The Diary Of A Queer Warlock

Adrian's breath slowed, his chest rising and falling like the ebb and flow of a turbulent ocean. His surroundings seemed to shift with every beat of his heart.

Aldos was still suspended in mid-air, his wings fluttering with impatient annoyance, the gray flames still licking at the edges of the cauldron.

Adrian's eyes, now an intense azure blue, burned with an inner fire that was not his own.

The countdown had ended.

In that split second, everything changed. The air within the cauldron grew thick with power as runes began to manifest in radiant blue light across Adrian's body.

First, one appeared on the back of his left hand, glowing with an ethereal brilliance. Then, as though the runes were living things, the second appeared on his right hand, pulsating with vibrant energy, like a heartbeat within his flesh.

The third and final rune emerged at the base of his spine, a swirling mark that seemed to draw power from the very fabric of reality itself.

It was as if the primal forces of the world itself had bent to his will, like strings on an unseen instrument, each rune a note played in harmony. Adrian could feel it, a force greater than anything he'd known before, rising within him.

His usual attire—simple sorcerer robes—transformed in an instant. What had once been flowing fabric became a hardened, magical battle armor that clung to his body like a second skin.

It shimmered with translucent, rune-etched patterns, and Adrian could feel the weight of power settle on his shoulders.

Aldos had expected defiance, maybe a small spark of resistance, but this? It was not part of the easy peasy package he was expecting.

Adrian raised his hands, each palm now alight with the blue glow of the runes. The energy around him seemed to crackle in response, the very air thick with the weight of impending destruction.

His feet planted firmly on the ground, his stance wide and resolute, as though the world itself had just become his battleground.

Adrian's thoughts sharpened, the cloudiness of confusion and doubt vanishing in a single moment.

His will was clear now: the power that flowed through him would be his weapon, and Aldos would be the target.

With a deep breath, Adrian stomped his foot.

The cauldron that had been consuming him—burning away at his mortal form—reacted violently.

The gray flames that had swirled within the cauldron, threatening to destroy him, vanished right after as though they were swept away by a powerful gust of wind.

They were replaced by a radiant, serene blue light. It was Adrian's energy, pure and untainted, swirling in a perfect arc of radiant magic.

The cauldron groaned in protest. Aldos, ever the master of his craft, attempted to regain control, his hands reaching out in an effort to dominate the spell Adrian was wielding.

But it was futile. The blue light surged, overwhelming Aldos' influence. The cauldron began to tremble, its ancient structure trembling under the immensity of power currently at play.

Adrian stood at the center, a calm region of the unsettling storm, as the cauldron cracked, slowly at first, then with greater force.

Splinters of dark metal flew outward, each piece exploding in a burst of energy, but none touched Adrian.

Instead, they disintegrated in the face of his newfound might, the fragments dissolving into nothingness as his magic halo engulfed the entire structure.

In a final, cataclysmic moment, the cauldron shattered, its pieces evaporating into the air as though they had never existed.

Adrian, suspended in the aftermath of his power, slowly descended to the ground, floating effortlessly as though he had transcended the laws of gravity.

He landed gracefully, his feet touching the ground with a soft thud that reverberated through the ruins.

The destruction around him was complete, and the blue glow faded, leaving behind only the remnants of a battle that had yet to fully unfold.

Aldos, stunned and disoriented, was left standing in the center of the now-destroyed cauldron's remnants. His eyes widened as he took in the scene, the ruin of his carefully crafted prison.

The silly kid from a moment earlier had actually… surpassed him?

For a moment, there was silence—unsettling, oppressive silence.

And then Adrian spoke, his voice cold and dripping with mockery.

"Well, that was easier than I expected," he said with a smile that could cut through steel. His tone was a mixture of disbelief and delight. "Is this really the best you can do, smelly old guy? You should've stayed in your comfortable little world of manipulation."

Aldos gritted his teeth, the fury in his eyes unmistakable. His pride, the very thing that had driven him to seek Adrian out, had been shattered in an instant. But now, it was his wrath that burned brightest.

"You insolent child!" Aldos hissed, his wings flapping violently as he raised his hands, crackling with gray flames once more. His anger surged, threatening to consume him. "You think you've won? You think this—this petty display of power—is enough to defeat me?"

Adrian took a step forward, his gaze unwavering. The magic coursing through him was a tangible force, like a living thing, pulsing with every heartbeat.

"Oh, I don't think I've won," Adrian said, his voice dripping with amusement. "I know I have."

With a flick of his wrist, Adrian's hands ignited with an even brighter blue light.

The air itself seemed to bend under the force of his power, the very fabric of reality warping as his words spilled from his lips in a language not of this world.

"Oortanius vibris etnoris," Adrian chanted an ancient spell that appeared in his mind, his hands glowing beautifully from the runes began weaving intricate symbols in the air.

As he spoke, a sphere of blue energy formed between his hands, pulsing with raw, untamed power.

Adlos recoiled, his eyes narrowing as he realized the threat. "You don't understand what you're meddling with, brat! Magic is not a power to be trifled with!"

Adrian laughed, the echo of his voice resounding in the space. "You've underestimated me, Old Shit. You've underestimated the essence of magic."

He released the sphere.

It hurtled toward Aldos like a comet, the air around it warping and twisting with the force of its magic.

Aldos had no time to react.

BOOM!

The sphere collided with him in a brilliant explosion of blue light, the force of the impact sending him tumbling backward, his wings torn asunder in the blast.

The battle, for all intents and purposes, was over.

Adrian stood tall, his chest swelling with the rush of victory, his body still radiating with the potent magic of Chromata.

His gaze turned to Aldos, who lay in the wreckage, his form twisted and burned by the force of Adrian's power.

Adrian's lips curled into a smirk, the triumph clear in his eyes.

"You were right about one thing, old shit," Adrian said, his voice thick with sarcasm. "Magic is indeed a power to be trifled with. But it seems you've learned that lesson a bit too late."

With that, Adrian turned his back on the fallen fairy. He had not only survived but had ascended to a power greater than even he himself had anticipated.

And as he walked away from the wreckage, his laughter echoed in the stillness, a testament to the power he now wielded.

Adrian could perceive that he was no longer a mere beginner warlock without true magic. He was a force of nature—a true Magic Lord in the making.

Next, he sensed a strange call and a suction force pulled him out abruptly from the fairy world.

Immediately after, in the real world, he suddenly fainted with the neon stone he once clenched in his hand vanishing into a puff of dust.