The Release

Umbra sat on the examination table with his heart in a frenzy, staring solemnly at his lap.

He had turned thirteen several days before, but the thrills of being a teenager were lost on him. Among his peers, he was still a pariah. He was too shy to bring himself to even talk to his classmates.

Umbra watched Apastron out of the corner of his eye. He was restless, wringing his hands and muttering under his breath. Apastron’s unease only Umbra more distress. This test had to come back positive. It had to.

The doctor slipped into the room, head pointed at the floor. Apastron stood to meet him, grabbing him by the shoulders.

“What is it? What were the results?” Apastron cried.

“Apastron...your son is sterile. I'm sorry,” the doctor whispered, avoiding Apastron’s glare.

Umbra's heart sank into the pit of his stomach. Sterile?! The room seemed to swirl around him as he processed the information. He would never have any kids of his own. He would never have the family he dreamed of.

He reached out to Apastron, desperate for any kind of reassurance. “Dad…”

Apastron whipped on his heels, pure rage flashing in his eyes. He slapped Umbra, sending him sprawling off the table. Umbra hit the ground, lip bleeding.

“You've ruined everything!” Apastron screamed, “Luna gave her life for you, and how do you repay her? By letting this clan die!” He trembled, tears filling his eyes.

“Father, please-”

Apastron’s cold, dark eyes bore a hole through Umbra. “You're not my son.”

----

“I needed a guard to safely get me to the tomb and keep an eye out in case anyone tried to stop me from performing the spell,” Tails explained, shaking his head. “I'm sorry I lied. But I didn't have any other choice.”

He patted the coffin, sighing. “The spell’s pretty simple, y’know. Do you know what chaos magic does?”

“I've never met a chaos mage,” Umbra murmured.

Tails extended a hand, black sparks traveling across skin. “One of its main effects is messing up magic. I can cancel out other people's spells and create curses.” He stroked the coffin, tracing the runes, “These sealing runes are pretty powerful, but they're not complex. Being a hybrid mage sucks a lot, but having an excess of magic in my body does come in handy for times like this. I can surge more than enough energy through these runes and break them.”

“But there's one thing I gotta do first. Breaking through the first layer of protection requires a blood sacrifice. Specifically, a child's blood.” Tails drew a blade from his belt. “I guess it's gonna have to be me.”

Tails sliced his palm, watching the scarlet leak between his fingers. Grimacing, he held it over the coffin. The blood worked like acid, searing into the crevices that were engraved.

“Stop!” Umbra cried, “You can’t do this!”

“I can't just leave Coatl imprisoned like this. He told me he cares about me,” Tails’s voice shook as he stared Umbra dead in the eyes. “He was the first person to tell me that.”

Tails slammed his hands onto the surface of the coffin, black energy pouring out of his hands in waves.

“It's a trick!” Umbra screamed as the air started to crackle with magic, “He's just using you, don't you understand?! Coatl is evil!”

Tails’s face contorted in strain as he pushed out more magic. Like gunshots, popping noises rang out as strings of runes lost their ethereal glow. It was working.

With a final heave of exertion, Tails broke the last of the sealing runes. A fissure ripped through the stone coffin. Tails smiled, eyes widening with hope.

A clawed hand sprung out, gripping the edge of the coffin.

Author's Note- spooky