—----Moments Later—----
Dressed in obsidian imperial robes, the King of Gretia paced across the room.
Varatos had left a while ago.
He kept this constant annoying motion for a while until the dinging sound of two tiny pebbles clashing echoed.
It was as if that was just the wake-up call the man needed.
He walked to a side of his room that was designed to take the role of a mini-office.
The man quickly sat on his chair and focused on the beautiful table in front of him.
If someone was behind him at this moment, they would see the perfect imprint of a large golden wolf at the back of the man's robe, especially when it was highlighted by the elusive sunlight.
The imperial man picked up a delicate rectangular slab from the drawer of his table.
He touched it and dwelled in the feeling of tiny electric sparks coursing through his body.
After a while, he whispered an incomprehensible word to the cerulean slate, "Mxios."
This magic word proved to be the activation key for the, apparently, magical slate. It released dazzling light that covered the dimly-lit room.
The particles of lights were evident in the surroundings as the man watched as they concentrated around him.
Soon, the profiles of humanoid figures began to form.
First, the abstract heads, then the necks to the torsos.
When it reached the waist, the light particles moved back to the head to redefine its features.
In under a few minutes, the almost-realistic portraits of a few humans popped up in the man's room.
It was only until the eyes of the figures gazed at the imperial man was it made crystal clear that they were not inanimate.
The imperial man offered no words, only revealing a weak smile on his face. He rubbed the surface of the cerulean slate once more, activating something else.
This time, with the power of the light particles, a large table actualized into existence, defying all concepts of space. The other figures took their seat at the table and waited for the imperial man to join them.
After the imperial man took his seat, a veil of darkness quickly surrounded them. Nothing else apart from the humans and the tables could be seen. Nonetheless, the humans present were not terrified by this.
It was as if they were already accustomed to this phenomenon.
Among the holographic humans, one of them was the first to break the deadly silence, "King Gavin, what is the purpose of this summon?"
The imperial man tapped his fingers on the table before releasing a sigh of annoyance, "You know the reason. Now is not the time for jest. A couple of days ago, something horrendous, mystical, even to our mages, happened. Being the closest one to the source of this...happenstance, I sent my knights to procure an explanation."
A female human seated among these kingly men asked, "And?"
"And, Queen Lillian, I fear we are still in the unknown about this. A seat among us is empty. The nation of Thyur, a very mighty nation, became a plain field in a single night. I don't know about you, but I have to say this worries me."
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Among the kings, a man with blonde hair spoke, "Such a pity, King Randal was always going on and on about how his kingdom was ranked first in a non-existent ranking. Hehehehe, I guess he was right after all. His kingdom was the first to be destroyed. Hehehee."
Another individual chipped in, "He must be proud wherever he is, be it Samsara or Hell."
"I don't think he is going to Samsara. King Randal did some nasty thing back in his early adulthood," argued the man with the blonde hair, King Janyn.
He started a round of gossip. Only in private events like this do people of their status get to gossip.
The other individual curved his brows in surprise, "Oh, like what? This is getting interesting."
"Most certainly. Now I do not know how good your memory is, but remember when we were still no-gooders kids and decided to visit the famous Eros Brothel?"
The other king kept responding to King Janyn, "My mind still holds that moment. But if I recall correctly, King Randal successfully advised us against it. Something about how the presence of young princes and princesses might warrant unwanted attention."
King Janyn nodded, "Yes, King Ives, and we decided to throw a random party at a private hall."
"And?" curiously asked King Ives.
He was not the only one interested in this bit of gossip. As far as the others could tell, they had different versions of the night at Gretia Kingdom. They were very much interested in how things truly went down.
"Why am I the only one with a splendid memory here?" smiled King Janyn, "Alright, I shall entertain. We horribly started this random party by getting drunk, revealing our true selves. Queen Lilian had a tryst with King Gavin. I, the then lonely prince, watched over your asses. King Ives danced with a bunch of commoners and nobles while naked. While, King Randal...well, he topped the cake."
King Janyn continued, "Totally off his rocker, Model Prince Randal stole a large part of the party into one of the hall chambers. It was there they had a wild sex fest. I must say, that was truly the wildest I have ever seen, and I say this as a king. The next moment, when we all dispersed, King Gavin's father rudely sent an entourage of pregnant women towards the Nation of Thyur."
The other imperial figures laughed wildly. Sure, they were too drunk to notice what really happened on that day.
"Enough about this. As much as I like to pour dirt on King Randal's dead ass, we have a serious situation at hand," bellowed King Gavin.
The others' faces dropped when they were once again reminded of the strange situation.
"We hear you," chided King Janyn.
Queen Lillian asked, "Do you have something else to say?"
"Yes, actually. Despite not knowing the source of this disaster, my knights managed to detect a few things. At the capital of Thyur, they found some humans, still alive. Most of them were buried in the earth. Most of them had lost a few limbs and to a certain few, death seemed to be better than living," divulged King Gavin.
"I suppose that should be a good thing, right?" posed King Ives.
"You do not understand. This is all too strange. Why were the only ones that survived from the capital? Worst, why were they alive? It doesn't help the situation that most of them can't access their memories. My court mages interpreted the disaster to be an explosion, with the center of the explosion being the capital. Yet, a small group of humans living in that dead zone survived," told King Gavin.
His tone wavered as he bothered the line of crazy. Throughout yesterday, his mind wracked itself, trying to make sense of the happenstance.
Queen Lillian tapped on the table with her long fingers, "An explosion? Is this the work of an unknown third party?"
"Unclear. My mages discern that the possibility of it being an attack is lower than 30%. They say the power behind the explosion is too much for any individual to bear, which makes me think back on the event that occurred before the fall of Thyur."
Unsure, King Janyn asked, "Are you talking about King Randal's invitation?"
"Yes, apparently, he had yet something groundbreaking to show us. His letter emphasized his passionate tone. I thought he was just getting a new wife, like always, but that seems to not be the case," revealed King Gavin.
They were finally linking things together and seeing the bigger picture.
There were no doubts at this point.
King Randal discovered something that led to his kingdom's demise.
But what was it?
Would they ever find out?
King Gavin spoke, "Not just that, my mages have detected the energy residue left by the explosion."
An energy residue was an almost immortal concept.
In this world of magic and mysticism, there existed different forms of energy, but they all followed one rule.
No. 005 Mystic Axiom: "Energy could never be extinguished."
It lived on in one form or another. The evidence of its previous incarnation would remain till the end of time.
That was the concept of energy residue, also known as energy signature. The evidence that a form of energy leaves behind after it has been "expended".
"What is it?" queried King Janyn.
"Aether…—"
"What? By the Gods, this is no time for jest, King Gavin," warned King Ives.
His jovial looks darkened as he donned a threatening look, "You know full well what that implies."
King Gavin sighed, "Believe me, I wouldn't joke with this. The energy signature in the residue matches that of Aether, the long-lost energy of the world."
"Let me stop you there, King Gavin. It is impossible for Aether to still exist. The source of it was destroyed in the last age. Our forefathers guaranteed that. Moreover, you know if the disaster involves Aether, then it is not far off to assume that 'they' are involved as well," cautioned Queen Lillian.
"I know that. I strongly want to believe that this is not the case, but the facts lie before us. We should know better than to ignore it."
A look of fear creased over King Janyn's face, "The picture is clearer now. King Randal discovered something. He messed with it, and an explosion powered by Aether occurred. Oh, by the Gods, this is grave."