Chapter 182: The One Known As Sage
In one of the tallest towers, an elf that was surrounded by various magic circles was hard at work.
Avatasia inspected the diagrams in front of her, her eyes scanning through the papers that showed different magic circuits that she was currently in the midst of experimenting on.
She narrowed her eyes on one particular circuit, this one that was composed of eight different magic circles layered on top of each other that was supposed to be able to create pathways through time and space, at least in theory.
But yet, despite all the time she had used to inspect this magic circuit, it never seemed to work.
To be able to open a temporary portal that could send something across a vast distance was advanced magic but it was still a magic that could be learned relatively easily.
The limitations for that spell was that it took quite a lot of mana to maintain even for a short time and it could only transport a limited number of objects before it would collapse.
A magic spell that could create a permanent doorway to another space was something that was still not possible yet.
And this sage was trying to find out why.
She scanned through the magic circuits for the hundredth time, trying to figure out what exactly was preventing this spell from being cast.
That was when a pair of hands covered her eyes and Avatasia let out a sigh, already fully aware of who it was behind her since there was only one person in the world who would dare to do something like this to her.
"Marianne... I’m working..."
"Fufufu~ You always say that, Ava~ When are you ever not working?"
The person behind the elf released her hands, allowing her to turn around to regard her.
A beautiful young woman with curly golden hair stood in front of her, her golden eyes glowing distinctly which barely took attention away from her curvaceous and feminine form that was barely hidden by a set of robes that hugged her curves.
Even with her ethereal beauty, people who were sensitive to magic would be able to tell that there was still something special about her, which was how Avatasia managed to figure out that Marianne was someone who was a minor Goddess of the world and had taken a mortal form to walk amongst them.
And partly because of that, the minor Goddess had taken an interest in Avatasia and ended up spending a lot of her time with her.
Marianne smiled, "You have already been cooped up in your room for the past three days, Ava. I think it’s high time for you to at least step outside don’t you think? How about going on a date with me? Then maybe we could go to a dark alleyway where I can show you just what my mouth can do to those massive tits of yours?"
Avatasia scowled, "Stop pushing your luck Marianne. I already told you I’m not interested in that. I can tolerate having a friend but nothing more than that."
"Hmm~ Hmm~ As expected of the one known as the one known as Eternal Ice Sage~ So, shall we go on our date?" The goddess asked, stretching out her hand towards the elf.
Avatasia let out a sigh despite herself and took the goddess’s hand, allowing herself to be pulled out of her room on their friendly ’date’.
*
It happened without warning... A portal opened and monsters poured through, slaughtering all in their wake.
Fire, death and smoke filled the air.
The Royal Academy of Magic had fallen and even the Great Seven Witches were struck down by the creatures one by one.
Avatasia strained herself as she completed her magic, summoning an inferno of flames that burned the entire sea of those monsters into ash.
She has managed to hold out against the wave of monsters so far and protect the refugees behind her but even with vast power, she was not invincible.
Already, she could feel the toll of fighting for three days and three nights with no rest taking an effect on her body, the elf needing to lean on her staff for support to even stand upright.
The other reason why she was able to stand against such a large horde appeared in front of her in the form of Marianne, the goddess also having seen better days as her tattered robes barely kept her decent.
"Ava!! Are you alright?! You should not push yourself so hard!"
Avatasia chuckled mirthlessly, "If I don’t push myself at least this much... We would have already been overrun..."
Marianne held the elf’s hand in hers, "It’s alright, Ava! I’m sure we will be able to find a way out from here!! We just need to--"
An ear piercing howl filled the air and both of them froze up.
They turned towards the source of the noise to see a misshapen figure floating up in the air. There was no doubt that the creature was one of those monsters but yet there was still something oddly familiar about it.
They only realised why when the figure reached up its misshapen arm to summon a ball of darkness to hurl it towards them.
"That’s... The signature move of the Great Witch of Darkness!! But she was killed during the battle yesterday!!" Avatasia cried out in alarm. "Does that mean..."
"They turn into those monsters after they fall!!" Marianne confirmed, raising her hands to summon a ball of light that cancelled out the ball of darkness.
As though on cue, six more misshapen figures rose up into the air, each of them calling upon a different element to bear down on the survivors of the Magic Academy.
The Great Seven Witches working for the monsters invading their world... If Avatastia was at her prime, she might be able to fight toe to toe with them. But with her already worn out and also with the backing of even more monsters behind them, there was no way Avatasia could win.
Marianne chuckled, "Looks like... This is as far as I can go huh?"
Avatasia swivelled towards the goddess in alarm, "What are you talking about?"
"As a God of this world... It is also my duty to protect it... You don’t know this but... In other parts of the world, the gods are also falling or have already abandoned this world... This world is doomed. Now I suppose it’s also my time to go..."
"You are a Goddess... How can you even die?"
"Gods can die too, Ava. We are not invincible... Especially when it’s a minor goddess like myself who had given up most of my divinity to be with the one I love."
The goddess turned and gave Ava one more smile, "I love you, Ava... Now and always."
Without giving the elf time to respond, the goddess flew straight towards the seven creatures in the air, her body engulfed in a bright white light.
Avatasia had to shield her eyes from the light before the world suddenly went silent.
When she looked back, eight figures were falling towards the ground and all the monsters in the area had been completely wiped out.
She saw the burned form of her best friend spiralling towards the ground before her body seemingly scattered away into ashes.
A great, indescribable sense of loss overcame her and she fell to her knees.
Yet, the one known as the Eternal Ice Sage could not grieve yet, for she still had her duty to protect and lead the students depending on her for safety.
*
Ten more years had passed and after all that time, the sage had finally cracked it after a decade of experimenting and using the monster’s portal as a reference.
She finally managed to craft the spell that would be able to tear open a portal that led to another world and allowed her people to escape.
It should have been joyous, it should have been celebrated.
But as the portal formed and her people started escaping to safety, fate came to mock her as a creature draped in the robes of her best friend suddenly appeared in the sky.
The grief that had been kept in her heart all this while welled up to the surface again and Avatasia found herself flinging spell after spell against the creature to protect her people.
She did not hold back. She could not hold back. Not unless she wanted the last survivors of her people to perish as well.
A large tear opened up in space and a meteor was flung through, smashing into the creature and sending it crashing into the ground.
Avatasia tore away from the portal and went to the crushed monster’s side, only to see the creature’s mangled form slowly burn away to reveal a preserved form of her best friend laying there.
"Don’t cry for me..." Marianne gasped, reaching out her hand that was slowly flaking away. "You and I... We were not destined for each other after all."
"You... Stupid... Stupid, stupid..." Ava cried.
"Fufufu~ I realised... I have never seen you cry before... But you don’t need to worry now... With this last blessing from me... You can see parts of your future... And see the one that you are truly destined to be together with... Live well... My one and only love."
The goddess faded away to eternal death amidst the cries of a certain elven sage.
The elf would not use that blessing for a long time, not believing that she was even capable of having another love.
But she finally broke down one day and saw the future, allowing her to live through an entire different life, seeing the one she was truly destined for appear before her.
He was also a God, one that shone more brilliantly than any God she ever saw.
She... Could not let this go. Not when another chance was given to her like this.
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