A heaviness hangs in the air, turning the once clean air bitter on my tongue as we run down the streets, Jackson slowing his pace to allow both Jaebum and I to yell directions at him. Despite not knowing where he's going, he's determined to get there.

Panting and puffing, the distance to my house feels to have tripled and the weight of exhaustion pulls on my limbs, desperation to stop my Warriors doing anything stupid and saving Chen the only thing keeping me moving at this point.
 

I slide to a sudden stop at the end of my street, the usual greens and browns of the residential area now covered in a faint purple almost fog-like haze, the source of the bitterness my tongue tells me as I shake off the confusion and push onwards.
 

I can hardly see the red brick of my house, Jackson struggling as well as he misses a step and only just manages to catch himself on the ornate wooden handrail DO made during the more winter-like months. Jaebum has no problem jumping the steps and pushing open my unlocked front door, bursting forth up the stairs.
 

With the opening of the door, a rush of the purple fog escapes in a thick cloud along with a sudden pressure that threatens to force me to my knees. Feeling as if someone is sitting on my chest, I grab at the fabric of my shirt and gasp for breath, inhaling more of the bitter fog and stumble through the front door.
 

Also affected by the pressure, Jackson kneels over at the bottom of the stairs, Jaebum lying flat on the platform above us, unmoving despite his previous sprint.
 

Shaking my head to clear the pressure on my brain, I struggle to stand and make my way to the crouched Warrior, shaking with effort and panting for more than what little bitter air manages to make its way to my lungs.
 

I kneel in front of him and find his eyes more clouded than that of a usual Spirit Warrior and blank as if he isn't present in his mind, unseeing and unfeeling to the world around him. His arms are limp at his side and even his mouth is downturned from its previous resting smile.
 

"Come on Jackson, we've gotta get up there," I pant between each word, adrenaline my only source of strength. "You've got to stop them and help heal Chen before he's gone. You've gotta help Jaebum."
 

He doesn't stir, not even at the mention of his Summoner, I run out of alternate options. With the pressure building and the bitterness strengthening, the only thing left to do is shock him out of his stupor.
 

So I punch him.
 

Not the smartest idea considering Warriors are much harder than humans and hitting one bare fist is equivalent to hitting a cement wall.
 

Once my fist leaves his face, the fire is back in his eyes and as he shakes his head to rid of the fuzziness, he spies Jaebum's body and launches himself up the rest of the flight to shake and prod at his Summoner in hopes of a response. I pant and climb the stairs on unstable legs, gripping the handrail of dear life until I finally make it up the first set. "He's out cold. I think it's the pressure," I huff out, gripping my chest futilely.

Jackson goes wide eyes at my appearance and hurridly grabs me by the arms, hauling me off my feet and demands direction to Chen's room, the source of all the torment. With an arm under my knees and another around my waist, he steps around all my unconscious Warriors and easily locates the second door down the only hall on the third floor.

Pushing the doorknob with his elbow and busting it open with his foot, Jackson sets me down beside the door, paying no mind as I flop uselessly to the side, unable to hold myself up any longer, and makes a beeline to the small circle of Warriors, floating at least half a meter off the ground and emitting an insane amount of purple.
 

With only a few swift movements, they're all crashing to the ground, sprawled over each other, joining the rest of the house's occupants in unconsciousness as Jackson jabs them with his fingers in a calculated manner.
 

Pressure points my mind whispers to me, bringing forth buried memories of my extensive research and lessons when Naruto obsessed fourteen-year-old me was training to be a ninja.
 

From my place on the ground, I watch uselessly as Jackson moves to the bed, holding his hands over a still Chen, breathing deeply as more haze escapes from the unconscious Warriors pores, reacting as the waves of electricity continue to roll over his skin. Finally, the haze is almost gone, having begun to dissipate as soon as my Warriors were unconscious, but the pressure seems to remain, although not as heavy, it is still a struggle to push myself upright against the wall.

When Jackson sits on the edge of the bed I open my mouth to ask what he is doing but close it as a shimmering silver film covers the bed in a bubble-like fashion, both Chen and Jackson trapped inside. With calculated jabs and flowing hand movements, Jackson begins working, sweat beading on his brow as the longer he goes on.

I lose track of time but at some point Jaebum, having regained his consciousness, joins me in sitting against the wall, watching as his Warrior works. With none of those in the room with us awake, I assume none of my Warriors have woken and can't bring myself to care as I wait for the entire ordeal to end.
 

Slowly, I begin to see a difference in Chen. First, the electricity sparking from his skin slows to a stop, then his cheeks gain a rosy hue, color finally back in his skin. Next, the bedsheets stop steaming, his natural warmth brought back to its usual level until finally, it looks as if he is merely sleeping and not on the verge of death.

It's only as the sun kisses the horizon that the silver film dribbles away and an exhausted Jackson tumbles to the floor, eyes closed and breathing heavily.

The coffee in my cup has long since gone cold, Jaebum is on his third and Kris looks about ready to collapse with exhaustion. After hauling Jackson to one of the unused guest rooms with the help of a Warrior Jaebum introduced as Mark, those involved in the ritual slowly woke, soon followed by the rest. Each with pounding migraines and aching muscles.

I couldn't and still can't bring myself to feel the slightest bit sorry for them, karma for lying to me and unnecessarily putting themselves in danger.
 

A side effect of the immense magi