Bab 32: 4 Months in the Future

While screams rang out throughout the city of Morrow in the Country of Louve, Zera casually walked towards what others were trying to escape from. Her red, form-fitting, robe-like dress with a slit up the side was blowing wildly in a strange breeze that was coming from the center of the city.

Buildings were destroyed like it was nothing, and bodies of all ages littered the street.

The closer The Dragon got to the center of the city, the more and more destruction she saw. Buildings went from simply destroyed to nearly dust the closer she got to the center.

Despite the destruction on the inside of the city, the barrier around it stood untouched. It was not a monster that was causing the chaos, but someone; A living someone.

A girl with pink hair.

The plea of Viktor echoed in Zera's mind as she walked towards her.

"Please, that's not Mana!" he had cried out. "Do everything you can to save her!"

Zera couldn't promise anything, but she guaranteed she would try to do everything in her power to save her.

Mana was rocking on a rusty swing in the center of the city, humming a sweet lullaby to herself, her back turned to where Zera was coming from. The swing set was one of the few things she hadn't destroyed, perhaps it reminded her of something?

"Mana," Zera said softly the moment she laid eyes on her as she continued to walk towards the woman on the swings.

The pink haired woman stopped rocking at the sound of her voice, turning her head to the side to look over her shoulder; her red eyes piercing her soul.

"I need to find a way out; no one will help me," Mana said, though her voice was warped, as if it were changing to someone else's.

"What do you mean?" Zera kept talking, trying to keep her distracted enough to get closer.

"I know I'm alive, but I don't have my freedom; I'm stuck inside of her!"

"Gairma?" Zera asked, and Mana went quiet, standing up and turning to face her, causing Zera to halt.

"You know who I am!?" Mana, as Gairma, exclaimed, her blood splattered face sporting a genuine smile.

"Yes, but can I speak to your sister for a moment?"

Gairma grimaced at Zera, "am I not good enough to talk to?" She flexed her fingers, her weapons dripping blood from the people she had slaughtered in her wake.

"I just had a question for her."

"Then ask me; we're forced to share the same body."

"Very well," she began, tucking a few of her tight curls behind her ear as she started heading towards her again, "is this the type of life you want, Mana?"

"What?"

"A life of murder? Destruction? Loss? The exact reason you had set off on your journey was to stop this, right?"

"Well, she didn't realize she was too weak to handle it. So, she needed me. But I need my own body!" Gairma let out a screeching, painfilled scream as she suddenly grabbed her head in pain. "My head is pounding!"

"Help me, please," a sudden, innocent plea called out from Mana, as her voice changed back to her. She dropped to her knees; her head lowered. "I can't control her."

Zera ran to her, dropping down beside her to comfort her. "What happened?" Mana's eyes were green once more.

"When I saw that poor child....." Mana began, "...I felt useless again. A child!? Gairma promised me power, but....I....didn't...know....she..." Mana's eyes started to slowly turn back to red. "....she would take over." She looked around her, finally seeing the destruction, the blood, the chaos, and began to cry. "I'm.....sorry, please....run."

Then Mana's eyes turned red completely, and her tears stopped. Gairma was back. She quickly took a swing at Zera, causing Zera to quickly jump back and dodge.

As her feet dragged against the ground to stable herself from her escape, she whispered "Drachen Vuur."

Suddenly, two giant wings of fire emerged from her back with such force, that it flung spits of fire from them as they stretched out.

Gairma stood there unphased, watching the elegant woman stand herself back up with beautiful, flaming wings that continued to grow exponentially with each burst of magika she pumped into it.

The knuckles upon Gairma's hands began to electrify as she started emitting magika into her fists.

"Interesting," Zera observed. Mana doesn't possess magika naturally, but her sister does.

"If you cannot help me, then leave me alone," she warned.

Zera shook her head with a smile, crossing her arms across her breasts as she tried to remain calm. "You know I can't do that."

"Then you leave me no choice," Gairma replied, as she dashed towards Zera, ready to kill again.

Zera flapped her wings to create a shield of flames in front of her, but Gairma didn't stop. Instead, she punched the air just before the flaming barrier, creating a draft so strong it blew a hole into it, creating an opening for her.

The mytho-mage was more than ready, as she met Gairma on the other side of the shield with a fist herself, but her hand was on fire. Zera made contact with Gairma's face, sending her flying to the side and into the cement covered ground with a loud crash.

She retracted her wings back behind her and Gairma stood back up, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth; she was smiling.

The beautiful mage commanded her wings to act as armor, covering her body in flames, though it did not burn her, instead burning anything that touched it.

Gairma charged her again, but Zera managed to grab her arm mid swing, immediately beginning to burn and boil the skin where her hand lay.

Then, to Zera's surprise, Gairma used her other arm and punched Zera's chest, sending electrified spikes into her skin.

She flinched in pain as Gairma smiled diabolically, the flames seemingly harmless despite the charred skin. Then she removed her hand and sent it towards Zera's chest again, and again, slamming the spikes in and out, causing Zera to let her grip go and drop to her knees as blood began to flow down the front of her dress.

As Gairma went in for another hit, Zera raised her hand in defense, the spikes impaling her palm as she winced.

The dying woman then wrapped her fingers around Gairma's fist, "vuur strangalum," she muttered, instantly sending her shield of fire to the body of Gairma, engulfing her in flames, and burning her.

Zera, between shallow breaths, watched on as Gairma pulled herself from the palm of Zera's hand in an attempt to extinguish them.

She watched as Gairma's eyes flashed from red to green, then back again.

Before she suddenly stopped moving completely, and turned to look at her, her body still on fire, and smiled.

Her eyes turned full green, and Mana let out a wail of unimaginable pain.