Chapter Text
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Note: This is a sequel to the story The ashes of wrath, it's recommended that you read that one first before starting this story
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The old house sat like a forgotten monument, bathed in the dim glow of the late afternoon sun. The walls, once filled with the laughter and clamor of an energetic group, now echoed with a heavy, suffocating silence. It had been a year since Blitz's death, a year since the world seemed to halt in its tracks, leaving nothing but the remnants of a life they once shared.
The living room felt colder now, despite the warmth that the fire tried to offer. Stolas was standing by the window, staring at the darkening sky. His once regal composure was cracked—his shoulders slumped, his expression a mixture of guilt and yearning. The banishment still weighed heavily on him. Not being able to do anything to save Blitz, to even protect him in the end, gnawed at him, and he had no escape. He had no place but this dark house, the only place left for him, living in the shadow of his past mistakes. Staying at the home of the one who died way too soon.
"You okay Stolas? We can wait a little if you need to take some time?" Loona said as she stood next to him. Today was the one year anniversary of Blitz's death, and everyone was here to comfort each other if needed. With a big sigh he walked away from the window. "No...It's fine...Let's just start...We all need this day to think about him..."
It was Loona who suddenly found it.... She had been collecting Blitz's things, placing it on a small shelf: His old diaries, his notes, his belongings she just couldn't get rid of. Her eyes caught something odd as she stood near a candle she lit for Blitz's memorial. She accidentally dropped Blitz's diary next to the candle. The pages in Blitz's diary flickered under the light, revealing something she couldn't immediately see. She leaned closer. The ink was invisible, barely there, only revealed when the flame hit it just right. Her breath caught in her throat. "Oh my fucking Satan...." She whispered as she was staring at the pages, that made everybody jump up and look at her.
Millie suddenly noticed Loona's confused look. "What is it?" She murmured, while Loona was flipping through the pages quickly, her eyes scanning the words that were barely visible to the naked eye, luckily she had a great eye sight . Her heart raced, her fingers trembling slightly. "It's... it's pages from Stolas's book....I think.....Blitz wrote this down......"
"What?" Stolas asked. "I have looked through that diary almost daily for over a year...Don't you think i would have noticed pages from my grimoire? I mean, that would've been really useful don't you think"
"It's written in some kind of invisible ink, but look. If i hold it up to the candle, it's just like a page from you're book Stolas..." Loona said as she showed everyone.."But there's something about this... this is not just the the portal spell we only used the book for, here look at this one, Blitz titled this page "A way to possibly save my friends if something goes wrong"
"So what he copied Stolas's pages? That's not really a reason to grief him even more right?" Verosika said in confusion. She doesn't even know why she's here...Everyone invited her to grief with her, but she feels so out of place...She hated Blitz. And now she has some....Complicated feelings now that he's gone.. "I think you should all look at this..." Loona said as she read through the page
Everyone gathered around in a circle around Loona to read the page. Stolas looked confused at the page, but then he realized which page it was, and he gasped, which made everyone look at him for a second before returning to the book. "Is it a bad one Stolas?" Fizz asked before returning to the page. Loona almost started to cry as she finished reading the page..
"If i'm reading this right...This page is about turning back time. There's a ritual...But i think it's possible guys......I think there's actually a way to—"
"No....Stop.....We are not doing this!!" Stolas Suddenly screamed. "The time rift spell is way too dangerous!! And besides, it will take way more time now that i don't have my magic anymore.... Look Loona...I know what you're thinking, but you have no idea what messing with the timeline can do....You can change our entire existence, It's just too risky...."
"Wait, what?" Millie's voice cut through Stolas's concerned words, and the room grew silent. "So you knew there was a spell to turn back time and you never even told us?" Fizz said angry. "You think i never thought about it? I tried everything, but it's very dangerous, you have no idea what could happen if this goes wrong."
"I don't care about the risks Stolas! I just want my brother back... Read the page Loona!" Barbie suddenly screamed when she finally realized what Loona was suggesting. She pushed her slightly to read the page. Loona's voice faltered slightly as she read the cryptic words aloud:
"To undo what has been done, one must take a bet. A moment in time can be changed, but at a terrible risk. The price of time is not to be taken lightly. The hour approaches. Act quickly or lose all chance of redemption. Once the spell is cast there will be a creation of a time rift, the person who cast the spell must think of the exact moment in time where they want to go, and they have to be careful not to be noticed by the people in charge of time itself, messing with time can have dire consequences.."
The room seemed to hold its breath. Moxxie was the first to speak, his skepticism still heavy in his tone. "I don't trust this. This sounds more like a curse than a spell." But Millie's eyes widened, a gentle smile tugging at her lips. "What if it's not? What if we can bring him back? Maybe it's our only shot." Barbie's lips trembled as she stepped closer. "Do you think we could? Do you think this could work?"
Stolas stood silent for a moment, his gaze heavy, his expression unreadable. Everyone was staring at him, waiting for an answer. With a big sigh, he couldn't lie anymore.. "Yes, it will work...But there's a huge risk to this...One wrong move and it's over for all of us..." He was afraid, terrified even, of what tampering with time could mean. But the thought of Blitz—his Blitz...—returned, even for a moment, was too much for him to ignore anymore. He approached Loona, his voice strained with emotion. "But....If everyone is willing to do this....I will stand with you guys....This will be our only chance...And if i do this, at least i have a great team with me.... Whatever the cost. We have to try. I don't wanna live with this emptiness anymore."
Fizz stood up suddenly, his face tight with desperation. "I need him back.... Please... I can't live like this anymore, i need my best friend back, no matter what it takes..."
Loona stood near the fireplace, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Her sharp eyes flickered from Stolas to the rest of the group, and despite her hard exterior, there was a flicker of something deeper, something more vulnerable. She was the most determined to fix things. Her face was a mixture of sadness and resolve. "I hate this," She muttered, more to herself than to anyone else. "It's not supposed to be like this. He was—he is my family, and I don't want him gone anymore....We were finally starting to feel like a real family, and then he was just...gone....I need him back....I don't care what the risks are....I just need my dad back...."
Moxxie sat at the far end of the room, his arms resting on his knees. His posture was defensive, as if he were preparing for something that he couldn't quite name. He leaned forward, rubbing his forehead as though trying to dispel a headache that had haunted him for far too long. "I'm not sure about this," He said, voice tight, his eyes narrowing in skepticism. "Messing with time? We could make things worse. What if it doesn't work? Or worse, what if it does and we're not ready for the consequences of our actions?"
Millie, ever the bright spark, sat across from Moxxie with her legs crossed, her hands folded into Moxxie's as she smiled—her smile was gentle, yet hopeful. "But what if it does work, Moxxie?" she said softly. "We could have Blitz back, and we could fix things. We don't know what'll happen if we don't try. He's always been there for us....For everyone in this room...And we have to at least try....Blitz was our friend, our boss...Our everything.....We need to take this risk....For him..."
Barbie was silent for a long moment. She stood near the doorway, her back against the frame, as her eyes lingered on the dusty photos of Blitz scattered around the room. Her voice cracked when she finally spoke. "I should've been there for him. I should've said more... done more. But now I—" She choked on her words, fighting against the lump in her throat. "Now I just want a chance to say I'm sorry. His death wasn't fair, and we all know it..."
And then there was Fizz. He sat in a chair near the back of the room, his arms tightly wrapped around himself, his eyes downcast. He couldn't meet anyone's gaze. The silence around him felt suffocating. His guilt weighed on him like a thousand pounds, the echo of his failure to save Blitz louder than anything else in the room. He had watched Blitz suffer, knowing full well that he had failed his best friend. His heart ached with a desperate need to make things right. "I just... I need him back," Fizz muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "I can't do this without him... I can't."
Stolas's eyes flickered to Fizz, and a heavy sigh escaped his lips. He stepped closer, his voice barely audible as he spoke. "I'll do whatever it takes. If there's a chance to bring him back, even if the consequences destroy me, I'll do it. He... deserves this..."
Loona Looked at the title of the page again that Blitz named..."A way to possibly save my friends if something goes wrong'...."
"He kept this page for us......He found a way to even protect us in case something went terribly wrong....But he had nothing to protect himself...."
The room felt silent, a flicker of hope—small but bright—was igniting in the air. The group, so broken by their grief, now had something to cling to. The idea of change, of fixing the past, felt like a dangerous dream. But for the first time in a long time, it was a dream they could almost taste. "He loved us all..." Stolas said with a little grin on his face. "That's why we need to take this risk.."
Verosika, who had been standing in the shadows near the door, was the last to speak. Her eyes were wide with a mix of hope and fear. "I can't..... I don't think that I can handle this, i can't give myself hope if you guys fail.... But..." Her gaze softened as she looked at the group, "If it's really what you all want... then go. Save him......I trust you guys....I just....Can't come with you....My feelings about Blitz are still....Confusing...."
The room felt heavy as the decision hung in the air, but something in Loona's chest ignited—an urgency that couldn't be ignored. She stood tall, her voice firm as she said, "Then let's do it. We have to try."
"It's okay Ver..." Stolas finally said. "We will at least try....I understand why you can't come with us, but we will do everything we can to bring him back..."
Stolas's gaze never wavered from the page, his eyes glossed over with unshed tears. The candlelight flickered in the darkened room, and for the first time in what felt like forever, there was a flicker of hope. It was fragile—small, but alive. And it was enough to push them forward.
The journey to undo the past, to save Blitz, was about to begin. But no one knew what the cost would be.