Seris Ardentis studied the intricate geometrical patterns that formed the foundation of the spell she was trapped in.
Glowing blue glyphs, almost like mandalas, gave off an ambient light. It was enough to see by and for that she was thankful.
She felt foolish for having fallen into this trap. These ancient ruins had drawn her attention after she discovered a brief mention of a lost tribe that had somehow crafted a complex time and spatial dimensional spell.
The small bit of text in a rather old, dusty thick volume on forgotten sorcerer history had turned out to be accurate. This tribe, the Mino, had indeed mastered this spell. To her knowledge they were the only sorcerers to have successfully done this.
"So tricky and intricate. I'm impressed. I will figure you out though."
Seris frowned as her light blue eyes scanned every detail, her mind cataloging everything. This was her speciality, spell theory, and it was her only salvation. In order to escape this prison, she would have to understand how the spell functioned then unravel it from the inside. Something that the original casters probably assumed was impossible.
"Never ran across me though!"
Undaunted by a task that would make most sorcerers give up instantly, she poked and prodded.
So far she had learned some important things about this trap. The spell itself was a prison, meant to contain anyone foolish enough to walk into what had once been the royal treasury.
As a prison it was unique. Instead of stone walls and patrolling armed guards, it was instead crafted from a complicated manipulation of time itself. The whole thing was in the shape of a giant blue bubble with walls of pure energy that were as solid as steel. No matter how hard she punched the walls wouldn't give.
Time itself did not flow through this prison, everything (or anyone) trapped within it was essentially frozen in time. Unable to age or tell how much time had passed outside of the magical cage.
Seris suddenly stopped, a deep frown appearing on her pale face.
How many days, weeks, months, or years had passed since she had become trapped? If time didn't flow in this prison that meant time was continuing its march outside of it.
Her friends, Leo and Rhianon had cautioned her against walking into this place. Leo's serious expression with his round glasses pushed up, filled her vision. She could almost hear him;
"I told you this was a stupid idea. You are always too reckless to explore these types of places. Is collecting ancient spells and techniques really that important?"
Seris sighed heavily, if she made it out of this place Leo was going to give her a scolding so sharp, so massive that it would be documented in the annals of history for all of eternity.
A smile appeared on her face as she tried to imagine what Rhianon would say;
"Go easy on her, it's not like she is an apprentice or some kind of weakling. She is the strongest sorcerer of our generation. Besides, if anyone knows how to navigate their way through a booby-trapped forgotten ruin, it's Seris."
Rhianon had always been quick to stick up for her. Even when Seris had been in the wrong, Rhianon always stood by her side.
Seris shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She needed to focus or she would never leave this place.
***
"Finally!"
Seris laughed and clapped her hands. She had done it, she had studied every single inch of this prison. She had memorized every glyph, every mathematical pattern, until it became a blueprint in her mind.
She had failed several times, the spell fizzling out as she lost control of it. All the swearing, sweating, and panting finally paid off.
Running a hand through her shoulder length snowy white hair, she took a deep breath to slow her growing excitement.
"I have to give props where respect is due. You guys really knocked it out the park with this spell."
Closing her eyes, she stretched her hands out before her. Mana rose up from within her, filling her with power. It was like a roaring waterfall coursing through her body but control was needed.
Exerting her disciplined will over her own mana, she managed to transform the waterfall into a gentle stream.
Her eyes snapped open, glowing with a blue light, as her hands quickly made a series of complex gestures. Magic flowed out of her, creating an intricate blue mandala-like design around both of her hands.
The ground beneath her feet trembled as the barriers of the bubble began to flicker. She grinned in anticipation, freedom was within reach.
***
A group of six demons, led by a very large demon, were lazily sprawled out around the crumbling stone room.
"I still don't understand why we have to hide in this dump. We should just march into the city and start slaughtering everyone. Why waste our time here?"
"I told you, our orders were to lay low. We are the second surprise ambush."
"So we have to wait around while Tarius has all the fun? He gets to rampage through the mortals, killing and enslaving them, while we get the sloppy seconds?"
"That's enough. This isn't up for debate. Lord Azarion issued the commands, if you have a problem, take it up with him."
The one arguing swallowed hard before looking away. The idea of challenging Lord Azarion was suicidal at best. He was the handpicked general of the demon army, second in power to the king only.
The leader stretched, figuring he would grab a quick nap while waiting for the signal to attack. His plans were rudely interrupted by the sudden explosion of sound that rocked through the ruins.
It was like a massive amount of glass had just shattered or like a thousand tiny bells that rang at the same time.
Covering their ears, the demons stared in surprise as a woman fell onto the ground in front of him.
"Ow, my ass."
The woman rubbed her buttocks, facing away from the demons who were speechless.
"Seriously, why did the prison have to float me into the air too? Seems like overkill to me."
The woman stiffened suddenly, turning to look behind her while remaining seated on the ground.
"Oh, I didn't realize there was a welcoming delegation. Are you going to bring me to the local alehouse for some beer and stew?"
One of the demons, a scrawny red in color one with long talons instead of fingers, sneered at the odd woman while not understanding a single thing she just said other than stew.
"Is this a sorcerer?"
"Of course it is, you idiot. Normal humans don't just fall out of the sky like that."
"Let's eat her!"
The demons quickly formed a half ring around the woman, growling in an animalistic voice while saliva began to puddle onto the ground in front of them.
"Yeah, that's not a good idea."
The leader cocked an eyebrow at the warning the woman gave them. Who was this sorcerer to threaten them?
"You don't seem to understand your position here, we have you outnumbered," the leader said with a loud booming laugh. He puffed out his massive muscled chest as smoke tendrils curled out from his nostrils.
"No, I understand that perfectly, thank you. What I actually don't understand is why a group of half-witted weaklings like you are huddled together in this place."
The leader stuttered like she had slapped him. His pride was wounded as the other demons looked at him expectantly. Surely he, their mighty captain, wouldn't take this insult from a lowly sorcerer? Sorcerers had weakened over the years, making them easier to kill which made the demons feel overly confident.
The woman stood up, pushing her messy white hair out of her face before fixing the leader with a penetrating stare that made him uncomfortable.
"Well? Care to share with the class? No reason to be shy, we don't judge here in the sharing circle."
That was the final straw, that last bit of sarcasm and condescending tone had been too much.
"Kill her, save her entrails, they'll make a good necklace."
The demons surged forward, their talons raking out to slice at the woman's flesh.
Seris vanished before they could touch her.
"What the—"
The demon that had spoken out in surprise couldn't finish his sentence. Seris had appeared behind him, shoving his face so hard into the stone wall that he died immediately upon impact.
"How?"
Seris grinned, a cocky expression filling her features as she lifted a single slender finger in a come on gesture.
The demons, angry that someone had gotten this lucky against them, rushed at her again.
Seris kicked the ground hard causing a massive spray of dirt to fly into the faces of her rushing attackers.
The demons collided with each other, trying to clear the dirt from their glowing red eyes.
"You really need to do better than this if you want to kill me. It's like you're not even trying."
The leader snarled in fury as the humiliation continued. He launched forward, swinging his massive fist toward her face.
Seris quickly ducked, delivering an uppercut to his stomach that hit so hard there was an explosive shockwave that radiated out. It demolished the already crumbling wall behind the massive demon.
"How… supposed… to be… weak…" the leader gasped one final breath before collapsing onto the ground.
"Next."
Seris quickly eliminated the demons as they tried to flee the ruins, hoping to escape to freedom as they made for the exit.
The last demon, before he died, realized that he was a mouse being toyed with by a cat.
"Well, that was a good workout."
Seris stretched a bit before leaving the ruins.
As she stepped outside the sudden bright light of the sun blinded her. Rubbing her eyes furiously she muttered curses at it under her breath.
When her vision finally cleared she stood frozen to the spot.
In the distance was a large collection of massive, square-like buildings covered in glass windows.
"What the hell?"
These were not the same buildings that had been there when she left for her expedition. These were almost alien-like to her. Her heart sank as she realized that years must have passed. The world had moved on without her.
Her feet started to carry her forward as if they had a mind of their own. The brilliant display of civilization before her called out, daring her to approach and see what kind of mess she had gotten herself into.