I edged closer towards the archer, crouching a couple feet behind her, and felt myself poking at the lighter’s crystal. Nothing happened just yet. I was only feeling the mana, preparing it for when it was needed.
I looked at the fighting, and focused entirely on my mom. Even while injured, she was fast. I could barely keep up. It was almost completely a blur. My mom could swing her scythe and cast her spells in the same motion. But she was still in trouble. Still injured. And I wanted to help her. But I could not— not just yet. So, I waited.
I saw my mom spin, the scythe’s shaft on her lower back as she completed a turn. I saw my mom strike the man who shone at the impact, stumbling back uninjured but exhausted. I saw my mom stab at the man with the spear, who stepped back to dodge it. Then I saw my mom raise her weapon— Now!
I threw the lighter as hard as I could. I pushed the mana in the crystal to explode as gently as I could. I hoped that maybe that would delay the explosion by a second, and it would not just blow up on me. And somehow, it worked.
The lighter left my hand, as my mom threw a spell at the spearman, and charged the shielder. The archer was prepared for it. She simply adjusted her aim slightly to intercept my mom, and was about to loose an arrow, when the lighter exploded right behind her head.
The explosion was not big. It did not carry as much force or power as the one that killed the Chimera, but it was enough to knock me to the ground a couple feet back. It was nowhere near as effective against the archer, but it served its purpose: the archer stumbled forward, accidentally fired her arrow, causing her to miss her target. It bought only a momentary reprieve for my mom, but it was enough.
My mom rushed the shielder unhindered, and swung at him. His shield glowed blue as the purple edge of the scythe came into contact with it, forcing him a step back. Using the scythe’s center as a fulcrum, my mom brought her entire body with it, going straight for his shield. The pole of the scythe struck the side of it, creating magical flames at the impact. The magic of the flames and the magic of the shield repelled each other, causing both the flames and the blue light to dissipate. The barrier would have returned a moment later, but it was too late.
I watched as my mom’s scythe sliced through the shielder’s neck, killing him instantly. It only took a second. After the first hit, it only took a single spin from my mom to both disable his defenses, and end his life. I could not help by gawk at how amazing my mom was, which was probably why I didn’t notice the archer turning to face me.
If I was paying attention, I would’ve seen her turn to me in anger. If I was paying attention, I would’ve seen her anger contort into terror. I only noticed her when she gasped.
"You— the Fiend?!"
I looked up and saw her drawing her bow at me. I immediately tensed. This is where I die, I thought. The archer already had an arrow on her bow and was about to pull it back, when her head flew off her body.
I blinked as the body crumpled to the ground. Blood splattered on me, but I did not pay attention to it. Because I saw my mom standing there. Over where the archer once was, my mother locked eyes with me and smiled.
"Melas," spoke my mom, voice gentle and full of love.
My lips slowly curled to a smile, and I opened my mouth to speak. But all that came out was a shout. A shout of pure agony. Pain filled my entire being, one unlike anything I had felt before. I screamed and felt it in my heart, in my bones, and in my soul. I screamed, but it was not a physical pain. It was an emotional one.
A golden beam of light blasted straight through my mom’s chest. The beam lasted mere seconds, but it left behind nothing. Nothing but a gaping hole where my mom’s chest once was. And then she fell.
My mother fell.
I screamed.
Chapter 9: Destiny's Child
I screamed.
My voice came out reactively. It held not words with any meaning, yet it conveyed more than words ever could. It was a scream of pure and simple agony. My mother lay on the ground, unmoving. Dead.
So I screamed as loud as I could, but I didn’t hear it. I couldn’t hear it. The world went quiet all around me as I screamed; my body went numb, and my legs gave out. I crumpled to the floor where I stood, my voice slowly giving out. Tears streamed down from my face, and my mouth hung open in a silent shout.
I never even realized that I lost my voice.
I stared at the blurry picture of my mom’s body, and felt my head spin as I tried to process what had happened. Was this real? Was this actually happening? I did not know.
No. I knew what was happening— I understood clearly what had happened. Even though my vision was muddled and my hearing was gone, I knew that my mother was dead. My mom, the only reason I had to live in this world— the only person I truly love in this world— was dead.
More tears began to fall, and I could no longer see. Everything was dark, the world around me lost its light as water blocked my vision. With no sound and no sight, the world was empty.
At some point, my head must have
