Chapter 31

Wil stood silently, the shock of the choice before him leaving him stunned and unsure of what to do. His friends, the only people he truly cared about in the world, were standing in front of him, acting so…normal, so real. The way they interacted with each, their words, the tones of their voice, the easy way they showed their friendship, everything about it screamed to him that they were real!

But the larger part of his mind reassured him that they couldn’t be. This was a trick, an illusion, a sick game orchestrated by the corruption, using his friends as an anchor for this twisted creation, a means of keeping him off guard and vulnerable.

The corrupted creature in the crimson dress was right, in one way, he owed the Dragon Turtle nothing, but he also wouldn’t see such a creature fall to the darkness that was consuming him. Regardless of the rewards, he would see the Azure Lord restored, his friends and the Azure Sea safe again.

‘But what if they aren’t fake. What if they were plucked from the safety of the Drake and brought here for this single purpose.’ A small voice whispered in the back of his mind. Afterall, it had happened to him.

He had had been brought to the ‘inner realm’ through the Dragon Turtle’s magic, is it farfetched to think that the a being with its power could snatch his companions from their ship and bring them here as well?

If he were to trust the words of this woman, this was only a creation in his mind, but what if that was a lie as well!

Unsure of what to do, Wil covered his face with his hands, the doubts and conflicted thoughts swirling in his mind, the debate raging. What was real, what was fake. The simple solution was to burn everything to the ground, to escape this prison through fire. And if he was wrong…he would live with the consequences.

Standing upright, his strained face evened out, the creases across his forehead from his inner conflict fading as his tense emotions relaxed. He accepted what he would have to do, he would trust his instincts, which were screaming at him that this was a false world, that the people before him were nothing more than an illusion.

Gathering his mana around him, and ignoring the echoing laughter of the woman, and the distant chatter of his illusionary friends, Wil channeled his mana into a 2nd tier spell matrix, the magic glowing red around him as he drew more power from his core into the spell. The spell construct spread around him, lines and swirls of mana that formed the spell taking shape.

“Flaming Sphere!” Wil screamed, tears running down his face as he watched his friends, still gathered together, seeing to Quentin’s safety, became engulfed in white hot flames. Time seemed to slow for him, as he saw the fire spread beneath their feet.

He witnessed the moment they realized what was happening. Their expressions of concern shifting to terror and anger as the flames surrounded them, the intense heat driving them backwards, huddling together in the center of the flaming sphere. He saw the despair as they knew they could not escape.

He couldn’t tear his eyes away as his friends were consumed by the flames. Slowly, horribly. And as he stood there, he was overcome with a feeling of dread, that maybe they were real, and he was murdering his friends…his family.

The screams tore at his soul, as his magic killed them.

The deck beneath them lasted only a moment before it was consumed as well. The fire spread quickly, until Wil focused on creating a boundary for it, forcing the magic to obey.

For long minutes the fire roared, the swirling flames leaving nothing but ash behind. Weeping at what he had done, Wil knelt on the deck, wracked with harsh sobs.

“They weren’t real…they weren’t real…they weren’t real…” Wil repeated, over and over again as he rocked back and forth, his one, good arm wrapped tightly around his torso, the other still in its sling. Long minutes he spent, filled with self-doubt, trying to convince himself they were only illusions. As time went on, and nothing changed around him, a creeping horror overcame him.

On the edge of his awareness, he heard a cackling laughter. Looking up, he saw the woman swaying and prancing around the flames, like she was dancing around a bonfire at a party. Her red dressed swayed in the heated air, as she twirled and laughed.

“Oh Wilhelm! I honestly didn’t think you had it in you! Marvelous, simply marvelous!” She said, slowing her dancing and walking towards him. Leaning down, she had a huge grin on her face, before she changed it to a playful frown.

“Tut tut tut, Wilhelm. You should be proud! Not many people could turn down women, riches and power, let alone burn their friends alive on top of it. You’re either a saint, or incredibly foolish!” She said, placing her finger under his chin as she gently lifted his face to look at her.

“Why are you still here? I destroyed your anchors…my friends!” Wil whispered harshly, drawing in a shuddering breath.

“You did Wilhelm, and I am incredibly proud of you for doing so. Such ruthlessness…I’m expecting great things from you!” She said, leaning closer and placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. Wil could feel an intense heat radiate out from his skin, where her lips touched him.

Shocked, he rocked backwards, breaking away from her and watching her warily.

“Oh pooh! You need to learn to relax Wilhelm, you’ll find yourself in an early grave otherwise! Of course they weren’t real, silly! I already told you, my hands are tied when it comes to affecting you, or the real world.” She said, smiling and walking away.

“Very well! You win, I lose. You resisted temptation, and destroyed my anchors. See? This world is already collapsing. I suspect your big, scaley friend will be waking up any moment.” The woman said, gesturing to the world around them.

Looking upwards, Wil saw the sky crumbling, vast cracks appeared in the heavens above. The ocean began to boil, and the wind swiftly picked up. Slowly standing, Wil prepared to flee, when the woman made a soothing gesture with her hand.

“Stay, no need to rush. Enjoy this moment, you won! Although, it doesn’t truly matter. I’ve accomplished my task, and, as a bonus, I’ve met such an interesting person!” The woman said, waving her hand at him as she walked across the deck.

“It’s been a pleasure, Wilhelm. Unfortunately, our time together has run out. You may go and meet with Lord Azure to discuss…whatever it is you people talk about. No hard feelings!” She said, smiling at him as she slowly faded away.

“We’ll meet again! Oh! I never told you my name! It’s Desire! Be seeing you soon, Wilhelm!” She said, her last words echoing across the empty deck.

In a flash of white light, the world he was in collapsed completely, and Wil suddenly found himself standing on the Clockwork Owl, the inner world stretched out before him.

Hearing the Owl softly hoot, Wil knelt on its back, running his hand along his companions feathered neck, thinking of what he had experienced. His friends, the temptations, what he did…knowing it was an illusion didn’t make it less real, not to him.

Standing again, Wil watched the Dragon Turtle floating in the air in front of them. The realistic representation of the Azure Lord’s mana still seemed asleep, although all traces of corruption were slowly fading from its body. It seemed that it would wake at any moment, free from the infection.

But Wil couldn’t help but think about the woman, Desire, and her cryptic words as she left. To her, Wil’s freeing of the Azure Lord meant nothing. What ‘task’ she had, and how she accomplished it, he could only hope that the Dragon Turtle would know, and be willing the share that information.

With a load roar, the floating, illusory creature before him woke up, the force of its awakening nearly knocking the Owl out of the sky as intense mana, stronger than a Demigod, erupted from it. Opening its eyes, the creature locked its vision with Wil’s for a moment, before it began to fade away.

In moments, the massive Dragon Turtle was gone, and in its place was an item that Wil thought lost in Aachen, something that had saved his life twice, but seemed a beacon for danger.

Slowly spinning, giving off a radiant golden light, a small, gold coin floated in the air before him. As it turned, he could see the symbol of the seven-pointed sun on one face, while three wavy lines covered the other.

With mixed emotions, he reluctantly reached out and grabbed the coin, feeling its warmth on his palm.