ROYAL PALACE, IOLITE

Hours before the attack on Iolite

The throne room was filled with an eerie stillness as the King and Queen sat before their elders and advisors. The heavy air was thick with the weight of the chaos and destruction that had befallen the city of Antlia. Demons and bandits had taken over the streets. The birthstone of Prince Albireo III had dimmed, signifying his death. Gloria’s birthstone flickered with uncertainty.

Lucia’s birthstone shone brightly but was tainted by a trail of miasma that lingered in the air. Hilda reported that Lucia seemed to be stable, but the gravity of the situation weighed heavily on everyone present.

As the supposed brightest minds of the city discussed what to do next, the King and Queen could not help but feel a sense of disappointment. The discussion was going nowhere, and they were running out of time. The King listened sombrely, regretting that he had not reigned with tighter control in the past. Perhaps if he had, they would not be in this dire situation. Queen Vida sat quietly beside him, her heart heavy with the weight of the kingdom’s impending doom.

“The Princess had plans to evacuate the cities and abandon the country!” One of the advisors said, his voice projecting across the room. “If I may speak my mind, the curse had clearly made her deranged! Running is out of the question. We must defend the country with what we have!”

The other advisors murmured in agreement. Another advisor raised his hand to speak. “This evacuation makes sense if she’s not deranged. Who knows what deal she had made with the devil? This could all be part of her plan.”

“You assume that the Princess made a deal with the devil? Are you out of your mind?” Another elder asked, stroking his blue-gray beard.

“How else could you explain the miasma? And all the wars she conveniently won? Isn’t it strange that she won all the wars she fought in?” The advisor retorted.

“That made no sense. Why would she push back the demons in the first place? If you recall, the miasma appeared a few days before.”

“Do you understand what sort of situation we’re in? The Gods will not help us when we have a cursed Princess running about in their lands.”

“We worship the Gods, yes. The Gods have not spoken since the Divine war, not for us, not for anyone else in this world,” the other elder with red beard said.

“The Gods have not spoken because there are still humans walking about on the lands. They carry the curse that infected the land they gave us.”

“And we have listened to you and eradicated them from Iolite a century ago, had things changed? Did the Gods answer your call?” The blue-bearded elder said.

“Younglings these days are so quick to blame,” the red-bearded elder debated. “The question now should be clear. Should we fight or retreat? What is the enemy after? How do we save Lady Gloria?”

The court fell silent as everyone pondered the elder’s words. None of the three advisors could offer an ounce of an idea to the discussion. The king stood up, his authority almost tangible, instilling the essence of fear into the three advisors.

“Not only do you have the nerve to doubt my daughter, but you have nothing to offer in the court. Leave before I behead you.” The king thundered.

The three advisors quickly gave a bow and scurried towards the exit. The silence that followed their departure was deafening, leaving only the King, Queen, and two elders in the room.

“Send Jade in,” the King ordered.

The green-haired fairy stepped in, kneeling before his king. “You called for me, sir?”

“Command the troops to evacuate the citizens to the southern port of Golodh. Allow them to take only their valuables and nothing else. I want this done within the next three hours. Use the monocle of revealing to identify any changeling within us. Execute any demons on sight.” The King said, rubbing his forehead. “This takes a second priority. Send some troops to recover Albireo’s body. Let’s give him a proper burial.”

“Yes, your Highness,” Jade responded.

“Do you know anything of the uprising in Antlia?” The King asked the fairy.

“No, no word, your Highness.”

“You’re excused. Stay safe, Jade.”

“Your words are too kind, your Highness.”

Jade left the throne room with his head held high, swelled with determination to carry out this task. The King stood up, looking down at his elders.

“What do you think this elf is after?” He asked, placing his arms behind his back.

“Most likely… The Diary of Solace.” One of the elders guessed.

“Then we should destroy it. It should have been destroyed long ago. Holding onto it is just a liability.” The king proposed.

The room fell silent once more than the King pondered the weight of his decision. The Diary of Solace was a valuable piece of history that was passed down through generations of the royal family. It held the secrets and accounts of the Divine War, a war that was thought to have ended a millennium ago. The king knew that if the diary fell into the wrong hands, it could mean the end of Iolite as they knew it.

Both elders remained on their knees, awaiting the King’s decision. “Please, my King, reconsider,” one of them pleaded. “The diary has been passed down for generations. It is a symbol of your family’s legacy and history.”

The other elder chimed in, “We understand the severity of the situation, but the diary could be the key to fending against the demons. We must not give up on it.”

“The Diary and the sword were the reason why Iolite managed to stay after the Divine war,” one began.

“Since we have lost the sword, the Diary was our only hope left!” The other one continued, almost gasping for air.

“Have you ever considered the possibility of a second Divine war?”

King Albireo couldn’t decide. He understood the importance of the diary, but he couldn’t risk the safety of Iolite for the sake of preserving history or attaining a future that may not happen. “I understand your concerns, but we cannot let the diary fall into the hands of the enemy. We must destroy it.”

The present was more important.

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The elders hung their heads in disappointment, knowing that the King had made up his mind. “As you wish, my King,” they said in unison, rising from their knees.

Queen Vida stepped forward, placing a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “I stand by your decision, dear. But you are absolutely certain?”

The king nodded, his head still pounding with the weight of his decision. He knew that the destruction of the diary would be a controversial move, but he also knew that it was necessary.

As the elders made their way toward the exit, they turned to face the King once more. “My King, please reconsider. The diary holds the key to our salvation,” one of them pleaded.

As soon as the door closed, the King leaned closer to the Queen, “I’ve always thought that Lucia was the one to read the diary. I have often wished that I could read it, but it was nothing but a pretty book and blank pages to me.”

“Perhaps it is the same for the entire world, dear,” Queen Vida said.

“No, it’s not, Vida. I am a King of a country where my advisors are foolish and blind, my elders hang on to historical fantasies, and my soldiers are imposters. I am a weak King. That’s why the diary doesn’t reveal its contents to me.” King Albireo pulled his sword from the back of the seat.

“Violence is not the only way forward. You have changed for the better, dear.” Queen Vida spoke as she took out her crossbow and her staff from the bottom of the chair.

A loud voice beckoned from the back of the room. “You’re weak, King Albireo. Just weak. Don’t use those petty words to swoon your way out again.”

“You have to destroy the diary for me, Vida. I know that it should never end up in his hands,” the King whispered, unsheathing his sword.

Krystol emerged from the shadows with two demon generals, “Hey, hey, is this how you welcome your guests?” He burst into laughter, echoing in the royal court. He turned to the two general demons to the back. “You two stand guard outside.”

“Let me introduce myself. I am Krystol. A humble elf at your service.”

Queen Vida aimed her crossbow at his neck, ready to strike at any moment, “You’re not welcome here, you fiend. You’re welcome to stay behind the bars of a prison cell.”

Krystol smirks, his eyes glinting with excitement. “I came to pay my respects to the king and queen, of course. And to offer my assistance in any way I can.”

The king narrowed his eyes at him, his grip tightening on his sword. “We don’t need your assistance, elf. Especially not after you murdered and kidnapped my children.”

Krystol shrugged, his eyes masked, and his lips remained unchanged. “That was a small misunderstanding, Your Majesty. What you have said were mere accusations. Just because I have demon generals behind my back doesn’t mean that I am the one in control. I am merely a pawn.”

Queen Vida remained cautious. Her finger remained on the trigger of her crossbow. “A small misunderstanding? Speak the truth! What do you want from us?”

“As you can see, I was not cursed by the Abyss, but your daughter, Princess Lucia, was. Wasn’t there a slim chance that I am under her command?” Krystol said. His eyes flicked across the room, finding a certain object, then back to Queen Vida’s face. “And by her orders, I want the diary.”

The king stepped forward, his sword raised. “I know my daughter. You will not sway my thoughts. She would never yield to demons, and you will not lay a finger on the diary.”

“Then where is she now? Locked up in a dungeon? Judging by your faces, she’s still alive.”

Queen Vida cast a spell to read his mind, a mental battle between spell casters. Unfortunately, like his mask, he remained mysterious and unreadable. The room fell silent as the king and queen exchanged a tense glance. There was no way, to tell the truth, and they also knew that they couldn’t trust him.

Krystol’s smile faded, replaced with a look of annoyance. “She’s still alive, and she hasn’t turned?”

Krystol knew that the King and Queen were strong. Unlike the Prince and Gloria, he couldn’t grasp their mind, just like how they can’t read his. He clicked his tongue lightly, muttering a spell. The Princess being alive complicated things. There was still a small chance that the Princess was barely alive, being consumed by the flames.

King Albireo stood next to Queen Vida, their eyes locked on Krystol. They fought by each other’s sides for decades during their youth. King Albireo focused on the offense, and Queen Vida put up her defences. They had to act fast, for the elf had already begun his incantation, his hand crackling with dark energy.

The queen raised her staff and a ray of light coated herself and the king, reinforcing both with a layer of invisible shield. The king leaped into the air, with his blue wings shimmering in the light. He pointed his sword at Krystol, plunging towards him. The elf had to parry the attack. There was no other choice. Krystol unsheathed his sword from his belt, but the king disappeared right in front of him. A few flickers of blue light dissipated. The fairy king reappeared behind his back, aided by Vida’s teleportation spell.

“Shi—” Krystol said. Though the king’s stab was deadly, it only lightly nicked his left waist. The elf was quick to dodge, his movement was fluid. At the Queen’s command, seven fireballs with the size of a football appeared in thin air. She fired all seven at the elf, but there were no fire or explosions, but a black smoke was released.

The king widened his eyes. “He took the damage.” But the old eyes narrowed once more. The elf must have had something else hidden. He flew above the smoke, trying to get a better view. “Be careful,” he warned.

The king’s hair started to stand up, having an instinct that someone was watching him. The queen waved her arm, summoning a light gust to blow the smoke away. The elf was gone.

Invisibility? No. The king looked up above them. Krystol was levitating over them both, holding the Sculptor of Dawn. He gritted his teeth at the sight of the blue blade and winged hilt of the sword. Krystol swiftly traveled through the wind, preparing to slice the king in half.

The queen raised her staff once more to move the King away from the attack. This time, he reappeared from his right. The swing from Krystol went wide, and the King took the opportunity to pierce through his right ribs.

As soon as the sword left Krystol’s body, a sizzling crackle of blue energy closed his wounds.

The fairy king tried to catch his breath, “That sword… you’re not worthy of wielding it.”

Krystol gave a soft evil laugh, “I merely picked it up the pieces, my dear king. Finders keepers. I’m sure you know what it does.”

The winged hilt was etched with the symbol of the God of Light Horus. It was undoubtedly the Sculptor of Dawn. This sword brought dawn upon the world of Axtral by absorbing all Abyss magic.

The King’s brows creased even further, this was getting more problematic than he imagined. No magic attacks would work on him. Queen Vida would be limited to defensive spells. He took a glance at his wife, starting to wear down from the excessive use of spells.

“I’ll need you to return that,” the King said, flitting back and forth for a hummingbird, searching for an opening. The elf took his stance, ready to parry the King from any direction.

“Return? This didn’t even belong to you in the first place,” Krystol grumbled, summoning a wall of crystalized rock from the ceiling to crush the fairy king.

“A genius dwarf invented it. Yeah, right. You royals are full of shit,” he said calmly, charging toward the fairy. Krystol gave a short laugh as he swung his sword at the king. The fairy flew upwards, taking the opportunity to dash across the blade of the sword. He unleashed a barrage of swings at Krystol, cutting deep into the elf’s flesh.

The King sighed, “So, all of this was for revenge? You ruined the lives of thousands of people for your revenge?”

“Revenge? That’s just a petty distraction. My ambitions are far greater, more sinister. The mere thought of revenge pales compared to my goals.”

Krystol wore his grin, reciting his spells. Crystals grew on the elf’s arm, trying to trap the king as he backed away. The Queen raised her staff, trying to warp the king out of that place, but she was spent.

“What’s wrong, my Queen, can’t handle that spell once more, hm? The warping spell does consume a lot of energy.” Krystol’s mouth curled to a grin as he saw the slight tremble in Her Majesty’s hand. Blue magic particles crackled, closing his wounds.

“Vida, save your strength! Magic is useless against him. Go and destroy the Diary.” The king let out a mighty scream and charged towards Krystol, sword raised high.

Krystol’s eyes widened as the King’s sword came down with incredible force. He barely managed to raise his own sword in time to block the attack. The clash of metal echoed through the room as the two engaged in a fierce battle. The king moved with grace and precision, his strikes landing true and hard. Krystol, on the other hand, fought with brute strength, using his size and power to try to overpower him.

Krystol was caught off guard, and stumbled forward, giving the King the opening he needed. With a swift strike, he delivered a blow that sent Krystol crashing to the ground. He pranced on the prone elf, ready to pierce his heart.

“Centuries passed so I gave the sword an upgrade. Now it can also return the damage absorbed.”

The King felt the blue blade of the sword run through the left of his belly. It was cold and hard at first, but then it erupted from within his body. Flames worth seven fireballs swelled up within him, burning his insides. His heart, intestines, stomach, and lungs werecharred in the blink of an eye.