Chapter 097 – Tail

[2009 – August]

After hearing Jean's answer the Ancient One didn't continue to pry, instead, she silently pondered the young girl's words.

It was a few minutes later when her senses picked up something strange around the small spherical energy shield that Elijah had left behind.

Looking at the transparent-blackish barrier, the Ancient One saw its colour become much fainter as if it was turning completely transparent. This was just what her eyes told her though, her perception and more mystical senses told her something else.

She could sense that the space the barrier occupied seemed to become unstable, as if the blackish shield exerted force onto it, slowly merging into it while becoming invisible to the human eye.

The Ancient One was surprised at this scene, as she knew that spacial manipulation was something only very few individuals could do, even amongst the Masters in Kamar-Taj. She herself was only capable of such by drawing on the power of the Dark Dimension, which was the domain inhabited by a frighteningly powerful being.

Using the higher energy from that dimension, the Sorcerer Supreme could use it to form weapons out of spatial fragments and manipulate the space around her in a limited area as if it was the Mirror Dimension.

Considering the immense risk inherent in drawing power from the Dark Dimension, it was self-evident how difficult it was to take control of space, one of the fundamental forces that governed this reality.

The Ancient One couldn't tell exactly in what way the small barrier affected space but simply knowing that it did, caused her to realize that Elijah had already begun his ascent to power.

She continued watching over the dark portal in silence as the minutes passed, soon approaching the limit of one hour. She could feel the rune formations and the magical chains straining under the effort to keep the Darkforce at bay when only a few minutes remained from the promised hour.

Keeping her calm she reinforced them with her magic, even though this only prolonged their inevitable failure to restrain the dark energy trying to gush out of the abyss-like portal.

Though just as the Ancient One thought about invoking a few seals to prolong the time, Elijah tumbled out of the portal, falling to his knees as he seemed utterly exhausted and breathed heavily.

Hurriedly cutting off the flow of her magic into the Sling Ring, the Ancient One saw the portal to the Dark Dimension collapse in on itself while the young Miss Grey rushed to her spouse, calling out to him in worry.

…

"Elijah!", Jean exclaimed as she rushed in front of Elijah, her telekinetic powers reaching out to hold him up and keep him from collapsing, the tiny avian sitting on her shoulder hooting anxiously.

"Are you alright?", she questioned in worry as she knelt beside him, her warm hands cradling his cheeks softly while gazing into her love's deep green eyes.

Different from other times, Elijah's eyes though seemed a bit dim and lacked the vitality they normally carried, bone-deep exhaustion causing them to look somewhat hazy.

Still, under all that exhaustion Jean could see the soft glow of calm content, which obviously informed her that her love had succeeded in what he had set out to do, as she doubted Elijah would be this relaxed despite his weariness otherwise.

"I-I, I'm f-fine.", Elijah breathed out quietly, his chest heaving strenuously as he leaned forward and just rested for a moment in Jean's embrace, his head resting in the crook of her neck as he seemed too drained to even raise his arms, "J-just tired."

Heaving a sigh of relief, Jean continued to hold him close, her gentle hand brushing over Elijah's back and running through his dark hair as he slowly recovered his energy. Arya had already hopped down from Jean's shoulder, rubbing her little head against Elijah's hand and pressing her body into his palm affectionately.

"How about we move back upstairs so that you can rest on something more comfortable than rough stone? Can you walk?", the Ancient One suggested from the side.

Seeing Elijah nod heavily, Jean still used her telekinesis to help him up and supported his body while having his arm rest around her shoulder, her arm wrapped around her love's waist.

Slowly they moved upstairs and into a small living room on the ground floor, where Jean helped him sit down on a soft leather couch and sat by his side, while the Ancient One busied herself by brewing some tea.

…

I hadn't expected to exhaust this much energy while in the Darkforce Dimension, my mental capacity nearly reaching its limit while focusing on my task. Still, I had managed to accomplish what I had set out to do in the first place, so I wasn't bothered by mere exhaustion.

Feeling my mind slowly recover from exhaustion, as my peak physique showed its terrifying recovery ability, I couldn't help but grasp Jean's hand softly, entwining our fingers as I squeezed it gently to reassure her that I was fine.

My other hand busy comforting the little owl perched on my thigh, as I brushed over Arya's small head and wings with my fingers, feeling her calm down and relax under my ministrations.

My gaze locking onto Jean's, her beautiful watery eyes still clouded with worry, I couldn't help but lean down to place a playful kiss on her nose, smiling as I addressed her quietly: "Don't be worried, Firefly. Nothing happened, I am just a bit tired."

Having tickled her nose with my kiss, Jean couldn't fight the smile that fought its way onto her soft lips. Sighing quietly, she rested her head on my shoulder as she replied: "I know, but I can't help it."

Placing another short kiss on the crown of her head, I closed my eyes for a moment to draw in her wonderful scent, before resting my head against hers.

It was a few minutes later that I was roused from my short rest.

"Here. This should help you regain your energy.", the Ancient One placed down two cups of freshly-brewed tea on the small table beside the couch before taking a seat opposite us.

Taking the offered cups while passing the other to Jean, who still looked at me with worried watery eyes, I could smell the pleasant smell of the herbs that she had used to brew it. Placing it against my lips, I took a small sip of the hot beverage, its taste simply perfect.

It was somewhat mild and bitter with a slight fruity note, thankfully no sugar or honey was added that might have interfered with the simple yet pure taste of the tea.

"Thank you, Ancient One.", I thanked the powerful sorceress with a slight bow, not only for the tea but also for opening the portal.

Nodding in acknowledgment as she smiled calmly, she asked: "Have you found what you were looking for?"

"I did.", I replied honestly, a calm light shining in my eyes.

Though as I looked at the Ancient One, my gaze fell onto something behind her, an artifact that rested on an antique wooden drawer behind the armchair she sat in. It was a black cat's tail that was propped up by a few pieces of thin wire which were fixed on a wooden podest.

This wasn't really all that strange in comparison to the numerous artifacts that were displayed all over the mansion, what drew my attention though was the small metal plaque with the artifact's name.

"Schroedinger's Tail?", I read aloud as my eyes widened in surprise.