It was like snuffing out a candle, backing the other soul into a corner and keeping it in check. They moved as one toward the wall, and looking through Roque’s eyes, he could see the light calling them. Calling him. He moved, Roque’s memories telling him that it was surrounded by magic, shielded by it. It was created by the professors, and out of their loyalty, no questions came. They moved, and the wall transformed for the only person it would.
Roque.
Gold infused pillars appeared before them like smoke, shimmering but not fully solid. Not fully real. In between them, a small shelf was created, and an ordinary weathered book lay in the middle.
They stepped closer, and inky words sprawled in the air before them, appearing from nothing.
“I can be fickle, yet strong.
Attained, yet used,
Desired, yet shunned.
What am I?”
Pausing, Adair impatiently read through the riddle. Shifting through memories, he knew if he answered wrong the consequences would be dire. Roque fought against him, his feeble attacks laughable, and Adair sunk him deeper in the folds of his ability. As that darkness tightened around him, drowning them both, the answer became clear, and Roque faded into nothing.
Smiling, Adair still controlling Roques body, whispered, “I am the truth.”
The words disappeared at his deep voice, melting and dripping away any shield, laying the book bare before him. The light disappeared, the essence that had drawn him forward, whisking away with the gold pillars in a cloud of sparkling mist.
“Adair,” those familiar and icy whispers sounded.
Excitement trickled into his stomach.
“Adair.”
Reaching for it, Roque’s hand shook. The voices cooed, wrapping around him, comforting yet still foreign. The world vanished behind him, and he barely breathed as he picked it up.
The front cover flipped open, the pages flailing wildly in an unseen wind. Smoke stirred only the spine and started to ooze out of the book, circling him. Breathing heavily, Adair watched as his veins and skin were drenched in the same smoke, one trailing after the other, a cosmic pull. Uncontrollable and undeniable.
The power of the book collided with them, and the world exploded.
Shards of smoke flattened and crystalized into pools of black shimmering mirrors that made up his surroundings, as he freefell through space and time. Capturing glances, his reflection showed him in his true body, his jacket flapping wildly and his unkept hair. Choking back his screams, he fought gravity, plummeting faster, his eyes burning from the wind.
Deeper and deeper, he fell, his hands grappling for anything to hold on to. To stop. Faster and faster, he was pulled, the mirrors intensifying around him. Distorted flashes of himself were splayed in them, his wide eyes and mouth open.
But then in the darkness, those pale faces and sickening smiles reflected at him, so fast he barely thought he saw them correctly. But all around him, captured in the flawless surfaces, those creatures that haunted his waking moments followed him down into the darkness.
Gritting his teeth together, he pressed his eyes closed, tears seeping from his lids as he plummeted. The wind howled all around him, and sharp giggles tainted them, making a sick orchestra climbing and crashing around him. Always, they played just for him.
His breath wheezed out of him, his eyes flying open. Underneath him, the light curled around his body, weaving together likes vines, cradling him. Choking on his panic, a manic laugh bubbled from his lips. Patting his body down, he was in one piece.
Beneath him, the light started to pulse once more, a soft and comforting heat flooding through him. On shaking legs, he stood slowly, and the light unfurled. Before his eyes, a beautiful and intricate staircase formed, leading him into the unknown of this place.
Magic hung heavy in the air, and Adair paused, looking up into the darkness. Back to where he had come from.
Straightening his jacket and popping his collar up, he breathed deeply, wrenching his gaze forward: to where a world of mystery and enchantment sparked to life before him.
The staircase had solidified, its curving rails inlaid with a deep green hue, the staircase itself, having bled out any color, turning it into a shimmering black. Embers floated around him, silver instead of fiery tones. They spun lazily through the air, creating the illusion of a starry sky, each constellation blinking into existence.
His steps echoed as he walked, slow and unsure.
“Adair Stratton, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.” The voice was smooth and commanding, filling with promise.
“Who’s there?” His voice was surprisingly steady, and he was thankful for that. Internally, he was quaking, the shards of his old self and life ripping away, fading.
Reaching the bottom, his boot hit the floor, and a hissing filled his senses. Twisting, particle by particle, the stairs dissolved, floating up to become one with the shadows around him. Swallowing hard, he forced his body to move forward.
“It is not so much who, but what.” The voice shook through the marrow of his bones, steady and resilient.
“I’ve had enough of riddles for one day, thanks. Where am I?” His questions echoed, bouncing off walls unseen to him.
Instead of answering, before him the ground tilted, and he slipped down. Finding his balance, Adair steadied himself, his eyes adjusting to the pristine light emitting from the pool before him. The surface was so still, it looked like glass. Below, the water crystals made up the bottom of the pool, their defined edges emitting a dazzling display of colors: greens, golds, blues, reds, all sparkled up at him as he lowered himself onto his knees before its edge. He was enraptured.
“Come closer, to find your truth.”
Complying, he leaned forward, blinking down at his reflection. Then, the water churned, plunging him into darkness as the crystals winked out. His breath came fast, and he couldn’t rip himself away. Before him, in the swirling waters, a world formed that he didn’t recognize.
Flames consumed everything, whisking away the capital, the Academy.
