For the next 4 years after Leo's disappearance, there was a lot of turmoil in the world. Grae and his friends arrived too late, they saw the battlefield and could hardly believe it. In the pouring rain, they saw the several corpses that covered the battlefield. When they couldn't find Leo's body, they had hope that he might still be alive, but fate was not kind to them that day. It was Marah, of all people, who found his mangled arm. It was the arm with her parting gift to him, which was barely recognizable anymore. They could not find his body, but their hope diminished with each passing day. Back in the kingdom, Grae confronted Grylias, but he had nothing remarkable to report. Grae knew that he would get away with everything what he says and he had no evidence that Grylias may have killed Leos squad.
Finally, the troop was sent off in a mourning ceremony for the last time. Countless women and children, even children from the orphanage said goodbye to their husbands/fathers or friends with tears in their eyes. The bodies were later collected and buried only for Leo there was no place in the graves. He lived on only in the hearts of a few people who still believed in his survival.
In the next few months, the Chosen evolved into the strongest power the kingdom has ever seen. The king started a war with the dwarves, who did not meet his demands for goods and were thus considered an enemy. It was uncharacteristic to start a war directly by a small incident, but their stingy ruler could never have enough. Grae and Soran both acted as commanders in the battles that followed. Through their leadership the army improved immensely. Blade, Adrian, Luke and Marah were almost untouchable, no elite unit could compete with them. The dwarves could only watch as the Chosen ravaged their land. After a year, his friends finally buried the thought of Leo's survival, in a small ceremony they remembered their first weeks back and the boy who could neither do magic nor hold a sword straight. They made rules for themselves not to get lost in the following battles. Their only reason to keep fighting was to protect people who couldn't protect themselves. They were only in adulthood, but their protective instincts were already taking shape. Over time, they all became accustomed to this world and adapted to its ways. They made new friends, including Ester and Freo, who shared their experiences with Leo. In the next year they made many new friends and trustworthy people, one of them even a girlfriend. Blade had actually impressed a girl his age with his boastful ways, and since then the two had been a couple. Although their parents were already planning the marriage, Blade always ran away from the responsibility. Because of his big heart, Luke soon took a liking to helping the orphanage. He spent a lot of time with the children, who soon just called him Uncle Luke. Adrian helped half-talented wind mages and trained them along with the other teachers. Marah needed some time to cope with Leo's death, she continued to train ambitiously although she was already by far the best of the whole troop. She could not keep her promise with Leo, but she had only the protection of the powerless people in mind. Apart from the fights they traveled through the whole kingdom. From the port city with huge ships to ancient castles and caves, they saw what this world still has to offer.
After 2 years, something happened that had long been forgotten or at least wanted to be. An ancient race came back, a legend that has now actually come true. The mighty Erazal returned, their seal was broken and their curse lifted. Now they would once again lead this world until it was entirely in their hands. When the Chosen saw them for the first time, they were surprised. They looked almost exactly like humans except that their skin was gray and their eyes were red. They also possessed a type of black magic that was far superior to their previous form. Many simply called them demons because of their appearance. Their leader was named Shikur, he had black armor and rode a black wolf. To everyone's surprise, he demanded a peaceful discussion with all the rulers. After much consideration, the rulers agreed to the conversation.
The Erazal leader was the only one who appeared without a bodyguard. When the other kings heard about the destruction of the dwarves they were furious. The elf king and the ruler of the beastmen were completely outraged. At this show, Shikur could only laugh out loud. His peaceful conversation was about to turn into a declaration of war.
"Kuhaha, that got out of hand quickly. I just wanted to decide the land division together but look what happened. Seems like a lot has happened in our absence. But as I can see from your faces, you all know exactly who you are dealing with. Good, that is very good, because you know that whoever met the Erazal with arrogance immediately regretted it. Nevertheless, I am not interested in war which will shock you since we used to be the war itself but much has changed. First of all, we want to adapt to this world, there should be no unnecessary unrest, so I propose a peace agreement with us, as long as you are not hostile to us, we will not act. Sounds like a good offer, don't you think?
His words sounded completely different from what the books had described, could he really be trusted? Everyone hesitated, but finally agreed to his offer, knowing what a danger the Erazal could be. As everyone was about to go their way, Shikur was pierced by three arrows. The human king had ordered an ambush to kill the leader. But he just laughed and looked the king straight in the eye.
"Hehe, even after thousands of years you have kept your hatred. Your face looks familiar. Seems like kingship is still in the same family. You even look a bit like him, the king we beheaded.
Without any problems, he pulled the arrows out of his chest, black blood dripping onto the floor. He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky with a smile.
"So this is how it begins, the new age. Even before, we were betrayed, deceived and denied. But there is still a chance for peace, the peace we have so longed for. You have just taken the first step into chaos. For only chaos can bring about peace. It is only through chaos that each and every living being's true situation is revealed. You have forgotten what it means to be completely powerless. But we can teach you again if you wish to.
Shikur then left the conference and went back to his people. He knew that his army was still too small to strike now, many were still not freed from the ancient curse. This created enormous pressure on the races and between the races.
In the end, it was the humans who declared war on the Erazal. As advised by Shikur, the other races stayed out of this fight. It was a decision made by blind rage and greed for power. After months of preparation, Grae, Soran and the Chosen marched into a war that would shake the world.
The battlefield was vast but the humans were outnumbered. But this hope was dashed immidiately, the ancient power never fought entirely alone. Countless shadow monsters were on the side of Erazal. Pitch-black wyverns ruled the air while dark direwolves stood by the warriors. As the battle began, Shikur demonstrated the magic that the books called forbidden and corrupt.
Blood-red strings came from his hands, grabbing the enemy and literally sucking out his life. When the chosen ones attacked him they were stopped by a red shield.
"He is not your opponent!"
A woman in light black armor repelled their attacks and stopped them from attacking Shikur.
"Excellent Azura, show them what you have learned. Let them feel our hatred kuhaha!"
He let his blood thirst run wild, from afar it looked like he was giving his power to his soldiers. Suddenly they became stronger and faster, one human soldier after another was brutally slaughtered. When Blade and Luke saw this, they retreated and helped Grae stop the enemies.
Marah tried to surprise her with a shadow double but Azura turned around and destroyed the figure without any problems.
"Has our magic really become so weak? Ridiculous! If you can't control it then at least give it back!
Azura fought even more heatedly against Marah, forgetting about Adrian, who shot an explosive arrow from behind. She fell over backwards and lay dazed on the ground. Adrian signaled to Marah that they had to support Grae and Soran.
It was a gruesome spectacle what was happening in front of the commanders' eyes. The wolves and wyverns tore their soldiers apart without any problems, the mages had great difficulty defeating these creatures with spells. Their tactics were able to lure some of these "demons" into a trap. The strengthening from Shikur's magic wore off after a few minutes. Many of the Erazal felt dazed and could barely fight, this was the perfect time to counterattack.
Suddenly, a loud hiss sounded and black smoke gathered and fused together. Shikur smiled as he saw a black portal form. Out came a young man with a tall stature. wearing black armor and holding a blood red sword with an inscription in his hand. When he raised the sword, the inscription ignited and the armor on his left arm also turned blood red. Everyone on the battlefield sensed the danger he posed. Many remained frozen when they saw him. He took off his black helmet and looked up at the sky. His red eyes shone at the sight, his dark brown hair blew in the wind.
The commanders and the chosen ones remained frozen when they saw his face. He had changed a lot from the outside, but they knew exactly who was standing in front of them. With fresh courage and new motivation, Grae called for an attack. The first line of soldiers marched forward, for their wives and children, for their homeland, for their king. On the opposite side, the demons were also getting ready for an attack. The man in black armor stood in the middle of the battlefield as both sides raced toward each other. Even the chosen ones joined in the attack. Finally they would fight together with him on the battlefield.
But the young man only looked seriously at the ground as the soldiers came closer and closer. When the first human fighter tried to run past him, he drew his sword and cut off his head. After that he let the attacking demons pass him, looked at his sword and closed his eyes. He whispered words to his sword as the inscription suddenly lit up and made the whole sword burn. He pulled his helmet back on, drew his sword back and took a deep stance.
"Death is coming"
He swung his sword along the ground, a huge long wall of fire formed literally cutting soldiers apart. After that, one enemy after another was annihilated without effort.
The Chosen were completely bewildered by what was happening in front of them. Immediately they attacked the black warrior.
"Leo, what the hell is wrong with you?Have you gone mad?"
Completely emotionless, the man replied while easily fending off the attacks of his former friends
"You are not my opponents, don't make it harder than it has to be."
His sword absorbed Blade's fire and turned him into a normal fighter. In terms of strength, Blade had always been superior to Leo, but that day it became clear that everything about him had changed. Leo attacked until Blade's sword was completely destroyed. In the end Blade was lying on the ground without a weapon.
The next moment, he caught an arrow out of the air which was headed straight for his head.
"Good precision but still a waste..."
Adrian shot more arrows in a flash, which Leo parried with his sword. Then he held his sword forward and aimed directly at Adrian. Like a pistol shot, Leo fired a minimal beam of wind toward Adrian. The beam pierced his armor and he flew backwards.
Suddenly, a swoosh was heard behind Leo, a shadow double hit him on the left arm and he dropped his sword. As he looked at the wound he just smiled.
"How ironic."
The shadow double retreated and Marah appeared in front of him.
" Stop it Leo, are you trying to kill us all? What happened to you in the last 4 years, why do you look like that?
"It's none of your business, just get out of my way or I really will have to kill you all."
"You bet it's my business, you were my first friend in a long time. Of course I want to know what happened! Have you forgotten everyone, our time together as a group, our first trip, our promi-"
"One more word and you will regret it forever! In this world promises are worth nothing, they are poison to lure you into safety and leave you in despair! You should know this better than anyone, OR NOT?!"
A black flame appeared in his hand, closing the wound on his arm and then turning into a new sword. Leo jumped towards Marah and attacked her from the front with lightning speed.
"You are wrong, promises are not evil. If you hadn't made one with me I would be dead by now."
"AND I WAS DEAD!"
Leo was getting angrier and angrier, and Marah was finding it harder to dodge. He no longer responded to any words, his veins turned fiery red and his skin turned gray.
"Get stronger or die."
With these words, he forced Marah to her knees and threw her backwards. The impact knocked her unconscious.
"Don't even try it Luke, you know you don't stand a chance against me. So just collect the others and heal them. Stay out of my way from now on!"
Without answering, Luke nodded and began to heal his friends.
The humans were pushed back, by now a defense had formed around Leo. Countless arrows were aimed at him.
"Seems like you've gotten pretty strong in that time. I guess you forgot about the cool head. What is your goal Leo, come on tell us your evil master plan.
Grae and Soran had surrounded him and questioned him.
"You will know soon enough. Just give my regards to your king, he really can't do anything right in his life either. Look around, you have completely lost. Almost all warriors: dead, half of the archers: dead. And if you continue like this, the rest of you will also lose your lives here. Think of your women and children and make the right decision. Retreat and no one will lose their lives right here, you have my word.
Some of the soldiers felt provoked and shot at him. Leo held his hand in front of him, the arrows crumbled in the air and only dust remained.
"Dont test me!"
"The only question is how much your word is worth anyway?"
Soran looked at him seriously, but Leo turned away and went in the direction of the Erazal.
The result of the battle was a complete defeat of the humans. The smell of blood and death was everywhere in the air.
His friends, Grae and Soran saw Leo walking away. He picked up his sword as the inscription glowed again. Suddenly, a loud growl sounded from the forest. A huge wolf with burning black fur ran toward Leo and stopped in front of him.
At the sight, his friends could only marvel while they were treated by Luke. Leo rode past Shikur, who bowed and loudly announced:
"Our king has returned!"