Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 750: Magic Strikes ()

The tunnel had gotten narrower, the closer Neveah got to the cavern entrance. It had gotten hotter too, a vast difference from the chills Neveah had adjusted to. Every breath Neveah took burned her throat, filled her lungs with sulfur and something heavier.

Stepping into the cavernous chamber, Neveah could finally understand the sudden change in temperature. From the walls to the ground, the entire expanse of the cavern was cracked in different directions, the cracks were more like veins of molten light, gleaming dangerously and with each tremor that shook the ground, they spread further. The veins originated from a large pool at the center of the cavern, an abyss where magma churned, licking at the edges of the pit in angry swells.

Neveah’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. ’The heart of the volcano... it’s active again.’

Overhead the abyss, a bridge of jagged rock stretched to the center of the chamber and on that bridge stood Adrienne.

She was just a short distance away from the edge of the bridge, a drop that would lead straight into the abyss. Kobolds stalked her from a cavernous entrance where the bridge extended from and Adrienne maintained a waning magic shield, glancing warily at the edge of the bridge behind her.

Her hair was streaked with soot, her face drawn in pain and there was a dark, wet patch on her riding suit.

Blood? Neveah hoped not.

Adrienne glanced back at the edge of the bridge again and this time, her eyes met Neveah’s. Neveah noted the surprise in them and then they narrowed in determination.

Adrienne subtly gestured with her eyes and Neveah trailed Adrienne’s gaze. Across the magma pit, there was another hollowed cavern and Neveah could sense the aura of dark magic that saturated the cavern originated from there.

The pulse of dark magic grew stronger and as it did, the magma churned more violently.

’The activity in the volcano was not natural,’ Neveah realized the message Adrienne passed. ’Someone was intentionally awakening it.’

Fairies understood magic better than Neveah could ever hope to, Adrienne must have known from the moment she stepped into the volcano that a spell was taking hold. If Neveah was careful, she could go around the pit unnoticed and make it to the dark sorcerer in time to stop this madness.

Neveah hesitated, she had come here out of obligation. For Menarx, not Adrienne and yet...

She eyed the pit of magma and with a dash and a burst of golden light, Neveah leaped up from the cavern, her hand grabbing hold of the edge of the bridge.

"I have this covered!" Adrienne hissed, glancing back at Neveah who dangled off the edge of the bridge.

"Like hell you do." Neveah replied, climbing up the rest of the way so she now stood beside Adrienne.

"You’re not very good at combat. And a magic shield can only do so much." Neveah replied. "You’re injured too."

Without a word, Neveah’s claws extended and she lunged, tearing through the kobolds with a frightening ferocity.

A blast of magic tore through the remaining kobolds, slaughtering all five that had been on the bridge. Adrienne passed Neveah a look of surprise as she dropped her shield but Neveah shook her head.

"That wasn’t me." She admitted grimly.

"You shouldn’t have come here..." Keila’s voice echoed through the cavern as she emerged from the shadows, she stood on the other end of the bridge, her narrowed eyes fixed on Adrienne. Her gaze strayed to Neveah too and her expression turned ugly. "And you brought company."

Adrienne’s gaze snapped over to Keila, her eyes going wide in a mix of disbelief and relief. Neveah was not certain which was stronger, was she relieved to finally see Keila or in disbelief that she was truly here?

Neveah knew Adrienne had been on Keila’s trail for days now, and finally it led here.

"What is... what is this place?" Adrienne asked, her eyes scanned the cavern, brows furrowed in confusion. "What are you doing down here?"

Neveah’s gaze strayed to the small tunnel entrance Keila had emerged from, a deep sense of unrest blossomed within her but she shook it off. Now that she was here, now that she could see Keila for herself, Neveah would not let her escape.

Neveah made to step forward but Adrienne moved quickly, stretching a hand out to stop Neveah. "Let me speak with her! Don’t do anything rash!"

Neveah hissed beneath her breath, clutching her hands into tight fists. She ran a hand through her hair before she nodded once.

"Whatever this is, you have to come back with me." Adrienne said to Keila quickly. "This place is teeming with kobolds. You know they can only be summoned using dark magic... someone else is here, someone dangerous and if we don’t get out in time..." Adrienne trailed off as a crackle of magic flickered on Keila’s fingertips, erratic and untamed.

"Arcane..." Adrienne whispered in disbelief.

"Addie...get away from her." Keila ordered her sister firmly.

Neveah did not have enough time to react. A surge of raw, uncontrolled magic shot out of Keila’s hand, a force so violent the cavern groaned in protest and the bridge cracked.

It shot straight for Neveah, it happened quicker than Neveah could process anything more than a sinking feeling of regret... she should never have relented when Adrienne asked.

And then, the arcane magic struck, right as the bridge erupted in an explosion of magic.

One moment she was standing on the bridge and in the next, Neveah’s body was tugged down by the pull of gravity, and she was falling straight for the pit of churning magma down below.

The heat from the pit was scorching and Neveah bit back a shriek of pain as her magic lashed out to brace her. The force tossed Neveah across the cavern, she slammed into the wall and dropped to the ground, gasping for breath.

Neveah was on her feet the next moment, inspecting herself. Other than the burn, she was unharmed...but the arcane magic had struck.

A shriek of horror bounced off the walls of the cavern, Neveah glanced up to find a wide eyed Keila down at her...no, at someone else.

Neveah’s gaze trailed down to where Keila’s horror-stricken eyes were locked, a shriek of disbelief lodged in her throat.

There, some inches from the magma pit lay Adrienne. Somehow, she had fallen first, even before the bridge erupted. Her body was twisted awkwardly from the fall, her chest rising in shallow, uneven breaths. The pool of blood beneath her was spreading fast.

The arcane magic had struck.

But not Neveah...

Adrienne...