Chapter 17) The Domination Ritual.

[The Domination Ritual]

[It is a Mythic X class Forbidden spell. System has no more information about the ritual.]

"Why?" Xavier thought desperately. "Please, just give me a clue about what this whole ritual is all about."

[Information about the Domination Ritual does not exist in the System. It had either been wiped out or made unavailable by the Celestial Immortals.]

"Then how did Selena find out how to perform such a ritual if it didn't exist in the first place?"

[System has no plausible explanation for that.]

Xavier sighed in frustration and fear. He could feel the raw power flowing through the room from Selena as she removed the Crystal cores of the two men. Once the cores left their bodies, the men stopped thrashing and moaning. They stopped moving entirely, as if the thing that caused them to remain living had been plucked out.

Said crystal cores were bright green and the sizes of soccer balls. They floated towards the Wizard Mystic and merged into one gigantic sphere of green sparks at her command. Still scripting runes with her words, she directed the sphere towards the ceiling. The sphere crashed with an explosion of green sparks that misted over the ceiling for a while before fading away to reveal a void of darkness. It was perfectly round and enormous, as if a hole had been torn through the roof directly to the blackest part of space. The green sparks shimmered along its circumference, gradually expanding like the holes Master Kim Sao made through the glass wall and door earlier.

The temperature in the lab dropped significantly as cold air wooshed in from the void. It came with a wistful moan, a sort of howling sound that raised goosebumps all over Xavier's skin. Whether it was because of his growing sense of perception, but he knew the void was something terrible. Something that should not be here on Lazuli in even the smallest size. It was a dark empty place filled with nothing but gloom.

"Soul Cultivation complete. The Domination Ritual will now begin." Selena announced, her voice echoing from everywhere. "Bring me the Novice Mystic and his mother. They will be the most vital part of the ritual."

Justin beamed proudly. "You are up next, Ghost Boy. Believe me when I say you too would be proud of Selena if you knew what she's actually achieving here."

Xavier opened his mouth to plead again but nothing came out. It was of no use. Selena and Justin were not going to listen to him for any reason.

His body floated forward, moving under the control of the Wizard Mystic till he was right in front of her. Droid pushed a hospital bed to stop right beside him before backing away. Xavier caught the first close up view of his mother since the whole nightmare began. Without the mask that usually wrapped around her lower face to let in oxygen through a tube, she appeared simply asleep. Yes, her face was pale and warn, her hair thin and grey. But she appeared at peace.

Tears slipped from his eyes before he could stop them. A burning sensation spread through his chest, hindering his ability to breath properly.She was the reason why he had accepted his destiny as a Mystic. His plan had been to go to the Academy, give it his best to level up to Wizard Mystic before coming back to cure her. That plan was not possible anymore. There was just no time now.

"Oh no, is our little Novice Mystic crying?" Selena said pitifully as she approached. She came to stand near, her face just mere inches from Xavier's.

Justin laughed. "I thought Mystics are supposed to be strong and brave and...not strange looking. This one is weak. He is crying like a little baby."

"That's why the whole Mystic business needs to go. Or rather, it needs to be under the control of someone who is capable. Someone who is willing to do anything to ensure the right order of things." Selena said, smiling devilishly.

"What do you mean?" Xavier asked. "You are a Mystic for the very reason of saving the world from dungeons and beasts. You, along with a select hundred, was given the opportunity to level up through the levels of existence. Surely that ought to mean something to you."

Selena nodded with a smile. "You are right, Xavier."

"I am?"

"Yes, you are right. Vanquishing dungeons and leveling up means everything to me. That's why I'm doing this." She waved an arm of delicately long fingers around the lab room. "I'm sure you've already asked the system about the Domination Ritual. How did that work out for you?"

Xavier remained silent.

"That should mean that you found nothing. The Domination Ritual is unavailable on the Celestial System because the immortals of our universe refused to share such knowledge that only they possess." Selena went on. "How then do you think I am able to script all the runes and perform the spell? Think, Ghost boy. Surely your brain is not as wrong as your appearance." She paused. "The only way I could have accessed the ritual is because one of the immortals was kind enough to share such sacred information." She finished triumphantly.

Xavier couldn't think deep into what she was saying because it didn't make much sense to him yet. All he wanted to do was get his mother out of there. To stop the ritual from even happening. Somehow he felt that the life of his mother wasn't the only thing under sacrifice here. Selena confirmed his suspicion with her next words.

"The Domination Ritual, once performed can never be reversed. It will give me control over all existing and possible dungeons, all existing beasts and those under creation, the Leveling up process of every Mystic on Lazuli. It will make me the Boss of the Celestial System. With a click of my fingers I will level up to become a Celestial Immortal, the first in a million years." Selena announced with a flourish.

Justin, who had been gasping and cooing dramatically all through her speech, couldn't help it anymore. He began to clap.

"Don't just stand there!" He cried at the two goons. "Appreciate greatness when you see it!"

Droid and Hector shared a look before strapping their weird guns across their backs and joining in the applause, their huge hands hardly keeping up with Justin's enthusiastic pair.

"Bravo! Bravo!" He added. "You see, Ghost Boy? I told you she was something else."

Smiling tightly, Selena gave him a meaningful look. "Thanks, my love."

"You deserve it, honey." He wrapped an arm around her waist, aiming to pull her closer but the smile on her face twisted into a deadly glare that caused him to shy away. "Oh...sorry. Carry on. We will have lots of time to be together after you succeed."

Selena glared at him for another minute, causing him to hide behind Hector's bulky figure, before returning her attention to Xavier.

"The Domination ritual is a complex spell that requires the Mystic to create a strong connection between this world and that of the void. The void is where all dungeons and beasts come from. The void and the universe are opposite sides of the same coin, darkness and light. Said bond must be of the strongest kind, like the bond between a mother and her child. You will be on the void side while your mother will remain here with me. As long as she remains unconscious, I shall have full control of her Crystal core. That is my key to becoming a Celestial Immortal. I will become the most powerful being the world has ever seen."

The resolve in her voice sent a chill down Xavier's spine. This was a power crazy woman who would do anything to get it all. He could see the blaze of desire in her eyes. She wanted the glory, the control over every other being that existed. With the Celestial System under her control, she would be unstoppable. What could Xavier do to prevent that from happening? He was Ghost Boy after all. He had been bullied and mocked his entire life. He had always been weak and defenseless against those who wanted to belittle him. What chance did he stand against someone as powerful as Selena Monte-Carlos?

"Say your good byes to your mother and this world. You won't be seeing any of them ever again. Your destiny for all eternity shall be to dwell in the nothingness of the void." Selena said. "You stood no chance at Celestial Academy. You are weak and different. Trust me, this is a small mercy. At least it will free you from all the expectations and false hope."

Xavier glanced down at his mother. He wished he could touch her one last time. He wished he could've been stronger for her...to save her. He wished things were different.

At Selena's command, the golden sparks around his body lit up. He felt the invisible force lifting him up, controlling him towards the black sphere in the ceiling. He kept his eyes on his mother, trying to ingrain the image of her into his mind.

"Bye Bye, Ghost Boy." Justin called.

Xavier closed his eyes as his body disappeared entirely through the black sphere.

The entire building shook violently, like an earthquake was about to occur. Outside, the red clouds raged with lightning and thunder. The terror was just begining.