"Lykea? The enlightened realm?" Master Kincaid asked, his voice tinged in puzzlement and a tad bit of excitement.
"I thought it was only a myth? It actually exists?" asked Mistress Sersie.
The three students were left in the dark, so they faced the Chancellor for her answer.
"Oh, it's very real. At least... It was..." Althea nodded, her demeanour depreciating with each word. "Now it's only a waste land with nothing but debris and scattered Aether in the air."
Master Kincaid's mouth hung open as he found it hard to arrange his words.
"What happened?" Mistress Sersie asked in his place.
"The Dark Druids," Althea's tone was very serious as she explained. "As some of us know, the Lykeans are like Mages to some extent. Though Mana exists over there, they don't manipulate it like we do. It isn't as much or potent like the one in Ostaria. Instead, the natural energy of the universe overflows in their realm."
"Aether..." Hazel muttered in reasoning.
"Correct," Althea nodded and continued. "Normally, this should make them more powerful than Mages to some extent since their source of energy is undiluted. But they are pacifists. They only wish to become one with the Aether and attain a greater form of existence."
'So like monks or Buddhists?' Richard reasoned inwardly, weighing their similarities with those on Earth.
Chancellor Althea plucked the last leaf from her hair as she explained further, "Now I'm not sure how it happened, but the Dark Druids wiped them all out."
"What makes you so sure it was them? Master Hendrik might have used that to distract you from following him," Master Kincaid said, rubbing his chin.
"One of them was there. Scylla, the Light Mage," Althea responded curtly.
'That's the Mage that surpassed my father,' Richard noted inwardly.
"I tried to talk to her, but maybe she had become deaf and mute, because she kept spamming different attacks at me. I wasn't too worried at first, until I resonated with her flurry. As odd as this might sound, her light was fuelled by darkness, but not just any darkness..."
"Ulak's darkness," James completed in enlightenment. "That must be another reason for summoning us."
"Yes. How perceptive of you, James," Althea flashed a terse smile.
Mistress Sersie hummed in thought before speaking up, "If they're being fuelled by Ulak's power or essence, that must mean the Black Meelos aren't just spawning at random. The abduction of the Princess too. There must be a connection as to why those two events took place simultaneously. This is bad."
Althea nodded, her Elven ears twitching, "I took a passive approach and tried to restrain her, but look where that got me. Heh," she pointed at her dishevelled hair and mud-stained face. "Then I got angry and she fled."
'To go up against one of the Dark Druids and come back unscathed. The Druid even ran away. Just who exactly is this elf?' Richard pondered internally.
The Chancellor was a very carefree person with a frail body. Anyone could easily ignore her presence, or mistake her for a nobody.
"So this is what we know..." Master Kincaid sighed and finally stepped away from the wall, "It is confirmed that Master Hendrik is a Dark Druid. And they are channelling a sealed Deity's power. They also need Elora for an unknown ritual. It is also possible that the Black Meelos will emerge more frequently from now on. But, all in all, we don't know what their goal is or why they've decided to return at this time."
"I feel it has something to do with the prophecy of the Great Evil from Beyond," Althea said with her eyes fixated on Richard. The latter got uncomfortable and looked elsewhere.
She sighed and interlocked her hand as she said, "The long-told prophecy is closer to fruition than we thought."
"He shall be preceded by the seven forerunners of the void, paving way for his unruly emergence," Mistress Sersie muttered a small part of the prophecy, word for word.
"That... That actually explains a lot," Master Kincaid nodded.
'God, why can't I just have a moment of rest? I just got out of high school and its problems. And now, this? I could literally have been transmigrated to before this time of impending doom or whatever. Or maybe even after? But it just had to be now,' Richard complained to his inner self, rolling his eyes in exasperation. But then a sudden realisation dawned on him and he smiled tersely, 'Well, shit. This is happening because of me, isn't it? My transmigration definitely has something to do with the whole emergence thing. Sigh... I'm tired.'
"Sersie, do make sure that the King hears this. And Kincaid, don't let the three of them wander too far," Althea instructed, making eye contact with the individuals she mentioned.
"Aye," the Master and Mistress chorused.
Althea let out a long sigh, "That should be all for now. I'm famished. I still have to convey this to the White Order... Ugh... So much stress," she rubbed her cheeks, returning to her nonchalant demeanour.
'There's nothing that anyone can tell me. She's just a child,' Richard concluded inwardly.
"You're dismissed," she flicked her wrists at them.
They all bowed and moved towards the exit. As the last person behind, Richard was about to step out when Althea called him back.
"Wait here, Greylock."
Richard had a brow raised and he looked at his friends outside.
"You did call her a lost child," James shrugged.
"Pray to Ahraha that you don't get expelled," Hazel teased further with a smile.
"Ha ha, very funny," Richard scoffed in sarcasm.
His friends simply shrugged and left.
Richard took in a deep breath as he closed the door. He turned with a heavy exhale, lifting his gaze from the floor.
He met eye to eye with the Chancellor, who spun on her chair as she said, "Have a seat. We have a lot to discuss."