Of Good & Evil

XII. The Dark Arts

Time lifted himself to his feet with some effort and dusted off his clothes. The attack had drained him considerably, but otherwise, he had no major injuries. His breath had slowed to normal, and he was beginning to regain his strength.

"Are you alright?!" Passion said, pulling Time into a hug.

"I'm good," Time said, patting Passion on the back, "It just took more power than I expected."

"That was your soul skill, right?" Xenon said excitedly, "That was awesome!"

"Great fight," Hardy said, patting Time on the shoulder.

"It's no big deal," Time said, releasing Passion, "Let's get going."

The group walked forward to the other side of the dome, taking note of the distinct lack of greenery in the room following Time's fight with Axis. Trees, grass, and even sections of the terrain had been pulled into the void created by Time's attack. As they reached the other side, they stepped through the doorway and into the hall.

Walking down the hall, they were all silent. The group was thinking about the previous battle and how much more intense it was than any of them were expecting. They considered what they may face in the near future. A thought crossed Time's mind, making him a little concerned. He thought that if they were in order of strength, the powerhouse he had just barely managed to defeat was the weakest of the group. If that were true, it meant the others would have to fight even harder than he did just to survive.

As they reached the end of the hallway, they stepped through the next doorway leading to a dome much smaller than the last one they were in, though still relatively large. It was about fifty feet across and was dimly lit by candlelight. A series of floor candelabra were strewn around the edges of the room, providing the faint light present within the dome. The dome was hot. Much warmer than any other part of the complex they had been in so far.

In the center, a small pedestal made of white marble sat with a closed book sitting on it. The book was thick, leather bound, and looked very old. Xenon approached it and tried to make out the words on the cover, but they were too faded to read. He turned to the rest of the group and shrugged.

Just as they were about to give up and leave the room to head toward the next hallway, a green glyph circle appeared, hovering a few inches above the ground. Within its center, a portal opened and a blonde woman in a flowing green dress stepped out of it.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and surveyed the group. She walked up to Xenon and bent down a little, looking him in the eyes. She said, "Well aren't you just adorable?" She brushed past him and looked at the others in the group. She said, "I'm really surprised you all made it through the woods without my powers sensing your approach."

"So that green energy all over the woods was you," Time said conclusively.

"Good call, Time," Hardy said.

"You must have gone through the forest without using any powers," she said, "That's pretty impressive."

"Nah, I used my powers to escape that death maze thing," Xenon said, crossing his arms.

"You're the one who uses super speed, right?" she said, turning to face him, "You must be incredibly fast if you could use your powers without my powers detecting you."

"Yeah, that's strange," Xenon said, "Normally someone as big as me can't go anywhere without getting a lot of attention."

"...I'm not sure I understand," she said, looking him from head to toe, clearly confused.

"Look lady," Xenon said, "I don't really think you know who you're dealing with here."

"I don't think you fully grasp who you're dealing with either, little man," she said with a smile.