Azure Dune

by BottledChaos

Decades after saving the other world, Azure's magical powers suddenly came back and their old enemy awakens again. Do they still have it in the to save the world once more?

Ah, snow.

It always reminded me of back then. Even without touching it, I could recall the sand-like sensation when dragging my fingers through fresh snow. The joy of dancing tunelessly with the dunes of snow, the floating dust of ice reflecting light like a disco ball.

I smiled fondly as I finally tore my eyes away from the white lawn outside and went to change from my pajamas and brush my teeth.

Even to this day, I still couldn’t tell whether it had all been just a dream or not. After all, no time had passed while I had been on the other side, and I hadn’t brought anything back over either. Sure, Trevor had told me Earth’s time had been stopped, that had been the entire point of the whole adventure, after all… But still.

It had been decades since then. No matter how real it had felt at the time, it was a little more than just a memory now, especially since I had no physical evidence of it really having happened. A fantasy I had imagined, perhaps? A fleeting dream?

I quickly shook away my thoughts as I automatically ran through my morning routine. Washing up, preparing some breakfast, clicking the heart button on whatever my goofy grandchildren posted on the internet, even if I didn’t actually think it was that good or funny.

I loved my grandchildren, but they sure could be a handful at times. Still, I couldn’t wait till they visited me again next month.

My thoughts strayed back to Alyzean when I gazed outside of my window, my cup of coffee cradled in my hand.

Not for the first time, I wondered how everyone was doing back there, ignoring the voice at the back of my head telling me that none of them were actually real.

Had Devon become the king? Had Julia found her sister? Hmm, Trevor was probably still searching for a cure for aging. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit.

Oh, and of course, Ellen had been right, as always. I really wasn’t a boy at all. But jokes on her, I wasn’t a girl either.

A fond smile found its way to my lips as I continued to reminisce about what had most likely only been a vivid dream.

And then I heard a thump outside of my door.

I let out a tired sigh, already suspecting the cause.

Leaving my unfinished coffee on the table, I headed for my door, unlocked it, and inched it open to see exactly what I expected. A massive lump of snow had fallen from the slanted roof of my house right in front of my front door.

I couldn’t believe just how much snow had fallen in a single night.

I frowned and grumbled to myself. And, of course, as if the snow heard me, another lump fell right at that moment, adding to the white obstacle.

I sighed to myself as I closed the door and went back inside to quickly change.

I put on a coat and my winter boots, grabbed my shovel, and headed outside again.

It was always days like these that made me wish I still had my aspect of snow from Alyzean. Rather than painstakingly shoveling the white mound bit by bit, I could have just grabbed it whole and tossed it aside. It really was a shame, especially since I’d gone through so much effort to attain it.

I shook my head to cull those thoughts. No point in regretting not having literal magic to help me with mundane tasks. This was reality; magic didn’t exist.

I continued to shovel the snow, my back starting to get a bit strained. Maybe I should have listened and moved somewhere else. The solitude out here wasn’t worth it, especially since I had to do everything myself.

Hah. What would Ellen say if she saw me now? The great hero of Alyzean who had saved the world from destruction, now defeated by a mound of snow. She would laugh her butt off, that was for sure.

As I stepped forward to approach the mound from a better angle, my foot slipped on a thin layer of ice. I gasped out in shock as I lost my balance and before I could do anything, my fragile old back was on its way to a very painful landing.

And then, something in my mind flashed white. Clarity I hadn’t felt in ages seeped through it as I suddenly felt the world around me. Purely on instinct from all those years ago, I moved to catch myself using my newly reacquired invisible limbs.

Just like when Julia had been about to fall off a cliff.

I landed on my back. But rather than the painful ground, I was cradled by a soft white blanket of snow. My eyes slowly widened as I realized that I could feel the snow. That I knew the exact location of each individual flake. Could move it as if it was a part of my own body.

“Oh my god…” I whispered to myself, as the realization dawned on me.

It had been real. Alyzean. Devon, Julia, Trevor, Ellen… Our journey, our battles, our struggles, our friendship. None of them had been imaginary. They all existed.

My breath hitched.

I barely paid attention to the remaining snow that I subconsciously moved aside using my rediscovered powers as I stood up. I didn’t move for a good few minutes, staring into space, feeling out all the snow around me with my sixth sense.

And then, unbidden, tears began to flow down my face. Of happiness, that my friends from back then weren’t imaginary. Of sorrow, that I would probably never get to meet them again. 

After a few minutes of reminiscing, and remembering all the details of what had happened back then, a cold breeze knocked me out of my stupor, causing me to shiver. I swiftly went back inside, laid the shovel next to the door, got out of my boots and coat, and headed to my bedroom, my morning coffee forgotten.

It didn’t take long to find what I was looking for. I still remembered exactly where I had put it, after all. At the bottom of my wardrobe underneath all my stacks of clothes lay a thick diary, titled “My cool (=D) adventures in Alyzean!”. It had several blue hearts drawn all over the cover.

I shakily grabbed it, my breath hitching for a moment, before I sat down on the bed and opened it.