The Vanistas declared a horrifying proclamation: In three months, three ally kingdoms of the Seraphim's Oath will be reduced to rack and ruin. To add to the escalating hysteria, the forces of evil sent a slew of decapitated heads to the Seraphim's Oath stronghold. The gut-turning hoard appeared even more sickening, embellished with it were several mementos belonging to notable invokers who had gone missing.
After lying dormant for many years, the Vanistas declared their intent to retaliate against the kingdoms that had shown enthusiasm towards the holy grail of the anti-Vanista campaign. The news has spread among the concerned sovereigns, and it has everyone worried since a surprise attack by the ferocious Vanista army will undoubtedly wipe out an entire nation in a flash.
However, on the more tranquil side of the middle realm, the Peace Island nation is celebrating the Coming-of-Age Enlistment Ceremony Day. Young warrior hopefuls assembled in anticipation of acceptance into the Royal Military Lyceum and Royal Institute of Invokers. Cheers and excitement filled the air. Nobles and esteemed warrior bloodlines from the different regions of the middle realm flocked the archipelago nation to grace this annual event.
Screech. Thud. Ahem.
"Lovely day, citizens of Peace Island! I am Mystea Vermillion, the Royal Announcer! I bet everyone is excited for the enlistment ceremony to begin because you have all been waiting for this day!” She struck a catchy pose and let loose a bombastic wink then went on. “So, if you may, candidates, please go to your assigned ranks. In a few moments, after all these pleasantries, you will begin to train hard enough so you can stand side by side with the middle realm’s greatest warriors! Wink!"
A little further away from the crowd, two brothers stood quite a distance from the rest to avoid unwanted attention. Both are rather popular amongst the citizenry since one is a celebrated hero: Sylveir Vallenheim, 15-years-old, a high-ranking officer of the Polaris Avalon Militia, known as the “Zero-Death Captain” data about him confirms that he has no casualties during missions and has an impressive 100% mission completion rate. The younger one is Ais Vallenheim; he is getting the other kind of popularity—the total opposite of his older brother— he often gets the scoffs of the people around the city but he is stubborn and unyielding, making it even more tempting for others to sneer at him.
"Syl, I am very nervous, but I am also very excited too. I have always looked forward to this day." He puckered his lips and looked at the peaceful blue sky with hopeful eyes.
"Don’t be, you always pulled it off, this day is no different than the previous ones, it’s just a little fancier. But always remember what I have told you Ais, steer clear from the nobles, they’re built differently." He patted Ais’ back gently and looked at him with profound concern in his eyes. He knew his little brother was no stranger to trouble.
"I will, brother, I swear. I just hope Father was here." Ais turned towards Syl’s direction and looked at him with longingness. Ais was very close with the general. He was his ultimate ideal; he was like the sun that he always aspired to become someday.
“He is always proud of you; it is just that right now, the entire middle realm is in chaos, and as one of Polaris Avalon’s strongest generals, they need him to beat the Vanistas’ butts.” He smiled awkwardly and changed the course of the conversation it’s his little brother’s big day after all, he then added “Oh, before you start running down the assembly area, here’s another important detail. Don’t freak out, okay?” he looked at Ais’ skeptically then went on “You will be enlisted at the Royal Institute of Invokers.” Albeit the warning, the tone of his voice gave it off casually, he reached down into his pocket and gave Ais a badge-like object.
"Wait, what?! That is some out-of-this-world way of spilling the beans, brother! No this is too unbelievable! I, gosh, that is the Royal Institute of Invokers’ official insignia?!" his jaw dropped in disbelief. Filled with excitement, he took the insignia, raised it in the air, and admired the very emblem of the training institution he had always dreamed of getting into for so long. His happy countenance suddenly dropped then he sighed "But I am not an invoker, I do not have a contract with a Cora."
“That's fine, it's all taken care of. I got your back. Just be yourself and everything’s going to be fine. Live fully and freely, aim for the white river of stars, and maybe even beyond.” he looked worried as he stared into the distant crowd from the balcony. He knows Ais wouldn't feel comfortable getting into his dream institution using unfair means. "But.."
Tantara. Boom, boom, splat. Swoosh….Rumble...
Slipping in like a thief in the night, an uninvited guest, cloaked in a portentous garment appeared above the assembly area, he was defying gravity suspended in the air. The atmosphere then became oppressive and suffocating.
Gone was the bright blue sky; and quickly in its place was a gray slate filled with thunderclouds punctuated by lightning bolts and thunderclaps. The chilly winds blew with unrest, signaling the unexpected turn of events that left everyone stunned, perplexed, and terrified.
Howl. Slam. Swoosh.
"This generation will satisfy the bellies of both the evil and the sanctified." The intruder’s voice echoed throughout the grand assembly sending shudders to all who heard the puzzling statement. He peered below as if he was looking for a certain someone. After a few glances, he set his gaze towards the podium.
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There, he saw the platform teeming with strong and noteworthy invokers and warriors alike, but among them, someone stood out the most, it was Lady Magda Selbstlos, dressed in majestic white; a piece of snowy cloth covered her eyes that she never once removed; her silky ash blonde hair is very long, extending like an elegant vine which gracefully touched the ground blessing the path she treads upon.
Lady Magda occupies the Second Seat of the Lex Liberators, a group of exceptionally powerful Invokers who are said to possess enough power to defeat ancient Vanistas. Distraught by the presence of a threat, she stepped forward, and set her gaze in the direction of the cloaked intruder; and with no time to lose, she firmly swung her mighty staff at him to serve as a firm warning to back off.
“You impudent coward. How dare you disrupt this regal gathering. Declare your identity nameless fool. I am Magda, second seat of the hallowed Lex Liberators, and I will make you pay for this drivel. ~ Ensnare the guilty for all eternity! Embrace of the Lady Quintessence ~”
“Useless. (Tinkle. Clink. Barrier Shatters). Really second seat?” the ominous intruder sneered.
A huge object resembling an Iron Maiden suddenly sprang onto the scene; Nikola Altis, the Headmaster of the Royal Military Lyceum. No one had ever really seen his face as he stayed hidden inside the Iron Maiden-like armor most of the time, except for Leone Byrheimmer, his perpetual rival, the headmaster of the Royal Institute of Invokers. She is rumored to have a long-standing duel with Nikola that always ends in a truce because both of them end up too beat up to make the final strike to decide the victor. He then gestured to Lady Magda and Leone to join him and attempted to close the gap between them and the offender but they were deflected right away.
“Seems you're a tough one gentleman let's try this ~ Earth Terraform Stance (cough cough), Colossus of Heiricus! ~ Your Ladyship, if you may, a high-tier anima barrier to protect the children. I will try to pin him down with my Colossus. Now, destroy him, Leone!” He coughed then smirked at Leone.
“Don’t order me around you sickly prick. ~ Oh King of the Beasts, devour the darkness and subdue thy enemies, Roar of the Feral Monarch ~” She aimed her burning fists towards the cloaked persona and fired a stream of smoldering flames.
Hiss. Whirr. Boom. Spatter.
“Tsk.” the intruder clicked his tongue.
Both Nikola and Leone’s high-tier anima spells disintegrated with just one flick of the intruder’s hand. The headmasters of the Royal Military Lyceum and Royal Institute of Invokers looked like entrants before him. They were stupefied by how easy it was for the enemy to extinguish their high-tier anima spells.
“This is getting boring.” The cloaked aggressor continued to mock Lady Magda and the others.
“Seems there isn’t a reason to keep playing any longer. (Thrum. Rumble.) For destruction and creation, peace and disorder, the end and the beginning, to my ultimate sacrifice. ~ Cower in fear! Devour the light from above and below into the endless obscurity! Sempernus Torre de Lunaris! ~ "
An enormous anima spell circle appeared, and soon after a deafening sound rang in everyone’s ears, compelling all of those who can hear to block off the loud humming. The otherworldly noise disrupted the other anima spells eventually dissipating them all. Then, a huge infrastructure peeked through the fog, it loomed over the general assembly like a thick blanket of dark rainclouds casting its shadows to the ground, and its presence made everyone from beneath stare with awe and dread, resulting to a mass hypnosis.
Clap.Rumble.
Momentarily stunned by the quick succession of events and the hypnotism, Syl snapped back to reality, his elder brother instincts started to kick in. He shook Ais by the shoulders; he then instructed “Ais, we have to run! Don’t keep staring at them we have to escape!”
“Brother this is insanely cool! This is how strong people fight.” His eyes locked towards the action across them; unbothered by the gravity of the situation he continued to admire the display of strength before him.
“This is not the right time. We have to go Ais! Come here!” Syl screeched to get Ais into action.
Syl grabbed him by the arm pulled him over, and dashed, they hurriedly climbed the steep stairs, but Ais’ stride was lagging because he kept on looking back, when suddenly, as he was about to catch up with Syl’s pace, he accidentally miscalculated the next step and caused him to stumble and fall and rolled over. Then...
Thum. Boom! Swoosh. Whiz. Zap! Boom!
“Ais!" Syl let out a sorrowful cry. He saw it all, his little brother's scared countenance, his body zapped and devoured by the detonations, a truly horrifying image against the background of multiple beams of high-tier light anima spells lambasting the assembly area forever etched in the eyes of the Zero-Death Captain. He could save anybody, but today he couldn't save the person who meant the most to him.
Pillars of light continued to fall and caused series of explosions directly hitting the assembly area where the candidates who froze in fear were. Fire razed the ground, and a thick black smoke whiffed and enveloped the area, everyone else witnessed the intensity of the attack but they couldn’t do anything about it. Dust and smoke blown away by a passing gust of wind provided windows of clarity, and to their horror, the candidates who stood frozen in terror vanished into thin air. Gone without a trace, along with the enigmatic hooded figure.
The regular citizens fled for their lives while being escorted by the royal army, many notable invokers entered into combat mode upon realizing the man before them was capable of wiping them out. But it was already too late.
“This is impossible! They’re all gone. I, Mystea, the Royal Announcer. What am I going to say to His Highness?” her eyes scoured through the now empty space, tears cascaded down her cheeks. She turned towards Lady Magda at the sidelines. She finally spotted her ladyship, but her august stature was replaced with fear and trembling, unable to hold her staff firmly, her knees uncontrollably quivering.
“No, this can't be, the children. I, even a Liberator.” A loud clinking reverberated in the silence, it was the heavy staff of Lady Magda falling to the ground, she soon fell on her knees and fixed her vision towards the horizon.