A middle aged man dressed in robes walked briskly up a large and elegantly decorated corridor, lit with bright blue torches feuled by mana, revealing his snow white hair. Two men in similar attire accompanied him, walking beside him with apparent impatience and eagerness. Each man wore elaborate robes with brilliant colours, made of the finest materials. Ranging from the first man's snow white robe which was lined with blue, to the other two's darker coloured robes of dark red lines with gold and purple lined with blood red, each robe bearing a symbol on the back representing the respective kingdoms that they hailed from.
Cold wind blew through the massive windows lining the corridor walls, as if it were an omen of what was to come. A large set of stone gates were at the end of the corridor, with carvings of epic battles and beasts of awesome strength. Two guards were standing side by side before the gates and upon seeing the three approaching figures, immediately sprung to action, blue energy appearing in their palms as they prepared to fire lethal spells.
Before the guards could finish, however, they were both incased in blocks of ice which appeared to have come out of nowhere. "Fools. As if they'd even land a single scratch on us." The white robed man said with disdain. "Do not let your guard down, Nexal. We're dealing with 'him', after all. Saving mana is critical is we are to succeed." The old man in red robes cautioned. "Of course I know that." The white robed man snapped back. "I only spent a negligible amount on those weaklings. Do you take me for a fool?"
The man in red robes sighed, but didn't reply. Upon reaching the gates, the white robed man pressed his palm against the gates, mana surging through the massive gates as he opened them. As gates required mana to open, he had no choice but to use mana.
Opening slowly with a loud creak, the gates only served to build up suspense and the once eager and impatient men became apprehensive. Beyond these gates laid their target. However, their target was the King of Mages, a man who had previously defeated all the most powerful mages in order to earn his place on the throne. A man who had defeated all three of them with ease.
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Once the gates had opened all the way, it revealed a large room with no torches or any other artificial light source. With only the light of the full moon shining through the windows to reveal it's golden decorations, trophies, and the magnificent yet ominous throne made of mana stones and decorated with emeralds and rubies, it was still a sight to behold.
On the throne sat a man with robes more elababorately decorated than all of the three mens' robes combined. It was a dark green with dark purple lining and a black belt from which hung various bottles filled with strange liquids. The robes were decorated with black and gold serpents coiling themselves around the robe's sleeves and two silver cobras poised to strike on the back.
While the robe's hood was low, it could do nothing to conceal the piercing golden slit eyes of the man atop the throne, looking down upon the three guests condescendingly with cold indifference.
"Nexal, Ignis, Malum." A deep voice echoed through the throne room, as if they were spoken by some divine being. "It would appear that you've decided to rebel against your rightful ruler. Pray tell, what could you possibly do against me with your pitiful strength?" The King said mockingly, as if the three who stood before him, known to be the three strongest mages in the world, second only to him, were nothing more than ants.
Nexal glared at the King, his icy blue eyes burning with utter contempt as he spat out his words as if every word he spoke to this man were a stab wound. "Arrogant scum. You're nothing more than a tyrant; a man addicted to his own power. On this night, your reign shall end." The men beside him seemed to have gained newfound confidence upon hearing his words.
"Hmph. Done with your little speech?" The King said in his trademark condescending way before rising from his seat. He leaped down from the steps leading up to the throne, landing without a sound on the hard marble floor. "Then let us begin."