There were many legends and myths of ancient relics that could be used to do the impossible. One such relic was the Relic of Rebirth. It was a simple name, but that name alone holds a weight that could truly shatter one's belief.
In a small, ruined kingdom. The Capital City's plaza.
Thousands of people were gathering around the place with faces full of joy, disbelief, and excitement. Despite their kingdom's current situation, none of them had even a hint of despair and devastation on their faces. This was because they had just witnessed a miracle. A miracle that would be passed on to history and would become a legend.
In the center of the crowd was a man. He was robed, so his face couldn't be properly seen. He held a wooden staff on his right hand and his left hand was pressed against his abdomen. He sat on a bench with a satisfied look across his face, gazing at the overwhelming crowd around him.
He was the man who had created the miracle.
Impending doom was brought upon the kingdom as a sudden spatial crack opened, forming a portal that could traverse realms. In it, hordes of grotesque-looking creatures poured out with strength that could overwhelm even the strongest of their warriors. Everyone felt despair and many soon migrated to another kingdom, seeking refuge.
Meanwhile, the other kingdoms set their gazes on their kingdom, never sending even a single bit of reinforcement. Greed was the primary cause of this. The now ruined kingdom held mines of precious minerals and rumors of artifacts and relics were being circulated throughout the world.
The other kingdoms probably thought that they would only help if the kingdom in question requested for it. For a price, of course. However, to their surprise, the kingdom in question sent none of them even a single message, much less a request of reinforcement.
The kingdom in question stood still despite most of their manpower leaving the kingdom. They were already hopeless and were prepared to die honorably. They couldn't and wouldn't beg for reinforcements to their neighboring kingdoms. They knew well that even if they did, they would be consumed in flames as war would sooner erupt due to greed.
However, to their surprise, just when their last line of defense was about to be besieged by these foul creatures, a single man stood; blocking the path of hundreds of thousand of creatures with his frail body. The grotesque creatures took his act as the last shred of resistance the kingdom had and thought of ways to humiliate him in front of millions.
The man still stood there with a calm look, despite tens of millions of gazes locking on him. Most of these gazes contained pity and ridicule, while some contained hope. Suddenly, he raised his staff up from the ground and something what seemed to be ridiculous at first glance happened.
A spark formed as he fully raised his staff. Grotesy laugh of mockery and ridicule erupted from the likewise grotesque creatures. Some of them even began rolling to the ground, while the others who had high insights, saw something weird in his actions. Bloody sweat then began trickling down their deformed foreheads and immediately ordered their underlings to rip him to shreds. The underlings were confused at first, but when they saw their ruler's faces, they also felt what they were feeling.
Roars and cries of war erupted from the numerous creatures. They rushed and sprinted as fast as they can to the man's position. When suddenly, they felt their blood boil and the ground shine. The shining wasn't so intense at first, but with each passing second, it grew brighter and brighter; with it, the temperature then suddenly began rising at an alarming rate.
Panic soon erupted on the creature's side and they tried with all of their strength to escape from the weird, shining ground. Many of them almost reached the edge, but when they tried to crawl pass it, they smashed right onto an invisible wall.
Despair was now apparent on their face. They looked to their sides and saw the same scene happening there and even on the opposite side. They also saw countless of their winged comrades fly to the sky, but even they were blocked by an invisible ceiling. Soon, they started smashing the barrier, but nothing different happened.
That is until the man raised his other hand, a pink gem resting on it, and muttered something indecipherable under his breath. The glowing started to fade and the creatures all had a confused look. Their body then began cooling down, frighteningly so that when they noticed it, their sweat has now became ice.
They simultaneously lifted their gaze and they saw it. The ceiling was now shining blue. The lighter the color went, the cooler the environment became. Up to this point, they all still had hope. They clung to that hope and each of them wanted it to happen. They wanted to wait for the man to run out of mana and rip him to shreds personally. All their hope crumbled when they saw the pink gem on the man's hand.
He crushed it with little to no strength and power surged throughout his body. He felt powerful and refreshed, but that feeling only lasted a second as he focused on his current task. He can't fail here. He repeated those words on his mind.
Then it was the blue light's turn to fade, but the creatures still had faces of despair. They knew they had no chance. One of the high ranking ones then let out a yell. He seemed to have realized the staff the man was holding. Unlike the lowly creatures that he looked down upon, he, along with his fellow nobles, still held a hope. They still had their king which was observing behind them. But like the lowly creatures that he looked down on, his hope crumbled as he saw the staff.
His shocked yell echoed throughout the plains, even reaching the city. Everyone present heard his words clearly. What the man has was the staff that was on the legends, a staff that was said to be made by the god of magic, a staff that they all believed to only merely be a legend. The Staff Of Oblivion.
Legend says that it held power that could command every single element in the world and could only be found on the said god's enclave. But that power came at a cost. It could drain one's mana like a balloon that leaks air. That cost was covered by the pink gem the man has just crushed. They believed that if he found the staff, then there would obviously be plenty of those pink gems around. No god was stupid as to leave a useless artifact.
Millennias has passed since the legend started circulating, but like all legend, everyone never thought it was real.
Fear, shock, and disbelief assaulted everyone but the man himself. He had a calm gaze since the beginning. Not once had they seen a trace of worry appear on his face.
Then one by one, the higher ranked creatures began kneeling in defeat. They wouldn't fight a losing war. They were wise. They had nothing to gain from it. But the man thought otherwise. He didn't trust anyone so easily.
"Show me your king!" His shout echoed through the place.
Then the creatures began forming a path, revealing someone that looked the least grotesque out of them all. He— She had a long, flowing, gel-like hair and anything else looked human except her body's frequent bending. A slime.
"Spare my people, mage, and we shall leave this realm and never to return."
The queen knelt on her one knee and bowed, asking for leniency. Her voice was sweet and seductive, making the man almost give in to her.
"Arise, Queen of the Void." He fought against the seduction, knowing that it wasn't intentional, and waved his hand signaling her to rise up.
For unknown reason, he let the queen pass through the barrier and approach him. He could be in danger by now, but he knew the Void's rules. He had read about them years ago. One such rule is that when faced with disaster, they shouldn't risk themselves nor their citizens. Right now, even if he is ambushed by the queen, he had the reflex to immediately activate the magic again and extinguish all of the creatures inside it in no time. The queen herself is powerful, but the kingdom still had a number of their best warriors and they are enough to handle a lone creature.
The queen then rose up to her feet, but still bowing. She awaited for his words.
"I know why you have come to our plane, Queen of the Void. I have a proposition to make which would make both our kingdoms prosper."
To his words, the Void Queen lifted her head and her eyes shone in anticipation. She opened her mouth, but no words escaped from it.
"You have come here to 'borrow' our plane's natural resources, yes?" He asked in an inquiring tone.
"That is the only reason. My people are dying to starvation and many lead to cannibalism. Please allow us to barter with your people." She pleaded.
"Before I get to decide... I am not this plane's representative. I... Am only a traveler. Stay put and I shall ask for this kingdom's ruler for his opinions."
He turned around and left in a blink of an eye without waiting for the queen's reply.
Meanwhile, on the kingdom's castle.
"My King! The mage has requested an audience." A man in a butler's uniform informed the king.
The king was currently prancing around the throne room restlessly, looking nervous and sweating bullets. He heard of the butler's words and joy immediately wiped away his restlessness.
"Has the creatures been defeated?" He asked in an exciting tone.
"No... But they seem to be conversing about something."
"Is that so...? Let him in and treat him like how you treat me." He said in a disappointed voice.
"As you command."
A couple of minutes later, the big door opened and from it, the same man that held the millions of creatures outside, walked slowly inside.
"Greetings, Your Highness." The man bowed and respectfully greeted the king.
"No need for formalities, mage. Tell me. Why have you decided to not wipe them from the face of this plane?" He asked, his voice full of curiosity.
"Right. As you or may not know, these creatures are beings that reside in the Void Realm." The King nodded to his words, looking like he already knew of this information. The man continued. "The reason why they have 'visited' our place is that their plane is greatly in need of natural resources."
"Why is that?" The king asked.
"That, I have no idea. But I can take a guess that they over hunted their fauna and took no care of their flora."
The king nodded to his words, convinced that that must be it.
"So, do you have a solution to stop this bloodshed?" The king once again asked.
"You seem to have been mistaken, Your Highness."
"Mistaken?" The King tilted his head in confusion.
"The void creatures took none of our your people's lives. The ones who died were the ones who were killed by their own by the panic. Only the void people lost their people. They never meant harm in the first place."
"That..."
"Also, The destruction of properties, if you look at it in a glass half full way, are compensation for the lives they have lost, though none of these are of equal value."
The king stood in silence, pondering about something, then he raised his head and asked the man.
"You found a solution to fix both our problems?"
"Yes. A simple one at that. As you know, your kingdom has always been on the eyes of the neighboring and the current situation lead to your already weak kingdom to even grow weaker. I have something in mind, but I wouldn't know if you would be angered by it had I made this deal by myself."
"Speak your mind."
"A contract." He said simply, his gaze still calm.
"What kind of contract?"
"A contract that would bind their realm to this kingdom alone and would protect it at all costs. In exchange, you would give them of whatever their queen requests, if the request itself isn't absurd."
"Given our kingdom's current economy—"
"The queen herself would mostly only request for food and common resources." He quickly interrupted the king.
"Is that so... Indeed. That is a simple, yet effective solution. I agree to your plan, but bring the queen here along with her strongest and most trusted companions. It would be best to do this face to face and make the queen herself feel at home and comfortable enough. This contract would last for generations or even become permanent."
"I will go get them now. Prepare yourself, Your Highness."
Back at the plains, the man himself appeared in a blink of an eye, causing shock and respect to appear on the creatures' eyes.
"I come bearing good news, Queen of the Void."
The queen's beautiful eyes shone in anticipation as she heard his words. She made her way to the man and he told her what happened on the king's castle.
"Effilberg, Cuela, Emnais, Vephnaos! Follow me to the human's castle." She called for her subordinates' names.
One of them was the one who identified the man's staff. Her eyes was staring at the man's eyes with respect and disbelief. She was the Queen's childhood friend and her most trusted, Cuela.
"Lead the way, mage."
The man inspected the ones the queen brought with her and nodded in approval. They were strong enough that when the king, even though unlikely, ambushes them then they would be able to escape with but a scratch.
They arrived in the castle, now filled with people. There were also guards and knights scattered about to protect them if the worst happens, though they never really thought it would happen.
In the throne room, the king himself stood up from his throne and greeted the newly arrived Queen of the Void and her subordinates. He was polite and respectful, his voice not containing even a hint of malice.
"I welcome you to my humble castle, Queen of the Void. Worry not for I have no intention of causing any of you harm."
"Greetings, King of Evelund. I apologize for my kin's sudden appearance, though I had no intention to cause this much uproar."
"Let us talk about business, shall we?" King Evelund said and swept his gaze across the room.
The guards, knights, and nobles that was there understood his intentions; though some knights remained.
King Evelund cleared his throat and said, "I apologize, but I dislike formality. Let us talk in a casual manner to lighten up the mood, shall we?"
The Queen of the Void was taken aback, but nodded her head in understanding.
"Understood. This talk of ours will stick to a couple of generations, if not permanent. I prefer the latter though. Most of my kins want a permanent place in this realm."
"Mhm. Now, let's talk about the contract. State your requests, Queen..."
"Luena." She chimed.
"Mhm. Queen Luena. A lovely name fitting of you." The king's face reddened. He was caught off guard.
He has just ascended to the throne a couple of years ago and was extremely, but he was still quite young. He was in his early 30s and he needed to give birth a deserving successor for his kingdom, but no woman has ever caught his eye. Until now, that is...
"You flatter me, King Evelund. My requests are simple. Every two years, I need at least three to four animals of each kind delivered to our realm. They need to be full grown adults and are ready to breed. Though it's only a small sum, we have something in our realm which can increase an animal's growth, but it wouldn't work on our domesticated ones for god knows why."
"That's it?" The king asked.
"That is it."
"Are... you sure?"
"Yes." She simply replied.
The king called out to someone and a person carrying a pair of scrolls came out from the shadows. King Evelund took the scroll from the man's hands and stood up, unfurling the scroll and writing on it as he said, "Alright. Then, by the name of the gods, I, the 63rd King of Evelund, George the 6th; hereby declare from now until the contract itself has been nulled, that my kingdom will give whatever the Void Queen requests."
Silence filled the room as the scroll shone brightly and quickly fading, revealing two scrolls instead of one.
"The gods has witnessed our contract and should any of us break the contract, they will be given divine retribution. Are you satisfied with this, O' Queen of the Void?"
The queen herself didn't give out a reply. Instead, she nodded her head in excitement. She felt like this was all a dream, a dream that would wake her up in any moment; that thought came to a stop as her friend and subordinate, Cuela, pinched her arm and whispered to her which calmed her down.
"Then, to celebrate the forming of this contract, I will set up a banquet. Queen Luena, may you bless my kingdom your presence?"
"I am afraid I cannot, King Evelund."
With a disappointed look, King Evelund bade farewell to the queen and her entourage. The news of the contract soon circulated throughout the kingdom in no time and they all gathered in the plaza. The king himself was present and so is everyone that is currently in the capital city. Right next to the king was the robed mage standing beside him.
He excused himself from the king and went to the nearby woods.
'I guess this is the price of using a god's artifact, huh?' He whispered to himself, clutching his abdomen.
He walked further out and came across a clearing. A house sat in the center of it. It looked abandoned and there were cobwebs everywhere around the house.
'Long time no see, my peaceful abode.'
He went inside the house which he called home all those years ago and cleaned it up with magic. Now, the ruined walls and the dusty furnitures were no more. The house looks brand new and even the floor gave a glint every now and then.
He took off the hood of his cloak, revealing his snow-like hair and his amber eyes. He carefully placed the cloak on a nearby desk and yawned. He was tired, not because he's spent all his energy, but because of the artifact's price of consuming his life force.
He found his bed and laid on it. Memories of his past soon emerging from his mind and a trickle of tear fell sideways down his face. He didn't stop it. He let it flow. For years, he held his emotions down. For years, he worked the hardest without anyone's support. For years, he was alone and had no one to come back to.
He was an exile. Unwanted. Unloved. Alone.
He had enough of it. He was tired by being forgotten, unloved, and lonely. He became one of the strongest mages in the continent, but the price was something that he could not bear. That was when he found the Staff of Oblivion. It was due to his research and luck that he stumbled across it. He found out its uses and the price. The legends were right about one thing. It was one hell of a siphon. It consumed his mana at an alarming rate, but he also found the second price. It could drain one's life force for each minute it's used.
That lead to his auburn hair turning white. It was the only perceivable physical change, but his internal organs got most of the damage. It was corrupted one by one and the recent events only accelerated it.
'I've left my name in this world, I think. It's a good time to say farewell to it.'
He took out a white orb from his robe.
'I'll be using you soon, so don't disappoint me, Relic of Rebirth.'
He stood up and wore his robe again, heading back to the city.
As he arrived at the city, he was amazed at how joyous the citizens were despite their wrecked homes. They were almost like celebrating a festival. He went to the plaza where the heart of the celebration was and quickly found the king.
"King Evelund, might I request your privacy?" The mage asked as he reached the king.
The king looked at him for a second and happily agreed.
"Of course! Of course! How could I say no to my kingdom's savior?"
The king stood up and raised his hand as the guards started to follow.
"Give us some privacy." The king pleaded to his guards.
"But my king—" The guard was interrupted by another.
"Fine. But please take care of yourself, King Evelund."
"What's there to worry about?" He asked his guards and looked at the mage.
The guards were speechless, but they nodded in unison.
Soon, the two of them began to take to the air and flew towards the tallest tower in the city. This was the Archmage's Tower. They swiftly landed on the tower's balcony.
As the tower of the strongest mage in the kingdom, it was currently empty. The previous Archmave has just recently passed for unknown reasons, which left the position unoccupied.
King Evelund got an idea why the mage brought him here and he quickly reassured him.
"Worry not, mage. As the savior and the one that formed the bridge of our kingdom and the Void Realm, you deserve the Archmage title more than anyone."
"That's not why I'm here, King Evelund."
The king, confused, tilted his head. He silently stood beside the mage, gazing down the serene meadows, waiting for the mage to speak.
"Do you remember Arthur Cairns?" The mage suddenly asked.
"Arthur... The Cairns family's exiled?"
"Yes. Can you tell me, King Evelund. What have I done wrong to be exiled?"
There was a long silence. The king's mind was filled with confusion. He tried to clear his mind by asking the mage his identity.
"Are you perhaps..."
"Yes. Arthur Cairns. That's me. Though I'm not one of the Cairns anymore, I still take pride of my last name." He took off the hood and revealed his head.
"Don't mind the hair... I actually like it." Arthur gave a light chuckle
"Oh..."
That was the only word that left the king's mouth. He tried to say something, but no words could express what he was currently feeling. He looked back and forth between the mage, Arthur Cairns, and the meadow down below, waiting for the right time to say something.
"You were an innocent kid back then. Though that innocence seems long gone. You were also kind, caring, and sweet. Those are currently true to this day."
"I didn't bring you here to receive your compliments, King Evelund, but... thanks. It's been a long time since I've received a compliment."
Tears now started trickling down Arthur's eyes and he started to quietly sob. He still remembered everything even though a decade and a half has passed. The first time he met the king was back when he was just a prince. They got along, but they weren't close due to the gap in their status.
"They were a knight family and you wanted to become a mage, something which your family dislikes. I understand if you... hate them, but they're still your family. They brought you to this world and raised you until you became what you are now, one of the strongest."
"I understand why they exiled me, but..."
He couldn't continue what he was saying and now the tears were gushing out from his eyes. King Evelund patted Arthur's back gently and looked at him sympathetically.
"It was... it was just an interest... why did they have to go... that far...?"
"I'm sorry, Arthur. I really am. I knew you had a talent in magic and even considered hiring you as a personal mage, but... life as a noble and royalty is restricting."
"It is..."
King Evelund handed him a towel and Arthur wiped his face with it.
"I'm sorry... for showing you an unsightly side of mine."
"No, no. Don't apologize. Starting now until we die, I'll be here for you. Always. You're no longer alone. You can return to your family now and maybe they'll acknowledge you."
Arthur shook his head.
"No. Actually... My time is running out."
King Evelund's face immediately showes worry.
"Let's get you to a priest right away, then! Come!" He tugged at Arthur's cloak, but Arthur stood still, unmoving.
"I can't be saved, King Evelund, that's why I'm here to see you."
King Evelund stopped in his tracks and returned to his previous location with a depressed sigh.
"Is there... really no way?"
Arthur simply nodded to his question.
"The price of using this thing is someone's life force. You could technically use someone else as a catalyst, but I wouldn't resort to that."
He explained to King Evelund his current situation and King Evelund just gave him a sympathetic nod. He was reluctant, but he finally calmed down and asked.
"What do you want me to do?"
"You're a kind and wise ruled, King Evelund. I only have two requests."
"Tell me."
"Protect my family and treat the Void Realm as equal. My achievements... you can do anything about it. I'd be grateful if I'm remembered as a legend." He joked.
~~~~~
A day has passed since Arthur, the mage, talked with King Evelund. He had an enjoyable time with him and he let out all his regrets and frustrations. Now, he was peaceful. He now had nothing he wanted to do, so he decided that now was the time he would leave.
He gave the Staff of Oblivion, including the pink gems and some scrolls with a couple of books to the King. He decided that it'll be best if it's in his hand.
The king also decided to publicly share Arthur's name and told the public that Arthur would be going on a journey around the world. They never doubted the king as it was all announced with Arthur beside him. His family was there and he greeted him. He was sad to find out that his grandfather passed away due to the chaos and left them a gift of gratitude.
Outside the cabin in the woods.
"This is it. Relmire. It was nice until it lasted. Farewell."
He clutched the white orb, which he called the Relic of Rebirth, on his hand and poured his mana on it. The orb gave out a blinding light and the whole forest was covered in white light.
The citizens of the capital city saw this and King Evelund immediately calmed down their worries, saying that Arthur was preparing a teleportation spell.
He wasn't wrong, but he wasn't right either. It was a teleportation spell, but it was also different. It was a spell that could traverse into a parallel universe and give someone a new beginning by using the Relic of Rebirth as the medium.
It was half an hour later that the blinding light slowly subsiding. The citizens went back to their usual routines like nothing had happened, but their heart was racing.
Why wouldn't it be? They had just witnessed a miracle. The powers of a legend.