"Glimmer!" Whisperclaw shouts.
I open my eyes and see that I'm floating. Multicolored lights float off me in orbs, and I can see my bones through my skin. I remember what happened clearly. After getting our supplies back, Dawn led us to a secret door, which led us to this underground chamber. I remember feeling a massive amount of mana, and a beam of blue light blasted through my dad's chest. For some reason, though, I don't feel sad. If anything, I am freer than ever. I laugh, laugh so hard that tears pour down my face.
"Did I miss the joke?" A creature covered in silver lunges at me in slow motion.
The creature's voice sounds like Vanhiel's. Every urge to laugh leaves my body. I slam my hand into the creature's face. Multicolored sparks burst off as my hand contacts the creature, and I hold it up. By his mana, I can tell it's Vanhiel. I don't know how, but I recognize the electric blue. He's... smaller than before.
"Captain…" My eyes snap behind me. Uriel drops his sword and falls to his hands and knees. "...Shane was right! They are gods!"
"Kid? Are you still in there?" Loleo yells at me as everyone slowly circles.
Whisperclaw helps Ironvine limp over to Renald's motionless body. On the other side of the chamber, Goldenclaw and Liaz stare at me. Both look exhausted, and Liaz looks like he's walked through the abyss and back. Behind them is a semi-transparent wall made of a black gaseous substance, separating us from a room filled with countless women and children. They are chained to four obsidian pillars, which I observe pulling raw mana from the women and children. It's being channeled into the ground. I can tell that if they keep pulling mana at the same rate, the women and children will die soon.
Vanhiel twitches. I slam his head into the mana wall. I can't stop myself. I'm having fun. Multicolored sparks fly off every time I make contact. I do it again and again, just to watch the sparks. One more time, I keep telling myself, I just want to see that blue again. The mana wall shatters, and screaming fills the chamber, putting a stop to my fun.
"That didn't take much." I toss Vanhiel into the pillar farthest from the innocent people in the room.
He crashes into the pillar, which splits and shatters into two pieces and crumbles on top of him. The mana surging around the room dissipates instantly. I imagine how convenient it would be if the chains didn't exist. In a puff of blue smoke, the chains vanish. I look back into the other chamber, at Loleo and the others.
"Get the women and children to safety." My voice echoes across the room easily.
For a moment, nobody moves. Loleo shakes his head and yanks Uriel to his feet. He motions with his hands, and the other knights rush into the room, escorting as many women and children out as they can. I go to check on Renald, and I sense a powerful blast of mana flying towards me. I turn around, and everything begins to move in slow motion. A massive dragon made of blue electricity flies out of the rubble on Vanhiel and towards me. It's such a high concentration of mana that, if it strikes, it will explode and kill everyone in the chamber.
I imagine how funny it would be for the kids if the dragon turned into confetti. The electricity starts at the head and explodes into a mix of confetti and streamers that rain down. Through the falling party materials, Vanhiel stands. His eyes are bloodshot, and his body is a grotesque mixture of the yellow-scaled draken he once was and the silver-covered monster he's become. Most of the silver has peeled away, taking most of his scales with it, but leaving behind the elongated claws and wings.
"Why?" He screams. "Why? Why? Why? Why didn't it work? I sacrificed everything! Everything!"
I think about standing over him, and instantly, I'm there, looking down on him. He stares, mouth agape in fear, then drops to his knees, shivering. Tears of frustration pour down his face and onto the ground. I know that feeling well. The feeling of helplessness as everything around you crumbles.
"That-that saber…" Vanhiel mumbles. "...Blackthorn said I could win if I… sacrificed everything… so why?"
I want to feel sorry, I do. However, seeing tears stream down Vanhiel's face fills me with unfiltered ecstasy. I kick Vanhiel into the wall at the back of the chamber. More sparks fly off my foot on contact, and the kick shakes the entire room. I think about hitting him again, and suddenly I'm punching him in the ribs. His body bounces off the wall with every hit, and I can feel his scales shattering along with his bones. He screams more and more, louder and louder. I want him to suffer more, even more than he is now. This is so fun. Why have I never done this before?
I keep punching and punching. Each punch sends multicolored sparks flying out of my fists. The crater in the wall gets deeper and deeper. Eventually, the different colored sparks are replaced by a thick crimson that bathes the room. I can't think of anything else. I feel my joy fade and anger take root. I don't want red. I want blue. The same blue that killed him. The same blue that took my father from me.
"Glimmer." A heavy hand grabs my shoulder, halting my assault. "He's already dead. There's nothing left."
I look and am suddenly grabbed into a group hug by Ironvine and Whisperclaw. The light around me fades along with my ability to see the mana around me. Tears start to flow now. Tears of sadness, confusion, regret, and disbelief. It's over. It's finally over, but he didn't make it. My dad didn't make it. After all these years of running, we finally had a chance to understand each other, but it doesn't mean anything now. Hawk Wind, the king of bounty hunters, head of the House of Wind, and my father, is dead. I feel lightheaded.
"Guys…" is the only word I muster before my vision fades.
{Season 1 End}