49. Time

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"Read!" Vitav commanded, and Celia found herself doing exactly what she had done in the past.

But...

'No!'

If Vitav rewrote time again, he would use his knowledge around the last one to bypass whatever curse she might cast, and he might even rewrite his memories into his life...

And that might mean a worse fate for Taze!

She couldn't let him!

"To shatter a Mental Puppet Spell, you must summon a thought or memory far more superior than the caster's will!" Master Sylva's voice rang through her memories, taking her back to one of their training sessions in Elfsworth.

That day, she had asked him about the Mental Puppet Spell, precisely because she had been afraid that Vitav might use it on her again.

"What type of memory?" She had asked, but Dr. Sylvadeen had shrugged.

"I can't help with that... It varies, depending. But it has to be something you can kill for...!"

At present, Celia felt her lips stop reading, as she called forth an imagination... The simple imagination of Taze being bedridden with illness for most of his life, through twenty five lifetimes.

She would kill herself, kill Vitav, and maybe even let the world burn, before letting Taze pass through something like that again!

And at that thought, a bright light washed over her, breaking Vitav's spell.

"No!" Vitav stared at her in disbelief. "Not possible!" Vitav backed away as she glared at him.

"Our love is stronger than you think." She said, throwing down the book and rising up. Ice spread from her feet outward, nearly enveloping Vitav, who hastily leapt away.

He could already feel the effects of his Saint Mage spell waning, so Celia would be difficult to handle!

"I'm going to destroy you!" Celia raged in near blinding anger. "I'm going to demand payment for making him mourn me!!!"

"Wait!" Vitav quickly held up a hand. "This is a magical alternate space. If you destroy it, we'll both be stuck for an eternity!"

Celia halted, and he smirked.

"This space's purpose is to finish the time spell..." He continued. "If we destroy the space, or try to leave before that, we'll be stuck in a void for an eternity, and your Little Tazzie will die out there!"

He held up a hand, and a pictorial orb appeared, showing Taze's fight with the Vitav doppelganger.

Celia softened at the sight of Taze, and she glared at Vitav, who just laughed.

"He can't see you, or feel you, so he will rage in his misery, and endlessly fight a fake being that feels no pain.

"And besides, he doesn't have much time. In his anger, he willingly leapt into his own trap... Can't you see how powerful he has become? He absorbed both light and dark magic from the relics here, so he'll soon be torn apart by his own strength!"

Celia fisted her hands in anger, as Vitav appeared in her front.

"The fastest way is to finish the spell." He said, picking up the book. "You can't leave here without my spell, and I can't freeze and go back in time without your powers. So let's sit and finish the spell!

"I'll even compromise... The same starting point. I'll choose three things to rewrite, and you'll choose three things to rewrite! Fair deal?"

Celia gritted her teeth. "Very well. I'll do as you say."

"Good choice!" He said, handing her the book. "Who knows... You may even win in the next life!"

Celia collected the book. "You're right. But why wait till the next life? I win." In the next instant, flames surrounded the book.

"Flame powers?! NO!!!" Vitav yelled, and attempted to snatch it from her hand, but she kept teleporting away till it completely burned to ashes.

"What have you done?!!" Vitav roared, trying to attack, but he was suddenly frozen in place. "You've doomed us to an eternity here!"

"No." Celia simply replied, as she went back to sit at the center of the circle. "I've doomed you to death."

She began chanting a spell, and everything around them began to freeze.

Vitav's eyes widened in horror, as he recognized the Time Spell.

"You memorized it!" He accused, as the frost crept towards them. "NO!! NOOOOOO!!!!"

And then all went silent.

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Celia opened her eyes, just as Vitav sent the dark arc towards Taze, but rather than jump in front of Taze, she froze everything in the chamber, much the same way she had done at the West Wing.

Vitav was frozen in place, but he scoffed. ~"You think this can hold me here?"~ He projected his thoughts, since he couldn't talk. ~"Think again!"~

He mentally cast the spell he had used to flee from the West Wing that night, but his face fell when the spell had no effect whatsoever.

"After you escaped that night, I realized my spell had flaws, and your future self just helped me find the answer." Celia calmly explained. "The ice shield around you is based on time. The littlest damage inflicted on it will instantly make it revert to its original form, so it can hold you for an eternity...

"Your struggles are pointless."

Vitav's expression turned to horror when his memories came flooding back, and he realized that Celia had already reversed time, bringing them back to this precise moment.

He watched helplessly, as she leisurely strolled over and snatched the book from his hand, burning it into ashes again.

~"You can't keep me frozen forever!"~ He projected his thoughts. ~"I'll eventually break free!"~

"No you won't." Taze's voice made Celia swivel in surprise.

Taze stood there panting, a hand to his chest, having just broken through her normal ice spell.

Taze's eyes narrowed on Vitav. "Did you forget? You'll die once your power spell wears off. You killed yourself already... From the start to the end, you did everything to yourself!"

'No!' Vitav thought, as his eyes widened in horror. 'I won't die here like this!'

But try as he might, there was no way to break the ice.

"No matter what, I'm not cruel enough to witness your slow death..." Taze began, waving his hand in a spell, and he shut his eyes against Vitav's sudden hopeful expression. "...so I'll send you somewhere else to await your death!"

A transportation circle appeared beneath Vitav, and as he was engulfed by the light, he cast one last furious glare at Taze, before he and the ice shield vanished for good.

There was a moment of silence, as both Taze and Celia stared at the empty spot left behind by Vitav.

"I sent him to his mother's grave." Taze answered the unasked question. "It's a place where traitors are buried, but she might be the only person he had even a sliver of love for..."

Then Taze suddenly bent double.

"Celia! Your spell has become too powerful!" He complained, sagging dramatically. But he straightened suddenly. "Wait! How are you here?! I clearly asked Grand Mage Patiel to-!"

Celia turned, giving him a frosty glare, and his own memories came pouring back.

He remembered all too clearly how he had lost her, cradling her lifeless body in his arms.

Celia waved a hand, healing the effects of her ice, but though Taze's first instinct was to run over and pull her into his arms, maybe even reprimand her for throwing herself into danger, he did none of that.

Instead, he fell to his knees.

"I'm sorry." He whispered softly. "I'm so so sorry..."

Only after going through that severe heartbreak, did he understand how Celia would have felt, if he had died here after leaving her behind...

He looked away. "I- I can't promise to never sacrifice myself for you, but I can promise to never leave without making my intentions clear!"

Surprisingly, Celia smiled. "Well said! Then you can't blame me for jumping in earlier!" She opened her arms wide. "Won't you hug me?" She asked, and Taze was in her arms in an instant!

He squeezed her tight, nearly mad with his joy, and he showered endless kisses on her hair.

Several minutes passed, both of them simply content to be in each other's arms.

"Don't ever leave like that again!" She eventually admonished, slapping his arm.

"Understood!" He simply replied.

"How dare you try and die on your birthday?!"

"How dare you die on MY birthday?!"

"Still talking?!!"

"Er.... No, no! I was wrong! I won't do it again!"

Silence, then...

"You must avenge me!" She began with a pout. "I was bullied!"

He gasped dramatically. "Who dared?!!"

"Father, Grand Mage Patiel, and Grand Mage Sidian! Let me tell you, defeating them was not easy!"

A thought crossed Taze's mind...

'Why do I have this sudden thought that they were the ones bullied?!'

And indeed, right at that moment in the Banquet hall, Grand Mage Patiel, Grand Mage Sidian, and Lord Scarlett, sat in three respective blocks of ice, with severely annoyed scowls on their faces!

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