Victory

Kei, once again a disarmed and stunned witness of his friend's power, as well as of his monstrosity, almost felt sick.

Then soon he stirred behind his friend uncontrollable.

"They are heading straight for us at full power Miron!"

The latter, who had just solved a problem already felt on the verge of breaking, and almost exploded as he was so annoyed and screamed.

"Shut up Kei, I just spent a lot of energy suppressing that moron Kolof, so make yourself a little forgetful because I'm trying to refocus!"

"But I just wanted to point that out to you. I was trying to help you, that's all!"

"And I thank you for that. Though it's unnecessary. So now, please let me fight in peace. Otherwise, we'll never get out of here and you'll never get to know your gorgeous idiot women!"

Sirkol made the city even colder, almost rivaling Prince Aiiley's Korodos kingdom. Signs of frost began to appear all around them and spread powerfully. A shower of snow and ice fell and covered half of Athok. Kei cowered, shaking with all his limbs, frozen to the bone.

"Your light will never illuminate Athok Miron, nor will it defeat him. You are to believe that you could ever do it. Not while I am the master of it! Not while I am alive."

In spite of the excruciating cold that made him suffer, Miron tried to remain calm. He even pushed the provocation to the point of staring at his enemy with a confident smile.

"You are still repeating yourself Sirkol, it is so disappointing. However, I have to tell you Sirkol, your stupid lackeys said the same things before I made them disappear painfully into a bottomless black hole. Between us, a remarkable irony, isn't it? Like your dear Lady Kriniela, who also had the audacity to think she could do with me as she pleased."

Sirkol shook his head, refuting the meaning of the words the orphan had just spoken to him.

"So Köel had spoken the truth, the terrible earthquake that shook Stanys a few hours ago was you."

"Of course it was me." the prodigy replied confidently as if it were an unshakable fact.

"And where is Kriniela now?"

They looked at each other for a moment, Sirkol's gaze nervous, suspicious, and clearly revealing his refusal to acknowledge reality despite all that his faithful guardian had already told him moments before, while Miron's gaze was distant, mocking and sovereign, intentionally showing what he had done and what he was capable of doing.

"Don't worry," he revealed, his arms wide open. "Your old stooge here," and he pointed to Köel in the same insulting way that Sirkol pointed to Kei instead. "I did not take her to join your countless victims. On the contrary, I simply did to her what she so loved to do to others, before guiding her back to her true place."

And Miron pointed disdainfully at the ground.

Sirkol, choked with rage, terror and incomprehension imagining perfectly the suffering that his mistress had endured under the magical, cruel and disproportionate impact of this sadistic child, before she sank never to resurface, lost his voice and reason for a moment, then finally stammered insults.

"You son of a..."

Now the young mage was openly mocking his enemy.

"It's funny and ironic how people like you lose their self-confidence in the face of an opponent whose strength they have long underestimated and who is now completely beyond them, and how you dare to speak and blame when you lose a loved one to others, or when you realize your failure, while knowing perfectly well what you are capable of doing and who you are. But you know what Sirkol," he added falsely serious, "as I thought, you are actually a really stupid person. You're even more stupid than Kei."

Hearing this unflattering comparison moreover from his only, best friend, the latter exclaimed.

"Hey!"

"You're probably going to explain yourself again." the black mage answered , oppressed by a demented rage and a boundless humiliation.

"Because you had the irreparable impudence to prepare with as much perfection as possible, the one who was to be the destruction of your kingdom so dear to your empty heart."

Miron concluded by pointing to his own chest with a satirical smile, then stood up so haughty and majestic as a ruler that his enemies were breathless, completely crushed. He reached out his hand, shining as never before, radiant as a star of endless power and light, and sent all his strength against the darkness.

He covered them, enveloped them and engulfed them in a gigantic wave of magical light, which in turn destroyed and caused a spectacular explosion. Explosion which took all Athok, set it on fire irreparably before ravaging the ground which supported it, and finally carried it away in a considerable collapse. The two mages did not have time to fully appreciate this astonishing and masterful vision because they were both pushed back with violence by the breath of the abominable fall and thrown far into the sails of the wide raw river.

Carried away by the powerful currents, the two boys clung to the beast that was repulsed with them. Too happy, Kei was not yet aware of the cold and tiredness that were surreptitiously beginning to invade them. Instead, he was excited and beaming.

"We did it, Miron! Thanks to you and my unwavering support, let's not forget, we managed to escape from here! We escaped from Athok. That's amazing! You are amazing. No, you are more than that, you are..."

He couldn't find a word strong enough, big enough to say.

"Yes, I am... incredible..."

After exhausting all his strength and magic, Miron finally gave in to his terrible fatigue. Completely oblivious to his friend's condition, Kei, his eyes full of stars, looked up at the black sky.

"You were as strong and brilliant as a mythical princely warrior, Miron. That's probably what you are. So now that the biggest problem has been brilliantly eradicated, well if I may say so, you also have the strength to get us out of this raging water, right?".

But the young princely warrior could only shake his head, totally broken.

"Sorry, my underling, but this time you really should use your own magic to get us out of here." Miron could only reply before letting go and falling into a deep sleep.

"But Miron, I'm not like you, my magic is so weak! Wait, wait, wait! I don't even know if I have any!"

Miron couldn't even hear him anymore. He had already fainted and let go. Kei managed to catch his friend before he sank into the cold, black waters of the river and desperately held him with his arm while the other clung to the rough fur of his beast. But very quickly, because of the current, the hold of the blond boy slowly and inexorably slackened, without counting the weight of Miron which did not facilitate him the task.

"Oh no, we're slipping! Please, Miron, wake up. Wake up! Please wake up! I'm lost here. I don't know what to do!"

But when he turned to his friend to try to wake him up, and saw his waxy, livid face, Kei finally found a courage and willpower in himself that he didn't think he had. And it was reflected in his azure eyes as well as the tension in his body.

"Hang in there, Miron," he said in a voice more confident than ever. "This time, it's my turn to promise that we will survive. I will personally make sure that we do."

Kei stared at Miron for another second, feeling sad at the evidence of his great fatigue.

"Get some rest, my man. Wait," he replied. "I don't want to make any final insinuations! But for tonight. And tomorrow we will officially begin our day as free children."

They were ruthlessly swept along by the currents, tossed about. Suddenly, the beast stirred, panicked, and screamed desperately.

"What? What is it this time? What's going on?"

Sensing terrible danger, Kei looked ahead to see what was panicking the beast. A dizzying waterfall was waiting for them in front of them. Terrified, the blond boy shouted in turn.

"Oh no, no no, my friend."

He addressed the beast.

"You must do the impossible to reach the shore, no matter which way, no matter which side, but you must get there. It's all our lives at stake!"

As his master ardently demanded, the beast strove to reach the shore, but both knew it was a losing battle. This pitiful agitation only exhausted what little strength they had left, and as a result they were hurled even faster toward an almost fatal fall. They inevitably approached the edge of the waterfall.

"Very good! No doubt, it's really the end this time, my friend."

And Kei hugged Miron to him and held on to the beast like never before.

"We've done all we can. I guess there should be no more regrets. We'll never see that wonderful thing called the world lit with the radiant daylight we so longed for, but at least we'll die without chains Miron. We have destroyed this cursed place, and we are free."

They approached the waterfall. Terrified but resigned, Kei raised his head defiantly, then releasing the beast, he clutched Miron to him with both arms, and closed his eyes.

"Aah! Shit! Miron, you should at least have the decency to wake up for our last moment together!"

And they disappeared into the faramous waterfall, covered in a thick fog and white drops. A vague bluish light reflected on the water.