Muam is a small but vibrant town nestled in the heart of the kingdom of Qual, known for its many educational institutions, the most prominent of which is Muam University. The university, with its towering spires and vast libraries, stands as the kingdom's beacon of knowledge and wisdom. It houses a renowned medical research center, which has earned a reputation far beyond the kingdom's borders. Here, scholars and physicians alike delve into the mysteries of life, health, and disease. It is at the heart of this institution that a dark and troubling discovery was about to unfold, a discovery that would send ripples through the entire kingdom.
In Muam's research chamber, the gold-infected body was immersed in cold streams. A man, wearing white robes and a mask, went into the steam room. He plucked a few gold pieces from the man's body and collected them in a small tray.
The research chamber was quiet, save for the soft hum of equipment and the gentle hiss of steam that filled the air. A man in white robes and a mask entered the room with the deliberate pace of someone well-accustomed to his work. He moved with purpose, his gloved hands carefully manipulating the body. He plucked several gold pieces from the corpse, gently placing them into a small tray. As he studied the fragments, his brow furrowed in concentration. This was no ordinary gold; there was something wrong with it—something that made his pulse quicken with both curiosity and dread.
After taking his initial samples, the man moved to the adjacent research room. It was a smaller, dimly lit space, filled with microscopes, test tubes, and vials of various substances. The man placed the gold pieces under a magnifying glass and dipped a few scraps into a specially prepared liquid. He watched intently as the pieces reacted in ways that defied expectation, their color changing slightly, their texture shifting in subtle but alarming ways.
He then turned his attention to the blood. A fresh sample had been drawn from the infected body and stored in a test tube. The man placed it under a series of magnifying glasses, the lenses clicking into place one after another, each increasing the magnification. As the blood came into focus, he saw something that made his heart race: tiny, moving specks, resembling insects. They wriggled and skittered in the blood, but they were not insects. Their form was wrong—unnatural.
He quickly scribbled down his observations in a small notebook, his handwriting hurried and shaky. These creatures—or whatever they were—did not belong to Qual, nor did they resemble any known pathogens. The man's mind raced as he considered the implications of his discovery. Could these foreign entities be the source of the Gold Death? And if so, where had they come from? Who had brought them to Qual?
His thoughts turned to the most logical course of action. The Queen must be informed. This was a matter far beyond the reach of any single researcher or even the university. The potential for catastrophe was too great. But before he left, he made one last observation. As he peered closer at the blood, something caught his eye—an odd, faint glow emanating from the contaminated cells. It was as if the blood itself was alive with a strange energy, something beyond the realm of natural science.
With urgency in his movements, the man left the research room, clutching the blood sample in one hand and the small tray of gold pieces in the other. He made his way swiftly to the office of the Master of the University, an elderly scholar who had dedicated his life to the pursuit of knowledge. The Master, an imposing figure with silver hair and piercing blue eyes, listened attentively as the researcher explained his findings.
"Sir," the researcher said, breathless, "I have discovered something alarming. The Gold Death is not a natural phenomenon. It is a curse, a man-made affliction. The blood of the infected holds contaminates that do not belong to Qual. They are foreign, brought here from beyond our borders, and they are spreading. We must act quickly. I believe we must inform the Queen immediately."
The Master of the University nodded slowly, his expression grave. "I see," he murmured. "If what you say is true, then we are dealing with something far more dangerous than we imagined. I will prepare a letter to Queen Eva. We must send word to the capital at once."
In the steam room, where the dead bodies were preserved, the gold-infected body shakes and sits up.
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Lilly slowly opened her eyes and looked around, feeling disoriented. The room was dim, and everything felt a bit fuzzy. When her vision cleared, she saw Julian, still asleep on the floor beside her. His peaceful expression made her feel a little calmer, but something still felt off.
She gently nudged him. "Julian... Julian, wake up."
Julian stirred, rubbing his eyes. He blinked a few times, confused. When he saw her, his eyes widened in panic. "Stay away! What happened to you?" His voice was full of fear.
Lilly's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean? What happened to me?" She tried to sit up, but her head throbbed with pain. "First, where's... where's Liam?"
Julian looked at the ground, his face going pale. "You... you killed him," he said, his voice shaking.
Lilly felt her breath catch in her throat. "What? What are you talking about?" She looked at him, her mind racing. "I didn't—"
"Julian I don't understand you," Lilly said,
Julian pointed his hand towards Liam's dead body near the exit. Lilly was speechless, "But how?" Lilly spoke,
Lilly was frozen. She turned toward the exit and saw Liam's body lying there. Her chest tightened. Liam... dead. It didn't make sense. "No... no, I didn't," she whispered, feeling a lump in her throat. "I... I don't remember anything."
Julian looked at her, his voice barely above a whisper. "You... you flew up. You weren't even touching him, but you were... in the air, and then..." He trailed off, unable to explain. "I don't understand."
Lilly stared at him, her mind spinning. Flying? How could I fly? She rubbed her head, trying to focus, but everything felt so strange.
"Lilly you have something on your neck, it looks like a mark, a snake mark,"
"What? I have a mark?" Lilly said and touched her neck and realized that the spot was burned.
"So you don't remember anything?" Julian asked, Lilly knotted no.
"What do we do now?" Julian asked,
"Go to Dad," Lilly replied,
"But do you know the way?" Julian asked, Lilly, knotted no,
She looked back at Liam's body, and a sudden pain shot through her head. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the memory of what had happened. She turned to Julian quickly. "We can't stay here. I can't stay here. Let's just go."
After a short time, they went out of the house, they were a little tired and stressed. They were on their way to find their father who was in Gablon City and to end the Maldas.
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Emma and her father finally reached Swip City. Glimstone was really close to the city as the city was located at the foot of the Misty Mountain and the school was uphill.
Steven stopped the horse near a hotel, he was carrying a few gold coins, they went inside the hotel and took an empty room. It was a small room with a bed at the center and a reading table near the window. Emma spotted the bathroom and went in to take a shower to wash off the dirt from her body, she had a hot bath and dressed in comfy clothes. She saw her father sitting on the reading table with his head down, Emma went closer to him and asked "Papa are you okay?"
"Yes Emma," he replied, but he was not okay, "Emma, are you feeling anything different?" Steven asked Emma. "No papa," Emma replied, she was feeling strange from the day they began their journey but she hid her feelings because she didn't want her father to worry about her. Steven took a long breath "Okay, so are you ready for tomorrow?" Steven asked, "No, papa I need some clothes, I am running short on them," Emma replied,
"Alright we will go shopping after I freshen up," Steven said and went into the bathroom to take a bath.
They went out of the hotel, there were multiple shops and small stalls in the market with different clothes, Swip City was well known for its fashion and garments, they imported the fabric from Qual and Semihall to make beautiful dresses and other outfits.
As they were going through the market Emma's eyes locked onto a beautiful red dress, it was made from silk and was long, she asked her father to buy her that red dress for her first day in school, Steven smiled and bought that dress for 10 gold coins, Emma's face was glowing and happy but Steven was worried about Emma, he wants to protect her all cost but if he leaves who will protect her? Steven's head was bothering him so he asked Emma "Will you be okay Emma?"
"Yes papa," Emma replied,
"Don't forget to write a letter every week and tell me if you need anything," Steven said,
"Papa don't worry too much I will be alright," Emma replied,
"Papa, when will you return to Gablon?" Emma asked,
"Tomorrow after leaving you in the school,"
Emma bought some more clothes and other things and they went to the hotel to take a rest.
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Gabriel and Gorge were seeing the surroundings, the air was fresh and they were enjoying every moment, suddenly Gabriel's head started to hurt, he backed from the railing and collapsed.
He was in a dark and misty place, he was completely alone, he was going around to find anyone, "Gorge…" he shouted, there was no reply, as he was going he saw a few gold pieces on the ground, those were the same he found near the bakery. There was a series of gold pieces on the ground that were directing a path, Gabriel followed the path, the whole area was dark and misty, and his visibility was low, he went as the gold directed him. As he was going he saw a few statues made out of gold, those were not sculptures but were actual people, Gabriel was shocked when he realized those were humans, he went closer to one of the statues, it was Goram's statue from Colo village, Gabriel didn't know him so he left. Gabriel was feeling strange in that area, he saw a large number of gold particles flowing, he followed them, and those gold particles were flowing towards a throne. It was the same thrown from Qual, he ran towards it, queen Eva was sitting on the Throne, Gabriel's eyes widened when he saw the queen. Eva stood up and started walking ignoring Gabriel, he went to her but she couldn't hear and see him, Gabriel tried too hard for the queen to see him but nothing worked. As Eva was going the gold particles surrounded the queen, she stood still, and Gabriel tried to drag her.
"Gabriel, Gabriel," Gorge,
Gabriel opened his eyes, he was breathing heavily and his body was warm, "Gabriel are you okay?" Gorge asked,
Gabriel was breathing heavily "The Queen is in danger," Gabriel said,
"What, what Queen?" Gorge,
"Queen of Qual, she is in danger, I need to go," Gabriel said in a hurry,
"Go where? And how do you know?" Gabriel asked,
"I had a vision, I need to help Eva," Gabriel said,
"A vision, I didn't get you," Gorge said,
"It's nothing," Gabriel replied,
As Gorge and Gabriel were speaking the bells rang indicating danger. Gabriel and Gorge stood up and saw a huge tide making its way towards the town. Everyone was panicking and were scared remembering the past. Gorge looked towards Gabriel and asked, "What do we do?"
Gabriel looked around to see any safe spots for them to stay, "Let us get onto those towers," Gabriel said and pointed towards the towers extending from the corners of the building.
"Everyone run onto those towers," Gorge shouted, there were many people on the deck of the temple and many were coming up to survive, There was chaos in the town, and Gorge and Gabriel were shouting to save as many people as possible.
Gorge saw the rising tides destroying everything in its way, his shop was gone and his house was completely submerged in water, "Gabriel we have to go up now," Gorge shouted, Gabriel knotted as heard from Gorge.
They went towards one of the towers, there were stairs which led up, they climbed up and a cold wind was blowing, they were on the front right tower. People were crying, and screams were everywhere, They could see the Statue of Gomez falling down due to the speed of the current, it was a huge disaster, and there was no one like Gomez to save them this time. The tide finally made it to the temple, it smashed everything, people's hopes were lost and they were praying to the God of Wisdom. The wave hit the temple, the water went through every floor, Gabriel and Gorge saw many deaths of the people who didn't make up, it was the worst dream for the people of Blue Town.
People on the top were relieved when the wave didn't damage the building but then they saw another wave, it was even bigger than before, and people's eyes were filled with terror. The second wave hit the temple, the building shook, and a part of the building started to crack, now the people were even terrified, people were screaming and crying. One of the towers collapsed, and the people on that tower fell into the water.
The tower which Gabriel and Gorge were on started to crack, and the crack was getting bigger and bigger, Gorge and Gabriel were divided, they were both on different sides, and suddenly the tower collapsed, Gorge ran towards Gabriel and dragged his hand, Gabriel was hanging in the mid-air holding Gorge's hand, Gorge looked into Gabriel's eyes and dragged him up.