The Price of Power

The endless expanse of desolation went on forever. Red light, from the sky above, fell upon the lifeless plains, which were only stirred from stark silence by the occasional breath of wind moving through the black, dry grass.

But there wasn't time to sight-see.

Its eyes burned with a violent intensity. It growled, low and guttural, as it charged ahead at terrifying speed. The earth fractured below it, and the atmosphere became rancid with soil and decaying beings.]

The students had little time to react before it hit.

"Everyone, get back!" Attempting to rally the group, yelled Leon Kisaragi. He raised the dagger and ran at the beast, his legs outpacing his mind. The creature's enormous claws swiped at him, missing by inches, then he was hit by the beast's tail, knocking him down onto the ground.

He wheezed and caught his breath, his head spinning as the beast spun to focus on him.

"Dammit, move!" he grunted, trying to catch his footing, but the beast was swifter.

"Alina," she yelled, panicking, raising her hand to throw another spell. But this time her hands quaked with fear, and the spark of magic that should have come did not.

"No! I can't do it!" she exclaimed as her voice broke with frustration.

It looked up at her, and in one terrible instant, lunged at her, enormous jaws wide open.

Suddenly, Hana, who had been too frightened to speak just moments ago, spoke up. "No!"

She dashed between Alina and the beast with a cry, hurling up a fireball from the depths of her magic. It wasn't much, just a little unstable ball of flame, but it was enough.

The fireball impacted the beast in the face, and it recoiled and roared, wisps of smoke coming out of its nostrils. It stumbled back, briefly dazed.

Hana fell to her knees, panting, worn out from the effort.

"I… I did it," she said, eyes wide with disbelief. She still felt the heat of the flames in her hands, but it was a temporary victory. The beast was already healing, and they didn't have time to lose.

"Magic is not a game," Orthus's voice rang from behind them. The students stood motionless, turning to see the teacher standing with his arms crossed, observing with a gaze of indifference.

"You think you can just call upon power because you want to?" he went on, his voice low and almost mocking. "That's not how it works. You've just watched what happens when you lose control. Magic answers your will, but it cares not for your wants. "You want to use it, you have to understand it — and more importantly, live with the consequences."

Leon, this time struggling to his feet, gritted his teeth. "So what? You're just going to let us die?

Orthus gave him a cold and calculating look. "If you die, it's because you're not prepared. If you want to survive, you're going to have to learn how to deal with the price of your power."

"Cost?" Alina asked, her voice trembling from terror. "What do you mean by that?"

Orthus stepped forward, narrowing his eyes at each one of them. "Magic is not free. You risk your life, your sanity, even your soul every time you use it. Power has its price." He gestured at the giant beast, still recovering from Hana's fireball. "That thing will keep coming. You want to beat it? You will need more than a spark."

The students were not left with much time to debate. Its sight had already have locked on them again, and it was rushing towards them with its eyes as red as blood like hunts prey.

Leon snapped back into focus. "Okay, take it down before it — before it —"

Before he could finish, the beast lunged at him once more, claws slashing through the air toward him. This time, Leon simply couldn't beat it. The claws hit him in the chest, sending him back several feet.

"Ugh!" He groaned as he attempted to try and stand up. "Not… not again."

Alina screamed in fear at the sight of him tumbling down, but then, all of a sudden, desperation gripped her.

"I… I won't let him die!" I shouted, feeling my hands tremble as I called the magic within me.

The air around her vibrated and, for the first time she conjured a fountain of fire from her palm, much larger than the last one and also with a certain control. She screamed, expelling the magic with all her strength.

The fireball hit the beast directly in the chest, and it staggered back, roaring with fury.

But the students could see the cost of her magic — Alina fell, her body helpless with fatigue. Her hands blackened in the attempt, and she was barely conscious.

The monster was hurt, but not beaten. It was still coming.

"Get up!" Orthus yelled from behind them. "This is not a training exercise. If you want to live, fight!"

Leon got up despite the pain in his chest. "She's right. We know it's going to kill us, we just can't sit here and let it finish us off.'

His hand went to his dagger, eyes glinting resolutely. "We have to push it back, together!"

The students, though exhausted, banded together. They were all battered, broken and scarred, but they weren't going to quit.

The ensuing fight was hardly a beauty contest. Leon and Hana fought back to back, using their scant magic and whatever weapons they could catch to stave off the creature.

Alina, gasping for air, still managed to sputter out yet another small gust of flame. It wasn't enough to vanquish the beast, but it left a crack. The monster hesitated, allowing them to attack.

Finally, after a last, defiant lift, the students brought the creature to the ground—not through beating it with their hands, but through collaboration, they collected their individual efforts and used them against the creature.

The monster roared its last before crashing the ground, finally beaten.

Drenched in sweat, blood and dirt, the students collapsed to the ground. They had emerged victorious, but at a price. Alina lay unconscious, her body tremoring still from the magic. Leon was bruised and his chest pained by the beast's claws.

Orthus strode across the fortress and watched them all without comment. He knelt down next to Alina, checked for a pulse momentarily." "She's alive. Just barely."

Then he rose, towering over them all. "You learned something new today. Power ha

s its price — and whether you're willing to pay it every time you cast a spell."