Sandcastle

It was Ethan. He stood just outside the rift, his usual harmless smile on his face, and the hands hidden in the pockets of his dark trousers. "Kitty. Fancy meeting you here."

If Katherine had been raised in any lower class than aristocracy, she would've spit in front of his feet. Even so, her face soured as if she'd bitten into a raw lemon. "I don't... fancy it at all."

Stepping aside to give the rest of the dark stream free access to the rift, she noticed that Ethan'd brought two helpers who lingered in the back nervously. The white lab coats outed them as researchers. She glanced them up and down and decided not to ask where Ve was. After all that happened today and with her magic nearly depleted, she wanted nothing more than walk away from this whole mess.

So, she did just that. Turned around and walked along the canyon that was now almost free of the dark substance.

After a second of surprise, Ethan called after her: "Hey, don't you want to know what I'll do with this? Aren't you curious? Don't you want to know the outcome of risking your life?"

Continuing forward as if she didn't hear him, Katherine secretly rolled her eyes. She wouldn't give this piece of shit the time of her day anymore, even if he begged for it. If only she had the power to kill him...

"You really don't want to know? I could explain it to you. I could also use your help if you would... well, you will miss a whole lot if you go right now. I might become the most powerful mage that ever lived! Don't you want to stop me?"

Another bout of silence, then Ethan added: "It's a bit sad to do it alone, but anyway... Just so you know, I will enter this portal now! Wait for me to come out again, and your precious Prince won't be able to catch me again! He won't be able to fight even if I take you with me. A Balder should stay with her family! And listen to her elder cousin, damn it!"

There was a deep frown on Ethan's face when he watched Katherine leave without glancing back once. Finally, he ripped his attention from her firm back to fix it on the researchers. "What are you ogling at? Get to work! I want you both to feed the portal with magic as soon as the dark power runs out. And don't you dare slack off! The whole experiment is at risk if the connection breaks off."

The researchers nodded and stepped closer to the rift, their hands trembling nervously. They had been told to avoid the dark substance months ago and heard stories that some researchers didn't come back when they'd entered the cave, not to speak of standing this close to the darkness. However, they also understood that the dark mass was smaller than before, possibly less powerful. Since, in their minds, it wasn't intelligent, they feared Ethan's retort more, should they reject his order.

"Good." Ethan breathed in deeply, soothing the lingering irritation, and wondered for a short second why Katherine's behavior irked him so much. After all, his little Kitty had always been temperamental, and he always found it amusing before. So, he forced the smile back on his face and focused on the issue before him.

"Now!" he commanded when the last tickle of darkness vanished through the gate, and without a gap in between, his own fire magic rushed forth to replace it. Fire also spread from the fingers of the researchers into the rift. The rift trembled a bit at the new invasion, but then it stabilized.

"Perfect," Ethan muttered, then glanced up to the cave and raised his voice. "I want more mages here on standby! They must be able to switch instantly should one mage run out of power! Hurry up!"

There was already a new ladder hanging down the canyon's wall, and now, more researchers scrambled to climb down. However, it would take a few minutes to reach the ground, especially since they weren't necessarily brave people, and wary of the height.

Ethan's gaze wandered from them to the portal and back, but he couldn't suppress his impatience in the end.

"I'll take a look first," he informed the two on the ground and stopped his output of magic. "Nobody shall follow me for now. You will all get your turn when I am back."

One last time, he looked out for enemies, yet the night and the canyon walls seemed to turn the surroundings of the rift into a sufficiently secure place. Katherine was already out of sight. Crouching down, Ethan entered the rift. As for the fire magic that grazed his skin and lit his clothes aflame when he passed, he didn't care. Then he was gone.

The two researchers exchanged troubled gazes. The strain that the rift put on their magic was nothing to scoff at, especially after their leader stopped helping. They doubted they could hold out for more than five minutes. However, that should be enough time for their support to arrive. If only their new leader wouldn't take too long inside the rift...

Suddenly, the eyes of one of the researchers widened. "Careful, there is - !"

The other researcher fell to the ground with a thud, revealing a small woman with black hair behind him. She held a bloodied stone in hand, her face ghastly pale, but determined.

The magic of the remaining researcher wavered, his mouth agape. When the woman took a menacing step in his direction, he instinctively turned to her, bringing his hands - and his magic - with him. "Don't hurt me!"

Fire filled the air between them, and the woman hastily avoided it, patting at her shoulder where a flame had set her shirt ablaze. Then she grinned.

It wasn't a happy grin, but a grim and dark one, though it also held a deep triumph. "I don't need to. It is already - "

The sound of a thunderclap rang through the air, so loud that the researcher couldn't hear what else the woman said, though he saw her lips move. The soundwave was so strong, in fact, that dizziness hit him and he fell to his knees. There he sat for a bit, dazed, and rubbing his ears, then, when he turned, his eyes. But the rubbing didn't help.

The rift in space, the portal Loki had taken ages to build, was gone just like that. Where it once was remained only air and a trace of footsteps on the ground, that ended in nothing. When the other researchers reached the ground of the canyon and shook him from his daze, the woman was long gone. More severely, the man that became their leader less than one hour ago, was gone as well. Probably, he would never come back from his venture into the unknown, just like their other leader before him. But who would replace them now?

Glancing at each other's hopeless faces, the researchers slowly realized that they didn't know what to do. They had been so close to a lifetime of fame and endless power, yet now they felt further than ever before. The process of what happened here was handled so secretively that none of them dared to say they knew what they did exactly. And even if they found out, how long would it take to replicate? Another lifetime? Two? Their dreams and hopes felt like a sandcastle now, washed away by the reality of the ocean, never to come back.