I looked at Ilyana who was staring at me intently from her kneeling position. Her dark green eyes were so beautiful and I couldn’t help but find myself feeling attracted to her. Her skin was pale white but also looked quite smooth. I wondered how old she was. I figured that she had to be close to my age even a few years older.

“Tell me about this prophecy that you mentioned,” I said to her.

“Prophecy?” Cyrena asked. She had a curious expression on her face. I saw that both Faye and Oronia also were alert. Marian was the only one that seemed to not care at all because she probably thought that the dark mage was lying.

“It was prophesied over 150 years ago before Raziel had just started to gain power over Alargon that there was a warrior who would appear and help to bring everlasting peace to our world. This warrior was a young male who was not of our world but would arrive and change it for all time. He would have great power that no one had ever seen before and his seed would heal the sick and also replenish our world. This warrior would become king and would rule over Alargon for many years and it would be a time of peace and growth throughout the world. Many of our elders did not know what to make of this prophecy. There had been countless wars throughout the ages but everlasting peace never seemed realistic to them. However, our elders believed this prophecy and passed it down to each generation,” Ilyana said as she stared at me.

“It wasn’t until Raziel made her appearance on Alargon that the prophecy was spoken again by the great trees in Rytheria. It was whispered countlessly and our elders began to take heed to it. They prayed that the warrior would arrive quickly especially when the war with the Demon Queen became hopeless but the warrior did not arrive. But, none of them gave up hope even when Rytheria was overtaken by Raziel’s army and the children were kidnapped including myself. I watched as Rytheria was burned to the ground and the great trees were consumed by those flames.”

Ilyana paused for a moment and I saw tears fall from her eyes. I felt sorry for the dark mage. I looked at the others and saw that they also had sympathetic looks on their faces except for Marian. She rolled her eyes and made a sound of disbelief.

“The prophecy was not spoken again since the destruction of Rytheria but I never forgot it even while I was made to become a dark mage to serve Raziel. I never gave up hope,” Ilyana said. A bright smile came to her face as tears rolled down her cheeks. “You are that warrior! You have come to save us!”

I felt everyone look at me. Cyrena’s eyes widened and then a smile came to her lips that I had seen many times before. It was the same smile that would blossom whenever she talked about what I was capable of. Faye and Oronia stared at me in shock. They were dumbfounded by what Ilyana had just said. Marian looked at me but her face was one of confusion.

“This is quite remarkable! I had never heard of this prophecy before but it can’t be a coincidence!” Cyrena said. “I told you that you are here for a reason, James! This prophecy further adds to that belief!”

“Surely, you are not accepting this bitch’s words as truth? She is lying!” Marian said in an angry voice. “She saw James send that black sphere back at her friend and now she is making up this story to save her ass.”

“No, I am not lying. I am telling the truth,” Ilyana said.

“Shut up, bitch!” Marian shouted at her. She looked like she was about to hit her but held herself back.

“Black sphere?” Faye asked. “What do you mean?”

“While I was fighting with the other dark mage, she conjured a black sphere which Ilyana said was the Sphere of Confinement. It came toward me but I was able to stop it somehow and then I sent it flying back at her which caused her to fly up in the air and have chains covering her entire body. She disappeared a few seconds after,” I said to the group.

“You did that?!” Cyrena asked me with surprise. “You have magical powers?!”

“I don’t know,” I said as I looked at her.

“We have to focus on this and see what else you can do, James! This is great news!” Cyrena said in excitement. I saw that the others were also excited, even Marian who finally broke a smile beneath her scowl.

“But, what are we going to do now? Are more dark mages coming?” Oronia asked Ilyana.

Ilyana nodded her head with a sad face. “Yes. Raziel has probably discovered that Moira was teleported back to one of her dungeons and will be dispatching more dark mages and dragons to find you. They might be on their way now.”

“We have to go!” Cyrena said. She grabbed her bag and walking stick.

“What about her?” Marian said as she gestured at Ilyana.

I looked at Ilyana. She was staring at me hopefully. “She comes with us.”

“What?! You can’t be serious! She is a dark mage and she will alert the others!” Marian said in anger.

“No,” I said as I shook her head. “She won’t. She is going to help us fight Raziel.”

Ilyana’s face lit up and a large smile spread out on her face. “Yes, my king!”

Everyone was surprised by her words except for Cyrena who was smiling just as big as Ilyana. She had completely accepted what Ilyana said without question. It felt uncomfortable as fuck to be called a king. I had to look away from Ilyana and that face of reverence. 

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” I said.