Light

At dawn, a flock of white birds flew gracefully in a pink sky. The Oliar forest, still covered by a light mist, slowly awoke to the breath of light. Cries and cooing could be heard in the deep jungle. A huge river flowed peacefully, and the sound of its waters added to the opulent life of the enchanted forest. Then, without a hint of anything, a huge sphere of water suddenly emerged from the river, flanked on both sides by shapeless beings made of water and air, and helped to carry the huge globe to the shore. When they had finished doing so, they modestly exploded just like the huge bubble. The boys and the beast came out and fell to the wet ground, and breathless they dragged themselves to a bed of dry grass where they collapsed with groans of pain and relief.

Kei struggled to regain normal breathing, then sketched a smile uncertain but tinged with new and deep joy, he still couldn't believe that they had actually escaped, and especially that they had survived that hellish water fall.

"We are alive. We're really alive. We are... indestructible...!"

Miron began to laugh happily.

"Yes, you did it Kei. You've done it. You see? You never had anything to worry about, you'd always had your own magic inside you. You just needed an important reason to convince you to deploy it in all its beauty."

"Yes, mock it." he smiled at him though, his eyes misty. "I did it, that's all that matters! And its was wonderful enough to save us, even if, let's be honest, it's nothing like yours."

"Oh, that's not important. You told the truth, your power helped us survive. And nothing matters anymore."

Miron stood up slightly and sighed in pain and relief.

"Now we are alive and free."

Then he raised his glass eyes to the sky, tinted with the radiant colors of the dawning, timeless dawn.

"So this is what light is all about."

He smiled strangely as he gazed at it.

"I really hadn't imagined it that way."

And what he didn't say out loud was his lack of enthusiasm for it.

Kei, ignoring his friend's disturbing thoughts, continued to express his happiness, laughing to tears and shouting with elation though weakly.

"Yeah! What a joy! I can finally do anything I want. I can finally see, take and feel many things, even a woman!"

"You are really perverted! You're worse than that old purple Dodgel! If you think a woman likes that."

"Miron!"

The latter laughed at first at his friend's altered expression, then finally took pity on him and tried to soothe him.

"I'm just kidding! I am joking! I'm really joking!" he insisted in front of the skeptical look of the young blond who, despite what he said, had never been a pervert, nor an obsessed with women. He was just repeating what the older with soiled privileges like Kolof spoke between them, and thought that was what was normal. While, before his shining innocence takes over and saw it as it really should be.

"Don't be so upset. Of course, one day, extraordinary women will adore you endlessly. And each one of them will understand every moment the exceptional chance they have to keep you for themselves, even for a short time."

Then he raised his head and looked around.

"But hey, that will be before long, where's our beast?"

Kei looked around in turn.

"I don't know, it was next to us a moment ago."

"Ah, there it is," the young prodigy exclaimed when he saw it, "and it looks like it's enjoying itself."

The beast was indeed standing a little way from them, and despite its terrible wounds, was devouring with apparent ecstasy the fruits of a tree.

"And she's right. These fruits look delicious."

They were fruits of indefinite shapes, with red or amber skin covered with black spots.

Kei shook his head, dreamy.

"Um, you know, with my hunger, anything edible would look delicious."

"How ironic." muttered Miron with a groan, dropping slightly to the ground. "After all we've been through, I don't even have the strength to drag myself to the fruit that lies a few feet in front of me."

Kei immediately bulged his chest, very proud of himself.

"Don't worry Miron, now that I've also released my powers, I could make sure to bring you those fruits. After what I've realized doing this is no more than a trifle."

Smiling with a falsely reassuring look, Miron sketched a casual gesture.

"Well, I'll wait then. At least on our first day of freedom, we won't starve."

Kei reached out to the tree and summoned his magic. The earth began to move around them, violent earthquakes occurred and the fruit fell to the ground. But after a moment, staggering and feeling weaker than a baby, Kei fell heavily to the ground.

"Sorry Miron," he said in a husky voice, "I think I overestimated my strength. Maybe I need to get some sleep. I'll deal with you later!"

Looking at him with pity, Miron decided to act.

"I think I should go get the fruit myself."

Miron struggled to his feet and walked over to the fruit.

"They fell down, that's something. I'll go get them, you stay here and rest."

While Miron did his best to get close to their meager meal. Kei, who was very tired, barely heard his friend. While drifting off to sleep irresistibly, he grunted.

"We should have taken the royal meal with us. Since it was specially prepared for us anyway, despite the circumstances, it will be the only thing I will regret about Athok."

As Kei finally sank into a deep, restful sleep, Miron turned to him and regarded him for a few minutes with veiled eyes and an almost tender smile.

Then, taking a piece of fruit in one hand, he leaned against the trunk of the fruit tree, and admired the place where they had landed.

A vast and healthy place, bathed in a rising sun empty of all mist. A place of freedom and beginnings.

He saw winged creatures flying through the blue space, carelessly disappearing between the branches of the trees with their dewy leaves, presumably to reach their home nestled in this natural territory. The creatures of the day soon emerged from the woods one after the other to drink from the pure water of the river, but mostly to soak up the emerging and beneficial warmth of the kingly sun, and none of them were hostile or flesh-eating..

Everything around was so beautiful and new that Miron closed his eyes for a moment.

However...

"Ah Karan, if only you could have been there to see it all, you would have loved it."

Miron closed his eyes to remember his face, which was now slowly and peacefully disappearing into time, as well as his last instrument, which Miron burned with his own hands, just before the fight, and which now rests with him in that cursed building that he engulfed of his own accord, in an ocean of magical fire.

"We have succeeded. Wish us luck. Goodbye Karan."

And after forcing himself to finish half of the fruit he was holding, he also closed his eyes and let himself be swept away by a serene sleep in turn.