Chapter 3

Saria climbed down the rope where Vesryn stood waiting. Her orb of light was floating around beside Vesryn.

He looked around to see melting ice and he became irritated. Vesryn turned to Saria who was looking around confused.

"I assumed he used his pathetic ice magic to weaken the impact...he's definitely probably hurt though." Vesryn said sternly as he headed down the hall in the direction Ky went earlier.

Saria walked beside Vesryn silently as she played with her necklace. She was deep in thought, causing him to notice her silence. "What if we just forget him and the quest...let's leave Vanaheim and travel the world together." Vesryn said with a smile on his face that caused Saria to glare at him.

"I'm not leaving him." Saria said in a slightly harsh manner. Vesryn looked annoyed and agitated.

"Why did you ever choose to befriend him, let alone allow him to join us?" He asked, causing her to come out of her thoughts.

She was silent for a moment as she glanced at him.

"When I met him, he was a homeless orphan taking care of his siblings...he fought off nobles whom tried to pick on them and he suffered so many beatings because of it. Though, every day I saw him, he was still taking care of them and trying his best to keep them alive." Saria said with a look of slight admiration on her face.

Vesryn was silent as he stared at the ground. "It's my families fault he ended up without his parents." Saria said as she clenched her fist and trembled as she tried to hold in her anger.

Vesryn became curious as he tried to prod her for more information.

"What exactly happened?" Vesryn questioned with a curious look on his face. Saria let out a deep sigh as she stepped past Vesryn.

"I... it's a long story but Ky later lost his siblings as well on the night my father was finally executed for treason. I still have yet to figure out who was behind that heinous crime." Saria said as Vesryn scoffed at the irony of her statement.

"Nearly dies in the cold and ends up having an affinity for ice magic.... amusing." Vesryn said as he followed behind Saria. She was turned away and he couldn't tell exactly how she was feeling.

"His mother was half Firnal and their kind loves the cold so that's probably why. Look, I know he can be careless but I'm sure it's because he thinks he lost everyone that truly cared." Saria said as she's touching the necklace again.

Behind her Vesryn has a grim look on his face.

"So, it's not that you bare feelings for him but you feel guilty for whatever happened to his family? Vesryn asked, sounding annoyed as Saria glanced back at him.

She had a serious look in her eye. "I... I do care about him and it's not because of some form of guilt. I've seen the person that he is and how great of a man he is." Saria said, causing Vesryn to look frustrated.

"Why would you care about someone so beneath you?" Vesryn asked unhappily as Saria is frozen, unsure of how to respond to Vesryn. She looks away nervously as she sighs trying to come up with a response.

"Vesryn..." Saria trailed off as she still is struggling to think up the words that best fit the situation. Vesryn sighs as he approaches Saria. He looks at her with a deep gaze before shaking his head and stepping past her.

"You know what, forget it...I don't even want to know your reason." Vesryn said in a slightly begrudging tone.

Saria grabbed Vesryn by the arm and pulled him back. She stared at him with a confused look on his face.

"I can see you're harboring some feelings but why now? If there was something you wanted to say why bring it up when there's a possibility Ky is in danger?" Saria asked in a confused tone, but Vesryn pulled away from her.

He takes a deep breath before letting out a frustrated sigh."Because..." Vesryn trailed off as his voice began to crack as he looked to still be struggling with some hidden feeling.

Saria looks shocked and confused as she's struggling to say something. "Vesryn...l don't understand, why are you being this way?" Saria asked slowly as Vesryn stood silently as he stared at her with defeat in his eyes.

Vesryn bit his lip as he pondered telling her what was on his mind. What had been on his mind for years now. "I... just can't watch you keep running after someone who isn't worthy of you. Not anymore...after this quest maybe I'll go my own way if you won't come with me." Vesryn said as he continued walking but Saria marched after him.

She grabs and forces him to face her. She looks at him with her deep golden eyes with a serious look on her face.

"What is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this suddenly?" Saria questioned as Vesryn realized he couldn't hold it in anymore. He had to tell her, or he'd never get the chance to ever again.

"Saria....I'm in love with you. I have been for quite some time now, but I've grown tired of watching you fall for some peasant. When you realized he fell down here the look in your eyes told me everything." Vesryn said with a look of dissatisfaction.

Saria stood motionless not uttering a word. She sighed as she rubbed her forehead, appearing slightly stressed.

Vesryn didn't know what she was going to say but it felt like it was going to take an eternity before she actually responded to his statement.

"Why now..." Saria trailed off as she became silent once more. For the first time Vesryn didn't see her as the calm and well composed person he knew. She was nervous and possibly uncomfortable.

"Because if he's alive...you're going to be the one to try nurturing him back to health. I can't sit idly by and watch that anymore." Vesryn said as looked down the hall of the dungeon. He could feel a cold air coming from further down.

He clenched his fist as anger began to rise inside his chest. It was then he knew Ky was somewhere further down still alive. As she turned away, he could hear the shattering of something deep inside of him.

This sinking and empty feeling caused him to reach for his chest. It felt as if he was impaled by a spear and left with a gaping hole. He bit his lip as he tried to swallow his pride and contour forward. The feeling of rejection from the person he valued most in his life scorned him.

He began to question whether he did it too early or came on too strong. His head began to spin with a million thoughts which came at him at light speed.

These thoughts began to make him uneasy as he struggled to keep his composure. Despite his heartbreak he recomposed himself for he still had to complete the quest.

*

Deep in the dungeon Ky was fighting for his life. He was bleeding from multiple scars on his body. A dagger was impaled in his right thigh, and he was bleeding out as he used iced magic to hold him up.

Before him was a wounded fairy who was breathing heavily as she casted another fire spell. Her comrades stood back and watched as the two fought. Ky knew he was at a disadvantage using ice magic, so he was compensating by creating constructs using the mana he was exerting to create magical energy.

The downside was he was burning up his mana reserves at an exponential rate.

Though, Astren were known to have higher mana reserve and mana potential than the other races, but since his mana was being spent subsiding his wounds, he was starting to run low.

Mana was a force of energy the goddess of magic created which flows all throughout the world of Innethus. The beings of this world all had mana veins which flowed to a mana core which was like a second heart.

Now not all the beings of this world could cast spells or manipulate the primal and natural forces. Fairies for instance were a race that could absorb the mana in the atmosphere as well as manipulate it to a certain degree.

For them their mana reserves were almost limitless which made this fight even more difficult for Ky. He grunted in as he decided to do something drastic to end the fight quickly.

"Why are you trying to kill me?" Ky asked as he was slowly channeling the mana into his center.

"It's nothing personal Ky, it's just for the money!" Solara said as she threw a giant fire ball at Ky. He created a large wall of ice which was reinforced with a barrier of magic energy.

Ky gritted his teeth before letting out a deep breath. His icy blue began to glow a more vibrant shade of blue.

"Mana blaze..." He bellowed silently as steam began to come off his body. He gritted his teeth in pain as he leaped off the ground causing debris to fly everywhere.

He burst through his wall barrier and through the flames of fire being thrown at him. Solara looked surprised as Ky came toward her as she hovered in the air. Ky moved so fast she was unable to react.

His right hand smashed into her solar plexus causing her to let out a sharp cry of pain. Her body was sent away from him at an extraordinary speed and crashed into the wall causing debris to fall on top of her.

Ky turned his attention to the others and darted toward the drake first. The drake looked surprised as he braced himself for battle.

The scales on his arms began to glisten as electricity began to emit from his body. The drake roared a bellowing roar as Ky barreled into him.

Ky punched the drake in the throat before he could release his draconic breath. The drake fell into the ground and Ky continued his assault hammering down his fist with all his might. At this moment Ky was in fight or flight.

He knew he'd probably die but he wasn't prepared to roll over and take the beatings like he did when he was younger. The memories of the past flooded his mind as he lost control of himself.

The two Astren tried to pull him off the drake, but he'd lost it. Ky punched the male Astren in the face and pushed the female Astren to the ground. As Ky continued striking the male Astren he felt his leg give way.

The pain was returning to him, but he had to keep going because all he could think about now was Saria. He knew Solara said someone wanted him dead and he began to wonder if Saria had something to do with this attack.

He hated he was thinking this but the fact she wanted him to come just to find out someone wanted him dead was strange. Blood came out of Ky's mouth as he began to cough uncontrollably. The male Astren looked at him with surprise.

"Listen, Ky you have to stop, or you'll die. Mana blaze is a deadly spell to use. Those who use it improperly develop mana burn." The male Astren said as Ky held him down. Ky looked at him as he raised his fist to deliver a powerful blow, energy began to spiral around his hand.

The male Astren was now frightened because he was aware of the power behind the strike that Ky was about to deliver if no one stopped him.

Before Ky could hit him, he was struck in the head. Ky went crashing toward another wall. When he hit the ground the sound of bones breaking could be heard. The drake stood over Taegan bleeding badly from his face.

He breathed heavily as he walked over to Ky whom was struggling to get up. The drake rolled Ky over on his back.

"Roll over and die already!" The drake said placing his foot in Ky's chest. Ky groaned in pain as he could feel his ribs cracking. The drake smiled showing his two fangs. "For a peasant you showed some real grit but you're good as dead now." The drake said as he removed his foot from Ky's chest.

He walked away toward the two Astren. Vesryn and Saria finally arrived, and Saria was confused to see the trio standing before her.

She looked around the barren room until she saw Ky lying motionless on the ground. Her eyes widened as she stumbled forward before running over to him. It was clear she was trying to stay calm, but she couldn't keep her composure.

She could hear Ky slightly wheezing from a possibly punctured lung. Vesryn stood over Ky as he lowered the bag, he was carrying on the ground. Ky glared at Vesryn with a look of rage on his face.

"Is this why you wanted me to come with you?" Ky managed to choke out causing Saria to look at him surprised. She was slightly offended by his question as she shook her head.

"Why would you think I'd ever want to hurt you? Saria questioned as she looked up at Vesryn who stood silently behind her. Vesryn was silent as he continued to look down at Ky.

"Earlier...were you stalling for time?'' Saria questioned as she looked up at Vesryn. He sighed as he shook his head and glanced over at the three that Ky had fought.

"Saria...there's nothing we can do for him." Vesryn said as he looked down at her. Saria was upset that Vesryn didn't answer her question. Ignoring it spoke a great deal to her and it began to affect how she saw her friend.

"If you use your spatial magic, we can easily get him to a healer." Saria said as she stood to her feet to look Vesryn in the eyes. Vesryn shook his head as he looked down at Ky in disgust.

"Look at him, Saria...he probably can't even move." Saria is reaching for the bag on the ground.

"We have potions to stabilize him and heal him a little, so he'll be okay. Just open a portal to the place you went to for the supplies." Saria said as she began to dig around in the bag.

She was placing vials of potions beside Ky as she was preparing to help him. Vesryn sighed as he walked away.

"I'm going to get the sword.... I'll come back for you but not him." Vesryn said as he walked away with the two Astren and the drake. Saria had a look of disappointment on her face as she was cleaning the wound on Ky's leg.

His shaky hand reached for her, causing her to notice. She moved closer to hold his hand, appearing worried.

"Help Solara over there." Ky said as Saria looked across from them to see Solara lying unconscious under a pile of debris. Saria shook her head as she took off her necklace.

"Isn't she one of them? She helped do this to you so I'm not helping her." Saria said as she placed her necklace on Ky's chest.

"If you had nothing to do with this like you said...heal her and force her to use some fairy dust to save me." Ky blurted out in pain causing Saria to look surprised.

She smiled as she stumbled away and picked up a vial. She jogged over to where the fairy was and began to move rubble away from her. She was filled with hope and really wanted to save Ky. This was possibly her only chance of saving him since Vesryn was willing to let him die.