Salaz was born in a small town in the kingdom of Daria, and he wasted his youth wandering the streets of the city.All he did was to mischief in the streets of the city and return home at dawn.His father was one of the richest men in town. He had a fine farm and made good money. Try as he might, he could not persuade his son to work. But the day came when Salaz had to work, even though he didn't want to. Salaz's father died suddenly one night, leaving all his responsibilities to Salaz, his only child.

Salaz's irresponsible youth had not prepared him for the realities of life. The responsibility that fell on his shoulders with the death of his father was a heavy burden for Salaz. Unaware of the workings of the farm, Salaz became more and more bogged down. The once fertile land was now barren from lack of care. With the death of his mother, things became even more complicated and the farm became unviable. Salaz decided it was time to sell the farm and go into business. Tired of the farm, Salaz confided this thought to his friend.

"Do you really want to sell the farm, Salaz? Your father's memory is here, his achievements..."

"I don't know. It's as if I'm doomed to failure, no matter what I do. But if I stay here, I'll be crushed by his achievements. Maybe I should leave the past behind."

Seeing Salaz's depressed state, his friend decided to support his friend. But Salaz spent years of failure. After years of failure, his friend told him that there was an iron mine for sale and that this could be the opportunity they were looking for. Salaz clung to this last hope and combined the last money in his pocket with the money he received from the moneylenders and bought the mine that would change his life.

A year had passed since Salaz had met Zephyr, and Salaz now had a belly fit for a great merchant. The stones from his mine, now called the Stones of Light, had made Salaz and the kingdom rich. The elite of the continent ordered jewellery made from the Stones of Light, and the merchant's worst fears came true. There were reports of Lightstones being found elsewhere on the continent. Soon there were many merchants selling jewellery made from Lightstones. Now the Stone of Light was ubiquitous and had lost its value. Even people who were much poorer than the elite could buy jewellery made from the stones. Almost everyone, men and women alike, had a piece of Stone of Light jewellery.

Salaz was at rock bottom again. He had consulted Zephyr dozens of times, but there was nothing Zephyr could do. As if that were not enough, many countries, including the Adler Empire, were at war, so there were no safe routes for their convoys. It seemed, however, that the gods had not yet turned their backs on Salaz.

A discovery in the Adler Empire made Salaz even richer than before. Tens of thousands of people had been wounded in the war, some recovering much faster than others. It did not take long to discover that this was due to the Stone of Light. The Stone of Light had a healing effect, and its value skyrocketed. Salaz was once again rolling in money, and it looked like he was going to make more and more money, because the Lightstones used to heal the wounded darkened and decayed over time, losing their power. This ensured continuity of supply.

Quickly recovering soldiers made the wars longer and bloodier. Years passed as the wars raged on. For ten years the continent had been in flames and the Adler Empire was on the verge of collapse. The reason for this was not only Octavius' aggressive foreign policy, but also the Empire's greatest enemies, the Sizat Empire.

The soldiers of the Sizat Empire had changed greatly in recent years. The Sizat soldiers had grown to a strength beyond human limits, and no one knew why. Most of the soldiers had the strength of several men, and some were even much stronger. When the capital of the Adler Empire was besieged by the Sizat army, Emperor Octavius learned why his enemy was so powerful. The Sizat soliders powdered the Stone of Light and fed it to their soldiers, making them permanently stronger.

Soldiers strengthened by the Stone of Light were not immortal. While the power of the Sizat Empire was based on quantity, the Eagle Empire was based on quality. The Stone of Light had made the Sizat army almost invincible. Octavius realised the strategic importance of the Stone, but it was too late. The Sizates won almost every battle with the power of the stone.

Octavius had all the Stones of Light collected from the capital, pulverised and given to his best soldiers. Unfortunately, the Empire was too late, and the capital fell to the Sizat army. Soon the whole continent discovered the power of the Stone of Light. This led to the end of wars, as no one could dominate anyone. Only the kingdoms with more Light Stones than their rivals could achieve anything.

Soon, however, all the continent's reserves of Light Stone were exhausted. But there was good news. Even though the Light Stone was gone, its effects continued. The children of those who possessed the power of the Light Stone were born with it. Physical strength was no longer the only characteristic of these children. In each new generation, children with extraordinary powers were born.

The Sizat Empire saw the children born after the discovery of the Stone of Light as an opportunity. By specially training these children, they hoped to create a loyal and powerful army. Over the years, this strategy began to bear fruit. The Sizat army had managed to conquer half the continent with its supernatural powers. But the Sizat Emperor wanted to do what Octavius had failed to do: Dominate the entire continent. The Sizat Empire would set out to achieve this goal in a matter of weeks.

The Emperor had fallen asleep dreaming of conquering the entire continent. The Emperor's sleep was disturbed by the voice of his most trusted commander.

"Your Majesty! The city is under attack!"

The sleep-deprived Emperor's mind refused to believe what he was hearing. Who would attack the capital of the Sizat Empire? And how could they have crossed the border into the capital? All this was impossible. But if the general didn't have a thirst for life, he wouldn't have told such a lie at this time of night. Wanting to see the state of the city, the Emperor headed for the balcony. The agitated general followed.

"Report, Daran," the Emperor said, alarmed by the screams he heard as he approached the balcony, "who is the enemy and how many are there?"

"My lord... Our enemy is not human..." said the general. He himself did not believe what he was saying. The emperor's excited steps suddenly stopped. The general knew the emperor's anger very well, so he knelt down before the emperor turned.

"I swear to the gods, my lord, I am telling the truth! I know it sounds unbelievable, but the real aggressors are not humans! I swear by all the gods, Your Majesty!"

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"Stop begging, Daran! If it is not the humans, then who is attacking my city?" The Emperor was still drowsy, and what he heard was becoming more absurd by the second.

"Insects, my lord... Giant insects," he whispered. "But they're not insects as we know them. They are gigantic, at least five metres long. As the gods are my witness, I've never seen anything like them."

"What... Insects? Did you say five metres? That's impossible!" The Emperor squinted at the General. "Daran, if you are lying, you will pay with your life."

The Emperor ran to the balcony to see for himself what had happened. The insects the general had spoken of were real and had already invaded the city. Every step they took tore up the stone streets, and the buildings crumbled noisily under their huge feet. The people scurried about in panic, while the soldiers tried desperately to escape the claws that tore through their armour.

As the Emperor stood on the edge of the balcony and watched the horror, his heart raced. "This... This must be a nightmare..." he whispered to himself.

At first glance, the Emperor realised that the situation was desperate, as there were very few soldiers in the capital. Due to the campaign, most of the troops were stationed near the borders of the target states. The defence of the capital was therefore left to a few hundred of the Emperor's bodyguards and a few thousand soldiers responsible for keeping order in the city. The nearest troops were several days away. The Emperor turned to his general and said, "Can we win?" Seeing the general's despair and fear, the emperor already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear what his general had to say. He needed some hope.

"Your Majesty, If we leave now, we can get you out of the city safely." the general whispered. He was so scared that he didn't realise he was whispering. It was as if he was afraid the insects would hear him.

The Emperor had a quality that many monarchs lacked. He cared about his people. He wanted to stay and save as many as he could and defend his city. The Emperor was debating whether or not to flee when the palace shook violently. He would have fallen from the balcony if his general hadn't caught him. A second later, another soldier ran to the balcony and said, "Sir! They are trying to break into the palace!" The tremor was not enough to destroy the Emperor's palace, but it shattered his belief that he had to protect his people. The Emperor had the power of the Light Stones, and though he was old, he had the strength of several grown men, but the tremor was enough to make him realise that his enemy was dozens of times stronger than he was. He turned to his general and said, "Evacuate the palace immediately! We will join forces with the troops in the south and return!" He took his bodyguards, his general and his family and left for his troops in the south.

A week later, the Sizat army was at full strength outside the city walls, ready to rid their capital of 'bugs'. The Emperor waited for the scouts to report back. Meanwhile, his generals discussed how to destroy the monsters with the minimum of casualties. Soon the scouts returned. The soldier at the head of the scouts saluted the Emperor and then took a few steps forward. "Sir, there are no enemies in the city and..." The Emperor jumped to his feet and interrupted the soldier.

"What do you mean, there are no enemies? You mean there are no monsters, which I have seen with my own eyes!" The soldier, trying to save his life, fell at the Emperor's feet and trembled as he repeated his story. "We went all the way to your palace... We went all the way to your palace, sire! I swear to the gods that we have not met a single enemy!"

The emperor quickly realised that there was no need for the soldier to lie, and summoned the other scouts. All the soldiers who came confirmed what the soldier who was still on his knees had said.

"And my people? Are there any survivors?"

The emperor's question made all the soldiers' faces darken. None of the soldiers wanted to answer the question, but the Emperor grabbed one of the soldiers by the collar. The soldier began to cry at the Emperor's anger and the memory of what he had seen. Not getting an answer, the Emperor turned to another soldier and got his answer: There was not a single person left alive in the city.

It took hours for the Sizat army to enter the city. Every street, every quarter was thoroughly searched. Once the city was secure, the Emperor set foot in the capital. But the sight he saw left him speechless. Lifeless bodies lay among the ruins, the once bustling streets now deserted. The Emperor was too shaken to face this terrible reality. He did not leave his room or speak to anyone for days.

After a few days, the Emperor came to his senses and entered the throne room to get a report. There were many things to tell the Emperor. In particular, there were many economic and political problems, but the Emperor would not listen to them. All he wanted to know was where the insects were. The soldier in charge of gathering information about the insects came forward.

The soldier bowed to the emperor and began to speak in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, we have searched the entire empire, but we have not found a single trace of insects. That is all we know: These creatures came from the south of the city. But there is no clue as to where they came from, where they were hiding before the attack. Like an army of ghosts, they appeared out of nowhere and disappeared again. "

Seeing that the Emperor was deep in thought, the soldier interrupted his report. After a few minutes of silence, the Emperor said, "We had some insect corpses. Did you learn anything from them?" he asked.

Another soldier had the answer to that question. He came forward. The soldier could not hide his excitement as he stood before the Emperor. For the past three days, he had been examining the bodies of two giant insects -known to the soldiers as 'demons'- that had been killed by the Emperor's guards. Exhaustion was evident in his eyes, but the desire to share his findings kept him going.

Breathlessly, the soldier began to speak: "Your Majesty, these creatures are of incredible size. They are exactly five and a half metres long. Moreover, the two specimens we have are identical. Their exoskeletons are extraordinarily strong, about thirty centimetres thick..."

The Emperor jumped to his feet in anger. "Tell me how to kill these creatures! You can tell my generals about your useless knowledge later!" The soldier's excitement suddenly gave way to fear at the Emperor's stern outburst. His voice began to shake, but he did not hesitate to share what he knew. "Sir, their stomachs... or rather the lower part of their bodies are relatively soft. If a few soldiers with the power of the Light Stones attack this place, they can easily take care of the insects."

The emperor was somewhat satisfied with what he had heard. The insects were not invincible, but soldiers with the power of the Light Stones were invaluable. Besides, it was not clear where the enemies came from or how they came. There were only about ten thousand soldiers in the Empire who could handle these insects, and they formed the core of the Imperial Army. If the same number of insects attacked, at least two thousand soldiers had to be ready. Of course, this was a risky number.

As the Emperor pondered this, he noticed that the soldier who had just told him about the insects was still waiting in front of him. Although the soldier was obviously frightened, he had something else he wanted to say. The Emperor realised this wish. "Is there anything else you wish to say?"

The soldier began to speak excitedly. This time he knew he had to be brief.

"We found a lot of Light Stones in the bodies of the insects."

This was the most important information the Emperor heard that day. Even without the Light Stone, there were people who had the power of the Light Stone. However, most of these people could not reach the potential of the stone. In terms of physical strength, most of them only had the strength of a few soldiers. This was far from making a decisive difference on the battlefield, and the same was true for other countries. What mattered were much stronger soldiers, and the Stone of Light could strengthen them in a very short time. The Emperor retired to his chambers to digest what he had heard.