Prologue.

Reed pushed the wheelchair across the marble path while Drake slept on it. Around them was a thick forest with scattered trees and bushes. The trees were home to faeries, and the ground housed gnomes. The hair on Reed's neck rose as he felt the creatures staring at him. He gulped and maintained his composure. Humans weren't allowed in the Canon Dimension. Thankfully, the dimension's ruler was expecting them.

When he reached the end of the path, a marble basin full of steamy water stood before him. The dimension's ruler and the basin's protector, Samson, stood in front of Reed. He was fifteen feet chimera with the body of a lion, horns of an oryx, and a snake for a tail. As far as Reed knew, Samson was the last of his kind.

"Do you have it?" Samson asked with a deep voice that made the ground shake. The faeries shook in fear, and the gnomes hid behind the bushes when Samson asked the question. It was easy to see why. Though Reed hadn't said or done anything to offend the chimera, the snarl on the creature's face said otherwise.

Reed swallowed his fear and raised his head. "Yes." He removed the gunny sack slung over his shoulder and placed it on the ground. He then pulled the strings and took out a pair of bronze wings. The bolts and screws holding one wing differed from the other one. Only someone with a keen eye could tell one wing had been damaged and repaired recently.

Samson's eyes glistened once he saw the wings. "How do I know he won't go back on his word once he's healed?"

"Master Drake is not that kind of man."

About half a year ago, Drake had informed Reed about the existence of the Fountain of Youth. Drake had said it was the only thing that could remove the curse imposed on him by The Elders. But first, they needed to find someone with strong dark magic for the wings to siphon from while in use.

And there was only one answer to that: Donatello—Drake's son.

While Donatello was stealing the wings from Lady Camilla, Drake and Reed went to the Canon Dimension to make a deal with Samson. The chimera had lost his dragon wings in the war with phoenixes, leaving him as his kind's last survivor.

Drake knew how desperate Samson was to fly again. So he offered the wings to Samson, and in return, he wanted to bathe in the Fountain of Youth.

"You may proceed," Samson said.

Reed grabbed Drake's skeleton-like body and placed him on the ground. He then took the wings and strapped them on Drake's back. Reed pushed the button on the middle strap—around the waist—and pins inserted themselves into Drake's spine.

Drake woke up with a gasp, his eyes glowing with dark energy while his son's magic coursed through him, and then he fainted.

Reed removed the wings from Drake's body, and then he carried him in his arms. He had never thought he would be in this position with his master. Usually, it was the servants who carried Drake when the curse took away his ability to walk.

Reed threw Drake into the basin and waited. The faeries, gnomes, and Samson watched with intent too. Just like Reed, they weren't sure it would work or not. Drake was the only one who did. And if Drake believed it, then Reed did too. He had no reason to doubt his master.

A white glow came from the water, covering the whole basin. Reed covered his eyes with his arms until when the light disappeared. When he looked back at the basin, Drake stood before him. He had large muscles and looked one thousand years younger. But his cursed white hair still covered his head.

Drake checked his body with a smile on his face. "It worked." He chuckled. "It finally worked!" The once baggy clothes he wore were now tight on his body. It was an inhumane transformation. But of all the things Reed had heard the Fountain of Youth could do, this was the least shocking.

Drake got out of the basin and hugged Reed. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me, Master. I will do anything for you," Reed said. "Although, now I look older than you."

This made Drake laugh out loud. "You sure do." Then he turned to Samson. "Now to pay my debt. Reed, do it."

Reed aimed his hands at the wings, and they began floating towards Samson. They moved to his back and inserted themselves on the lumps where the dragon wings used to be. Then Reed opened his palms, and the wings enlarged to the same size as Samson's dragon wings.

"Try them out, Samson," Drake said.

Samson smiled when the wings flapped. Then he ran along the path Reed and Drake came from before he launched himself in the air. The faeries and gnomes cheered for the chimera while he flew.

"You paid your debt, Dark Warlock," Samson said from the sky. "Now leave my dimension and never come back." Then he kept on flying.

Reed looked at Drake. "What now?"

Drake took a deep breath, and then he exhaled through his mouth. "I had a mission long ago before The Elders cursed me. Back then, there were twelve of them, and Gigi and I couldn't fight them by ourselves. Now only three rule Magic City while the rest are off in different parts of the world doing who knows what. So," he turned to Reed, "this is the perfect chance to take down The Elders and make dark magic legal in Magic City."

"What about those who will oppose you?" Reed asked.

"We will kill them." Drake smiled. "After we take down The Elders, I will rule Magic City. And I don't need anti-dark magic people in my city."

Reed smiled. It was everything he had hoped to hear from his master. Now that he knew he was to kill those who would stand against them, he promised himself not to hold back against their enemies. It was time for his name to be written in the history books. It was time the world feared The Wild Wizard.

Chapter 1.

It had been two months since Scarf and Slim saw Rambo. He had gone after Reed—the man who betrayed them and shot Pipi—and never returned. It wasn't like Rambo to leave for that long and not contact them. Something must've happened to him, and they wanted to know what it was.

"You can beat her, yes?" Slim asked Scarf while staring at The Violinist. Word on the streets was that everyone who fought her died. But that didn't stop them from going after her. She was the last one to cross paths with Rambo before he disappeared. And if they wanted to know where their leader was, they had to make her talk.

"Yes," Scarf replied. "Ne me fais-tu pas confiance?" [Don't you trust me?] He gulped, staring at The Violinist's tall and lean figure. She wore a wide-brimmed hat that hid her face, black leather pants, and a long coat. But it was the violin in one hand and a bow in the other that made Scarf's stomach turn into knots.

"Of course, I trust you," Slim said.

Scarf tugged the black gloves he wore, making them tighter. The crystals on the knuckles allowed him to use the magic energy inside him. "Je ne veux pas mourir." [I don't want to die].

"You won't die." Slim patted him on the shoulder. "You can do this, yes?"

"Oui." Scarf nodded.

"Good." Slim stepped to the side.

Scarf took a deep breath and exhaled. It was him against The Violinist. Slim would only help if he was about to die. This was his moment to show he was more than an information broker in The Outlawz. Though his magic wasn't as strong as the others, he wanted to prove he could hold his own against powerful mages.

The Violinist set the violin on her right shoulder and the bow hovered over the strings. Scarf gulped. The abandoned fighting arena they had found her in seemed small now. He looked at his hands. It said HURT on the left glove and HEAL on the right one.

"Now or never, Scarf," Slim said with crossed arms.

Scarf didn't have to be the first one to act because The Violinist had done so. She played a slow and smooth tune, making Scarf feel dizzy. He staggered left and right, before maintaining his balance using the arena's wall. He held his position until the sensation of the world spinning left his mind.

He turned to The Violinist. She had changed her tune. Now she was playing a fast and high-pitched one, making Scarf's heart and mind race. He couldn't think or breathe. He reached for his neck and gasped for air. Tears blurred his vision, and he fell to his knees.

"What are you doing to me?" Different parts of his body hurt, and he didn't know how to stop the pain. When he rubbed his eyes, a migraine attacked his forehead. When he massaged his forehead, his neck constricted and he couldn't breathe. And when he touched his neck, it felt like a hand had grabbed his heart and squeezed it.

The Violinist was fifty steps ahead of him. If he didn't act fast, he would die. Not only had he promised Slim not to die soon, but Jojo too. He hadn't seen her in a long time. The last time he heard about her, she was after the bounty in Sin City. But with its destruction, he didn't know her current location.

"I can't let you beat me," Scarf said. "Si je le fais, alors Jojo me tuera." [If I do, then Jojo will kill me].

The Violinist increased the speed of the tune, and clouds gathered above the arena. Darkness covered most of the area, but they could still see each other. The crystals on Scarf's right hand glowed. The blue, green, yellow, red, and white magic energy swirled around his hand. The Violinist's violin glowed with purple magic energy.

The sound of thunder boomed throughout the arena, making the ground shake. But Scarf stood his ground, glaring at The Violinist. "You've had your fun, now let me show you what I got."

He summoned the blue magic energy, returning the others to their crystals. A cold sensation chilled his hand, making his skin tingle. The blue energy hovered over his palm. He transformed it into many ice spears, then he thrust his palm forward. The ice spears cut through the air, aiming to impale The Violinist's body.

The Violinist slowed down her tune and lightning destroyed the ice spears. Scarf didn't wait for her to make the next move. He thrust his right hand forward like he was playing tennis. Hundreds of ice spears headed towards The Violinist.

The Violinist played the same tune, and lightning destroyed the ice spears again. Then she switched to the fast, high-pitched tune, and it started raining. But the rain didn't hit the ground—it had stopped in midair.

She transitioned to a broken tune this time, like someone who had never played the violin before. She played it faster until smoke started coming out of the instrument. Then suddenly, she stopped and thrust the bow forward, horizontally. The raindrops headed for Scarf like bullets.

Scarf couldn't use two magical abilities like Slim. He wasn't that skilled. And with all the missions The Outlawz took, he didn't have time to train. If those raindrops hit him, he would die.

"Scarf, don't do it!" Slim screamed.

Scarf had made up his mind. He had tried to stop The Violinist with his right hand and failed. The only chance he had at beating her now was with his left hand.

"Scaaaaarf!" Slim screamed.

It was too late. Scarf returned the blue magic energy to its crystal and focused on his left hand. The crystals on the left side had the same color: pitch black.

Rambo had warned him not to use dark magic without him around. He was the only one who could bring back Scarf once he fell into the dark magic's temptations. But Rambo wasn't here. And the only thing that would help bring him back was the dark magic he hated.

"Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, and Lust; heed my call," Scarf said.

"We hear you, Master," the five sins said together. They sounded like a hissing snake whenever they pronounced a word with the letter 's' in it. With him being an information broker, Scarf had been hunting for Gluttony and Sloth for years. But he hit a dead end every time he thought he was close to gaining the two crystals. "What do you want us to do, Master?"

The dark magic swirled up his left arm and entered his mouth and nose, turning his eyes ink-black. "Kill her."

To Be Continued in the sequel...