Another chapter that I have to cut into two parts, so the next chapter should be "short". I don't have it all written but only some of it so don't expect it to be released early.
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Third person point of view-

The room extended far above their heads, stone pillars supporting the stone ceiling up above. Thorn covered vines wrapped around the stone arced rafters and around the pillars like a python beginning to constrict its prey. The room was massive and grand, the stone a bright grey on the walls and ceiling, and the floor lined with dark green carpet. To Drake, the walls had a familiar feeling of having magic embedded within its confines.
There were lights hanging down from the ceiling, bright chandeliers that had been enchanted by magic spells so that they never dimmed or extinguished. The aroma of dust once again flooded into their nostrils, but this time the particles were not as many as they were in those slim corridors. The doors closed behind them, shutting them away from the excruciating heat emitting from the room with the lava bubbling at its floors. It was a relief to feel the rush of cool air against their skin, despite that it was stale and took a few deep breaths to get used to.
Books filled the room as far as the eye could see, each one evenly spaced with the books facing towards them. In the center of the room was a spiral staircase that lead up to the second story, which was filled with more books and had railings to gaze over and watch the people below. Smaller rooms were off to the sides, the group not too focused on them to know what was held within them. What was a real eye catcher, was the the purple glowing, crystal prism that floated high above them in the center of the room. It was nearly able to reach the ceiling. Drake, Grayson, and Mia recalled another object of the same kind at the magic library. They did not know a name to call it by, but the ancient magi had referred to it as The Ender crystal.

"This place looks amazing!" Mia gasped in awe, her body spinning around to let her eyes take in it's full beauty.

"Look at all of these books!" The ex-commander was the next to marvel.

Drake gave out a soft chuckle, his hands in his pockets. "Yeah. It reminds me of the magic library."

He was not as excited to find this place as he had once been. He felt apathetic towards everything he was surrounded by, and even the hybrid himself knew that something was wrong. He used to love being surrounded by magic and the mysteries of it's arts. He used to love to explore and adventure the unknown, but now...it did not really feel anything. The knowledge that something was wrong brought a heavy pressure to his chest. Drake was just happy that he was able to feel...glad. Glad that Grayson had finally made it here to hatch the egg, but not so much for freeing himself from illness and eternal possession. He still had his doubts that he could truly be saved.

Grayson replied, looking over at his closest companion. "Do you suppose that the same people who built this place also made the structure for the magic library?"

Drake shrugged, his eyes continuing to scan the place. "I suppose. That's not a bad assumption. Really, it does seem very likely."

He walked over to the nearest bookcase to the right, reaching his hand out and sliding it across the wood. His eyes kept moving as if he was trying to take in detail on every speck of dust that he saw. Taking in so much detail had become somewhat of a habit since he usually did so whenever he tried to stop himself from having a panic attack. He removed his hand and looked down at the dust covering the white and faint red of his bandages.
His eyes looked up and scanned the spines of the books wedged between each other. Some were labeled while others were blank, it's content a mystery until one opened them to gaze inside. Some of the words were in a bright gold, others a faint golden green and with others, the letters were so faint that what they read was illegible. From what he could tell, each book was in some way connected to magic and magi.

  "Perhaps this stuff was more valuable than what was at the magic library." He assumed.

Mia practically sprinted up to one of the cases, her mouth hanging open and her lime green eyes wide with wonder. Drake let a weak smile spread across his cheeks, glad that his friend was so happy. He really admired the fact that she stayed so optimistic and cheerful despite everything they had been through. The elf examined book by book, taking out one, reading some of it, then placing it back into its place before grabbing another.

She hopped up and down. "Look at all of this knowledge! I can't pass by on stuff like this!"

Endy was the next to bask in awe. "That crystal up there is so pretty!" She pointed to The Ender crystal.

Grayson gave out a weak chuckle, before he looked out to everyone. His smile faded but occasionally the corners of his lips would twitch as if he was keeping himself from smiling. "Guys, I know that this place is amazing, but remember that we have a job to do and time is ticking away. We have to find anything that will help with hatching the dragon egg or help Drake. If you find anything about the egg, mana corruption, or...him, then call out or find me or Drake. Got it?"

Everyone beside Drake answered that they would do so, although they did not say that they were not going to search for cool artifacts or other interesting information. The hybrid suddenly felt a heavy feeling weighing in his chest. He lifted up his hand and tugged on his hood, another habit he had picked up whenever he fell into a depression. It was so sudden and out of the blue, hitting without a true reason. He saw images of himself dying in his own blood. He could almost feel the sensation of laying on stone ground on top of a pool of warm liquid. He twitched, the jolt snapping him away from the unwanted images.

He looked over his shoulder as Xavier spoke with glee. "Jane, Endy and I are going to check out this side room over here. You alright with that Endy?" He pointed to a arched doorway to the left, which seemed to lead into a brightly lit room.

Endy's smile grew, red visibly rising in his soft cheeks. "Sure!"

She began to follow the ex-spy and his daughter, excited to look around at all of the fascinating magical items, and to be able to spend some time with Xavier without the others being around. She looked over her shoulder, confirming her feeling that Lalea was giving her a smug look. She stuck out her tongue slightly before turning around and running up to Xavier and Jane as they walked to the distant room.  Xavier chuckled, before he shouted that he would race them there and sprinted away, leaving behind the two girls.
Drake smiled at them, turning around and grabbing a book at random. He pulled it out and opened it to a random page, looking down at a picture drawn in ink of the left page and words in the magi alphabet written on the right. It was a spell that could reflect any magic back to it's caster. The picture depicted a Mage in a cloak with his hand extended. A magic circle was in front of his hand, an image drawn in thin air by magic energy. His opponents spell seemed to bounce off of the circle and hurtle right back towards himself. The spell was called "Cogitatio ex voluntate". Drake repeated the spell over and over again in his head, trying to get it down. At least his interest in learning was finally beginning to kick in.
As everyone scattered to find magic items and books, Grayson and Lalea walked straight ahead, with Lalea going to Drake's left side and Grayson standing a few feet to his right.

"Why do I even bother? You're already too far gone..."

Drake looked up at the ex-commander, lowering a brow at his remark. His chest then felt heavy. Did he hear him right? No. Grayson would never say that, would he? Despite that he had been wanting them to give up on him, actually hearing it slip past his best friend's lips was turning out to be more hurtful than he had anticipated. How could he say something like that?

"Excuse me?" Drake tilted his head, swallowing a lump in his throat.

Grayson this time lowered a brow. "I didn't say anything."

He just wants you to think that. He's given up on you.

The hybrid shook his head, stepping back as the action caused him to become dizzy. He mumbled out an apology, turning his attention back to the books in hopes that Grayson would carry on without asking him if he was alright. He placed the book away, his eye twitching at the pulsating pain arising in his head. A hiss of pain made its way past his gritting teeth.
Grayson looked straight ahead of himself, standing there for a minute without moving or speaking, debating rather or not to ask his best friend if he was okay. Eventually he shrugged it off and carried onto the next row of books, not wanting to pester Drake with questions that he probably did not want to hear.
Lalea gazed at Drake, with an open book that she had taken out sitting in her right palm. The female Mage inched a bit closer, causing him to jump when he turned around and saw her. It was like he had forgotten that she was there in the first place.

"Quit acting like an idiot! When you going to die already?!" He looked at his love, eyes locking onto Lalea as he heard her voice join the ringing in his sore ears.

Drake once again had to shake his head, and blink rapidly to clear his vision. "Wh-what?"

Lalea repeated herself. "I was asking if you were okay. Do you have a headache or something?"

Drake's eyes darted around the place, anxiety spiraling through his mind. He clutched his fists tightly, taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly. He put his hands into his pockets, trying to hide the fact that they were twitching from his nerves. He was beginning to feel jumpy with paranoia and anxiety rising in his chest.

It's nothing, Drake. You're just hearing things.

You've been hearing things for over a month now...

Shut up!

His neck twitched, his spine cracking as he did so. He hoped that the twitch was not too noticeable, even though he saw Lalea flinch when he did. Her blue eyes looked up into his eyes, their concerned glimmer being one that he would never mistake. His hand rose up and rubbed the back of his neck as he hissed in pain. The twitching was becoming more of an irritation and a bit painful.

He finally answered Lalea's question. "Yeah. It's just a minor migraine. I'll be fine." He swallowed a lump in his throat, nearly chocking on the lie.

  Minor? You're so full of lies! You're so pathetic that you're beginning to lie to the one you love, even after they kept telling you to stop and tell them the truth. You're pathetic and their pathetic for believing you.

Lalea halfheartedly smiled and stepped closer to him. She placed her right hand on his chest, her fingers beginning to gently pull on the blue fabric as she stood up on her tippy toes. Drake leaned down slightly as she pulled at his shirt, getting low enough to let their lips touch. He closed his eyes as she placed her lips on his, giving him a quick kiss before getting back steadily on her feet and stepping away from her love.

"You better be. I'll be up on the top floor up there. Come meet up with me when you want to." She remarked as she flattened his torn up shirt and put a smirk on her face.

She walked around him and wandered off beyond his sight. Drake's smile slowly lowered, a saddened feeling once again consuming him. Drake turned away, taking out another book and started flipping through it's pages. One spell was quick to catch his eye, translating to "aura manipulation".

  Go ahead and try it. It won't matter if it hurts.

The hybrid truly did not care it would end up hurting him. His mind felt compelled to at least try. He took in a deep breath and lifted up his arm, looking at his shaking fingertips. His lips moved, reciting the spell written in ink on the page of the book. Pain flared up in his chest, but he did not stop moving his lips and speaking. A purple glow surround his hand, turning into a massive purple claw. It was a deep purple, the magic energy going down half of his arm. It resembled the deadly hand of an Enderman.
He smiled and unconsciously chuckled until he felt warm liquid drip down from his nose. The aura around Drake's arm vanished, allowing him to wipe his nose and lips. His eyes glanced down, himself not being surprised to see the smeared blood on the back of his glove. He gagged but was able to keep down the bile threatening to spew from his mouth.
He did not know why, but he suddenly felt saddened. He felt like everyone was wasting their time with searching for something to help his condition. He looked down, feeling uncertain about how the events of the rest of the day would play out.

Endy's point of view-

I scavenged through one of the multiple old chest lined against the wall, finding some difficulty since I could only use one arm. The room had an upper floor like the grand room, lit up by magical lanterns that seemed almost unworldly. There were books everywhere, which we should have been looking at instead but curiosity was getting the better of us. Keeping a magi from magical items is like keeping a horse that was dying of thirst away from the river.
I watched Jane search through a tiny chest that was one a small shelf, pulling out some necklaces and brooches with magical properties. She seemed to love the design of each of them, but placed them back as if she felt that she was stealing if she took something. I laughed, telling her her that it was alright if she took something that she liked.
So, she pulled out a pendent, a small one with purple gems lined with gold, formed in the shape of a flower. She happily placed the chain around her neck, letting the necklace join with the golden chain she already wore. I smiled, glad to see her happy.

"That looks so pretty on you!" I complimented her.

She giggled with flushed cheeks. "Thank you Endy! Did you find any pretty things?"

I disregarded the chest and began to walk over to the bookcases to see what I could find that was useful. "Nothing nearly as pretty as that."

I looked away and began to let my eyes scan the context of the bookshelf I was standing before. The next thing I knew, Jane was next to me holding something out. I gazed down at the necklace she held. It was a small vial filled with a purplish white liquid. The two colors that would not mix together made it seem like it was two thick potions in one. It was a potion of some sorts, but no doubt important.

"Here! This one kinda goes with your eyes!"

I extended my arm and took it, gently taking it from her grasp. It swayed from side to side as the vile hung on the thin golden chain. I smiled down at her, my cheeks becoming flushed. I unclipped the clamp on the back, putting it around my neck as I thanked her. It was a bit difficult with one arm but I somehow managed. She's so sweet! Once it was on, I looked down at it, wondering what this potion could do.

"It's beautiful! Thank you, sweetie!"

She laughed and pointed back to another small chest she had looked through off in the right side of the room. "I found it there."

"Thank you." I repeated, gently rubbing her head. I turned once again when Xavier's grunting caught my attention.

Xavier was looking through another chest, moving things around and causing quite a bit of noise as he tried to get down to the bottom. The chest was larger than the others, but not by much. I chuckled, seeing him bend so far down that he nearly fell into the chest. The chest was not even all that big, but he was a bit too eager to find something he found interesting. He found a few scrolls, but of course he could not read them since they were written in the magi language.

"Need any help there?"

He called out, his echoing and slightly muffled from his face being buried in there. "I'm good, las... Hey, look at this!"

He stood up, swaying on his feet and coughing a bit from the dust. He took out a chakram that had a bright green round blade and a black handle that looked to be made of obsidian. The blade had little swirls on it for design and a magic presence within it. In his other hand, he held four large dark green shurikens. The colors went well with his eyes, both glimmering brightly in the lighting. I smiled, enjoying seeing him with wide eyes and a wide smile. I turned my head away from him when my skin started to warm up and noticed my speeding heart rate.

"These are perfect! I wonder what kind of magic they have!" He jumped in excited. I couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm.

He put the shurikens in his belt where all of his old kunai knives used to be before he lost them all in battle. He lost the last one when holding off those pixies. The next thing I knew, he spun around and swung his arm at the wall, the blade of his new weapon hitting the stone wall. I jumped and yelped, watching with horror as he destroyed a priceless artifact...but the blade remained completely intact.
Instead of the bright green blade of the chakram shattering into pieces, it sliced straight through the thick stone of the wall. I gasped in surprise, marveled that the blade was that powerful. It must have been a heavily enchanted weapon in order to cause damage like that and not any damage to itself.
He laughed, turning his head and looking at me with wide eyes full of wonder and his bright teeth.

"This is awesome!"

I could not help but scold him just a bit. "What were you thinking? You could have destroyed that! Do you know how valuable that must be?"

"But I didn't break it, now did I?"

I didn't reply, only putting my hand against my hip. He tilted his head and chuckled, moving the chakram to his other hand. His eyelids lowered just a bit, exchanging a gaze that, dare I say...found to be alluring. I flinched when his right arm lifted up and placed his index finger on my nose, tapping it quickly.

"Boop." He giggled, getting Jane to laugh beside him.

I could tell that my cheeks were blushing. I shook my head and stepped away from him, failing in my attempt to not laugh along with the two. He put his new weapon onto his belt, which had me a bit worried that it would cut him since the handle of the blade was attached to his belt but the sharp material could easily cut his leg. At least his belt was made specifically to hold weapons such as this.

He finished laughing, taking in a heavy breath before he walked around me. "So did you find anything?"

Jane ran up to the another chest, her young mind finding more interest in the magical items rather that reading. I told Xavier that I hadn't really found much other than a few scrolls that seemed complicated, even for a Mage like myself. Then I shrugged and held up the chain to the necklace Jane had given to me.

"Although Jane gave me this!

He eyes once again lit up as he turned his body and bent down a bit to examine the vile. "Cool!...uh, what does it do?"

I shrugged my shoulders, my face feeling flushed . "Well, I don't know what it does, but it seems valuable."

"Is there any way to figure out?" He asked, tilting his head. His eyes were wide and curious like that of a puppy.

I giggled and nodded. "I think there might be a little scroll or something where Jane found it. At least I hope so."

I walked over to the small table that Jane had pointed to earlier. In the middle was a small chest that resembled a jewelry box, seeming to be made of pure gold and decorated in purple, green, blue, and red gems. The box was opened to reveal a small red pillow that acted as cushion for whatever was once inside. An imprint was left in the cushion, matching the shape of my necklace.
Next to it was a small piece of paper that Jane had probably disregarded. I picked up the small piece of paper and read it, instantly recognizing the writing of the ancient language of the magi.

"Yep. It's a regeneration potion, but this one is apparently a lot stronger than most. I suppose that is why it's color is different than normal. Although it can old heal injuries within thirty minutes after they were inflicted."

I grunted, looking down at my busted arm. It would have been great to finally be able to use my arm again, but I suppose that everything has a catch to it.

"At least it might be useful later on. It's can't heal Drake's illness, can it?"

My eyes scanned the paper again, even more disappointed flooding into my system. "Nope. Only wounds, but I'm not sure if it can heal severe ones."

He grunted and turned around. "Of course, but hey! It's still incredibly useful! I mean, we get hurt all the time!" He pointed to his head, myself remembering that he still had a concussion. At least it should go away in a few days.

"Yeah!" I looked down at the necklace, changing the subject. "Jane's really sweet. I don't think that even I was that nice when I was her age."

He shrugged. "Well, when she hits the teen years, then let's hope that she stays like that!" I saw his pale cheeks turn pink.

Once again I felt the heat flush my face and felt my heart beginning to beat faster. Why?! No, I know exactly why... I looked into his eyes as he let out another one of his joyful little chuckles. A smile creeped across my lips, watching his chestnut hair bounce as he spun around and went over to his daughter. I wonder if he feels the same. Who am I kidding?! He just lost his wife the other day... I know that he is still heartbroken and unwilling to move on just yet. It's completely understandable but at least now I know how Lalea felt before she told Drake how she really felt.

Grayson's point of view-

Book after book I searched but kept coming out empty handed with information I needed. I felt a bit frustrated, not only because I was not finding anything, but because I felt like I was the only one who was actually searching for what we actually needed to find. I let out a sigh of frustration, shutting a book in my hand and forcing it back into its slot on the tall, long shelf.
My head turned, gazing to my left where there was a doorway to another smaller room. Nathan was in there searching through chests and books and examining shelves with potions lined on the polished spruce wood. At least he was actually looking at the books, though he did get distracted but I suppose I can't blame him. It was hard for even me to resist going in there and taking what I saw on the shelves and resisting my curiosity on what was inside of those chests.
I shook my head and turned back to the books. I reached out and grabbed one at random, my gloved hand taking a brown leather book. I opened it up and read the first page, with a picture drawn onto the second. It was a book about enchanting material objects to give them 'artificial life'. It wasn't useful but at least it was something that was finally in English instead of the magi language.

My attention turned back to the books, until I heard the boy shout out, "Cool!"

Immediately he caught my interest, and I felt urged to head over and see what he had discovered. Placing the book back, I turned and made a stride towards the room Nathan was in. I peeked my head into the room, looking around until I spotted him near the far right corner by a shelf filled with potions and small artifacts. Nathan spun around, causing me to step back so I could get a full view of the wide, bright object he now held.

"How did I not notice this when I came in here?!" He asked himself the rhetorical question, his hazel eyes gleaming with excitement.

Over his arm was a heater shield. It seemed to be made of emerald with gold along its edges. What was really captivating was the image of a dragon's head made of gleaming gold. It looked brand new, with very few scratches or damage to the material. It seemed to be sturdy and able to withstand strong blows. I wondered why it was in a place filled with things regarding magic.

"That looks awesome!" I exclaimed, walking up to him and extending my arm to take it.

He did not resist when I grabbed the shield and pulled it away from him. I held it in front of myself, letting my fingers trace the emerald base and the golden decoration. It did look really cool. I smiled and looked over to him, snickering as a thought came to my head.

"It's mine now!" With that, I bolted out of the room as I laughed.

I could hear Nathan chasing after me. "Grayson, that isn't fair! Give it back!"

I turned a corner, nearly slipping but my shoes kept their grip on the wooden floorboards. Behind me, I heard something bang against the floor which momentarily caused my stomach to drop. I came to a halt and turned my head to look over my shoulder, seeing Nathan on the floor, hissing in pain as he picked himself up. I twisted my body so I was facing him, a bit concerned when he held his wrist on the hand that only had four fingers left.

I took a step forward. "Are you alright, buddy?" Have I ever called him that before?

He looked back up at me hissing but his grin reappeared on his lips. He shook his hand in hopes that it would ease some of the pain. "Not until I get my shield back!"

He sprinted at me. My smile came back as I swiftly turned around and pushed my right foot against the floor and began yet another stride. I knew that I was wasting time, or at least I should have known. It was just...for a moment, the stress fled my body. For a moment I felt happy and forgot our troubles. Was that good or bad under our circumstances?
...

Drake's point of view-

I leaned against the railing, gazing down at Grayson and Nathan as the auburn chased the blonde relentlessly. I came up to the upper level of the room, joining Lalea in her search for finding something useful. I was glad that everyone seemed to be having fun and not stressing out over my well being. It felt nice not being a burden, for now at least. A smile came onto my cheeks, bringing a sore pain but the soreness did not have much affect on me anymore. It felt good to feel happy despite that my body felt awful from illness and strange sore pains on my skin that felt more external. I noticed that my skin was starting to bruise randomly. Lalea said that isn't a good sign, but would I care?
Lalea and I were kind of surprised to find even more side rooms filled with shelves with potions and items, and of course a ton of books, although we really should not have been surprised to find so much.

I watched Nathan stop and place his hands on his knees, panting and out of breath. "Fine, keep it! I'll just go find something else!"

Grayson laughed. "Come on! Fine, I'll keep it. Thanks...I guess!" I knew that Nathan must have rolled his eyes.

Grayson's emerald eyes caught a glimpse of me, looking up with a glimmer in his orbs. A weak smile painted itself onto the blonde's pink lips. I smiled in return, giving a weak wave of my hand.
I turned my attention back to the bookshelf I had been searching. I wanted to learn more about magic, even though that with my condition it was dangerous to use magic but...it made me feel strong. It made me feel like I was not helpless. Using magic made me feel...powerful.
I was looking through many books, cramming as many spells into my head as I could. I don't recall ever feeling this thirsty for power. Perhaps it's Herobrine's influence or just my own burning greed. I don't really know what parts of my new personality and my mind are influenced by him and what parts are actually me.

It's just you finally realizing how power hungry you truly are. Searching for power to find new ways to satisfy your bloodlust. We really are alike!

I had already picked up a few interesting spells, some more powerful than I believed that magic could allow. Unfortunately they used up an alarming amount of mana so I didn't actually use them, but I have the spells to cast them memorized.
I even...memorized some black magic spells. Some were on dusty scrolls and others were in a book I found on the dark arts. I was reluctant to at first and going to disregard it but with the voices in my head and this tugging feeling in my chest, I just felt like I had to learn them, almost like I was being forced.
My eyes scanned the page of a book I held, looking at the picture off to the side. The image showed two battling magi with a large line of the ground exploding between the two in a mass of fire and energy. It was called "Venae tenebris". Once again I repeatedly said it into my head until I had it down as if it were written inside my brain. I had to be careful not to move my lips and say even a word out loud, otherwise there would be a possibility that I'd cast the spell and end up destroying the area, possibly killing my self and a taking a comrade with me.
I turned to the next page, gasping at the name of the spell and it's category of listing. "Mana furantur", in English it is known as "Mana drain". It was listed as a black magic spell. It gave the user the ability to drain mana from another magic user and put that mana into their own body.

That's an interesting one, don't you think? You should use it... How about testing it on your little girlfriend over there?

A chill ran down my back and my blood ran cold. I can't use that on Lalea! I refuse! Yet I found myself repeatedly reciting the spell in my head as if I actually intended to use it. Besides, my mana levels are already alarmingly high, or are they alarmingly low? I don't really recall but I know that I am not using that kind of spell on Lalea, at least not against her will.

"Drake, come over here!" Lalea snapped me out of my thoughts.

I slammed the book shut and shook my head. Placing it back, I answered, "Yeah, I'm coming. Don't worry."

I put my hands into my pockets as I walked over to a side room that Lalea was in. It was a comfortable size, not too wide but not so small that it would trigger my claustrophobia. The dark green rug continued into the room, giving the area a welcoming tone. At the opposite end of the room was an enchantment table surrounded by bookcases and bright purple lights in the stone around it, like we had found at the magic library. On the right side of the room there was an armor stand but nothing on it, with a short shelf about three feet tall with only two rows full of ingredients for brewing potions. Next to that was a taller shelf full with even more books. On top of the smaller shelf was a table of poppets.
On the left side of the room were more shelves, one smaller one having a brewing stand on top of it. I examined one of the shelves, the middle row filled with books while the two above and below it was filled with various potions, some labeled and others unnamed. On the bottom row was a marble bowl with a few potion ingredients around it, the bowl's purpose being to ground up the ingredients in order to create potions. Next to the the bookcases surrounding the enchantment table was an alter covered in a red cloth. On top of the alter were candles with black string as if they had been lit long ago. With that, there was a golden chalice, and a crystal ball with a crack in it. Against the walls beside the doorway there were chests and tapestries on the walls showing what looked to be people using magic.
I turned to Lalea to my right, who walked up to me holding a bunch of black cloth in her arms that had a pair of long black boots on top of it. I lowered a brown, wondering why she was holding them. She set them on a chest and spoke without looking over to me.

"I've been thinking, how could Luke's hat have opened that door? I mean, how could the people who designed this place have known, let alone figure out how to make the hat a key!?" Lalea spoke.

The mention of Luke caused my body to feel heavy and brought back the unwanted feelings of sorrow and guilt. No matter what any said, a part of me could not get rid of the guilt, repeatedly casting the blame onto myself. I took in a deep breath, turning away and looking at potions that were on a shelf to distract my guilt.

"I've been thinking about that too. Perhaps they were psychic magi? They're extremely rare but the possibility is plausible."

"I suppose. They can tell the future right? Or just bits and pieces of it? It would explain how they knew about Luke's...departure. At least one of them had to have that ability."

I swallowed a lump in my throat, my fingers beginning to twitch. The image of him jumping out in front of Grayson played in my head and the image of him lying bloody on the snow covered grass. I remembered the feeling of his life force still lingering before Lalea stopped me from doing anything to save him. I felt guilty but there was also anger hidden behind that memory. I clenched my fist and bit my lip.

"Can we not talk about Luke right now? Please."

Lalea nodded, leaning down and grabbing the black mass that she had set down just moments ago. "Right. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

I forced myself to smile to make her feel better. "No, it's fine... What's all that stuff?" I asked, changing the subject.

She smiled and held them out to me, her cheeks pink. "Your new clothes! Go try them on! Don't worry, I'll make sure that no one sees you!"

I hesitantly took the clothing, slowly extending my arms and letting her place them on my extended forearms. I looked down and examined them, seeing that upon closer inspection, the shirt and pants were a dark grey that were almost black, both with black trimming. There was a cape, long gloves, and of course the long black leather boots. On the boots were purple gems on the cuffs as well as the same kind of gems going down the forearms of the long gloves. They looked okay but I had no interest in clothing.

I spoke with a bit of uninterested tone. "Uh, thanks but why do you want me to wear this?"

She put a hand on her hip and leaned her head forward. "These have special buffs to them! Any damage they take, the clothes will repair themselves and they help make magical attacks stronger. Besides Drake, look at your clothes. You need new ones."

I looked down at my current clothing, examining the many rips and the bloodstains that made most of my shirt have a purplish red color. The blood was stale, making the fabric thicker than it should have been. My pants were just as bloody and only slightly less torn and my shoes were admittedly worn out. How long has it been since I've wore different clothes? Now that I think about it, I've been wearing these same clothes since I created, well just not the cape and gloves. My face burned even more than it had been with the realization.

I pulled the clothing closer to my chest, knowing that there was a deep blush on my cheeks. "Fine, I'll wear them, but...how am I going to put them on in privacy?"

She looked around, her own cheeks also growing a little flush. "Well, you get dressed in here. I'll make sure that no one comes up here and sees you!"

  "How do I know that you won't peak?"

Her blushed deepened, making me chuckle in amusement. She shook her head. "I won't! I swear!"

I chuckled again, smiling. "Alright. I trust you. Now go out there and don't look, alright?"

She nodded and left the room, going over to the railing and leaning to glance over. I did trust her but I stepped back into the corner, away from the doorway and away from people's sight just incase. I let out a deep breath then looked down at the new, clean fabric in my arms and could not help but smile. At least she actually thought about me.
I bent down and set the black clothing aside. My backpack straps slipped from my broad shoulders, letting me set that aside as well. I unbuttoned my cape from around my neck, and swung it over my shoulders so I could get a glance at how damaged it had become. It was filled with rips and slashes, along with many crimson stains that caused a discoloration in the gray of the fabric. Then I stood up straight as I began removing my bloody and ragged shirt. I carelessly tossed the blue, red covered cloth on top of my leather backpack.
My eyes gazed down at my chest as my hands reached to unbutton my ragged jeans. My body had become more gaunt. Even with the bandages, my ribs were visible and even the top of my pelvis was becoming easier to see from myself not eating much theses past long days. I was still starving but I have not bothered to ask for any food. There is no point.
I stopped and froze, my eyes locking onto my torso. The bandages were fresh and unscathed with slashes, yet blood had seeped through from my old wounds.

"What the-?"

A familiar pattern of red against the stains of brown and the white drew my attention towards it. A part of me was tempted to rip the fresh dressing off of my chest, but I did not want to incase it would lead to infection. Not that it really mattered anyway. The familiar word consisting of three letters that held a sense of dread behind them was engraved in a crimson hue across my torso. The name of the demon in my head whose true name few mortals dared to speak. "H.I.M". The blood seemed almost fresh, but I felt no pain as if my wounds had been opened.
I cried out in pain, my left hand shooting up and grabbing my right arm. A burning pain flared through my veins, all of the pain coming from that one spot on my arm. I started to breath heavily, hissing as I looked down at the source of the pain. I removed my hand, another gasp rising in my throat as I looked down at the blood covering my gloved hand and running down my arm, soaking into the bandages. I had to carefully move the bandages down and tried not to rip them. My eyes widened, seeing a strange circle cut into my skin, looking like a magic circle that I had never seen before. It was a star like a pentagram but had three circles with one on top and two to the sides. It had strange symbols and words around it that even I could not read. It was not in English nor the magi language.

The words are in my native language. It is a sigil. It means that you and I bound. When you die, your soul is stuck with me.

Why are you only doing this now?!

I wanted to wait until you were almost dead inside and in the flesh. I'll have control sooner than you think. You either willingly give up or your illness kills you off. Either way, I win!

"Drake, are you alright? It sounded like you were in pain." Lalea called out for behind the wall.

I got down onto my knees and pulled out a cloth. I wiped away the blood before I pulled the bandages back up to cover the wound. I noticed how badly I had been sweating, getting the mark on my arm only making the panic within me worsen. Does that mean that suicide is no longer an option? Wait, what am I thinking?! That was never an option; never the answer!

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had another headache." I am so tired of lying.

The longer I looked down at my covered and exposed flesh, the more my fingers twitched with an urge to harm myself. I just felt like clawing off my own flesh. I felt my head beginning to pound and the whispers of taunting and temptations increasing in volume within my head.

The pain will make you feel better.

Better to hurt yourself than to harm your friends.

You will be dead soon anyway.

My eyes closed as I took in a deep breath. I opened my eyes again, recalling just how messed up and blurred my vision had become. I let out a low growl as it slipped from the back of my throat. Finally I kicked off my worn gray boots and removed my gloves from my blistered and burned hands. I tossed them onto my cape before I looked down to finish changing.

You're time is almost up, Drake. Why do you keep resisting? Just accept fate.

"Forget it...I am not giving into you. I am not losing hope..."

I looked ahead of myself, remembering my friends and the girl I had fallen for. My family. The sides of my lips lifted with my pleasant memories of them and of their encouragement for me to keep moving forward when I feel like I should just spot and give up. They are my reason to live, and I will do and go through anything, no matter how painful and horrific, as long as it is for their sake.

"...Not when I have them."
...

Lalea's point of view-

I looked through another book, becoming frustrated with not finding any useful information. Nothing on the dragon egg, nothing on mana corruption, and nothing on Herobrine. Sure, there was a ton of magic spells and everything around but I just needed to focus on helping Drake by any means. I turned around when I heard walking, smiling when I saw Drake in his knew attire. The clothes were a bit dusty but at least they weren't all torn and bloodied.
His new cape was black, with the button at the neck being a purple gem with a rim of gold. His shirt was a dark gray military jacket that looked almost black, with black trims on the cuffs, the collar, and down by the opening next to the purple gem buttons. He had a black leather belt over it with a pouch and things that he could use to hold small potion viles and black pants. I knew that with his long legs, the pants were a bit short but the boots hid his exposed ankles. His boots were long with a purple gem near the top-center of each. His gloves almost reached to his elbows, both with purple gems on the wrist and another halfway on his forearm.
The belt also had a sheath but no sword. I guessed that we'd have to find him one since his diamond blade had shattered earlier. His pale skin looked a bit weird in the black of his hood over his head, to me at least, but the attire fit perfectly with his Enderman half.

  "So, uh... how do I look?"

I clapped. "Took you long enough! You look perfect! Do they feel okay? You look...uncomfortable."

He rubbed the top of his right arm, flinching as if he had touched a wound. "No, the clothes are fine, and I'm fine. Everything is alright, the headaches are just...painful."

I walked up to him, grabbing onto his cape and pulling him down, standing on my toes so I could reach up and kiss him on the lips. After pulling away, we both smiled and looked into each other's eyes. I released his cape and stepped back, tilting my head as my smile grew wider. I felt excited but honestly did not know why.

  "Well I'm glad that you like those. You look great in them! Now we just have to find you a new sword."

He smiled and thanked me for the compliment. He gave out a nervous chuckle as he reached down into his pocket and pulled something out, the small object hidden from my sight as he held it in his palm.

He tilted his head. "H-here...this is also one reason why...I took so long." He spoke between breaths, as if he was now beginning to struggle to breathe.

I held out my hand, facing my palm upwards as I waited for him to hand over whatever it was that he held. His gloved fingers opened up, letting something cold fall onto my palm with a faint cling. I looked down at the object, a gasp of breath leaving my lungs. What he gave to me was a necklace with a golden chain and with small golden bars that surrounded a tiny red heart gem, encasing the heart in what resembled a spherical cage.

  "Drake, this is beautiful!" I held it up, my eyes almost tearing up in happiness.

He chuckled in a bright manner, stepping around to my back. My hood fell down as he pulled it, his hands then reaching over my shoulders, grabbing the two ends of the chains. He put it around my neck and clipped the chain so that it was firmly in place. He moved my long hair, allowing the chain to touch the nape of my neck. I giggled as he came back around to face me, his lips perked up at it's corners and his eyes partially closed which gave them a gentle appearance.

  "You look beautiful with you hood down." He said, messing with my hair.

I joked with him. "So you're saying that I'm not pretty with my hood up?"

He defended himself. "No! I just..! You know what I mean."

I laughed and told him that I was just messing with him. I looked down at the necklace with the caged gem resting against my chest. He was so thoughtful to give me this. It was beautiful and the little heart was perfect for our relationship. I wondered what kind of magic it had, since I assumed that it had to have some sort of magic if it was in this place.

  "Thank you, Drakey-poo!" I jumped up and down as I laughed.

  "It's no problem...Let's go see what the others found. I'm a bit anxious to know."

I agreed, taking his hand and began to pull him over to the spiral stairs. I heard him laugh at my excitement, my heart melting at the gentle sound. It was rare that he genuinely laughed, so I tried to take it in and find pleasure in it whenever he did.

  "I'm glad that you're happy, Drakey-poo!" I laughed, calling him his little nickname again. Unlike before, this time he actually seemed to notice my word choice.

I looked over my shoulder at him, seeing him blush like before. "Drakey... Are you going to make it a habit of calling me that, because I'll never hear the end of it from Grayson..."

Once again I could not help but laugh. "Fine, I won't call you that...in front of Grayson."
...

Mia's point of view-

I decided to search one of the side rooms with Nathan, an,small room with a ton of magic items and books. I looked at the shelves, reading the labels on bottles of ingredients for potions. Some of the things had strange names that I had never heard of, raising my curiosity of what the material was. Mutandis, Vinteum dust, Ender moss. Then there were more foul ingredients that seemed to be more for witchcraft, if standard magic that Magi use is different than witchcraft. There were frog warts and worms blood and...a dogs tongue. It all made me want to gag. Please tell me that Drake, Lalea, and Endy have never used that stuff...
I turned my attention away from all of that, hoping to get the image out of my mind. Magic is supposed to be awesome, but that...it's sick! Nathan looked at it as well, his face distorting in disgust. He shook his head and sharply turned away.

"Do magi actually use that stuff or..?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. Let's not think about it, shall we?"

I shook my head and went over to a chest. I got down onto my knees and undid the locks, which were not really locks. I just had to push them up then the trunk popped right open. Immediately my eyes widened as I taken in by wonder.

  "So pretty!" I basked, reaching in and pulling out and old bow with a hold full of five arrows.

By the looks of it, the bow and arrows were elvish. The bow was wooden but had golden decorations with spots of what appeared to be gems of emerald but they were darker than most emerald that I had see, resembling that of fresh leaves. Elven culture loved designing things that remained us of our home up in the trees. The arrows had normal stone heads but they had a green tint to them as if they were enchanted. The end of the arrows had solid green fletchings that allowed the arrows to fly with stability and accuracy.

"That looks neat! The last cool thing I found, Grayson stole from me." Nathan said, looking through a small chest.

I laughed. "Don't worry. Grayson did that to me too at the magic library. He took this cool hand thing away from me, but it ended getting burned by lava in the end anyways"

I put the strap of the hostler holding the arrows over my head and onto my right shoulder, letting the strap go from my right shoulder down to my left side. I then grabbed the bow and did the same with that. I looked through the chest again, but found nothing.

"Hey Mia, look at what I just found!" Nathan called out to me.

I turned my head, watching him stand and spin around with his auburn hair falling over his face for a moment. My eyes looked down and locked onto a pendent that now hung from his neck. The chain was gold, hanging onto a golden outline that surrounded a gem that was in a egg shape. The gem was the warm, eye catching colors of flames. He smiled, seeming happy with his discovery despite having no clue what it was capable of.

"What do you think is does? There's writing on the back of it but it's in the magi language." He said, beginning to mess around with it.

Suddenly, the pendant began to glow a bright orangish yellow light. I had to look away for a moment before looking back, gasping at the new image I saw in the center of the room. There was an animal standing there, it's body transparent and glowing the colors of fire. It resembled that of a fox with its dog like appearance, bushy tail, and pointed ears. It looked around the room until it glanced at Nathan.
Nathan's pendant was no longer as bright as it had been, in fact it now had a crack running straight through it. The pendant must have summoned this creature. The creature that resembled the spirit of a young fox.

"Did that...did you summon that?! Cause that is awesome and adorable!"

He chuckled nervously. "It guess so. It must be some sort of familiar."

He bent down and tried to get the familiar fox to come over to him. To my surprise, it complied. Like a dog, it jumped onto his lap and rubbed it's head against him, it's tail wagging. Nathan smiled so wide that I knew that his cheeks must have hurt. His hazel eyes were wide with wonder and joy, the warm colors reflecting on his bright orbs.

"This is awesome!"

I inched closer in amazement, getting onto my knees again as I reached out my hand to touch it. "The last time I saw a familiar, we summoned it from an egg. Is it normal to summon them from pendants?"

The familiar started to growl and snarl at me, baring its sharp teeth. I pulled my arm away, causing it to calm down. Nathan began to pet it, his hand not phasing through with its fur moving as if it's body was not just a bunch of light.

"I don't think he likes you. I'm gonna call him Noble! I've always wanted a dog with a name like that!"

"What makes you think it's a he?" I asked.

He replied. "I don't know. He just looks like he has a more masculine form, that's all."

My pointed ears perked up when I heard Grayson's voice call out. My back straightened as I turned to face the doorway. He must have found something important. Noble vanished, his physical form turning into light that returned to the pendent. As it did, the crack in the gem vanished. The ex-mercenary pouted that his new little companion retreated, but he shook head and quickly recovered knowing that Grayson needed us. I looked over to Nathan, nodding at him before we stood and began to run to out of the room to locate our comrade.

Grayson's point of view-

I waited anxiously for the others to arrive at where I stood, holding the green leather book in my hand with a picture of a dragon on the cover. I had read through it, not finding out how to hatch the dragon, but I did find something else relevant to our predicament. Something related to the dragons. The book looked to be thousands of years old, with the leather ripping and the yellowing paper falling apart in my hands if I did not turn the pages too carefully.
I set my new shield aside, once again flipping through the pages of the book as I waited. The pages were handwritten in black ink on papyrus paper, almost looking more like a series of letters instead of a book on history.
I looked up when Endy, Xavier, and Jane arrived. Xavier asked what the problem was, but I only replied that we would discuss it when everyone was together. Mia and Nathan were the next to arrive, quickly followed behind by Drake and Lalea. I looked around, making sure that everyone was around.

  "By the way, nice new clothes! About time!" I quickly complimented Drake.

  "What's the matter, Grayson?" Drake asked. "What did you find?"

I smiled and turned back to the right page that I had wanted to read to them. "Guys, this is... it doesn't say how to hatch the dragon egg or anything but it explains what happened to the dragons and why this place and the magic library were built."

All of their faces lit up. Xavier spoke. "Well, what are you waiting for? Read it!"

I cleared my throats and looked down at the page. I read a bit of it in my head before I began to move my lips and speak out loud. "Alright...Magic once flourished through all known lands, a common thing of everyday life. Then one day a civil war broke out between the users of black magic and the users of the 'Magic of the arc'."

  "That's a weird name..." Mia commented.

I agreed, suggesting that they named it after the Arc of the Covenant from the biblical stories since the Catholic Church was practically dominating the eastern world back in the days when magic and dragons had first vanished. She asked what a Catholic was, which Drake briefly explained that it was a religion that was very popular back in our time.

He asked a question, crossing his arms. "Didn't Catholics have a strict thing against magic?"

I replied. "Well judging from another part of this book that I read, the people who called themselves the 'Magic of the arc' users believed that as long as they used their magic for good and God's will, then God would not punish them" I looked back down and continued on with reading from the book.

  "With help from the dragons, the users of the 'Magic of the arc' were able to triumph over the dark magi. Due to the destructive nature of some spells used in the war, specific types of of magic were labeled as forbidden. Unfortunately, the world leaders at the time did not believe that forbidding types of magic was enough to keep another war from starting, so the they decided to outlaw magic. Any magic user found would be killed. Eventually they came to the conclusion that they needed to abolish magic at its source; the dragons."

Lalea commented. "So that's why dragons are extinct now. Perhaps that's why we always hear stories about dragons being evil. They wanted to convince people of the time that dragons were wicked so they the people hunt them to extinction."

"Yeah, I suppose, but listen to this...Eventually the dragons died out, the last few leaving only a dragon egg to the few humans they had trusted. Theses humans were known as the 'Order of the Arcane'. For centuries they have protected the egg, and the ancient art of magic as it began to dwindle. They built many buildings dedicated to preserving magic and for protecting the dragon egg."

Drake tilted his head, a brow lowering as he thought. "Wait. Hold on. So if the Order was protecting the dragon egg, then how did the empire require it?"

I took a moment to think about the question and remember exactly how the emperor obtained it in the first place. I recalled coming back from a war further up north. The war was a very minor one that the emperor had never really explained why we were fighting. When we returned, the emperor just had the dragon egg, claiming that he had taken it as a prize from the enemy. Actually now that I recall, that war had a surplus of magi soldiers. Was that...? No. It couldn't have been...but it makes sense.

  "Actually, now that I think about it... We went to war back when I was a mercenary. One particular war we fought, the opposing army was small but they had more magi soldiers than I never could have imagined at the time...after we returned, the emperor had the dragon egg. That means..."

My eyes grew from the shocking realization. "We wiped out the Order... "

-----------

For those of you wondering what Drake clothes look like...
(I purposely did not draw his hands. Too hard... and I can't draw...)