The Eternal Phoenix & The Storm

Every sense was heightened far above what I was used to. The slightest shift of her foot in the sand sounded to me like the beating of a war drum. I could feel the mana roaring through the conduits in my body, suffusing every last millimetre with power. The heat radiating from Miss Anare only made the snow around me grow stronger, swirl faster, made the ice on my skin harder and more resilient in the face of her fire.

Another shift under her feet, and in less than a heartbeat she was upon me, her arm thrusting forward wreathed in flame. I had only barely been able to move out of the way in time, my body responding before I could comprehend exactly what I was seeing. Time seemed to slow.. I watched the embers of her fire flitter into nothingness as I opened my hand, a sigil appearing in front of it and rotating wildly as my instincts took to a counterattack.

My fist was encased in a block of ice, and with every ounce of might afforded to me by this newfound power running in my veins, I pushed it towards her gut. I didn't think of the consequences, nor of holding back. Every bit of my body was desperate to go all out, to unleash a torrent of mana, and another one after that. As my hand approached her body, the ice around it melted away and turned to steam all at once, and my unguarded skin came into contact with her for only the briefest moment.

A terrible fire raged through my arm, slithering up my veins like a hunting snake. Without thinking, I had filled my mouth with ice to keep from biting down on my tongue. I tore my hand away, the flesh charred and cracked like a rapidly cooling lava flow. I had to run, make distance between myself and her, cower from that oppressive blaze. She didn't try to stop me, simply watched me with eyes moving faster than I could possibly manage. She took my need for distance and met it with a dome of sigils in the air all around her, all feeding into a single point above her where a grand fireball the likes of which I'd never even dared to imagine was ballooning out.

I was about to die. The sand around me was turning to molten glass, only what was under my feet was spared. I could hear the waves of heat building ever more around me. Each pulse tried to wrest the breath from my chest, tried to force me to my knees. The ice in my mouth had turned to water; my final drink.

'Every ounce.' That's what I had decided. The only way I would survive this would be by pouring every last ounce of everything I had into simply defending myself. Sigils spewed forth from my mind, and spires of ice shot up from the ground around me, connecting into a tower and hammering through the ceiling above. I willed it all to solidify, to encase me in its cooling embrace and to protect me from that star-like crucible I had been forced into.

What I would have given to see it from the outside, to witness the power that slumbered in my body being released to its fullest. But from my cocoon of ice, I could only pray. Even beyond the mass that I had created, I could hear the roar the moment she released the spell. I could feel the earth itself trembling in the face of her might. I could see that all-encompassing light, and for a moment, I was convinced the earth was hurtling into the sun.

At least my life amounted to a single touch on The Eternal Phoenix. An accomplishment I could happily take to my grave, to show whatever awaited me that I had achieved something truly astonishing.

What a feeling it was, to see what had to be the culmination of her strength brought to bare against mine. Against something worthy of her strength.

I saw a goddess, her form blurred by ice, her wings dripping fire as she walked, the very world itself seeming to turn to ash behind her, and yet.. she seemed focused entirely on me. I could almost feel her hand on my cheek, hear her voice telling me that everything would be okay..

* * * * * * * * * * * *

I awoke to brilliant orange eyes gazing deep into mine. All at once I felt numb, yet more alive than ever before. A pleasant, comfortable warmth embraced me wholly. I closed my eyes again, 'Heaven isn't as frightening as I thought it would be..' I mused to myself. I felt a gentle hand on my cheek and I couldn't help but lean into it. I was ready to greet eternity.

"Hey.. open your eyes, Mari. I need to make sure you're not a vegetable," came Miss Anare's worried voice, wrenching me out of my reverie and forcing my eyes wide open. I quickly took stock of what was happening. My head was laying in Miss Anare's lap. My body wasn't a pile of ash, and the sun was pouring in through a gaping hole in the ceiling. There was also a constant sparkle in the rays of the sun, like ice crystals on a wintry day.

I sat up altogether too fast, nearly hitting my head on Miss Anare's chin. "M-M-Miss Anare what did I do?!" I stammered out desperately, whirling around to face her as I did. She beamed at me in return, and I felt my cheeks immediately flush.

"You, my apprentice, proved your conviction." She stated plainly, yet her tone swelled with pride that stuck straight into my heart and nestled there.

"I.. I thought I was dead.." and part of me still thought that. I looked down at my right arm expecting to see it horribly burned, but it was pristine, like I had never dared to touch the sun in the first place.

"Only a little," came her voice with a soft chuckle, "but the spells I had put into your focus worked splendidly. Though if I'm honest, I hadn't expected that result. That monolith of ice you used to defend yourself. It was.." She trailed off, staring straight into my eyes, "Breathtaking."

The word lingered in the air between us. I couldn't break my gaze away from her, I couldn't bring myself to move even though it felt like my cheeks were ablaze with a furious reddening. I didn't want to break the moment, nor did I have to, as she suddenly clapped her hands together, making me jump.

"Right! Test concluded, and dare I say you are going to make an excellent apprentice, Mari!" She stood and offered me her hand. With only a little hesitation I took it and stood, feeling surprisingly spry for having just died.. a little. Whatever that means.

"How did I.. any of that? Did I dream that..?" I asked, still beyond bewildered.

"Which part? The part where you tried to gutpunch me and nearly turned your arm to ash, or when you created a spire of ice that pierced the heavens themselves?" She asked in a playful tone. "Part of the spells I had infused in your focus. What you experienced was temporary, but it was a taste of the power that awaits you should you follow my instruction closely."

It felt like I couldn't breathe all of a sudden. I looked at my right arm again, and my breathing grew heavier. I had to breathe, I wasn't breathing right now. Why couldn't I breathe? I felt my chest tighten and I clutched at it with my left hand, my voice cracking through each labored breath.

In a swift motion I suddenly found myself wrapped in Miss Anare's arms, her hand holding my head against her chest. I felt her voice vibrate through me as she reassured me, "Hey, you're alright, you're right here Mari. You're still right here." I could feel the gentle, controlled rise and fall of her chest, and as my breathing slowed and my body began to tingle, the tendrils of black pulling at the edges of my vision suddenly overtook me.

*Author's Note: Woo! Two chapters in a day, sorry about that! I couldn't stop thinking about how I would follow up the last chapter, so I decided to get it done today. Still gonna be a chapter tomorrow too!