A new meeting was called, bringing together every mage general, knight leader, and grandmaster into the same room. The council chamber, where the council announced every significant occurrence, including the discovery of the new magic stem, was abuzz with anxious anticipation. An unspoken question lingered in the air—what was happening now?
The room hummed with curious, concerned faces. Among them were Olvin and me, both keen to understand the magnitude of the situation.
Whispers spread like wildfire among the attendees. "What's going on?" I murmured to a superior knight seated next to Olvin. Before he could respond, the Grandmaster rose from his chair, his hands striking the table with a force that resonated through the room, demanding everyone's attention.
"A grave threat is approaching Kresa, and it's approaching rapidly," the Grandmaster declared, his voice etched with urgency and concern. A chilling silence descended on the chamber, leaving us all with bated breath.
The Grandmaster struggled to his feet, but his fragile form betrayed his once-mighty prowess. Olvin rushed to his side, joined by the superior knights, and his frailty was a poignant reminder of the gravity of the impending danger.
After the meeting, I retraced my steps to the negative hundred, compelled by a need to check on the enigmatic new magic stem. As I approached the stairs leading to the elevator shaft, a deafening noise shook the castle. Startled, I gazed upwards as the chandeliers swayed violently. A section of the ceiling crumbled and tumbled dangerously close. Instinctively, I leaped aside to evade the danger.
The Bells of God, a portentous prelude to catastrophe, rang through the castle's halls. As chaos erupted, a part of the council chamber's roof gave way, burying mages beneath the rubble. An undeterred Grand Knight tried to aid those trapped, but the order was unequivocal: assist others only when your own safety is secure.
Amid the mayhem, I caught sight of Olvin, making a hasty exit clutching a mysterious box. My curiosity brimmed with questions, but self-preservation consumed my thoughts, and I continued my escape.
I emerged onto the castle grounds, but the city had erupted into chaos. The inferno consumed Kresa, and smoke blanketed the city, reducing visibility to a mere arm's length. Four ominous entities sped through the crimson haze, on a direct course for the city center. In response, I summoned astral figures—ethereal protectors who would stand as a shield against these unknown foes. All Grand Knight factions opened their ranks, dispatching trainees and novice knights to aid the city.
I recalled Kon's words, uttered in a moment of dread: "This may be the end of our world, Alan…"
In response, I murmured, "I refuse to believe that."
With the city engulfed in flames and our students racing to the aid of their fellow citizens, these entities moved with an unrelenting swiftness. I delved into the astral zone, seeking traces of astral auras, but there was nothing. The realization dawned: these invaders were unlike any other astral users.
"Kon," I reported, "they are not astral users. I suspect they are here for the new stem."
"It's a plausible theory," Kon replied, his voice heavy with resignation.
Suddenly, an explosive force shook the city, briefly silencing the chaos as everyone paused to decipher the source. Determinedly, I levitated toward the origin of the blast and found myself peering into a colossal crater. Four beings stood at the epicenter, their silhouettes enshrouded in pitch-black darkness against the devastation they had wrought.
"Kon," I communicated, "they've razed the heart of our city, leaving hundreds injured. Tell the superior knights to evacuate the center; it's too perilous."
"Understood," Kon confirmed.
"I'll attempt to dissuade them from inflicting further damage."
With resolute resolve, I sped toward the city center. These beings spotted me and instantaneously disappeared. I scrutinized the surroundings, desperately seeking any traces of their presence. To my astonishment, one of them materialized directly in front of me. I summoned an astral cage to ensnare the intruder, but it shattered my magical restraints effortlessly. Just as I prepared to launch another attack, I was struck in the back by a formidable burst of energy. The force hurled me across Kresa, crashing into a building.
In agony, I lay helplessly, unable to perform the spells needed for my recovery. A nearby medic soon arrived, tending to my injuries. The assailants had retreated, leaving the city shattered and my self-assuredness in tatters.
As I convalesced in the days that followed, my thoughts grappled with my place in a world that had been irrevocably altered. My magical abilities felt inadequate, incapable of meeting the looming threat. With Olvin absent from my sight, my worries turned to the safety of our people.
Kresa had endured weeks of turbulence, making headlines worldwide. Fear and anger had seized our people, resulting in a painful toll of over 340 lives lost and 760 injured. The city was wounded, and animosity still lingered in the air. It was evident we had entered a new era, one defined by uncertainty and peril.
I conversed with Kon, voicing my concerns and unease about what the future held. His revelation struck me like a dagger to the heart.
"I am resigning as a mage supervisor, Alan," he declared, his eyes filled with the weight of the world and hidden behind a thick gray beard.
The words left me reeling. "Why, when there is so much more we could—"
Kon silenced me with a melancholy truth. "There are forces beyond our understanding, and the end is imminent. I choose to spend my remaining days living rather than preparing for our impending doom."
My heart ached, and I refused to accept his finality. "But it doesn't have to end this way."
Kon's response was somber: "It's already over."
Left alone with my thoughts, I grappled with the looming uncertainties and the ominous future ahead. The world had been irrevocably reshaped, and its evolution was far from complete.
I woke up one morning back in the city of Kresa, my hometown. As I rose from my bed, the incessant knocking on my door grew louder and more insistent. It had been going on for a while, so I finally decided to investigate. I opened the door, and my heart sank at the sight of Kon, my old friend and mentor. He stood before me, his body battered and covered in multiple cuts, blood seeping from his wounds. It was clear that he was on the verge of death.
"Wake up, Kon," I implored, my voice quivering. "What happened?" But Kon remained unresponsive, and his eyelids drooped, eventually causing him to collapse to the floor. I had to act quickly. I pulled him inside my house, which was filled with books on magic and testing equipment.
I placed an astral shield around the entire house, making it impenetrable to outsiders. Kon lay on the floor, his life force ebbing away as blood stained my carpet. I couldn't bear to let him die, but the city was in grave danger, and I knew I had to leave my house to address the impending catastrophe. With one last look at Kon, I left, little realizing that it would be the last time I saw him, a heartbreaking sight that would haunt me.
As I ventured outside, chaos reigned. Smoke, fumes, and noxious gases filled the air, choking me as I struggled to breathe. I activated a purifier to filter the air within a 3-kilometer radius, ensuring those nearby had cleaner air to breathe. Around me, buildings crumbled as explosions ripped through the city. I wasn't fully recovered from my earlier ordeal, but I couldn't delay any longer. People frantically evacuated, running to their cars in a desperate attempt to flee the city.
I soared to the rooftop of an apartment building that still stood, offering a vantage point over the unfolding disaster. In the distance, a brilliant golden light pierced the gloom. Bewildered, I tried to discern its source, only to realize it was an energy beam headed directly toward me. Panic gripped me as I focused on neutralizing it, and just in time, I conjured my absorber to consume the impending blast. The alternative would have been catastrophic, leading to untold destruction and loss of life.
However, my relief was short-lived. Another energy beam emerged, its trajectory erratic and unpredictable. It appeared to change course at the last moment, wreaking havoc on the city's terrified residents. Determined to halt these destructive forces, I blinked toward the source of these beams to find a way to deter or eliminate the threat. I flew to areas enshrouded in thick smoke to mask my movements, steadily closing in on the epicenter of the disaster.
To my dismay, I discovered that the perpetrators behind these attacks were the same malevolent entities who had assaulted us weeks earlier. Their dark and imposing figures exuded an aura of pure malevolence. In a desperate bid to distract and engage them, I created an astral decoy to lure them away from the city. One of the entities took the bait and pounced toward my location.
They materialized before me, their appearance an unsettling, shifting shadow. I attempted to contain one of them within my astral cage, but it shattered the spell almost instantly. Just as I prepared to cast another spell, time came to a standstill. I was frozen, rendered immobile and helpless.
The enigmatic figures turned their attention to me. Their amorphous forms cast an unrelenting gaze upon me, as though they could read my very thoughts. We engaged in a tense standoff, with neither side making a move. Then, one of the figures spoke, its words a chilling whisper in the silence.
"Are you scared of death?"
I remained silent, refusing to engage with the entity's cryptic query. But it persisted, urging me to look down. I resisted at first, but the figure's influence grew stronger, burrowing into my mind and assaulting me with horrific visions. The unbearable screeches and haunting images gnawed at my sanity, pushing me to the brink. My body remained paralyzed, and I felt as if I were imprisoned within a living nightmare, tormented by the darkest recesses of my consciousness.
As suddenly as it had begun, the figure released its hold on me. I fell to the ground, gasping for breath and overwhelmed by the psychological assault. The figure vanished into thin air, leaving me bewildered and shaken. I took a moment to compose myself, but the distant cries of terror served as a stark reminder of the perilous situation unfolding around me.
As I rounded a street corner, searching for any sign of the malevolent entities, I found that they had inexplicably disappeared. The city was in ruins, yet they were nowhere to be seen. What had transpired?
A voice suddenly called out, and I turned to see the Superior Knights along with the Mage students. Forty-four students stood ready for my orders, waiting for guidance. I inquired about the whereabouts of the mysterious entities.
"Where have they gone?" I asked, my voice filled with urgency.
One of the Superior Knights stepped forward to answer. "They're advancing on the Outskirts of Kresa, heading toward the Hastick Bay."
"Can we intercept them?" I questioned, aware of the odds stacked against us.
The knight replied, "We're uncertain, sir. A small group is stationed at Hastick Bay, preparing boats to evacuate to Graerrapia. However, the island is overrun with rodents and civilians. They are struggling to hold their own."
I contemplated our limited options. "Our only chance is to divert them back to us."
One of the knights expressed doubts. "And then what, Mage Sentinel?"
I hesitated, knowing that what I was about to suggest carried immense risk and little guarantee of success. "We'll have to activate the black box."