ULTRAMagic Prelude

Chapter 22

While making their way back to the beach, Blood-Wraith and Deimos ran into Dragoslava... who was eating fruit and angrily muttering to herself. "...Damn it, freaking soul fragments... stupid Lich... CAN I CATCH A BREAK FOR TWO SECONDS?!"

"Sister? I thought you were going to go check on Leif..."

"Blood? Er, yeah..." She replied with a mouth full of food.

"I take it that things are a bit complicated?" Deimos observed.

Dragoslava swallowed and burped. "That's about right. I suppose I should probably tell you all about this issue I have. It's been weighing on me for a while. Did you know I used to have a crush before the great hunt? Ethor Kovarik. He was a cute dork I was flirting with. It didn't help that the hunt kept us distracted, but we managed to become friends. Then I left to go explore and find out what the Beast's deal was..."

"Did something happen?"

"He died while I was gone."

Blood-Wraith was devastated. "Sister, I had no idea..."

Dragoslava held her hand up. "Stop. It's in the past. There's nothing you can do about it..." She then shattered a rock in her metal hand.

"Sister?"

She sighed. "We're not supposed to die, the Descendants. When we do, we reincarnate, but where we end up is anyone's guess. I didn't know him that well, but it still stings. Sometimes I even think he's coming around the corner, but it's just Desislav. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear Ethor reincarnated as him."

"Sister... Do you need a hug?"

"Right now? No. What I need is to work off this fruit, ha."

"Hmm... Alright, but I am still giving you a hug eventually" Blood-Wraith stated.

Leif was watching the waves as the others exited the forest. "Back already? I figured you would have been... BROTHER?"

Deimos looked Leif in the eye. "It's been a while..."

Naturally the 20 foot tall dragon leapt for joy, shaking the island. "HA, I KNEW YOU WEREN'T ACTUALLY GONE!"

"That's not what your paranoia was saying..."

"Tyrant! Shush. Ahem, Deimos... What happened to you?!"

"Honestly I have no idea. Pride, fear, arrogance... I really should have stayed as The Made of Old. Thankfully I've matured a great deal since then."

"So what's your plan? How are we going to stop your other half?"

"Always asking even though you know the answers... It's simple: I'm taking back what's mine and reincarnating. I've already begun the process." Deimos pulled away his robes, revealing a chaotic mass of energy in his ribcage.

Leif was shocked. "Deimos! Is that... that's ANTIMagic! What are you even doing?"

"I know, I know; not the ideal outcome. I don't want to lose my progress, which is what got me into this mess in the first place, but this will work out for everyone. There's always more than one way to peel a fruit."

Blood-Wraith inspected Deimos. "Looks incredibly unorthodox. What is ANTIMagic?"

"Ditto. Is it a type of ULTRAMagic or something?" Dragoslava was also curious.

"Not quite. Allow me to explain" Deimos replied. "ANTIMagic occurs when there is a great upheaval with one's magic. The mage can be changed or they can spawn an all new entity. The term 'ANTIMagic' is not meant to be literal. It's chaotic, unpredictable magic. In my case, I am pursuing ULTRAMagic... but the state of my being will end up corrupting it. An utter calamity I am not happy about."