.
Vitav quickly descended into the secret passageway, heading down into the depths of the palace.
No guards watched over this place, as even its corridors were riddled with extremely powerful enchantments, but Vitav tore through the enchantments, directing his most powerful spells at them.
He was whizzing by the time he reached a pair of sealed doors, but with another directed spell, the seal broke and the doors swung open, unleashing a wave of magic from within.
The magical air washed over him, replenishing his strength, and he drew in a breath, relishing the power as he stepped into the chamber.
The chamber was bigger than an entire wing of the Palace above it.
The ceiling was much higher than he expected, leaving him to ponder on how far underground this was. The solid gold pillars disappeared into an elaborate ceiling, and the walls were embedded with precious treasure.
Burning torches hung on the pillars, giving off crisp blue flames to light the massive space, and numerous chests and heaps of precious gems and relics winked at him from all around.
But his eyes were locked on the luminescent blue sceptre within a small orb, hovering right in the centre of the Chamber, on a raised center platform with steps carved from pure crystals leading up to it.
He climbed the steps, feeling the orb's protective enchantments with each step. But he was determined to get the Sceptre of Alaus floating within the orb.
After the failure at Aedian, he had wondered what steps to take to defeat his father and brother.
But then he had learned of the Sceptre, and knew he had to have it!
With it, he could rule Luxia.
With it, he could rule the world!
Vitav centered his strength and shot a spell at the orb, bit it was as if a gentle breeze hit it, as there was no effect at all.
Vitav strengthened the spells, and the chamber shook violently, as he shot spell after spell at the staff's protective orb, but to no avail.
He growled in anger, then looked around, feeling the auras of the relics in the chamber.
He had been weakened by the seals on the way here, but the mere aura of these items had replenished his strength. And that meant...
'I can absorb them and grow even stronger!'
He sat quickly, casting a few spells, which made a magic circle appear around him. The he shut his eyes and began to chant a series of spells.
Soon, he could feel the power of the relics around him, and he drew it all into himself till he felt he might burst with power.
'Now!' He floated to his feet, and with the slightest contact, the floor dented, the cracks fanning out across the platform.
He sent a spell at the orb, and it shattered, causing the entire chamber to shake violently with the sceptre's unleashed strength.
Vitav held out a hand, and the luminescent blue Sceptre zoomed into his open palm, sending torrents of impossible power surging through him.
"Yes!" He laughed maniacally. "This is true power! I shall rule everything!!"
He floated upwards, his entire body glowing with sheer blinding light, and he smiled in triumph...
But then the illusion shattered.
The Sceptre disintegrated in Vitav's hands, dissolving into ashes, as his eyes widened in realization.
"A trap..." he hissed, as the surge of power was snuffed out like a candle's flame.
The light vanished in a blink and he crashed to the broken platform, the weight of the same power bearing down on him.
"No!" He struggled to his knees, desperately glancing around the chamber. "Where is it?! Where is the sceptre?!!"
A strange current rippled through him then, and his stomach twisted, sending him down on all fours.
He hacked violently, and a torrent of blood burst from his lips, splattering across the floor, and slipping into the horrid cracks.
His body was wracked with pain, and he could feel his magic power dwindling away.
"What- What happened...?!" He cried out amidst gasps.
"Your greed happened." Taze's voice replied, and Vitav turned to see him strolling up the steps, stopping just outside the circle of destruction on the platform.
Vitav glared at him, and was surprised to find, not just Taze, but King Vien, Grand Mage Pariel, and a new arrival, Arch Grand Mage Soren!
With a somewhat resigned smirk, Vitav wiped the blood from his mouth, pushing himself to his feet.
"Well done..." Vitav forced himself to his feet, swaying on the spot. "You set such an elaborate trap for me." He commended, with weak applause.
"We set the trap, but you didn't have to fall in it." Taze countered, his expression resolute. But his eyes betrayed lingering pity for his brother.
Despite the numerous years and lives of hatred and evil, a small part of him was still that little boy who had played with his elder brother, without a care in the world.
"What happened to you?" Taze gravely asked. "You could have had everything. With a little more compassion and a little less greed, we could have had many happy years... I was your brother! Yet you condemned me to a life of misery and death!"
Vitav scoffed. "Hmph! If you really see me as your brother, then hand over the Sceptre of Alaus!"
"You're still - ?!" Taze shook his head with a sigh. 'Hopeless...'
There were no words that would get through to Vitav.
Vitav was long gone... Gone in the original life, once he froze the entire world for his greed.
All that was left were the rules he wrote for himself at that time... All that was left was his determination to rule over all.
"There was never a Sceptre of Alaus." Taze quietly explained. "After the attack on Aedian, we knew you would never stop, and we couldn't underestimate you for much longer.
"So we calculated a few moves ahead..."
Before he even left for Aedian, Taze had asked Arch Grand Mage Soren to make a big show of arresting the fairy impostors within the magic council, while deliberately ignoring two elves Taze had already identified as Vitav's spies.
Meanwhile, he also sent messages to King Vien and Arch Grand Mage Soren from Aedian, and between the three of them, they had created a 'fierce weapon of immense power', which would most certainly lure Vitav out of hiding.
With the sceptre's power, Vitav wouldn't need to scheme his way to power... He could simply seize the throne!
So they were certain Vitav wouldn't be able to resist, and they set the plan in motion.
The Sceptre was made to resemble the Sceptre of Alaus, to give it some authenticity, and then all they had to do was parade it before the Council, knowing Vitav's two spies would inform him.
Even the banquet had been planned...
The Mage who had kept pestering the King for a glorious banquet, was one of the two spies, and it was clear that Vitav would most likely use the distraction as an opportunity to steal the sceptre...
"...or so we thought." Taze was saying. "We thought you would attempt to sneak in and come straight here. Who knew you would go as far as poisoning so many people and openly challenging your own father!"
All the while, Vitav's expression had transformed into an ugly, contorted scowl. "It's not possible... It must exist...! I felt the rage of the sceptre's power!"
"What you felt was Father burning his magic to stop an ungrateful son!" Taze retorted, noting that his father now looked paler than ever.
To create the illusion of such blinding power, they had all sacrificed a bit of their magic, but it was worst for King Vien and Arch Grand Mage Soren, who were the only ones on 'Arch Grand Mage' level.
Taze had insisted on giving the most magic, but King Vien blatantly refused... "Not so fast! This is still my Kingdom." He had said. "And though it wasn't by my design, he is my son.
"Your duty is to handle the rest after he has fallen into the trap."
Arch Grand Mage Soren was more than determined to catch Vitav, so he had insisted on doing as much. He handled the enchantments surrounding the orb, while pouring a significant bit of his magic into the sceptre as well.
But it was too powerful to maintain for long periods, so they had created it just for the Council meeting, and then once again, right King Vien's toast at the banquet.
"As for how you lost your magic power, it was your careless mistake. All the protective seals and enchantments were deliberately set to drain you, forcing you to absorb from the relics here.
"But in your impatience, you forgot something..." Taze held out a hand, and several relics appeared, hovering above his palm.
The aura around them was so dark, that even Taze flinched. "Light and Dark Magic can't be blindly mixed.
"I planted a seed within the sceptre which would cause a bigger rift between the Light and Dark magic within you, so once you draw on the sceptre's power, both sides would attempt to absorb it and you'd be torn apart by its sheer power.
"You did this to yourself."
.