"Urgent report!!"
In the midst of an intact temple with a fire pit, a voice resonated from behind a thick wooden door that was clearly adapted to the rocky structure. As the voice sounded, the door swung open abruptly, revealing inside a study illuminated by flying candles. The study contained various shelves and an elegant-looking wooden desk, behind which sat a young man with short black hair and equally dark eyes.
"What is it?"
The young man behind the desk turned to look at the door, visibly annoyed and somewhat worried, asking in a cold and authoritative voice. At the door, a man dressed in black quickly replied in a nervous and urgent tone, not daring to enter the study.
"We've just received multiple reports of portals activating on their own and Golems emerging from them! Furthermore, a certain Zoe Laverne from the Arcane Order claims they have managed to take control of the Golems and the portals and are rescuing all the youths from the different factions!"
"What?!"
The young man in the study jumped up and exclaimed with disbelief and shock, slamming his right hand on the desk and shattering it. Immediately, a suffocating killing intent filled the air, causing the man in black to tremble. At that moment, a cold voice resonated.
"Give me every detail, down to the smallest one."
The man in black, who was suddenly struck by the young man's killing intent, was completely paralyzed, staring into his eyes, unable to speak. But upon seeing the young man's eyes narrow and stars and galaxies begin to shine within them, as if they contained the entire universe, the man quickly snapped out of his stupor, feeling all his danger alarms activate simultaneously. In a trembling voice, the man began to explain everything he knew.
"...Your Majesty, just a few minutes ago, several communication medallions were activated in rapid succession, and we received multiple reports. According to the reports, the portals at our men's positions suddenly opened, and several Golems and strange spheres emerged from them. A pre-recorded message from Zoe Laverne resonated, warning that the Golems would respond lethally to any attack and that their intention was to rescue the youths from the other factions."
"Damn it! How did they do it?!!! First, that damn basilisk appears out of nowhere, and now this, damn it!!!!"
Upon hearing the report, the young man kicked the ground in anger, causing a shockwave that made the light of the floating candles flicker while his mana vibrated wildly. Meanwhile, the man in black trembled like a leaf in the wind and quickly took a couple of steps back, utterly terrified. But after a few moments, the young man managed to contain his emotions and looked at the man in black with murderous eyes. As the patterns of stars and galaxies in his eyes shone brightly, he ordered.
"Order all units to try to infiltrate the portals as soon as they open, without thinking of anything else. If possible, obtain the method those bastards are using; if not, report everything they can before dying. Also, contact the 'Demon General' for me as quickly as possible."
"Immediately!" The man in black replied fearfully before running out of the place.
As for the young man, he let out a heavy sigh, feeling incredibly tired, so much so that he wanted to sit back down in his chair. But as he turned to look at it, he saw it shattered into pieces; his outburst had left him without a place to sit, an image that inevitably brought a bitter smile to his face.
(How did they do it...? Is the difference between a 'super genius' and an 'ordinary genius' really that great…? To manage to uncover the secrets of this ruin and gain control over it to such an extent in such a short time… This place has been ours for nearly three hundred thousand years, and we've barely scratched its surface… Life is truly too unfair… It doesn't give us ordinary characters even a single way out…)
While reflecting deeply, the young man couldn't help but lose himself in his thoughts, reminiscing about the past few years, which could only be described as calamitous. In an instant, they went from being excited and preparing to announce to the world that they once again had a Master-level, to losing everything. This inevitably caused a bitter smile to form on the young man's face, especially as he recalled his own life journey.
Before all that madness, he had gone from being the illegitimate son of the emperor, born from a drunken night with a maid, to being the heir to the throne in the shadows. He felt like the protagonist of the galaxy. Everything he did brought him enormous benefits, going from being a paper prince, despised and humiliated by his brothers, stepmothers, and even the servants, to becoming the center of attention after a couple of years of practicing magic.
His palace went from being abandoned to being filled with important visitors in just a few years, while his mother went from being mocked and humiliated to being the center of attention, respected and feared. Everything he attempted, he could master in a few years, and any business venture he tried was a success, so much so that he was known as the lucky child, the talisman for the rise of the Stellar Empire.
Moreover, his status soon reached unimaginable heights when the previous emperor, the greatest powerhouse of the Stellar Empire, decided to personally train him. After a few years, the previous emperor, pleased with his descendant, took him on journeys to various places to further improve him, journeys that always ended in enormous benefits. They always found treasures, rare herbs, corpses of ancient powerhouses, and more. They even once found a hidden mausoleum.
But perhaps that ancient mausoleum was the beginning of his downfall. After various trials, he managed to obtain the inheritance of a Master-level from over a million years ago, belonging to someone from the Lotus Union. Having another Master-level inheritance, even if it belonged to another faction and magical system, was a great blessing, but in his particular case, it was a turning point that possibly marked the start of his misfortunes.
In addition to the techniques, spells, and resources, inside that mausoleum was a strange book that recorded various 'secret techniques' supposedly to increase someone's lifespan and talent. Although the manual was strange and what it promised was tempting, he, as a proud genius, somewhat disdained it and doubted its veracity. But there was someone who didn't, someone who saw his life ending with no possibility of reaching the next level.
The former emperor, after seeing the book, became obsessed with it, and soon after, with his help, tested one of the rituals recorded in the book. Unfortunately, the ritual turned out to be real and even better than promised, which completely obsessed the former emperor. Now the old man on the brink of death could see hope for living and advancing, so he set everything aside and completely lost himself in deciphering the book and its bloody rituals, associating with the worst of the galaxy.
Although they continued traveling together, the former emperor gradually lost interest in him, ceasing to give him lessons, advice, and even resources, as if he were hoarding them for himself. But something was odd: even though he had become little more than an accessory on the old emperor's journey to master the book's rituals, utterly useless, the former emperor always took him along. But he soon understood why.
The old emperor kept him close as his good luck charm, and perhaps because his luck was real or by pure coincidence, just as the old emperor managed to decipher the ritual that would take him to the Master level, the necessary 'ingredient' appeared. A beautiful young woman with fair skin, bright-green eyes, and black hair adorned with bright and lush stars and galaxies, almost like a crown decreeing her the queen of the universe.
In a state of obsession, the former emperor forced the vassal kingdom of his Stellar Empire to hand over the young princess, took her as a concubine, and then made her bear a small child. This was the necessary sacrifice for his final leap to the Master-level. The emperor, his father, instead of stopping such madness, supported it wholeheartedly. He mobilized all the nation's resources to help the former emperor, focusing solely on the idea of having a new Master-level and nothing else.
But as if it were divine punishment for the atrocity they planned to carry out, a horrifying Myst calamity descended just as they were about to begin the ritual. This Myst calamity left the former emperor on the brink of death, killed the weak young woman who was not even 20 years old, and the 'sacrifice,' that small, innocent baby, ended up disappearing in the confusion.
Amid the fear of losing their greatest combat power and the obsessive desire to obtain a new Master-level, the emperor used all the empire's resources to keep the old emperor alive and find the 'sacrifice,' but he never appeared. Moreover, in the meantime, one calamity after another struck the empire, as if fate itself were determined to make them disappear as punishment for their 'sins.'
First, the already dwindling vitality of the old emperor plummeted, forcing them to sacrifice hundreds of people daily to keep him alive by following the book's rituals. Then, they fell victim to brutal economic repression that practically left them with no other sources of funding beyond Eldora Wood. All their business partners, suppliers, and allies suddenly refused to work with them on anything other than Eldora Wood, and many began to covet their secrets.
But definitely, the hardest blow of all came just a few years ago. Suddenly and unexpectedly, some random miners managed to find an unknown entrance to the ancient ruin discovered by the founder of the Stellar Empire, their deepest secret and the foundation of everything they had. This inevitably caused immense panic in the Imperial family, practically driving them to complete despair.
Amid that despair, unexpected news arrived at the palace: that damn starry hair appeared again, this time as a direct disciple of the Arcane Order. Perhaps out of desperation, or perhaps due to ingrained obsession, the emperor chose to see the news as an opportunity and a sign heralding the resurgence of the Empire, filling him with joy and boundless ambition.
Eager to "capitalize" on the supposed opportunity, the emperor, along with the dying old emperor, ended up devising a plan so crazy that even now, when everything had already begun, it filled him with doubts. No matter how he looked at it, it was complete madness, something that even he, with his great luck, didn't feel could be achieved.
Still, he had no choice but to be part of it. After all, he was not only an accomplice; he had greatly helped the old emperor decipher the rituals and had even enjoyed some of the 'benefits.' Although he had never dared to reach the extremes of the former emperor, that wouldn't matter to anyone.
If they failed and the Empire fell, he and the entire Imperial family, including his innocent mother, would be dead. But if they survived and he did nothing, neither the emperor nor the former emperor would let him or his mother live, so his only chance was to participate and win. He was already on the tiger's back, and there was no way to get off.
…
With a bitter and melancholic, almost regretful expression, the young man ended up looking at the ceiling as the stars and galaxies shining in his eyes slowly rotated. But after a few seconds, the young man's eyes turned sharp, and he clenched his fists while his mana vibrated powerfully around him, almost completely extinguishing the floating candles.
(But it no longer matters; the die is cast. This is all or nothing. Either we triumph and become heroes, or we are exterminated as demons. There is no middle ground! Whatever happens, we must win! My mother's life depends on my victory! Even if fate wills our destruction, it will first have to ask me if I agree! I will shatter fate with my own hands!!)
As the young man filled with resolve and his mana vibrated so violently that the candles in the room were extinguished, leaving him in total darkness, hurried footsteps echoed in the distance. Soon, a new man dressed in black appeared in front of the open door, holding a palm-sized medallion. Without letting the man in black speak, the young man in the darkness spoke in a firm and resolute voice.
"General, the situation has changed dramatically once again. We must readjust our plans."
The young man's voice faded, leaving the place in an uncomfortable silence amid the darkness until, after a couple of seconds, a calm and firm voice resonated from the medallion, giving the impression that the speaker could not be surprised.
"What do you have in mind?"
…
…
…
"How is the situation evolving in the cabins?"
As he exited the shelter with two wolf pups behind him, Erik asked Zoe, who was walking beside him with several papers in her hands. With a serious expression, Zoe began to explain while looking at Erik with a hint of fascination.
"Just as we expected, several youths grew impatient in the cabins and tried to sneak out, but all were captured. Furthermore, one tried to transmit information somewhere using a small medallion hidden inside his body. He is currently captured, and we confiscated the medallion. After Ethan, Chen, and Christine examine it and confirm it's safe, we'll give it to you so you can study it."
"Perfect. Did we discover anything from the captives?"
Erik nodded and asked as he stopped at the shelter's exit, looking toward the enormous hall. While his gaze shifted to the metallic cubes attached in the center, some horizontally and others vertically, Zoe shook her head and commented with a hint of regret.
"No. We had some hopes with those we didn't detect restrictive curses on, but one keeps swearing it's due to his family's rules, another tried to commit suicide and is currently in a coma, and the others simply refuse to speak."
"I see…"
Erik murmured thoughtfully but quickly shook his head and created a Myst platform beneath them. He began to advance toward the strange fortress made of metal cubes and asked in a calm voice.
"Is everyone assembled already?"
"Yes, everyone is gathered in the 'auditorium.'" Zoe nodded with a serious expression, to which Erik nodded calmly.
"Then let's not keep them waiting any longer."
***
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