MODERN MAGICS. Tianyu (Tony) Zhu

as his vision became blurry and tinged. He wanted it to stop. He screamed -- a blood-curdling scream so loud he had never heard from himself before, and all fighting ceased. The cloudiness in Damian’s eyes finally cleared, and he saw the guards staring at him in awe with bewildered expressions - surprised enough to make them momentarily lower their rifles. Even Bierner was wide-eyed. It was then that Damian realised that my eyes were glowing.

      “A seer eh?” Bierner showed a crooked smile, “How wonderful for you, to be Awakened at this moment.” The devious smile widened as she said, “Lesser.”

      She stretched her hand out and a jagged piece of lightning appeared in her hand, showing her powers as an Elementalist.

      Then something strange happened. Damian didn’t know what it was, but time slowed down and a voice inside his head whispered, she is targeting your head, dodge to the left and hit her stomach.

      Damian did as the voice said. When the bolt of lightning was casted from Bierner’s hand, going at a speed that was almost too fast for the human eye to see, to the guard’s surprise, Damian somehow dodged it. The projectile completely missed, so Damian closed in on her and punched her in the stomach, much faster than what he expected. He watched her collapse onto the ground.

      The guards stared at him in disbelief and confusion. One of them yelled, “Open fire!” and lifted his rifle.

      Domain wanted to shield himself, but he never got the chance. Something strange happened again: the world faded so fast it made him nauseous. He was so dizzy he collapsed onto the ground again. Then he realised there was no ground, it was empty underneath him.

      It was as if Damian entered into another dimension.

      When he stood back up onto his feet, Damian started to notice the other people who had surrounded him -- they were all very still, as if time had been frozen. This strange dimension contained a weird orange tint, it was all but silent in here.

       Let me help you.

      Damian jumped as the mysterious voice boomed through his ears, shattering the quiet. He looked up and saw a bright yellow light, hovering and moving erratically in place. He was about to say something, but he didn’t get the chance. Without waiting for a response, the strange light dove towards Damian. Before Damian could react, it crashed and burrowed into his forehead.

      Damian felt as if he was about to fall flat on his back, but in another sudden surge of vertigo, he found himself in the real world again. The guards who had been frozen like statues, finally leveled their weapons, directly pointing at his chest.

      He tried to stop himself, but it was as if his body wasn’t even his own. Damian felt like a spectator. The security shot their tasers, and he reflexively braced himself for pain -- only to realise, seconds later, that none of them hit. His body propelled himself forward to the guards, who seemed distraught. Ducking and sliding, Damian swept one off her feet and punched her in the guts. The air came out of her lungs as she fainted. The other guards tried to grab Damian, but whoever was controlling Damian’s body was already a step ahead. Damian’s body jumped onto a nearby pile of rubble and kicked an oncoming guard in the face. As the guard was falling, he let go of his rifle, which Damian quickly snatched and shot another with.

      Damian could feel his muscles struggling to keep up. The moves, although impressive, were taking a toll on his own body.

      Stop. He thought in his head. The visceral pain was worsening.

      Stop . More and more guards fell. He could feel the pain like fire in his bones, the last reserves of air being used. But the voice did not listen.

      STOP! Damian yelled. The excruciating agony finally started to fade away as the last guard fell.

      Whatever or whoever was manipulating his body like a puppet had finally let go. Damian fell to the ground, cramping and unable to move.

      You owe me one . That same voice said callously.

      Go to hell. Damian cursed at him, or he would have, if he was doing anything else other than hyperventilating.

      The voice chuckled at Damian’s insult. And then, the voice disappeared -- his presence no longer in Damian’s head.

      The Roamers stared at Damian in shock and disbelief. They ran into the night, leaving Damian alone in the dark. He wanted to calm them and make them realise that he was still himself, but Damian’s body was unable to even move. Through a piece of cracked glass beside where he fell, he could see his orange glowing eyes turning back into his old brown eyes. The exhaustion pulled Damian into a deep sleep.

      Chapter 1.5

      Damian was standing in nothingness, the void stretched out in every direction. The mysterious yellow light returned once more, seemingly staring at him in the face.

      “Well?” The voice asked in his grave, deep voice, “Have you anything to say?”

      “You almost killed me,” Damian seethed, hands fisted, preparing to launch himself at the strange spirit.

      Damian then hesitated. Would he be able to fight this stranger? After all, he was the one who took control of Damian’s body, then effortlessly took down several armed men. Didn’t he?

      Besides, there was also the question of Damian’s magic. What exactly was that? Damian understood that he supposedly was a seer, but what the mysterious light made his body do was nothing like a seer. The voice must know the answers to Damian’s powers. Right?

      “There there,” The voice said nonchalantly as he floated around Damian, shaking Damian out of his thoughts, “You will recover.”

      The orb suddenly stopped. Damian could somehow sense the tension suddenly rising. “You are supposed to obey your elders regardless, no?” He said in a much more serious tone.

      “I don’t even know you!” Damian retorted.

      He snorted and chuckled, “You’ll learn soon enough, you disrespectful runt.”

      “Wait, I need to ask-”

      He didn’t let Damian finish his words. As soon as Damian tried to reach for the glowing orb, its light faded and darkness covered his eyes once more.

       ~~~~~~~~

      Damian opened his eyes and sat up, kicking the blanket onto the ground. He winced at the pain all across his body.

      Hey! He thought in his head. I’m not done talking to you!

      Damian thought he heard a small laugh, but there was only silence. He sighed. The voice wasn’t here anymore.

      Damian woke up to an unfamiliar setting. The room was sterile white, without a single speck of dirt anywhere. He knew for a fact that he wasn’t back at the Shelter. After years of looking at the old nurse’s office with the line of ants roaming along the cracked walls, this room felt uncomfortably new. He tried to get out of bed despite his muscles’ protests, but after shuffling and turning, he clumsily fell down onto the cold marble floor. Damian tried again and again to get up on his feet, only to fall down on his face.

      It was at this moment Damian heard the harsh words from a female voice. “What the hell are you doing?” Damian turned his head around and saw a dirty blonde-haired girl around his age looking down upon his collapsed form with her pierce, blue eyes and crossed arms. She was beautiful.

      Yet, something was extremely different with her appearance -- a mystical aura of cloudy mist emitted from her thin body.

      The girl analyzed Damian. Her eyes scanned him from his legs and to his battered face. A moment later she spoke again in her curt voice,“You’re Damian Asher right?”

      Surprised, Damian responded. “Yes. And, um… Who are you?

      “I’m Sapphire Anaroth,” the moody girl replied.

      Chapter 2.1