Reversing the Circle of the Immortal

I'm doing it... I'm reversing the Circle... This is written in a third point of view.

Night had arrived and the wind was blowing toughly upon the kingdom of Imbross. The city's lights contrasted wildly with the darkness of the skies. The dance floors were filled with the young and there was much life through the street of the main districts. The skyscrapers laid dormant waiting for the arrival of the suns, while the metallic modern-built buildings shook with the energy of its inhabitants. Imbross was the kingdom of darkness; therefore it was in the night that most people felt comfortable. During the day they slept; when light hid from its opposite, the businesses truly opened and the real action took place.

Ashley walked out of the royal palace, wearing a black cloak around her figure. She was dressed in a similar suit to the one she used when fighting. This time, however, it was dark red completely. Drafo followed her closely from behind. In his mouth he held a medium sized bag. They were both leaving through the back door of the Castle.

"Where are we going?" Drafo managed to whisper through his gritted teeth and the bag.

"To the Comelew crater." She answered seriously as she invoked several shadows to appear before her. They were ordered to distract anyone who'd suspect where they were going.

"That giant crater? What for?"

"The reversing had been tried previously in that area. It failed that time, but… I suspect there should be energy waving around the place. It's decently far from the kingdom, and above that… we're honoring a memory."

They snuck out of the palace ground immediately. Ashley used her powers and silently traveled through the shadows, connecting one with the other so that she was practically imperceptible. Drafo followed her closely and benefited from her agility. They finally arrived to the Oak of Ages after a long walk.

"Should we teleport?" Drafo asked "It's not like I can acquire my true form around here."

Ash closed her eyes. She slid her hands underneath the cloak and from her pocket withdrew a little seed.

"Ashley… is that what I think it is?"

She walked towards the Oak of Ages and inserted the seed within it. "Yes… It's a caircout seed. It will allow us to appear within any other tree we desire."

"And since the Comelew Crater is right next to the COMELEW forest…" Drafo smirked.

"We'll just be a step away. If we teleport we might risk altering the magical balance and someone's bound to find us. However, if we use this… there's no way of tracing it once the Oak absorbs it."

"Brilliant… indeed."

Suddenly the giant Oak's bark began to swell immensely. Then it zapped the swelling within itself leaving a 4 feet hole towards the inside. It looked as if it had a mouth and it was wide open, a cave, offering an ominous invitation to the perverse and the mystery.

They nodded towards each other and went in. Ash had to crawl into it, while for Drafo it was not a problem. The inside of the tree was humid, and sometimes little bugs crawled along the walls around them.

"Aren't you the least scared?" Drafo smirked from behind Ashley.

"As long as I don't see a spider… I'm fine…" she growled. It's not like she liked insects either. The faster she got out of there, the happier she would be. After about 10 minutes, a dim light appeared in the distance. "Oh good! We're almost on the other side."

The moment their hands touched territory outside the tree, and they could stand up, they shook off all the dust from their clothing. The hole behind them slowly patched up again, looking as though nothing had happened.

They found themselves within a giant blanket of green composed of all types of trees and of creatures that lived in them. The environment was very dark and it was wet, like it had been inside the tree. Since it was night, it gave off a menacing vibe, warning all who dared come near it. The trees moved slowly at an equal pace, as if following a mechanical and cynical rhythm implemented by nature itself. Sometimes the wind howled through them and produced a most sinister voice.

Ashley walked to the bag Drafo was holding and took out a large book. It was entirely black, many insignias written all over it. In its front it had a most disturbing eye. Above from this, it seemed to be as old as grandfather time himself, and incrusted in its cover was a stone carved maze. There was a giant lock protecting its content, but ironically there was nowhere to insert the key.

"Book of Shadows…" Ash whispered to it, as she held him with both hands. He was pretty heavy.

The book seemed to come to life. It opened its eye, looked towards the right, then the left, and finally it set itself upon Ashley.

"Show me the way, please."

It closed its eye and immediately a long, sharp, yellow, ray emerged from it directed to a little space between two big trees. Drafo and Ashley looked at each other, and then stepped through the signaled space. In the other side, they found one of the greatest craters they had seen in their lives. It made more sense saying that a meteorite had impacted against the earth instead of thinking this was the product of a spell.

Drafo settled the bag down, then took out of it two pieces of what seemed to be chalk.

Ashley placed the book in the remnants of a fallen tree. She placed her hand upon its surface. It opened again, light gusts of wind emerging from the cover towards Ash's hand as if recognizing its master. Then, a specific page appeared. In this one, there was a very complex design of a circle and hundreds of little writings around it. Drafo and Ash stared at it for long moments.

"Time to begin drawing, Drafo." Ash smiled.

"ONE BIG, GIANT, HELL COMPLICATED CIRCLE COMING RIGHT UP." He said sarcastically. His body was suddenly enveloped with a silvery light. His feet became legs, his paws became hands, and his wings disappeared within a long human self. His eyes turned a pastel caramel and the hair that reached to his shoulders was black as the night that surrounded them. Upon this new body were black jeans and a crimson red shirt filled with different golden symbols across its surface.

"You're taking your human form?" Ash quirked an eyebrow

"It's easier for me to use CHALK in a form that has FINGERS." He started drawing as best he could the wickedly difficult circle. Ashley started opposite to him, working doubly hard. While they kept tracing the hundreds of little symbols and lines, the skies became darker. Giant clouds of black covered the surface above them. Sweat fell from their bodies as they moved, crawled, jumped, walked, and ran elaborating the circle.

When they were finally done, they stared at the product of their effort, eyes wide.

"Are you sure EVERY line is well put?" Drafo asked turning to an analyzing Ashley.

"Yes…" she walked around it again, since it was so big it took her 10 minutes to go around. "It's all in place."

"Ashley! ONE line in the wrong direction could make the whole spell go wrong…"

"I KNOW! IT'S ALL OKAY!" she panted, it was stressing enough going ahead with this whole plan without Drafo's perfection annoying around.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!" he gulped. His handsome face was invaded by a frown, and his hands were inside his pants as they shook nervously anticipating the following moments.

Ashley placed herself in front of the circle, while Drafo walked a decent distance away from it. She took the Book of Shadows in her hands, and then, slowly, let it down on the floor right before her. It was placed in a strategic position; if you traced a line from it towards the circle, the product of such action would be a straight line right to its center. She turned her head towards Drafo and nodded as a sign that she was about to begin the ceremony. He gulped, but nonetheless returned the gesture. In the worst of cases he was prepared to take his true form.

Finally everything became quiet as if the whole woods knew what was to come. Particles of dust emanated from the book and slid to the floor in the unholy blink of an eye. A slight sound came from within the circle as if it had taken a breath and it was somewhat alive. The earth trembled with the amount of power soon to be released. The trees, ironically, stopped all movement as if they feared for their lives.

Ash raised her arms, and placed them at the level of her shoulders, her palms facing the darkened sky. She looked down to the inscriptions in the book and started reading them, in a language old as eternity, but at the same time understood by all as if the message transcended beyond words directly into the soul "Ancient seal of crimson sorrow, faithful minion of what is no longer, here I am before you as the invoker of the beyond."

The edges of the circle started shining, and as the spell progressed, the light spread to the other parts of the piece, finally lighting it completely.

In thy wisdom awaken from thy slumber, in thy eternal existence share with me thy power.

Within moments an enormous ray of golden light extended from all symbols, lines, and shapes of the circle towards the sky, creating a beam that could've awakened the dead. It broke through the ominous clouds on top of it. Better said, these ones gave way to the greater giant that invaded their territory. An atmospheric phenomenon had begun, as the clouds started revolving around the beam and twirling around its top part with a direction downwards.

Judge me with thy greatness… Chain me merciless; agree to give me what thy desire

The circle seemed to be coming to life, as it slowly started rotating in different directions. The last layer commenced moving to the left, the middle to the right, and the center spun around the axis in its center, slower than the rest parts.

Drafo stared, his eyes wide. The enormous energy expelled such strong winds he was holding himself to the ground with the help of his claws. "It's working…"

Circle… take blood, but accept my sacrifice in return of that which has been lost.

Large whips of darkness emerged from the floor and they adhered themselves to Ashley's body. Her arms, legs and even her neck were wrapped by these strange, snake-like creatures. Their negative energy slid into her body; this was obvious, as the bindings were leaving an impression on her very skin.

The pain was tearing her in two. She had to close her eyes as they seemed to have been sucking her dry. However, Ash kept to the spell, her perseverance intense. "CIRCLE… Accept MY own flesh; consider ME THY master! Circle of the Immortal now UNSEAL, NOW REVERSE!" She pressed her palms together in a low applause, then uniting, in a rapid movement her thumb and index finger. This almost made her faint. Thanks to the bindings around her body, when she moved, she felt a stabbing pain, like a thousand swords through her.

The serpents broke away from her body, drenched with her blood and crashed within the circle. She kneeled as she witnessed the beam turn a dark red color, product of the fusion. The energy was now directed upwards. Pieces of earth were breaking apart and heading towards the skies.

Ash held her body. The circle was now turning stronger and faster, creating such power, it could blow her away in any second. Chains emerged from the beam and they tied themselves around her wrists. She was now a part of the circle, and if it disappeared, so would she, unless the spell was finished appropriately.

It had become completely dark now, save the zaps of lightning that fired from the circle and the beam. The gusts themselves had acquired a black color. Just as sudden, the movement from the circular incantation stopped and a loud sound, like something being locked came from it. Everything was suspended in middle air as if time itself had stopped and as consequence gravity existed no more.

Ashley walked towards the beam. Her eyes lacked light, as if she had been possessed by the spell and they were inseparable. She raised her hand, placing it on its surface. An incredible explosion continued, demolishing the area around without mercy.

"ASHLEY!!" Drafo screamed. As calm as things had been 2 seconds ago, now it seemed to be complete chaos. All blew in different directions, away from the beams. The trees were torn down and noises of destruction invaded the air. Only the pillar of dark red stood, the circle shone, but the rest was being pulverized and torn apart.

Some guards ran hastily towards Oius. He had been pacing up and down his room for a while now. Something had him anxious yet he knew not what.

"Sir!" One the guards blasted the door open.

Oius didn't even scold them for their intrusion, since he knew it might be something important. "What is it?"

"Your highness… look outside the window… we don't know what it is, but it has provoked a magical shock. It's thrown the usual magical currents off their balance."

He walked towards the glass and his eyes widened as he say the giant dark red pillar, the clouds around it, and the zaps of lightning that sometimes escaped from it. "Oh my God… Ashley…" he turned towards the guards "GET ME MY TEN BEST MEN! WE MUST GET GOING AT ONCE!"

Ashley was touching the pillar, the other things around her, blew in all directions. The dark black marks were still upon her body. When she spoke, her voice was low, and it held no emotion, as if her actions were mechanical "Open to me."

A concentration of darkness emerged from the pillar in form of an attack. She tried running away, but the chains held her in place and she took it all. This time, her eyes had become sharp again, and the iciness that had taken temporal possession of her was disappearing. As the energy went into her body, her eyes turned red, and she went alter. The circle under her suddenly became a giant eye and she found herself stepping on it.

"ASHLEY!! It's TOO MUCH! We have to GET OUT OF HERE! Not even YOU can take THAT MUCH AMOUNT OF DARKNESS!"

Her eyes narrowed and she smirked. Another concentration of energy exploded from the pillar and as it entered her, her knees failed her. "Drafo… There is always a way." Another attack came and by this time she was on the floor.

Drafo ran towards the direction of the pillar, but he was blown away. All he could do was stare at the enormous difference in levels.

"Born from Ashes… God's reflection before night… yield to me darkness… allow me to no longer make a monster of myself as I accept you and WITH THESE SAME CHAINS attach you to ME!" The clouds, the masses of darkness united in her person, but this time, she seemed to gain strength. She stood up, an aura of black surrounding her person, but her red eyes were much more serene.

"Sh-She's controlling the darkness…" Drafo gawked

Ashley, in a movement as fast as sound, waved her arm. As she did, a giant scythe appeared before her. Ash grabbed it and in one same attack sliced through the pillar. It screeched as if it had been wounded. Suddenly, millions of dark spirits started moving themselves within it. They all passed before her, like a film strip. After about 5 minutes her eyes widened and she inserted her hand inside the pillar. It felt like jelly within it. Ash grabbed her target and started pulling it out towards her person. The dark marks in her body extended with each movement as if they were curses, and they were devouring her flesh. She kept pulling.

"Break thy contract…" more darkness emerged from everywhere, all going into Ash, as if they intended to prevent her from taking something from within the seal.

"DAMN IT! YOU'RE DYING, ASH!" Drafo screamed "DON'T YOU SEE THE MARKS OF DARKNESS CONSUMING YOU?"

Ash laughed "I can't be consumed… I am the darkness itself. I'm the divine controller of the night…"

Drafo slid to the floor; he couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was Ashley, sure, but dark wings seemed to appear behind her back. They were slightly transparent. Probably, they were just a symbol, but they told him everything. That's the reason why she had learned all the royal techniques of Imbross so fast, when it had taken centuries to other rulers. That's why the book had said only she could probably reverse the circle. That's the reason why her weapon was the scythe. "Ashley is the angel of darkness…"

She continued pulling out of the dark pillar. Even for her, the energy was starting to become overwhelming. The screeching sound got higher and higher. Her body was already depleted and it was only her mind power that kept her going. Suddenly, within her grasp, she was pulling a hand. Tears welled up on her eyes as she realized just how near she was. "GRIM! BREAK YOUR CONTRACT NOW!! SET HER FREE! I'M THE MASTER OF THE CIRCLE, AND I COMMAND YOU TO DO AS I SAY."

Ashley gave one last pull, hoping to have taken what she looked for out in one last attempt. Then her system went out, it was the end of her endurance. For nearly 4 hours she had been working with her full capacity, and no longer could her physical body take it. Under her, the eye of the circle slowly closed. The pillar became bright, and the light expanded consuming all.

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The Path to Everlasting

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Oius and his men had arrived to Comelew Crater, but they found themselves in a most unusual situation. A giant barrier of light surrounded an enormous perimeter and this one didn’t allow them through. Even with all their powers, it would not yield.
“Damn it!” Oius yelled “Can someone tell me what the devil is going on!?”
A small round Ouun walked towards him “Sir… it appears there’s a magical shield of such intensity that it can only be broken from the inside.”
“Bloiksaze, I want you to find me a solution to this as soon as possible. You’re one of my most powerful scholars.”
“I’ll work on it, highness.” With that he left.
The king stared at the problem before him. He could bet Ashley was behind this. That girl didn’t know the meaning of prudence. If she had gone ahead and done the spell he could only hope for the best. However, being objective, he was prepared to face his worst fears. He sat down and covered his face. If something happened to his daughter, he didn’t know if he would have the strength to pull himself together.


Ash opened her eyes. She was surrounded entirely by light and she was floating in the middle of it. With a little difficulty, for her body was completely drained, she turned her head, examining the area. Ashley found Drafo, still in his human form, unconscious and floating, nearby. She tried walking towards him, but it was impossible. There was no floor to step on, and she couldn’t float toward him either since there appeared to be no impulse that would drive her body forward. Looking around, she found that everything had disappeared: the book, the circle, the pillar. Right now it all seemed like a nightmare. She was even willing to believe they had died and this was their pathway to heaven.
Wait… Ashley looked towards all directions. Where was her mother? Had she failed? Was everything really over? She squealed as something fell on her feet. Damn it! If there wasn’t any gravity how could something FALL towards her feet? This place was whacked up. She looked down and found the Book of Shadows. When Ash tried to pick it up, though, another horrible fact hit her: something didn’t allow her to move.
“In this place you use your mind….” The Book spoke to her.
“Wherever this is, it should come with an instruction booklet.” Ash groaned. She pictured herself with the book among her hands and suddenly, that’s exactly what had happened. “What is this place?”
“When the body and mind can take no more, the person faints… loses consciousness. Since you were in the middle of a spell, somehow your mind, even after losing control, created this space of annulment. In other words, it’s a reflect action in which your complete magical powers shield further consequences of a spell. However, it’s an imaginary ‘piece of heaven’. Your physical body is probably unconscious under us. That’s the reason why only your mind persists in this place.”
“I think I got it. So, how do I get back into my body?”
The book closed itself “It’s true that I know every answer. That, however, doesn’t mean I’m telling you. Now, goodbye Ashley, in the worst of cases, being locked in this ‘limbo’ doesn’t’ sound that bad.” With that it disappeared.
“Fucking BOOK!” she swore loudly. There had to be a way of getting out of here. She imagined herself in her body, waking up, but that failed too. Next, she pictured herself walking in this ‘nothingness’. Luckily, that worked and she placed herself right on top of Drafo.
“Drafo! Wake up! Come on! I need your help! If the spell DID work and mom’s down there, she needs OUR help!”
After various minutes of shouting and using her ‘mind’, she finally managed to wake him up. He groaned loudly “Five more minutes… I don’t want to go to dragon school……”
“…” Ash’s eyes suddenly widened, then they narrowed as she smirked “I hope you’re okay with the fact that I had to take all my clothes off…”
Drafo suddenly sat up, his whole body cracked in pain. “OW!” he raised his eyes towards hers. She was laughing at him. “That was very funny… thank you.”
Ashley explained their situation. He stared at her with a blank expression.
“Well, I think that’s perfect. Not only were we almost killed by a spell we don’t know really worked, but now we’re trapped in a magical place where only our MIND exists. That’s brilliant.”
She crossed her arms. “Let’s think about a way of getting out.”
“Yes THINK, since it’s THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO.”
“If imagining ourselves in our body won’t work…” Ash closed her eyes pensive.
“How about we will our bodies to us?”
Ashley quirked her eyebrow “Yes… that sounds great. Night of the living Ashleys and Drafos… no thanks.”
“It’s our minds here…”
Ash’s eyes widened.
Drafo turned his head towards her. “You think we could…?”
“Will our BODIES TO MOVE FROM THIS point. Then the shock would be so strong it would pull US back!” she smiled
“Yeah… it DOES sound shocking, my mind, five kilometers away ordering my body to move… Sounds crazy… but we have no other option.”
Ashley closed her eyes. She imagined her body, unconscious on the ground. Since neither of them had seen themselves, they didn’t know how they really looked, but they used their imagination. She thought of the simplest action possible: moving her index finger. With every amount of herself she imagined that little finger slanting slowly back and forth. All of a sudden, an incredible amount of cold air invaded her lungs and she lost consciousness again.
Next thing she knew, it felt as if a thousand pounds had been dropped on her body. She felt completely weakened. When her eyes opened, her pupils focused on a nearby rock. It felt as if nothing would help her recover. The pain was incredible, and against her will, a few small drops of red blood tears descended her face.
You can do it, Ashley… You’ve triumphed over death in various other occasions… but Oh God… this is what I call extreme pain. She looked at her hand, slightly willing it to support her next move. She closed her eyes, absorbing the pain, and taking deep breathes. Ash pulled her whole body up and managed to hold it up in both her hands, kneeling. Now she was coughing blood to the floor. She lowered her head and just as sudden she raised it, her eyes sharp, full of determination. Ash motioned her right leg slightly forward and then with the left, gave the impulse necessary so that her body would stand.
Ashley smiled feeling accomplished. However, her happiness didn’t last long as her legs failed her, and she felt herself falling down to the floor. Her eyes widened as something caught her from behind in midair. She turned around and surprise invaded her features.
What had held her up was the head of a giant black dragon behind her. It was enormous, two, not one, pair of strong wings upon its back. Its fangs and teeth were giant, but it had a regal look to it. It had four legs, which had in their ends incredibly sharp claws, no one would’ve liked messing with. Along with its wings, there were also large, black, rather ominous looking, spikes attached to its back. Its tail was also really long, and there were some knife like spikes in it as well. The neck was rather long, fact that had allowed it to push Ash back into a standing position. Its scales were black too, and they got finer and less thick on its limbs. Finally it had deep-set faceted eyes that were rose-red.
“Don’t go falling down, Ashley…” Its voice was deep, grave, clear, and loud.
“Drafo! But how?”
“My human body hurt too much. It was a jackpot trying to relieve the pain in my true form, but it apparently worked.”
“That’s my dragon.” She smiled at him, her eyes alight with pride.
He bit down on her clothing, and then pulled her to his back.
“CAREFUL THERE!” She squealed. Her clothes were completely torn and ragged; if he wasn’t careful he’d strip her. He silenced her complaints “What?” Ash gasped as she stared at a beautiful woman lying in the floor.
The woman was in the egg position, no clothes upon her body. She was wrapped in her long, waist long golden hair, her eyes closed, as if sleeping. She seemed to be extremely delicate.
“OH MY GOD!” New tears formed within Ash’s eyes “MOTHER!! The spell worked!” She was about to jump towards her, when Drafo stopped her.
“You’re too weak, Ashley. Allow me.”
He opened his mouth slightly and took her into it, then placed her next to Ashley. She immediately hugged her.
“She’s BREATHING!!” she laughed happily. Ash held her mom close to her.
Drafo’s eyes narrowed “Now to break through this power shield.”
“Can you do that?”
He smirked. Without another second’s thought he slammed his head against the barrier of light. Huge amounts of energy slammed everywhere as he crashed through it.


The guards outside the barrier all stood up and prepared their weapons in case of trouble. Oius also stood, a worried frown in upon his face.
When the giant dragon broke through the barrier and this one disappeared, everyone fell to the floor as it jumped on all four legs and slammed into the floor, causing a giant earthquake. Everyone gasped. Oius’ jaw dropped. A mixture of relief and happiness swelled up inside him.
“ASHLEY! DRAFO!” he screamed.
Drafo walked towards him and smiled. Ashley smiled, waving from the top.
“You’re IN DEEP TROUBLE!” Oius yelled now, suddenly remembering why he was there. “You could’ve died! You used the spell even when I told you not to! You could’ve caused complete destruction! I’m PUNISHING YOU FROM HERE TO ETERNITY! You’re never going out again! I’m going to---” he stopped when he saw that Ashley was holding someone in her arms.
Some guards teleported towards Drafo. Their eyes widened as well, when they saw who Ash was holding. They took them into their arms and appeared before Oius. He covered his mouth when he saw the unconscious woman. Another guard had taken his cloak off and placed it over her body.
“Je-Jeannette…” he choked, taking her into his arms and holding her close. He sat back and tightened his warm grip around her. When Ash walked towards them, blood dripping from her body, but smiling, he also pulled her towards him. She was very surprised when she felt his tears. “My beautiful daughter… what you’ve done today…. I don’t know…” he couldn’t continue due to the emotion.

Two full days passed before the queen regained consciousness, but meanwhile everyone was celebrating the princesses’ new actions. The whole of Imbross welcomed the queen, king, and princess back. It was probably one of the happiest days in their history.
When Jeanette did wake up, her gray eyes posed on both Oius and Ashley who had been next to her every minute. “It’s…. nice… to see you…” she smiled brightly.
After that, the celebrations continued, now before the presence of the queen. There were parties every hour and there was not one Imbrossian that wasn’t cheering with genuine joy.
Ash walked through the gardens while her parents ‘caught up’. Drafo caught up with her.
“Now you have the Imbross competitions to win…”
She smiled “Now… the path to Everlasting!”
“Everlasting?” he quirked his eyebrow. “EVERLASTING GLORY!” she yelled contently then ran ahead towards the training grounds. If she wanted to win, she’d have to recover all that lost energy.