A cloud of dust puffed into the air as Anthony closed one of the doors on the fourth floor. He'd managed to clear the second in about 10 minutes, the third in 8, and was closing the door of each room after he checked them. He wasn't worried about Dax finishing first; he probably didn't know how to detect Majik, and so he'd have to check every corner of every room.
He stepped into another room, closing his eyes, and took a deep breath. He opened his ears, listening… nothing.
As he continued working his way down the hallway, he thought about Dax. They were both first years, but Dax was just starting out halfway through the year. Even then, he seemed so much… different to how Anthony had been at the start. He clearly didn't even know what his Magic was yet, and he seemed inept when it came to even basic, normal logic. There was no way anyone could possibly expect him to save the world.
He made it to the end of the hall, which opened up to a large, rectangular room that seemed like it was for lunch breaks.
That's when he felt it.
The buzz in his hears. The prick behind his eyes. The flare of his nostrils.
He could sense the Majik of a summon.
It was right behind him.
"Construct: Crossbow." He muttered under his breath, and a crossbow that seemed to be made of blue light seemed to materialize around his arm. He leapt towards the wall, twisting in mid air, and fired the bolt off blindly.
The summon caught it in its beak. It had the body of a human, if you ignored the 8 spindly arms that came out of its back. The "head" of the human was stretched wide, the mouth opened enough for the long neck of the summon to stretch out, topped off with a head that featured a prominent beak.
This was way, way, way out of their depth. Anthony reached for the warning device, but before he could hit the button, one of the summon's legs slammed him in the chest. He went flying across the room, crashing into the wall. The device clattered to the floor, and one of the summon's legs crushed it.
"No, No, NO!!!!" The summon's voice sounded like 8 different people talking at once. "Not getting away today, no, no, no…" It took a couple steps towards Anthony - and then stopped. It sniffed the air. "That scent… A once in a lifetime meal…" It shifted its weight to the 8 arms, creeping away much faster than it should've been able to.
Anthony's breath was shaky. There was an immense pain in his chest; he'd probably broken a rib. He could feel blood trickling down his forehead, too. He couldn't worry about his own injuries now, though. What had the summon smelled…?
He felt a shudder run through his body.
Dax.
There would be no reason for another Warlock to be in the building. It must've been Dax… and there was no way he'd be able to defend himself against that summon. That thing was strong enough to take out a third year.
Anthony pulled himself up. He'd just have to ignore his injuries for now. Plus, he always had his failsafe if he needed it.
He took off running down the hall, stopping when he reached the stairwell. He didn't have time to run down the stairs.
He launched himself over the railing. "Construct: Skateboard!" A skateboard made of blue light appeared beneath his feet.
The plan was to land the skateboard on the railing of the stairs on one of the lower levels - preferably level 1 - and then continue down the remaining stairs.
He managed to land on the railing. Unfortunately, he hadn't considered the fact that he had never used a skateboard before.
He immediately lost balance, only just barely managing to throw his weight to the side, and land on the stairs. His head cracked against the wall, and everything went dark.
Meanwhile, Dax was playing with dice.
He'd found a pair in one of the desks, and once he'd finished searching the ground floor, he'd sat on the floor and started rolling them. It was a little fun, for the first minute. By now he'd been doing it for about 10.
He was tempted to go find Anthony and see what he was doing, but he had a point to prove. Anthony had told him to stick to the ground floor, so Dax was going to do that. Really, he was just following the orders of the person escorting him on his initiation mission. Getting to see Anthony's face when he realized what Dax had been doing the entire time was just a bonus.
His thought was interrupted by a pit in his chest.
He didn't know how, but in an instant, he knew he had to move.
He rolled to the left just as the beak of… something came crashing down, cracking the marble floor. Dax pulled himself to his feet, but before he could balance himself, one of the creatures arm leg thingies swung towards him. He ducked, and the limb went clean through the wall.
He was out of his depth here. He had no idea where Anthony is, or if he was even alive, and there was no universe he could beat this thing. He reached for the warning device… and suddenly, he remembered something. When he'd found the dice, there hadn't been enough room in his pocket. He figured he wouldn't actually end up needing the warning device, so… he left it on a desk and took the dice.
He was regretting that a little.
He jumped to the side as the beak came crashing down again. He could see the creature more clearly now, and it made his blood run cold. It looked like it was wearing a human body like clothes, its long neck stretching out of a human mouth, opened to obscene lengths. The "main" body of the summon, the non-human parts, were all pure black, and constantly twitching, as if they were made of shadow. Even worse, the person the summon was wearing seemed to be a girl about Dax's age.
It pulled its beak out of the ground, and they made eye contact. Its eyes were pure white, and as Dax gazed into him, he understood what pure evil was like.
It charged towards him, and, purely out of instinct, he threw the dice. It was a waste of time. He should've dodged. By the time he realized that… It was too late. It had two of its spindly limbs pinning him down. "Finally! The perfect meal!!!"
Is this really it? He wondered as he stared down at the summon's rearing neck. Is this how I'm going to die? Before accomplishing anything?
He thought about his mother, who did everything she could to raise him, despite not wanting him, despite regretting him, despite hating him.
He thought about the people at his school, the way they'd never notice he disappeared, they'd never know he died.
He thought about Geoff, his uncle, who he'd just met. Who he'd never really get to know.
He thought about Anthony. Maybe they would have been rivals, or best friends, or enemies. He'd never know.
He thought about the school, and the way he'd only really seen two of its rooms and a hallway. He'd only met one student and two faculty members. He'd never get to sit in a classroom, or train with his uncle, or even get initiated.
He thought about this new world he'd been introduced to. How he'd never get to fully understand or explore it. How he'd never get answers for why the Majik created him.
And he thought about himself.
He'd been passive all his life, ever since the day his mom had died. He'd let things happen, barely reacted to them, and just went with the flow.
Is that really a way to live life? Was that fulfilling? Was it right?
Sure, people had always ignored him. Forgotten him. But was it fair to blame others, if he never tried to make them notice? If he never made himself more then he was?
Was he even really a person, or just a husk, going through the motions, letting nothing faze him, wasting the gift of life?
Would he really die before getting to find out?
The summon's beak came crashing down.
"Construct: Frisbee!"
Just before it could impale Dax, a disc of blue light smashed the summon's head, causing it to loosen its grip just enough for Dax to kick it in the chest (or at least, the chest of the human body it was wearing.)
The summon stumbled back enough for Dax to launch himself to his feet, and get in a fighting position. He noticed the summon staring at something down the hallway, so he followed its line of sight.
Anthony stood at the end of the hallway, both hands gripping a baseball bat made of the same flickering blue energy the disc had been made of. He had blood dripping from his skull, and yet, he was smiling.
"Dax…" His words sounded weak and pained - but also almost excited. "It's time to get to work!"