8 The Portal

HooHoo HooHoo

Resonating in the air, the shout of an owl was clearly audible by the two humans running in the forest. They obviously didn't care about it; they were totally focused on not losing their breath. The two moons above their heads were not big enough to produce a sufficient amount of light, but that didn't bother the two painting men. Both of them was dressed in a dark robe, with a red hood. Their faces were hidden, but their bodies were not. One was clearly fat and the other skinny. That helped neither of them in their fanatical run. At one point, the fat one stopped for a second and call his companion.

"STOP eh, eh, eh I AM, eh, eh, dead …ehhhhhhhhhhh"

Without even waiting for an answer, he sat on the ground and put his back on a tree. There, he began to rest a little. The skinny one was no better, and realizing that even if they kept doing that, it would be pointless, he stopped too. Their destination was at least half of an hour away from where they currently were resting. But he still took this opportunity to complain about the lack of muscle of the other runner.

"I told you eh, eh, no, I told the grandmaster, you shouldn't eh, eh, shouldn't have been chosen!"

The fat man began to look at the other with angered eyes. He was the one that carried the chest since the beginning, of course, he was more tired. The other was just complaining and wasting his breath. He began to look at what was in his hand. A golden chest, with a lot of scriptures on it. There was a lock on it, but what was important was all the seals and magic protections surrounding it. If someone not from their organization happened to touch it, he would die instantly. As for the key, the skinny man had it. Finally, not panting anymore, they began to quarrel.

"Jean, if it was you that carried the chest, you would probably not be able to even lift it. Look at you, the wind could make you fly!"

"I see; you are attacking my physique. Well, Luc, if you were not that fat, we could have reached the grandmaster already. Even him know that you are a liability on a secret operation like this one!"

"I am still stronger than you! It is not because you reached the fifth Circle before being 30 years old that you are the best. This father of yours reached that point two decades ago."

"WHAT THE FUCK? What are you calling yourself? My father? Go and die of old age already!"

Following the incessant bickering of the two mages, everyone in this part of the forest could hear them. But at that point, they didn't care about the secret mission, it was about honor and pride. Well, none of them had those things, but they didn't care. It could have kept going for a few minutes if only something usual didn't happen.

"… old enough to be your father, you don't even know who your mother is, so why can't I be your father?"

"ENOUGH! You are the last … wait. What is this?"

Jean, the frail-looking mage, was looking down of the big magician. More precisely, at the thing in his hands. Luc, realizing that something was off since he stopped insulting him, noticed the red light leaking from the keyhole. The two of them inspected the protections and seals but found nothing broken. They were both mages of the fifth Circle and while it was not extremely threatening, it was still impressive. In these current days, only one person was a mage of the seven Circle and he was a living legend. As for the sixth Circle, no one was openly of that rank, mainly to protect themselves from the numerous assassins that will come.

After a few minutes, and seeing the light getting stronger, they wondered if the prediction of their grandmaster was finally happening. Inside the chest, was a relic from the ancient times, from a war that everyone knew. One of the few objects that belonged to the dark gods that appeared on this planet. A red crystal, that no one knew how to use it. It could absorb the mana of those that put their hands on it, but not a single reaction was provoked after countless years. But everyone changed a few weeks ago.

Their master told them that the dark gods will be reborn and a new era of despair and blood will arrive. All the believers and cultists spend their magic inside the crystal, believing that the prediction will be fulfilled. Two days ago, Jean and Luc were tasked to retrieve the crystal from their headquarters and join the forces of the cult against an unknown enemy. Right now, the two mages only knew where to go, not who they will be fighting. But the grandmaster told them, that by killing their target, the crystal will finally awaken. Realizing this, the skinny and the fat suddenly jumped in the air, shouting with joy in their voices. To them, that would mean that the gods will grant them their wishes, for they were true to their words in the ancient times.

"Wait, wait, wait, that means they already won! So, maybe we should open it?"

"You're right. Whoever died tonight, I thank you. But it will take some time to unlock everything, Jean, you still have the key?"

"Of course, what do you think, that I would lose it?"

"Well, you have so little on your body, maybe your brain was affected?"

"YOU…"

And while they were arguing again, they efficiently remove all the curses and traps on the chest. In less than ten minutes, the chest was normal once again, only waiting to be opened. Jean took the key out of his robe and opened it. Inside, they could see the crystal pulsating, and while the outer parts were red, darkness was growing inside it. The magicians looked in each other eyes and both understood that it was really happening. But now that they opened the chest and saw that, what should they do?

"Luc, any idea on, how do I say it, using this?"

"Honestly, except the grandmaster, I don't think that anyone can understand this. So, maybe we should go and reach them?"

"Yeah, yeah, you are right. But the chest is useless now, let me grab it and …"

The skinny human crouched and took with both of his hands the red crystal. It was surprisingly light, and only now did he realized that it was the chest that was heavy. He looked at his companion and saw him beginning to run. "That bastard, he left me!" was the thought of Jean. Gnashing his teeth, he ran after him, but carefully, not wanting to fall and break the precious object in his hands. Barely a minute after that, he realized that something was wrong.

"JEAN, BASTARD, STOP!"

"You called your father?"

Fuming after hearing this annoying joke, the late mage reached the smiling fat man. At this moment, he really wanted to punch this annoying prick, but he calmed himself and stated what was bothering him.

"I can't remove my hands."

A moment of silence, before a loud laughter was heard. A round meatball, dressed in black and red was on the ground, laughing. While a stick was turning red from anger and began to kick the other party. Still feeling pain, Jean began to seriously look at the crystal and the hands of his partner. He found nothing unusual, but maybe it was the fact that none of them wanted that crystal to be destroyed. Not fearing anything, the fat man grabbed it and ordered the other one to let it go. But it didn't work.

"I really can't drop it, try it!"

"Nonsense, you are holding it? Ok, I will let it go …. Let… it… go! DAMN!"

Both of them were now stuck and four hands were not grabbing the red gem but trying to push it away. It was after a very long moment of effort that Jean realized something worse.

"Luc, Luc, do you feel that your mana is leaking?"

"What? No way, it's impossi… possible, totally possible. But it's like when we were pouring our magic inside it, what is the problem?"

"This time, we are not doing it voluntarily?"

"True."

And as the minutes passed, the two of them felt weaker and weaker. At first, it was a minor inconvenience, but now, they could feel their life force being taken. Wrinkles began to appear on both of their hands, a clear sign of the condition of their bodies. But no matter what they were trying, they couldn't escape it. Between them, the crystal was turning darker and darker, and right before the two of them passed out, not a single touch of red was seen.

OUCH AHOU

Two bodies fell on the ground, finally free at last. Floating without any help, a dark gem was spinning furiously, creating sparks of electricity. Their hoods being knocked out, two old men looked at each other. Both of them were frail, not a single trace of fat could be seen. The toll was very heavy, but on their faces, only a huge smile could be seen. The prophecy will be complete, thanks to their help. From now on, they will be considered as heroes and definitely will have their wishes granted. Thinking about that happy future, none of them noticed that the gem was fissured and that the electric arcs were getting more and more unstable. Inevitably, the black crystal blew out, producing a pillar of light in the dark night and blasting the two magicians far away. And from this pillar, monsters and unnameable creatures were violently ejected.