A few seconds after Iain and Lilly disappeared the temperature in the village dropped rapidly.

The gurgling stream slowly turned into ice, as did the residues of blood.

Unbeknownst to Iain and Lilly the villagers had been sleeping since their parents’ arrival. But now their bodies quickly began freezing over, leaving their live or death uncertain.

The whole village already resembled a winter scenery before a shadowy figure silently arrived. Demonstrating its unbelievable control over its own strength, the figure abruptly came to a standstill.

Shortly after Tekark isolated the village, his rival on Earth noticed the anomaly. Even for Eldrak it wasn’t easy to notice strange movements in mana from such a distance.

However, this was different here on Earth. No one would cause big disturbances in mana on this planet, leading Eldrak to sense Tekark’s action this time.

Quickly putting two and two together, Eldrak realized that his clan must have somehow observed him. Burning in anger the young genius didn’t care for his mission.

Before understanding what happened the soldiers already dropped unconscious as Eldrak ran back towards the village.

On his way he had to stop and shield his eyes for a short while as a star suddenly appeared on earth.

Curiosity mixed with vigilance as Eldrak continued his way. The light which appeared as fast as it disappeared certainly wasn’t their doing.

As soon as the Zrathras reached the village, his mood turned grim. He felt the all-encompassing coldness, knowing that elder Mouranek had to be close by.

Eldrak carefully walked towards the earlier light source. The eerie silence caused by the Rottals and now Mouranek couldn’t unnerve the trained warrior.

His body was on high alert, every single muscle ready to react should he come across strong enemies. If elder Mouranek wasn’t already on his way the young man might not have dared to investigate the village.

Even making his way through the ruined smithy and arriving at the grave of his own victim couldn’t influence his mood one bit.

Only as the scenery of the small backyard fell into his eyes, did Eldrak show a frown on his face. Naturally he immediately noticed the dead bodies of his clansmen.

A chill ran down his back as he inspected Tekark’s burned and Riark’s dried up bodies. His vigilance increased as he noticed their apparent lack of struggle.

No signs of a high intensity fight could be found here. Only some unconscious or dead humans and two dead Malohcras.

Eldrak felt himself empowered in his belief that only strength was important.

Even the supposed genius Tekark died such an unworthy death. It didn’t matter where he came from or if he had any backers. As soon as he met an unbeatable enemy his live was over.

Only if you are strong enough could you really do whatever you wanted. You could even… pity the weak.

Intrusive thoughts once again disrupted Eldrak’s mind as he noticed Sophia. The warrior grit his teeth but he didn’t manage to go against his instincts.

Staying on high alert Eldrak walked past some unconscious villagers before arriving in front of the quivering woman.

He sighed as he noticed her feeble body still protecting her father.

“Ahh… why didn’t you just stay asleep?”

Sophia’s body shock violently upon hearing this question.

She herself wished more than anything to be unconscious now.

Taking all her strength Sophia slowly rose her head. Obvious exhaustion painted her face in white as small signs of frostbite already started appearing.

Only her eyes remained clear as she spoke through clattering teeth:

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“You… Are you a Rottal?”

For the first time in his live Eldrak’s thoughts began spinning out of control. A massive conflict engulfed his entire being. He couldn’t even concentrate on the headache assaulting his brain.

Invisible strands of fate suddenly gathered like metal attracted by a magnet. Time seemingly came to a standstill.

Somehow Eldrak felt like his next decision might change his whole live or even more. As the genius Zrathras struggled to make up his mind, strands of fate tightened around his head, obviously trying to force him on a certain path.

Feeling an inexplicable pressure on his brain, Eldrak refused to surrender. Even if his decision ended up complying with his predetermined fate, he refused to bend to someone else’s will.

Suddenly a strange feeling ran through his whole body. Eldrak had only felt this once before.

Although he had always been a genius, his abilities only began to skyrocket after he found a mysterious broken stone tablet on one of his first missions. Back then a comfortable sensation engulfed him as this tablet fused into his body.

Since he never found any trace of this treasure again afterwards, he simply kept its existence a secret.

Now after hundreds of years this sensation suddenly appeared again. The strands of fate surrounding Eldrak reacted as if meeting their natural enemy.

They didn’t hesitate a single second as they let go of the young Zrathras, panicking as they fled in all directions.

Eldrak felt an unprecedented freedom in his mind. He took a deep breath as the air miraculously tasted purer than ever. With such a state of mind, Eldrak felt like everything he wanted was possible.

The young warrior’s struggle only lasted for an instant, so Sophia’s worried eyes were still observing him carefully.

“No, I am not.

You have to listen to me now:

Don’t say anything!

You understand?

If you don’t want to die you have to trust me!”

Listening to Eldrak’s words, Sophia’s stomach churned. Her fists tightened around her father’s arm, searching for some form of reassurance. Despite being unable to comprehend the bigger picture, the young woman knew her only option was to follow Josef’s words.

Observing as Sophia slowly nodded her head, Eldrak was impressed. This woman was only a normal human. She didn’t have any extraordinary strength or abilities. However, she showed a resilience even seasoned warriors might not possess.

After making sure Sophia knew what to do, Eldrak inspected his surroundings while waiting for the elder to arrive.

Since the village was already covered in frost, Mouranek naturally was already on his way.

Therefore, it only took a few seconds more before the old Zrathras glided down on an ice platform.

The elder openly showed his bad mood. Hurrying towards Earth, he noticed a transmission through space, signaling some long-distance teleportation.

Naturally he knew that with his proficiency in space magic he wasn’t able to track his targets once they traveled on a spatial path.

Realizing that he wouldn’t catch up to his enemies, the elder reduced his speed and thus his presence as he continued towards the village.

As soon as he arrived he noticed the violent reaction of Sophia.

The young woman naturally panicked as another monster suddenly appeared. On top of that even the simple human could feel the danger radiating from Mouranek.

As she observed this newcomer who only had two arms, but whose four eyes seemed to freeze the world with a simple gaze, Sophia couldn’t stop the trembling of her body.

Mouranek was surprised that the young woman didn’t pass out from his mere presence. His eyes swept the scene, searching for clues about his enemies.

However, the old Rottals knew even the tiniest clue could spell grave danger for their children, so how would they dare to let anything behind?

As soon as the soulstone did its job successfully, the surrounding runes dissolved any blood, clothes, and parts of their bodies before vanishing themselves.

Therefore, Mouranek’s inspection didn’t yield any results. At least until his gaze fell back on Sophia’s body.

Since this woman was the only one awake, she must have watched the whole process.

The elder jumped down from his ice platform as he focused on Eldrak, who stood in front of Sophia.

Noticing the monster coming closer the young woman closed her eyes and hoped for the best. However, suddenly she received a massive shock when Mouranek and Josef began to speak in a language she didn’t understand.

Her thoughts turned into a mess while her body even stopped shaking. Sophia simply resigned herself to fate.

Eldrak at the same time had to steel his nerves as he confronted Mouranek.

“Junior.”

Listening to the elder’s displeased voice, Eldrak already knew this wouldn’t be an easy conversation.

“Elder.”

“What do you think you are doing?”

The young warrior only answered after a second of silence:

“I am doing what I want to do.”

“You are protecting someone who might hold vital information.”

“I know.”

“So. Step aside.”

Eldrak silently endured the pressure Mouranek released. The elder was already showing him respect by talking to him, but Eldrak wouldn’t budge this time.

“No, I won’t.”

“Foolish! We indulged your whims in the past because you always put the clan first. But what are you doing this time?!”

“The clan will always hold priority. But I will protect this human this time!”

A grating sound suddenly escaped Mouranek’s mouth. Sophia categorized it as laughter, but it didn’t hold any cheerfulness or friendliness.

“Do you think you have what it takes? How are you going to protect her? Every other elder would have already shoved you aside!”

Suddenly the young warrior raised his head. With unprecedented firmness he dared to focus on Mouranek’s eyes as he slowly spoke.

“I nominate her as my retainer.”

Mouranek’s thoughts turned to shock as he couldn’t be clearer about the implications of those words.

He spoke, almost roared, with anger apparent in his tone:

“Don’t you dare! Don’t. You. Dare. Saying. IT!”

Enduring the veiled threat in Mouranek’s voice, Eldrak spoke the words he thought would never leave his mouth:

“I am calling for a Ritual of Ascendence!”