"GET DOWN!!!!!"
Theo, the Archmage, put up his hand and immediately a sturdy shield made from pure energy came to life. It was just in time, as the next second, millions of fireballs slammed against the shield and exploded.
It was raining fire, literally. Everywhere. Like a meteor shower, only with fireballs. The sky was red. The smoke was choking. The two suns could only peek here and there. Destruction and death were everywhere.
Under his shield, Theo looked around, trying to find his King. Finally, he saw his King on the ground, a hole in his chest, his eyes open. Dead.
"Your Majesty!" Theo dropped to his knees, sobbing. He had failed. He only had one job and he had failed.
"ARGH!" Theo yelled in anguish. He wailed. All of his hard work was wasted. All of those years, training, strategizing, fighting, it was all for naught. They had been very stupid. How could they think they could win a war with nature?
Their world was at constant war. It never knew peace. Magic and war were the two things that thrived. They had won many wars. They had defeated many kingdoms. And they had grown cocky and stupid. Look where it had gotten them.
Theo wailed and pounded the ground with his fists. He was hailed as the most powerful mage, yet he couldn't win against nature. He couldn't stop it from destroying their Kingdom, their world.
The sky rumbled. Thunder and lightning flashed, like they were playing chase. Thick, dark clouds covered the sky. The suns were no longer visible. Soon, rain poured down.
Theo was still on the ground, crying. When the first drops hit his skin, he realized that his shield was gone. But he didn't care. All he cared about was his King, dead.
Around him, screams echoed. Everyone still alive ran around like headless chickens, trying to get out of the rain. The rain wasn't just typical rain. It was acid water. It burned the skin until bones were exposed. But it didn't stop there. The rain would melt the bones and turn humans into a melted puddle.
Theo was kneeling on the ground, his skin started to melt. He didn't reject the pain, he welcomed it. He moved to lift his King and put him in his embrace.
They had promised to rule the world together. And now they would die together.
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Theo tries to open his eyes but cannot. His eyes feel heavy, as if glued shut. Sounds start to enter his ears. He tries to concentrate on his hearing.
Steady beeping. Distant steps. Not one person, but many. Someone runs. Others walk quickly. And there are voices too. Theo tries to catch some of the words, but cannot. They are too far.
Then the sound of a door opening. A set of steps grows closer. Panic surges through him. He needs to open his eyes. He must! Enemy!
Something is being dragged, metal against metal. Theo, unable to open his eyes, frowns. What is that sound? Like metal screaming.
He tries to move his hands, and cannot. He can only move his fingers, and even that is with difficulty.
The enemy stops on the right sight of his bed, Theo can feel their body heat. He struggles to move, to defend himself. Magic! How can I forget!
Theo calls on his fire magic. He can feel the heat travels on his body, to his right forefingers-
"Heavens! She's burning up!" A female speaks in shock. Theo can feel she moves fast. Sounds of something being hit. Then, in a distant, an alarm is heard. Footsteps, hasty footsteps follow. All of them coming closer.
The door is being opened.
"What is it, Thompson?"
"It's Ms. Montrose, Ma'am. Her temp suddenly spikes and it still going higher."
Head Nurse Branson immediately checks the monitor and gasps. "Oh my God! It's 40 and still climbing! Quick, open the window, get the cooling blanket!" She orders Thompson rapidly while she open Theo's blanket, getting sponge and room temperature water.
Another nurse comes in. "Ms. Branson, do you need help?"
"Yes! Call Doctor Montgomery and tell him Ms. Montrose's temp suddenly spikes and we're doing everything to bring it down, but it might not be enough!"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Head Nurse Branson moves with expertise. This patient is her top priority. The only VVIP patient that matters to her… career. This is her ticket to getting that nice office with window on the 8th floor, the floor of high-level management and finally be out of this exhausting ward work.
No more handling patients with their ailments. She has been stuck down here on the 5th floor of far too long. She's had enough. This Montrose princess is her way out.
Leila Montrose is stepping out of the elevator to 5th floor. She is carrying a bouquet of Lunastra Lily in her hands. Their fragrance is soft yet everlasting. It's her favorite flower.
Then she notices some hospital staffs running in and out of a room. Oh my god!
Leila drops the bouquet. "That's my daughter's room!" And she runs to the only VVIP room on the floor.
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Theo feels like he's in a dream. None of it is real. He still cannot open his eyes, and yet he knows that the world is in chaos. So many steps and voices coming and going, he cannot distinguish them anymore.
He only recognizes 'Thompson's' voice and another female they call 'Ma'am'. Other than those two, Theo has no idea.
And this… chaos. It starts because he calls on his fire. Is this a new way of preventing prisoner using magic?
His brain cannot process the information that he receives just by his ears. Nothing makes sense to him.
He is now afraid to open his eyes. His ears alone already overwhelms him, does he really want to add more stress by opening his eyes? It's not like he can open them.
As if the panic voices, chaos sounds are not enough, now there's a brand -new sound, crying.
Someone is crying as she enters his room.
What is going on out there?!
Leila burst into the room, already crying. She's imagining the worst. When she sees her precious daughter has 'tentacles' going from her to various machines, she starts to sob.
"Mrs. Montrose, please. This is not as bad as it looks." A nurse sees her and immediately tries to calm her down.
"What's wrong with her? She was okay when I left this morning. I just left to bring her flowers. Her favorite flowers."
Leila Montrose looks at her hands, notices there are no flowers there. "Where are they? Where's the lilies for my baby?"
Leila struggles against the nurse's restraining hold and wants to go look for her flowers, but the nurse fails to recognize that and only feels Leila struggling. So, she holds on tight.
Suddenly her vision is blocked. A figure is towering over her.
"Get your hands off my mother." A cold icy voice greets her.
The nurse is stunned. She slowly looks up and the first thing she notices is a pair of sharp, piercing blue eyes looking back at her.
The room goes silent.
Even Theo can feel his presence.
The nurse gulps.
Arthur Alexander Montrose.