A look of primal and utter fear passed over each of the other boys. They weren't scared of facing death-- many of them had seen their fathers hunt dangerous beasts or heard wartime stories, or seen mass battles from afar, and a few of them had, already, stolen a few lives. But they were used to normal death. A death on the battlefield, a death by a dagger in the middle of the night, a heroic fight with a wild monster. These were all explainable deaths that were explainable by natural laws.
But this? This seemed to be the work of something sinister. Something that shouldn't exist, and had no right to. An unnatural death that the victim didn't even realize happened. Only a few mere seconds earlier was Gale blustering about-- and now he was no longer present in the world.
The other boys fell to their feet. But it was too late. When Kairos had thrown the vial at Gale he had also thrown the other vials at the other boys. And a few seconds later, they too disappeared.
Kairos was left standing in the middle of a circle of disappearing dirt-- until the rate of disappearance slowed down and eventually stopped.
And he too slowly fell to his feet. But not from the physical effects of the Shadowfire, but rather from the mental impact. The mental impact of seeing what was previously a group of alive being disappear into nothingness.
And slowly, turning his head towards the heavens, he began to laugh.
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Across the continent, a very different scene was playing out in the Grand Royal Palace at the same time. The Kingdom of Valeria's central palace, located in the opulent state of Eldoria, it was an incredibly ornate place, which King Julius Valeria occupied.
King Valeria was currently surrounded by debauchery. Women dancing sensually with his advisors, leaning their full bosoms into their faces in exchange for gold coins. A pink haze covered the room, a mixture of highly potent herbs designed to keep everyone in an heightened state at all times. He was surrounded by his imperial harem, girls massaging his shoulders and feeding him grapes. A gladiator fight was ongoing in front of the throne, with new fighters replacing those that died or bored Valeria. A physically imposing man who towered over the entire room at 9 feet tall despite sitting down, his throne was incredibly ornate. A dragons spine served as the arm rests, and the entire throne was made out of the greatest materials possible to be found.
He himself was smoking a cigar a foot long, every exhale filling the room with black smoke.
After a particularly long pull from the cigar, the room suddenly turned cold. His eyes narrowing, Valeria released a hint of his power, returning the room to its normal state. The girls, his harem, his advisors, the gladiators, all immediately sobered up and understood their cue to leave the room.
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"Shadowsong, what brings you into the Royal halls?"
Shadowsong, the enigmatic leader of the Nightshade Legion, was a figure shrouded in darkness and mystery. Tall and slender, it possessed an ethereal grace that seemed to defy the laws of physics. It's form was draped in a flowing cloak that cascaded like liquid shadows, blending seamlessly with the dimly lit surroundings.
The visage of Shadowsong was concealed by a hood, casting its face in shadow, leaving only glimpses of pale, porcelain-like skin. Its piercing eyes, the color of smoldering embers, held a deep, penetrating gaze that seemed to see through the veils of deception and secrets.
Every movement it made was deliberate and precise, as if guided by unseen forces. It's steps were silent, allowing them to traverse even the darkest corridors without leaving a trace. Shadowsong's mere presence exuded an aura of intrigue and danger, commanding the respect and fear of those who encountered them.
But of course, Valeria could see through all of the smoke and mirrors. He had seen its true form before. And either way, he was much more powerful than Shadowsong, Still, from time to time, Shadowsong sent a chill down his spine.
Shadowsong simply revealed its palm, which contained a small, glass shard.
"The Shadowfire Origin Orb has been activated, my liege."
A range of emotions ran over Valeria's face, from disbelief to anger to a hint of fear.
"Is it one of our men? Was there a reserve of Shadowfire Elixir for the Nightshade Legion?"
"No. Me, you, and the Annihilator are the only ones who still know how to use Shadowfire. The Annihilator loathes its use and would only use it if his life was on the line-- and considering that Eldoria still stands, it isn't. You haven't stepped outside of the palace in half a year, and I obviously haven't activated it either. Shadowfire never should have resurfaced outside of the three of us after the chemists took the Scattering Memories spell. No copies of the recipe were made, no one was given any of the manifestation materials, and we never planned on having it be used ever again."
Valeria narrowed his eyes, sitting up straight in the throne.
"And so? What do we do with this little information? The Annihilator might have gotten bored, some other chemist might have activated it across the planet. There's nothing we can do about it, no?"
"You're right. That's why we've dispatched a squadron to the location of the former Grand Royal Chemists."
"They took Scattering Memories, there's no way to undo its effects unless a Divine Sentinel steps in. And we know where all of the Divine Sentinels are at all times."
"It's worth searching. A Nightshade Legion member is already stationed 5 minutes away from Delphos, the town where the two Chemists reside, and has already entered the town, but has yet to take any action."
"Delphos? In Aurorith? No way. Call them back. We cannot start a major incident in Aurorith. The Annihilator is only loyal to Eldoria and not Valeria. He won't move a finger unless Eldoria is attacked, and the Aurorith's know that. They won't attack Eldoria but they have the capability to join with other state-nations under the empire and cause a serious headache. No easy way to subdue them either without Shadowfire or the Annihilator."
"Who said anything about a major incident? We'll send in bandits to pillage the town and take the two Chemists with us on the way out. No one will think much of it."
"Fine, do as you must. I authorize you to take the action of discreetly extracting the Chemists from Delphos."