Enemy. Brother. Friend.

The Lonely King sat upon his throne and looked out at his kingdom. The Oglait empire stretched far and wide. Reaching the mountains of Hadriel the Wise. Sadly Oglait had lost all of its citizens. Well, not all; some stayed behind but most went north. For you see, Oglait was a magical empire. With power that rivaled God himself, but without magic, it was nothing.

By: Jerry Lane Lambert II

The King slumped in his chair and brought his eyes to his empty court. The crimson pillars now towered mighty in the emptiness. It once was filled with guards and servants, but now only depression sat in their place. The dust had already started to cling to some of the pillars and walls. Even the king felt his bones creaking to the weight.

His face was old and tired, and his hair was once a crimson red, now a red grey-brown. It hung smoothly down to his waist. His hands were bony and no longer pink and full of energy. Everything became dull once the magic left. “You finally did it, Katára. I hope you’re happy,” the King thought.

He never knew that magic was so fragile. Something that one man could easily end with a snap of his fingers. If only he had known. It wouldn’t matter, Katára was already decades ahead of them all. He had this planned out and calculated. He never seemed to be anything special when they went to HMA, Hadriel’s Magic Academy.

Katára kept to himself, studying all forms of magic and reading books about theories so old they could be considered mythic. They had a couple of assignments together, and after a while, they ended up in a group. It’s where he met his wife, Mumiel. She was named after an angel. They were happy together, but all good things come to an end.

The sounds of golden lace boots echoed throughout the court, bouncing off of walls like bullets ricocheting, waking the King from his daydream. He looked up to see a woman wearing a blue and purple dress that flowed all the way down to her feet. It left everything to the imagination. It was also the dress he hated. Blue was not pleasant for his eyes. The woman looked young, blonde, and green-eyed, but you could find her age hidden behind her makeup at a closer look.

Mumiel, the Queen of Oglait, strolled up to the foot of the dais. She had brought a guest. A small boy, no older than 14, was hiding behind her. His soft grey eyes told the king he was new to the cruelty of the world. He hadn’t seen the blood and terror that he had.

“Melvin, where are your guards,” she asked.

“Home, I sent them home,” Melvin responded. There was a hint of sadness in his throat.

“That was foolish of you.”

“They were magic knights, Mu. Without magic, they’re worthless. So I sent them home.”

“That’s so like you, giving up without trying every available option.” Melvin ignored her insult. It wasn’t the time or place for it. “I have someone here who might be able to help change what Katára did,” she said, leading her guest to the front of her.

Melvin now had a better look at the boy; he looked younger than he was. He had long black hair that had been put up in a ponytail, but what Melvin noticed more than anything else was not how clean and colorful his clothes were. It was how Mumiel had guided the boy. It was full of love and care. Something she refused to give him ever since their son died.

Mumiel and Melvin gave birth to a son, which they named Gabriel. He was born with a Void Foundation, which meant that his magic would slowly leak out of him. This could be countered by pouring more magic into the child. The only side effect would be that the magic would drain faster over time. For five years, Melvin poured an endless amount of magic into his son to keep him living. For you see, once the magic drained out, the only thing left would be his life force.

So when war broke out in neighboring countries and Gabriel couldn’t get his daily dose of magic from his father, it didn’t take long for him to lose his life. No one could supply the proper amount, and by the time Melvin returned. Gabriel was only a dried-up corpse that laid in father’s court. Mumiel left the palace, and Melvin just wasn’t the same without his son. Katára seemed like a threat worth delving all his time.

“Who’s the boy,” said Melvin. He didn’t like how she clung to him, like a girl clinging to her crush.

“Someone’s upset,” she said.

“Irritated is more like it.”

“This is the only boy in the whole world that can use magic right now.”

“Oh really, because the way you’re clinging to him says otherwise.”

“This isn’t about me, Melvin.”

“You don’t deny it.”

“Is that what’s always on your mind?”

“He wouldn’t be the first boy you’ve brought in. Even before Gabriel, you were caught countless times. I should have hanged you for it; I still don’t know why I didn’t.”

“Melvin, this boy can help fix everything, so get off my back and hear what I have to say.”

“I’ve heard enough, Mumiel. I don’t need you coming here and giving me false hope; look around you. The Kingdom is gone. The world is dull, and Katára has won!”

“The boy can use time magic.”

There was silence.

“Why him,” said Melvin walking from his throne and down the dais. He used to have an intimidating presence when he was known as the Hand of Hades. Mumiel knew how daunting that man could be, but he was only a man without his magic. One that she had seduced many times over.

Mumiel began explaining why this boy was special, but before she could say anything. Melvin became more fierce as he got closer and closer. Astonished and in awe, she stuttered and stumbled over her words. Melvin might not have his acclaimed power, but he was king of an empire.

“My name is Teri Efkairía, your majesty,” the boy said. Melvin looked down at the boy. He was shaking. “I-I have been born…with a unique skill.”

“I heard,” said Melvin looming over the boy. “How do you still have magic?”

“He doesn’t know,” said Mumiel interrupting the connection between them. “After the magic left, he was still able to perform.”

Melvin looked over at her. The word perform didn’t feel right coming out of her mouth. He knew it didn’t mean like an actor performing or an entertainer. It was something wrong, dirty.

“I can send your soul back. Maybe you can fix this,” Teri said. It took a lot of confidence to speak out towards the king. Melvin knew that. Maybe the boy wasn’t entirely lost to the ensnarement between Mumiel’s legs.

“You’ve lost your kingdom. What do you have to lose,” asked Mumiel. She was right, but he didn’t like the way she put it. It made him seem like a lost puppy.

He cracked his bony fingers and stared upward toward the ceiling. It was dark. He could barely see the designs that were inscribed into them. At some point in his life, Melvin had hired an artisan to decorate the ceiling with his achievements. All of his victories, such as slaying a fire dragon with fire or ripping apart a God-Hurricane with nothing but pure magic. Now only the darkness remained. Melvin knew that without magic, they were worthless. He was just an old king.

“Fine. Let’s see what you got, boy,” said Melvin.

Mumiel stood up straight. She couldn’t believe it. She expected to be thrown out of the court.

“To the Ritual room,” she said. Melvin didn’t like how happy she was.

The three walked down the hall of the castle in almost absolute darkness. Mumiel had the torch in her hand; she was leading the group after all. Teri and Melvin walked in silence. There was no need for words. Melvin looked out towards the courtyard and noticed that the fountain was still running. An engineer had discovered a way to have the water flow continuously without magic. “A genius before his time,” Melvin thought.

It was a brilliant contraption. Its only flaw was the design. Melvin could never understand why people like seeing clean water flowing from someone’s mouth. He was just glad it didn’t come out in any other place. He chuckled. It was the only thing still intact running in the dull courtyard.

“Are you just going to stand there, like an old man, or join us and change the world,” said Mumiel.

Melvin looked over at her. The two of them had traveled quite the distance. They had already reached the door that would lead them down a spiraling staircase that had an open space in the middle. Large enough for a giant to stand upright. It was made that way so that any accidental beams of energy would flow upward and out the chimney. There were runes put in place to create a protective barrier around the stairs. So that people could escape if things got out of control. They were just pretty stones now.

Once all three had reached the bottom, he noticed that a stone slab was in the middle of the room.

“I had it placed here ahead of time, just in case you said yes,” said Mumiel.

He didn’t like the slab. It looked cold. He could see fog oozing from it towards the floor. It reminded him of his younger days when they were figuring out people’s favored elements. They had to spend eight hours in the cold up north with nothing but their undergarments. It should have been a glorious moment for the boys, finally being able to see the opposite sex almost nude, but the ice provided to be too much of a distraction.

Mumiel motioned for him to lay on the slab, and regrettably, he did. He could feel the cold working it's way through his garments. His face twitched. Looking upward, he could see the beauty of the room. “How incredible would it be to fly upward and out the chimney,” he thought.

Teri walked up to the slab. He placed his hands on Melvin’s temples. His hands were cold. “I’ll need you to relax,” said Teri. Melvin grunted.

“I think we are about ready,” said Mumiel.

“Have you ever done this before,” asked Melvin. Teri shook his head no. “Great.”

“Are you ready?”

“Why didn’t you use this to try to save Gabriel,” said Melvin. His voice was deeper.

“I thought about it, but I wouldn’t want to give you the satisfaction of cleaning up your mistake.”

Melvin felt his heart sting. “Was this the same woman he married all those years ago”, he thought. Maybe this was just her true nature coming out. Love is blind, after all.

Teri took a deep breath and started the process. Melvin could see the boy struggling to summon any amount of magic. The calamity affected all of us. Then there was a spark and then a glow. Not coming from around the boy but from within. Then he remembered something a long time ago. Something that Katára told him. A theory.

“Wouldn’t it be cool if we were able to summon magic not from the ethers of the world but from ourselves,” Katára said, smiling.

“That would amazing, but stupid. We would be limited by our capacity,” said Melvin leaning back against a tree eating an apple.

“Woah, didn’t expect such a logical answer from you, meathead.”

“Watch it; you’re talking to Oglait’s first prince. I could have your head.” They both laughed.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe what?”

“Maybe we would be limited, but we could also grow. Evolve from our experiences and maybe become unlimited,” said Katára.

“Unlimited. Endless potential. Imagine what I could do with all that power.”

“No one could stop you.”

“I would create an endless amount of apple trees so that I could eat them forever.”

“Idiot.”

“In all seriousness. I would explore the heavens just to prove there is a God.”

Melvin opened his eyes. Somewhere during the process, he blacked out, but what was even more bizarre was the sight before him. Melvin was suspended in the air looking downward at his old wrinkled body. Oh, how he aged, not like wine but like a prune, a bad prune. Melvin reached out towards the frame but couldn’t reach it. He was a hair length away. He then noticed he was slowly going upward.

“Is he gone,” Mumiel asked.

“He’s…gone,” said Teri looking upward and directly at Melvin.

“Good,” said Mumiel pulling out a dagger and slamming it into Melvin’s chest. Immediately Melvin grabbed his chest. The pain was there.

“What have you done?”

“Now he can’t come back,” said Mumiel smiling at Teri. “When you become king, you will need to learn how to be ruthless just like me. People are always looking to take what’s good from you. Never hesitate to show them that you’re serious.” Melvin began to cry, and his old body started to shed some tears. “I thought you said he was gone.”

“He is. That is just a reaction to.. uh… that,” Teri said, pointing at the dagger. Mumiel chuckled and then started up the stairs.

“Let’s go, Teri. We have lots to do.”

“Let me just collect myself; I’ll be right up.”

“Fine,” said Mumiel leaving the room.

“She ruined it,” said Teri, “But maybe it was part of the plan. I don’t know how far you’re going to go back.”

Melvin glanced over to Teri.

“Are you talking to me,” he said, and Teri nodded. “I have so much to ask, but first, I don’t pity you.”

“I’ll be fine. She’s a lot easier to handle once you look past her rough exterior; I’ve had a lot of time to learn.” Melvin knew that what he said was deep, but he couldn’t fathom how deep. “You’re going to be sent back, and I can’t stop it. Even now, you float higher and higher.” Melvin glanced around and saw that he was indeed rising, and Teri was starting to look smaller and smaller.

“So what happens now?”

“Well, you might be sent back to the first days of being alive or somewhere in between. You might just end up in a different life. He left this up to chance.”

“Who’s he?”

“I can’t remember, he told me a long time ago, but he’s dead now.”

Melvin floated higher. The boy, now looking like a speck, but his voice was still clear as if he was talking directly in front of him.

“One last thing, your majesty,” Teri said, whispering now. “Time doesn’t flow in a line. It can’t be changed, only created.”

“What,” said Melvin, but before he could finish his sentence, he was yanked away through a stream of colors twisting and turning. Images started flying into his head of a life he never lived. Women and children he’d never seen. A power different from magic. It looked powerful. Much more powerful than what he used to wield. Then he stopped, and he was now standing on a mountain. High enough to see the heavens. It was black and void.

The sound of footsteps crunching through the snow drew his attention forward. Men were traversing up a path toward him. Melvin looked around to see a couple of dead trees and boulders destroyed. Only a few remain unscathed by whatever force swept through here. He looked down to see small and large craters as well. “A battle maybe,” he thought.

Then there was a pain. It was in his left pec. He looked down to find a spear protruding outwards. He noticed that there was more piercing on his body—one in his abdomen on the right side and three in his back. Not to mention all the cuts and internal bleeding.

“Internal bleeding,” Melvin thought. “I’ve never had internal bleeding before; I don’t even know what it feels like. Maybe this is what it feels like.” Melvin looked around and tried to move. It was hard. He searched around for an exit and then saw a man leaning against a rock behind him. It stood straight up and was flat. It was clean and polished. The man, on the other hand, was heavily injured. He was in worse condition.

“I think this is it, brother,” the man said, “End of the trail. We just couldn’t reach that next stage.”

“Zuzhòu. We can make it out of this,” Melvin said. Then he heard a whistling noise, and unconsciously he moved in front of his brother. “Way of the Earth, Mythril Skin,” he announced. A sharp pain pierced his back. He could feel the spear digging into his skin, like a hot knife cutting butter. “Ki charged pikes,” he thought.

“No, we can’t, but at least we made it this far. We shook the heavens to see if they existed, and they fought back. Others will come and do the same,” said Zuzhòu.

“But we did not win.”

“We conquered. No longer are nobles in charge. No longer are the weak afraid to fight back. We are dragons, brother…dragons.”

More spears pierced into Melvin. Some even knocking other spears out, creating even more pain. By now, he could hear the men who were chasing him; they were shouting. Then pain muffled the noise. Melvin knelt towards Zuzhòu. “Hey now, you can’t leave the table without finishing everything on your plate,” Melvin said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two stones. One of a greenish-yellow and the other of a thick black purple. He dropped the purple one into Zuzhòu’s hand. Zuzhòu looked down at the stone and then back up to Melvin. He could see the pain in his face—the sadness of having to end their adventure. Melvin popped the greenish-yellow stone into his mouth, and Zuzhóu did likewise.

Melvin glanced over to the men and opened his mouth wide. The men saw the stone.

One of the men was old and had a long beard; he wore silk clothes with golden laces. Melvin knew who this man was.

“See you in hell, father,” said Melvin swallowing the stone and then feeling a sharp pain in his stomach and then to his face as one of the spears from the old man pierced Melvin’s eye.

Like a bad dream, Melvin jerked awake and started scratching at his eye. He could feel the pain. Melvin glanced around and saw nothing but an open field that led to a black forest and mountains in the distance. He was sitting on a hillside leaning against a tree. One with a mighty trunk and solid roots. He looked behind him to see a large building, too large for one person. It had brown bricks and reddish tan roofing. Kids were walking around the building’s courtyard, which was too grand for any noble. It had fountains and gazebos all around. Cherry blossoms were scattered about in some pattern. There were benches for those who wished to rest. What really stood out was the wall that encircled the building. He couldn’t have missed it. There were an arch opening and a path that led to the tree where he was sitting. He remembered walking through it. He also had an apple. Melvin looked down towards his hands and noticed that they were quite younger than before. They weren’t blooded or bony either. Most importantly, the apple was gone.

“That’s a waste,” said a voice from down the hill. Melvin turned around to see a boy with dark black hair and a streak of purple walking up with a half-eaten apple in his hand. He wore the same uniform that the kids he saw in the courtyard. The uniform included a dress shirt with diamond patterns on it and a black tie to make it look nice. It had a blue and gold jacket with a crest of a magic circle with the letter HMA on it, and to finish the set was black pants. However, the boy’s uniform was different. He had loosened his tie and had opened the first two buttons of the shirt, revealing a part of a tattoo.

“Katára,” Melvin said, standing up.

“I guess it worked. It took you long enough.”

“What worked?”

“The spell.”

Melvin couldn’t wrap his head around what he was talking about. He was confused, twisted, and lost. A few seconds ago, he was drifting from his dead body upward, and then he was on a mountain taking spears to the back; now he was somewhere else.

“This can’t be real. Why do you look so young, and why are you wearing our old school uniform,” said Melvin. Katára walked up and took a bite out of the apple. He started to chew and chew and then decided to sit down. Melvin grabbed his shirt. “I guess I’ve returned to the past. If I kill you, then everything will-”

“Nope,” said Katára interrupting him.

“What?”

“Won’t work.”

“I don’t understand. That’s why I came back.”

“You didn’t come back; you went forward.” Melvin released his grip, and Katára took a seat. “Somewhere out there in the universe, some deity or being in charge of time won’t allow you to change the past. I’ve tried, and most things are set in stone.”

Melvin turned away and said nothing.

“It’s made that way; I don’t know why and to be honest, I’m curious to find out. Did you know that your son dying marks a permanent point in history? It is when the Hands of Hades, you, eradicated all war in Vróchos,” said Katára.

“You don’t get to say his name.”

“Listen. Mel. I didn’t kill your son, and by the heavens, I sure tried to save him. He was different, and by the time I did save him-”

“You saved him?”

“Yes, Teri sent me back plenty of times. I’ve been trying to save that boy for ages,” said Katára. “After saving Gabriel, he was assassinated by one of the neighboring countries, which then spurred you to end the war in Vróchos. It always ends the same.”

Melvin fell to his knees. Fixed point. It didn’t make sense, but Katára is usually never wrong. “I thought we were enemies,” said Melvin.

“Enemies, no, and if we were, we can’t be now. Those things that I did happen twelve thousand years ago.”

“Twelve thousand?”

“I told Teri to spur the hatred that Mumiel had for you so that she’d kill you after Teri started to send your soul back. You can’t send the mind back, only the soul. Once dead, the soul can freely reenter the time stream. You see, there is a time limit for how long a soul can be in the past, which is forty-two days. Before the deity finds a disturbance and sends you back if your body. If dead, you can’t be sent back, and so you are sent forward.”

“Twelve hundred years in the future. You look the same as you did in the past.”

“So do you, but we are in the future. I mean, I’ve lived fourteen years already, trust me, we are no longer in the Oglait Empire, and you, sir, are no prince.”

“Everything is gone.”

“Yes, but magic is back. Spells don’t do well with time.”

“In a nutshell, you went back in time, your body twelve thousand years ago died, and you got sent to the future, and uh,” said Melvin trying to wrap his head around everything.

“I tried to save your son, went back, destroyed the magic, died, and released my soul to the time stream, and now I have lived fourteen years of the twelve thousand years in the future,” Katára said, grinning from ear to ear.

“Then why am I here?”

“You told me once that if you had unlimited power, you would explore the heavens to prove if there was a God.”

“All of this for some wish.”

“It’s not just some wish, Mel. It’s yours. You don’t remember but when we became friends. I was committing suicide behind your castle in the forest. You were strolling about practicing your magic when you found me about to hang myself. You looked at me and said-”

“If you got time to die, then you have time to find something important to do.”

“Yeah, really wordy for a kid.”

“Yeah, but you jumped anyway,” said Melvin shuffling over to the tree and leaning back.

“And you burned the rope, saving my life. Death was something I was not ready for, and even now, I am not ready for the bitch to come crawling at me again,” said Katára looking at the apple. It had started to turn yellow and had some dirt on it. He threw it down the hill. They sat there in silence, like two old men who once hated each other but now had forgotten why they were fighting. “I did everything to get you to this moment so that you would have time to explore the heavens. We can get strong together and unlock this world’s secrets. There are a lot of things different here and a lot of things lost. Let’s just say if I didn’t do what I did, a lot of people would be dead right now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“There is a lot of evil people in the world, Mel. Not everyone is an angel.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

“Oh, I’m most definitely right,” said Katára. Melvin could hear the fear in his voice. As king, he had never really explored out of Oglait. He didn’t have time for every conflict that arose outside of the kingdom or inside. He had spent most of his time making sure civil war didn’t break out.

“There is one thing though I did not expect,” said Katára.

“What’s that?”

“Mel, this isn’t your first reincarnation.”

“I think you’re right.”

“When you died, was I the last thing on your mind?”

“Other than Mumiel breaking my heart, you.”

“Somehow, we got reincarnated at the same time.”

Melvin looked over to Katára. He chuckled. “No way,” he thought. “That would mean that he was…”

“Zuzhóu,” Melvin said, looking over at Katára. He didn’t look back.

“I finished everything on my plate since then; maybe this time we could reach the heavens.”

Melvin started to cry; all the memories from that past life began to flow in. Like a flood. His first life didn’t seem so close. It was now very far away. Sure Melvin could fight and try to kill Katára, but he can’t go back now. He could only go forward. Katára wasn’t this monster anymore. He was his brother; they both died on that mountain. They had already lived past the pain of their first lives. This was a new start.

“Yeah, maybe this time we’ll reach it.”

Definitions

• Κατάρα (Katára). It is greek for the word curse.
• Teri is short for δεύτερη ευκαιρία (Défteri Efkairía (Deft-ree if-k-ree-ya)). It is greek for the phrase second chance.
• Melvin. It is a Celtic name with the meaning leader.
• Zouzhóu is the Chinese (traditional) word for curse.
• Υρόχοσ (Vróchos). It is greek for the word loop.