*Continuation from Chapter 1*
The ground behind them erupted in a violent shower of earth and shattered stone.
A colossal demon rose from the ruptured soil, its voice rolling out as a low, almost reverent growl.
Liora and Dot froze. Terror carved deep lines across their faces.
**Four minutes earlier**
The alarm bell tore through the mage halls—wild, frantic, unending.
"What's happening?" Liora's voice came out small and thin.
Martha's expression hardened into steel. "Go. Wake the boy and bring him to my chambers. *Now.*"
Liora didn't hesitate. She ran.
Martha sprinted toward her private quarters. Halfway there, a pack of snarling demon hounds lunged from the shadows. She raised her hand; glowing marks spiraled across her skin, forming the shape of a blazing tree that engulfed her palm.
"Fló-ga!"
Blue Flames exploded around the creatures. They howled as fire devoured them, reducing fur and flesh to crumbling ash.
Another mage—Autuss—stumbled into view, blood streaking her torn robes. "They came without warning. We've been hit hard."
"How many mages are still standing?" Martha demanded.
"I… I'm not sure."
"Find a way to contact the outside. Go!"
"Yes, ma'am." Autuss hurried off.
Martha burst into her chambers. A shadowed figure stood at her desk, rifling through papers. His face remained half-hidden in the dim light.
"Who are you?" she snapped. "What are you doing here? I *command* you to answer!"
The man gave a dark, quiet chuckle. "Your cheap tricks won't work on me."
Martha's lips moved in an ancient chant. "Klí-ma-ta tis yis, ypa-koú-ste sto ká-les-má mou!"
Thick, thorned vines erupted from the floorboards, snapping around the intruder in seconds.
She stepped forward, ready to end it.
The vines shattered like dry twigs.
Martha's eyes widened. "How… That was one of my strongest spells."
The man sneered. "Weak."
An invisible force slammed into her chest. She crashed against the far wall. Bones cracked. Blood flooded her mouth. Pain swallowed her vision.
The intruder took what he had come for and vanished without another word.
---
Liora burst through the door moments later, Dot close on her heels. They found Martha slumped against the wall, barely breathing.
Martha forced her eyes open. With trembling fingers she pressed a small iron key into Liora's palm.
"Go… to my study. Take the boy. Find a way out of this realm. Keep this key with you… always."
Liora nodded, tears burning her eyes. She helped Dot to his feet and they fled.
Alone now, Martha whispered, "Roga."
A spectral fox materialized—silver fur glowing faintly, eyes heavy with sorrow and wisdom.
"How can I help? What happened? Let me carry you out of here."
"No." Martha's voice cracked. Before darkness took her, she mouthed one final word.
A small, fleeting vision passed through her mind: she and an unknown woman sitting together on a sunlit bench, laughing softly. The woman's gentle voice echoed:
*"Take care of my boy."*
Back in the ruined chamber, Martha looked at Roga and smiled faintly.
"Break it."
Then she let go.
---
**Present**
The demon erupted from the earth behind them and seized Dot in its massive claws.
Liora's mind raced. She tried to shape a spell, but panic tangled the words.
Dot screamed, "Liora, run! Leave me—*run!*"
She steadied herself. "Run away? If I can't save you from this… how can I ever become a Völva?"
Power surged. A glowing mark appeared on her forehead—the shape of a half-moon. She chanted.
In an instant, Dot was safely on the ground.
Liora had switched places with him.
A flood of memories swallowed her.
Years earlier, when she first arrived in the mages' realm…
A woman spoke quietly to Martha. "She lost her brother and her mother to a demon attack."
Small Liora stood frozen, staring at the strange new world. *What is this place?*
Days later she sat alone, sobbing. Martha knelt beside her and gently fastened a necklace around her neck.
"Go away," Liora mumbled.
"I lost someone too," Martha said softly. Liora's eyes widened. "My husband. It nearly destroyed me—almost took my own life. Until an older mage saved me. Let me save you, Liora."
The little girl threw her arms around Martha and cried, a knife fell from her hands which she planned on using to end her life .
The vision shifted. Grown Liora stood tall, smiling through the memory.
Another scene: young Liora practicing basic spells. She had no mark yet; her magic was weak. Her best talent? Switching objects. She tried again and again—failing, growing frustrated.
*This is the day I met him,* future Liora narrated. *Dot.*
Dren carried the unconscious boy in on his shoulder and laid him gently on a bed.
The mages argued fiercely in council. "Take that demon spawn out of here! We won't risk our lives for him!"
*"This is hypocrisy,"* Liora thought.
She overheard. Determination hardened her face. She grabbed a knife and slipped toward the room.
Her future self appeared in the vision, reaching out. "No—don't!"
Past Liora ignored her. She entered. The boy lay still. She raised the blade.
He muttered, eyes closed: "Do it."
She froze. The knife clattered to the floor.
The memory twisted. Her dying brother—critically wounded—had begged her once: *"Please… end it. Give me mercy."*
From that moment, Liora watched Dot closely.
When he finally woke, their first real meeting unfolded—just as in Chapter 1.
Future Liora reflected: *I never really liked him at first. I was just like the others.*
She saw herself bump into him accidentally.
"Ah—sorry!" Past Liora turned, saw it was Dot, and her face soured.
He grinned sheepishly. "I messed up again."
Something in that smile reminded her of her clumsy little brother. Slowly, they began to bond.
Future Liora's voice softened. *I hadn't thought about it until now. He was one of the few who didn't laugh when I told him my dream.*
In the memory, Liora's eyes shone. "I want to be a mage—not just any mage. A great mage, respected in all the realms."
Dot clapped. "Impressive. I believe you can do it." He smiled wide.
Past Liora blushed and gave a shy bow.
Future Liora smiled through falling tears. A small ghostly hand slipped into hers—her brother's.
"It's time, isn't it?" she whispered.
---
**Present**
Liora now stood where Dot had been. The demon's claws pierced her chest.
Blood poured from her mouth. The glowing half-moon mark faded slowly. She looked at Dot and mouthed, barely audible:
"Thank you… Dot."
Her body crumpled.
Dot wailed.
The demon raised its claws to finish him.
From a distance, the mysterious man who had attacked Martha paused. He turned, eyes narrowing in fascination.
A woman's voice beside him: "Master."
"Wait for me."
Dot's rage ignited. His eyes flared crimson. Claws extended from his fingertips. Fury consumed him.
The demon lunged toward Dot.
The mysterious man vanished—and reappeared instantly between them.
"Wait, you filth," he said to the demon.
Dot looked up. The man pulled back his hood, revealing a face still unknown to the reader.
"Who are you?!" Dot shouted.
"Lots of potential… yet she wasted it."
Short flashes assaulted Dot: Liora in his chambers, smiling brightly—
"I want to become a mage… not just any mage..."
Then her lifeless body.
Dot roared in rage. "I asked you a question—who the hell are you?!"
The demon, ignoring its master's command, lunged at Dot in blind impulse.
The man simply touched its hide. The creature exploded in a spray of black blood.
"Filth."
He turned to Dot. "You really are interesting, boy."
Dot—now fully in demonic form, claws extended—lunged at the man.
The stranger vanished, reappeared behind him, and sliced clean through Dot's body. Dot screamed in agony.
"I'm going to *kill* you," Dot snarled, eyes blazing red.
The man only smiled.
He vanished again, returning to the mysterious woman's side.
"Should I take him?" she asked.
"No. Leave him. now he would serve no use to our cause."
They disappeared.
---
Martha's spirit fox, Roga, reached a hidden alcove deep within the castle. An ominous orb pulsed there—the anchor keeping the invasion portal open.
Roga lunged. The orb shattered.
The entire structure shuddered. Stones groaned and began to fall.
Wide shot: Dot crawled through the collapsing halls toward Liora's body as the castle came down around them.
---
**Valdheim (Human realm) – Outside a certain town**
A farmer looked up. His eyes widened. He ran.
The sky tore open.
The mage castle plummeted through the rift—towers, walls, everything—crashing into the earth in a thunderous avalanche of stone and dust.
Dot fell with Liora's body. Rubble buried them both.
Minutes later, hoofbeats approached.
A man leaped from his horse. He knelt in the wreckage and gently lifted Dot's broken, slowly regenerating form. The boy's body was barely recognizable—yet flesh was already knitting itself back together.
The man wrapped him in a cloak, mounted again, and rode into the distance.
Chapter 2 – End