Chapter 19

Sylph dashed out the entrance of the small hallway with a knife made of darkness in her hand. She held it defensively for a few moments, scanning the room before slowly lowering the weapon with a frown.

"What was that?" she asked. "I couldn't breathe for a moment. Did you cast a spell?"

Damien, who had been deposited directly on top of the pile of dirt after his spell had ended, brushed some of it off his clothes and cleared his throat while Henry receded into the depths of his mind.

"Ah…I might have. I made a bit of a mistake when visualizing what I wanted the Ether to do," Damien said.

"Are you okay?"

Sylph inspected him for a moment, then let the knife fade and shook her head.

"I'm fine. I'm not sure what spell you were going for, but it doesn't seem particularly safe. Don't injure yourself too badly. It might take a healer some time to get here."

"Right," Damien said. "Sorry. I didn't think it would suck up the air."

"What were you trying to cast?"

"Ah…a gravity spell."

"Was that in the book Delph gave you?"

"Well, not really," Damien muttered.

"How did you learn it, then? The library? I was under the impression you only brought back a cultivation book."

Damien pressed his lips together.

"I saw it in a book. I didn't bring it back with me," he said.

"I see," Sylph replied, cocking her head. "Delph was right. If you're memorizing spells at a glance, you're quite the prodigy."

She turned and walked out of the hallway. Damien watched her leave, his hands clenching at his sides.

"She suspects something," Henry said. Damien's shadow shifted across the floor, even though Damien hadn't moved from where he stood.

Not much we can do about that. We'll just have to keep an eye on her.

"And get stronger. Quickly," Henry added. "You are not strong enough to defeat her. With the limited powers of your body, she might even be fast enough to escape me."

I'm going to go ahead and request you don't start making plans to kill my roommate. It's normal for her to be curious about why someone is acting weird and learning magic so quickly. If I were in her shoes, I'd be jealous. Back when we were getting tested, her magic was much lower than everyone else's. Delph mentioned it was weak, too.

That must be why she can't hold much Ether at once.

"Astute. She seems to have a rather high level of control and discipline, but her powers are quite weak," Henry said.

"I'm surprised she doesn't hate you. It's only a matter of time until you surpass her, and she's likely been training her entire life to get to this point."

Wonderful. Why is it like that? If she's been training as long as you think, why isn't her magic stronger? It doesn't seem fair for her to be weak.

Henry burst into laughter.

"It amuses me that you still think life is fair, especially when you have the most powerful companion this school will ever see sharing its soul with you," Henry said.

"Generally, magic improves at a slow rate when it is practiced. From her amount of control, her magic should be much higher. Since it isn't, it likely means something about her body is seriously flawed."

Flawed?

"I don't need to explain that your body is a worthless flesh bag," Henry replied. "Your soul is what uses the magic. Bodies are just a shell. If her soul is somehow restrained, it could restrict her potential. It's impossible for me to say what the exact issue is without getting inside her head."

Which you will not be doing.

"One mortal mind is more than enough, thank you," Henry said, shuddering in disgust. "And, speaking of cultivation, it's time for you to do more of it. Repetition is key, boy. Stop worrying about the girl and think about our future instead."

Damien grunted. He looked down at his hands, a small frown on his face.

Why don't you go check on the locations of those Void creatures again? Find out where the nearest one is and if it's moved since the last time you checked.

"Wait, really?" Henry asked. Then he cleared his throat, despite not having one. "Right. That's a good idea."

Damien just nodded. His shadow flickered and split, pulling away from his body. Emptiness enveloped him in its icy embrace as Henry's presence vanished and the shadow slipped down the hall and out of the room.

Once he'd left, Damien tapped his wristband.

Damien Vale Blackmist College Year One Major: Undecided Minor: Undecided Companion: [Null] Magical Strength: 3.5 Magical Control: .5 Magical Energy: 8.5 Physical Strength: .2 Endurance: .5 He'd had some decent increases in his stats, at least as far as the school was concerned. There wasn't much he could compare it to, but Damien felt proud, nonetheless. He dismissed the screen and gathered several more motes of energy. He drew one of them out through his palm, drawing forth a sphere of basic destructive energy.

"Repetition, huh?" Damien asked himself quietly. He repeated the process with his other hand so he had a ball before both of his palms. Then he stepped up to the walls and got to work.

Stone turned to dust beneath Damien's fingers as his magic made short work of the walls. Whenever the orbs weakened, he drew more Ether and summoned new ones.

Damien gritted his teeth, ignoring the thin layer of dust forming over his body as he worked.

He felt hollow. A part of that was because Henry had left, but that wasn't everything. The magic churning at his fingertips energized Damien's body, but there was no smile on his face. Hours passed, and the room grew drastically in size as Damien vented his frustrations on the rock, burrowing deeper into the mountain.

As time went on, the Ether came to him slower. What had once been a simple task grew arduous as a dull headache came over Damien and exhaustion set in. He didn't stop working.

Finally, his reserves ran out. He reached for a strand of Ether, but he couldn't gather the mental energy to coat his hand. Damien slumped against the wall heavily, a thin trail of tears streaming down his face.

"It isn't fair," he whispered to himself. "I shouldn't have to worry about stopping the apocalypse or figure out if my companion is lying to me. I just wanted to learn magic. I've been working toward this for years. Why can't I be happy?"

Unbeknownst to Damien, about a thousand miles away, Henry was thinking those exact same thoughts.

The eldritch creature sat at the top of a large grassy hill overlooking a quaint village. His head was in his hands, and he was rather miserable.

A mote of white light shone in the center of his chest.

White, spiderwebbing lines reached out across his torso, stopping just before his legs and arms. Henry had long since given up on trying to remove it. Any attempts to touch the light were futile.

It was rather ironic, Henry mused. The destroyer of light, unable to quench the miniscule spark within himself.

He drew in a deep breath, not that he needed to, of course.

Another miniscule mannerism he'd picked up from the mote within him. It was changing him, and Henry didn't like it.

The air was cool, with a hint of sweetness from last night's rain. Below him, villagers moved to and fro, completely unaware of what observed them.

"You'd think I'd be happier on the Mortal Plane," Henry muttered aloud. "Millenia of dreaming, and here I am. So why do I feel so unsatisfied? The end is nigh. Less than one mortal lifespan, really."

Nobody responded. Henry's many mouths frowned.

Being alone was…strange. Henry rose to his feet, his senses sweeping across the town below him. They were subtle, but the traces of Void magic were unmistakable.

Henry flickered and vanished, traveling through the dusk shadows and flitting through the village. Not a soul noticed him as he followed the traces of energy through the crack below a house's door and into a small cellar below it.

The traces of energy were stronger now but nowhere near enough to signify another Void creature. Several eyes made of dark energy blinked open around him, scanning every inch of the room.

It only took him moments to locate a thin, well-hidden magical seal covering a plank of wood. The energy was made to only seal in a single direction, so it was easy enough for the companion to place his hand against the wood and summon an eye on the other side of it.

A woman hung taut in the air, suspended by heavy black chains connected to each of her limbs. Her clothes were little more than molded rags and her hair was ratty and unwashed. Her head twitched, and she glanced up, stark silver eyes locking with Henry's magic.

"Ah," the woman wheezed, voice raspy from years of disuse. "I sensed you recently, It Who Heralds the End of All Light, if I can even call you that. I see you've also found your way into the Mortal Plane."

"I have. And I go by Henry," Henry's voice projected through the eye. "In a way. I didn't expect to find you locked in a basement, It Who Consumes the Mountains."

"Harriot, if you insist on it," the woman replied, licking her lips to wet them. "You seem…different. It took me longer to notice you than it should have. Has your nature been warped?"

"It is of no matter," Henry said dismissively.

"Very well. In that case, are you going to free me?" she asked. "It seems you were the only one of our kind to make the journey safely. The moment I arrived, I was bound to this body and sealed away. I've tried to call out to the others, but none have responded. Someone knew we were coming."

"Someone knew?" Henry asked, frowning. "You mean all of the others are similarly sealed?"

"I have to assume so," Harriot said, doing her best to shrug. "They would have already found and freed me if not.

Luckily, it seems you managed to escape. I'd be interested to learn how later, but the sooner I'm out of these chains, the better."

"Yes," Henry mused. "I suppose so. I must ask, why did you take on a human personality when you're alone? It serves no purpose."

"The meager remains of this mortal's soul," Harriot replied, pursing her lips. "I crushed it as soon as I arrived, of course. Unfortunately, the bindings were such that I had to merge partially with her soul. It was enough to bring about, well, Harriot. I have found it somewhat amusing, and it has been a good way to pass the time while I waited for your arrival. Once I am free, I shall dispose of it."

"And you didn't get sight of your captors?" Henry pried.

"Your host was already locked up by the time you arrived?"

"Yes," Harriot said irritably. "I honestly find myself regretting squashing the girl's soul so quickly, which shocks me. But, even in the Void, we had each other to speak to. True darkness is surprisingly lonely. Now, enough of the games, It Who Heralds the End of All Light. Let me free. We have a job to do."

There was no response from Henry. The eye floated in the air, watching her silently.

Harriot's gaze narrowed, and energy twisted around her.

It sputtered, fading away as the chains holding her lit up with a dull glow. Then she blinked, a frown crossing her face.

"It Who Heralds the End of All Light?"

"That isn't my name," Henry said.

"What? Yes, it is. I recognize your energy. It's a little different but not enough to throw me off."

"I am afraid you are incorrect," Henry said, his voice a low whisper. "I am not It Who Heralds the End of All Light."

"Just let me go!" Harriot snarled. "If you don't, one of the others will. Why do you dally? Don't tell me you've fallen to the C—" "I have not, and they will not," Henry interrupted sharply. "Because they will not find you. I had to confirm, but it appears nobody other than me has managed to escape their mortal confines. That means I'm the only one who knows of your presence here. It is going to stay that way. I have changed my mind on the way should go about taking care of the Mortal Plane, Harriot. I'm afraid you are no longer part of them."

"What are you talking about?" Harriot asked, glaring at the eye. "You don't have plans of your own. None of us do.

This is the natural law of the universe. The Mortal Plane must be destroyed to be rebirthed. We have arrived, and so we must carry out our task. This is our duty, as it always has been. You are speaking nonsense."

"Perhaps I am," Henry said. The eye flickered. Tendrils sprouted out from it, twirling around the chains and climbing up Harriot's limbs, enveloping her in a cocoon of shadows.

She struggled against the magic, but the chains already bound her tightly. As Henry's magic encircled her chest and started up her neck, she looked up at him, fury burning in her eyes. The darkness traveled along her jaw and up the back of her head, leaving only her face uncovered.

For an instant, Henry's true form flickered at the edge of her vision. Her eyes widened.

"You are not It Who Heralds the End of All Light. Why is there a spark within you?"

Henry's hand closed. The darkness enveloped the woman, flooding through her mouth and silencing her. With a thrum, all traces of her magical energy blinked out of existence, sealed off from the rest of the world.

The eye faded. Above her, standing on the wooden floor, Henry rose to his feet, the white light in his chest shimmering like a cracked star in a sea of darkness.

"Rest here forever," Henry told the eldritch creature, slipping into the shadows and disappearing without a trace.

Damien ran his hand through his hair. It came away covered in a thin sheen of dust. He rubbed it between his fingers, his emotions still churning. It had been several hours since he'd collapsed against the wall.

The spark of passion for magic at the center of his soul flickered. Assailed from all sides by the events of the past few days, it had faded.

Why should I have to deal with this? Henry is locked within me. I don't need to find the eldritch creatures.

Someone else can do that. I'm just seventeen! There are mages who have trained for years who can take care of this.

Henry wasn't there to answer him. Damien's fingernails bit into the palms of his hands. As violent emotion churned within him, his soul changed. Fear and uncertainty encroached on the passion for magic and learning. As it shifted, something cracked in Damien's mind.

The violent upheaval going on within Damien pushed aside a shroud he hadn't even realized was there, revealing the powerful magic fettering the half of Henry's soul bound to Damien. Like a school of rabid piranhas, his subconscious mental energy lashed out at the bindings.

Henry's soul was enormous. Damien had nowhere near enough energy to break the fetters covering it. The whole of his soul's force was only enough to make a tiny nick within the magic, allowing a miniscule amount of the imprisoned soul to escape.

Damien's back stiffened as a buried memory thrust itself upon him in complete clarity. It was him four years ago right as he finished drawing the rune circle that would summon Henry.

The desire for magic the younger version of Damien had was almost blinding. His hand had trembled with unrestrained excitement as he sat back and prepared to summon his companion and begin the journey he'd waited so long for.

Damien's eyes pricked with tears as the vivid memory played itself out. On that day, he hadn't realized it, but some of that passion had died. The knowledge of what he carried within had soured his passion.

Unable to stop the memory, he was forced to watch as his younger self began the ritual to summon a companion.

And then, at the very corner of his younger self's eye, Damien saw something he didn't remember.

A flicker of darkness at the corner of his vision. It passed in less than a second, crossing over his runes and wiping a miniscule line of chalk away.

Damien's body stiffened. He remembered that rune. It had been the one that had sent the call to the Void instead of the Planes. The other rune he'd made a mistake in was behind him, but something told Damien that it, too, had been altered.

"Someone did this to me," Damien breathed. "I didn't mess up drawing my rune circle."

The memory faded, leaving Damien alone on the dusty ground once more. Damien stared at the wall, his blood pumping faster and faster.

"Somebody took my chances of a normal life away from me. I was set up."

Damien's soul shifted once again. The spark at the center of his soul flared with indignant anger. The beginnings fear and uncertainty clawing their way into him were shattered and blown away. The emptiness they left behind vanished, filled by something Damien had lacked for the last four years: A true sense of purpose.

"Somebody is trying to use me," Damien growled to himself. "And that person wanted the Void creatures to get onto this world. What else have they done to manipulate me?"

He rose to his feet, his hands clenched tightly at his sides. The spark of desire within him encircled itself with an iron shield of determination. If someone else had been in the room, they would have seen an imperceptible shift within his eyes. The defeated, lost look was replaced by confidence.

"You might have forced me to have an eldritch creature as a companion, but I won't let you take away my love for magic," Damien said. "I'm going to find whoever you are, and we're going to have a little chat."