POV: Greg
Inside the rock, it was empty. A massive space where a legion could march or a whole city could live now echoed hollowly with our every step. We were led deep inside to a small hall. There, on mats, sat a bunch of kids and four adults: three old men and one old woman.
They were telling the children fairy tales. About how beautiful the world used to be, about great wonders and masters whose names had faded. So boring.
The cat on my shoulder stirred. He started slowly moving from one shoulder to the other, digging his claws into the fabric. Hee-hee, that tickles. His tiny paws trampled my scruff, and as he passed by my head, he rubbed his face against my ear. I couldn't resist, I pet him a little, conjured a water sphere in my palm, and brought it to his nose. The cat began to lap it up slowly, sticking out his pink tongue in a funny way.
The elders fell silent. The story was cut short. They stared at us.
"What is your name, young man?" one asked, stroking his beard.
"Zenkhald. And hers is Aurora."
"Why have you come to us?"
'What kind of stupid questions are these?' I thought, but stayed quiet. Aurora turned out to be more talkative.
"I want to master all the elements. So far, I only wield basic water."
The old men exchanged glances.
"Demonstrate what you can do."
Aurora stood up. She created a water dome, and then ten water spheres began to rotate around her. She spun them, picking up the rhythm, until she dispelled the mana, leaving a huge puddle on the floor. The old men synchronously scratched their beards. This sight started to annoy me—too much hair in one place.
"And you, young man?" a dwarf addressed me.
"What do you mean 'young man'?" I grumbled, standing up. "I told you—Zenkhald."
I decided not to hold back. I stretched out both hands. Small fire sparks poured from the fingertips of my right hand. Above my left palm, a thin, vibrating film of water instantly gathered.
The old men jumped up from their seats.
"You... you wield two elements simultaneously?!"
I frowned. Damn, what happened to this world anyway? This used to be the norm, and now they look at me like a talking fish.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"Listen," the old woman sighed. "There is little we can teach you. Our center, where the real powers are gathered, is located in another city, by the sea coast. You need to go there."
They gave us a map. A boring piece of parchment. Aurora asked what they themselves wielded. One could light a fire, another could rustle the sand a bit, the third could blow a weak breeze.
'Weaklings,' I thought. 'And they call themselves teachers?'
I touched Aurora's shoulder.
SNAP.
We found ourselves on the seashore. The smell of salt, the sound of the surf, and... a wild shriek. The cat fell from my shoulder onto the sand and started twitching in convulsions.
"NO! NO!" I instantly scooped him up and started pouring healing mana into him. "Sorry, little guy, I didn't mean to hurt you. Spatial jumps aren't for your delicate body"
"Why are you even dragging him around with you?" Aurora asked, Dusts himself off.
"Because I took responsibility for his life. Although... I wish I hadn't. So much hassle. Damn it, he wants to eat too."
I looked at the sea. The water was dark and restless. I felt something lurking in the depths. Something hungry and cold.
I walked right up to the water's edge. The wet sand squelched under my feet. A wave touched my boots, and at that very second, the ocean erupted.
A massive snake burst out from the depths. About thirteen meters long, covered in slippery scales. It flew right past me—it had no interest in me—and aimed straight for Aurora. The snake opened its maw so wide it could have swallowed a carriage.
Aurora didn't lose her cool. She threw up her hands, bracing them against the monster's upper and lower palate, trying to hold its jaws open. But the snake's mass and the momentum of the strike were too great. The sand under Aurora's feet began to give way, she slipped, and...
SNAP.
The jaws snapped shut. The snake turned to me, triumphantly flicking its forked tongue. It reared up, preparing to let out a victory cry, but instead...
Water gushed from its mouth. First a trickle, then a veritable waterfall. The snake started vomiting, it threw itself into convulsions on the shore, writhing and thrashing its tail against the rocks. A second later, it went still, having completely drowned from the inside in its own element.
A couple of minutes later, a wet and very angry Aurora climbed out of the dead reptile's maw.
"That absolute beast..." she wrung out her hair, cursing up a storm. "I'm wet again! This feels so incredibly shitty!"
I couldn't help but smile. I pointed my palm at her, blasting her with a warm, dry current of air. Aurora glared at me angrily, but I could tell from her face—she liked it.
We built a fire and, with some difficulty, butchered the snake. The meat was tough, but nutritious. I cut off a piece for the cat.
"Here, eat up."
"And you really like this?" Aurora asked, watching the cat devour the snake meat.
"Like what exactly?"
"Helping helpless creatures. The cat... me..."
"No. I don't like it," I answered honestly.
"Then why?"
"I'm just a fool."
Aurora smiled maliciously.
"True. A rare fool. And what's the difference, by the way? Between an 'idiot', 'stupid', and a 'fool'?"
I looked at the fire.
"Well... 'stupid' is like a tool. Like a dull axe, a dull knife. It's a property of an object. An 'idiot' is a clinical case, feeble-minded from birth. But a 'fool'..." I chuckled. "A fool is a person who does something foolish in a specific moment. By mistake or following their heart."
Aurora frowned, clearly not having fully digested my philosophy, but she didn't ask any more questions. We sat by the sea, finishing off the snake, and in this empty world where magic was dying, the two of us (and the cat) had it pretty tolerable.
