Thunder [Act I: Strength]

60 5 3
                                    

In the several hours since, I was feeling somewhat better. Despite being completely frozen solid, my legs only held some dryness and blistering, most of which I did my best to keep clean and bandage with what we had on board.

Zane had managed to make a full recovery, however. It was almost as if he hadn't been frozen at all. Zane doesn't fully understand why he is perfectly fine. Everyone simply chalked it up to Zane being the Master of Ice. Maybe the cold doesn't affect him at all.

Unlike with me.

Hourglass did his best to be my blanket, and it helped a lot. Sensei had offered some tea he stated have healing capabilities. I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not, but I did start to feel just a bit better after a cup.

I barely brushed a hand through Hourglass's tail. The ice was long gone, though some of the bells attached to Hourglass's tail were damaged. I wrapped my hand around one of the bells and lifted it.

I was still astounded by the detail placed into each bell. It was almost as if they were each crafted by hand, but with the dozens upon dozens there were it made me wonder how much pain it would be to make them all. The bell I held onto was missing its ball. It no longer rang.

I closed my hand around the bell. I gently closed my eyes and let out a small breath.

I heard soft ringing. I opened my eyes to find Hourglass looking at me.

I held a small smile. "One of your bells is broken," I said. I opened my hand. The bell looked new. I gently shook it.

The bell quietly rang. It wasn't as loud as the others, but it still made noise.

I let go of the bell in surprise. Did I do that? I didn't even focus that much.

I guess my abilities were second nature, at this point.

Hourglass turned his head to bump into mine. I gently laughed and hugged Hourglass. "You're welcome," I said. "I didn't even mean to..." I then brushed my hand through Hourglass's tail. "Need me to fix any others?"

After a while of fixing Hourglass's damaged bells, I soon got up and went outside. I pulled my cloak's hood over my head. Despite the rain that began to fall, it was much warmer than the tundra we travelled through. Up ahead, the clouds faded into darkness, and I could see distant lightning sparkle. I tried to listen to the thunder, though I didn't hear anything over the waves hitting the boat.

I heard Hourglass behind me, and I turned to see him hiding just out of the rain.

"Don't like the rain, huh?" Kai had approached.

Hourglass shook his head.

I turned to Kai. His usually-spiky hair was down, soaked with water. "You don't either?" I asked.

"Nope," Kai chuckled. He motioned to his hair. "Ruins my hair."

I exhaled in amusement before glancing away. "Hey, uh," I hesitantly began. "Sorry for... punching you, a while back."

"Huh?" Kai asked. He then shook his head with a smile. "Don't be sorry for that. I kind of deserved it, looking back. Kind of an asshole move, I'll admit." He quietly laughed, "You throw a good punch."

I looked at Kai curiously. "...Yeah?"

"Yeah," Kai nodded. "We'll get your friend back."

"And we'll get your sister back," I replied.

~

We continued to sail towards the storm. As we grew close, I stood at the ship's front and stared at the looming structure in awe. In short, it looked like an enormous pair of nunchucks, with one end embedded most of the way into the ground and the other end floating high into the sky. The dark clouds swirled above the structure, and blue lightning constantly flickered through the stormy clouds.

Magnum OpusWhere stories live. Discover now