Chapter 33
•Alex's P.O.V•
Zielo was sleeping peacefully on his bed with his book over his face, as usual. I checked the time on my alarm clock. 2AM on the dot. I quietly got out of bed and put on a jacket and a pair of sneakers. I then snuck out of my room and checked inside my friends' rooms. They were all sound asleep.
I slipped out the door to our dorm room and made my way down the hallway, making sure not to make a sound and alert the other elementals. I then made my way down the stairs to the first year's common room then headed towards the east wing, where all the offices were. It didn't take too long to get to where I needed.
Bliss's office.
I put my ear against the door, listening for any sign that anyone might be in there. After hearing nothing, I gently pulled down on the handle, expecting it to be locked. But the door opened with no difficulty.
"That's weird...Mr Bliss always has his office locked at night. So why is it unlocked...?"
I hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open. Once inside, I lit a flame in my hand, lighting up the room with an orange hue. I looked around, double checking that I was alone in the office, before going up to the desk. The two halves of the scroll and the Tome of Translation still lay there on the table, completely untouched.
"That's suspicious..." I muttered. I felt the urge to turn away and go back to bed, but I pushed that thought to the side. I couldn't turn back now.
I found a candle on the table and brought it to my flame. I put out the fire in my hand and set the candle down on the table. I then sat down in the chair behind the table, opened the tome and got to work.
I opened the scroll and snapped my fingers. A small flame spiralled in my hand and the silver quill appeared. I started writing down the second half of the scroll on the left page.
ᚺᛟᚹᛖᚹ︍ᛖᚱ᛫,ᛒᛖᚢ︍ᛟᚾᛞ᛫ᚦ︍ᛖ᛫ᛊᛖᛏᛏᛁᛜ︍᛫ᛊᚢᚾ᛫ᚨᚾᛞ᛫ᚦ︍ᛖ᛫ᛏᛖᚾ᛫ᚹᛟᚱᛚᛞᛊ᛫,ᚱᛖᛊᛁᛞᛖᛊ᛫ᚦ︍ᛖ᛫ᛟᚾᛖ᛫ᛏᛟ᛫ᛖᚾᛞ᛫ᚦ︍ᛖ᛫ᚱᚢᛚᛖ᛫ᛟᚠ᛫ᚲ︍ᛟᚱᚱᚢᛈᛏᛁᛟᚾ᛫ᚠᛟᚱᛖᚹ︍ᛖᚱ᛫
ᚨᚾ᛫ᛖᛚᛖᛗᛖᚾᛏᚨᛚ᛫ᛟᚠ᛫ᚢᚾᛏᛟᛚᛞ᛫ᛊᛏᚱᛖᛜ︍ᚦ︍᛫,ᚺᛁᛞᛞᛖᚾ᛫ᚨᚹᚨᚢ︍᛫ᛁᚾ᛫ᚦ︍ᛖ᛫ᛊᚺᚨᛞᛟᚹ᛫ᛁᛊ᛫ᚺᛁᛊ᛫ᚠᛚᚨᛗᛖ᛫᛫
ᚨᚾ᛫ᛖᛚᛖᛗᛖᚾᛏᚨᛚ᛫ᚹᚺᛟ᛫ᚲᚾᛟᚹᛊ᛫ᚾᛟᛏ᛫ᛟᚠ᛫ᚺᛁᛊ᛫ᛗᚨᚷᛁᚲ︍ᚨᛚ᛫ᚹᛟᚱᛚᛞ᛫ᛟᚱ᛫ᛟᚠ᛫ᚦ︍ᛖ᛫ᛈᛟᚹᛖᚱ᛫ᚦ︍ᚨᛏ᛫ᚱᛖᛊᛁᛞᛖᛊ᛫
ᚨᚾ᛫ᛖᛚᛖᛗᛖᚾᛏᚨᛚ᛫ᚹᚺᛟ'ᛊ᛫ᚨᛚᛚ᛫ᛒᚢᛏ᛫ᚠᚱᛁᚷᚺᛏᛖᚾᛖᛞ᛫ᛒᚢ︍᛫ᚦ︍ᛖ᛫ᛏᚱᛁᚨᛚᛊ᛫ᚨᚾᛞ᛫ᛏᚱᛁᛒᚢᛚᚨᛏᛁᛟᚾᛊ᛫ᚺᛖ᛫ᛗᚨᚢ︍᛫ᚾᛖᛖᛞ᛫ᛏᛟ᛫ᚠᚨᚲ︍ᛖ
ᚨ᛫ᚢ︍ᛟᚢᛜ︍᛫,ᚲ︍ᚢᚱᛁᛟᚢᛊ᛫,ᚱᛖᛞ-ᚺᛖᚨᛞᛖᛞ᛫ᚺᛖᚱᛟ᛫,ᛃᚢᛊᛏ᛫ᛚᛁᚲᛖ᛫ᚦ︍ᛖ᛫ᛚᚨᛊᛏ᛫,ᚹᚺᛟ᛫ᚹᛁᛚᛚ᛫ᚠᛁᚾᚨᛚᛚᚢ︍᛫ᚲ︍ᚢᚱᛖ᛫ᚦ︍ᛖ᛫ᛈᛚᚨᚷᚢᛖ᛫ᛟᚠ᛫ᚲ︍ᛟᚱᚱᚢᛈᛏᛁᛟᚾ᛫
ᚦ︍ᛖ᛫ᛖᛚᛖᛗᛖᚾᛏᚨᛚ᛫ᚹᚺᛟ᛫ᚹᛁᛚᛚ᛫ᛒᚱᛁᛜ︍᛫ᚦ︍ᛖ᛫ᛖᚾᛞ᛫ᛏᛟ᛫ᚦ︍ᛖ᛫ᛞᛖᚨᛞᛚᚢ︍᛫ᚲ︍ᚢ︍ᚲ︍ᛚᛖ᛫ᛟᚠ᛫ᚲ︍ᛟᚱᚱᚢᛈᛏᛁᛟᚾ᛫,ᛟᚾᚲ︍ᛖ᛫ᚨᚾᛞ᛫ᚠᛟᚱ᛫ᚨᛚᛚ
And just like last time, the runes got translated on the right. As soon as the last rune was written down, I waited for the ink to dry before turning back to the first part of the prophecy, making sure that nothing had changed. I then turned to the second half.
However, beyond the setting sun and the ten worlds, resides the one to end the rule of corruption forever
An elemental of untold strength, hidden away in the shadow is his flame
An elemental who knows not of his magical world or of the power that resides
An elemental who's all but frightened by the trials and tribulations he may need to face
A young, curious, red-headed hero, just like the last, who will finally cure the plague of corruption
The elemental who will bring the end to the deadly cycle of corruption, once and for all
I stared at the translation in confusion. I paged back and read through the first half again then turned the page over to read the second half. Still, it didn't make much sense.
"What could this mean...?" I muttered. If only Damian were here, he'd be able to interoperate this easily. But I knew that I had to act alone. I couldn't let my friends get in trouble again. I wouldn't.
I read over the second translation again and again, trying to make sense of it. And the more I read, the more certain lines started to stand out.
"Beyond the ten worlds..." I muttered. "The shadow is his flame...?"
I finally started to piece together what this second half of the prophecy meant. After reading through the first half one more time. If the first half was about the Corrupted King making his return, then the second half must've been about his defeat, and the elemental who would do it. And it didn't take too ling to start piecing together who it was either.
"Shadow of his flame... that makes this person a fire elemental, and a male... Beyond the ten realms... Hmm, could it be that this elemental isn't from the elemental realm? Maybe his parents were born here, and he was born somewhere else but then came to live here? An elemental who knows not of his magical world or of the power that resides...?" I let out a chuckle. "This elemental actually sounds a little like me."
That's when the realization struck.
It all started to make sense. The elemental in the second half of the prophecy was a male fire elemental, just like me. It spoke of how the elemental was young and curious, both of which were traits that I had. It also spoke about how this elemental knew nothing about the elemental realm, or that they were from there, just like me...
All at once the pieces finally started to fit together, and the picture that they formed was clear as day.
"The elemental in the prophecy... the one who's destined to end corruption once and for all..." I muttered, still letting the realization sink in. Thoughts suddenly started to pound at my skull, echoing as they did. The sounds of crickets chirping and the soft howling of wind outside seemed to dissipate, the entire world around me started to grow silent.
"...that elemental, is me."
About a million other thoughts started to flood my mind almost instantly. I was the elemental in the second half of the prophecy. I was destined to end corruption. But, if that's the case, am I gonna fight the Corrupted King? Does the fate of the entire realm rest on my shoulders now? Am I gonna get corrupted? Are the innocent elementals of this realm gonna get corrupted? What if I fail? Can I fail? No, I can't fail. Can I...? Is everything on me now...?
"God, your mind moves at the same speed that Zappers run."
The candle went out suddenly. My head whipped around behind me, my eyes quickly examining the dark room to find the source of the voice that just spoke to me. I jumped over the table and found myself in the middle of the room, going into one of the fighting stances that Silva taught me. I looked around frantically, a small flame sputtering in my hand. The voice rang again.
"What's the matter, Alexander Fier? Did I startle you?"
I turned to the corner of the room, catching a glimpse of glowing purple smoke, before the voice spoke again.
"Ha! It seems the curious 'Red-Haired Hero' the prophecy speaks of is nothing more than a startled, nosy teen. Then again, I've known that for a while."
I turned to the chair, only to see it spinning around as if someone just got up. I felt a presence behind me.
"A pathetic excuse for a hero, really."
I thrust my fist back, engulfing it in my fire. But I didn't feel anything connect. I turned behind me and saw nothing in the dim light of the office. The dim light...
My fire was getting weaker...
"Damnit..." I muttered.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. It really is a shame Alex." The voice rang again. I turned to the table, finding no one there. I gritted my teeth, starting to get irritated at the taunting.
"Show yourself!"
There was a subtle silence in the room. It gave me no more than a second to process everything. The voice that's been taunting me sounded familiar, eerily familiar. I didn't get much more time to think as the flame in my hand went out, plunging the room in complete darkness.
I felt the same presence appear behind me. I tried to turn my head, but found myself locked in place. I couldn't move at all.
"I commend you, Fier, not only for going out of your way to find the truth and satisfy that curiosity that you never could control, but for also discovering your fate."
I felt my heart thud against my chest violently. A pair of purple glowing eyes then pierced through the blackness of the room, a certain shade of purple that made them look... faded, but somehow still vibrant.
"But, unfortunately for you, this prophecy won't be coming true any time soon."
With a snap of his fingers, I found myself falling through the floor through a black and purple void. After a split second, I hit the ground with a hard and painful *thud*. I let out a groan as I slowly picked myself up, clutching my arm.
"Owww." I muttered. I looked around and found myself in the training arena, completely illuminated by the light of the full moon. I took in its beauty for a second.
"A beautiful sight, isn't it? Its a shame though... its the last thing you'll ever see."
I looked behind me, and my eyes flew wide open, both in horror, and pure shock. The figure behind me was dressed in a black tailcoat with a dull purple trim and a purple to gradient on the underside of the coat. Under his tailcoat was a pair of black ripped jeans and boots. His hands were covered with black fingerless gloves and he had a pale grey scarf wrapped around his neck, the ends of which looked burnt and tattered. I glanced up at his hooded face. Under his hood I caught a glimpse of the edge of his lips being pulled back in a villainous smile.
"Who are you...?" I asked, trying my hardest to sound brave. My fear wasn't well masked.
"I don't know, Alex. You tell me." He lowered his hood, and I glanced up at his face, terrified. Although his hair was slicked back, his facial features were recognised immediately. I found myself taking a step back, shaking my head.
"No..." I muttered. He laughed maniacally, seemingly salivating.
"Yes, young flamer, though your mind may refuse to believe it, it really is me." He placed one hand on his chest and another behind his back as he bowed.
"The one and only, Andreas Bliss."
~~~~~
Author's Notes
Okay, before you say anything, yes. I know this chapter got pretty messy at the end, and that you probably saw the reveal of the second half of the prophecy coming. And yes, Bliss's reveal may not have been a surprise at all to a lot of you either. But to those who didn't immediately piece things together in the last chapter, SURPRISE! Bliss is working for the Corrupted King. BIG shocker there. I'm not entirely happy with how I structured this reveal, but this is the best I managed to come up with, and it's good enough for me, and I'm not spending another second writing this chapter. So, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you in the next one.
-BlueBoyHalo14