Iheld her gaze one more moment before she dissolved backinto the light streaming throughout the forest.Eachtree was illuminated in her soft blue glow.Ireached back forAbraxaswith my mind and found the tiniest ember of emerald fire.Icradled it and pulled it along the fragile tether of our bond.Itwas just an ember, a spark.Butthe tiniest sparks are all it takes to light the mightiest fires, so that’s whatIdid.
Thetree under my hand erupted in emerald flame.Iwatched the embers leap to consume tree after tree until the heat was unbearable.Ireleased my grip and turned back toAbraxas.Themagic didn’t need my guidance anymore, and in another minute, the entire forest would be up in flames.
Isat down in the crook ofAbraxas’ arm and placed my hand as close asIcould to his heart.Sweatbeaded on my brow and the back of my neck.Thecave was doing its job, holding the heat from the fire in.Iwas in the heart of the forge, and hopefully,Icould craft something new from it.
Ireached out toAbraxas, feeling the shadows that were ready to strike, ready to consume him.Asthe fire roared behind me,Icould feel them quake.Itmade them desperate to claw at him.ButIwould never let them.Theyshould tremble in fear.
Ipulled from the heat of the cave, the rampant destruction of the forest.Deathwas the beginning, and as the forest burned, the magic of life sprung forth.
JustasIhad learned to summon the mana of the earth,Ifelt the lifeforce of the forest swirling around me.Myheart felt like it was trying to claw itself out of my chest, butIslowed my breath and tugged at those threads that wove our world together.Manafrom below, life from above, and they intertwined into something new and powerful in my heart.Threadspulled and lashed, trying to tangle into an irreversible knot, but my heart continued to beat, andIguided them.Itfelt... natural, as ifIhad always known how.Andthe threads of mana and life formed into a perfect tapestry of white light, like a newborn star.
Ichanneled that light through me and into those shadows, burning them away.Theyshrieked an otherworldly sound.Nowait, that was me.Asthe magic ripped through my insides, my flesh burned away.
Thefire overtook us, butIwas not fireproof.AllIsaw was green light, and the pain was beyond reckoning.Iwatched as my flesh sizzled away into nothing.Butas fast as it disintegrated,Isaw it healing, the torn edges glowing with white light.Iwould heal just for it to be burned away again.Thecycle was endless, with no respite.ButstillIclung to him.Ifocused and pulled more and more mana from the earth and life from the flames.Ihealed andIburned, butIdid not stop.
Mylegs shook as my tears sizzled and evaporated from my eyes before they were even born.Myvision tunneled into a white blur as the pain swept me away.
Chapter 32
Abraxas
Atrickle of heat stirred me.Heat?Inthis gods-forsaken frozen wasteland?Thatgreat endless chaos was close now.Icould feel it already sucking me in.Wasthis the last bit of comfortIwould receive before the end?
Aflash of light, blinding in the endless darkness, came between me and that great pit.Toristepped through, golden, glowing, and warm.Shelay her hands on me, andIwas nothing but a man in the presence of a goddess.
“It’stime,Abraxas.”
Ihad waited so long, butIstill hesitated. “Whathave you done, my love?”
Shesmiled at me softly. “Ibroke the world to get back to you.”Icould feel it.Whathad started as a warm breeze was now a molten flow, fighting back the shadows that clung to me.Sheheld my face in both her hands and kissed me tenderly, as ifIstill might fall apart under her touch. “It’stime to wake up,Abraxas.”
Ishook my head, “Tori,Ihaven’t been the beast for centuries.Idon’t know what will happen ifIawaken.”
“Whenyou awaken,” she corrected me.
“Tori,”Ireached out and clutched her cheek, “Icould hurt you.Morethan that.Itwon’t be a dream any longer.”
“Youcould try.”Hervicious smile set me aflame. “Youwould have to catch me first.”
“Careful, little bird or you might get burned.”
“I’vealways liked to play with fire,Abraxas.”Sheslammed her hand to my chest, and dragonfire enveloped us both, but nothing shone as bright as her.
Chapter 33
Tori
Myeyes snapped open, and the fire still burned around us.Thevines that had embracedAbraxasfor so long lit up and blew away as embers on the wind.Malachiteflames enveloped us both.Theearth beneath my feet shattered.Thespring at the center of the cave bubbled.Still, the shadows clung to him.Theydug in their claws and fangs, unwilling to give up.
“He’smine!”Idove deeper into the earth untilIreached the molten core.Thecave floor gave way, and blue light spilled out of the earth.Chunksfell away, but still,Iclung to him.Underneaththat light, magma rose.Thelifeblood of our world consumed everything left of the forest.Ittook on a life of its own and spilled over the broken floor towardsAbraxas.Theshadows saw their end approach and tried to flee, butIdestroyed every last one.Ikilled them with green flames, blue mana, and the white light of my heart.Iburned, and they burned until there was nothing but light and silence.
“Wakeup, my love.”Iplaced a soft kiss on the end ofAbraxas’ snout.
Agreat beat, like a colossal drum, sounded through the cave.Beneaththe obsidian scales of his chest, his heartbeat grew stronger.Betweenhis scales, his viridian green dragonfire glowed, andIsaw its power swell as if he was absorbing all the magic around him.Ichanneled all that fire, life, and light through our bond.Itrushed into him until nothing but a vacuum was left around us.Themolten rock cooled, and the flames extinguished as every last drop of power was absorbed intoAbraxas’ glowing heart.
Aneternity passed in complete silence asIwaited, and the entire world held its breath.
Hiseye snapped open.Theyglowed like the sun with barely any green to be seen.Hestretched his great wings so they almost reached the roof of the cave.Hisjaw opened in a massive yawn as his tongue lolled out of his mouth.Hisenormous tail swished from side to side, smashing over the freshly formed rocks, obliterating them to rubble.Myheart didn’t beat.
