"Cerberus! A Cerberus is approaching." Vlad had shouted from a distance and jumped to his feet to join his comrades.
Cerberuses were well-known beasts in Thepra and were known for their ferocity and power. The average cerberus was in the advanced ascendant stage.
All the students were on their guard as they heard the rumble of footsteps gradually approaching their position.
Pip and Nox had returned and were standing on either side of Vlad, who had activated his water powers, the scar on his throat confirming it. He gritted his teeth. He might be very lonely and so far had been of little help to them but he wasn't unconscious though and knew he couldn't stand still forever.
"Look out!" he shouted as he threw a jet of water particles that helped to keep Maya away, who hadn't noticed his proximity to the beast that had just arrived in front of them.
"Time to have fun" Devion smiled, his face betraying a certain joy mixed with concern. This expression distorted his face into an indescribable expression that once again scared Maya a little.
Leaning forward, fire was coming out of his right hand and ice from his left, the strange black tear under his eyes had resumed its glistening.
The scar was beginning to spread, more slowly this time. Maya remained silent, telling herself she could trust him.
Umbra's claws were out and, for the first time, she was in a fighting pose. Devion wasn't sure how to interpret this change. But he decided to just let things take their course.
The creature in front of them was so large that it reached right to the top of the cave. It was terrifying. Rising nearly twenty feet tall, the quadruped mammal-bodied monster, its maw open, stared angrily at the miserable humans who had disturbed its lair.
"An Ascendant-level monster, already? But how big is this damn cavern?" Maya threw out as she dodged an initial attack from the beast, which was glaring at her with its three heads.
"It's true that it's a bit early." Thyra conjured a wind spell intermingled with fire that made the creature growl.
"We'll be here for days." Vlad enunciated as the scar on his throat almost made his adam's apple disappear.
"What? Days?!" Maya replied.
"I sent Pip and Nox to inspect this cavern and given its size-" He jumped propelling himself with a jet of water aimed at the ground to avoid another attack. "We've got at least three days' walk to get through this cavern, if not even five."
"How is this even possible?" Maya avoided another attack barring her with a wall of rock. "You mean we're going to screw up a quarter of the camp's duration in this cavern?"
"Are you done bitching yet?" Devion cut them off.
The brunet stepped forward with all his powers activated and his faithful companion at his feet, growling with the dark magic they were all becoming all too familiar with. Cerberus launched an attack directly at Devion, who retorted with a counter-attack of fire and ice.
What followed was no less breathtaking.
Thyra cast a spell aimed at one of the creature's three hideous heads. Devion stopped the spell with a wave of his hand. The girl's first reaction was surprise that a first-year could stop her attack so easily.
Her second reaction was to wonder why Devion had done it.
"That one, I'll take care of it myself." Devion pronounced as he slowly advanced towards the creature, his windy hair pushed back by the slight breeze caused by the attacks.
"Playing solitaire never works out well." Ezekiel replied as a flurry of vines surrounded Cerberus' legs.
"Leave it." Caspian replied. He'd stopped his powers, and not a shred of magic surrounded his body anymore. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "If he gets killed that's his problem."
"How can you say that?!" Maya yelled in annoyance as she shielded herself from the rays of fire spewed by the monster with an earthen shield.
"Look at him." Caspian replied simply, coldly.
The student turned her head. Facing her, Devion, of fire and ice and that growing black shadow, was smiling and didn't seem to mind the monster that kept attacking him.
Maya tried to call out to him many times, but nothing seemed to interest him other than his fight, and he only allowed Umbra to join him as he danced around the creature giving it blows with his sharp fangs.
Suddenly, new creatures sprang up from the ground - not golems, but an army of skeletons equipped with sword-shaped bones - and attacked the group of students.
Ezekiel stepped in front of the group to face the skeleton horde, which was arriving on the opposite side of the battle from Devion. The blond stifled a chuckle before tilting his head left and right as if to stretch.
The scar on his left hand began to flicker faster and faster, and a torrent of vines sprang up from the ground and began to attack the enemies.
With his back facing the rest of the group, Ezekiel swiveled his head back slightly.
"Maya, you're going to have to trust your buddy, because we've got enough on our hands with these ones."
Maya reluctantly agreed, watching as her friend melted away like a black speck with fascinating speed, pouncing on a beast that nonetheless towered above them in height and strength.
Vladymir shouted to his two ghosts to take care of some of the skeletons attacking them. The whole group mobilized... or almost. Caspian remained at a distance, categorically refusing to take part in any hand-to-hand combat.
Thyra looked at him a little annoyed, but eventually lost interest in the minnow-eyed student. Several lines of wind snaked their way through the horde of creatures, and several wisps of fire were added to the flames, destroying any attempt by the creatures to approach the group.
The fight was going surprisingly well, and although Maya felt of little use against such prodigies of magic, she was still slowly making her way and standing out.
The two second-years mixed their powers into a stunning explosion of elements, Vlad stood back but sent out torrents of water, while Pip and Nox happily indulged in this spectacle of destruction. As for the third year, he only sent out a few spells now and then, but he was almost useless.
Is he really Orpheion's genius? Maya thought as she sent a skeleton flying through the air with a rock sword sticking out of the ground.
Devion.
"Not again, damn it!" Devion gritted his teeth. He was in the middle of a fight with a monster whose stories he'd only heard through the books Cristael lent him.
She is approaching.
He was thrown off balance and ended up on the ground after a huge blow from Cerberus. He put his hand to his bloodied cheek and sighed in discomfort.
That voice had disturbed him.
Who was she?
He quickly regained his composure and stood up, motioning to Umbra to resume the fight, the animal having moved closer to him, concerned for his master's well-being.
The black smoke spread.
Once again, Devion felt himself being swept away by the power that was intent on devouring him.
But this time, things were different.
He had managed to fend off this power once, and it had cost him many wounds and some time to recover. This time, things had to be different. He didn't just have to push it away: he had to embrace it.
Devion was thrown backwards by Cerberus, who had just thrown a cannon of magic at him, knocking him to the ground.
Devion. Let the shadows devour you.
Devion leaned forward, coughing up blood. He held his head firmly to the ground, half-sitting as the rock beneath his hands ached excruciatingly. The smoke was growing and the monster opposite him still seemed perfectly fit to fight.
"Damn it." he swore, spitting more blood which added to the puddle already on the ground.
The creature lunged at him.
Umbra managed to fend it off as best she could. The green runes on her body began to glow for the first time.
Still, Umbra didn't seem to be at full strength, as if a piece were missing from her many-piece puzzle.
Caspian had noticed this even before Devion.
"Get up."
A wall of rock had sprung up from the ground. Caspian had turned and left the rest of the students to face the horde of skeletons that were slowly beginning to weaken.
"As you can see I can't!" Devion grumbled, a drop of blood running down his lips.
"Get up."
"I'm telling you that-"
An aura surged around the elder. His scar glowed brighter than Devion had ever seen it glow before.
The brunet then realized that his comrade was only using part of his power with the group. The immensity of his power was so great that it made him wince.
Devion, the moment approaches.
He hit the ground hard. His hand wounded by the impact but his spirits clearer, he leaned on the ground to get up.
Devion realized that if he wanted to grow stronger, he wasn't going to do it alone. Caspian may not have been his best friend, but he could probably help him in some way.
Devion, we're still waiting for you.
Cerberus spat a jet of flame at the two magicians, which Caspian blocked with a stone wall. Impassive, he stood a few steps away from Devion. Was this his way of helping him? The elder was neither gentle nor emotional, but rational, and Devion needed that rationality.
"You can continue waiting then." Devion replied to the voices swirling in his head and tearing at his skull.
The black smoke hadn't shrunk and its robe of blackness still embraced Devion with its dark envelope.
He had struggled to his feet, and even if Caspian was only blocking the attacks, this gave him time to adapt and get back on his feet. The third-year student was a definite help to him, there was no denying it.
"Argh!" New migraines invaded Devion and the voices grew louder.
Devion. Child of redemption.
"Dev!" Maya shouted from the opposite direction. The army of skeletons having slightly regained the upper hand, numerous scratches and dried blood dotted her face. "Please, we need you!"
"Devion, child of redemption."
"Who are you?" Devion opened his eyes in a strange, dimly lit room with no discernible exits or walls. A room that looked more like the inside of a cave or the depths of the soul.
The room was dark but bright at the same time, and Devion found this contrast again apart from any other place, or dimension, he might have been sent to since these strange powers had awakened.
"Who are you?" He repeated in a deeper voice, and his voice echoed.
"Devion,
Child of redemption and shadows.
May your light bring the shadows back to life."
Devion began to see flashes before his eyes. He saw a woman and a man whose faces he couldn't make out or whose voices he couldn't hear. He didn't recognize either of them, but was captivated by their grace and presence.
"May your memory erase the darkness
And the void fill the chaos."
The woman looked at him with tenderness and the man with pride. In the body of a young child, Devion was then cuddled by the two beings, almost unreal, who gave him the illusion of a fictional family mixed between dream and reality.
"May your sacrifice not be in vain,
May your survival be the salvation of Thepra."
The room no longer visible, Devion had completely embraced this strange dream whose images gave him a taste of honey and happiness. He didn't want to wake up again, he didn't want to return to this reality where he had no family and no real control over his future.
Devion wanted to succumb to these visions so sweet that they gave him an impression of perfection but so unreal that they left him with a feeling of incompleteness.
The voice resumed its tale, however, cutting Devion off from his reverie before putting an end to the sweet illusions that lulled his gaze.
"Save Erebus from his woes
And parents from their regrets."
The vision then ended and Devion returned to a reality that shook him enough to bring him back to his senses. Caspian stood closer to him with more difficulty holding his rock wall and fending off Cerberus.
"Fucking Boëlthorn, wake up-"
Caspian stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the brunet slowly raise his head.
Devion stared at him with certainty, his green eyes making his brown hair stand out, and despite the blood running down his forehead, he was majestic. Caspian thought that something might have changed, perhaps for a moment or more.
When Devion turned his head slightly, Caspian caught sight of him.
A second tear-shaped scar had appeared under his other eye.