Kaiser had to make a choice; the Key of Solomon was far more important, and he quickly fled the battlefield, leaving Olivia stranded in her quest to kill Adrian.
...
Without wasting a minute, Kaiser switched to Black Neon and prepared his gear. He took only the bare essentials and especially the artifact that Nox had entrusted to him a few days earlier.
A few days later, after an exhausting journey across increasingly arid desert expanses, he finally arrived in the region indicated by Eleanor.
The landscape that stretched before him was of a wild and rciless beauty.
Red canyons extended as far as the eye could see. The cracked ground ford geotric patterns beneath his feet, and the air burned his lungs with every breath, so dry and devoid of moisture it was. There was practically no tree.
"I wonder what the real extent of Tenebris is? We’ve been exploring it for years but there are still unknown places."
He quickly spotted the labyrinth Eleanor had told him about. It was an imnse natural structure carved directly into the rock. The walls rose hundreds of ters high, creating shadowed corridors where sunlight barely penetrated.
"Even if I use the repulsive aura under my feet, it would be impossible to pass over it." He murmured to himself.
The main entrance was a wide, dark opening. Kaiser took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness.
Inside, the corridors were sotis so narrow he had to turn his shoulders to pass. The uneven floor was littered with unstable stones. He advanced cautiously, ntally marking each intersection.
Very quickly, daylight almost completely disappeared, replaced by a grayish half-light that made shapes uncertain.
He walked for a long ti...
So long that he lost track of ti.
"I kind of screwed up on this one. I should have mobilized Black Neon... But I didn’t want to leave the HQ without protection. Plus keeping this area more and more secret is much better."
Hours and hours later...
At the turn of a corridor, he suddenly found himself face to face with a group of about ten people.
"This isn’t The Spectrum... Other people want to get their hands on it?"
Seeing their insignias, Kaiser imdiately recognized them.
"The Draken faction? One of the legendary families? What the hell are they doing here?"
At their head stood the twins Laura and Irion Draken, imdiately identifiable by their light blue hair and blue eyes.
Laura, a fifth-circle mage specialized in spatial arcane magic that allowed her to manipulate dinsions. And Irion, a formidable swordsman, A- rank Warrior. They were powerful for their age but especially extrely dangerous when fighting together, one covering the other, making them far more lethal and top 7 at the academy.
The other group mbers were competent mages, that was clear from their posture and equipnt, but the twins outclassed them by far in terms of power.
For a long second, the two groups observed each other in silence, each assessing the situation.
"Hmmm..." Laura said, tilting her head slightly, an amused smile on her lips. "So you’re the famous Kaiser?"
Kaiser didn’t answer right away, simply observing the group’s positioning carefully.
"By the way, you don’t have to answer," Irion cut in with a provocative smile while slowly drawing his sword, the blade producing a tallic sound that echoed for a long ti between the rock walls.
"Anyway, I’m not really interested in your answers. What I’m interested in is knowing what you’re doing here."
They had been tasked with finding Kaiser on their father’s orders, but there had still been a slight delay because of a woman who was supposed to be dead in Tenebris but had suddenly shown up causing trouble.
But against all odds, while they were searching for the Key of Solomon, they ran straight into this bastard.
Irion disappeared instantly, without giving Kaiser ti to anticipate his trajectory. He materialized directly behind him, a blue energy blade already forming in the palm of his hand. He struck without hesitation, aiming for his left arm.
’Fast!’
Kaiser sensed the displacent of air at the last second.
He spun on himself, his sword rising just in ti to intercept the attack.
The blast threw Kaiser backward and he slamd into the rock wall with a dull sound. Cracks spread through the stone around him.
Laura raised a hand. Imdiately, the space around Kaiser twisted.
He pushed off with his legs to leap out of the unstable zone, but Irion was already there, blocking his only escape. At the sa mont, a circular portal opened beneath Kaiser’s feet. He rolled to the side, feeling the void suck the air behind him. While rolling, he launched an air slash toward Laura. She didn’t even bother dodging: she teleported three ters to the left, letting the attack uselessly smash into the rock.
Kaiser got up quickly, but other students joined the fight.
"This fight is going to be pretty complicated..."
One of them thrust his hands forward and an invisible barrier rose behind Kaiser, cutting off any retreat. Another sent floating fire orbs that hovered for a mont before rushing at him, changing direction mid-flight, making them unpredictable.
Kaiser dodged the first two by diving, then rushed toward the student who had raised the barrier. He didn’t even cover three ters. Laura warped the space in front of him, catching him in a dinsional fold that slowed him down.
In that split second when his montum was broken, Irion reappeared behind him.
"Shit!"
The energy-wreathed fist sank into his side.
Kaiser heard his ribs crack under the impact, a sharp pain stealing his breath. He staggered, coughing. Laura opened a portal directly in front of his face. He jerked back, narrowly avoiding it, but a fire orb caught him in the shoulder. The explosion tore his jacket and blood imdiately flowed, staining the dark fabric.
’So they want the grimoire too? Are they allied with The Spectrum as well?’
He caught his breath as best he could, his gaze sweeping over his opponents. He had faced formidable fighters in the past, even co out victorious.
But the Drakens were no ordinary family; they were on the list of legendary families. The twins moved as a single entity. When Irion attacked, Laura covered all his blind spots. When Laura manipulated space, Irion was already anticipating Kaiser’s trajectory to position himself there. The permanent distortions around him prevented him from using his usual mobility; every movent required extra effort to compensate for the invisible traps.
’Using all my power wouldn’t do any good if they’re this elusive. I’d just tire myself out uselessly.’
Kaiser was seriously considering fleeing as well; he didn’t know if there weren’t unknown dangers, he couldn’t use Sundering Eclipse right from the start.
’Maybe I should run?’
"You’re really impressive, Kaiser. You live up to your reputation," Laura said, slowly approaching. She tilted her head slightly, a thin smile on her lips.
Kaiser was breathing hard with every inhale. Blood continued to slowly run down his arm. He had no choice left. His free hand plunged into his pocket and pulled out the artifact Nox had given him.
"What are you doing?" Laura asked, her smile vanishing. Her eyes narrowed, wary.
She didn’t know what the artifact was but assud it was for teleportation.
The twins imdiately sensed the change. Irion frowned, his gaze shifting from Kaiser to the growing light.
"What the hell is he doing? Fuck, Laura, what’s happening?" he asked.
Laura reached out, her fingers trying to grasp and twist space to intercept Kaiser before he could disappear.
"Fuck, Irion, stop him!" she shouted, panic breaking through her voice for the first ti.
But it was too late. A tear opened in space, but instead of disappearing... three silhouettes were ejected from the vortex at the sa ti. When the light finally faded.
The Draken twins and the faction mbers stared with expressions that quickly shifted between utter astonishnt and complete incomprehension.
"Magnificent! So that must an you found it?" Nox asked with an amused glint dancing in his eyes.
Julian drew his sword.
"Fucking Kaiser! You wanted to fuck my girl and then you dare teleport ? I’m gonna—"
"Wait guys... He’s not alone..." Jasper comnted.
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