Curse of the Phoenix

Chapter 7 - I'm Back

"Where... am I?"

He was lying on the ground. Around him were fallen shelves, cereal boxes and scattered groceries. Shards of glass crunched underneath as he moved. Is this a supermarket? Why are the windows broken?

Wait a second. He'd been here before.

"The miner! Where..." A good distance away was a black cloaked woman, observing Colt's limp body.

"What..." Matt's body wasn't full of injuries anymore. His clothes were still torn, though.

Beside him, a cloud of golden dust appeared, and inside it, Aelia materialized. Her bare feet touched the tiled floor as she finished. With a yelp, she jumped backwards to dodge the glass shards.

"Aelia, what's going on? Why am I here?"

Aelia smiled and said, "Don't worry. You did it, Matt. You saved him."

"I... Did?"

"After you fainted, your consciousness got sent back, so I brought him back to the tower to get help. Since time is faster there, I could catch up here just in time."

"Oh..." Matt nodded and staggered to his feet. In his mind, he said, "No. You're the one who did, Aelia."

Aelia tilted her head at him and held his shoulder, making him jolt in surprise. "Are you—"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Even though he felt that way. He couldn't get mad or jealous. That's just not right. Still, he couldn't shake away the feeling of failure. "Thanks, Aelia." He wrapped his arms around her.

"M-Matt?!" Her face flushed to her ears and Matt let go.

He has to focus on the present. Right now, he needs to escape this stupid situation he'd gotten himself into.

"You see her over there?" Matt pointed at the woman. "She's the one who killed me. We could just run away, but I don't want to leave Colt behind."

She nodded in response. She'd probably figured out who Colt was since there were only two people in the parking lot.

"We'll have to fight her. Are you in?"

"Of course!"

He nodded back and stepped forward into the parking lot with Aelia. "Hey! You're not the only one who can come back to life!"

The woman spun around. Her eyes widened at the brat she'd just killed.

"You... How are you... Ah, I see. How sickeningly lucky of you," the woman said as she glared at him.

"Aelia!" 

Aelia closed her eyes, and three sharp winds appeared above her that shot towards the woman. Like a grasshopper, the woman jumped over one and dodged the rest by jumping to the side. Her hands raised to create two shock waves, one at Matt and one at Aelia.

Matt sidestepped the shock wave while Aelia jumped sideways. His fist burned bright with an orange and red fire. It was just like an unlockable. Now, he can activate it on command, but he knew there was a limit to using it. That just means he'll have to act fast. Without anymore thought, he rushed towards her.

This time, four shock waves flew towards him. While running, he jumped to the side, ducked a shock wave, and sidestepped the rest. With his precise movements and his brain aching a little to warn him, he was unstoppable.

In no time, he was in right front of her. He threw a hook punch towards her face, but she caught the fist and was about to punch him back when a cutting wind interrupted her, making her jump backwards. He predicted where she was about to land and reached her just in time.