Jasmine looked up. The flimsy, blue barrier of mana cocooning her within had faded, and now the pungent tang of smoke irritated her nose. Fire particles danced all around her, like red shooting stars. Some of the burning buildings had collapsed in a wave of rubble and dust after the explosion, and all it left behind were charred shells, a sea of dead bodies, and a mental trauma. She clambered back to her feet, still a bit dizzy, but sober enough to quickly check up on her brother.

Jered shoved himself up too, and the moment he did, Jasmine ran and flung herself onto him. Her hands sunk into the tattered fabric of his shirt as she sniffed against his chest. His warmth was the anchor that appeased her; he was alive. She didn't care about the supernatural phenomena she had just witnessed. She didn't care about their blazing surroundings, nor did she care about the corpses by the sidewalk. What mattered was that Jered was there, in front of her, breathing. 

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" Jasmine sobbed, burying her head deeper in his bosom. She felt safe, even though the world around her was burning. 

Jered brushed her hair, "For what?"

"Because I'm useless! You got hurt!"

He smiled, "If that's the case, then I should apologize too. I'm sorry, sis."

"W-What... no... why..." 

"Because you got hurt too," he thumbed her tears away, "Besides, I'm better now, am I not?"

Jasmine tightened her hold on him and nodded, sighing. Even after a few minutes, she still didn't seem keen on relinquishing her grasp. Instead, she tilted her chin up and stared up at him. She was like a kitten, lost and scared. It was not hard to catch the intense sparkle in those youthful, green eyes. Rainey was skeptical as she watched them. Something was slightly wrong.

"Are you two really siblings?"

Jered cocked an eyebrow at her, "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Hmm," Rainey eyed Jasmine, who stiffened and ignored her, "No, nothing."

Meanwhile, the fire still raged on, threatening to consume the whole town if not promptly stopped. Rainey sighed and held her hands up, as if conducting an orchestra. This was going to take a huge toll on her. She really didn't want to cast heavy spells, but considering the nature of the flame, she had to. Only God knew where, and how, Jered learned such a spell. A huge, crimson magic circle was woven above and below the firestorm. They glowed, rotated, and filled the sky with a red haze as they absorbed the heat.

The scorching limbs flickered, resisting the vacuum. As strong as the fire was, it still needed oxygen to survive. Once that was taken out of the equation, the outcome was already decided. Eventually, and with no little amount of struggle, the flames tapered off, "Jeez, Jered. Look at what you made me do," she complained, loosening out the breath she was holding in. 

"Something is off..." Jered said. 

"What do you mean?"

"I remember that there was an old lady... but she disappeared right before the fight broke out. I'm positive that she's a Magician too," he explained, trying to pry his sister off, but she hugged him harder, "I don't know what they were up to, but as you can see, they have killed everyone here and put up an illusion to mask their wrongdoings."

Rainey looked around, "Their bodies have turned to ashes by now. With no evidence left behind, I can't proceed with the investigations. Did you notice anything else?"

"The man I fought against was an Adept Magician, though he was considerably more skilled than me. No doubt about that," he begrudgingly admitted, "His physical appearance was rather striking too. His skin was a pasty white. His eyes were missing, and despite his dead-looking face, he was very articulate and composed. Before that, he was meandering around the town, holding a candle and spreading smoke."

"So he and his partners came here, killed everyone off... wait no, they must have used them as an offering. I can't sense any other living being in this town. Even the Magicians that were sent here to investigate have retreated—I guess the fire scared them off."

"I-Is there really no one who survived?" Jasmine piped up, feeling extremely uncomfortable by their discussion. Jered didn't say anything due to her fluctuating emotions. 

Rainey shrugged, "I'm afraid so," with a wave of her hand, a strong gust of wind dissipated the smoke. Amidst the smoldering embers, only more corpses and destruction could be seen, "Can't you see it for yourself. This place has become a ghost town. They didn't even spare the kids. Horrible, right?"

Jasmine trembled. If not for her brother, she would have been one of those casualties.

"So, what do we do now? You said these guys used the entire population here as an offering... as an offering for what?" Jered asked.

"Hah," Rainey conjured an elastic, and bundled her hair into a ponytail. It meant she was about to get serious, "An offering for a Shadow, I believe."

"A Shadow?" he parroted.

She elaborated, "Well, it's hard to explain what a Shadow is. It can be anything, anyone. They don't have a fixed form, and they can't interact with the human plane, unless they use someone or something as a catalyst. They're tricky beings because they promise power, and usually, all of that power falls into the wrong hands. There are different types of them. Some stronger, some weaker. Each of them can represent an emotion, a historical event, or a sin. The fact is, you definitely wouldn't want something like that appearing here."

"That sounds problematic."

"Indeed. They're immortal too, which is a huge pain in the ass. I'm not even in the condition for a prolonged fight. This is too risky. For now, I suggest we beat a hasty retreat. Let those fools of the Arcane Association deal with this shit."

Jered chuckled, "I think it's a bit too late for that. Look who's here," he pointed forward. Rainey followed his finger, and squinted her eyes. An elderly woman was in the middle of the charred wreckage, a ceremonial dagger in her hand. She was alone, yet her smile denoted that she felt in control, even in the face of two Magicians. She didn't approach them, happy to stare at them from a safe distance. Of course, to a Magician, there were no safe distances. But the old lady knew how to play her cards. She had come prepared.

"It answered my call," she said dreamily, blushing, trembling—as if the simple fact of communicating with it gave her orgasmic pleasure. Jered, Rainey, and even Jasmine knew who she was referring to. The old lady squatted, breathing heavily, "Just one more step. The last sacrifice."

The dagger hovered close to her neck, so close to beckon it forth. Rainey wasn't about to allow that. With a swipe of her hand, a burst of Telekinesis cracked and uprooted the concrete—along with anything else in the way—and busted the old lady's head open. A splatter of blood and brain matter spurted out, decorating the ground. Her body was torn apart, falling down in small slabs of flesh. She didn't stand a chance. However, her death was premeditated from the start. It didn't change anything. She was never supposed to live.

A stretch of silence ensued. Then the earth began to quake. The wind howled. The sky darkened. And that was just the prelude to what was to come. Jered's nose curled up as he detected a bubbling ocean of mana oozing out of the ground. That was definitely not a good sign. Jasmine scooted further into his embrace as the weather got baneful. A peal of thunder cracked overhead. 

"Too late," Rainey was also aware of the pressure coming straight from the core of the Earth, "How is it possible? We killed the catalyst..."

"Are you sure she was the catalyst and not a distraction? She looked like she was going to kill herself anyway…" Jered supplied.

"That's what I thought. The offering was received, and a host was chosen. Now she's dead, and there's no other living container here to host the Shadow besides us..." she trailed off, blinking, prompting Jered to facepalm, "Oh, fuck!"

A crimson, menacing magic pattern swirled beneath them, spanning throughout the entirety of the town. 

Nneeil

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