Elinora

The spell was so close to being completed. Only a little bit longer, a few more minutes, seconds even. As it became harder and harder to concentrate, the sounds from behind me died down. Arine’s battle with Zere’s found an end, but I had yet to channel enough magic into the spell. I didn’t finish in time. As her screams wreaked havoc in my head, I gritted my teeth. One last time, in a desperate attempt to save her, and straining my body to the limit, before I felt the enormous energy jump into existence. I almost couldn’t believe it, we did it!

Turning around I couldn't wait to tell Arine the good news. Her fighting, her suffering could now have an end. But what I saw wasn’t Arine, or even the withered away realm we found when we first entered. When I turned around, nothing but darkness threatened to consume everything. Had we lost after all? Wasn’t our powers enough to banish the corruption plaguing our world for hundreds of years? What would happen to mom, Mr. Sirus, and Olaf? Our friends? The world? 

As the darkness slowly blackened my last remaining hope, the realm became bright again. Bright enough to reveal my worst nightmare. There she stood, with a smile on her face. Moments away from disappearing forever.

“Ari!” I shouted and rushed to her side, catching her body before it could fall numbly to the ground, “Please Ari, not now. Not after all we’ve been through…” My voice cracked, “Not after we won.”

Leaning over her, my head right above her chest, I heard how her heartbeat slowly faded away. She tried to say something, but no sound would leave her mouth.

Lost in my own sorrow, I didn't notice the soothing hand on my shoulder. Only once her words reached me, “There is still time.”

Looking up, I saw into the caring eyes of a mourning Goddess, “What do you mean?” But Zeres didn’t answer me, instead, she looked back towards where everything began. Could it work? Recalling the memories of this place, what it did to its spirits, would Arine really be fine? But we removed the poison, cleansed the spring of life. Still, the doubt wore heavy on my mind. What if I failed the spell? What some poison remained and drove her to madness? What if the spring lost its magic?

My mind, so full of unreasonable worry, prevented me from doing anything for her when she needed me most. Paralyzed, I just stood there. Watched, until her heart beat for the last time and I realized, I couldn’t let her die. Couldn’t live without her anymore. 

With the help of Zeres, we gently laid her body in the sacred water of life. Now, we could only hope. Hope for there to still be some life inside her. Something for the water to rekindle. Hours passed, holding her hand, waiting for what seemed to be impossible now. I had waited too long. I failed her. If I wouldn’t have hesitated, wouldn’t have been so scared, maybe she might have still had a chance. All because of my inability, my damn-

“E..Eli?” 

My eyes shot widened open when I saw her half-closed eyes looking tired at me. “Ugh, Eli you're squishing me.” 

“I don’t care.” I said as I buried my head into her chest, using the fabric of her shirt to wipe my tears, “I thought I had lost you. I… I thought-” 

Feeling the warmth of her hand on my back, I continued to sniffle her shirt as her hand gently stroked my back. “It’s ok Eli. I’m here.”

“You know,” She said as I saw her intently studying her injured arm. “I thought that was it.” She smiled at me, “But you’re still here.” The vibrations of her now beating heart made my own skip a beat, “And I am too.” 

It must have looked so stupid. With tears still running down my face as I stared at her with the widest smile. But I didn’t care. We won, we really won. And I didn’t lose the person most dear to my heart. This whole situation was so weirdly calming, yet strange, it took me a while to realize Ari had been locking eyes with the Black haired goddess standing a few feet behind us.

Skeptical at first, a quick peek at Zallas though told me all I needed to know. Slowly, I walked back, giving them some space. Still, images of Zeres ripping Ari's consciousness apart tortured my mind but the soothing presence of Zalls eased them away. If she trusted her sister now, who was I to question it? Liking it, on the other hand, I did not. So I watched closely as Zeres approached her. From this far away, it was impossible to tell what they talked about. Only Ari’s widened eyes made me think she told her something of importance.

Trying to get closer also proved fruitless as Zallas wouldn’t let me. From the distance, I only saw Ari shaking her lowered head, and the Goddess disappearing soon after.

Of course, I had to know what they talked about but before I could get back to her, the brightest light assaulted us. “Go now. You have saved my sister but you have yet to save your friends.”

Oh, damn it. Jenna. How could I have forgotten about that one? As the power of Zalls teleported us back towards our own realm, I all but hoped that we still had time.

Back in our world, touching the grass and feeling the chilly night air would have almost felt refreshing if I wouldn’t have landed right in front of a large fireball. “Watch out!” Someone shouted and pushed me out of the way.

“Kat!”

“Eli!” she screamed and reflected the flaming ball of death.

“Ari!” Someone else screamed.

Turning around, she saw Riley blocking another attack directed at her, “Riley?”.

No time for a breather, heh? As the horde of soldiers commanded by one mad witch started to surround us, denying us any opportunity to catch a break, we could do nothing but join the fight right away.

Luckily, curing Zere’s madness seemed to have worked. Soldiers soon stopped coming through the portals, quickly turning the fight in our favor. With the combined help of Mom, Olaf, Mr. Sirus, and that one guy who wanted to banish Arine, we overwhelmed Jenna in no time.

After Kat banished the last night creature with her way out of control firebird, Olaf casted the spell to end this battle once and for all. “Alligatus est mandatum meum!” He called as chains of light attached themself to Jenna's body, chaining between heaven and earth.

With the spell complete, Mom approached her first, “You know what’s going to happen? You know, you’ll spend the rest of your life in Zenfrost.”

If Jenna wanted to say something, she chose not to. And, although she must have known what Mom was talking about, she was devoid of any reaction. Only the glimpse of a mocking smile.

Mom took her time with Jenna, “I’ll personally make sure this one gets the treatment she deserves.” Then turned to us for a brief moment, “ I will meet the rest of you at Ruthna.” And with that, she vanished inside a portal, taking Jenna with her.

“What do we do now?” Lyn asked no one in particular. Her words made me think. We might have defeated Jenna and restored the mind of a Goddess, but many people had died. The imbalance still split the world, and all of Alos knowledge and history were lost.

No one knew where we would go from here until the echoing voice of two deities gave us the answer. “As the priestess of creation and destruction, you two wield the power to change the balance of this world.”

Looking around me, the others heard it as well. A quick gaze at Arine confirmed my suspicion. Without losing any more time, I rushed to her side, grabbed her hand, and as soon as our hands met, I could feel the power of the Goddesses flowing through our bodies. Making the two of us one...

Slowly, it lifted us from the ground. Creating an ever-increasing ball of light, growing and growing. Adrenaline rushed through me as we soared past the highest mountain top. Our view reached far past the Ocean. Hand in hand, circling around each other, it almost felt like the first time we met. When Arine and I jumped down the edge of Alos. However, this time, the adrenaline in my body burned even brighter. An angelic figure warped in light flew high above the sky, as the glowing sphere turned into a cylinder. The light broke into the sky, reached into another realm, illuminated the spring of life before it erupted. A realm-shattering wave, expanding around the world. The veil of light violently ripped us apart and made me feel like I had just been reborn. The echoing voices vanished and the remaining magic gently let us down.

Only once my feet met the ground did I realize the strain this spectacle had put on my body. With almost no strength left I was about to fall over when four friendly hands stopped my and Arines fall.

“Wow. That. Was. Incredible.” Lyn said as she stared blankly at Arine and I. 

So this is how world magic feels like? I struggled to find words that could describe the sensation that just hit me. But Kat’s and Emily’s somehow managed to appear even more excited.

“I could literally feel the light rushing through my bones.”  

“Eli, Ari, I… wow. ”

As the others were still absorbing and processing what had just unfolded before them, I quickly changed my attention towards the portals. I knew what it felt like, and it sure as hell did something, but I had to know that it did the right thing. To my, and shortly everyone else's relief, the portals kept getting smaller and smaller until every tear in the fabric of reality closed up for good.

All our friends and soon everyone else gathered around. Mr. Sirus in particular did his best to fend off some of the council members that seemed to have gained renewed, unwanted interest in me and Arine. Especially Edwin. For a moment, I thought he might want to apologize for his dickishness, but ultimately I was glad we didn’t have to deal with him now. The fatigue in my body had also slowly accumulated and started to wear me down. One look at Ari, sleeping tight in Riley’s hand, finally sent me over the edge as well.

When I woke up later in the night, I felt the warmth of a blanket together with the soothing crackling of a fireplace. I turned around and saw Arine still sleeping firmly. It wasn’t a thought then, more like an instinct, I didn’t know what finally pushed me, but my body decided it didn’t care what my mind thought of it. And just like that, I found myself cramped next to her, sleeping in a bed barely big enough for us both. Was it over? Was it really over now?

As my mind tried to comprehend the events of the last few days, my body sheepishly pressed against Ari’s on its own. I felt her slowly turning around, enveloping me in a tight hug. “Good morning.” Two brightly colored eyes greeted me, “How long was I asleep?”

“I don’t know, I just woke up-”

“And decided to climb under my blanket?” She said with a raised eyebrow.

“I, ehh, noo. It’s-” Before I could finish my miserable attempt at an excuse, Ari’s laughter made my heart flutter again.

“It’s alright. Let’s just stay like this for a bit.” 

We laid like that for hours. Close enough to feel each other's breath, looking outside into the sea of stars. As morning came, and the first morning rays wiggled their way through the silk curtains onto the wooly carpet, it was Arine who broke our silence. “What do you think happens now?”

Good questions. What would happen now? We defeated Jenna, and Zere’s. We stopped the world from being devoured by chaos and restored the order successfully. So, what now? I guess we would start rebuilding Alos, then the Academy. I could finally, properly start my new life in this world. Graduate, become a Sorceress, and see what this world has in store for me. I was honestly getting rather excited thinking about all the possibilities the future held for me when my sight fell onto Arine.

“What do you think?”

She didn’t answer, her eyes fixated on the ceiling. “Ari?”

“Oh, sorry. It’s nothing, don’t worry.”

I didn’t have to be a mind reader to know that something definitely was going on. But I also knew better than to push her when she clearly wasn't ready to talk about it. I had a life here. Family. She didn’t. 

I could hardly imagine how she felt. Yet, I didn’t want her to leave me. Selfish, I know. But what was I supposed to do without her? How would I be able to live without her after all we had been through. All the sacrifices we made for each other. If she decided to go back to her old life, I knew … I couldn’t follow. But if she decided to stay… Both options were horrible and I hated Jenna even more now for putting her in this situation. With my fists clenched I tried to stay calm when Ari’s arm swung around me.

“Let’s try to sleep some more.” A short pause as she smiled at me, “Ok?”

I didn’t argue. How could I?

The next morning, a knock on the door, followed by my mom’s voice woke us both, “Arine, Elinora? Get up, breakfast is ready.” We heard her step away from the door, then stop,” we also have to discuss what's going to happen now. So don’t take too long.”

Ari and I shared a look, then got dressed. Downstairs, Mom, Mr. Sirus, and Olaf already awaited us. “Good morning to our superheroes.”

Looking everywhere but the table, I wished they wouldn’t do this. “We’re not superheroes.”

“Yeah, what she said” added Ari quietly before we sat down.

“Well, you can call yourself whatever but fact is, you helped beat Jenna.” said mom.

“And, restored the magical balance in the world.” finished Mr. Sirus while looking proudly at Arine.

They continued making us way too uncomfortable, and about an hour later we were done. It was time now for the more serious matters. Olaf told us how he could feel that Alos resurfacing in the sky. Still in ruins and inhabitable at the moment, but in the sky nonetheless. 

From there on, Mr. Sirus, Olaf, and Mom told us all about the rebuilding process. Apparently, we were expected to help as well. With what? They wouldn’t tell. Just something vague about the academy and its students. Liz, Kate, and Emily were also involved and supposedly already preparing everything. Whatever that meant.

Thought the whole time, however, one question begged my mind; What was with the council and Arine? Especially that Edwin guy?

“Oh, ” mom said, surprised at herself for forgetting to mention it, “A few of them are on their way to request help for Alos. Some others are currently handling Jenna.”

“Handling Jenna?” Ari piped up on her mention, “how?”

“They are putting her in the Zenfrost prison. After everything else has been sorted, she will be given a trial.”

I had to ask, “Zenfrost prison?”

“It’s a prison on the other side of the country, deep within the Zenfrost mountain. It’s a dark place, time moves slower there.”

“And Edwin?” Arine twitched a little after I mentioned his name again.

“You don’t have to worry about him anymore, ” said Mr. Sirus with a smile, “We had a chat with him and the rest of the council. They won’t bother you anymore.” Ari seemed to relax a little, then he continued, “Oh and Arine? I’d like to speak to you later. In private, if you have the time?” She nodded and shortly after, we started to clean up.

Together, we explored the airship we were currently on. It looked slightly different from the ones found on Alos. A different Sigil, if I had to guess, some of the council members sent it to aid the fight.

Sadly though, it was still just a normal airship. No special hidden rooms. Not sure what I had expected, but I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Another thing that bugged me was, wherever we looked, no sign of Liz, Kate, or Emily. Whenever we had gotten on the ship, they must have stayed on land or, at least, had already left. But why? That’s when another question came to mind, “Ari?”

“Eli?” she turned around and looked at me with her bright eyes.

“How long did we sleep for?”

“What do you mean, a day?” she replied, “Maybe?”.

“Yeah, but isn’t it a little strange?” she tilted her head and I continued on, “I mean, we’re the only ones on this ship. And don’t you think that Mom, Olaf, and Mr. Sirus also acted a little odd this morning?”

She put one hand under her elbow and the other under her chin, then started to look at the ground “I guess? But how would you expect them to react?”

I didn’t know, just shrugged, “Well different. They were so organized and all. Something is going on.”

Ari sighed, “I think you’re overthinking this and oh-” she exclaimed when she remembered something, “I should meet up with Mr. Sirus.” 

Right, he wanted to talk to her. “Meet you on the deck later?” Ari nodded, and soon she was gone. I grabbed a book from my room and started reading at the bow. Being so high up in the air, feeling the cold wind against my skin, I just realized how calming it felt.

Reading for hours, time flew by. At sunset, when the last sun rays disappeared, and the glittering night sky took over, Ari came back. She sat opposite of me and together we stared in the far distance.

After the sun had set, I managed to break the silence. “What did he want?”

She didn’t answer immediately, continued to stare into the vast nothingness of the cloud ocean. When she did speak, she didn’t look at me, “He asked about my family.”

The way she looked at the sky, I knew she didn’t tell me everything. Yet, I choose to remain silent and watch her. We stayed like this till it got so cold, our hands started hurting. Back in our room, I contemplated if I should sneak in her bed again, but after seeing her so troubled, I decided against risking it. We wished each other a good night and tried to fall asleep.

Mom woke us the next morning again and we had breakfast like the day before. This morning, they, fortunately, stopped with the ‘save the world’ nonsense.

Once we finished breakfast, we helped Mr. Sirus and Olaf sort some old records. Most of them consisted of old city plans for Alos. Together, we helped them sort plans for the academy, for the market districts, the residential zone, Crystal lanes, and some more. It took till midday when Mom knocked on the door and told us we were almost there.

Looking over at Arine, we wasted no time and sprinted to the deck. From afar, we could see a massive dome of earth hovering in the sky. It was hard to tell how much damage had been done from the distance but that was unmistakably Alos. 

Soon the ship reached the port and we docked. To our surprise, people were bustling around everywhere. Multiple other ships, carrying stone, wood, food, and more were getting unloaded. Others were getting loaded with debris and junk.

When we set food on Alos, three shapes assaulted us from behind. “Arine, Eli!” they screamed as they hugged us to death.

“What are you all doing here?”

“Helping, of course.” Said Kat, then Liz asked us to follow her.

The three brought us directly to the academy. On the way, we took a good look at the city. It was still a far cry from its old glory, but some people had apparently started living here again. Most of the ruins were cleared and the academy seemed to be in even better shape than the outer city. Well, the part we saw at least.

Liz brought us all the way to the large garden and I had to gasp. “Surprise!” Emily shouted, “We thought you deserved a proper welcome after you know, saved the world and all.” Around us, hundreds of people gathered. I recognized some teachers and fellow students, others I didn’t know. A band started to play and people were dancing on the small stage next to them.

My mind suddenly remembered something and I turned to Liz, “How long did we sleep for?”

“A month.” she said unfazed, “we were all worried at first, but Olaf told us that it is not unusual after what you've been going through.”

Ari’s mouth was agape, “A month?” 

Kat put her hands around our shoulder and walked us over the feast, “Yep, enough time to clean up a bit and,” she gestured toward Emily walking next to us, “come up with this ridiculous idea.” She said with a smile.

Later on, Mom, Olaf, and Mr. Sirius joined as well. We asked them all sorts of questions. How did they manage to rebuild Alos this fast? Is the Academy open again? What did they all do while we were asleep? How did we survive without eating so long? Well, magic, of course…

They answered all our questions as best as they could and, overall, I felt so happy to be with my friends again. In peace. 

Towards evening, I started to really enjoy myself. It had been too long since I last spent some worry-free time with all of them. Kat, Emily, and I had a deep conversation about what we all wanted to do after graduation, when I noticed Ari missing.

My heart jumped a bit but I tried to stay calm. “Hey, uhm … has any of you actually seen Arine?”

Emily put a finger under her chin, “Now that you mention it, I haven’t.” She called over Liz, “Hey Liz, did you see Arine?”

Liz came over then looked at us all, “Not in the last hour or so.” She then looked at me, “Should we call someone? Maybe we-” I stopped her.

“No, it's fine. I think I have an idea where she is.” They nodded but I had to promise to tell them as soon as I found Arine before they would let me go.

Wandering back through the academy's gate, I took another route this time. One through the still destroyed parts of Alos. Most of the debris and rubble was gone, but the streets were empty and the buildings were still in ruin.

A good twenty minutes later, I found myself on the outermost ring of Alos. Standing on the grass and watching the city touch the clouds. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She said, staring at the sky, “do you remember this place?”

I did. This was the place where Ari and I became friends. Where we broke the spell that kept her from everyone. That kept her from me. ”Yes.” I said and sat myself next to her.

“I’ve been thinking. Thinking about everything. My life, my family, my world, you.”

All the time, her gaze never left the sky, I knew it was now or never. Grabbing her hand, I prepared myself to finally confess my feelings when she stopped me.

“Back in that world. After we fought Zeres, she told me something.” She pressed my hand, then looked me deep into my eyes, “she told me, she could make all this all undone. Bring me back to my world. Restore my body, erase my memory.” My heart stopped, “If I want to.”

What was I supposed to say? My heart ached for her. It couldn’t live without her anymore. Yet, she deserved happiness. Torn from her old life, trapped in this world, in a body that isn't even hers. How could I live on, knowing I’m the one binding her to this world? I couldn’t make her choose, “What do you want?” But she did not answer, instead, she came closer. Closer, until her lips meet mine.

“I love you, Eli.”

After all this time, tears started to roll down my face, “I love you more than anything.” I put both my hands on hers, pushed her on her back, and gave her another kiss. “I swear, we will find a way for you to see your family again.”

Tears formed under her eyes but she smiled and pressed my body closer to hers, “I know.”

 Fin.