Another five seconds of roaring cheers and applause had passed by before a deep state of unconsciousness rushed over Riarshi's body. With his final ounces of strength drained completely, Riarshi's arms and legs went limp, and he fell backwards into the grass.

Frantic shouts from Tabito and the blonde healer merged into a fading murmur of noise. 

A warm, heavy darkness ensued.

To Riarshi, this prolonged state of nothingness felt as though he was floating in a pool of black water, weightless and numbed of his senses. He didn't know where he was, but he didn't care. He felt amazing. His body thanked him for the rest.

Just as he was about to sink into the watery depths of this pool of darkness, he was flushed from its glass-like surface.

His brain, sparkling vividly as though inside of a kaleidoscope, suddenly morphed his surroundings into a very pleasant dream.

***

Memories locked behind magic barriers had plagued Riarshi's dreams for as long as he could remember. The inability to destinguish between truth and mental fabrication upon waking led to an altered recollection of the events that transpired. 

But ever since Khohn loosened the seal to his deepest memories and emotions, these dreams became much more vivid. 

This unconcious dream was no different. 

He was there, seeing through the eyes of a small boy playing with his Magic Hero action figures on his living room floor, recreating wild and fantastical battles. Riarshi immediately recognized this as a day in the past he had long forgotten - or in a more accurate sense - was forced to forget.

He noticed his dad in the nearby room, speaking to a man with neatly combed, dark brown hair and thick stubble on his chin. Riarshi knew this man to be a younger version of Professor Khohn, whose emerald eyes - at the time - had no need for glasses. Unable to hear what the men were talking about, he could still sense the tension reverberating between them. 

Riarshi's eyes shot to the side wall, and his consciousness sucked in a sharp breath. A shorter, crimson-haired woman suddenly stepped into the room and stood next to his father, taking his hand in hers. 

He tried to crawl towards them, but some invisible force prevented him from controlling his tiny limbs. His consciousness seemed to be only a witness in this dream.

For a brief instant, Riarshi looked upon his parents with longing and sorrow. The only memories of them he had were broken, hazy dreams that snuck through the barrier Khohn placed when he was a small child. The reason for this blockade being to prevent his then immature powers from growing out of control due to the foreign mixture of human and demon magic. 

Khohn had helped loosen the barrier to his potential, but just barely to allow a slow and gradual reintigration of his power. This was all for nothing, though. Riarshi had used his Magic Breaker, whatever barriers were still inside of him were probably now shattered. 

Though he lacked control over his body, Riarshi wished to remain in this dream forever. Because of the havoc his body endured during the previous hour, there was a real possibility that this would be the last time he ever saw his parents. 

His body began to move. Riarshi slowly managed to his knees and began to crawl across the family room carpet. He had to get to them, to touch them, simply to allow himself the comfort of their presence. 

Before Riarshi made it to the wood of the dining room, a third man walked in through the front door. The door shut behind him, and he strolled over to the gathering of adults with his chest puffed out proudly. 

Riarshi stopped his pursit and looked upon the man. He squinted, failing to identify him immediately by the unrecognizable pepper-grayed hair. He then looked at his face, and realization hit him hard. The tan weathered skin and deep yellow eyes were an instant giveaway for the dreamer.

It was a younger version of Commissioner Aryl.

He had fewer wrinkle lines around his thin eyes, more muscle bulk to his chest and arms and - most unusual of all - genuinely looked happy.

To Riarshi's surprise, Aryl walked up to his father, looked at him for a second, then shared a long, drawn out hug with the man. Aryl said a few unreadable words to his father and Khohn, gave a stern nod, then fluttered a tiny wave over toward Riarshi. A bright smile shone through his pepper beard.

Riarshi's small, chubby arm reached up and clumsily waved back, as though he wasn't controlling it.

Khohn then walked over to Riarshi and put his hand up to his face. 

Riarshi hadn't the time nor capability to react. He knew what was about to happen to him.

A blinding green light flashed over his eyes, sending him into a swirling white tunnel.

***

He felt warm, comfortable, and alert...

He felt alive.

When the light cleared, and his brain ceased bouncing between nonexistent walls, Riarshi escaped the dream world. 

His weary eyes, stuck somewhat at the corners by crust, were now staring up at a drop ceiling, brightly illuminated by light fixtures placed every three blocks.

A robotic beep rang every second or so and the warmth enveloping his body grew in intensity, as though he was shielded by an embrace of fine linen blankets. The potent smell of sanitizer met his nostrils and widened his eyes further.

He blinked a few times until the remaining blurriness disappeared. Finding the strength to look down at this body, he promptly discovered that his initial thought wasn't wrong.

He was laying in a hospital bed, with the head of the bed raised at a slight angle. A large monitor hung from the ceiling, flashing just a few inches above his face. A little plastic covering on his finger tip beeped along with his heartbeat. Multiple IV's dripped clear liquids into his right arm, which had been tightly wrapped in a white bandage, starting from the fingertips and ending at the shoulder. He looked like a mummy from one of his old history books.

Emerging consciousness led to sensations. The entire right side of his body throbbed painfully, especially his arm and face. He rubbed his chin with his left hand and discovered a similar bandaging coiled around his head, only exposing his eye and a few random strands of hair.

His hazel eyes strayed toward the wide window at the far end of his room. The sun was just starting to set, as evident by a glimmering orange finding its way through the glass and onto the white-tiled floor of the hospital room.

"Damn," Riarshi groaned, plopping his left arm back to his side and looking up at the ceiling. "I must have been knocked out for a couple hours."

"Try more like three days," a voice replied. It was a familiar voice that sounded friendly, but somewhat heavy with exhaustion.

Riarshi slowly turned his painful head, winced, and saw Tabito sitting in a small, green cushioned armchair at the side of his bed. The teen had his legs crossed and looked to be half asleep. His nose was only inches away from his cell phone as his thumb flicked the screen. 

"Tabito...? Wait, for real?" Riarshi asked, surprised at both the sight of his friend and the idea of being unconscious for such an extended length.

"Yessir, today's Saturday." Tabito responded, keeping his eyes focused on his phone. The bright screen illuminated his glum face and revealed dark bags under his eyes. It was quite clear he hadn't been sleeping well. "Got here this morning. Been waiting all day for you to wake up. Even the doc said you probably would any minute now."

"You've been here the entire time?"

"Not entirely. I did for most of the first day. I had to get checked out myself so I just decided to stay and chill once they said I was good to go. You were still out so I went home that night. I just came back this morning. Luckily for me the hospital has some pretty good food down at their cafeteria. Not cheap, though."

Appreciation for his friend rushed through Riarshi. He sat back in his bed. "Damn," he sighed, "didn't think I'd do that much damage to my body."

"No one did," Tabito said flatly.

A second of heavy silence fell over the room. The beeping of the monitors above Riarshi continued their rhythm. It was a rare, awkward moment between the two friends.

"So, Tabito... What did I miss the last few days?" Riarshi ventured, desperately wanting to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Not much," Tabito replied softly. "Almost everything in the country has been put on hold while the POH investigates the attack. Only big event was-" he paused for a second, took his eyes off of his phone, then continued, "-uh... their funerals."

A cold rush of despair flushed through Riarshi's guts, wrenching his stomach despite the warmth and comfort of the covers he was buried under.

Riarshi had forgotten. Four people had died in the attack - one hero and three students. He was numbed to the reality of the situation while in the Tryout grounds. He had become too focused on Hara and the demon to think much of anything else. It failed to process until just now. 

Their lives were over, and their families would never see nor speak to them again. They were all so young - had long, bright futures ahead of them - and now wouldn't live to see another day.

He suddenly felt sick. 

Was it his fault? If he used his Magic Breaker earlier, could he have saved all of those people? His mind had only been focused on Hara's fate. Should he have acted sooner?

He gripped his bed sheets tight - as tight as possible.

Tabito then spoke again, clearly wanting to change the subject to a more positive note. "It's all over the news, y'know," he said in a more upbeat tone "'Hero Program student used his Magic Breaker to beat the demon and save everybody'. It's the talk of the country right now, man. You're famous."

Despite the guilt slithering through his stomach, Riarshi stifled a self deprecating laugh. He only felt contempt.

"Yeah, for all of ten minutes," Riarshi replied with bite.

Tabito looked up from his phone with a pained expression. "What do you mean?"

"Doesn't matter what I sacrificed. It's just like that Hero on the news. You've probably noticed. They'll soon forget who I am now that-" he stopped himself short. He could see Tabito sulk at the anticipation of his next words.

He wanted to say, "-that I'm powerless," but there was no need to complete the sentence for Tabito to understand what he meant. 

"Hey, Tabito," Riarshi said gently instead, "did you and Hara get in? Did you both pass? If it's really been three days they must have created the top thirty list by now." He read the tension on Tabito's face. "Please, man, just tell me. I'm honestly curious. I won't be hurt."

The question was blunt and direct, but he had made a promise. Even if he failed to get in due to his abysmall score, he had agreed to do everything in his power to ensure they passed.

Riarshi noticed Tabito's eyes drop from his phone. The light from the screen made the dark circles underneath his orange eyes more prominent than ever.

"Yeah... we did."

A weight lifting off of his chest, Riarshi's face brightened. He was genuinely happy. "Congratulations, man. Don't worry about me. You two deserve it. It's your destiny."

Tabito didn't look relieved with that statement. He opened his mouth uncertainly, closed it, then - after a minute - found his voice.

"But... why Riarshi?" he said desperately, putting his phone down and looking straight at his bed-ridden friend for the first time. "We made a deal that all three of us would become Heroes, no matter what. Why did you just throw your magic away like that?" He was begging for an answer... for words that would help ease his own guilt filled mind.

"It was the only way," Riarshi said with purpose. "That guy was bound to kill more than just four people if no one jumped in to stop him. He was even about to kill Hara, seconds away from it even. There would be no point in having magic if I couldn't use it to save the only two people I have in my life. That's why we chose to become Heroes, right? So... if I had to choose between losing my magic and ensuring you two continued on, but more importantly survived... I'd do what I did every single time."

Riarshi dropped his head and stared at his bandaged hands. "I only wish I had done it sooner..."

At that moment, Riarshi heard something slide up the wall just outside of his room, followed by the fading screech of two sneakers across the tiled hallway floor.

Tabito gazed out of the hospital room door, seeming to follow the fading footsteps into the distance with his eyes.

"Yeah, I got you. I understand..." he whispered. Riarshi knew he wasn't truly convinced at all, and may not have even been listening.

Another few minutes of silence blanketed the room, aside from the beeps of machines and the clacking of passing footsteps. Right when Tabito put his phone back into his pocket, a tall, brown-haired man barged into the room. He donned a long white lab coat that fluttered past his knees.

"Ah, glad to see you're awake, my boy," said the man, sliding on a pair of blue hospital gloves and grinning widely. "You surely did a great deal of internal damage to be unconscious for that long! Seventy-two hours... Color me impressed. But you're awake, that's a good sign! I thought you'd be out a bit longer."

He walked over to the side of Riarshi's bed and stuck out his left hand, fully aware that the teen's right was incapacitated at the moment. Riarshi smiled at this kind gesture and extended his own left for a handshake.

"The name's Doctor Harwall," the man said, beaming and showing off two rows of perfectly straight, glistening white teeth. "I've been the one taking care of you for the last three days. I've also done all your lab work. Wonderful to officially meet the boy who beat the Tryout Demon!"

Riarshi returned the doctor's pearly white smile with one much more timid. He wasn't used to any kind of positive publicity.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Nice to meet you too, doctor."

Sensing his time was done, Tabito gave Riarshi a nod and stepped out of the room. Riarshi acknowledged it with a brief smile. 

"Welp, time to check you over one last time, my boy," said Doctor Harwall. Stepping in close, the doctor touched random parts of Riarshi's arms, legs, and chest, humming as he did so. None of this exam hurt Riarshi except for the few brief palpations of his right side.

Doctor Harwall took out this stethoscope and listen to Riarshi's heart, placing it on several parts of his chest. The doctor glanced up at the monitors above his patient's head and pursed his lips. None of the readings surprised him. "Let's see here... heart rate check, blood pressure check, magic levels check, urin-"

Riarshi's eyes snapped open. He must not have heard correctly. "Wait-wait-wait what was that last one, doc?"

"Hmm?" Doctor Harwall hummed. "Urine?"

"No, the one before!" Riarshi said with growing hope.

"Oh! Your magic levels? Yeah, they're reading perfectly fine. No clue why the news is reporting differently," Doctor Harrell said, raising a brow. "But you know the rules, we can't release your health info to debunk it. Just have to roll with that narrative for now. Soak up the fame, am I right?"

"The doc's right... for once," a second man's voice added from the doorframe of the hospital room. His glasses reflected the orange sunlight from the window, and his brown hair cascaded carelessly down to his shoulders.

The doctor spun around. "Oh, well, of course I'm right, Khohn!" Doctor Harwall scoffed, half offended at this attack on his merit and half surprised at the sudden intrusion. "I've won 'Best Doctor' here in the hospital five years in a row! And I am well on my way to a sixth!"

"Little touchy since Crystal took the director spot, eh, Harwall?" Khohn jabbed with his usual jokester tone. "You done with his screen? If I may, doc, I'd like to have a minute alone with Riarshi. That is... if you don't mind..."

Doctor Harwall stared at Khohn for a spit second. He then huffed and scribbled something on a piece of paper. Placing a clipboard with an assortment of papers on the top of Riarshi's hospital night stand, he addressed his patient. 

"Everything is looking 'A' okay, my boy." he said, now rather red in the face. "The only lasting effects of that magic surge you had will probably be a nice long scar on the right side of your body." He pointed to the wrappings on Riarshi's side. "There might be some creams you can buy to smooth it out and return some flexibility to the skin, but there will always be a sign of damage, unfortunately. Please do be more careful next time you use your magic to that extent. Although if you need to come back, don't be afraid to ask for me. That is, if you're conscious," he said with a wink.

"Just sign these papers here once you're done with your brief chat-" he glared over his shoulder at Khohn, "-and you'll be free to go. My nurses will complete the checkout."

The doctor spun on the heel of his shining dress shoe and left the room, his lab coat flapping behind him in his wake.

"Bout time that stiff left," Khohn scoffed after several seconds, sitting himself on the edge of Riarshi's bed.

"Khohn, what's going on?" Riarshi asked, sitting up in bed. An abundance of information had just compiled together in the last couple minutes, and his still foggy brain had a hard time handling it all at once. 

"Ah, yeah. You're probably a bit confused. And rightfully so," said Khohn understandingly, leaning back to prop himself up on his hands. "Let me explain... There was something I wanted to tell you at your apartment when you asked about the Magic Breaker. But as all good teachers do, I felt that you needed to figure it out yourself. And oh boy-" he glanced down at Riarshi's mummified right side and gestured with his chin, "-you most certainly did."

Riarshi looked at him, his face frozen in a combination of confusion and disbelief. Khohn chuckled at his lack of response. 

"Demons don't have Magic Breakers, Riarshi," Khohn said flatly. "Otherwise, they would easily break it if they absorbed too much negative emotion. Kinda would defeat the purpose. Am I right? That's just how they're created. You're a special case, though, Riarshi. You're the only hybrid in known existence. There'll be many things we learn about your potential as you continue to grow. To be honest, I was scared that you would extinguish your human magic with that act, and only your demon magic would remain. But looking at that hospital screen, it seems like everything is okay."

"B-But I-" Riarshi stammered. His brain was doing somersaults within his bandaged skull.

"-Looked it up at the library," Khohn finished for him. "I know... I didn't believe for one second that you were actually peeking at Magic Babes. Hell, you never even gave Hara or Selina second glances in class. Surprisingly too, they're very pretty young ladies." He awkwardly cleared his throat. "Er - anyway... Zero chance you'd be looking at pics like that in the middle of the library, especially in broad daylight. In fact, you only could look at the book since I still had it checked out under my name. I looked at it, too, a few hours before you arrived. Our little talk sparked my curiousity to refresh the details. I guess there was still a trace of my magic in it."

Riarshi shamefully slumped in his bed. It all made sense now.

"Then what was that power surge I had?" he asked. "I've never used magic like that before. It felt so new."

Khohn pursed his lips and placed a finger on his chin. "Well, even though you completed the ritual, nothing was gonna happen, anyway. Again, you don't have a Magic Breaker. But you wanna know what did happen?"

"What... what happened?"

Khohn leaned in close.

"You used it." Khohn's face filled with cheerful pride, and a cheeky smile spread from ear to ear. "You - used - your - power," he said softly, poking Riarshi in the chest. "You turned your darkness into a strength and exploited it to beat that demon. Didn't you feel yourself rush through the black wall you always go on about?"

Riarshi glanced down at his right arm. "Now that you say that, I do remember doing what you said and ran towards it. But, I thought it was the Magic Breaker that forced it on me."

"Placebo and magic works in mysterious ways, Riarshi," Khohn winked. "Sometimes it's the threat of others' happiness and safety that helps us break through our walls."

He stood from the bed and gave Riarshi a playful tap on his knee.

"Hey, when you're done here, come directly to The Divinity Rise. There's one more thing we have to tell you tonight."

Before Riarshi could reply, Khohn shot out of the room. His shoes squeaked along the tiled hallway, eventually fading into the distance.

"One more thing we have to tell you tonight?"

Khohn knew how to play Riarshi like a fiddle, because with just those few words, he had peaked Riarshi's undying curiosity to its highest level. There was no way he wouldn't go to The Divinity Rise that night, even though his healing body hungered for more sleep.

Aside from this, Riarshi's happiness suddenly returned in the form of a tidal wave crashing over his body. He had magic again... in fact - he had never truly lost it! The power he had feared... the power that made him hate himself... he used it. And saved others with it.

At that moment, he couldn't care less that he failed the Tryout. He had his magic back, his identity, and he would be forever grateful for this second chance...

For this new beginning.