The barrier around the tear didn't stand a chance against the punch Josephine had thrown from the skies. The palace—no, the entire old capital—was obliterated in an instant. It was like watching a sugar cube dissolve in boiling water. Just poof, gone.
"Oops," I muttered, wiping imaginary dust from my knuckles, as if I hadn't just decimated half the landscape.
Then, in a blink, an enraged Almodey teleported to my side, face contorted with disbelief.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" the lich shrieked, his skeletal form trembling in frustration. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"
I glanced at him, utterly unfazed by his over-the-top outburst. "Because," I said, with all the nonchalance of someone explaining why they skipped breakfast, "you didn't put up more hints about the seal's location. So I just, y'know, destroyed everything."
Almodey looked like he was about to drop dead again. "You… what?! You thought vaporizing the entire capital was the solution?!" He was practically vibrating at this point, his undead jaw nearly hitting the cobblestones.
Before either of us could continue this enlightening conversation, something strange happened. Right in front of our very confused eyes, the old capital, which had been nothing more than rubble and devastation a second ago, began to reform. The stones, buildings, and even the palace itself started shifting back into place, like someone hit rewind on reality. The city was returning to its original, pristine form.
"Uh…" I raised an eyebrow, half expecting the lich to pull a magic trick out of his nonexistent hat. But he looked just as confused as me.
Then it happened. Four massive pillars of light shot up from all corners of the country, so bright they were visible even from the old capital. They merged in the sky like some kind of cosmic laser show, and the ground beneath us began to quake. As if that wasn't enough, the gigantic palace doors creaked open on their own.
[System Notification: Four figures detected approaching. Prepare for engagement.]
I glanced at Almodey, who was doing a really bad job of pretending to know what was going on.
Suddenly, three figures appeared in the air, hovering gracefully toward us. The first one, hooded, spoke with a voice that was both soft and authoritative.
"Still up to your old tricks, Almodey?"
Almodey's lifeless eyes widened in recognition. "Angelus… You haven't changed at all."
Sage Angelus. Extraordinary talent in healing and protective magic, a shining exemplar of knowledge gained through discipline, morality, and patience. You know, all the annoying qualities I couldn't stand.
Then another figure pulled back their hood and immediately knocked Almodey on the head—hard enough that even I winced.
"Seriously, how many times do we have to bail you out before you get it through that thick skull?" Sage Amarok, the controversial researcher into body transformation, gave a wicked grin, eyes glinting with a touch of madness. Paired with her unhealthy obsession with the animal world, she always gave off a slightly unhinged vibe.
"And for heaven's sake, stop shouldering everything on your own!" The third figure revealed himself, Sage Mechanus. He looked every bit the tinkerer, a strange mix of magical aptitude and mechanical genius. He scolded Almodey as if the lich had stolen his favorite invention and wrecked it. "You can't keep fixing things by breaking more stuff, you old fool."
I watched as Almodey tried to stammer out an excuse, but he was quickly drowned out by the voices of his fellow sages. They were not happy with him.
[System Notification: The Seal on the Tear has been lifted.]
The sages turned toward the palace, and the ground trembled even harder. Miasma, dark and heavy, began to swirl out of the tear's sealed space. The already-ruined capital started to shake violently, and from the depths of the city, creatures of pure darkness began to manifest—shadowy beings, writhing nightmares made flesh.
I crossed my arms and gave a little sigh. "Great. More of these things."
Angelus raised his staff, a glowing symbol of order and protection. "The miasma has regained its strength… it's as if it senses that we're free from its hold."
"You think?" I deadpanned, watching as the creatures grew more violent and numerous. The dark spawns were crawling out from every shadow, every crack in the street.
"We've got to stop it before it spreads outside the capital walls," Amarok said, looking toward the horizon where the miasma was already seeping out like smoke from a fire. "If it escapes, it could taint the entire continent."
No pressure, right?
I looked at the three sages, raising an eyebrow. "So, uh, do something already?"
Mechanus cracked his knuckles. "You heard her. Let's get to work."
The sages raised their staffs in unison, each channeling their magic as they prepared to confront the spreading miasma. Even Almodey, despite the scolding he just got, joined in with his staff, his face grim with determination.
And what was I doing? I stood there, arms crossed, watching them like some kind of disinterested supervisor. Honestly, I didn't even know why I was here. The sages were doing their thing, trying to stop the miasma from leaking further out, and I was just… hanging around.
I mean, sure, I could have helped, but what would be the fun in that? Besides, they looked like they had everything under control. Or at least, I hoped they did.
As the miasma fought back, manifesting more creatures and growing stronger, I just shook my head. "Yeah, no big deal. You've got this. I'll just… be over here, thinking about my life choices."