image [https://i.imgur.com/AgE07YW.png]

“Who are you and why have you come here?” Ka-leel asked with an angered expression. The man glared back as he looked him up and down, not impressed by what he saw.

“The name is Lovi, one of the four great generals of King Briddle. I am here to gather more material for the revival of our people. Give yourself up freely and we will be sure to make good use of you and the insects of this village.” Lovi coldly replied, showing little emotion to the ridiculous words he was saying.

Ka-leel tensed up as he scowled, now ready to fight with everything he’s got. Lovi took notice of his unwillingness to comply and responded.

“Hmm, it seems you don’t intend to heed my words…. Very well.” He suddenly stabbed his curved blade into the ground and multiple blasts of sticky mud flew towards Ka-leel with great speed. The mud careened towards him before he quickly held up his hand.

Two silver orbs appeared and fired off into the mud piles, exploding them from the inside into a mist of wet dirt. As the dirt rained down, he glared at Lovi and in a flash, he bolted towards him with an electrified dash. Lovi was stunned by his speed and couldn't quite react in time.

Ka-leel’s Manifest liquified as it wrapped around his fist, before hardening into a pair of silver gloves. He then punched Lovi clean across his jaw with tremendous force. The collision shook the ground around them and he went straight into a nearby wall, destroying it in the process.

Ka-leel rushed over to the wall, fully ready to unload more carnage and end his opponent swiftly. However, as he approached, he noticed that his feet were starting to sink into the ground.

They got stuck in a pool of mud and the stickiness of it made any kind of movement incredibly difficult. Lovi burst forth from the debris and kneed Ka-leel in the stomach, knocking him back and breaking him free from the trap.

Ka-leel landed while gripping his stomach, breathing heavily from the attack. He then commanded Cobalt Shift to fight against Lovi, allowing him to recover a bit of strength. The two silver orbs flew towards him with incredible precision and speed, hitting Lovi from all directions.

He struggled to fight them off, unable to match their size and quickness. Powerful blow after powerful blow landed on him, feeling as though he were getting punched by two, 1000 lbs, solid metal fists. With each passing second they increased their speed, now looking like silver streaks in the air as they forcefully connected on Lovi.

After the brutal assault, Lovi became fed up and forced out his Core Energy. He pushed back the orbs as he slammed his sword into the ground. The soil rapidly liquified and transformed into mud once again, rippling outwards in impressive fashion. The mud rose up like waves in the ocean and swallowed the annoying orbs.

He then directed the attack towards Ka-leel, swiftly catching and consuming him as it barreled like a roaring tsunami. The wave of mud crashed down and the soil rapidly hardened, turning back into solid and stable ground. Lovi breathed heavily as he was now tired from expelling a large amount of Core Energy, not expecting to fight such a skilled foe.

“Cursed human, how dare he make me use this much power. Shame we couldn’t take his Strand.” Lovi muttered as he wiped the black blood from his cut cheek.

As he turned around, the ground shook violently underneath his feet. Lovi felt an incredible amount of Core Energy building up and he slowly glanced down, trying to pinpoint the source. Suddenly, a massive whirlwind of dirt and mud flew out of the ground. The two silver orbs were spinning with intense velocity, creating a vacuum around Ka-leel in the center.

“But how!?!?” Lovi loudly thought to himself, knowing that he just buried this man under an impossible amount of dirt.

The whirlwind subsided as Ka-leel gently landed on the ground, his face now housing an incredibly angered expression. Seconds later, the third silver orb rejoined his Manifest, having just finished its task of escorting people to safety. The Manifest playfully spun around as they suspended themselves in front of him, eagerly awaiting their next command. Just as Ka-leel raised his palm towards the three eyed man, Lovi lightly smirked.

“Hmph, we’ll have to do this another day. I don’t have time to entertain a village boy anymore. Our quota is met.” He said, looking over at a Boundless soldier giving him a signal. As soon as he finished speaking, Lovi and the remaining soldiers dashed out of the village and away from the area.

The village became terrifyingly quiet as Ka-leel was left alone, standing amongst the smoldering chaos. Ka-leel brushed dirt off of his shirt and looked around at the devastation that befell his home, still feeling on edge about the previous fight. He quickly collected himself before rushing over to his grandmother’s home, hoping against all hope that she was okay.

In the distance, he noticed that it had been partially destroyed, but was not on fire. As Ka-leel arrived, he burst through the door and saw her pinned under some debris. Ka-leel quickly moved the debris out of the way before helping her up, tending to her fairly minor injuries.

“Are you okay!?!” He frantically asked, checking her all over.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Just a little shaken up.” She responded, brushing the scuffs on her apron.

“Did they do anything to you? Did they hurt you?!?” Ka-leel exclaimed, starting to feel even more anger towards the assailants.

“Did who hurt me? I was cleaning up the kitchen when suddenly an explosion happened in the village center. Next thing I knew, I’m on the ground and the ceiling had fallen on me. Tell me, what is going on?” She curiously asked with growing concern. He told her what he saw and what he had just fought, not missing a single detail.

“Oh goodness!! Ka-leel, go out there and help those in need. Don’t worry about me.” She requested with a frightened cadence. He refused at first but then after getting reassured that she was fine, he rushed outside to help the injured after the Boundless assault.

He sprinted down the cobblestone path and still couldn’t believe the amount of destruction that had occurred while he was gone. Ka-leel painfully averted his eyes as he saw bloodied, dead bodies littering the roads. He got a bit further until something caught his eyes. Something that he couldn’t possibly look away from.

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In an empty alleyway, he noticed the hollowed out bodies of little children. Their thin bodies were dark gray, faces and limbs incredibly shriveled/wrinkled up, and on their chests were large holes. Ka-leel slowly walked forward with the look of horror on his face, feeling sick to his stomach by what he saw.

“W-what…” He cautiously muttered, feeling at a complete loss of words as he stared at the lifeless bodies of these innocent children. Seconds later, a glint of red came into view and he turned his attention to the left hand side of the alley. Ka-leel dropped to his knees in disbelief. In front of him was a little girl with a red ribbon tied in her hair.

It was Layla. No longer the cheerful, goofy, and sweet little girl, but now a gray, lifeless husk of skin and bones. He had no words, only silent thoughts and regrets as he wished he had been here to save them. Tears streamed down his face as he reached in and touched her cold body. The fall breeze that was oh so comforting earlier now felt icey and dull.

image [https://i.imgur.com/d60vRFl.png]Several days later, Castle de Belouis was as busy and lively as ever, especially within the council room. Queen Azhane, Zalthia of One, and the Volaire Council members were sitting inside, discussing various matters.

“Melspire has contacted us regarding more security for their northern trade routes. They're curious about what we plan to do to ensure their safety while they conduct their trades through our nation.” One of the council members said to the Queen.

“Councilwoman Peora, we have stationed soldiers all throughout our many trade routes. There should be no further interruptions to their businesses moving forward. Felicity of Six is in charge of the north as well and I trust that she can handle any incoming threat going on up there.” Azhane replied, trying to reassure them.

“Soldiers are well and good, but we keep getting multiple reports of more and more attacks happening throughout our nation. Far more than any other, mind you. This plan of yours has not only been ineffective, but also incredibly resource heavy. The other five nations rely on us to get their trading done with each other, and so we need a more direct approach if we want them to continue to rely on us.” Another council member replied, not happy about the current circumstances.

“We understand that, however, this situation isn’t something we can just make disappear. It will take time to deal with.” Zalthia quickly chimed in.

“Time is not something we have the luxury of, Lady Zalthia. How we deal with this needs to be both swift and efficient, and unfortunately at the rate we are moving there won’t be anything left of us. I think it's time we take this matter from Your Majesty and apply our own methods…” Councilwoman Peora remarked, gathering agreeable nods from her fellow councilmen.

Before Azhane could plead her case, their meeting was rudely interrupted. The doors to the council room flew open and slammed into the walls, loudly echoing across the room. Everyone looked up in confusion and noticed Ka-leel of Four walking through the door, with a slightly angered expression.

“How dare you interrupt this meeting with such rude behavior!? We should have you punished for this great insolence!” One of the council members exclaimed, absolutely crossed by the insubordination. Ka-leel glared at him darkly, not feeling an inch of fear or regret from his actions.

“Punish? As a member of Six, you have no authority over me, back off. I’m here to speak with Her Majesty, not you.” He coldly said, walking past the council and approaching the steps that lead up to Azhane and Zalthia. He stopped and bowed his head to her.

“I am deeply sorry for my sudden arrival, but I must speak with Your Majesty urgently. Please, lend me your ear.” He asked with his deep voice, clearly troubled by something. Azhane was taken aback by his theatrics as this was incredibly rare coming from someone like Ka-leel. He would typically be the most calm and level headed of the members, so this behavior was quite shocking to say the least.

She cleared her throat and commanded the council members to exit the room, ending the meeting prematurely. Everyone reluctantly walked out, leaving the three of them alone inside. Azhane gazed at Ka-leel with her vivid red eyes and began to speak.

“Ka-leel of Four, what has troubled you so much that you would show up unannounced like this. Is everything okay? You may speak freely.” She warmly said, eager to know what was going on. He raised his head and stared straight into her eyes.

“Thank you, Your Majesty… My.. My hometown village... Was attacked and destroyed by the Boundless. Many lives were lost… Your Majesty, I ask you, is there any way we can strike these savages down to protect our nation?” He asked with a heavy heart, fighting back tears.

Azhane could see the pain in his eyes, but she didn’t know how to respond to his request. After a brief silence and slight hesitation, she finally replied.

“I feel terribly sorry for your village and the losses that occurred there. I can only imagine the pain caused by all this.” She softly said, clearly feeling sympathy for her subordinate's unfortunate situation.

“However, there isn’t anything we can do about it at this time. We can send some aid there to help the injured, but an assault of any kind would be ill advised. I am sorry.” Ka-leel’s eyes went wide and his sadness quickly turned into great anger.

“Why is it ill advised!?!? People are being killed out there in this very nation and yet you sit back in your castle, doing nothing! Since when were you such a coward!?” He yelled out, seething with justified rage.

As soon as these words left his mouth, three clones of Zalthia surrounded Ka-leel with their scythes aimed at him. one at his left, one at his right, and a third behind him with the inner blade cupped around his neck, pressing closely. He was frozen with fear as they forced him to the ground, putting his life in jeopardy.

“Mind your tongue Ka-leel of Four! Have you forgotten who you are speaking to? Say anything else and I swear I will cut you down right here, do you understand me?!” Zalthia sharply yelled with an angered, red eyed glare. He slowly nodded his head, shivering with fear after realizing what he had just done.

Azhane silently raised her hand to Zalthia, signaling for her to stand down. She sucked her teeth in annoyance before her clones faded away from ka-leel, allowing him to get up.

“I understand your frustrations Ka-leel, trust me I do. However, as Queen of this nation, I can’t just blindly go into battle after the fall of a single village. My intervention would have severe consequences for all of Volaire and I unfortunately have to think about what is best for everyone as a whole. Rest assured though, we are thinking of ways to combat this new threat. It will just be some time before any concrete ideas are created. So please, calm yourself and trust me. Trust that I will do right by our people.” Azhane calmly said, trying to reassure him.

Ka-leel of Four quietly nodded his head and after a brief pause, he softly responded.

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty. You’re right.. I apologize for my behavior, forgive me.” He regained his composure and Azhane dismissed him from the room, forgiving him for the rude outburst. He bowed to them before swiftly leaving the room, closing the doors behind him.

The council room became eerily cold and heavy as Azhane’s bloodlust seeped out. She tightly gripped the edge of her chair’s armrest, slightly cracking them in the process.

“Are you okay?” Zalthia asked with concern, feeling nervous by the enormous power spike coming from her sister.

“Yes.. I’m fine.. Just incredibly frustrated by this Boundless situation.” She coldly responded, hitting the limits of her patience.

“Damn it!!! Don’t know how much more of this I can take…” Azhane squeezed and the armrest burst into small pieces as she glared off into the distance, clearly angered by the current events.

“Please, Azhane. You must remain calm. We cannot have you do anything hasty that would put this whole nation or our family at risk. We don’t know what kind of information Briddle will leak out to the other nations. It’s too dangerous and you know that.” Zalthia said, trying to quell the Queen’s growing rage. Azhane slowly calmed down and sighed, leaning back in her broken chair.

“I just don’t know what to do about this anymore. Nothing is working and no one is happy with my decisions so far. At this point, what does it matter if I do something or not?” She vented, getting fed up with her position of power. Zalthia remained silent as she pondered her sister’s words.

“I’m so over this…” Azhane stood from her chair, clearly still upset by everything.

“I’m going to my room for a bit. No one is to disturb me…” She stepped down from the stairs and vanished, teleporting out of the room with a blink. Zalthia stood alone in the council room, wishing she could do something to help ease her sister’s burden. However, deep down, Zalthia knew that this was the lifestyle Azhane signed up for once she ascended the throne.