The village of Sanders was gone, reduced to nothing, as if it was never even there in the first place.
The explosion of pure magical energy has engulfed the entire area. Not even a speck of life whatsoever had been spared from the Arcane wrath.
All except for the one who was responsible for it… and the girl that he was still clutching in his arms desperately out of love and anguish.
It was a miracle indeed as to how Zack and Bianca's body were not among the casualties. It was after all an extremely powerful explosion, consuming everything and leaving nothing in its wake.
The boy kept crying for the loss of his friend and love. Even when he witnessed the carnage that has happened that led to her demise, he still could not believe that she was gone in this world.
"Bianca..." Zack was at loss as he mourned for the death of his beloved. Tears fell endlessly and Bianca's death caused him extreme grief that took away his will to live.
Not even this newly acquired magic of his would motivate him. Without Bianca, everything was meaningless. They had a dream, with Bianca being a bonafide Witch of the Empire while Zack would serve as her loyal Knight. Then they would live together happily and formed a family of their own.
But alas, that dream was no longer a possibility, and if the boy could no longer fulfill his wholesome desire, then he may as well take his own life and join Bianca in the afterlife.
"Hmph, not on my watch, boy." The voice that helped him in his murder spree earlier spoke with a strict tone, "No one is dying here today, especially you."
"Shut up." Zack was clearly annoyed and does not have time to deal whatever voice he maybe hallucinating or not. "My friend is dead, leave me to mourn and rot away from this nightmare that I'm in."
"Nope." The voice was having none of it, "You boy are destined for greatness. Dying here in the middle of this now barren wasteland is a total waste for someone of your incredible gift."
"Why do you fucking care?" Zack angrily responded, "It is my life, and I get to do it as I please. Whether I forfeit it or not is none of your business."
"Hmm, perhaps." The voice was oddly in agreement, "But our lives are now link with one another. If you perish, then so do I. It is only logical that I would stop you from doing anything rash."
"And I still care why!?" The boy was almost at his boiling point, "The girl I love is dead!!!! What more do you fucking want from me!? Power!? Magic!? What use are those if the people who are precious to me is long gone!!!???"
The voice turned quiet and was seemed to be taken aback by how the boy defiantly answered him. Although the silence did not last long when it started laughing, much to Zack's bewilderment.
"What's so funny, you sick bastard!!???" Zack questioned with obvious rage. "Is my sorrow that much entertaining to you!!?"
"Hahaha, you pass, boy." The voice replied with glee.
"I pass? What do you mean?"
"You clearly care about the people you love and treasure." The voice clarified Zack'a confusion, "That's the quality that I look when you are to be my successor. Color me impress, boy. No successor of mine is going to be a power hungry fool who only craves for wealth and fame like those fools from the council and my ravenous third wife, hahaha!"
Zack was certainly at loss for words, dumbfounded by what the voice said.
"Cat got your tongue, huh." The voice spoke amusingly, "Alright now that's out of the way, it's time that I let'a say… retrieve your reason to live."
Before Zack could even asked what the voice meant, a ray of light shined brilliantly in front, blinding him momentarily. When the light dissipated as he opened his eyes, a figure of a handsome young looking man with violet hair took over. The man was clad in a sophisticated robes of the same color as his hair, with golden chains that served to join the robes.
If one looked at this dashing figure of a man, then they may thought of him as a member of the royal family or prominent nobility. It would not even be strange if the people thought of him as a king or prince of a kingdom since the man himself don a golden crown on his head, with a violet colored diamond attached on the middle.
"Salutations, boy." The man greeted cheerfully.
"Who… who are you!?" Zack was justifiably shocked.
"We can save the introductions for later, boy. After all, we… you have a pressing matter to attend to." The man's expression turned gravely serious as he laid his eyes on the girl's body, "So, Zack… do you wish to save her?"
"S-save her?" Zack stared in disbelief. Bianca was dead, her throat slit right before his very eyes. There's no way that she could be saved now whatsoever, "I… I wish I could. But I am weak and I was not strong enough to stop them before they could kill her."
"To admit one's weakness is a sign of strength in my book." The man smiled at the boy, "Nevertheless, the girl can be save. You after all, now possess the Brand that one has not seen for over 500 years."
"Brand?" Confusion made its way on Zack's troubled face. It did not last long though when he instantly saw said Brand that was located on his hand. "A man with a crown… A King?"
Indeed, Zack's Brand, violet in color, was the head of a man wearing a crown. It may be simple in design, but the power radiating on it was undeniably powerful, a feeling that Zack now constantly felt as if he was strong enough to crush a rock with his bare hands.
"The brand of the King… or King's Brand for short." The man explained as he looked at the Brand on the boy' hand, "The same Brand that the Warlock King has donned 500 years ago, my Brand that is."
Before Zack could take in the revelation that was revealed to him, the man immediately clapped his hands as a way to change the subject, "Anyways, you still got a girl to save, so chop-chop, let's get on with it!!"
"How? How can I save her!!?" Zack asked him in a heartbeat. Now that he's aware who this man most likely was, the boy's hope reignited like a raging fire, his will to save Bianca burning brighter than ever before.
"Heh, the look on your face… I like it, boy." The man grinned at him like he was a proud father, "It's simple, really. All you have to do is to brand her."
"Brand her?" Zack muttered in question as he stared said Brand on his hand.
"Yes. You, boy, are now a fully bonafide Witch… wait that's not right." The man stroked his chin like he was contemplating at what to call the boy, "A mage rather, but that term has not been used since forever. Alright, a Warlock then. Anyways, Branding her is pretty simple; focus your willpower, the desire to make her yours as you kiss her to the lips. If you truly love her, then the deed of reviving and turning her to a Witch should be of no trouble."
"Focus my willpower… my love for her." Zack uttered as he positioned Bianca properly for him to kiss.
When their lips touched, Zack felt a surge of incredible power as it passed down to Bianca.
It was a remarkable feeling, both the kiss and the power. When the deed was finally done, Zack saw the life on Bianca's skin returning to its creamy color, and her breathing now stable. But one prominent change that occurred to her was the Brand that now resided on the top of her left breast.
The Brand of a rose engulfed in flames and light.
Zack breath an intense sigh of relief and hugged the girl joyously, crying with tears of joy.
"Remember, your… our magic rather is empowered by the strong emotion of love." The man then chuckled, "Kind of cheesy though, is it not?"
"No." Zack smiled and wiped the joyful tears on his eyes, "If this power of love is what it takes to save my precious people, then I'll do it in a heartbeat. I love Bianca, and my only regret was that I only realize it when I lost her. Now that she's here with me once more, it's time that I make my feelings known to her clearly."
"Spoken like a true man of romance!!" The man gave him a thumbs up. "How I missed my seven wives. I wonder how my descendants are doing nowadays?"
Although that question was left unanswered when he saw Zack suddenly fainting on the spot. But the smile on the boy's face was clearly evident despite the exhaustion that took a great toll on him.
"Well, he did managed to pull off quite a powerful explosive spell and also Branded the girl." The man eyed the sleeping pair with a smile. "Anyone would be exhausted after performing two highly intense magical ritual. But I suppose there's nothing to worry about in this unconscious state of his."
The man's eyes then shifted to an unknown figure approaching the two unconscious children and summoning a portal to whisk them away from here.
"Heh, he should be in safe hands." The man said before disappearing away from the scene.