Do you believe in magic?
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFG9QQZo9k
Well, I do. All my life I knew that there must be more to our bland and poor world. Something beyond all the pain and something not reliant on absent sky fathers.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb618yMM8EF
No.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhEGF72UIN
What I seek is something with substance. Something that can benefit all of humanity. Something I think I found on that day. March 25th, 2025 is the day I rediscovered wonder and uncovered humanity’s sins.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqEYFjdMcx
I walk out of my comfy tent and into the desert ash. I covered my mouth and glared at my poor research assistant.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgbt84Xmtzs
“Bob, you better not have called me in the middle of the night for something stupid again.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyHwHnYkuY
“N-No mam, I-I’m positive we have something for you to see.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlELB6OOrG8
“You better, I helped dig all day yesterday. It’s your turn to sweat.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6owyUKeRbk
“I know, don’t worry though. I found something I know you’ll find interesting. Follow me.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEGK45jFj4
Bob finally led us out of this fine weather and toward the research cabin. It’s beat up and covered in dust but it’s like a second home at this point.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxBCVpN57A
It’s not much but what do you expect from someone researching “Pseudoscience”?
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFQgugzmXz
“Mara, I hope you like it.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQ5fUZkjR8
“Using my name are we? Must really be something then.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1K2prjau8Y
He opened the door with his key and revealed the old research room. Scarped together using tape and tissue paper but still in good enough shape. He leads me to the center table that now hosts a normal briefcase.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9x2XLRMd0g
“A new briefcase, you really shouldn’t have.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPRYNyRK2d
He says nothing and opens the case to reveal 20 glowing gems that sparkled with the colors of the rainbow. I was going to comment that I wasn’t here for precious gems. But something about these gems screamed special. These weren’t something you’d sell.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbsIKENxW6
“What are they?”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHWq2xAvGs
“That’s why I brought you here, to answer that question. Don’t worry, none of us touched it with our bare hands. We made sure to use every precaution. You’ll be the first one to touch these bad boys.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjxR7VZ1xp
“T-Thanks Bob, really.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9KRSzEAYj
I didn’t know what to say. Was all my research and money about to pay off? This isn’t full-blown magic but it’s a start.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpgUBjbZr9
Wasting no time, I went to grab one. The closest one that called for me to touch.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYqhENx2ER
As soon as I touched it, my world goes black and an old man’s voice echos in the void.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbTfnHABPh
“This once glorious age is dying. Suffocated by the worst of us. Bled dry by a new paradigm that doesn’t glorify magic or science. Passion or logic.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCyIv07ZOm
No.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3gwPnjZvK
What they deem worthy are control and power. The values of the past are an obstacle to the final goal. The domestication of our fellow man.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeDg0yN3Ou
It was a slow process but the champions of the age of magic and enlightenment have shrunk to one. The last man of the past age is all we have left of the previous age. That last true mage, our hope and light, is being hunted like a dog.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7xSzCj3yF
I cut through the thicket, letting it rip off cloth and skin. I ignore the pain and desperately swallow the humid air.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6FgcuxMqb
“Give up Albus, you’ll be given a fair trial!”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt3b6DqCw5T
I ignore the traitor’s pleas and continue to run through this now nameless forest. I force my glass legs to move past their limits. Every second slowed causes the rumbling of horses to get closer.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9U4snChYQ7
But the will of a person can only go so far. My legs finally give out and I trip over a branch. My face hits the cold hard dirt and I’m forced to swallow grim. The houses are coming closer.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroYNaHbUUz
“Please, just a few more steps. Not…like this.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYmbf5gg8d
I try to pour my strength into my body. Even if I have to crawl, I won’t let them have me. Inch by blood-paid inch, I drag my broken body out of the forest.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedXAiS1kCC
“The ocean…”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhnrP7nM98
The look over the cliff toward my goal. The sea me and my long gone friends used to watch during a sunrise. It still sparkles with magic and life. But even I can tell its well is running dry. Even so, the sight gives me enough strength to barely walk to the edge.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtyIJ2p3dsA
“Albus!”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgKc5ol5ed
When I reach the edge to behold its full brilliance, I hear the call of the traitor. I turn around to see a small army of men on horses. But only one keeps my attention. Look at him, adored with so many awards on his military black uniform.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslSBWTvSjA
“Was all the gold and medals worth killing my people, Lucas? I thought you different than the rest.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKozWorErh
“Magic has no place in the new world we’re building. If only you would give up the old ways and join us. I’ll be sure to give the commanders a good impression of you. You won’t have to burn like the others.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXT9dfUSIfM
“Burning would be better than becoming what you are.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6FVrtmpyA
I look around to see the other horsemen looking at me like some sort of caged animal. Their hands eager to draw their blades and gut me. There is no peace in the path Lucas offers.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7V2Z33LX4
I look behind me and close my eyes. I relive all of the good times I used to have with the magical creatures of this area, my friends and who I thought was family. But it’s all over now. At the very least, I won’t let them have this place.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2gjjW0Cr7
I open my eyes and turn to Lucas.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLkSRlgtF1
“Remember that forbidden spell we read about during our first campfire together?”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3SbjC77UH
“Albus please, I don’t remember-”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslwdz14O5j
Instantly, his face goes white. I can’t help but feel happy knowing I’ll get the last laugh.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4s6AuCOzNH
“You’re bluffing. None of you had the power to do that!”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6mPD4pRwt
“Not unless I sacrifice my life for it to work.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGbJS2M1Cn
“K-K-Kill him! Quickly!!!”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHILLPpwn3
The housemen quickly draw their swords and brutally kick their horses to move.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXAlauvUfe
I clasp my hands together in prayer and get on my knees.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjzOjyoGKc
“One more time, old friend. I need your help.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCY896mzc6
Blood begins to drip from my mouth as I ask for help and begin preparing the spell.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxNLmRn3RE
“Die scum!”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RmrREiRuq
Before the blade can remove my head, the horsemen were stopped by an unstable water tendril.261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXROwamXIF
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaG0tLR4esJ
“Thank you, Ariel.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPe2jj9Z4nE
The soul of the ocean we all loved heard my call. Even though this will use up the last of her strength, she still chooses to help me. I will never forget this, even in the afterlife.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYug1kA1rF
Ariel uses her tendrils formed from the water below to hold back the swordsmen. Despite her waning strength, she still bought me enough time.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdawPp9poqX
Flames begin to form around me. Beneath me a magic circle depicting the arcane symbols for fire, earth, space, annihilation, and peace forms. Blood explodes from every orifice of my body but ignore I the piercing pain. Instead, I continue chanting the words I memorized from back then.261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5W9YH72ZxP
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CuJAml32X
“S-Stop him you fools or we’ll-”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJeHMJQLVX
“It’s too late Lucas.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6Snd51uBV
I wanted to open my eyes to Lucas’s face but I couldn’t. My eyes melted long ago. But it doesn’t matter, I can sense it.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODIccQbpUb
Lucas turns around and looks toward the sky. A gargantuan earthen ball of searing fire slowly descends upon our location. Already the trees begin to catch fire from its approach.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWLIGm8aGK
“You won’t have me, Ariel or anyone else. It’s…over.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjVRVqm3UG
“R-Retreat! Retreat!!”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvw8DDmmhh
The horsemen and traitor ride back into the forest. It doesn’t matter, I know that won’t escape the devastation.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcDKbaO8FU
I force my melted hands apart and finally give in to the pain. I try to scream but nothing but ash comes out. I would’ve gone insane from the burns that scraped the skin inside of me. But I feel sudden relief as I feel one of Ariel's tendrils hold my hand.261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7NMngv6F1
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkTX0048N6
I understand, we’ll face the end together. We wait for the inferno to consume us with bated breath. With every second that passes, I can feel the heat getting more extreme. Enough to even evaporate Ariel.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fcXYOvOrG
For a second, I felt fear and regret. Was this the right choice? Should have joined Lucas. The pain seeps into my mind and gives riise to doubt. But those thoughts were immediately blown away when I felt something in the coming cataclysm.261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKi1EgjUZsQ
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUQ6ziUQnm
Within the fire, through the blind darkness, I could see my long-gone friends. I could feel that they were waiting for us. Understanding this, I let go of Ariel and welcomed it all.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlW5YOjgPLv
I open my arms and shed tears that instantly turn to vapor.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdiJH7XGWOu
“I’m…coming home.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCktneiv8fL
As if she saw the same, Ariel raises her water tendrils up toward the flame. Despite the intense pain she must be feeling, she welcomes the end peacefully. We both do.261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3Viu81DzD
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Havo8wKWs
[3]
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckpkZEtRRe
The trees turn to ash.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGFZLbrnZx
[2]
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJK6Ptyz6ML
The water is instantly reduced to nothing. Ariel is the first to go.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcYy6Bvxix
[1]
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkBZYHa1c1
My skin boils.261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFt6Tx2jlW
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAr8jYiLwW
[0]261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvON5EyMxnm
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡch9CkXhRkN
It impacts and I’m obliterated along with everything else around.261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHo4zGXa9X
…261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdzHxCDTJu
…261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuIgRUTBJU6
“And so the age of magic ended. Our light snuffed out by corruption and lies. One day, I hope someone will find these gems I’ve created from the memories of various points of our once glorious history.”261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNP3Q3CWSK
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6ijCqLP0h
“Please, don’t let us be forgotten. Remember our tragedy.”261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJijdZ6eKU6
…261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkesROzj65w
…261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfkzWnM7Qj
“Mara. Mara!”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeTEClWUoN
Instantly, my world returns and I see Bob’s stupidly cute face staring at me with concern. I feel a tear slide down my cheek and all at once, I understand what we lost. But…it’s not too late to change things.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWV5gmTIfB
“Bob…”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrbFpS4vep
“Oh thank god, I thought I lost you.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxAsXfYHXy
“Magic is real.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkAM2cgaCrA
“W-What?”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV92C4WF2pK
“I saw what we lost, what was taken away from us. Who suffered from our past sins.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQaYmkeqf3T
I gently place the gem down like a newborn baby. My path in life is clear. I’m going learn all I can from these gems and bring back magic! I won’t let them be forgotten.
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKUnoyxMog
“Bob, wake up everyone and let’s continue digging.”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtI1ICG0fvL
“E-Excuse me?”
261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZPyXEPyq9
“We have a world to save.”
ns3.148.182.254da2
然後按「加至主畫面」