18. Accident

My night with May was great. Needless to say I guess. After taking her home, I headed to my hotel, where I snuggled in my room, resting in the morning from the intense night.

After a short nap, and a blonde annoyed that I slept late, I went downstairs so we could catch the flight back home.

After arriving, the routine took over me, going back to what I did before, studying, training and seeing how things were going in my kingdom.

I had already taken out the tomes and books, as well as a multitude of boxes containing artifacts that were once in Doom's possession, which he stowed away in a box dimension.

I studied these things, hoping that some of them would be useful to me, since, raw power, I had control too, but a strange sensation told me that something was missing.

That's when shit hit the fan.

I opened one of the countless boxes that were stored in a secret room in the castle. It was the place I chose to leave these things, because it wouldn't do any good to lock them in the dimensional box.

After my death, those things would find a way back to where they belonged anyway. Not to mention that many of them were dangerous to be in a place without time/space.

Turning shit on the fan, the box contained a cube. He was multicolored, but predominantly black. It didn't seem to exude any kind of magic or energy or anything like that, but it still gave off a sense of power.

Curious, and dumb, by the way, I curiously pick it up, with my bare hands, and watch the thing melt in my hands, seeping through my skin and taking over my body.

There was nothing I could do, my magic was being devoured at a speed that would be impossible to imagine. At the same time, magic was expelled back into my body, but it felt different.

It was when the thing hit my heart that everything changed. Literally.

Space began to flicker, my eyes seemed to be involuntarily undergoing small blackouts as I felt my body twist and squirm. Blood spurts out of my mouth before I can even try to hold it back.

I fall to my knees, feeling my body go into mild convulsions, but I'm still aware of things around me. My heart was pumping very slowly in my chest, but at the same time, it was strong.

Alarm sounds started to ring in the castle, but it was just a buzzing in my ears. I was feeling weak, even with a body still at peak human strength.

Dizziness, nausea, blackouts, and then weakness and darkness.

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OVERALL POV (DOOM CASTLE)

My widows were working normally, when an alarm sounded. Some began to type frantically, others gazed intently from a hawk above its prey at the various monitors, which alternated from image to image.

The doors open, and two women enter.

"Report." Melina says seriously.

"We haven't found the problem yet, and we haven't been able to talk to the Lord." she sounded pained in her voice, but her attention was fully focused on her screen and keyboard, which seemed to be fighting for life.

"Sir's last location?" Melina asks again.

"Room of Dark Treasures." Answers Yelena from the side.

As if they understood, one of the women takes over the keyboard, and types a long and complex password, and the image of a Doom, lying on the ground, convulsing and vomiting blood appears.

He didn't look like he was in pain, but just not understanding what was going on. Melina then focuses on his mouth, which seems to want to say something. Slowly, she does her lip reading.

"Don't worry, I'll be back. It's a promise. Defense Mode, ISA is Queen." she says, out loud, and the AI, named ISA, responds automatically.

"Order accepted, protocol awaiting Mister's return active. All are under orders not to talk about his disappearance, a Bot will take his place for the time being. I expect a safe return, Mister."

Melina and the other girls are speechless when they see Victor's body on the screen, start to turn into smoke and disappear into nothingness.

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POV MC

"At last you're back, now it's your time to choose, Victor. Magic must be followed in a way, even if the general one can still be used. It's a rule of magic, one that no one, not even you, can escape. ." The beautiful woman says, looking into my eyes.

Everything comes back into focus, and I see that I'm in the dimension I visited when I got the magic back. The same woman looks at me, waiting for my answer.

"What should I do?" I ask lost, because I really was.

"I can't do much to help you Victor, but it's time for you to take a path. You'll have 3 timelines to choose which path you'll take, and I hope you have a choice when you bring him back.

Now go, and live in a different way than you've been living, one without all your power." She has a smile on her face, one that would have been beautiful if I hadn't heard her words just seconds before.

Once again, my eyes dart into the darkness, and I feel my body hit the ground. But it was different, because now, I was not only in my clothes, but also in my armor.

With no choice, I get up, looking around and all I see is a dirt road, flanked by virgin and beautiful forests, as if nature here had never been touched by man.

I choose a side and start following the road. I can't put my armor away like I used to, but at least I feel like I'm still as strong as I've ever been, if not stronger.

My body is in a better state than before, and I feel almost no difference from what I am.

Going a little further, I find a small lake. The water looks clear, so I remove my helmet, and I feel a small difference. My hair looks bigger. I run without wasting time, and look at my reflection.

"Fuck".

Anyone looking back at me looked no older than 20, and I'd guess even less. 15 would be the maximum age. But my mind didn't seem immature, nor did my body or features feel that way.