The wind whipped Seventeen's hair as he stood on the tallest tower of the Academy building. His purple eyes reflected the light of the tall buildings of Crystalis City.
"Rethinking your life choices?", Vanessa appeared beside him, floating at his height with her white dress flowing in the wind.
He smiled, "I haven't lived long enough for that to happen. It's been about two months since I woke up. I am basically an infant in this world."
"So what are you doing over here?", she asked him.
Seventeen shrugged, "Going to meet a friend. You might know him. He's an ice wyvern named Frigus."
Vanessa recognized that name, "Ah Frigus. Is that young wyvern still guarding the hidden garden?"
He nodded, "Do you know Raviel?"
She nodded, "Yeah. She was a good friend of mine. But the one who was closest to her was the Dragon King. She was the only one he considered an equal."
"Were they lovers?"
"Don't know. But they were the dearest of friends. She was the best. That made her death more heartbreaking for all of us.", Vanessa said with a sad smile.
She shook her head, "I've lost many loved ones over the years and it was pretty lonely in the palace.'
"I watched as the times passed and Arken grew. Despite the visits of the Dragon Lords, I felt lonely and disinterested in this world."
"So what has piqued your interest in this world again?", Seventeen asked, having a suspicion as to what her answer is.
Vanessa looked at him with a smile, "You of course."
"Ah.", Seventeen opened a rift to the top of Mt Raviel. "Would you like to come with me or will you be going off to sleep?", he asked.
She shrugged, "I've had enough sleep over my time in the palace. Besides, it's been a long time since I visited Raviel."
The two of them entered the rift and entered the frozen peak of the mountain.
*******
Far away in the great forest of Elveria, a nine-tailed fox woke up from her nap and yawned, revealing her sharp teeth. She shook her white fur and transformed into a beautiful woman with fox ears and a single tail.
Akira Nova stretched, "That was a refreshing nap."
It was a moonless night and the patterns on her body glowed faintly in the darkness. It was a good idea to take a nap in one of the most dangerous parts of the forest where powerful magia beasts roam.
Since she is the most dangerous being in the entirety of southern Arken at the moment, those deadly beasts are staying far away from her.
A giant Sun Wolf that is CAT 2 is cowering in its cave. On a normal day, it is one of the most feared beasts in the forest, its powerful flames burning brightly on its golden fur.
Now those flames are barely visible as the wolf suppressed its magia to not attract the attention of this new powerful monster that has descended on its part of the forest.
Like the Sun Wolf, the other powerful magia beasts are laying low and seriously hoping that the fox monster is just staying here for the time being.
Unfortunately, Akira could sense all of them. She smiled. No one would enter the forest due to the powerful beasts in it and those beasts would not even dare to approach her. The perfect spot for a nap.
She looked in the direction of Crystalia, sensing a familiar presence, "Looks like that bloodsucker has decided to join the academy.", she said with a smile.
She too was interested in the otherwordly doll that Eravon and Vanessa spoke about. She wanted to meet him but that can wait.
Eravon had asked her for a favor, something he said that only she could do. She was not happy with this but even she was curious.
Akira has to go to Ethereos, look at the situation with the creature, and meet a certain someone. It was the meeting part that made her unhappy.
She sighed. Might as well get it over with.
Her hands turned into claws coated with powerful magia and with them she slashed the ground, creating a Rupture into Ethereos. Akira dropped into the Rupture without a second thought.
*******
In Ethereos, two adventurers sat down for a rest among a pile of rocks. They were in charge of patrolling the perimeter of the containment site of the skull of Lazarus. One of them lit a pipe and smoked while the other remained vigilant.
They are among the many adventurers working together with the Cardinal Knights after getting the commission from the Adventurer's Guild. It is dangerous work but the rewards outweigh the risks.
The one smoking his pipe is an experienced A-rank adventurer. He is a huge burly man with tanned skin and a shaved head. A huge sword remained strapped on his back.
The second one was also A rank but he recently graduated from the Adventurers Academy. He chose this commission in Ethereos to gain some valuable experience. He is a tall elf with long black hair and a crossbow strapped to his back.
"This your first time in Lower Arken?", the bald adventurer asked as he puffed on his pipe. The elf nodded, "Yeah. I came here for experience but it seems like I had bitten off more than I can chew.", he sighed.
They had just finished defeating a hoard of Blood Feasters that suddenly appeared near the barrier. It was a tough battle with the huge numbers but they managed to kill all of the monsters.
"This place is true hell. Normal people won't last a day here. The only reason why we are safe is the barrier, the Knights, and the fact that we are A-rank adventurers. The Knights even told us about the situation. That's why I like the Cardinal Knights. They are so straightforward", the bald man said with a chuckle.
They were having a conversation when suddenly a powerful presence passed over them. Both of them froze. "What was that?", the elf asked, reaching for his crossbow.
The man narrowed his eyes in the direction from where the presence may have come, "It's very far away from us. Looks like it was a Fallen Lord."
The most powerful among the Fallen. The Fallen Lords are the rulers of Ethereos and are at odds with the Council and Cardinals.
They butt heads with each other at times but the two factions know that an all-out war would result in heavy losses on both sides.
So they just stay out of each other's businesses. The Fallen Lords maintain order in Lower Arken in exchange for letting them rule the place. The Cardinal Knights are allowed to destroy any monster that turns rogue and escapes Ethereos without the knowledge of the Fallen Lords.
They even allow Knights and adventurers to seal the Ruptures as their formation is beyond the powers of the Fallen Lords.
But one can't trust a Fallen and so the Council of Seventy remains vigilant of these powerful users of Black Magia.
So far, the Fallen Lords have not tried anything but the Cardinals are still keeping up their guards.
"No way.", the elf whipped around, "Are we under attack?"
The man shook his head, "It doesn't seem like. The Fallen Lords and the Council had signed a ceasefire while we dealt with the creature. They will not hinder us."
"But wouldn't the creature's resurrection benefit them?"
"Absolutely not. The creature is what you call pure evil. It will destroy everything if it resurrects and doesn't matter if you are a Fallen or not.", the man said.
The elf was listening to his more experienced colleague. He looked back to the barren plains of Ethereos, "Should we notify the Knights?"
The man resumed smoking his pipe, "I believe they are aware of this. It's not something to worry about. Probably a Fallen Lord showing their subordinate who's boss."
The experienced adventurer said what he knew from experience. But he realized the presence was different from a Fallen Lord. He didn't want to worry the newbie but he was a bit concerned about the presence.
He never felt like this before. It was as if a god had dropped from above.
*******
Akira stood up from the crater she created and looked around. She had accidentally released magia when she landed on Ethereos. Hopefully, the warlocks in this place would dismiss it as something else.
"Ugh. I hate this place.", her face scrunched up in disgust. She really wants to level the entirety of Ethereos but she held back. There would be no point in doing that, this place would remain a hell.
Akira looked in the direction of what she assumed was the containment site.
It's a huge distance from where she stood, 'How about I meet that guy first and then look at the ugly skull?', she wondered.
Without a second thought, she turned in the opposite direction and transformed into a medium-sized nine-tailed fox.
She ran towards a range of blood-red mountains at tremendous speed. No creature in Ethereos dared to get near her. They felt it, if they angered this beast, not even their bones would remain.
Soon she reached the foot of the mountains. After navigating through the deadly rocks, she reached a path that led to a huge estate.
Transforming back and fully suppressing her presence, she approached the gates of the estate where two Fallen demons stood guard.
They immediately pointed their spears at her. "What is a demi beast doing here?", one of the snarled, unaware of the one standing in front of them.
Akira was unfazed, she just smiled, "I wish to see your master."
"The likes of you aren't meant to see our master. Who do you think you are?", the second guard asked in a threatening manner, even though he is starting to feel uneasy.
The Spirit Queen narrowed her eyes, "The likes of you aren't meant to know my name. For if you knew, you would wish you'd never seen me."
"What did you say!", the first guard yelled and attacked. Before he could aim his spear at her, Akira appeared in front of him, her eyes staring into his.
"You must know your opponent before attacking.", with these words she flicked him on the head. Those eyes were the last thing he saw before his head disintegrated and his body fell on its knees in front of her, black blood pouring from the neck.
The second guard was frozen in his place. The only thing he saw was his colleague attack the stranger and in the next second his body was slumped in front of her.
He began to tremble. She looked at him and he felt utterly powerless under the gaze of those glowing eyes. "So will you take me to your master?", she asked calmly.
'How is this possible?", he thought. Both of them were high-level CAT 2 and yet this woman killed one of them like it was nothing.
Just what kind of a monster has descended on this hell?