chapter 2

(Explosions of black and gold from Sylvie and the scythe's battle resounded in the distance but I was focused on the man I had in my grasp.

"I-It can't—no, it's impossible. There's no way—"

"That I'm...Nico?" Elijah coughed as he pried my fingers apart just enough so he could speak. "If you've reincarnated into this world, Grey, why is it impossible for anyone else to as well?"

The hand currently wrapped around Nic—no, Elijah, trembled uncontrollably. I squeezed harder. I didn't want him to talk. I wanted to deny everything. I couldn't bear whatever it was that he was about to say.

"Art! Watch out!"

Tess' scream jolted me out of my thoughts, but I couldn't fully dodge the back spike that Elijah had launched from the ground.

My grip around the black-haired traitor's neck loosened and Elijah took advantage of that moment perfectly, prying himself loose and punching me square in the jaw with a hellfire-clad fist.

I swayed, nearly losing consciousness as the runes coursing down my face protected me from the black flames. I nearly fell from the sky but a hand grabbed my wrist.

As my weakened body struggled to counteract the otherworldly toxins that had entered my body from the black spike, Elijah grabbed my collar and pulled me close. His piercing dark eyes glared down at me while the venom-coated black spike hovered over his shoulder, tip pointed at my face.

"Art!" Tess shouted. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see her aura flaring as she prepared to attack.

"Focus on the gate!" I roared.

Elijah looked back as well, but just as he was about to go to Tess, I grabbed his arm.

"What did Agrona do to you, Elijah?" I groaned. "Did he make you say all of this?"

Elijah spun his head back, anger dripping from his voice. "Do you think even Agrona would know how you and I used to steal and sell whatever we scrounged to the pawn shop? And that we'd use the earnings to keep our orphanage funded without Wilbeck knowing?"

"That... doesn't mean—"

"Do you think Agrona knows that deep down, you had feelings for Cecilia?"

I stiffened and the world that had been spinning because of the toxin in Elijah's spell suddenly came back into focus.

Elijah smirked but his eyes remained cold. "Cecilia liked you for a time as well, but she gave up because you kept your distance emotionally ever since you found out that I had feelings for her."

"Stop," I whispered, anger flaring up the mana inside me. The runes spread throughout my body pulsed as I focused on gathering strength.

"And even when I told you everything I uncovered about Lady Vera, you turned your back on your best friend for that bitch," he seethed, black flames spreading from his hands. "And as if that wasn't enough, you killed her! You killed Cecilia in front of me!"

My runes and his flame clashed in a constant battle to keep my body from igniting.

" Stop, Nico!" I cried, tears burning as they rolled down my cheeks.

Another explosion resounded from the distance, the shockwave creating a gust of wind that blew all the way here.

At that moment, a translucent-green blade of mana shot from the ground below.

Even though Nico was unaware, the black spike managed to block the green crescent that Tess had undoubtedly fired, but that gave me the opportunity to let out a blast of frost right at Nico's face.

From the shoulder up, Nico was frozen for a second until a black flame started melting the ice. Still, I managed to kick myself free from his grasp and launch an arc of lighting at my disoriented foe.

Nico crashed to the ground, a mushroom of dust covering the area he had landed.

Are you okay? I asked my bond, checking up on her after that last explosion.

'I'm...fine. It's weird, he's definitely attacking me but it feels like he's...holding back,' she responded. 'How are things going over there?'

Not so...good, I admitted. But I'll be able to hold my own. I just need to get Tess and them through the gate.

Just as I finished that thought, I turned my attention to the crater to see a large fluctuation of mana from where Nico had landed.

He was preparing a spell—a powerful one—but it wasn't aimed at me.

I immediately burst through the air, landing on the ground right between Nico and the teleportation gate.

A concentrated beam of hellfire barely thicker than the width of a wrist pierced through the cloud of dust and debris, targeting just the teleportation gate.

Squeezing mana from my core and begging the aether around to aid me, I countered with a swirling barrier of aetheric wind. While ice would've been a better choice to effectively negate Nico's attack, the toll of sustaining Realmheart for this long was becoming more and more evident.

Flickers of hellfire that had managed to make its way through my wind barrier burned through my skin like acid while even my regenerative abilities were hurting me, as if my body was begging me to stop getting injured.

Sustaining the barrier, I looked back over my shoulder, snapping impatiently at Tess. "He's trying to destroy the gate! Hurry up and activate it and escape!"

"It's almost done! But what about you and Sylvie?" Tess shouted as she continued to hold the ancient medallion up against the center of the glowing ring that was almost filled with purple.

"Just go! Please!" I begged.

"No!" Nico shouted. He withdrew his concentrated spell and burst forward to try and get past me. However, despite the poor state of my body, my reflexes were a lot faster than he assumed.

I pivoted and launched myself, tackling Nico.

"Let go!" he roared as he flailed, trying to escape my grasp.

Small embers of hellfire ignited throughout Elijah's body but I held strong with the help of aether.

"Hurry up!" I warned, feeling the black flames slowly burn through the layer of aether and mana protecting me.

Nico suddenly stopped trying to break free. His shoulders trembled as he gritted his teeth before shouting, "You owe me, Grey. You owe me for killing Cecilia!"

"So that's what it is? Cecilia died so you have to have Tess to make it even?" I spat out. "I didn't mean to kill Cecilia, but even if I had, she wouldn't have wanted this, Nico! Taking Tess isn't going to bring Cecilia back!"

"What if it is?!" Nico shot back.

Caught by surprise, I didn't answer. However, I saw the mana fluctuation in Nico's hand as he willed another black spike from the ground.

I quickly spun, using Elijah as a shield against his own spell. He was able to stop the spike from piercing both of us.

A guttural cry of frustration ripped out of his throat as he tried desperately to break free from my grasp.

Just then, another explosion resounded from where Sylvie was fighting against the scythe.

What's going on? Are you okay? I asked, my concern bleeding onto my bond.

'I'm...fine, but the scythe is heading your way,' she replied, even her mental voice pained.

It took less than a second for me to feel it—the presence of the scythe approaching. And it took another second for me to see the rapid fluctuation of mana right where the teleportation gate was.

I hurriedly initiated Static Void, but this time, I felt the cost of its use.

"Hold onto me tight!" Tess exclaimed as she withdrew her beast will and conjured a condensed orb of wind in her palms.

I squeezed her waist tightly as she unleashed a gale of wind behind us, propelling us forward. I stumbled and nearly fell forward by the sudden force but Madam Astera actually stabbed her sword into the ground, allowing me to regain my balance.

Continuing to run until I couldn't feel the heat any longer, I toppled forward from sheer exhaustion. Still, I made sure to cling tightly onto keeping Realmheart Physique active. I knew that once I released it, the backlash would hit me—hard.

Ignoring the dull, radiating pain that was growing stronger by the minute, I inhaled more ambient mana like a drug addict on the cusp of his crash.

I couldn't even cycle and purify it through my mana core, which made the mana poison to my body. Realmheart Physique would've helped with purifying the poisonous mana but I had taken in too much during this battle.

But what's a little more poison for my already deteriorating body? I just needed to hold on and get the rest of them out of here safely.

"Stay with me!" Tess said to someone from behind, voice shaky but strong.

With the ambient mana temporarily boosting the functions of my body, I wiped a stray drop of blood that fell down from my nostril and turned around.

My eyes widened and in my head I was already starting to calculate the odds of their survival...and it just got a whole lot worse.

It was Madam Astera. She was missing her right leg from the mid-calf down and Tess was doing what she could to soothe her wounds using water magic while Nyphia was preparing bandages made from ripped strips of her own inner robeMy body writhed in unimaginable pain at the sudden change it was going through, but I held on, unwilling to pass out. My vision faded as I screamed out to Sylvie, but her last words were cut off as she pushed me through the portal with the last remaining corporeal limb she had left.

My bond had left me with one word before she faded: '...again.')(just imagine that the part about Arthur reincarnation is invisible to them)

Eleanor pov

As soon as the image stop the projection disappeared I looked around and saw some people were crying while other had a look of confussion and sadness then I saw my hands they were wet with my tears without relizaing I was crying the tears were coming out of eyes on there own but I was more angry at tessia because of her my brother had died i came out of my thoughts after relizaing mom was asking questions I started to listen there conversation mom said,tell me why Elijah was there and why was he calling him self nico and arthur grey i thought he got kidnapped by alacrya during the Cyrus academy incident mom asked in a angry tone after relizaing what she said me and the helstea family had the same question in our minds after all he had lived in the same roof as us at which the voice replied (as why Elijah was fighting Arthur I will tell you later and for why Elijah or Nico was calling Arthur grey is that you know well after all you know Arthur's deepest secret)at which mom had a expression of horror on her face and at which everyone was looking at mom with questioning eyes then elder virion spoke up, why was he after tessia and what happened to Arthur if he didn't die where did he go,(i know you have alot of questions but l give you answers for them soon ok next)