The Queen Of Death and Ruins

Condemned

The once dark and cold night flashed with the glowing lights of cosmic magic.

The portals —too many to count and too dark to glimpse through— opened through the academy grounds and unleashed the army of Tenebris, the smell of death and decay seeping from within.

Caelum, Zephyr and I ran forward, launching ourselves in the battle without as much as a second thought. Our endless training and Mystic instincts kicked in, and we had but one purpose: protect the academy and send these invaders back to hell.

As I looked around however, I noticed that our numbers weren't as impressive as what I thought they would be. It appeared that to every five Outliers there was only one Mystic and if it weren't for the fortunate lack of dead bodies littering the ground I would have thought we were doomed.

I closed my eyes for a brief second and relished in the buzz of magic that rushed through my veins as I summoned my light. My body felt warm, buzzing with energy and ready to unleash my pent up emotions.

The second I opened my eyes again, a portal opened up right next to me, and I was faced with six shadowy figures slithering out from the depths of Tenebris. Knowing now that this smoky appearance was nothing but an illusion protecting their real form, I swallowed the fear that tried peeking its head out, and launched into action.

Light, as volatile and destructive as my emotional state was, burst out of my palms and headed directly towards the first Outlier. It was making its way towards me, the stench of death surrounding it and the dark aura of black magic hovering over its hands. A shriek so loud and so shrill I thought I would go permanently deaf left the creature as my magic collided with its smoky figure, bursting through it before engulfing it completely. It writhed in pain, the illusion around it shattering to leave behind a stunned looking man, screaming in pain against my moonlight. The whole attack took only a few seconds, before the man collapsed on the ground, lifeless eyes staring up at the dark sky above.

I thought my attack would deter the others, or at least stall for a moment, but they didn't even hesitate. The soulless, bottomless pits where their eyes should have been gazed into nothing as they advanced, shrieking like banshees. I had to think fast. To the rest of the academy, I was still Nyx, which meant I only had access to one cosmic element. Taking a deep breath and regretting it immediately due to the stench, I held my hands palms up and aimed them at the two creatures in the lead. Shadows headed straight for the one on the right and met his attack head on, surrounding it from every side and leaving it to struggle against the binds of magic. I had no time to think this through, and summoned my light again, this time aiming for its heart, or where the thing should be. It went right through the creature's chest and blew it up in seconds.
In its haste to get away from me, the other one was hit with the remnants of my light. It shrieked and faltered slightly, giving me a chance I couldn't afford to miss. I summoned the light again and as the creature was still screaming, aimed it straight down its throat. It choked and gurgled for a few tense seconds, making disgusting noises as its illusion faltered. The woman cried as she fell, her insides burning with cosmic magic before shattering completely in a great explosion of light.

Holding back the urge to vomit, I glanced around me, noticing that the other three  were nowhere to be found. I couldn't help the dread that sent a shiver down my spine as I wondered where they might be. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Caelum and Zephyr standing over two piles of ash as they each took on a new threat. I was about to sprint towards them when pain like nothing I had ever felt before erupted through my left shoulder. The force of the attack sent me straight to the ground, rocks and branches poking my back and shredding my coat. I skidded to a stop and grunting, I lifted myself up to my knees. My coat was tattered and its shoulder was singed and frayed. I winced in pain, taking the coat off to inspect the damage to my flesh. My arm was red and tender and my shoulder erupted in pain when I moved it, but thankfully nothing was broken and I was still alive. I looked to my left where the attack came from and gulped when I saw one of them standing over me,  sizzling electricity surrounding the ball of magic in its hands.