The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 72: To the world (Part 2)

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Ratansi Concurser:

Two elves stood in the courtyard of the Great Fortress. It was late at night and as such, the two were alone. Ratansi Concurser frowned towards his brethren, clearly annoyed and frustrated. The other elf had a tired expression, clearly wanting to leave but was being held in place.

"Like I said, it wasn't my fault!" Kazu complained. "I'm as disappointed as you are. I wanted to see them as well! As soon as the memories popped into my head, you could believe my curiosity was peaked."

Ratansi crossed his arms, "Really, then try it again. Cast out and look for them."

"How many times do you want to do this?" Kazu rolled his eyes. "They're not here! They're not in the Void or the Rift. They're somewhere else and far enough that I can't get a glimpse of it!"

Ratansi grit his teeth, "We'll keep trying until we find them. We owe them that much."

"Fine, but only one more time tonight." Kazu huffed, "All you have to do is stand there but for me it takes quite a toll."

"Ha!" Ratansi smirked. "And you call yourself the greatest living Mage of Areithia."

"For your information, my disciples call me that," Kazu brushed him off and raised his arms, again reaching out to the worlds beyond, searching for the fragment of his soul. "Well, what do you know they're-." A sudden tug scraped inside of him, cutting his words short. "Oh shit. Prepare for impact!"

"Prepare for wh-," Ratansi began slowly but soon felt the mass of energy that was rushing towards them. He threw everything he had into the defence of the space around them, casting his mana wide and creating a crash zone. A split second later the world tore open and from it Ardent and Ria fell out, the resulting fall out cracking the earth and sounding an explosion to the skies.

"Oops," Ardent brushed himself off, still holding onto Ria. "I couldn't stick the landing."

"Arvel?" Ratansi couldn't believe his eyes. "You- you're here!"

"About time, right?" he laughed and turned to see Kazu splayed out on the ground. "Thank you for trying so hard to bring me back."

Kazu threw himself back onto his feet and grinned, a light passing from Ardent to him, "And with that my end of our deal is complete!"

"Stop right there," Ratansi blocked him. "Let the kid rest. Welcome back Arv-, no, welcome back Ardent and you as well Ria. We've missed you."

Ria smiled, standing shakily, "We're back."

"We've prepared a place for you to stay, I'll lead you there."

"Actually," Ardent began, looking out to the distance. "I know it's late, but if you don't mind. I need to pay someone a visit."

"Of course," Ratansi smiled. "He's lost himself a bit."

"I know what will bring him back," Ardent patted Ria's head. "Let's go Ria."

The small girl nodded and just like that, holding on to her father, the two leapt out of the Fortress grounds. Luckily for them, they escaped the waking of the guard as those nearby came to inspect the commotion. Kazu however remained quiet, his eyes wide and lips twitching.

"Are you okay there?" Ratansi asked.

Kazu lips stretched into a long and elated smile, "Oh, I'm brilliant."