Of Flame's Demise

Mike could only watch as the monstrous fire lizard [or is it amphibian?] charged at him through the cloud of steam. Suddenly, he felt hands grasp him and toss him to his left.

He rolled a few times and came to a stop. Brenden had managed to fling him out of the way at the last second, and was now engaging the salamander in quick hit and run attacks. Unfortunately, it looked as if his attacks were largely ineffective, since the beastman couldn't stand the intense heat radiating off of the monster.

Mike's attention was stolen by an intense itching that now accompanied the agony of his burns. Looking back down at his arms, he got to watch the bizarre spectacle of skin growing across his charred limb. At the rate it was going, it should be fully healed in a matter of minutes, but he already felt the pain ebbing as his arm returned to its natural state.

[Well, I guess they don't call it legendary regeneration for nothing.] He commented mentally while thinking of the ability he had gained from the Blood Collector skill.

He staggered to his feat, still a little unsteady, and grimly started moving to join the fray.

So far, Brenden had succeed in keeping the salamander occupied without allowing himself to be injured, although it was clear that he was quickly tiring. As Mike watched, an arrow struck near the 'eye' of the creature and simply bounced off.

It seemed Rita was trying to help, but the monster took no notice of her efforts.

Much more successful was Tal's barrage of Air Magic.

"Tear the wind asunder, and cleave they enemy in twain [Wind Blade]!"

Transparent blades made of air sliced into the salamander, causing splashes of lava that fell from the creatures wounds like blood.

It unleashed a howl of pain and rage, and charged at Tal, bent on destroying the offending pact mage. Brenden made an effort to halt its advance, but was summarily ignored.

Lloyd and Rita were shouting at Tal, trying to get her to move. However, judging from the elf's exhausted appearance and sluggish movements she had spent too much mana, and could no longer get out of the way in time.

By this point, Mike's arm had mostly healed, and his thoughts had become quite clear. In fact his pain had receded to a dull roar.

Knowing that time was of the essence, Mike concentrated and tried to pull deeply from his mana, deeper than he ever had before. While he was doing so, he sensed something just beyond the reach of his will. Another source of power that seemed beyond him. With an effort he tried to drag some of it closer.

Suddenly, he felt a surging tidal wave of power, pouring forth from the deepest reaches of his soul. He channeled it into his Water Magic, and briefly felt himself connect with something far greater than himself. Not fully understanding what was happening, he decided to go with the flow and embrace this newfound connection.

Instantly, he found himself floating in an endless ocean. It was serene, tranquil as if for that one second all the world had come to a standstill. Suddenly a pulse of force, similar to a sonar ping, emitted from Mike's body. He was still confusedly trying to figure out the origin of that force, when an answering ping reached him, one powerful enough to vibrate the entire realm.

Suddenly he was back in the dungeon, facing the charging salamander. He had somehow appeared in front of Tal.

Something seemed to be pressing against him, almost gently. Faintly he heard a cool sliver of a voice whisper in silken tones. "Ooopennnn ttthee wayyyy."

Without quite understanding what he was doing, Mike relaxed every muscle in his body, and simply let go, unleashing the raging power seeking to break free from him.

He felt a familiar breaking from deep within as his world turned blue.

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"YOU HAVE TO MOVE!"

The twins were screaming at her, but Tal could barely find the strength to remain standing, let alone run from the approaching monster.

Akiriti had already sapped the majority of her mana, and was forced to return to the spirit realm. The Mist falcon's obvious distress at the condition of her contractor was of some solace to the elf.

[At least one being will morn my passing.]

As she watched the charging salamander, time seemed to slow down for her. She could see the frantic young beastman yelling, trying to draw the monster's attention.

The twins were each trying to help in their own ways. Lloyd was running towards her, an arm outstretched. It was obvious that he wouldn't be able to make it. Rita was unleashing arrow after arrow a the creature's head, to little effect. Tal could see the look of despair on the girl's face when she ran out.

Mike was on one knee, struggling into a standing position. Tal could feel a terrifying amount of mana being channeled from the young man's soul, but she could already tell that whatever powerful magic his was attempting would come too late.

Despite the circumstances, Tal felt happy. Even though they barely knew each other, even though they came from different walks of life, here was a group people that were desperately trying to save her.

[It seems I proved you wrong after all brother, there are people in this world who do not care about the nature of my burdens. I only regret that I will not live to show you how wrong you were.]

She tried to smile, but the strictures of her contract with Mejimanethial made it impossible.

[I wonder what my life would have been like, if I had chosen this path sooner. Perhaps I might have found comrades, or friends.]

Her vision of the charging Lava Salamander was suddenly blocked by a broad shouldered back.

She recognized Mike's form, but his presence had become overwhelming. Simply standing next to him made her feel as if she was sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

[Wha...? How did he.....?]

A quiet voice chanted a spell, in a language that few, save the Elder Races still remembered. A spell that Tal did not recognize, nor fully understand, but nevertheless shook her to the core with its raw power.

"Calm were the waters of my soul, still were the rapids of my heart. From time immemorial, I lay at rest. Tranquility is my boon." There was a pause as the building pressure of mana reached a crescendo. Mike struck a pose, one arm lifted in front of him, palm upraised, the other held low, curved in towards his body.

Tal was overwhelmed by the implications of Mike's spell. [Was he this powerful of a mage? This doesn't seem possible for such a young human......Has.....Has he connected to the Elemental Source?] The young man had surprised her constantly today, but this was by far the most shocking thing yet.

Mike shifted into a more aggressive pose, hands now clenched with his arms at his sides. The quiet voice rose in volume, channeling a primal fury that could no longer be contained. "Now a torrent rages through my being. My peace is at an end. My soul cries out in anger. All shall know my wrath. [Guardian's Rage]."

Mike raised his hands above his head, as if lifting an invisible load. The world turned silent, as a pool of water stretched out in front of Mike hands.

A vertical pool.

It swiftly grew to nearly 40m in height, to the point it was nearly touching the chamber's ceiling. Tal thought it resembled a shimmering pane of glass.

The salamander was backing away from the water, its body posture suggesting a fearful desperation.

From the pool emerged a long and elegant set of jaws. Accompanying it was a horned and serpentine head, followed by a long, sinuous body. Shimmering blue and white and blue scales covered the creature's majestic form, which stretched nearly a 150m in length.

[A water dragon! He actually summoned a water dragon! That's supposed to be a low Tier 4 spell at the very least. How is this possible?]

The dragon coiled itself in mid-air and stared down at the trembling salamander with a predatory gaze.

"Ritalshi, onmiyolu." Mike called softly

[Please finish it, honorable one.] Tal mentally translated with some difficulty. It had been a long time since she learned ancient Draken.

The dragon let out a sibilant hiss, before striking out with blinding speed. It caught the salamander in its jaws, as the elemental tried to flee back into its lava pool.

With a simple crunch the boss monster that had been giving the party so much trouble was bitten in two.

As the separate halves of the monster's body fell away, already disintegrating, the dragon turned to regard its summoner.

"Mitamishalm, onmiyolu. Jirktamintan amn pakiton." [My thanks, honorable one. You have given this one life.] The young man addressed the majestic creature while bowing in thanks.

The dragon rumbled in a way that was almost cat-like. The vibrations of which seemed to excite the air itself in the chamber.

It opened its mouth and spoke in a gentle, almost feminine voice.

"Ashtolymanithe kolminth, undinekath. Heitomane gen tolonit jeniclat." [You are welcome water-touched. May we meet again in friendship.]

Then as swiftly as it arrived, the dragon disappeared back through the vertical pool, which was now clearly some kind of portal. The pool quickly vanished, as if evaporating.

The suffocating presence abated, and Mike turned around to face Tal, exhaustion evident in his face.

There was so much for her to process, she hardly knew where to start. This strange young human just took everything she thought she knew about elemental magic and turned it on its head.

"What? How?" She was having trouble forming the correct questions. [Gods Akiriti, why couldn't you have asked for a more convenient sacrifice? This is making communication impossible.]

Mike muttered quietly. "If possible, I'd like to ask the rest of you to keep this whole event to yourselves."

His quiet determination, coupled with his display of power mere seconds ago, proved sufficient to cow the others, but Tal caught a glimpse of a well concealed emotion in Mike's face. One that looked very much like shame.

She realized that this young man must have waited to unleash power for a reason, one that evidently caused him emotional pain. That he would bear with that pain in order to save her, left Tal feeling humbled and guilty for her earlier thoughts.

No living being becomes that powerful at such an early age without some consequences, some means of paying for it. Tal understood that better than anyone. She sensed in Mike a kindred spirit.

[You must have some circumstances that you do not wish to explain to us. Burdens that only you can bear at this moment. Perhaps, in time, I will have earned your trust enough for you to share.]

The elf resolved herself to befriend this powerful young man, and show him that he need not be alone.

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[What just happened? AHHH, why was I using that cringey incantation? What kind of strange dance is that?] Mike cursed at himself.

As soon as he let go of the power he was building up, he had lost control of his body, and was forced to watch himself act out a ridiculously embarrassing ritual.

[Gahh, this is bringing back all my trauma from middle school!]

After the power faded and he finally regained control of himself, he could only depend on the goodwill of his fellow adventurers to keep quiet about this.

[Hopefully, this won't spread around any. I would hate to have move now that I've settled in here in Wyrport.]

He couldn't bring himself to imagine the kind of nicknames that could arise from this event, and just hoped to wipe it from his memory.

He completely failed to realize the significance of what he had just done.