One of them killed me before I had a chance to kill one. Its sharp teeth cut into my abdomen, and my head and upper torso were swallowed by it. That reanimation had been excruciatingly lonely and painful for my spirit. My spirit hadn't known Hexarium's spirits yet, but even with their comfort, I knew it wasn't right to come back.
My first death had been gruesome and came only a couple of days after being cursed. I died over ten times that day, and I'd killed only three lochies. But the Lethium Empire tossed me into that lake every day for two weeks until I had finished my mission.
I hated that Aimon was experiencing his first death so soon after being cursed. I'd hoped his spirit didn't feel the same despondence mine had.
Deep in my soul, for the very first time, I found myselfthankfulfor the existence of my curse--because it would bring Aimon back to life.
I had known Aimon for such a short amount of time, but I couldn't imagine living without him. He was my bonded, after all.
They all were.
Casper's light blinded my vision, but just like with Jasper, I trusted him to guide us through.
All of a sudden, something pushed Casper's light-jumping over, and he lost control. His white light flickered, and we tumbled into the snow in front of Demented Cave.
We were still in the Revivium Empire's territory--but so close to the Allura Empire.
My body landed in fluffy, cold snow first, but ice shards dug into my skin as I tumbled a few feet. I gasped out as pain shot through the uncovered parts of my body.
"Fuck. I'm sorry about the rough landing," Cas bit out before a bolt of light struck next to him, and he barely rolled out of the way.
Jasper appeared in front of his twin with a dark shield as a Revivium guard--a light mage--stepped out of a ray of sun.
I dropped down next to Aimon, where Bastian sat on his other side, and sorrow swirled in my chest.
"He's not breathing, and his heart isn't beating," Bastian murmured.
"He's dead. Being immortal and tied to Hexarium doesn't really eliminate the death part. It just isn't permanent." I reached out with trembling fingers to swipe the red locks off his forehead. "Come on, Aimon."
Aimon sucked in a sharp, full breath before sitting straight up in a panic.
Hexarium's power pooled inside of his spirit, and he kept swallowing air like it would ease the fullness of raw power within him. "What is this?"
"Hexarium's power. You need to let it out before it consumes you. Going mad isn't worth it." I winced, remembering the first time I went mad. "It's not worth it."
"How?" he gasped, holding his chest.
"The light mage." I glanced over where the twins had pinned the mage on the ground with their powers.
A painful scream tore from Aimon's chest as a tree grew from the light mage's chest cavity, ripping him open just as he sent another bolt of light at Jasper.
Blood splattered the white snow around the mage, and the twins stumbled backward in shock as they glanced at Aimon.
"Go in the cave!" Silas ordered the group as Bastian, Aimon, and I got to our feet.
The sounds of rapidly approaching footsteps hit my ears, and we bolted into the cave until darkness covered us.
But this darkness was not as calming as Jasper's.
I could sense the spirits of the Revivium guards outside the cave, but it didn't take long for them to retreat from the cave's mouth. The majority of mages refused to enter any cave in Hexarium due to the monsters that resided in them.
The dark and horrific cave was home to dementids, grotesque, frail-looking pale-bodied creatures that were about half the size of an average mage. Their large black eyes could see very well in the darkness of their dwellings, and their sharp teeth were known to eat every bit of a mage's body--bone included.
But they were also very sensitive to light.
I lifted my palm toward the deeper parts of the cave where I could sense the dark spirits of those monsters, but Cas beat me to it before I could cast fire magic at them.
"From the scorching heart of the sun, I call forth the power of one. A sphere of sun rays and searing flame, with a power that only I can tame. Spirits of Hexarium bless," Cas murmured, and a few balls of light formed within the cave.
