Magic, Spells, and Memories

With this pact between them settled, the two children were out of harm's way. However, could the two of them be called friends after all they had been through, witnessed, and remembered?

Each of them now held a part of their true self and memories of lives that have been long forgotten by the world. It couldn't be said now that they looked like normal humans or even that they were thinking like them. They didn't even present the same aura as before and all three of them were fully aware of that.

Sky, especially, seemed quite curious about how they would come to resolve this matter. That being said she had absolutely no intention in Hell or Heaven to use her powers to help them, unless of course Kyros asked her of such a thing. However, requesting something like this from a demoness would not come without a price and this very thing was exactly what the cunning Sky was waiting for. Of course, the plan she had hatched up in her mind depended solely on whether or not Kyros asked for help from her.

“So, how are we going to get out of here?” asked Kyros a bit worried as he looked back at the sealed entrance to this chamber.

“Forget about getting out, we look like monsters to those mortals... I mean humans.” said Tullos as he corrected himself at the end, trying to be polite with the terms he used, at least for the sake of his cover.

“I can do this.” said Kyros with a smile right before he performed a very weird magic. Basically he closed his eyes and then literally asked the divine energies that were now visible to all those mortal eyes without the gift of sight, to turn invisible. In that moment, the few angelical symbols he had on his body, alongside his wings and white glowing eyes, vanished.

Now, when Kyros opened his eyes, he looked exactly the same as before the change occurred, but the one thing he couldn't hide was the aura of kindness he was emanating like any other angel. The humble and weak feeling one could get from him before this change had now completely vanished. Instead of it, the feeling that Kyros gave off was one of strength, confidence, belief in one's self, and kindness.

Tullos looked at Kyros and rubbed the back of his head. He had to admit, that trick was amazing, but too bad he couldn't use it as well.

“Except the aura I think you are good to go. Besides, you'll stick with me most of the time. Now how do I get rid of my dragon eyes? Normally, I should be proud and happy about this change, but if I appear before father like this, he is going to go mad!” said Tullos as he looked at Kyros with a worried expression.

Indeed, for one of the angelion kind it is easy to hide among mere mortals, but for a dragon that dislikes to hide and enjoys fawning over their heritage and power, it is something almost impossible to do! said Sky as she laughed, making her dead body attempt to do the same, thus resulting in creeping horking sounds being heard coming from it. Maybe you should give up and run away Tullos, hide among mountains and forests. That's what your kind does isn't it? she asked.

“When in full form yes, but we can also take human shape.” said Tullos who was not giving into her deliberate attempts at mocking him. He knew that she would love nothing more than for him to give in to anger and attack her. The other reason why he didn't do it just to have the pleasure of giving her a good smack in the face was that he had nothing to attack her with. Throwing rocks at a demonic entity capable of controlling dead bodies and moving them at deadly was not something that could be considered efficient or smart.

“Maybe a spell? Besides your eyes, I see nothing that has changed.” said Kyros as he looked at the boy from head to toe.

“A spell? I don't even know if I can perform magic in this body.” said Tullos as he looked back at Kyros with a raised eyebrow.

“Try it!” the boy replied with a soft smile on his lips.

You'll fail so badly kid! But do try, I think it would be fun to watch! said Sky as she smirked at him.

“You are just afraid I'm going to find the spell to shut you up!” retorted Tullos as he glared at the demoness.

Looking away from the entity, Tullos closed his eyes for a moment, trying to relax and concentrate. As he did so, he thought back at the most simplest of spells he could remember. Those which were usually thought to beginner mages or were of such common use that everyone knew how to do them.

One of the first of such magics that popped in his mind was the conjuration of a sphere of light to illuminate a dark room. Unfortunately, the memories of Tullos' past life as a wizard and another as a dragon gave him access to understanding two different ways he could conjure that single spell.

One way to cast this spell was through words of magic. Tullos would need to remember and speak out the exact words for the spell all the while letting the magic flow out of his body and into the words. The magic would then attach itself to those words and imbue them with the desired power. The result of a sentence or chant would be the total manifestation of all of those magical words.

The other way to cast this spell was remembered from his past dragon life and he actually needed to know the exact physical effects the spell needed to produce. He had to imagine what shape the spell needed to take and then guide the magic energy with his feelings, emotions and very instinct. In all honesty, he felt in a way comfortable with both ways of casting, but that was because he never did try them out in this life. That's why Tullos came to the conclusion that he needed to test them out to the best of his strength and see with which one he had a higher compatibility.

Opening his eyes, and with the basics of the spell fully remembered, Tullos was ready to give this magic casting business a first try.

“Alright! I'm ready to do this!” said Tullos with a smirk on his lips. He was prepared.

Looking forward, he started to concentrate on the flow of magical energies inside of his body. He then opened his mouth and started to chant the words of power. The sounds flowed out in a cursive form, rolling off the tip of his tongue one after another as they gave shape to his spell:

“Maya etrska nashar her!”

When Tullos said that last word, he released the flow of magic outside of his body to bind and morph with the words of powers. In that very moment, in front of him the magical energies started to gather and form what appeared to be a small orb of light. The sphere emanated bright white light light which at first was blinding, but then it slowly reduced its intensity as Tullos regulated the flow of energy between himself and the spell.

“It worked!” said Kyros with a smile on his face. He was a bit surprised to witness this simple act of magic..

“Yeah, but this is kind of annoying to maintain.” complained Tullos since he actually needed to concentrate in order to let just the right amount of magical energy to flow from him into the spell. Too much would overload it and then either destroy the sphere or blind them all with a powerful light. Too little and the spell could end up canceling itself out.

Hm, I'm surprised! A child like you shouldn't be able to cast such a spell without tiring himself out, especially since it has a rather complicated side to it. But I'm sure you already knew of that, right? asked Sky as she looked at the sphere of magical energy. In her mind she was glad Tullos was struggling with this level of magic. Despite her words, this was actually a very low level of magic. Most of the beginner mages could pull it off. What his struggling meant however was that she could easily finish him off whenever she desired, without worry of troublesome curses or protection spells. Then again that would make Kyros sad and probably mad at her and this was certainly something that Sky did not desire. Drama was good as long as she was the instigator for outside forces, not for those within her own life, especially love life.

“Is that bad?” asked Kyros as he looked at the two a bit confused.

It means he's as good at using magic right now as you are at slaying innocent babies! Sky said with a smirk on her lips. She enjoyed seeing Tullos so weak.

“That's awful! Why would I slay innocent babies? Sky, you can do that if through divine will their life time has ended, right?” asked Kyros as he looked up at the demoness.

Erm... I honestly didn't expect those words coming from you, but yes... most likely. said Sky as she raised an eyebrow, surprised by his comment.

Feeling that there was no need to keep on feeding the spell and the conversation had suddenly turned in a weird direction, Tullos let go of the spell. In a matter of seconds the orb of light ceased to exist as it rapidly consumed the little amount of magical energy it had left. Tullos then looked up at the demoness and threw her a sharp glare for her previous comment about his ability. Sky merely smiled gently in return. She sure liked to irk him. The boy however didn't hold his glare at her for too long and quickly returned his attention to his magic experiments.

What Tullos had learned so far was that he certainly possessed the ability, knowledge, and energy of a magic user. All that was left for him to do was to figure out just what sort of magic he was actually most attuned to. Thus for his next experiment Tullos tried to figure this out by using his memories of his past lives. However, the life of which he was most aware of was the one in which he was a dragon. Back then he was using fire based magic and from what he remembered it was sort of his speciality. As he thought back to that life, a certain interesting memory popped up in his mind:

It was from the time when Tullos was just a young whelp, right before he found out what his elemental attunement was. In this memory so it was that he found himself in front of a large pond with crystal clear water, hidden in a place long pried away from his memories. Tullos looked in the pond and then something happened, however he couldn't see what exactly. This part of the memory faded and moved to the moment when the ritual had already ended and he was now walking out of the pond. As he was stepping out of the pond he could see the world with different eyes and had the perfect knowledge of his element. Tullos had the feeling that right then he said his own dragon name, but that name was now erased from this memory. He couldn't remember it.

When Tullos finally opened his eyes he knew what his elemental attunement was back then: Fire.

“So?” asked Kyros curiously.

“Well, I know what my elemental magic attunement is: fire! Sigh, and before you ask, no, I was completely oblivious to the fact that as a fire breathing, fire magic user dragon I was attuned to fire!” Sky let out a giggle as she heard him confess. Ignoring, her Tullos looked at Kyros and then said “Now let's see if I remember how to properly cast a spell in this system.”

“System? Are there different ways you can use magic?” asked Kyros curiously.

“Well, from what I can remember there are two primary means of using magic energy. In one of them when you cast a spell you use certain words of power which control and transform the magic energy into the desired result. While in the other you let the magic energy function at an instinctual level where you cast the spells without the use of any words, symbols or other means of control. From these two the systems diversify in various branches that are more or less a combination of the primary ones. When I cast that spell earlier I used the system that used some words of power that gave it shape and form while at the same time I used will to control the flow of magic. It's a difficult system to master, but certainly not the hardest as Sky said earlier.” explained Tullos and through his words proved that his level of knowledge and understanding of the world of magic was certainly not that of a twelve year old human child. On the other hand, despite the complexity of the words, Kyros understood him perfectly.

“What's the hardest one?” asked the young angel.

“The alpha system of words. You need to describe almost everything about each spell. Usually those that use this sort of magic end up using tomes upon tomes for each little spell they need. Creating a single spell can be excruciatingly difficult even for those that have practiced it for years.” replied Tullos.

The advantage is that even an idiot like Tullos could cast a spell in that system. All he would need to do is get his hands on a spell tome and then charge it with his own magical energy. The rest is handled by the instructions written in the tome. explained Sky, but only because Kyros was the one that had asked. As long as it was for her beloved soul mate she didn't mind lending a helping hand and sharing some general knowledge.

Tullos didn't really appreciate being called an idiot, but he let it slide.

“Oh! I understand!” said Kyros with a gentle smile on his lips.

You're welcomed my dear! said Sky.

“It's weird that you can act so normally with him. Can't you act the same with everyone else? Is it that hard?” asked Tullos as he raised an eyebrow at her.

Kyros is the only exception among all the mortals and immortals of this entire universe. He's my soul mate after all. Everyone else is garbage in a big pile of trash. Why should I bother with their meager existence? stated clearly Sky.

“So you are a stinking kiss snatching evil demon with everyone else?” Tullos asked with a smirk on his lips. Maybe he didn't actually let that 'idiot' thing go.

Not really, I'm a stinking kiss snatching evil demon only with you little pathetic insignificant mortal. Sky said with a soft tone in her voice and a smirk on the tip of her lips.

“You two! Please don't fight? Please?” asked Kyros with a pair of puppy dog eyes to which neither of them could say no to.

“Ugh. Fine! Anyway, let me test out my spell so I know what system to use!” requested the young dragon as he started to walk away from the other two.

“Is he mad?” Kyros asked as he looked up at Sky.

I wish! But no, he's just annoying. replied the demoness, but she only managed to confuse the boy.

Once he was a fair distance away from them, Tullos prepared himself for the spell he was about to cast. Just as before, he concentrated on his inner flow of magical energy and then started to focus it into the form of the spell he desired. Unlike in the previous system, in this one Tullos didn't need to fully control the way the magic flowed. On the contrary, he needed to let it flow freely and let it follow the course of his emotions and desires. The more he attempted to control it the more likely it was that it was going to fail. To do this, Tullos simply imagined what he desired. He let the emotions and feelings of that desire form inside his heart and soul. He started to believe in that desire and that it could become real. All that was left then was to release the magical energy and let it flow in the shape of those feelings. The fact that he imagined the entire process and even gave a shape of the result with his imagination was also a plus, but he had to be careful here not to restrict the flow of magic too much with what he imagined. One wrong move and the energy could destabilize and form a completely different spell.

As Tullos worked on this whole process and was about to finish it, the magical energy that was conjured in that spell started to form a small sphere of light in the middle of the air, right in front of him. Unlike in the previous system where the energy was sent to the spell through a direct link, in this system the spell itself absorbed the required energy from his entire aura. For those that could see the whole process this was similar to a funnel gathering rain drops into a bottle.

When the spell was completed Kyros didn't need to add any more energy to keep it lit up. The sphere had enough for a certain amount of time, in this case it was only around thirty minutes.

“I did it...” said Tullos as he looked at the floating orb of light.

“That's great Tullos!” shouted Kyros as he ran over to him. The young boy was excited and looked at the spell with big eyes. Sky on the other hand wasn't that thrilled about the young dragon's progress. She crossed her hands at her chest and sort of glared at Tullos.

“I think it's best if I use this system from now on. Not that draining and I personally find it more comfortable to use, although I think I can work on my casting time.” said Tullos as he smirked. He was proud of this small accomplishment. Well, it was small for the three of them, but probably something incredible for a normal human.

Still, do you think you remember enough to cast a spell to hide your draconic eyes? If you can't I can ease your search and simply gouge them out for you. No eyes means no need to worry about someone freaking out about them, right? Sky asked as she smirked sadistically, showing off her sharp claws to them. Both children got a chill running down their spines as they heard her.

“I don't think that would be necessary Sky, I believe Tullos will be able to do it... if not, we'll find something else... so no gouging any eyeballs please?” asked Kyros with a small gentle smile as he looked back at the demoness.

Tch! Spoilsport... she complained.

Tullos let out a sigh of relief, seeing as the angel managed to stop her from using her claws on his eyes.

“Well! Only one way to find out if I remember or not!” the young dragon said. Right now, he was pretty confident in his own abilities to give it a try.

“I'm sure you'll succeed! Good luck Tullos!” Kyros said as nodded once and then stepped back.

Now that everything was settled, Tullos closed his eyes and then thought back at what his past life masters once told him about magic and through his memory sought some clues or actual spells he could use to change his eye color. The first thing he found out was that what he needed was in fact an illusion type spell. Technically, it wouldn't require that much energy to cast or maintain it. The catch with it was that since Tullos used an instinctual form of magic, he would need to remember not to accidentally dispel it when his emotions were high or even hectic. Besides this, he also needed to imagine just how exactly he wanted his human eyes to look like. In other words, he had to know and properly visualize his eye color from before his draconic transformation. This part however turned out to be the most troubling of them all.

Tullos, like any other young boy his age, wasn't the type to admire himself in the mirror. That being said he was having trouble recalling an actual memory in which he saw himself in a mirror or the reflection of something else.

Seeing him struggle and frowning for more than a quarter of an hour, Kyros asked with a bit of worry in his voice: “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, just a bit of trouble remembering how my human eyes looked like... As a child that was classified by my brain as unimportant information and thus quickly erased...” said Tullos with a bit of grumble in his voice, but still maintaining his eyes closed.

They were red with pink polka dots. said Sky with a smirk on her lips.

Tullos completely ignored her joke, although he was actually starting to imagine himself how he looked with such eyes and the result was one that would have surely caused a big commotion in the village.

As Tullos focused once more on his human memories from this life time, he would find it difficult to pinpoint one that offered him enough details to create the spell. Most of the images showed blurry, distorted or incomplete images of his eyes. The dragon didn't give up though and he continued to search deeper and deeper into his memories until a long forgotten one suddenly popped up in his mind.

It was a memory from when he was only three years old and in it he saw himself being carried by his mother into a dining room. He didn't bother trying to recall if it was in his own house or another, he let the memory flow.

Suddenly Tullos could hear a lot of voices, but none that he recognize or understood. Most of them spoke gibberish to him, because at that age he didn't know that many words. He saw himself suddenly placed on a big seat in front of a table covered in a white table cloth. At that time the chair seemed like a giant throne while the table like some unclimbable wall at the top of which only the gods resided. Tullos always had a rich imagination even from an early age. Still, considering how young he was back the it was not surprising to see that he got bored fairly quickly and now he was thinking about climbing that unclimbable wall.

As Tullos sat up on the chair, he stretched his little hands up until he caught the edge of the table. He then then he pulled himself closer and carefully peaked over so that the “ancient gods” didn't see him. The first thing that caught the young child's eyes were the shining pieces of silverware laid down in front of him: a silver plate, a spoon, a knife, and a fork. He then saw some huge shadows on the other side of the table, the same ones that spoke in that gibberish tongue. He couldn't clearly remember who they were and for now they remained only as the shadows of the gods he imagined as a child. To the right however, far away from him, he could hear his parents talking. He recognized their voices, but could not understand what exactly they were talking about. He did turn his head in that direction, just to make sure it was them, afterward he looked towards the left and saw a row of empty giant seats. Tullos' attention was then focused back on the shiny plate in front of him. Wanting to have a better look, he stretched his hands over the table and then pulled the plate towards him. With a bit of effort he managed to get a solid grip on it, as much as his child like strength allowed him to, and then lifted it up. The next thing he saw was a perfect reflection of his face. It was so clear that he gazed at it in awe. However, Tullos wasn't captivated by his own reflection, but by the clarity of this silver plate.

This was the memory that allowed Tullos to remember the color of his own eyes. It was the missing element of the spell and as soon as he acquired it he let the magic energy flow through his emotions and let it be guided by his imagination.

“It's done.” said Tullos as he finally opened his eyes, showing not his red dragon eyes, but instead his former human dark green eyes.