The Hybrid Mage

Why? Why...? Did this happen? What did I do wrong to deserve this, what could I have done to have stopped this? After all I've done, after all I've tried... is this it? Is this my reward? And Sofia... I told her I wanted to be a hero to others, yet I couldn't save her! I failed her! Diablo... Kara... Father... I hate you. I hate you so much!! At least I should. As your son and blood, I loved you so much and you do this so of course I should! So why?! Why don't I despise you?! I even told The Adversary I did so why don't I?! Is it because it'll upset Mama? She loves you... is that it? I need tell Mama. I need to see her. I need to see Maddox. Big sis... I need you to save me.

One of my eyes snapped open and I found myself staring up into a dark bronze coloured sky, as light as the summer's day but no sun was in sight. I slowly rolled eyes to the side and saw sand. Nothing but sand and sand coloured rock for as far as they eye could see with similar looking mountains decorating the landscape.

Then it hit me. The pain. The pain hit me like a bullet, my head pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode. I immediately placed my hand on and let out a groan of pain before I felt something warm and wet. Drawing back my hand I saw that it was partially covered in blood.

I must have split my head open or something.

I tried to get up but failed. It was confusing so I tried and failed. Third time was the charm as I forced myself to sit up against a large pile of rock and rubble.

Probably a piece of the crumbled cliff edge.

My entire body felt weak, it was battered, bruised, and covered in sand, my clothes torn and ripped. Despite being covered in filth I could see my skin was incredibly pale. I glanced down at my feet and found my right leg ending at the knee, blood slowing flowing from the stump and pooling around it. I was exhausted and fatigued to an extent that I couldn't feel the pain from it. That or the blood loss was so extreme all feeling in that leg was gone. I had lost way too much blood and could tell I didn't have much time.

A bet I've got a few minutes at most. C'mon, I gotta get moving somewhere.

I attempted to move my other leg and tried to push myself up to my feet using my hands. Slowly but surely, I began to slide up the boulder before my foot gave out and I slapped back onto the ground.

Too weak to move... can... barely stay conscious.

I glanced at the landscape again. It looked like something out of a post - apocalypse movie; dust devils could be seen far off on the left with a giant sandstorm in the distance on the right. The sound of thunder could be heard in the clouds as winds swept up the sand like throwing petals in some twisted wedding. The rubble around my almost acted as a wall to protect me from said winds however the stinging of sand still hit my face. A dead bush beside me was on fire as well. Nothing like a roaring bonfire or even a campfire. A dying flame lighting the show of a dying life.

Maybe I should just die? I mean, there's nothing I can do. I'm too weak to move significantly and I've lost so much blood my body is losing function. Hey... why can't I open my other eye?

I went to force it open when I felt something strange. The eyelids were open.

"Fantastic." I giggled weakly, unable to do anything else but laugh at the ridiculous of it all, the horror of it.

So, this it. Blind in one eye, probably a few broken bones and severed leg. Death from of blood loss in the middle of nowhere next to a barely living flame.

I continued to look at the flame. I glanced at it once. Then twice. Then three more times. The flame mesmerised me for some reason and I couldn't tell why. Then I saw it. On the branches that was alight with fire I saw tiny scrap of metal. The heat of the flame slowly melting it over the cracks and crevices within the wood. Sealing them.