[WP] You are the Chosen One. You go to kill the evil tyrant, only to find that he’s actually the previous Chosen One.

Water doused fire. Air obliterated earth.

No matter which spells I cast, he seemed to know before I did.

I thrust my staff out, creating a flock of birds in a burst of light. They shrieked and flew at him, only to be dispelled by a dark cloud of bats he had beckoned. He quickly followed up with bands of string, using his staff to shoot them right at me. I dodged what I could, which gave me enough time to summon blades and slash through the string before he could trap me. When I threw the blades at him, he brought forth a shield and deflected them. We continued to attack each other and defend ourselves with opposing spells. It felt never-ending.

I was ready. I had trained my entire life. I was supposed to best him easily now, but I couldn’t even land a hit. What was happening?!

I couldn’t resort to my latent power. I remembered Virgil’s words.

The Gift of the Chosen One must never leave these walls. The Gift cannot be unveiled to the rest of the world.

Yet I saw no other way to beat the tyrant. The longer we went on, the weaker and more fatigued I would become. If that happened, then he would have me. I recalled what else Virgil said.

The Chosen One must not fall under enemy control.

If we lose you… humanity is finished.

I had no choice. I just needed to get the upper hand for a moment, and the battle would end.

I gripped my staff with both hands, holding it vertically. I gave my foe the slightest opening to deal a heavy blow. Did he know what I was doing? Would he take the bait?

He closed the distance between us, a smile growing on his face. He was going for a melee attack, surely thinking that would be enough to finish the fight. He had no idea what was coming. He fell for it.

Suddenly, thunder clapped above us. I drove my staff into the ground, and lightning struck. The electricity coursed through my veins as though it was my own blood. He landed a strike with his staff, hitting my torso. But I barely felt a thing. I grabbed his shoulder, which was just enough to shock him.

He cried out and collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing, his staff clattering next to him. Breathing deeply, I dispersed the electricity in an instant. I kicked his staff away from him before kneeling. I set my own staff down and took him by the cloak, lifting him as much as I could. I gripped his chin and turned his head to face me.

He looked at me in a daze, still affected by the electrocution. I widened my eyes as they met his. I felt my pupils contract.

He would see the Gift, yet he wouldn’t reveal it to anyone for as long as he lived. I activated it.

Then, I saw. I gasped, stumbled backwards, and landed on my bottom. I scrambled away from him to my staff and wielded it again, aiming it at him.

“N-No way,” I sputtered.

The staff would have done me no good. He stared at me, his mouth agape, his eyes a medley of colors.

The Gift had always reminded me of a kaleidoscope.

“You…” he whispered.

I lowered my staff and put it back on the ground. Hard as I tried, I couldn’t muster the courage to speak.

He groaned as he got up on all fours and finally gathered the strength to stand. He chuckled a little before he extended his hand to me.

“I thought I was the only one,” he said.

He was still the evil tyrant. He still had to be defeated. I could hear Virgil’s nagging voice in my head.

However, the colors swirled in his eyes. I felt relieved.

I reached up and accepted his help.

“I thought I was, too.”