The Mark of Aether

The Guardian~Part I

I looked around, my hands resting on my forehead, shielding my poor eyes from the blaring, angry sun. Reflecting mirages made acrobatics in front of me, veils of transparent gauzes shadowing our vision.

Heat seeped in my body, my blood boiling in my veins. The sun was growing, raging, and killing, resting in its firmament like a giant sphere of trashing magma. Even the sky seemed to lose its bluish hue and was replaced by pale amber. If I wasn't mistaken, the weather turned even hotter than what it was before.

"I am starting to wonder if they did not end up buried underneath the debris of rocks,'' said Leon, looking at the empty, voided and dried lands.

I froze.

''That's not something you say out loud.''

I was already having bad, dreadful ideas that they didn't made it after the shadow warriors disappeared from the cemetery.

I was losing hope in finding them. The eruption was drastic and Leon's statement rang in my ears like a horrific echo whispered by the devils in my head. ''Maybe I can use my magic to try and find them,'' I said, trying to seek any other option.

The fire Lord frowned. ''You can't afford this much power.''

''If you have any other idea, I am all ears.''

He kept quiet, debating it with his own self. I knew that in the end he would give in. Roaming in this emptiness with no aim would kill us straight.

The entire situation seemed like a stage for descending to hell. I wondered if Satan was enjoying watching or if he started preparing the decorations and pyres for our funerals.

''All right, but be careful.''

I nodded and sat on the cracked sol, expending my magic with what I could find of strength. Fire was my only right hand as of the moment. Staring in the empty void, I freed my vision and let it slid between time and space. Everything was similar, a blur of dark, crumbled rocks and ash-colored deteriorated lands.

I felt my throat drying furthermore, begging to feel the cooling sensation of water running in it.

I extended my sights even more, tilting my head to the side where I thought I saw movements. Dipping my vision the more, I spotted both of them near the remaining of the fallen volcano, a few meters away.

I broke the spell and blinked several times, a headache surging suddenly. It felt like the veins and arteries in my skull grew wider.

"They are about fifteen meters away. Close to the caldera of the volcano,'' I said as I crouched to stand. My legs did not support my weight, an abnormal wave of pain and weariness taking over me. My heart did cartwheels inside my chests while my lungs felt like being hit by Thor's Mjölnir.

''Careful,'' said Leon as he caught me and steadied me on the ground, handing me my canteen. I drank like I would never taste water again, relieving my burning pharynx.

"I am all good,'' I said after a while, standing by myself. Something was wrong, I could feel it in the air. But I didn't know what.

''Let's go.''

*****

Leon and I walked for a good while before I spotted a figure with blond hair a few meters from where I was standing. From the blinding joy I was feeling, I started running as fast as my legs could carry me. I jumped on Mayra, tackling her in a bear hug that almost made her fall.

''There you are,'' she mumbled, holding me as tight. 

''Thanks Nevor you're both safe.''

I leaped from Mayra's grasp before being pulled by Carter. ''Are you all right?'' he asked, concern visible in his tone. I nodded, breathing out a deep sight.