Kai flew through the air toward Veralt with many thoughts in his mind.
He had managed to obtain three elental cores, now safely stored in his bag, but the preparations for the ritual were far from complete. As he flew, he went through every detail again in his head, making sure he had not overlooked anything.
After killing the fire elental, Kai had returned to the Valkyrie Tower and spent hours carefully sketching the entire ritual onto parchnt. He wrote every step in detail, from how the array would be ford to how the mana would be directed, and even what actions they would take once they stepped into the space between realms.
The core themselves were only one part of it.
Along with the elental cores, the ritual required pure essence and a Shadow Mage to stabilize the transition. There were also smaller requirents—special chalk for the array and beast blood to anchor the ritual’s structure. Kai had no doubt the Watchers would have already secured them.
The real concern was the Shadow Mage and the people he would be bringing with him to the Earth plane.
Elder Caelith had already agreed to co. Killian would be there as well, and Claire had asked to join them too. But even with those three, Kai felt the group was still too small.
If resources were not a limitation, he would have assembled a much larger force—Enforcers and Mages alike.
But every additional person inside the ritual ant more calculations, more energy, and greater strain on the entire process. It also ant more people he would have to watch over once they crossed realms.
Kai preferred to keep the group small. That was why Elias was important and hopefully he would agree to join them.
Otherwise, Kai would be entering the Earth plane with far less firepower than he would like. Killian was capable of handling many situations, but even if the man did not fully realize it yet, he was more suited to command than raw combat.
And in elental realms, Enforcers rarely perford well on their own.
Most spirits were beings that could easily manipulate their surroundings. Fighting them ant dealing with shifting terrain, sudden eruptions of power, and attacks that could co from any direction. Getting close to them was difficult, and that naturally put Enforcers at a disadvantage in direct combat.
Still, Kai hoped Killian’s lightning speed would compensate for so of that weakness.
The other concern was the Shadow Mage.
As Kai flew closer and closer to Veralt, he knew he would soon have his answer. A part of him hoped Francis had sohow found a solution. Another, more realistic part of him doubted it. Even Kai knew there was a severe lack of Shadow Mages in Lancephil.
The best possible outco would be Francis finding one in another kingdom—soone they could borrow for the ritual.
That ca with its own risks and diplomatic complications, but Kai had little choice if it ca to that.
Fortunately, he did not have to dwell on the thought for long. Veralt soon appeared in the distance.
Kai slowed slightly and smiled. For a mont, he simply hovered above the city, looking down.
Compared to the day he had first taken control of it, the city had changed drastically. From the sky, he could see new buildings rising across multiple districts. Construction sites filled entire streets, while older roads were being rebuilt with fresh stone and brick.
Carriages moved constantly through the streets. People walked everywhere. The city felt alive.
But Kai knew this was only the beginning.
Within a year, the goal was to turn Veralt into the greatest capital in the world, and one that would be nearly impossible to conquer.
His eyes drifted toward the outer walls.
Even from above, he could see sections being rebuilt with mage arrays in mind. Defensive structures were being integrated directly into the stonework, while hidden traps were being placed along the approaches.
Satisfied, Kai finally descended.
He moved toward the castle and entered it the sa way he always did; through the balcony windows and walked toward Francis’s office.
When he reached the room and pushed the door open, he imdiately noticed sothing strange.
Francis was alone.
The apprentices who were usually busy around him were nowhere to be seen. The old man sat behind his desk with a deep frown on his face, staring down at a stack of docunts.
Kai paused slightly. The frown disappeared the mont Francis noticed him, and he imdiately stood up.
“Lord Arzan, you are here.”
Kai nodded as he stepped further inside.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “Where is everyone? And why do you look so serious? Is everything okay?”
Francis glanced around the room for a mont before answering.
“My apprentices are busy with a few project inspections,” he said. “So of them are also helping the Watchers with their work.” He straightened slightly. “And everything else is going well, your majesty.”
Kai saw through the clear lie. “Then why were you frowning?”
Francis sighed and lowered his head. “It’s related to what you asked of , Lord Arzan.”
Kai imdiately understood what he ant. “The Shadow Mage?” he asked. “Did you find one?”
Francis slowly nodded. That answer surprised Kai.
He had not expected success so quickly. But even as he looked at Francis’s face, he could tell sothing was wrong. Whoever the man had found clearly ca with complications. So he waited for the man to speak.
“I did manage to find soone. But I had no idea how to tell you the news, Lord Arzan. It’s… very complicated.” He paused before adding, “But it was the only option I could see.”
Kai exhaled slowly, already disliking the tone of the conversation. “Who did you find?” he asked directly.
Francis looked down at the chair across from his desk. “Why don’t you sit down first,” he said. “Then I will explain everything, your majesty.”
***
Elias frowned as he stepped into his room inside the royal castle of Vanderfall. Calling it a castle was generous.
In truth, it was nothing more than the largest surviving mansion left in the kingdom after the catastrophe that had turned much of Vanderfall into plague lands. The actual royal castle—the one that had once stood at the heart of the capital—was long gone.
Now it was little more than a nest for mana weavers roaming through the plague lands.
Since that place was uninhabitable, the royal family had simply claid this mansion instead and begun calling it the royal residence.
When Elias had returned from his work in the plague lands, they had given him a room here as a gesture of appreciation. At least that was how they described it.
In reality, his work there was far from finished.
The operations had rely stalled for now.
Large portions of the land were still choked with dead mana, and Elias had every intention of purifying them sooner or later. But while he thought about the long-term future of the land, the royal family seed to be thinking about sothing else entirely.
They were already planning their return.
Planning to rebuild the “great kingdom of Vanderfall.”
The princes had even begun making speeches about it—standing before crowds and proudly declaring that they had preserved the kingdom through its darkest days. They spoke about welcoming migrants back and promised that everyone would have their hos returned to them.
If only the people knew the truth. Most of those hos no longer existed.
Entire districts had collapsed under the plague and the chaos that followed. Rebuilding them would cost an enormous amount of resources.
And the Vanderfall royal family had no intention of paying for it from their own pockets.
The fact that commoners were even allowed to return at all was already considered generous by them.
Elias had returned to the capital hoping to speak to the princes about doing things properly. He had even planned to use Lancephil as an example—how Arzan had taken responsibility for the people of his kingdom and earned loyalty by actually helping them rebuild.
But that hope had not lasted long.
After a single eting filled with empty praise for his achievents and polite complints about his power, the princes had quickly changed the topic. They offered to host a grand ball in his honor instead, sothing Elias had declined imdiately.
After that, they left the eting.
It was clear they had no intention of listening to him.
And even less intention of giving Lancephil any credit for purifying the lands in the first place.
So Elias had tried another route.
If the princes would not listen to him, then perhaps the king would.
The old king had grown frail over the years and was rarely seen outside his chambers anymore. Most of his ti was spent inside a room saturated with mana, surrounded by alchemists and healers who worked endlessly to prolong his life. Elias had heard the stories and seen enough to know they were mostly true.
Still, the king was the king.
If there was anyone in Vanderfall who could overrule the princes and force real change, it would be him.
At least, Elias hoped so.
The princes were not openly fighting among themselves, but that hardly made things better. Instead of rivalry, they had ford sothing worse—a group that sched together, each one trying to secure more influence while pretending to act for the kingdom.
It was a dangerous situation for Vanderfall. But Elias could do little about it. He had no royal blood, no official authority in the court, and all he could do was request an audience and wait.
And so he had.
Two hours had already passed since he sent his request for a eting with the king.
No answer had co.
Elias paced slowly around the room, his frown deepening with every passing minute.
Then finally, there was a knock on the door. He moved to it imdiately and opened it.
A knight stood outside. The man began to bow formally, but Elias cut him off before he could finish.
“Tell what the king said,” Elias said bluntly. “Don’t waste ti with greetings.”
The knight stiffened slightly. “His majesty denied the request, Magus Elias.” Elias’ expression hardened. “He said you should listen to the princes.”
The knight hesitated before continuing.
“He… appreciates what you did for the kingdom, but he wants you to stay out of politics.”
Elias scowled imdiately. “How is wanting what’s best for the people politics?”
The knight swallowed before answering. “He said the nobles don’t want that.” He paused, then forced himself to continue. “They have already lost a great deal of money due to the plague. They wish to rebuild themselves first… before the commoners. The king said the common people are used to hard tis.”
After delivering the ssage, the knight bowed once more. Then he turned and left without another word.
Elias remained standing at the doorway long after the knight had left.
For a brief mont, sothing close to hatred surged through him. Not for Vanderfall itself. But for the royal family ruling it.
He knew the plague had been a disaster for everyone. Entire regions had collapsed, trade had died, and noble houses had lost fortunes.
But simply discarding the majority of the population like they were animals… That was unforgivable.
For a fleeting second, Elias even considered marching straight to the king’s chamber and forcing the man to listen.
He had the strength to do it.
He knew that very well.
There were no people in Vanderfall who could stop him if he truly decided to act.
But he also had oaths to keep.
Breaking them would not solve anything. It would only turn him into a target and ignite a conflict that would harm the very people he was trying to protect.
The royal family already treated him like a tool. A loyal pet would be useful and powerful, but one that occasionally bared its fangs would need to be taken care of.
That perception would have to change soday. But not today.
Elias exhaled slowly and closed the door. He walked back into the room and sat down heavily in a chair.
From the way things were developing, he suspected the royal family would soon restrict him from helping the common people as well. If he began openly aiding them while the princes refused to, it would make the royal family look incompetent.
And that was sothing they would not tolerate.
Which ant he might be forced to sit here and do nothing. The thought made him sigh.
For a mont, he considered simply going to sleep before the frustration turned into a headache. But then sothing else ca to mind.
A letter.
Two days earlier, one of Arzan’s drones had arrived carrying it.
Elias had barely looked at it. At the ti he had been in a hurry to et the princes, hoping to convince them to change their approach toward rebuilding the kingdom.
He had only read the first few lines, but he recalled it had contained a request. Elias frowned slightly.
He had no idea what Arzan could possibly want from him. The debt between them had already been settled during the civil war.
Which ant Arzan would only ask for sothing if the situation was truly urgent.
Elias imdiately reached into his robes and pulled out the parchnt.
He unfolded it and began reading properly this ti. The letter was longer than he had expected. And it wasn’t written like a personal ssage.
At the top of the parchnt was the seal of Arzan’s house, stamped cleanly in wax. That alone told Elias this was a formal request, not a casual exchange between two Mages.
That made him focus harder. His eyes moved across the lines quickly, then slower as he reached the middle of it. And the further he read, the wider his eyes beca.
Although the letter was written in the tone of a request, it was clear that it was closer to a warning.
During the months Elias had spent purifying the plague lands, he had barely paid attention to the rest of the world. His focus had been entirely on cleansing the dead mana and stabilizing the land.
Even the civil war had only mattered to him because Arzan had been involved. But now—Now the letter described things he hadn’t even known were happening.
Elias did not doubt a single word. Arzan was not the type to exaggerate or lie. Which ant only one thing—the entire world might be in danger.
Elias slowly folded the parchnt and put it back into his robes.
Without hesitation, he stood and walked toward the door. Whatever was happening, he needed to reach Lancephil imdiately.
There was no ti to waste. But the mont he opened the door and stepped outside, he stopped.
Several knights were already standing in the hallway. Elias raised an eyebrow.
“Didn’t you all have babysitting duties with the princes?” he asked flatly.
One of the knights shifted slightly before answering. “We received orders, Magus Elias.”
“What orders?”
“To not allow you to leave your room for a while.”
Elias stared at them. “I don’t really care,” he said calmly.
The knight swallowed. “These are our orders, sir.”
Elias stood there for a mont. Inside his mind, the voice that wanted to crush everything grew louder. This ti, he did not suppress it.
“You should all know,” Elias said slowly, “how many n I’ve killed in my life.” The knights stiffened. “If you don’t know,” he continued and noticed that his voice had turned cold, “it’s over a thousand.”
He took a step forward.
“And if you don’t get out of my way right now, you’ll beco numbers on that list.”
His gaze swept across them.
“Move,” Elias said. “I have sowhere important to be.”
***
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