Eye of Magnus (a Skyrim fanfiction)

Chapter Twelve: The Eye of Magnus

A/N: Before reading this chapter, I STRONGLY advise you to read the last chapter of The First and Last Dragonborn because there are MAJOR spoilers in this chapter for how that ends!

I aim the staff at the barrier and use its power to try and bring it down. After a few goes, it dissipates and gives us a way into the college. Wasting no time, we hurry into the Hall of the Elements, where the Eye and Ancano are. 

Ancano is standing in front of the Eye of Magnus, which is now radiating intensely powerful magic all around us. 

"You've come for me, have you?" he sneers. "You think I don't know what you're up to? You think I can't destroy you?" the madness starts to pool in his eyes. "The power to unmake the world at my fingertips, and you think you can do anything about it?"

Tolfdir aims a ball of sparks at him, which just disintegrate and don't do any damage. "Spells have no effect!" he exclaims. 

Ancano throws back his head and laughs manically. "I am beyond your pathetic attempts at magic. You cannot touch me!"

"The staff!" Tolfdir shouts and points at the staff in my hand. "Use it on the Eye!"

I do as he suggests and the Eye cracks open and emits a blinding flash, which stuns me and Tolfdir and knocks us both to the ground. Up, Blaise. Get up. Move. In the corner of my eye I don't see Tolfdir moving, but I can't think about that. 

I get to my feet, fists clenched and blood trickling down my head. 

"Still you persist!" the rage in Ancano's face is as clear as day. "Very well. Come then. See what I can do now!"

He sends a wave of magic in my direction and I dodge to the side to avoid it and send a blast of flame magic at him. While the eye is fully open, Ancano appears to be more vulnerable which means I need to get all my attacks on him while it's open. I don't hold back and launch fireballs after fireballs at him, making sure I dodge anything he sends at me. Honestly? After my brush with death facing that dragon priest, I feel like taking down Ancano is going to be easier than it should be. 

I fall into a pattern. When the Eye is closed, I hit it with a blast of magic from the Staff of Magnus which opens it and makes Ancano vulnerable. Then I blast Ancano with whatever magic I can summon within myself. However, when the Eye is closed Ancano makes it very difficult for me to get a hit on it and I end up taking a lot of damage myself. 

"Stop this madness Ancano!" I say hollowly. I can feel my magicka and health severely depleted, but he looks no better. 

"I do this for the glory of the Aldmeri Dominion!" Ancano screams. "The chaos in the Aetherius means that Tamriel is ripe for invasion and the rise of the Dominion!"

What? Ramblings of a madman. But something about that makes me uneasy. 

"You're insane!" I shout back. 

The more I keep him talking, the more distracted he is. 

"You cannot take this away from me! It is my destiny! My right!" he proclaims. 

The Eye is open. 

"I don't think so," I reply. "Inferno!"

It's the strongest fire magic spell I can summon. I don't know if I'm fully strong enough to summon it, but the flames shoot out of my hands and they engulf Ancano. His screams echo through the hall and I shut my eyes, trying to shut them out but I know that they're going to haunt me forever. 

When I open my eyes, Ancano isn't there but a pile of ashes is. The Eye of Magnus is shut. 

Tolfdir sits up, looking disoriented. "Something...something is wrong,"