her metal boots dug into the dirt as she clenched her left fist, her right being unable to curl up with how damaged it was.

“You’re delusional.” The cyan robed mage snarled as he bore his teeth and prepared another cloud of dust only to have it vanish in an instant as Hardwin pounded her fist against her chest and released a shock-wave that nullified the spell. “Hardwin, you know how serious this is; she’s also the human traitor. There is no way in hell she can be spared!” He swallowed the lump in his throat as he popped his knuckles and lowered in preparation for a fist fight.

“I saw him Desmond! He was there, I saw Agsuil and I know that I’m not insane.” The towering woman gritted her teeth as her right arm dangled to her side. “You can’t do this to me, please let me see if I can find him….” Her voice trailed off as she looked to her feet and fought back the tears that started to well up. “I miss him so much, please let me bring him back.”

“Are you really going to be this stupid?” Desmond growled as he took a few steps forward and delivered a right hook to the woman’s jaw, his eyes shrank as no reaction came from his rival. A rasp escaped his throat as he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, knowing that she allowed herself to be hit. “Sloigh couldn’t salvage his soul, he’s gone forever! Kairim can still live, we need to get her to Sloigh, she’s the most proficient in healing magic.”

“Uh, sorry but, uh, she’s a bit busy now.” The phantasm of Empneo wobbled slightly as he floated between them and put his hands to both sides. “It’s Kairim or Tiergan, she can’t save both.”

“Then what good is she?” The cyan mage shouted as he reached forward, his hand passing through the body of the spirit. “What good is she if she can’t save those who are dear to her?” Sweat poured down his face as he batted at the air, flailing as if he could actually touch the boy in front of him.

“You’re not talking about Sloigh at this point.” The wraith stared with a frigid aura as his gaze pierced into the soul of the sleep mage. “You would threaten to kill your own student out of blind rage. I’m disappointed, I don’t remember much from before I died, but I thought you were better than this.”

“No….Not again.” The young man’s hands trembled as he stared at them blankly. His shivering blue heart appeared again, the black and white mist didn’t resurface in spite of the apparent cracks that were running through it. “I don’t remember who you are but you better get out of my way.” His fists clenched tightly as he stared through the phantom and locked eyes with Hardwin. Throbbing pain surged through his chest as he felt his heart thrash inside of him, his gaze unable to break away from the woman in front of him. “I won’t let her take away those who are important to me. Yesterday, it’s only been one stupid day since I lost my mother. I can’t let everything slip away!” Tears started to pour down his face, the floating heart in front of him cracked even more and its hue started to fade slightly.

“Think of how I feel!” Hardwin barked as she took a step forward and grabbed the man’s collar with one hand, the raw strength coursing through her veins was enough to lift him into the air for a moment before she set him back down. “The monsters took my brother, they took my brothers best friend, they took Sloigh’s peace!” Her eyes twitched and she shuddered as she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. “Focus, it is the fault of the monsters, that’s why I want to eradicate them! They will all die, between you and I there is nothing stopping us from wiping them off this plain of existence!”

“G-Guys….” Hafika finally spoke up as she helped Caolos-Tonn to his feet and helped him hobble forward. “Just a little bit more conviction….” She muttered to herself as a yellow spark touched the side of the her comrade’s head. Her hand stretched out and pointed towards the enemy that they had all but forgotten in their squabbling. The massive beast had slowly lifted his head and stood on his feet, the massive hole in his wing was starting to fill in as the power of its soul melded to meet its need. “We should rea-” Suddenly a silence swept over everything as an immense surge of power erupted from the smith.

“We got bigger lizards to fry!” The soot covered boy shouted as he shrugged off the girl’s arm and limped forward. “This is why I hate humans, so fixated on their emotions that they can’t see the big picture right in front of their faces!” A deep navy blue flame burst out of his chest as a heart bobbed up and down in front of him. The surrounding battlefield was covered by a dark blue dome that started slowly closing in as only the sound of his voice and his feet on the grass could be heard. “All of ya can shut yer traps while we do our job, there’s more ta this fight than just you and your selfishness. I didn’t want to be a fighter, I just wanted to do what I loved. But I stopped and realized that what I loved was worth fighting for, if not physically, than mentally.” Several glyphs appeared around him with different words written in his native tongue. “It’s more than me, more than you. We all want something, and that’s fine. But you can’t compromise yer family for something so small can ya?” The dragon in front of him was clearly trying to say something but the deafened world could not hear. The young man who was covered in dirt and grime was the only one who could speak. “What was that? Yer lookin’ to say something?” One of the glyphs suddenly vanished as a high pitched noise resounded through the razed landscape and caused his foe to tremble. “Yer tempting them with lots of things. Love, friends, family….You make me sick, ya know that, right?” Caolos-Tonn flashed a wide grin as he watched the beast try to speak again. “No! It’s my turn to speak!” His eyes flickered with sound-waves, pulsing each time he took another step forward. “I’ve kept my mouth shut for a long time and let all of you just get away with whatever the hell you said but I’m sick of it!” He shot a glare at Hardwin, picking her out of the group with his intense stare. “You know I love you, you’re like an older sister to me, but for the love of god you need to let go of your past! You can’t change it just by wanting to! I’ve just sat back and watched you tear yourself apart because you couldn’t save him. Is that really doing any good for you right now? Is wanting to change that going to bring him back?” He let the question hang in the air for a long moment, his teeth gritted together as he maintained his sharp gaze. In the corner of his eye the flickering of a fireball glittered for a brief moment before he released a shockwave that sounded like the sobbing of a young woman. When the attacks met there was a noiseless explosion that kicked up more dust and caused his already messy hair to poke out in all directions. “You!” The wave in his eyes pulsed again and released a beeping sound; his heart was running thousands of miles an hour but he refused to slow down. “So much for the magician of patience! Ya seem to got it in yer head that since the whole waitin’ thing didn’t work out that now ya gotta do the opposite and forsake everythin’ Percy tried to teach us! You’re pathetic.” He spat on the ground and brushed his mouth with his sleeve. “Yer love is an obsession, you’ve twisted it into something no one wants to see. I don’t care if yer still mournin’ the loss of yer mum. She was a great woman that did everything she could for you, it was important to her that you grew up to be a good man. You didn’t have to grow up to be a fighter. You didn’t have to grow up to be a magician. She just wanted you to grow up to be a good person, something you seem to be failing at.” When another sphere of heat came his way he launched several shockwaves that played the sound of a heart beating. “And for you, impatient snake!” He called out to the drake and flicked his wrists to command the glyphs to start circling the beast. “I’d suggest that ya run.” In the matter of an instant the strange symbols released a symphony of different sounds that felt like they would tear through ear-drums. Heartbeats, sobbing, hammers against metal, an apology, all played together in an unending rhythm that battered the beast as the dome around them shrunk and quickly vanished. Everything was still dead silent. The deafening zone had vanished but their slacked jaws remained voiceless.

“This is not the end.” Telos stared at his claws that he had dug deep into the ground from tensing up in pain. With a flap of his leathery wings he launched himself into the air and bobbed up and down. A tan colored haze washed over the group of humans as dust was tossed up into the air from the beast’s sudden departure.

“Agsuil!” Hardwin’s attention was instantly ripped away from their foe, instead offering it to the fleeting possibility she had been told to abandon just moments ago. Her metal boots sent shocks up her legs as she sprinted towards the woman who was on her knees; cradling the young man whose soul still throbbed outside of his body.

“W-Where’s Lailani?” Tiergan leaned up from Sloigh’s arms and grunted as he hastily tried to stand to his feet. “Where is she!” He shouted as his teeth gritted together. Orange sparks flew out like a fountain as his soul slowly detached from the fist-sized shard.

“She must’ve slipped away during all the commotion, calm down, be still.” The emerald clad woman stroked the boy’s hair slowly, her fingers weaving through the blonde strands as she started to hum gently. “Everything’s going to be okay. It doesn’t belong to you; just let it go.” A few purple strands of energy remained latched onto the orange shard before it suddenly snapped free and spiraled through the air.

“Let….go?” Tiergan’s head rolled slowly as a soothing haze washed over him, his eyes widening as he saw letters floating in front of him.

*Would you like to save your progress?

(Authors note: I need to get this stuff posted so I can force myself to keep working. I honestly think this was one of my weakest and most cliche chapters and for that I apologize.)