8 The Portal (2/2)
And while they were arguing again, they efficiently remove all the curses and traps on the chest. In less than ten minutes, the chest was normal once again, only waiting to be opened. Jean took the key out of his robe and opened it. Inside, they could see the crystal pulsating, and while the outer parts were red, darkness was growing inside it. The magicians looked in each other eyes and both understood that it was really happening. But now that they opened the chest and saw that, what should they do?
”Luc, any idea on, how do I say it, using this?”
”Honestly, except the grandmaster, I don't think that anyone can understand this. So, maybe we should go and reach them?”
”Yeah, yeah, you are right. But the chest is useless now, let me grab it and …”
The skinny human crouched and took with both of his hands the red crystal. It was surprisingly light, and only now did he realized that it was the chest that was heavy. He looked at his companion and saw him beginning to run. ”That bastard, he left me!” was the thought of Jean. Gnashing his teeth, he ran after him, but carefully, not wanting to fall and break the precious object in his hands. Barely a minute after that, he realized that something was wrong.
”JEAN, BASTARD, STOP!”
”You called your father?”
Fuming after hearing this annoying joke, the late mage reached the smiling fat man. At this moment, he really wanted to punch this annoying prick, but he calmed himself and stated what was bothering him.
”I can't remove my hands.”
A moment of silence, before a loud laughter was heard. A round meatball, dressed in black and red was on the ground, laughing. While a stick was turning red from anger and began to kick the other party. Still feeling pain, Jean began to seriously look at the crystal and the hands of his partner. He found nothing unusual, but maybe it was the fact that none of them wanted that crystal to be destroyed. Not fearing anything, the fat man grabbed it and ordered the other one to let it go. But it didn't work.
”I really can't drop it, try it!”
”Nonsense, you are holding it? Ok, I will let it go …. Let… it… go! DAMN!”
Both of them were now stuck and four hands were not grabbing the red gem but trying to push it away. It was after a very long moment of effort that Jean realized something worse.
”Luc, Luc, do you feel that your mana is leaking?”
”What? No way, it's impossi… possible, totally possible. But it's like when we were pouring our magic inside it, what is the problem?”
”This time, we are not doing it voluntarily?”
”True.”
And as the minutes passed, the two of them felt weaker and weaker. At first, it was a minor inconvenience, but now, they could feel their life force being taken. Wrinkles began to appear on both of their hands, a clear sign of the condition of their bodies. But no matter what they were trying, they couldn't escape it. Between them, the crystal was turning darker and darker, and right before the two of them passed out, not a single touch of red was seen.
OUCH AHOU
Two bodies fell on the ground, finally free at last. Floating without any help, a dark gem was spinning furiously, creating sparks of electricity. Their hoods being knocked out, two old men looked at each other. Both of them were frail, not a single trace of fat could be seen. The toll was very heavy, but on their faces, only a huge smile could be seen. The prophecy will be complete, thanks to their help. From now on, they will be considered as heroes and definitely will have their wishes granted. Thinking about that happy future, none of them noticed that the gem was fissured and that the electric arcs were getting more and more unstable. Inevitably, the black crystal blew out, producing a pillar of light in the dark night and blasting the two magicians far away. And from this pillar, monsters and unnameable creatures were violently ejected.