A World Of Decree: And The Seven Laws

Osiris planned everything perfectly. From every wall, to every layer of stone, everything was perfectly oriented to his d.e.s.i.r.es. He was the command tower inside the cube of stone. He knew exactly where everyone was, where they went, and what happens within.

In one of the far corners of the cube, Leo, Alastor, and Cartuja found themselves in an empty room which lacked any sort of entrance or exit. The room wasn't big, nor was it small, but it seemed like it didn't belong there. The stone that made up the walls and ceiling was the same as before, however, the floor was made out of unpolished wood. A few layers of oak planks laid the foundation, creaking every time someone took a step.

Leo bent down towards the floor, trying to pull apart one of the planks to see what's below. To his surprise, below the planks was just another cold stone floor.

"Osiris knew exactly who would get seperated and how," Alastor chuckled, not seeming the slightest bit concerned. "Burn the wood, Leo."

"Woohoo!" Leo jumped, snapping his fingers to produce a spark of fire, and setting the floor beneath them into a pile of rubble and ash in just a few seconds.

"Hey!" Cartuja screamed, jumping up and down to avoid the flames below him. "Unlike you chumps, I ain't got no heat resistance!"

Leo laughed, "Oh yea, Sorry about that." He made an apologetic face, forgetting Cartuja was in the room.

As the planks below finally turned into nothing but black dust, one of the side walls suddenly shifted, leading into a narrow hallway with no specific end in sight. With no other choice, the three of them proceeded forward, only hoping for the best to come.

"Ah great!" Cartuja yawned, "Just like that dumb cave last year."

Alastor looked confused, which wasn't his usual expression. "How ever so?"

"Last year, we all go seperated in a cave, and I was just aimlessly running in hallways for like.. A long time." Cartuja shrugged it off, "Always the same shit."

Alastor carefully aimed his finger towards the hallway, fl.i.c.k.i.n.g a small spec of flame in a horizontal projection to quickly see what lies ahead. Luckily after the flame traveled a couple hundred feet, a much larger room was visible for just a split moment before the spec disappeared.

"There's your answer." Alastor picked up his pace with a rewarding grin, "This won't be an easy fight."

After traversing through the hall, they finally arrived at the entrance to the collosal room. The light from Selvis's spell on the other side of the cube finally reached them, giving a much more clear view of their surroundings. Not only was the room entirely empty, but there was also a man sitting on the ground on the opposite side of the entrance.

The man could see Alastor, Leo, and Cartuja approach from afar, prompting him to stand up in an odd demeanor. The man was tall, shared Osiris's cursed yellow eyes, and had a head full of blonde, short hair. His chin was sharp, but his head was long like a vase, making it seem a little out of the ordinary.

"Lord Alastor," The man bowed in respect.

Leo and Cartuja both turned to Alastor with a concerned look, hoping what they heard wasn't correct. Alastor instantly jumped behind Cartuja, knocking him out with a slight finger flick to his head.

Cartuja dropped to the floor without even realizing what happened, feeling the cold dust collect on his cheek.

"What are you doing!" Leo yelled, on guard.

"Lord Alastor," The man started to approach them, "Would you like me to take care of the small child. Lord Osiris wanted them alive."

"Small child?" Leo thought, "Just cuz' I'm short doesn't mean I'm a child!"

The man ignored him, continuing his slow approach towards Cartuja's unconscious body on the floor. Leo snapped his fingers again, sending a hurling ball of red flames towards the man with a simple motion, "Fireball!"

The man kept one hand by his side, while the other formed a simple drop of water, perishing the ball of fire like it never even existed.

Leo could feel the frustration building within him. He had no idea who to trust in this situation. Alastor dropped Cartuja, while the blonde man was working for Osiris. Leo could feel the calm drops of sweat cool his forehead off, but it wasn't enough to change the situation before him.

Alastor grabbed Leo by his collar, tugging him forward towards the man. "Go on," He gestured, "Show me what you've learned. Don't worry about Cartuja, he'll be fine."

Leo gawked at Alastor with a puzzled look, but remembered all the training Alastor gave him over the past month. Since both Alastor and Leo shared a similar type of flame magic, Alastor offered to train Leo to maximise his potential. Leo of course, agreed, now trying to remember everything Alastor taught him.

"Lord Alastor," The man started in a soft voice, "Do you wish for me to fight this boy?"

"Hmm." Alastor crossed his arms with anticipation, "You can kill him if you'd like. But you won't be able to."

"As you wish." The man pointed a finger at Leo like a knife in a fist fight. "Vortex."

As the man released his spell, a swirling pool of water began to circle Leo like a tornado in a field. The water was sharp, flowed smoothly, but lacked any power to kill.

Leo tried to quickly toss whatever spell he could, but no matter how hard he tried, the second a flame was created, it was gone before it could even leave his hand. Leo felt the water closing in, feeling the rough edges of water grase his skin like blades against grass.

As the vortex of water came closer and closer to his skin, Leo was truly put to the test of not only his memory, but his mental sharpness as well.

…

About one month ago when Alastor first witnessed Leo's magic in his friendly duel against Atlas, Alastor could see the boy had tremendous amounts of potential, but lacked the guidance to get there.

Alastor only met with Leo once, but it was all Leo needed to advance his abilities. In the first Arena, there was nothing but a green floor, an artificial blue sky, and four podiums, each having a different element of magic. The first contained a ball of fire, one you might see on a torch that doesn't give out. The second had a floating rock above it with smaller brown pebbles circling it like small planets. The third had a small cloud about the size of a miniature globe or a ball, emitting blots of small lightning every few seconds. The final podium had a ball of water, circling, and crystal clear.

"Fire is a strong weapon." Alastor started with a confident grin on his face, "It can destroy, it can heal, but it can be stopped. You need to learn how to face things that fire cannot destroy. You need to harness that power."

"And how in the world do I do that?!" Leo jumped with excitement and confusion.

"Well," Alastor motioned his hand onto the rock podium, "Use this podium, and throw an attack at me."

"But I don't know how to use rock magic? Or whatever it's called."

Alastor glanced over with a slight chuckle, "Silly, these podiums were specifically made for use of anyone, no matter the magic. Just place your hand on the rock, and pretend it's nothing more than another flame."

Leo shrugged cautiously, walking over and placing his dominant hand on the rock. As soon as his hand gripped the rock like a ball of fire, he could feel a different sensation racing through him like a sudden boost of adrenaline. Dirt, hardened clay, and gravel started to form around the rock, and before Leo knew it, he was holding a giant ball of stone.

With Alastor's permission, Leo hurled the stone like it was in his full control, sending it flying through the small space of air between them.

Alastor reached out his palm, igniting it in a darkish, scarlett flame right before the rock collided into him. Quickly, he stretched out his other palm, creating a wall of red flames between them in the span of nearly half a second.

And just as the rock reached the walls of flames, it perished into a crisp pile of sand and degraded stone. "No matter how hard an opponent might be." Alastor smirked, "The fire you set for yourself, will always burn the strongest."

…

Those were the only words Leo could remember, and the only ones he ever needed to overcome. No matter how many times he tried to ignite the flame within the vortex, it wouldn't even last a few seconds before being completely wiped out. The fire needed to breath, it needed the oxygen to survive. It needed to burn, brighter and louder than ever before.

Leo stuck his hand in the vortex around him once more, feeling the sharpened blades of thin water slice away at his skin like nothing, but it didn't stop him. He focused all the energy he had into the tips of his fingers, and for just a split moment, Alastor could see the boy's face light up with joy all over again.

"IGNITE!" Leo yelled, turning the clear blue sheets of water into scorching red waves of heat. However, fusing two of the opposite types of magic together comes at a hefty price. As soon as Leo ignited his flames within the vortex, a sudden pain traveled through his skin like dead wood in a fire. He could feel his own flames burn every inch of his skin within the boiling water, trying his best to get control of the vortex like a stray wolf in a forest.

For the first time in his life, Leo could feel what it's like to truly burn. "AAARRGHHH!" The pain, the feeling of flame against blood, burning within him like a cascade of fireworks. It was simply too much to handle.

Leo pulled back his hands from the vortex, seeing burn marks layered over the flurry of cuts and gashes. His head felt dizzy, and his body wanted nothing more but to rest. His knees slowly began to shake, finally giving out like old stone beneath a coliseum.

The blonde man stopped the vortex with a quick motion of a few fingers, bowing to Alastor once more. "The boy has had enough. My dearest apologies lord Alastor, but Osiris prefers the boy alive."

"Very well," Alastor shrugged sarcastically, "Do as you please."

"One more…" Leo whispered, purged by his own pain. "One more time." His words were weak, like a candle in a lightless forest. However, although his flames couldn't keep ablaze, the fire in his soul was determined to be kept alive.

Leo slowly brought his knees to back up to stand, feeling the cold touch of stone escape his senses. "All things fall, and all things rise." Leo swung his golden blonde hair out of the way, locking his eyes with the blonde man. "Do it again."

Although the blonde man showed no signs of hesitation or fear, the look in Leo's eyes sent an uneasy chill down his spine. The boy was covered in blood and burns, and yet his eyes wanted nothing more than to taste the thrill of battle.

"Children get so full of themselves." The blonde man stated, "Vortex."

Forthwith, thin blades of water started circling Leo like foreighn winds in a hurricane. First, a slice of golden hair was diced off Leo's head. Second, cuts to his shins and knees to weaken his stance. Third, a second vortex around the first to prevent any attempt of escape. Finally, the man directed the vortex to close in, with no intention of survival.

Leo felt the pain creep in like a spider in a dark room. He felt his heart sink deep into his c.h.e.s.t, but the flame within it kept burning brighter and brighter, signaling a perfect rhythm to keep him standing, breathing, and alive.

Leo slowly pushed his hands into the vortex once again, the pain being more and more torturous. The water diced at his fingers, down to every edge, and down to every burn. However, Leo could see the flow of water, he could see the plane of motion, he could see every movement that was made, and all of it was moving so perfectly. Pushing through the pain, taming the wild beast, Leo could feel the vortex bend to his will.

"Ignite." Leo released his sparks of flame into the vortex, setting the entire chamber into a storm of flowing flames. All the fire and flares of scarlett red reflected off his eyes like the early sun against thick glass. Leo's face showed no emotion, but his heart soaked in the emptiness of his expression.

To Alastor, Leo finally showed the true nature of what it means to hold the power of a bounded, Universal Law.

Inside of this burning storm of fire and flowing water, Leo's lips managed to muster out one last piece of his soul. "Water aids, and flames burn." Leo motioned the fiery vortex straight towards the blonde man, finally reaching the man's point of complete fear.

The man tried to cancel his own spell, but it didn't work. He tried to cast another, but it was of no use. He tried to call for help, but no one answered. All he could see was the storm approaching. The storm of ice and fire. The storm of red against blue. The storm of perfect rhythm.