Meanwhile, somewhere in the castle’s many towers, a man in thick cloaks fidgeted back and forth from one station full of strange devices to another. He was so busy scurrying about that he failed to notice that the King was standing by the only doorway leading out from that particular room.

“Time is counting down, Wizard.” The King spoke to draw his attention. It shocked the man in the robes enough that his body jolted and he dropped a gear he had picked off the table.

“Sire, you’re here. I failed to notice your presence.” He exclaimed with a bit of stutter to his breathing to calm himself.

“Did you also fail to notice the rumbles going about in my front yard? What is the status of the machine?” The King asked and carried himself to a large contraction that sat in the center of the room.

“N-no, I noticed the engagement. I can hear the yelling from all the way up here.”

The machine was quite a strange one. Constructed from metal pipes connected and going into the center with a large oven-like body. Multiple Gauges plastered on the body to show various conditions such as heat of the metal, heat of the air, and what-not. There was a panel at the front end of it that also contained nonsensical switches and buttons used to interact with it.

Only two people knew how to handle it.

The wizard in the robes rolled his sleeves as they continued catching themselves on unplated sections of the machine and ripping off gears that he had to put on. His arms were coated in strange runes and tattoos, that contained history and power. “The tool continues to be in a stable condition despite the unfinished body. And it started drawing in power since you demanded it. So far, we have reached 60%.”

“And how much time until we are at full power?” The King continued his questioning. His eyes wandered around the small room. Every small detail was being looked at, and that was making the wizard nervous. He tries to distract the King, “Do you plan to join the battle out there with your generals or do you wish for me to join your ranks?”

“Neither, I have faith in my subjects that they will give us enough time for the machine to be at full power. You just focus on ensuring the machine is stable enough to go at full power. We need to only activate it once.” The King explained, picking something from the ground that was so small, the Wizard was unable to see what it actually was, it only made the tension worse.

“Very well sire, I shall continue my work.”

“Are you capable of having a conversation while you work?”

The question sent off a red flag for the wizard, but he had no way to refuse, “I am able.”

“Then allow me to pick your brain on the matter of the enemy.”

“What about them sire?”

“Out of all the times that the enemy has arrived to interfere with our plans, it is mostly due to the non-subtle way we handle ourselves that have alerted them of our presence. Taking land and attempting to infiltrate forgein governments are definitely something we would previously engage in. But this one is separate from those, and yet, the so-called heroes have arrived, the same as always.”

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“It is as you say, that fate is always betting against you and ensures your failure.”

“I am aware. But fate isn’t a true player or we would know by now and raise our fists at them. All we have is the ones who have been playing this game their whole lives.”

The wizard didn’t respond, but he was giving the king his full attention. Just a sliver of a second was used to locate the exit of the room, but the King had already moved back to the front as he rambled on.

“We played this new play with the cards close to our chest. We trained a special faction to stealthily gather the supplies we needed to construct this contraction for you to build up for me.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that the enemy should not have known we were doing anything at all and yet they are here with cries of stopping a plan they should not know.”

“Are you suggesting that there is a rat within your ranks?” The wizard says directly. One of his hands has tucked themselves into his cloak and begins an enchantment with the waves of his fingers. The wizard has no chance against the king. But even an attack can give just a sliver of a chance to flee.

“Yes it will likely have to be the few people that know about the machine.”

“Want to know something amusing?”

“What is it?”

“I lied to my generals and minions. I have told them what we were conducting is merely a ritual spell. Not a machine. They know nothing about the science angle at all.”

“Why would you lie-”

“To ensure that any leaks occurring would give our enemy false implications as to what we are doing and creating. The enemy will not know how to exactly encounter our machine if they anticipated and planned for a form of magic.

“I see, a brilliant move, sire.”

“Yes, it was. But depending on our leaker, it will be futile. But it does help if the enemy believes that we are making a mere tool or weapon.”

“I-I suppose it does.”

“That was a test, wizard.”

“Excuse me?”

“As I said, my minions only recognize our final product as a ritual spell. I have alway referred to it as a machine. And you, my co-creator labels it as a tool. And the enemy have been referring to it also as a tool or weapon.”

The wizard continues to stay silent as he watches the Kin hold something pink and thin. It was hard to see what it was. But when the Wizard realized what it was, the King confirmed it.

“Also, how were the tree blossoms? I hear they were lovely this time of year. That made the world meeting between the world leaders a bit of a special occasion, wouldn’t you say?”

There was no defense he could think of to counter the process the King was making.

The slightest move the King made triggered a reaction. The Wizard pulls his hand out and a glowing cloud of blue mist shoots from his fist and at the King. The King did nothing as it flew at him. Just as the projectile was about to land a hit his cloak mysteriously blew upwards and absorbed the hit.

When the king turned his attention back to the Wizard, he found him mid-transparent as he was attempting to escape. The King simply allowed him to go without a fight so as to not damage the room and risk the machine.

The King turns toward the panel and begins inspecting the process. He sees that it was making progress in both gaining energy and in the middle of a sequence that would have shut the machine down. The King arrived just in time to save himself, the irony. He smirks. If this wasn't a sign that things were different, nothing else will be. He shuts off the sequence and patiently waits for time to continue. The end is nearing.