Chapter 45: Death In The Family
In the ruins of the Westphall estate, where grass burned charcoal black and fires ran rampant throughout the property — Or what remained of it, anyway. Not even a wall remained of Westphall Manor, not even a stone nor wall nor body of a maid that had worked its halls.
The grounds themselves were nothing but ruins — blackened dirt, shrivelled burnt ashes where grasses should've been and soil that would never again let anything grow upon it.
Not even the scent of Death was this desecrating.
And yet, at the edges of the estate itself, where ruined stomps stood where vibrant trees should've rested, a young man of about 17 years old, wearing tattered remains of what should've been a very decent fit, stood, barely. He was beaten, bruised, bleeding, battered and barely able to stand, his body so wounded that, in some areas, his bones was visible through the layers of meat around the wound. And though most would've died facing such a devastating attack, and ending up in such a state, Kaleb Westphall was a decent witch with a specialty for jinxes, protection and barrier spells and healing incantations. And, with the Vertatim Rune etched on his body and soul, the young warlock had a vast supply of magic to draw from — Or, rather, did have one.
Unfortunately, he had to use all his magic in his body to cast that last minute protection encantation against that city block level explosion attack that had completely destroyed the estate and everyone inside it to fire and ash, completely bypassing any remaining protection wards the Westphall family — and Max — had set up before hand.
'That attack came out of nowhere. It didn't even look like magic,' Kaleb struggled to keep his eyes open as smoke rose up into the air.
He looked up at the hovering cloaked and hooded two figures floating above him like wraiths. They were dressed completely in black, their cloak's hood hiding their faces. 'Who are these people…? Why are they attacking me? This place? Is Max ok?'
"I was sure that explosion would've killed you… Seems like your cousin armed you more heavily then I initially anticipated," a female voice said, her voice cold and devoid of warmth. "I doubt, however, that you possess enough in the tank to protect yourself a second time… Not that it would matter if you did. The Hand of Nature always gets what it wants. Resistance is futile."
'The Hand of Nature…?' Kaleb pondered, clearly stumped. 'Who the Hell…?'
"Who are you people? What do you want?" Kaleb tries, even through the blurry eyes, fatigue and fatal injuries. "Why attack me? I've done nothing to you or this 'Hand of Nature'."
He was saying this while casting a spell of his own — A discreet one that he invented. It wasn't offensive or anything. If anything, it would be considered a last ditch effort at protection magic, but Kaleb persevered.
"Don't be too hard on us," a male voice of the cloaked duo spoke. "It's nothing personal. Not truly. Sadly, our business with your cousin requires using you to bring him here. Your life is expendable and therefore forfeit. I hope you understand…"
Inky black magic radiated from the male cloaked guy's hands while the air vibrated with power and thunder from the gift as the duo prepared a secondary attack — And, by the looks of it, one more powerful for the last.
And, as Kaleb chanted silently under his breath, casting his final spell using his lifeforce as the catalyst; he knew he was going to die — And yet some part of him wanted desperately to hope that Max could defeat these two and survive them, but that seemed more like wishful thinking then anything.
Still, even as a blinding light consumed Kaleb, he chanted and, when he breathed his last, the echoes of his chant was all that remained of him — And that, too, vanished, like sand in the rain.
On this day, Kaleb Westphall was dead, with no body to bury or even a soul left to find peace...
[20 Minutes Prior — Across The Country]
[Forks, Washington — The Forks Estate]
[Maximus Westphall-Bennett]:
Turns out, while he couldn't leave his enshrouded temple-like dimension, Barshamsha had perfect control over time when inside it. Upon exiting the dimension, Max had startled Mason and Kol who swore they had only just seen him go in not even a minute prior despite Max having dumped a load deep, deep inside Bar at least 6 times already.
It was an interesting ability of Bar's that Max found incredibly useful. He wondered if he could have such fine control over time in his own dimension...
The thought was so very appealing that he filed it for later contemplation.
Instead, he dodged the men's inquiring gazes, choosing to return to the car so they could return to the Forks Estate. He didn't feel like explaining to anyone what happened inside that temple, and the men seemed to get it, too, as they hadn't asked.
'I was successful in linking the dimensions together; practically assimilating access to Bar's place, though true control of it remained in Barshamsha's hands,' Max thought as he drove. 'Now he could visit any place on Earth without physically being on Earth. And, with the fact that I assimilated the Other Side into my dimension, he'll be able to interact with actual people in-person for the first time. Hopefully he enjoys the experience.'
Minutes later after arriving at the manor and bartering for some actual alone time away from the murder of horny, trigger-happy men, Max managed to secure that alone time, choosing to meditate by the Nementon, where he used his biokinesis and magic abilities to act as a pathfinder, finding every single Nemeton on Earth in less than 10 minutes.
Additionally, Max managed to connect to many of the Western Hemisphere's ley lines — concentrated pathways of pure magic power that's invisible to the naked eye. All supernaturals have a connection to it to an extent... Except, perhaps, the gods themselves from which its original flame originated from.
It was as he was attempting to connect to a third ley line and copy its power, pushing all 3 to his own power, that he felt it.
At first, it was a casual drain from the Verbatim Stone's power — Not directly tied to the stone itself; more like an amount was issued to user based on how much their body and soul would be able to take without completely disintegrating. But, thanks to the power being derived from the stone itself, Max was able to feel it was being used by anyone.
And, right then, Max felt that Kaleb was using the maximum amount of its power his body could possibly take. And, based on his desperation, he was likely using it to defend himself, which meant he was in danger.
Max's eyes opened instantly, the irises flaring with fiery hot golden phoenix flames.
He wasted no time, quickly standing as a fiery golden aura of fire radiated from his body, writhing around his being like living fire, forming phoenix wings to his back, as his body was shot airborne, easily exceeding the sound barrier in seconds as he flew eastward, towards his home — Towards his cousin.
Max crossed the country in mere minutes, easily arriving in Mystic Falls in record time, his flight path leaving a trail of fire behind in his wake like an angry comet.
As Max descended upon the town, quickly navigating to his own home — Or where it should've been, he paused. For what he saw made both worry to wash over him and fury to almost consume him.
Westphall Manor no longer existed. It wasn't even ruins left — No walls, no marble, no trees or grass. The very ground, he sensed, was now infertile, and the air radiated a viciously toxic, incredibly destructive power that made Max's eyes to slightly water.
He even sensed that the maids who were hired to look after the manor and his own teacher from the Westphall settlement hired by his parents — They were gone, their bodies and souls completely obliterated, unable to find peace at all even in death for the souls no longer even existed.
This only caused worry for Kaleb to intensify, for, even as he hovered above what should've been his home, Maximus already knew the truth: Kaleb Westphall, his dearest cousin, was dead — And there wasn't even a body to bury...