by simply plugging ears. The voices sounded inside the head, distracting and confusing. Gathering all my willpower, I tried to relax and remember the best day of my life. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Either because memories kept slipping away, or because I simply had nothing to remember.
Stop! There it is! When was it? Probably five years ago. I was standing on a small cliff, and beneath my feet stretched an endless sea. I watched as the sun slowly sank below the horizon, painting the sky in a gentle pink hue and leaving a bright sunset path on the dark water. A light breeze picked up the spray of the waves crashing against the rocks and threw it in my face, like a kiss. Somewhere in the distance, I could see the white sail of a magnificent yacht. It didn’t disturb the moment… on the contrary, it completed the picture, making it whole, real. What did I need on that cliff? I don’t remember. Seemed like I was hiding some ancient artifact. Successfully? That’s not important now. At that moment, I found something greater – inner peace.
The voices in my head quieted down, and the noisy spirits of chaos were no longer heard. Did it work? I should check… but I’m a bit scared to open my eyes.
– Kazimir! – I shouted. – What do you see around?
Why not? He’s the only one present I don’t pity.
– I see an oak, – Kazimir replied after a pause. – A huge, green one.
All clear. I cautiously opened my eyes and looked around warily. Indeed, we were standing near a tree in the sorcerer’s office.
– You can open your eyes, – I graciously permitted. – Is everyone alive?
A discordant chorus of feeble responses followed. Excellent. They can speak, so all is well. Well then, welcome back to us.
Chapter 5: The Neverending Story
Outside the castle windows, primordial darkness still reigned. Having returned from the world of spirits, we found ourselves again in the sorcerer’s office. None of us knew what to do next. The entire academy was still trapped in a time loop, locked in a spatial pocket outside our reality. And we still had no idea who was orchestrating the ritual of forced evolution. Initially, we wanted to banish Kazimir from our friendly company, but after appreciating his plan to seize the dragon’s body, we kept him as a villain-consultant.
– What do we know about the ritual of forced evolution? – I paced the office, musing aloud. – The ritual was created as a panacea, a cure for all diseases. However, after practical trials, it had a downside – it forced evolution, and not always appropriately. Mice grew gills, rabbits developed trunks, and rats even began to read minds…
– Wait, – Asya interrupted me. – You said this is the first time the ley lines have shifted. But how was this ritual performed before if it requires so much energy?
– Failing grade! – I cheerfully chided her. – Ancient magicians used magical power capacitors – pyramids, henges, and more. This allowed them to perform such energy-intensive rituals without tapping into free energy and altering ley lines.
– But why doesn’t our mage conduct the ritual using these capacitors? – Zheka wondered.
– That’s a good question! – I praised my roommate. – I don’t know. Maybe because using stored energy requires permission from the international council of mages, or maybe for some other reasons.
– Has anyone ever conducted this ritual on humans? – Kazimir cautiously asked.
Damn trickster! Still hoping to evolve into a dragon!
– Of course, – I didn’t hide it and grinned. – The Atlanteans decided to take a risk and covered the whole of Atlantis with the ritual’s weave. After which they turned into dolphins. Want the same?
Kazimir turned pale and shook his head negatively. Good. He’s getting smarter.
– We need to get out of the spatial pocket, – the dragon said tiredly. – Since Kazimir laid the veil of despair, it’s possible that the ritual organizer isn’t even in the castle.
Indeed. To cast the veil, one had to be inside the space. That was the basis of our search. But if someone else was preparing the ritual, they could have stayed outside. Meaning we need to go back and start searching anew.
There was just one tiny thing preventing me from immediately performing the return ritual to the real world – the time loop. I could have untangled it with my eyes closed, but the time loop had its own laws. For example, the first to die inside the loop would die upon exiting it. And this feature worried me the most because I was the first to die inside the loop. But I couldn’t leave my friends in the closed time circle either, I didn’t have the right.
Ah, I never knew I would meet my death willingly. But that’s the fate of Guardians – to sacrifice themselves for others. I sat in the runic circle and methodically untangled the unfortunate weave. I wonder, will Asya cry? Maybe I should tell them? No, better not to say. Ignorance is bliss.
I carefully reconfigured the power flows, feeling the vibrations of space. And how did I agree to trust Zheka with this? No wonder he messed up. A loud pop sounded, and bright sunlight hit my eyes. It worked! Great! Wait. Why am I still alive?
Suddenly, a pain-filled scream echoed, and Asya collapsed to the floor. Damn it! When will I learn to consider all factors in my plans? I was in Asya’s body when Kazimir killed me in the time loop! Idiot!
I rushed to my fiancée. Just hoping she would survive. Pushing Zheka aside, I fell to my knees before the girl, weaving diagnostic spells of the druids on the go. Her pulse was rapidly fading, vital signs dropping. What to do? It should have been me in her place! Need healing weaves, therapeutic rituals, anything! I can’t lose her…
My mind was blank. Not a single thought. As if all magical knowledge was instantly erased from memory. I saw the dragon applying ancient druidic weaves, but it was all in vain. Spells, charms, rituals… I needed to come up with something. Rituals? Of course!
– The ritual of forced evolution was created as a cure for all diseases, – I repeated my own words. – It should help. We’ll conduct it ourselves.
– Have you gone mad?! – the dragon shouted. – The ritual needs a very powerful magic conductor. Even your homemade staff can’t channel all the accumulated energy into a specific person. You’ll repeat the mistake of the Atlanteans!
– I won’t, – I quietly replied.
Need a powerful conductor? I looked at the mighty oak in the middle of the auditorium. Will it do? I don’t know, but there’s no choice.
– Zheka! – I yelled at my shocked roommate. – Bring Asya to the oak! Quickly!
Without asking questions, he picked up his sister and carefully seated her at the roots of the tree, leaning her back against the mighty trunk.
I confidently approached the oak and knelt before it, pressing my forehead against the warm tree bark. I felt its power, the streams of magic flowing through it.
– You helped me once, help now… – I whispered barely audibly.
A clear pattern of a powerful spell formed in my mind, and its delicate structure immediately began to fill with force. At first gently, a small stream, but the flow kept increasing and increasing until it reached its peak. I could barely hold the weaving. The old oak creaked under the pressure of energy but did not give in. Focusing the magic, I carefully placed my hand on Asya’s forehead, channeling a colossal flow of magical energy through her body.
The girl screamed and arched in pain. Tears squirted from her eyes, but the main thing was she was alive. I did it! We did it! Struggling to remove my hand from Asya’s face, I tiredly lay on the floor. I hope she doesn’t