"Come on...pick up!" Bloom mutters under her breath. She was hiding under one of the receptionist desk while trying to contact Sky. She knew there was a signal, but every time she tried, she was met with the call ending before it started.
"Dammit Sky..." she mumbles, dialing Timmy's number next. "Hey Timmy," she whispers, "have any results from Musa and Aisha?"
"Bloom, I have some bad news", Timmy starts, "We checked their mana levels and it's as if they didn't have magic in the first place. The core energy is still there but without mana their powers remain dorment, as if they were regular Magix citizens!"
Bloom's eyes widen. "Oh no...well don't worry, I have a book with our answers, I'm not sure if it will work but I hope one of the solutions do-"
Gantlos flips over the table and it crashes into a million pieces. Timmy asks about the debris and Bloom says she has to go now and closes their call.
"Jeez you could knock first..." she mumbles, squeezing the book to her chest and backing up.
"To be honest, I'm not after that book. You'll need it more anyway..." Gantlos growls. He stalks towards her and Bloom starts walking backwards, clutching the book tighter. She notices a dark blue shadowy wisp next to him. His aura. It looked...off, like it was Gantlos but not, more like a reflection of the darkest part of his soul, which partially broke through from his sharp claws to his elven ears and fangs.
"Here's a deal, princess, If you give me your flame, I'll leave your friends alone. It should be enough for the four of us."
"You wizards of the Black Circle already have the Abyss, I won't surrender my Dragon Flame to the likes of you!" Bloom huffs. She charges at Gantlos and tries to punch him, but he catches her fist, spins Bloom around and clutches her wrists behind her back. The book falls to the ground. "Not so smart huh," he sinisterly chuckles as he moves her fiery red hair, exposing her neck. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle."
"Bloom!" Tecna cries out. The girls managed to catch up to the vampire but it was too late. He dug his fangs into her neck and veins. Bloom cries out as she feels herself getting weaker, sparks of magical ember burning but sizzling in a flash. Despite that she mustered up what she has left of her strength to tell the girls to get the book to the Specialists before kicking it to them. Stella seizes the book and plans to slam it into Gantlos' head but Tecna stops her by grabbing her wrist.
"It's too dangerous, we have to go," Flora says. Tecna drags Stella away as she protests to be let go and watches as the spark of the Dragon Flame in Bloom's eyes dies out.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT GANTLOS!" Stella snaps. The girls get out of the library and Zoomix over to the Specialists.
Once the power of the Dragon Flame is in his grasp he unhinges his fangs from Bloom as her body falls limp in his arms. He lets her go and Bloom grunts as she hits the floor. Her weakened gaze shift back to Gantlos who's slightly trembling, glowing the faint amber and red of the Dragon Flame. His slight worry shifts to a cocky smirk before he chuckles and laughs maniacally. "The Dragon Flame...it had so much power...so much strength!...HAHAHAHA...heh...but I still need more!"
Bloom gasps as she notices his eyes glowing as red as a wildfire, but he snaps out of it.
"N-No, no, I can't go further...ugh what was I thinking?..."
Gantlos snaps his gaze over to Bloom still lying down on the floor and panting.
"What are you looking at?", he snarls.
"Y-...Your aura. It's changing...or, well, you're changing into that darkest side of you..."
Suddenly, his face turns paler than it already is. It seems she also knew...No, she couldn't, no one did. He grits his fangs and shakes his head.
"You don't know what you're saying! I know I won't do that!"
Gantlos starts walking away from Bloom, but he couldn't shake the doubt off of his shoulders.
"Go warn your friends this isn't trifle matters. And they'll need all the luck they can get..."
And with that, he vanishes in a mist of smoke and ash.
Gantlos teleports back to the base and rushes to a different spot, past Duman and Anagan.
"Where are you going?", Anagan asks.
"I need some space!", Gantlos huffs as his footsteps get quieter and more echoey. "Maybe taking the Dragon Flame was a mistake..." he says to himself aloud, "My vampirism is starting to get out of hand already, now I'll just make it worse..."
He stops to catch his breath and looks at the the dirty sewage water being lit by the moonlight, Gantlos notices his eyes became much redder, his fangs even sharper and there's a strange feeling inside of him which caused sparks of dark magic to trace his body. "(D-Do I really want this for them?...)"
Gantlos sits down, crossing his legs and tries to calm his rapid breathing as mana flickers through his veins like electricity. That side of him that had stayed dorment for centuries was awakening. Sweat spotted his palms and face. "(Should I tell the others...?)"
Why would you care about them? You get pushed around like a dog! And he's forcing you to sleep outside if you fail!
Gantlos stops worrying for a brief moment, a blood red light flickering from his eyes.
Why do they have power anyway? You deserve more than them. They chose to be ignorant and treat you like trash!
He growls, gritting his teeth which are getting sharper by the second. The voice was right...maybe. He could feel his body growling for more magic.
We need more! You've starved yourself for centuries, suppressed it so much you lost yourself. It's okay...tonight we'll feast on whichever creatures wield magic. We need to.
That voice had a point, and he could barely hang onto his more human side...
Unleash the darkness and you'll find great power and strength. Strength to strike all down and forge your path, strength to make it rain blood...
To be Continued...
