The Spell

Today would finally be the day I'd return home. Every last aspect of the spell was ready, and even Rin seemed eager to participate. Marin was hesitant, but it's not like we had a choice. Rin was to be the centre of the spell, and as a result she'd be forced to the other side with me. 

I spent the morning gathering the things I'd collected since coming here; hoodies, various different types of chocolate, chips of way too many different flavours, and random little trinkets. There would be a lot to try to replicate back home, which is what the food was for, but I'd have plenty of time to figure that all out there.

I ran into Rin in the hallway as I flitted about between my room and the other rooms in the house. "Oh! Glad you're up. Are you ready?" I asked.

My feelings toward Rin weren't any less sour than they had been, but I only needed to be cordial for a while longer.

"I.. think so. I'm still reeling over the fact I'm going to be in a world of magic soon." She responded, her voice soft and quiet.

"Well, like I've told you, I can't guarantee you'll be able to use magic there but, there's only one way to find out. Meet me in my room by twelve at the latest." I stated before rushing passed with my armful of belongings.

When I had finished packing, I went over to Calliope's room. They had been sleeping for the last few weeks, the longest I'd seen them sleep since they found me in the hospital. I wasn't entirely sure how I'd wake them up, but I knew they wanted to return home just as badly as I did. I stepped into their room with little hesitation, and looked around for the first time. It was as barren as it could possibly be, with only a single mattress on the floor, which they were curled up on, and despite the house being very quiet, the silence in this room felt all-encompassing.

"Would it be as simple as giving them a shake?" I whispered to myself out loud. Then I raised my voice, "Calliope? It's time."

Nothing. No response at all. When I looked closer at them I couldn't even see their chest moving.. I raised my voice a little louder and called their name again. Still nothing. I stood in silence for a moment while I thought, then I noticed something. I didn't feel their mana at all, when normally I should feel at least the faintest pulse. Were they dead? My heart skipped a beat at that thought, and I kneeled next to them, and placed my hand on their skin.

As cold as ice, though that wasn't necessarily unexpected. Instead, I checked to see if their skin was stiff, but it still squished under my fingers as I would expect it to.. on a whim, I decided to pump a little mana in, then waited.

I almost didn't notice at first as the room started getting colder, then I began to feel their mana flowing. I let out a sigh of relief and sat back on my heels. Soon enough, Calliope's eyes opened, looking directly at me with an intensity I hadn't seen since they found me in the hospital.

"Hey, uh.. it's time. The spell's ready." I said, doing my best to ignore the oddity of their gaze. They smiled, that same familiar smile I'd seen so many times now.

"Thank you for waking me, Mari. I'll be out in a moment." Came their voice. For some reason I expected it to sound cracked and dry, but it was exactly as smooth and icy as it always was. I nodded, stood, and left their room. Calliope had taught me a lot over the last three months with them, so I was glad they'd be coming with me. Whatever was going on between them and Miss Anare, I felt I could help to solve it.

Rin was already waiting in my room. We had rehearsed the spell a few times, we both knew what to do, and it was only a matter of waiting. Perhaps five minutes had passed in silence while I checked over the newest additions to the spell, before Calliope entered.

"Okay!" I said excitedly once I had finished my inspection. "Everything looks good, we're ready!"

"I'm very much looking forward to returning home," Calliope said, as they also checked over my work. "Oh, Mari, could you add some final reinforcements to the barrier? I don't want the humans of this world to find this place before they're ready for the secrets it holds."

I smiled. They had been giving me more and more important tasks lately, and I was proud to have gained that much of their trust. "Of course, it should only take a minute or two."

I had become very familiar with the barrier, having broken through it as many times as I did. I found the weakest point of it quite quickly, and I began to add sigils to reinforce it. Just before I'd finished, I felt the most powerful pulse of mana I had ever experienced, stronger than anything Miss Anare had ever done in my presence. My blood ran cold, and I immediately sprinted back to the house.

It was dead silent inside, and despite how heavy my feet suddenly felt, I powered on and threw open the door to my room. Nothing remained. Not a single sigil was left, Rin and Calliope were both gone, even the things I had prepared to take with us. I stared in shock, even my heart seeming to forget to beat, when my eyes suddenly flicked over to a small note sitting on my bed.

I reached forward, my hands shaking violently, and picked it up.

'Mari, you were a brilliant student, and I thank you for the creation of this spell. You will question why I left you here. You will hate and resent me. Do everything in your power to harness that hatred, and grow into a being that could crush both worlds between her fingers. -Calliope'

I could feel nothing, yet it seemed as if every cell in my body were being torn apart by shards of ice. My mana began to pulse wildly, and I simply watched, like I was nothing more than a passenger in my own body, as with every pulse more and more ice spewed forth.

Rage was not enough to describe it. I wasn't sure there was a word to describe the depths of my hatred, the fury boiling just under my skin. I could feel the reach of my mana growing and growing, firing through every tiny street in every part of the city, and I continued to watch as I rose, frozen, in a spire of ice that pierced the heavens. I watched and listened from above as the people of this world I didn't belong to ran in panic, only to be frozen in their steps by a pulse of my mana.

Calliope stood in an unfamiliar room. They felt the fire again. They dropped Rin's body, and walked toward the door, readying themselves. They knew they wouldn't have to open it themselves, as that fire got hotter and hotter, and the walls around them began to char.

Anare walked through that door, incredible wings of flame billowing behind her, dripping fire to the floor. This was what they had sought for so many years. Anare's eyes blazed with rage, billowing flames poured from the corners of her mouth, and her hair roared like an uncontrollable wildfire.

There were no words that needed to be said, there was nothing to do but use every last ounce of power they each had, nothing left to see but who would stand at the end.