Deep within the Eastern Empire in a small kingdom whose name was unknown to most, a small group of soldiers were investigating what looked like a natural disaster. The place they currently found themselves in used to be the biggest forest in the kingdom. However everything changed a few hours ago. A few hours ago loud bangs and strange sounds were heard coming from within the forest. Strange lights that towered into the sky were also spotted during that time. The people were scared and rightly so. For who didn't fear the unknown. Many speculated that nature was furious with the kingdom and wished that it be wiped out, but the upper management knew better. The king and the nobles weren't as gullible as their people. The recent happenings in the Eastern Kingdom suggested that the world was going to be tossed into chaos soon. Although they wanted no part in the war that had already arrived, they had no choice. The Master had taken over the entire empire and he didn't take kindly to people who rejected his orders. The Master regarded all of them as pawns. They were nothing but expendables.
"Is it really true?" one of the soldiers asked his counterpart. He had a look of dread on his face and his slightly shaking hands indicated that he was anything but calm at this point.
"I don't know. But it wouldn't be strange if it was" his counterpart replied. Unlike his compatriot he was calm and composed. He was a man who had been enlisted in the army over a decade ago. He had seen many things, so unlike his comrade who was only recently recruited, he had greater control over his emotions.
"It is hard to believe that someone has this kind of power in this world" the young soldier fearfully stated. He was in the mid stages of the mortal realm. When he became a 5th stage mortal realmer he was hailed as a prodigy because he was only in his twenties. Granted his talent couldn't compare to the true geniuses who attended the Wielder Academy, but he was considered amazing in this small kingdom. Yet what he was looking at – the level of destruction that was staring him in his slightly immature face – was greater than anything he had ever seen. He had the privilege of witnessing two peak stage mortal realmers battle it out when he was in his teens. Yet even they – who were the strongest warriors he had seen in his life – didn't possess the power to cause destruction on such a scale.
The formerly life-filled forest was now desolate. Tree stumps were everywhere and the grass that previously beautified this place was nowhere to be found. An entire forest destroyed. There was still smoke rising out of some areas and several ditches that weren't here a few hours ago now marked the checkpoints of this place. It couldn't be called a forest anymore for the only trees and creatures that remained unaffected by whatever happened here were those in the outer periphery. However once one crossed the outer boundary, this lifeless ground was what awaited them.
"Maybe a few months ago it would have been hard to believe" the older soldier replied. Since the Master had revealed himself as the Head of the Eastern Empire, the people he picked out were being transformed. The older soldier himself had seen people he fought with suddenly gain power that wasn't theirs. He didn't know where that power came from, but he was sure the Master had something to do with it – no, he had everything to do with it.
"The strangest thing is that there are others with the power to fight against those the Master has chosen" the older soldier sighed. There was a storm brewing. The Master was clearly preparing them for war and their opponents were no weaklings themselves.
"Do you think we will also become this powerful when it is our turn?" the young soldier sounded slightly excited. He was still fearful, but he couldn't help but wonder if he could also become this powerful after receiving the Master's power.
"I wouldn't be so excited if I were you. Such good things are seldom without a price" the older man sighed. The younger soldier's words made him realize that it would soon be his turn to receive the power of the Master. Just like the young man he was part of the next batch. He really didn't want this power. Whenever he thought about it chills will travel down his spine. But he couldn't resist the orders of the Master. He had his family to take care of. Saying no to the Master wouldn't just be sealing his death sentence, it would be sealing his family's fate as well.
"I think you are being paranoid" the young soldier brushed away the experience of the veteran. To him the older man was just thinking too much.
"I hope I am" the older man commented.
"Crows. Loads of them" the younger soldier pointed at the large number of crows that were eagerly flying to the other end of the forest.
"Follow them" the older soldier ordered and took the lead. He followed after the murder of crows with as much speed that he could master.
"Why?" the younger soldier easily kept up with his pace. He wanted to know what was going on. His inexperience reared its head as he struggled to understand why the older gentleman looked so solemn after seeing the crows.
"Crows are lovers of battlefields. They eat any and everything. Dead bodies are no exception. If they are here it means-"
"There was a battled here" the younger man continued. He sounded surprised. He didn't know this.
It didn't take them long to find out where the murder of crows were.
"This-" the young soldier had barely started his sentence when his face grew extremely pale and his stomach gave out.
"Argh" he crawled to a nearby ditch and threw up everything he had for breakfast. The older man wrinkled his forehead in dismay. He had been to the battlefield several times so this wasn't new to him. There were several decapitated heads and smashed corpses all around them.
"Do you recognize their armor?" the older soldier asked the younger one when the young man was done showing his disgust for the battlefield.
"No" the young man replied with his face still pale because of what he was seeing. He may have just joined the army, but he hadn't been to an actual battlefield before. However he was a quick learner so he gathered himself quickly and observed the armor of the fallen men.
"The Knights of the Eastern Sun!" it didn't take him long to find the answer to the question. And his exclamation was the evidence of his surprise. The Knights of the Eastern Sun were the exclusive warriors of the Eastern Empire's Royal family. They served only the royal family and no one else. Yet here they were, beaten down and killed like dogs.
"But what were they doing here?" the young soldier asked. His question was logical for their kingdom was a small and insignificant one. There was no reason for the Knights of the Eastern Sun to be here.
"I don't know. But I reckon that they were part of the reason for the forest's drastic renovation" the older man replied. Maybe they came chasing after some people and got done in in the end. This wasn't good news for the kingdom. The elites of the Eastern Empire were found dead on their turf. They could only report their findings and hope the royal family which was now under the control of the Master would spare them.
"But an even better question is this: Why are there no enemy traces?" the older soldier brought up a question of his own. The young soldier had his eyes opened wide in surprise. He quickly scanned the battlefield and saw what his partner had already seen.
"How is that possible?" the elites of the Eastern Empire had been wiped out and there was no sign of the enemy. This meant that they had been completely overwhelmed!
"We must leave now" the young soldier shook at the thought of the enemies still being around. They needed to leave this place.
"Wait. What is that?" the older soldier pointed at the rod that stood strangely erect at the corner of the battlefield. He looked at his partner. The young man shook his head fearfully to indicate that he wasn't going to cross the battlefield. The older man sighed in resignation and went alone.
"It's glowing!" he screamed from across the battlefield when he finally reached the rod. The young man fought his anxiety and fear and crossed as well. He wanted to see if it was truly glowing.
"It is" he said in awe as he admired the weapon. "You want it?" the older soldier asked with a smile seeing the look of worship on the young man's face.
"Really? I can have it?" the young solider asked, barely holding himself back from grabbing the weapon. "Yep. Whatever we find on the battlefield is ours to keep. That's the only advantage of being an investigative soldier" the older man smiled and said the words the young man was itching to hear. The young soldier immediately grabbed the rod. However when he held it his eyes lost their luster and his face took on a blank expression.
"What's wrong" the older soldier finally noticed the strange situation and reached out to shake the young man out of his stupor. He thought the boy was fascinated by the weapon and had lost his bearings. Unfortunately that was the last thing he did in this life.
*Boom*
The rod came crushing down with ferocity. It cruelly broke the man's skull and spilled his brains all over the floor.
"Weak" the young man's voice was oddly hoarse. It wasn't the same voice he spoke with a few seconds ago.
"Must get to Master" the young man held the corpse of the dead soldier. Something strange happened when he did. The deceased soldier was sucked into his body and was immediately absorbed.
"Will kill red hair and brown hair next meeting" by now it was clear that the young man wasn't the same soldier that he was a few seconds ago. His speech was broken and incoherent, and his voice was husky like a parched man looking for a few sips of water. He wasn't the young soldier, but the possessed Mane and Abe thought they had killed! It wasn't dead. It thought Mane was a red haired boy because it fought him when he was in his Takeover state. It held on tightly to the rod and slowly walked off the battlefield, its figure obscured by the crows who were happily feasting on this desolate ground.