The help Aya so desperately needed was dashing towards her, cutting through the winds with terrifying speed. But no matter how fast Dorian and Vanessa were, they were too late.
Dorian gripped his dragon-hilted sword, slick with a darkness that clung like tar. His long trench coat was tousled by the wind, the metallic straps across his chest rattling with the items they held.
Besides him, Vanessa, the 'mother' of the three, pressed a hand to her hat to keep the gusts of wind from tearing it away. She trod over the snow, mana bursting from her legs in sharp bursts, amplifying her speed.
As for the forest where Aya and Xerxes had fought... it was no longer just a forest. The air bled with mana coagulating with one another. There was magical chaos - wind, fire, earth, water and something else. Something foreign and indistinguishable.
The fire from the forest continued to grow and was even potent enough to be felt almost a hundred metres away. Then, heat rolled its way across the field and suddenly, with the force of a dying star, a brilliant explosion engulfed the entire battlefield in light and chaos.
Snow and ash howled in the wind.
Vanessa's cry cracked through the roar of the explosion. "Dorian!"
Oddly, he was counting from 4 seconds. His grip tightened on his sword as black streams of power licked the blade's edge.
"Three."
He bent his knees, coiled like a spring
"Two."
The air quaked with the roll of fire approaching them.
"One."
Dorian leapt towards the sky, raising his blade, and with unrelenting power emanating from his sword, he timed a slash perfectly and roared:
"Sikarys' Flame!"
He spun through the air, not intending to slash at the flames or anything else; instead, in a blazing arc, he struck an angle of the snow. Upon impact, the white blanket of protection climbed through the air, creating a barrier between Aya and the shockwave.
The snow absorbed most of the impact, but there was still enough force to break through, hurling Aya into the ground like a ragdoll.
He spun through the air, slashing not at the shockwave, but at a particular angle of the snow. Upon impact of the ariel slash of flames, the white blanket of protection climbed through the air, creating a barrier between Aya and the explosion.
Collectively, all their ears rang. Deafening, endless ringing. The three clutched their ears tightly, trying to protect themselves.
Vanessa, once collecting herself, rushed towards Aya with no hesitation. She held Aya, clutching her in her arms and didn't let go, like a mother who had given birth to a newborn, refusing to let that child go.
"You'll be fine, darling. I promise. Just stay with me. Please... stay with me." Her voice was hoarse as she held her. Any slight touch made Aya grimace. Her eyebrows were furrowed. Noticing this, Vanessa immediately tried to comfort her.
A green light emitted from her hands, as layers of green mana flooded Aya's broken body. Blood unwound into glowing particles, vanishing in the air. Aya's skin shimmered faintly under the spell, but her expression was hollow, lost.
Behind them, Dorian stood silent. His ebon eyes were fixated on the burning forest that reflected crimson in his pupils. With an almost expressionless face, he asked. "Aya.." His voice rasped. "Where is Xerxes?"
Though he tried to remain calm, his eyes vocalised every one of his emotions. Worry, doubt and fear.
Vanessa, who was originally too enticed by Aya's condition, also wondered where Xerxes was. Panic didn't have the leverage to settle in slowly, as she realised he wasn't here with her. Vanessa felt her heart thud with colour beginning to drain from her face - fearing what she may say.
Aya remained silent. After all, what she saw was the most horrific thing she had ever experienced. Her vision turned cloudy, her body feeling cold and dull when reminiscing on her memory of the battle.
She wanted to tell them, she wanted to tell them how idiotic she was for taking this mission, for how stupid she was for not being more careful, how she was a liar for telling Xerxes this mission would be okay and regret for even meeting Xerxes that day, which had now subjugated him to such a horrific death.
She knew saying it would make it feel more real, that she saw him be incinerated and engulfed by those flames. His smile knowing she would be able to escape, and that he accepted death so easily.
Aya opened her mouth, but there were no words that came out. It was like she was choking on her words; each mumble was pressed back into her. However, Dorian, who was concerned for someone who had become a brother to him, pressed on sharply, as if he was interrogating her.
"What happened to our brother, what happened to Xerxes? Tell me." He demanded, whilst not even glancing at her.
Aya, not even knowing how to answer it in a way that made it seem acceptable, decided to just say it whilst covering her eyes with her forearm.
"Xerxes died protecting me."
Vanessa froze. The spell faltered. "What...did you say?" She asked with a nervous laugh.
"What did you say Aya..?" She asked to be sure what she just heard was real.
She hesitated and said it one more time, with her experiencing the same feeling all over again. "He died, Vanessa, we thought. No, I thought it would be okay to secretly take this mission; I wanted you all to be proud of me. I didn't mean for this to happen, I promise Vanessa, I did not want Xerxes to die."
Vanessa's face hardened, but grief drowned the edges. Words failed her. Vanessa's concentration on her healing incantation was slowly breaking, as there was nothing she could say.
What would she do? Lecture Aya for being so stupid. Cry because she knew it was ultimately her fault for leaving the kids unattended? She didn't know what she could do, and that was apparent by how she was acting.
Aya's pleading sounded incoherent as her mind drifted off, her whole mind beginning to revolve around Xerxes and her memory of him.
She was an adventurer, and throughout her time as an adventurer, many people close to her have died, and yes, there were tears that were shed, then there was heartbreak, but this felt different. She remembered his face when they had first found him.
It was right after the war with beast and man, roughly 12 years ago, 732 PGWoS. Her party had divided off into different groups, with her leading one section of the party and the other adventurer Jeshur Idonis leading the other.
They were tasked with recovery and saving anyone who was in need of help.
Nostalgia filled her mind as she looked up at the fallen kingdom, and then memories began flurrying in her head: a little boy who was crying, his small purple hair so alluring to her, the abandoned child in need calling for help.
She tried for years to find out who his parents were and eventually narrowed it down to them being dead, and with no one who could take care of him, she decided to stop being a full-time adventurer and raise Xerxes as her own.
Her son.
Rocking him within her arms, naming him Xerxes, and teaching him how to use mana.
She learned how to love family again, she learned how to have dreams that superseded her desire to be a great adventurer, and that was to raise Xerxes, the boy who was found in a war-torn battle close to the fallen kingdom, into a man who could stand confidently in the world,, carrying the flame of Vanessa's dreams into his own.
So what was this feeling? To Vanessa, it could only be described as a catharsis of emotion, all fuelled into one singular thing, rage, pity, and despair moulded into shape to form her tragedy. She didn't know how to process this level of anguish and stayed still, not daring to do anything. If she moved, if time was able to carry on, then he would really be gone, wouldn't he?
On the contrary, Dorian heard nothing; there were thoughts of sorrow and rage that were similar to Vanessa's. His head wasn't exactly clear, but foggy; there was a flurry of varying emotions, his thoughts overpowering Aya's crying that became like a background muffle.
With the way he has always known, he decided to be there for his brother, not wanting to accept reality.
He bent his legs, tightening his hold upon his sword, with a cloud of snow forming from a blitz of movement through the land straight towards the forest, as the sound of Aya calling out to him became distant, with him travelling as fast as he could.
He reached the entrance of the forest in a few minutes as the noise of crackling fire snapped within his ears. Dorian looked around, his expression darkening, seeing the carnage that was unleashed.
"How did this even happen? Is this the power of a beast from The Fallen Kingdom?" He asked.
Doubt slowly began to creep into his body, his hopes becoming slim that he was still alive, that Xerxes was here with him. Even if he was just deluding himself, he wasn't going to give up yet.
His voice cracked as he called, "Xerxes!" He slowly walked into the forest, but there was no response as he began slicing past branches, with him going to the most previous point of mana density and in his path, there was only destruction.
He tried for another time, nervously trying to talk casually as if Xerxes was right in front of him, "Xerxes, if your stubborn ass is still here, please say something." However, there was nothing until he tripped.
"What?" Dorian looked down at what he tripped upon, and his eyes widened as his breathing felt forced with heavy breaths. He didn't want to believe it was what he was seeing; it was his arm. That was his arm, wasn't it, and his sword had almost melted; this couldn't be.
Frantically, Dorian looked down and then didn't care if the flames burned him, he hurried towards the most mana-dense part of the forest, rushing through the blaze that was in front of him.
Dorian had been around fire for most of his life; he understood it very deeply. It was like a language that he could read, just by the motion of the flames, the direction they swayed, the illumination and potency they had, and he knew exactly what he was seeing.
Xerxes' body wasn't here anymore; there wasn't a soul fragment, there wasn't anything of him left. The flames danced in tragedy.
Dorian was confident about it; he knew when he made a mistake, but nothing in his head told him what he wanted to believe. The flames didn't give him any sign of hope either.
Dorian solemnly crouched down and picked up a small necklace Xerxes had worn, which was given by Vanessa as a gift on his 10th birthday. It was a necklace that had all of our initials, D. X. V. A. Though the silver had begun to melt, Dorian didn't care about the pain it caused. How much pain did Xerxes go through? He held it and raised it close to his chest.
He wasn't one to show his emotions to others; he kept them in, not wanting anyone to know how vulnerable he was, but there was only so much he could do. His knees buckled, and he dropped, with tears streaming out of his eyes, as he slammed an enclosed fist into the ground.
"Damn you." He cried whilst slamming his hand down again. He then screamed, "DAMN YOU MONSTERS." In a repetitive cycle, his rage was uncontrolled, with his hands bloody from the number of times he was pummelling the ground and after some time.
A gentle hand was placed on his shoulder. He looked back instantly, hoping it was Xerxes.
But when he turned around, he saw Vanessa, as he shook his head left and right whilst biting his lip, his eyes still filled with tears, as Vanessa pulled his head close to her chest, giving him comfort as that day Xerxes was gone.
***
The ride back had no words; their emotional states were too damaged and told a story in themselves. Mr Hilt didn't dare to speak or even demand money; he rode his carriage for the next few hours, as Mr Hilt even had tinges of sadness. Despite not knowing the boy too well, he still learned to respect him.
He gave his condolences and dropped them close to the foot of the hill, where the guild hall was located.
Dorian and Vanessa walked back to the guild. Vanessa was holding Aya, and her state, even with healing magic, was bad. They walked up the steps to the small hill where the Crossed Seas Guild was.
They saw the wooden gates, with the main members of the guild stationed at the door, anticipating the arrival of the two young adventurers who had foolishly and recklessly left.
The guild master saw the small party arriving back, but not whole. He quickly ran outside and asked in a panic, "By the heavens, Vanessa, what's happened?"
Vanessa's voice was dulled, numb to her usual joy, and she flatly said, "Guild Master Tully, Aya's in bad condition; she needs immediate support and healing magic. Dorian's hands are burned. He isn't in a great deal of pain, just get them healed, please."
Master Tully looked with confusion visible on his face, "What about my lad, what about Xerxes?" He questioned.
All of their faces described everything he needed to know, as Vanessa simply said, "He's dead, Master Tully, and I wasn't here for them. I was too busy doing quests instead of focusing my attention on where the kids needed it the most, and now my son is dead."
Everyone's faces in the guild became gloomy, with Aya and Dorian being immediately rushed to the head healer within the Crossed Seas guild, and Vanessa fell towards the guild master, resting her head on his shoulder.
Master Tully patted her back, "Let it out Nessa, let it out." Vanessa, past the shock of his initial death, began sobbing, drenching Master Tully's leather jacket with the tears of her despair, as the guild all mourned the death of Xerxes Draedon, who died at the age of 12 in the year 750 PGWoS (post Great War of Succession).
***
Pain. A raw, unbearable sensation gnawed at the edges of his existence. It wasn't just the searing agony; it was something underlying that feeling, that was clawing at his very soul.
His head lay against the damp earth, the sickly squelch of writhing worms filling the silence. The air was thick, stagnant and carried the stench of decay. Above him, the sky churned - a murky, shifting mass of colourless nothingness.
Was it day? Was it night? What was even happening? He couldn't tell; it was as if time and reality itself fractured.
Drops of rain slipped through the tangled canopy, cold pinpricks against his burning skin, but something felt strange.
This rain had taste, this rain had a pricking sensation when it dropped on his body. It was a new feeling besides burning, and this was what he needed to bring him back to reality.
A ragged breath came from him as his fingers twitched against the soil, and his eyes fluttered open.
Xerxes had awoken.