Chapter 21- A Price to Pay
Something was wrapped around his neck, it was the first thing Albus knew before muffled voices came to his ears. He coughed, founding himself kneeling on a flooded stone floor, gasping for much needed air. Then, abruptly, the space was filled with enormous fire flurries that illuminated the whole space, sucking into them the little oxygen that was left in the hall while filling it back up with smoke and steam.
The blaze took the form of various monsters- from ferocious chimeras and fierce hydras to burly minotaurs and fiery dragons, burning through the countless corpses that rose from the water with boundless hunger. It took him a while to get used to the light, and when he did, it was just in time to see a huge fire snake advancing towards him, his opened mouth big enough to swallow him whole.
But Albus couldn't even bring himself to flinch, his body too weak to perform anything beyond his strenuous chest movement. However, the creature was pulled backwards as if with invisible lasso before he reached him and went back to chomping on the inferi, who were quickly demolished while trying to get away from the fire, completely useless.
His lungs ached as his gaze fell, in front of him was the cracked black stone, in reach of his arm yet immeasurably distant. So, this was the reason why the Professor pulled back his terrible creation, he thought. But the lack of attention, even for a moment, cost the thin man a cruel cut from one of the knights, who unlike the rest of the dead, seemed immune to both the fire and the spells sent their way, that simply got reflected from their armor.
One of the warriors spun a morning star above his head and then sent it towards the Professor, who quickly created silver shield for defence, only for the round pointed end of the weapon to simply wrapped around it and hit his left arm with a sickening bone-breaking noise. He got what he deserved, Albus wearily smiled.
His injury didn't indicate helplessness, however. He peered at Albus' direction and then created a strong gust of wind that blew all his attackers back. Magic may not have affected them, but they were still exposed to physical damage. The Professor then raised his hand and sent energy balls, similar to the ones he aimed against Scorpius and Pechman, only on a much larger scale, towards the ceiling, causing countless stones to fall down and crush the knights beneath.
As they became incapacitated, the dead that were the source of the burning ran out and the monstrous fire disappeared, letting absolute blackness to fill the space. It was short lived, though, as a ball of light, this time, lasting and stable, was released by the Professor, calmly floating above.
Everything was empty, now that the knights were buried, and the infrie scorched until not even ashes remained… It looked different, less mysterious... Not to mention the water level, that dropped a good few meters due to the previous heat, as well as all the dead who left it. Yet, new water already began penetrating from the holes in the ceiling- apparently, they were under the lake.
The Professor himself didn't appear to be worried by it, however, seeming to overexert himself the same as Albus, now on his knees, wearily gasping for air. Only then, with sudden fervor, he got to his feet and begun making a bridge for himself with a complicated wand waving.
It felt like the world worst sauna, like some sort of wet hell. Albus would laugh if he had left any strength for it, watching the exhausted dark man approaching through blurry eyes, unable to do anything about it. He had some painful looking injuries all over his body, the most prominent among them is his shattered left arm that fruitlessly dangled at his side and the cut across his face, so deep that the bone underneath was exposed, causing huge amounts of blood to spill out.
But he didn't seem to mind any of it as he finally stepped on the central platform, absentmindedly fixing his wounds. He said something, which was just a muffled noise in Albus' ears and then knelt (almost falling as he did), awkwardly sending his still quite damaged hand towards the stone. He moved his mouth again in a way that reminded the words 'Thank you' before raising his healthy arm to send the killing curse directly towards his heart.
Time appeared to stop as the green beam made its way at his direction, and Albus, who couldn't master up the strength to dodge it, or even bring himself the will to be afraid, did manage to raise his eyes, seeing the unadulterated glee on the man's face as he closed his long narrow fingers on the stone, just as the curse struck him.
...He was young, no more than seven years old, sitting on a hillside overlooking the wonderful blue sea below, the shining sun casting its burning heat on his back. Next were numerous cracked bronze shields, broken bows, and corroding helmets. Countless stories were told of the formidable eastern empire that conquered the whole world yet failed to overcome them. But those unimportant quarrels didn't interest him as the rest as he was busy writing down in tiny, neat letters his findings from the variety of the small dismembered colourful reptilians that were foolish enough to answer his calls, making sure no drops of blood will smear his papyrus...
...His body was still sore from the fishermen's blows, who caught him performing his experiments and decided to penalize him for that. He didn't understood why, though, as they ended life even more then he did. Yet it became unequivocally clear that he was no longer welcomed in their small town. Before he made his way, however, the woman gave him a sack full of food that would last him several days. She was the only one who was nice to him throughout the years, even providing him shelter when necessary. Only now she gave him an invaluable gift that dwarfed all else. After checking no one was around, she tilted her head and created a yellow flame in her hand, and with a smile told him that he could have done the same...
…Decades passed. He was famous now, his name known even overseas, not that it was of any significance to him. He continued his experiments regardless, using the countless fools who tried to copy his power as servants. He demanded many sacrifices and made his fair share of mistakes, but his discoveries made up for it, turning the poor town he was in into a prosperous metropolis. This made the leader, together with the rest of the upper class to welcome him, liking the riches he provided enough to turn a blind eye to all else. The leader son was a different story, however- being young, serious, and fierce, and holding a rigid vision of good and evil. But he was a stupid insect, the kind who'll challenge someone to a face-to-face duel even if hopeless...
...He coughed, looking at the new leader dying at his feet. He miscalculated somewhat- the young man was smart enough to take an unexpected measure by pouring poison into his wine, but still was stupid enough to try and verify the act himself. He felt fear spreading within him, more due to the danger of all the knowledge he discovered to simply disappear rather than his close encounter with death. He strode between the soldiers and servants' bodies in the heavy silence, one that prevailed only after a battle. So much blood was spilled that it seemed like the floor was made out of rubies. That's it! That was the answer...
...He neared his seventh village, still without the result he had hoped for. What was wrong in his calculations? He used countless of people of all ages and types, trying everything- from burning in fire to drowning in water, yet nothing worked, why? He stopped in front of the small fishing village overlooking the azure sea below. Without noticing he returned to his birthplace- not much changed here. He turned his staff toward the dozen men who stood on the path in front, rusty pitchforks and crooked sickles in their hands. They were a pitiful bunch after the armies he previously faced, though in honesty- the quality of their weapon and armor was of no matter anyway…
…As soon as he got rid of them the familiar woman, the same one who cared for him as a child, appeared. Despite her advanced age, her hair remained full and black as night; her body thin; and her long straight nose and hollow cheeks still lent her a unique beauty. It was remarkable how much they resembled, yet how different they were, both in appearance and behavior. He understood his error now- the price wasn't just any blood, but his own! He aimed his staff, more focused on the single drop shaped earring that dangled at her right ear then her pleading face. But, just before snuffing her life, he felt something unfamiliar, something he had never experienced before- remorse…
The ball of light still hovered above, seeming like the sun busting through the clouds with all the mist around. It illuminated the hall, which was filling with water from the rapidly expanding cavities in the ceiling in an alarming rate. Yet it was the pain that brought Albus back to reality, but not his own.
Despite his dull senses, he felt, more than heard, the cry of pain, which deterred him much more than the quickly rising water level around. It was tangible and terrifying, like a combination of a wounded animal and a mourning weep, painfully echoing inside Albus' head, reflecting the feeling in him as well.
He was too exhausted to move his body, but he did manage to turn his head to the source of it, finding a chilling scenario. The Professor lied next to him, his body twisting with terrible pain, his back arched backwards, beyond what he imagined was even possible. As he watched, the air ran out of the man's lungs as his body bended in even more unnatural angles, the only noise now being the sound of him breaking from within.
However, one look in his face showed that the real source of pain wasn't physical. His eyes were wide open, only the white seen, and his mouth gaped, screaming out a silent scream, experiencing unfathomable and thorough torture that penetrated even the deepest corners of his soul.
Something different, more fundamental and powerful than even the magic in the walls around happened, and Albus, mortified, tried and failed to get away. He didn't know if it all lasted minutes or hours, but eventually the body spasm ceased, much to his relief, and a deep silence fell.
He begun believing the Professor died when a noise came up again. The man attempted to get up and immediately fell. He struggled once more and this time managed to stay on his hands and knees, his head resting on the flooding stone floor. But he was impervious to both this and to his broken body, uncontrollably laughing, unable to contain his joy.
Without looking at Albus' direction, and with his ears, mouth and eyes still bleeding, the Professor reached into his pocket and unexpectedly disappeared in a flesh of blue light, leaving his wand, as well as the shattered ruby earring and broken black stone behind. Soon after his disappearance a big rock fell from above and smashed the wand as well, just as the ball of light faded away.
Albus was left to lie there, powerless, unable to do a thing to dodge the crumpling ceiling in the complete darkness. He was about to be buried there alive, he thought as a large stone fell alarmingly close to his head. The water level has risen so much by this point that now he floated, swaying away from side to side from the ripples created by the deadly collapse, his body limp.
He tried to move his hand and felt as if his muscles had been torn apart. The enchantment that ensured life would stay outside truly depleted every last drop of power out of his body. But that didn't mean he could not move! After all, it wasn't difficult to concentrate on the magical flow around now that none of his other senses worked.
Albus started to feel some hope spreading in his heart as he slowly drifted toward the spot of the wall that wasn't dense with magic. And he almost reached there when a massive stone fallen on him. The pain was sudden, but it wasn't his leg that bothered him, but his lungs, which suddenly got filled with icy water as he spun in the new formed turbulence. He automatically took another breath, only to feel as if his lungs had exploded from within.
The darkness deepened, beyond just the blindness of his eyes. He tried being on the right path, at least…
