It was weird being around people that were happy. Laughing, smiling, playing in the grass. I sat on the top of a hill next to a large tree, looking down at the oval where kids hung out with each other. Some were eating, some were playing games, others were chatting. Fly #1 and #2 were talking to each other nearby, about some scandal the Peccho's eldest son made. I forgot how pleasant this all was. Peace.
Maybe nothing would happen in the future. Maybe, if I stayed out of trouble, everything would be okay. Or nothing would change. And the world burns. I breathed out, trying to push the memory of Olympus burning down out. It'd be fine. There are plenty of skilled Mages here, and the Headmaster, Jesse Nightingale, should be an Archmage already. It'll be fine.
So why were my hands shaking?
I tried to calm myself by letting my Mana flow, closing my eyes to block out everything else.
Except I could see my final moments. A man, tall and strong, equipped with armour so worn out it looked rusted. A sword hung at his hip, blood drenching everything around us. His face was unforgettable as he looked at me, his blue, blue eyes boring holes into me. Blood covered him, but he didn't care about it.
'Unfortunately...' he said, the word heavy on his tongue, too heavy for him to say without scrunching his face.
Stop. I opened my eyes, feeling drained of every ounce of energy in my body. My breath was shaky, and my Mana flow was a mess. I need to stop thinking about the future. Or the past. Or... whatever. Can I do anything now? That's what I needed to focus on.
I tried to control my Mana, but the attempt just brought about His face again, the bright light ever present and overwhelming. My heart throbbed. Pounded. Explo-
With extreme effort, the explosion of Mana was contained, just leaving a deep ache in my chest. The vision never stopped, repeating those same words over and over, 'Unfortunately, unfortunately, unfortunately...'
Something grabbed my shoulder. I spun around, grabbing a dagger on my hip, already stabbing it towards the source. But there was no dagger.
Fly #2 flinched, holding up his hands, as I stopped my fist from reaching him. He had a nervous smile. "Woah, sorry, Atlas, I just thought..." he started, but stopped, his eyes widening when I fell to my knees, my breathing rough. My Mana finally corrected itself. "You okay, dude?" His incessant buzzing wasn't helping with my growing headache.
He tried to touch me. How dare he? Who does he think he is? I slapped it away without a second thought.
"Don't touch me," I said, struggling to stand. Fly #1 watched from behind #2, a look of worry on his face. I didn't like the look on his face.
"Sorry. Atlas, uh, you want to head to the Nurse's office?" Fly #1 asked.
I looked down the hill. A few people were staring back up at us. That number was growing, too quickly.
"Fine," I muttered, not remembering where the Nurse's office was.
Both of them looked at each other, sighing with a slight smile on their faces, before grinning widely as they led the way.
"I remember how you used to pout when we were young," Fly #1 said, chuckling with me following behind. "You remember that, Ben?"
"What, how puffy his cheeks went when he didn't get what he wanted? Haha, of course, Leo," Fly #2 responded, slapping his friend on the back. They both looked back at me and started snickering.
Why was I feeling so hot? I just wanted to shrivel up and disappear... Maybe inside the trunk of a tree, where nobody would bother me.