Both Colin and Safira trained for days on end with as little rest as possible. Their bodies had reached excellence for people who were not even in grade two in their Primary Trees.
The process of constant fatigue and recovery had given both of them some muscle, especially Colin, who had a very athletic body.
Safira even seemed to have grown a few centimeters, and her hair was longer, past her shoulders.
They were in a completely deserted cottage. There wasn't even a single piece of furniture to decorate it.
The fairy had said that their bodies had already reached the limit for their current level. Now it was time to prepare their minds to finally raise the level of their Primary Trees.
Colin and Safira waited in the corner while Brighid drew her magic circle by hand, using her hands and chalk.
After almost an hour, the fairy sighed: "I've finished!" she said, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Now just hope I haven't got anything wrong!"
"And if I'm wrong?" Colin's voice trembled slightly, a chink in the armor of his confidence. "What will happen to us?"
"Their bodies will be consumed by the void, torn to shreds."
The silence that followed was torturous. However, their faith in Brighid was unshakable, forged by days of trials that had solidified their trust in the fairy.
Colin took a deep breath, finding a firm resolution in the midst of uncertainty.
"Then there's no time to lose."
He stood up. Safira hesitated, a glimmer of doubt shading her eyes. But Colin's confidence was his anchor, and if he believed in Brighid, so would she.
The fairy took up her position at the epicenter of the circle, her hands joined in a gesture of concentration.
Colin took his place to the south, while Safira positioned herself to the north.
"Adopt the lotus position," Brighid instructed, her voice now a whisper of ancient power.
Colin obeyed, bending his legs. "And what exactly will this trigger?" he asked, curiosity tingeing his tone.
"You're connected to your Primary Trees, but the seeds haven't sprouted yet." Brighid began to explain, her eyes closed as she concentrated. "What I will do is water those seeds, awakening them to life. Under normal circumstances, this would require perfect celestial alignment. But the magic circle I've created will simulate that alignment, forcing the constellations to align within this sacred space."
Colin swallowed, feeling the weight of the magic that was beginning to pulsate around them, a prelude to what was to come.
Brighid was a living encyclopedia, after all, that tiny being was over 1300 years old.
"Concentrate!" Brighid's voice rang out with an authority that reverberated down to the soul. "What happens next will be a reflection of your essence. You may be granted a glimpse of the deities who weave the destiny of your trees. With luck, they will grant you arcane gifts, invaluable tools that will grow in power as you ascend. Get ready!"
Colin and Safira swallowed, a knot of anxiety and anticipation forming in their throats. The ritual was risky, but the promised rewards were treasures beyond mortal comprehension.
Safira, whose essence was marked by the seal of the Seven Fallen, felt terror intertwine with excitement. The unknown awaited—an abyss of possibilities and dangers.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them erupted in a spectacle of blinding white light, bathing the hut in a heavenly glow. Brighid, with her eyes sealed shut, and her hands joined in prayer, looked like a statue of devotion, her veins pulsing with the supernatural effort required by the incantation.
Around the circle, reality began to twist, a cosmic vortex swallowing everything in its voracity. Stars, planets, and galaxies danced in a chaotic ballet, a whirlpool of creation and destruction.
Colin felt the crushing pressure, as if he were submerged in the abyssal depths of the cosmos. And then the darkness enveloped him, poignant and absolute, until a spark of light broke through the vastness.
He found himself alone, the presence of Safira and Brighid fading, confronted only by the solitary light that flickered in front of him. Panting and bathed in sweat, Colin rose with effort and approached the light, drawn to it like an insect to a flame.
As he touched the luminous orb, a blinding flash enveloped him, and when his eyes opened again, he was in front of a spectacle of life and color. A garden of exotic flora stretched out around him, and in front of him, a colossal tree of deep blue rose, its roots intertwined with the very fabric of the universe.
"Incredible," whispered Colin, his voice a mere breath before the majesty of the sight.
The tree pulsed with luminescent runes, each emitting a neon-blue glow that wove a network of energy around it. Colin reached out and touched the sacred trunk, and instantly, he felt himself launched on an odyssey of light and shadow, a journey that passed through him as fast as his thoughts.
◊❱───────⸂◍⸃───────❰◊
Safira was immersed in a fiery ocean, where flames danced in a ballet of destruction and rebirth. All around her, the world was burning in a spectacle of raging volcanoes, but she, paradoxically, was in a state of ecstasy, bathed in a feeling of fullness she had never experienced before.
In front of her stood a colossal tree, its leaves a bright red that burned like the grandest of bonfires. The tree seemed alive, calling her name with a whisper that intertwined with the crackling of the flames.
With measured steps, Safira advanced towards the tree. A cynical, cartoonish smile appeared on her once gentle face, a reflection of the transformation taking place inside her. As she touched the burning trunk, a wave of energy swept through her, launching her on a transcendental journey at the speed of light.
Back in reality, Colin and Safira opened their eyes simultaneously, confronted with the sight of Brighid, still in a trance, blood dripping from her nose.
The magic circle oscillated, as unstable as the fate they were weaving. Brighid, with a fit of coughing, expelled blood, and for a moment, the circle lost its luster.
Then, like a clap of thunder, an explosion shook the room, throwing them up in the air like leaves in the wind. The detonation reverberated through the nearby houses, waking the village with a tremor that heralded a new era.
Colin, thrown meters away, rose from the shadows of the bushes. Blue sparks enveloped his body like a blanket of stars, his clothes in tatters. His eyes were fixed on the now burning hut.
"Brighid!" The word escaped his lips in a desperate cry.
He tried to move, but an invisible force held him still. Looking up, he witnessed the fire being consumed in a vortex, extinguished as quickly as it had appeared.
Safira, with her hand outstretched, dominated the flames, drawing them towards the magic circle engraved on her palm, a portal to a mysterious power.
Putting in more effort than usual, Colin walked in slowly, almost dragging steps closer to Safira, watching her with some kind of admiration and awe.
Colin turned and saw Brighid slumped over, fighting for every breath, her blood dyeing the ground a dark red.
"Brighid!" Colin's shout tore through the silence as he threw himself to the ground beside the fairy. "What the fuck! What can I do to help you?"
For the first time since he had set foot in that world, despair overtook Colin.
Safira, her eyes wide with dread, was a step behind him, sharing the same terror.
"Brighid!" The urgency in Safira's voice was evident. "How can we help? Please help us!"
With a weak gesture, Brighid signaled for Colin to step back.
Then, with trembling fingers, she began to trace runes on her forehead, using the blood as ink. Brighid's wounds began to close, as if time were being reversed before her eyes.
She stood up, a violent cough shaking her frail body, as if she were trying to expel her very soul. After a moment that seemed like an eternity, Brighid's breathing stabilized.
"What are those faces?" asked the fairy, a crooked smile playing on her pale lips. "I'm alive, but what about you? How are you feeling?"
Colin cast a cautious glance at Safira. An aura of power emanated from her, a strength that seemed to ellipse his own. With no knowledge of magic, she had dispelled the inferno of flames with a gesture.
"That girl… better keep an eye on her." Colin pondered quietly.
"We're… alive," he replied, his voice a mixture of relief and confusion. "But what happened?"
Brighid ran a hand over the back of her neck, her smile now tinged with embarrassment.
"I underestimated you… I didn't think your magic was that latent. No one has ever forced the awakening of two different trees at the same time… and I don't think anyone has ever forced the awakening of a fallen, have they?"
"What does that mean, Mr. Elf?" asked old Betidor, standing next to the villagers holding hoes and axes.
Colin stood up with the dignity of an ancient warrior, interposing himself between his companions and the furious mob.
"We were training and something got out of hand, but it's been sorted out."
"Has it been resolved?" asked the old man, furious. "You could have caused a tragedy!"
"Lucky for you that you were far away from the dwellings, monsters!" one of the men shouted, his hand clenched around the handle of his axe.
Colin bent over.
"I'm sorry about that… I take full responsibility for what happened here."
The villagers hesitated, their expressions contorted with contempt. If they'd had the courage, they would have said more, but they just cast disgusted glances at the three adventurers.
"Tsk… Remember, Elf, our pact is about to expire. You'd better do your part and exterminate that demon," warned Betidor, walking away with his entourage.
Brighid felt the weight of guilt crushing her chest. If she hadn't wavered, none of this would have happened.
"Colin, I…"
"It wasn't your fault. I was the one who accepted the demon's contract. If you have to blame anything or anyone, blame me."
There were only two days left until the clash with the demon. What was left was training—the fusion of their basic skills with the ancestral power of the trees.
Time was a luxury they didn't have, and every moment had to be made the most of.