A Plan In Motion

His wings were spread out and he was slowly gliding in the air, the scalding heat from the three Suns was gradually heating his scales. This increased his resistance to the heat from the Suns and also increased the strength and rigidity of his scales which would make it harder for attacks to penetrate and affect him.

Nishon was still gliding in the air when Jardon flew up to meet him to relay the news he had just received.

"Nishon." Jardon said as he got to him. "I just received an update on our attack on the humans."

"Which attack exactly?" Nishon asked.

"The attack on their world penitentiary." Jardon replied. "I recall it being in a district called Thradon."

"Yes. Was it a success?" Nishon inquired, anticipating good news.

"Indeed it was. The human world penitentiary is now no more and the prisoners are roaming the planet." Jardon answered. "However, the six-tailed wert that was leading the attack did not make it out alive."

"The humans were able to kill a six-tailed wert?" Nishon had a slightly surprised look on his face. "Fascinating."

"They had reinforcements at the last second and someone they call a Monarch showed up with the reinforcements." Jardon explained. "He is responsible for the downfall of the six-tailed wert."

"A Monarch." Nishon repeated the name again, perhaps in an attempt to somehow gauge the Monarch's strength. "Do you know how many monarchs there are?"

"I do not." Jardon answered. "But now that the world penitentiary is gone, what is our next move?"

***

Looking up at the woman that was standing in front of him, Jake didn't know what he was supposed to be feeling at that moment. Pain? Anger? Regret? Joy?

He was most likely feeling everything all at once and a teardrop began to stream down the side of his face.

Jake knew the person in front of him was not his actual mother. It was obvious. His mother was dead. Dead. As the sudden reality of the thought hit Jake again, both of his eyes filled up with tears.

As he gazed at the precise duplicate of his mother, a fleeting moment passed where it felt as though she was truly alive once more. The sound of her voice, so familiar and comforting, whispered his name softly, "Jake."

The resemblance was uncanny, from her gentle tone to the way her eyes sparkled with warmth. It was as if time had momentarily stood still, allowing him to bask in her presence once again.

"Jake." his mother called out in the same smooth and gentle voice she always had.

The pain he had felt the day he saw her lying in a pool of her blood when he got home suddenly resurfaced and was a lot stronger than before. Maybe it was the fact that she was dead yet she was standing right in front of him so full of life.

"Mom." Jake said again, more pain evident in his voice this time with the way his voice cracked, almost as if he was choking on the word and was struggling to say it.

"What the hell?!" Jake said quietly, snapping out of the sudden rush of emotions he was feeling. "You're using my mother to do what exactly? Make me become good again? And you thought the best way to do that was to shapeshift into my dead mother?"

Reverting back to her real self, Rheya approached Jake slowly. "You're right. Using the appearance of your mother was the wrong choice. It's not enough."

"What are you talking about?" Jake asked, confusion setting in. "Not enough for what?"

Rheya had started chanting a spell quietly in a monotonous tone while she approached Jake.

"Mar vira en gortus sangyunius inbeniet"

Jake was completely immobilized due to all the vines strapped around him. Even with his strength and his attempts to break free, he couldn't.

Rheya reached out to touch Jake's forehead with her hand but Jake moved his head as far back as he could.

She took a step forward, closing the distance between them with the intention of reaching out to touch Jake's forehead once more. Jake, sensing her movement, instinctively tried to head butt her.

However, before he could make contact, Rheya swiftly apparated, disappearing from her original spot and reappearing directly behind Jake. In one fluid motion, she reached out and grabbed his neck with one hand, while simultaneously using her other hand to gently touch his forehead.

Jake found himself in a desperate struggle to resist the mysterious influence of Rheya's spell. As she chanted the incantation with increasing intensity, he felt a powerful force weighing down on him, making it increasingly difficult to push back against the magic that was slowly taking hold of his mind and body.

Despite his best efforts to fight against it, Jake could feel himself succumbing to the spell's enchanting power, his willpower weakening with each passing moment. The words spoken by Rheya seemed to echo in his ears, leaving him trapped in a state of bewilderment and vulnerability.

Jake's heart raced as he struggled to break free from the spell's grasp, but it was a futile battle.

His eyes became almost colourless for a very short while before suddenly, his eyes went totally blank and any control Jake had over his body was gone. His body was leaning forward and his head seemed to somewhat be dangling from his neck due to the loss of all senses in the body.

The true mages that had been in the building previously had just apparated back into the building.

"You have done well Rheya." Mithral said, looking at Jake who still had vines wrapped around his body and attached to the building.

"Thank you sir." Rheya replied. "I only followed the orders I was given."

After the true mages had apparated out of the building and left Rheya behind to watch Jake, they had been ordering her on what to do by giving instructions through her mind.

Specifically, Mithral was giving Rheya the instructions and when he saw the appearance of Jake's mother did not have the desired effect on Jake, he decided to take a more severe approach.

At the moment, Jake was forcefully sent into his mind and the spell Rheya chanted also allowed her to have a little influence in his mind and control some of the things he could see.

"Is this method not quite harsh?" a true mage called Sevanias asked. "Who knows what state the boy will be left in when he regains consciousness?"

"Do not be bothered by that Sevanias." Mithral said. "The condition he will be left in should not concern us. We will set up the altar for the ritual to begin before he wakes up."

"It will be easier to extract the magic mimicry from him after he wakes up because his mental health will be severely weakened due to the spell Rheya chanted." Serryl said.

"Let's go." Mithral said. "Rheya come with us. Your job here is done."

Before disappearing from the building through apparition, Rheya paused to exchange a meaningful look with Jake. There was a hint of regret in her eyes as she silently wished for his safe return. 'I hope you make it back safely.' she thought.

With a mix of emotions swirling inside her, she finally vanished into thin air using apparition along with the other true mages.