Story dump

Chapter 9

Ruins of Time
(Original date: 7/23/22)

Chelnoir stared up at the ruins entrance, in awe of the sheer size of the two pillars in front of him. After days upon days of travel, he had finally reached the Eisbioc ruins, a place said to be the remnants of an ancient city that was capable of manipulating time. He didn't believe the last part of that legend though, since he, a well renowned traveling wizard (or at least, a self proclaimed one. He was still working on the well renowned part.), was never able to control time. He walked up the staircase in front of him and stepped through the archway, looking around in awe. His jade green robes flowed in the wind, Chelnoir almost being able to feel the age of these ruins. He walked around, taking out a notepad and writing down any interesting finds. He paused when an odd symbol caught his eye, causing him to walk towards it and study it. From what he could assume, it looked to be a clock or sundial in the middle with something wrapped around it, which appeared to be... a dragon..? He blinked, trying to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "There's no way that this symbol has a whole DRAGON wrapped around its centerpiece.." he mumbled to himself, placing a sheet of paper on the symbol before scribbling in order to shade it. He felt the surface of the symbol move inwards, hearing a soft clicking noise afterwards. He glanced around, trying to find what the button had done. He found nothing, however, so he simply shrugged and moved on. He stumbled upon another strange symbol on a pillar, his curiosity getting the better of him as he went to investigate. This time it was a similar clock to the previous one, except it was now shattered with the dragon nowhere to be found. 'Maybe these tell some kind of story..' he thought before placing another sheet of paper on top of it and beginning to shade. Just like the symbol prior, this one also slid inwards, another clicking sound following. He raised a brow, now even more curious as he finished the shading.

He looked around, spotting three more symbols around him. Chelnoir walked towards the nearest one, studying it. It seemed to be an image of the ruins in their prime, surrounded by what he assumed were flames, with the shattered clock looming overhead. He placed his hand on it, gently pressing it. Just as he suspected, it was another button, clicking once pushed in all the way. He shaded it into his notepad before moving on to the next symbol, adjusting his hat. 'An odd set of symbols.. though they definitely have some significance..' he thought, staring at the depiction of the ruins in their current state before repeating the process he had done before, which was pressing the button and shading it. He moved onto the last one, noting that it was more detailed than the others. It was still the ruins in their current state, but this time there were dark voids where he assumed the buttons were. There was a large orb in the sky, along with a few clocks surrounding it. He didn't understand what it meant, but he would have time to study it later. He was about to press the button before a loud growl froze him in place, his eyes widening. He slowly looked around, nearly shrieking in fear at the sight of a massive dragon sitting atop a rock glaring down at him. The dragon's scales were a deep, vibrant green with flecks of gold and white, and its massive, twisted horns were a dark shade of grey. The dragon let out a mighty roar, causing a burst of adrenaline to rush through him, though he was frozen in place. He felt himself begin to tremble in fear, giving the dragon a terrified, wide eyed stare as it flared its wings. The two were still before the dragon appeared to grow annoyed, stepping off the rock and walking towards Chelnoir, which caused him to panic and back up into a pillar. The dragon neared him, his heart racing as he felt the dragon's breath upon him. He closed, readying himself for the worst as the dragon growled once more.

He opened one of his eyes after a moment, seeing as nothing had happened. The dragon took a small step back, seemingly having been waiting for Chelnoir to open his eyes before it began to glow. He glanced around nervously, confused as he opened both of his eyes. He felt a hand grab his throat as he had his gaze focused away from where the dragon was, yelping in surprise and clawing at the hand as he looked forward. Where the dragon once stood, there was a (man? Woman? He couldn't tell, they seemed to be nearly completely androgynous) in its place, whom was also the one holding onto his neck. The being lifted Chelnoir up, their expression a glare along with their dark green tail lashing back and forth. He struggled, feeling their grip tighten. "You pathetic time-warpers. Did I not already teach you your lesson long ago?" They snarled. "Your home has been destroyed, and yet you still return?" 'Time-warpers..?' he thought, though he was unable to ponder those words as he began gasping for air, as the hand around his throat restricted his breathing. "Now, tell me. Why have you come back?" The being asked, loosening their grip enough so that Chelnoir could speak. "Re.. search..!" He sputtered. "I'm.. a wizard..! Not... t.. ime.. warp.. er..!" He was still gasping for air as he spoke, unable to properly speak as he attempted to squirm from the being's grasp. "And how do I know you are not lying to me?" They snapped. "C.. an.. prove... it...!" Chelnoir responded, his hat now crooked as the being continued to glare at him. They let go of him after a moment, causing him to fall to his hands and knees onto the ground. He started to catch his breath, falling onto his side and staring ahead. He was unsure as to where the dragon had originally gone, though he speculated that the being that had nearly killed him was the same dragon. He saw the being's tail still lashing from the corner of his eye, seeing them take a step towards him.

"Well? Are you going to demonstrate your proof?" They asked sharply, Chelnoir flinching before weakly and shakily sitting up. "Need.. to b.. reathe.." he mumbled, feeling lightheaded. He heard the being let out an irritated sigh, beginning to tap their foot. "Be quick." They said, Chelnoir nodding in response. The being had such an imposing and authoritative aura, including whenever they spoke, to the point where he felt obligated to follow every single order they gave him. He did his best to catch his breath, standing up once he was breathing at a relatively normal pace and leaning against the pillar. He adjusted his hat, still ever-so-slightly woozy. "You are breathing at a normal rate. Show me your proof." The being ordered, causing Chelnoir to quickly sit up. "Y-yes, sorry.." he stammered, taking out his spell book from his satchel and flipping through the pages. "H-here.. let me.. t.. try a time p-pausing s.. spell.. j-" he started. "And you claim to not be a filthy time warper." The being snapped, Chelnoir feeling his heart race once more. "No! It's t-to prove that I.. I c-can't..!" He replied, finally landing on the page he was looking for. The being sighed, watching him silently as he began to repeat the incantation. He raised his hand, feeling magic begin to surge through it despite struggling on a few words. Suddenly, he felt a sharp sting of pain within his hand, hearing a crackling sound. He panicked, the being taking a step back as he aimed towards the surrounding woods. His hand was glowing, letting out a small shriek of agony as the pain began to grow worse. He attempted to focus, though he was unable to due to the excruciating amount of pain he was in, wincing. He heard another loud crackle, followed by the sound of magic being fired as the pain very slightly began to dull down. He opened his eyes just in time to see the ball of magic explode, the trees bending thanks to the shockwave.

He began panting, now exhausted and lightheaded once more thanks to what he had just endured. He looked to the being, attempting to confirm if they believed him. "I see. Magic overflow." They said, Chelnoir raising a brow. "Magic.. what..?" He asked, the being's tail still lashing as they responded. "Magic overflow. Happens to those with too much magic in their system." Chelnoir put his book away, looking at the being with a confused expression. "I've.. never heard.. of.. such a thing.. sir.." he said, the being's eyes narrowing. "Seingo." They said, Chelnoir assuming that that was their name. "R.. right.. sorry.." he mumbled, swaying slightly on his feet. Seingo stared at him, though they seemed much less irritated than before. "State your name." They said, stepping closer to him. He felt as though he was loosing his balance, his eyelids feeling heavy. "Chel.. noir.." he said before falling backwards, feeling Seingo catch him. He looked up at them, trying to keep his eyes open as they spoke. "Rest. I will explain things when you awaken." Chelnoir nodded before closing his eyes, feeling Seingo lift him up before he drifted off to sleep.

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Chelnoir felt his consciousness begin to return to him, feeling a cool breeze blow through the area he was in. He opened his eyes, seeing a cave around him before he sat up, stretching. He felt something shift, causing him to look behind him, nearly panicking when he saw the same dragon from before. He quickly calmed himself down though, realizing that it was probably Seingo in a different form. He leaned back, staring at the cave ceiling for a moment before feeling something nudge him. He looked around again, seeing Seingo now staring directly at him. They motioned their head to the side, seemingly wanting Chelnoir to get off of them. He did as he was ordered, moving away from them before they began to glow once more. He adjusted his hat, Seingo's more humanoid form appearing where the dragon once was. "I hope you rested well." They said, Chelnoir nodding in response. Seingo stretched, looking at him afterwards with a permanently sharp gaze. "Good, good." He glanced around before instinctively adjusting his hat once more. "I.. still don't.. u-understand this wh-whole... 'Magic Overflow' sort of.. thing.." he mumbled, looking down, hearing Seingo sigh. "I'm surprised. It's rather common." They said. "Were you not taught this in your education?" He shook his head, taking off his hat and fiddling with it "Why." They asked sharply, Chelnoir growing slightly more panicked again. "B-because.. n.. not everyone h-has.. strong enough magic abilities.." he stammered, nervously glancing at Seingo, whose expression was still unchanging. ".. You are lying to me, aren't you." They snapped, a hint of irritation in their voice. "N-no..! T-trust me, i.. if everyone h-had magic.. these ruins w-would be.. e-extremely popular.." he cried, his hands shaking as he felt a growing anxiety. Seingo stared at him for a moment before taking a deep breath, seemingly attempting to calm down. Chelnoir shrunk himself to the best of his abilities, even hiding in his hat.