Blaze, Frost, and Illumina was in the center of a strange, beautiful world. This wasn't Tellus. It wasn't even Midgard. This was the Ol'trinian, an inaccessible realm encompassing the physical, spiritual, and metaphysical world. It felt weightless, timeless, and empty. Everything was calm, but alive, and it's the place where Hexbeasts dwelled the most as it acted like an ocean of mana.
They had come here for a reason.
Grimhild knew of their whereabouts in the At'ama, so they decided to move.
There was no gravity here, only light, color, and waves of pure mana drifting like clouds. And floating in the middle of all this… was a castle.
It wasn't built on land, and only floated.
It was a massive fortress, dark and beautiful, resting on nothing but the power of Merlin's magic. Its towers curved toward the endless sky, and its walls glowed with spells even gods would fear to touch.
Merlin arrived at the gates without walking, she simply willed herself forward. In this place, ideas had no weight, so magic could never be used, but Merlin was different. She was a disciple of Grimhild Yorgana.
With a quiet word in the Spirit Language, the gate opened. Inside was her domain hidden away from both gods and mortals.
It was called the Aether Spire.
In a wide hall lined with floating lanterns and black floors, three familiar spirits awaited her. They were seated around a circular table, arguing as usual.
"Merlin!" shouted Blaze, the Spirit of Fire, jumping up from her seat with sparks flying from her head. "You kept us waiting! Again!"
Merlin smirked slightly, brushing some mana dust from her robes. Traveling the Bifrost was dangerous.
"Time doesn't move here, remember?"
Frost, the Spirit of Ice, said nothing at first, just blinked slowly with their usual blank face "She's right." They finally said. "There is no waiting. Only stillness."
Illumina, the Spirit of Light, chuckled softly. "You both bicker like children." She turned to Merlin with grateful eyes. "Welcome back, Great Mage. Has something changed?"
Merlin walked calmly toward the center.
"Grimhild is gathering a group of people, and they're much stronger than I imagined."
Illumina widened her eyes.
"Who are these people if even you are calling them powerful?"
Merlin smiled and sat down, gazing upon them all.
"Fhiron, the Elf King, Elizabeth, a Kaizamei, Kyto, a Cyrodel, Jean, an Ayleon, Obsidia, a golem who can use authorities… and none other than Chroliosa, the time spirit."
Frost's bland face contorted into shock.
"…The Elf King and a Golem that can use authorities? How is that possible?"
Merlin glanced at Frost.
"Grimhild created her."
The ice spirit lowered his head.
"That makes a lot of sense…"
"Grrr… that Grimhild bitch pisses me off!! Why is she so strong, goddamnit!" Blaze slammed her fists onto the table. "And what of Lilith, the Dark Mother?!"
Merlin chuckled at her question, closing her head with a sinister smirk.
"I've sent the Idea of Evil back to the Nie'mada… and with her arrival, she will take over the Great King, Vrunemir."
"Vrunemir? The tyrannical king?" Asked Frost.
"Yes. He is the perfect vessel! Naturally, the Idea of Evil, or any Alufray is too powerful to manifest in the physical world. They need a vessel that can contain their power, so they won't destroy existence."
Alufray Spirits were giant, sentient, abstract formations that could annihilate the physical world with ease. They dwelled beyond the three-dimensional plane that mortals lingered in, and followed a different logic outside of the mortal mind.
The only way for them to come into being was with a physical vessel; one that had enough willpower to contain them. For Lilith, that was Vrunemir.
Blaze leaned back in her seat, gripping the edge of the table with scorched fingers. "So… we're just letting Lilith run wild in the physical world now? Possessing a tyrant no less?"
"She won't run wild." Merlin said calmly. "Lilith has made a contract with me. She'll do what is necessary."
"But what exactly is necessary, Merlin?" Illumina asked. Her voice stayed soft, but there was a trace of unease behind her golden glow. "We're relying on chances here. Grimhild must be killed!"
"I know that, Illumina" Merlin replied. "We are simply preparing."
Frost folded his arms.
"And Grimhild? What do we do if she finds us here?"
"She will." Merlin said flatly. "Eventually. This is Grimhild we are talking about here; the Witch who conquered all of magic, and can even kill Death itself."
"Then what do we do?" asked Illumina. "We can't run forever."
Merlin stood and walked to the edge of the floating castle's observatory. The sky outside swirled in soft blues and pinks as mana storms stretched endlessly into the distance.
They were deeper in the Bifrost than any spirit or mortal had ever dared to go. Below them, there was nothing. Just the great, silent ocean of mana that held everything together.
"We don't run." Merlin said.
She turned around.
"We plan ahead."
The others looked confused.
"Lilith's purpose is to relay information to me about Grimhild in combat. She will do whatever is necessary to learn more about my former teacher, to see her weaknesses, strengths, and vulnerabilities." Merlin chuckled, turning to face the three spirits. "That is why she will be Vrunemir. He's strong enough, and his heart is corrupted, which is what's needed for the Idea of Evil to take him as a vessel."
Illumina looked down in thought.
"Why not use Lancelot, or Dracula? They're far more powerful."
Merlin approached the table, her heels clanking against the floor.
"Dracula is more powerful than I could ever be. He is out of the question! He's what is known as a Voidbound, similar to a fearsome woman many years ago, known as Ophelia Grovenheart."
Everyone remained quiet as Blaze growled.
"And for Lancelot, well… he is merely a pawn. I need that foolish, battle-obsessed maniac to test the limits of Grimhild, to further advance my ultimate system."
"…Your system?" Asked Frost, curious.
"My own system… similar to the Yorgana System, but superior."
Illumina lifted her brow.
"Is that possible?"
Merlin snickered, lowering her head.
"Anything is possible for me. I only need to know how the Yorgana System works, and its functions, that way I can replicate it and make mine stronger. I only know small bits of it. That's why I'll rely on Lancelot, with the shard of Excalibur I gave him, to push Grimhild to her limits so I can see the Yorgana System in action even more. Chroliosa wasn't strong enough to actually challenge Grimhild."
Frost nodded. "So that is your plan? Lancelot will give you information about the Yorgana System, and Lilith will give you information about Grimhild's strengths, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities. You seem to have everything planned out."
Illumina nodded with a sigh of relief, now smiling. "That makes me relieved to hear. Grimhild will pay for what she's done to us." Illumina, the bright spirit, expressed her anger.
"I can't wait to rip her limb from limb!!" Shouted blaze, burning the table with her palms.
"She… deserves to pay." Proclaimed Frost, emotionless in his eyes.
"Grimhild… she killed me once before, and shattered my pride!!" Yelled the fire spirit.
"She once brought this world into years of darkness, where I couldn't shine..." Said Illumina, closing her eyes.
"She also killed me next to Blaze in the past… we deserve justice." Announced Frost.
Merlin cackled, staring at everyone with a delightful smirk.
"Soon, we will have our revenge. This entire world is against Grimhild! She has no one who can protect her except those fools she hangs around with! But they won't last long before they die."
Blaze's flames burned brighter, licking the ceiling before fading into embers.
"When the time comes, I'll be the one to deal the final blow. Let me burn her down to the Nucleus, you hear me?!"
"She won't even see it coming." Frost muttered with his flat expression "We will dismantle her piece by piece, like how she did me."
"Her strength is built on hope." Illumina added. "Hope in the people around her. If we remove them… she will fall."
"I was once her student." Merlin said quietly. "She proclaimed I was the most talented soul she's ever trained." Her eyes narrowed until her voice hardened. "But she turned against me. The reason I trained with her was to have enough power to get revenge against those who killed my family. She said that revenge wasn't the key, and that it would only bring chaos." Merlin frowned, balling her hands into fists. "What nonsense!! Can you believe that? She wanted me to just let the people who murdered my family, walk free! So she turned away and stopped training me, telling me to serve and protect King Arthur. Little does she know, I'm using even Arthur Pendragon as part of my plan to take her down."
The spirits stayed silent.
"I will end her." Merlin said, filled with rage. "She deserves nothing but pain!"
The three spirits stood.
"We stand with you." Illumina said, her light glowing brighter.
"Until the end." Frost added.
"Let's burn her down!" Blaze howled.
"Then it's decided. We will begin Phase Two. Let the world crumble around her. Grimhild Yorgana will suffer."