Chapter 7
Kazur woke up as he always did: lazily. As he stood up to his impressive height, a note fell from his chest and landed on the floor with the slightest noise, just enough to draw his attention. He looked over to the bed next to his. It was empty. That concerned him.
He leaned down and picked up the note and read it.
My dearest brother Kazur,
You have been everything to me these last eight years. I'll never forget when we first met as new roommates. I cherish that day. Thank you for all the time you've spent working with me and helping me grow in my studies. I never doubt that you love me and I hope that you also know without a doubt that I love you. I hate to have to leave this message to you, but I am bound by blood to be with Fan-Min. She has decided to abandon the Yshari Sanctum and pursue Li-Ming and I am accompanying her. As her older brother I cannot abide her going into this demon-infested world alone. I hope you understand and can forgive me for abandoning you. You will always be in my heart.
Your little brother,
Huang
"Kid..." Kazur sighed, his heart feeling like it was drowning in its own tears. "What have you and your foolish sister done?" He stumbled back onto his bed and cried. He knew he needed to be getting ready for classes, but they just didn't seem that important anymore. He looked up through teary eyes at the now empty bed that once belonged to his little brother.
He shook his head in denial. No, that bed still belonged to Fan-Huang. "Don't worry, Kid." He stood up and grabbed a large arcane ball used by diviners to see beyond what their eyes had access to. "You can't leave your sister and I can't leave my brother." He looked into the ball in hopes of receiving a premonition that might help him deduce where the siblings had gone.
As he stared, he thought of Fan-Huang both in his head and in his heart. He longed to find and be with his little brother and sister again. He closed his eyes and felt the rising pressure of arcane energy flowing through his body toward his eyes as a vision beyond physical sight traveled to his head. In a flash he saw it all. The desert. Demons. Caldeum. A caravan in the sands. A remote village in the deep woods. Darkness. Kazur could feel sweat pouring down his head as the shadows of the darkness and heat from the fires of Hell reached his vision. Fire. Death. What he saw next about made him shout out in confusion and fury. Fan-Min. Casting a spell. Disintegrate. Fan-Huang. Burning away to nothing.
Kazur threw the ball to the ground in denial. He didn't want to believe it. He wept bitterly. What was he supposed to do? His entire success as a student and a warrior at the Yshari Sanctum was based on the reliability of his premonitions. They were always true. How could he turn a blind eye to this one simply because he didn't like it?
He looked out the window at students racing to class. The sun was high in the sky and hot. He looked at the door. It was the same door that Fan-Huang had walked out not even a full day ago and now Kazur knew he was to follow him. "I won't abandon you, Kid. You won't die. I won't let you."