Eryssa was floating in an unknown area... There was no up, no left, no right, and no down. Everywhere, spirits seemed to drift around her as she remained in a womb-like state. They were like butterflies, some translucent and ethereal, floating all around and beyond Eryssa. Something seemed to be present beneath—or beyond—the unexplainable, mysterious spirit world, as a second Eryssa was slowly rising from within herself.
The spirits all around muttered strange words as they coalesced toward Eryssa. She had her eyes closed as she screamed... Her body was breaking apart while another, huge golden Eryssa completely manifested. That manifestation was huge and seemingly larger and more mature than the current Eryssa.
As Eryssa's body was breaking apart, the golden manifestation of herself began to fade.
.....
A few moments before the events that happened at Veer's side, outside the ritual mirror in Drudar Castle, where Eryssa had gone, a veiled lady muttered in shock, "She... The princess will die at this rate… Help! Help! We need help!"
Several other ladies rushed over. All of them wore white clothes and had draped veils over their heads, their foreheads covered by headbands. They formed a circle and joined hands. Their eyes gradually turned vacant as something began to manifest, something intangible—something that was heading toward the mirror, perhaps to fetch Eryssa, who was dying inside it.
Suddenly, a huge armored man landed, wielding two swords. His landing shook the area. As he looked around, the veiled ladies reverted to their normal state. The first one screamed, "Why did you stop us?! Now she will die… Nooooo!"
Just then, through the faint window, a starlight flashed—a bright flash of light that illuminated the sky for a moment toward the southeast. Then, a huge manifestation of an emerald bow appeared in the far distance. It was enormous, making the sky glow in shades of emerald. The earlier, sharp white light vanished.
The armored knight was covered in grey armor as he looked toward the window and said, "Just as predicted… But what was that light before...? It felt like familiar energy...."
Just then, inside the mirror, Eryssa's body stabilized the moment the emerald bow appeared in the sky. The spirits and her golden projection merged together, surrounded by an emerald light. The emerald light, as though serving as a catalyst of some kind, helped Eryssa's broken body come back together as even brighter emerald lights shone from inside her body. As though some kind of resonance had occurred, Eryssa's screams faded as the spirits jumped with joy.
The veiled ladies outside muttered in shock, "How… how did the emerald bow activate…? Unless... unless....."
They didn't finish their sentence as they sensed the gaze of the grey-armored knight.
....
At the same time, in a land where the great mystic tree stood, extending into the infinite sky as though cradling the world all around with its bright golden leaves, inside the Ancestor's Chamber where Veer had once sat, the ancestor muttered in a daze, "They awakened it… though it's still in a half-dormant state… Even then…"
"Has he completely lost his mind or what?"
Her gaze pierced through the mysterious kingdom of Mythria as though she could see everything. She whispered gently, "Lythria… be safe."
She walked out of her chambers as she looked at the picture in the hall. Looking at the woman's face that Veer had once been lost in, she started staring unblinkingly.
.....
The kingdom of Drudar was in a state of frenzy. Preparations were proceeding at a frantic pace. But as the night deepened, they saw a faint, bright flash of light—like a streak of white sunlight—and then the manifestation of a huge bow in the southeast.
Eleana's gaze was heavy as she watched. She thought of the earlier flash of light—why did it resemble the art Veer had used?
"What did he use to call that?"
"Star Arts...?"
But he shouldn't be capable of something on that scale… What had happened? Had something happened?
Every knight looked up at the faint emerald light shining in the night sky, dumbfounded.
....
Far away, in a majestic castle, a woman sat on a throne. She had a commanding presence as she looked at the person before her. Adorned with jewels, her black hair streaked with white, she appeared mature and very beautiful. She wore green and white robes and looked like a ruler.
The throne was huge, and all around the castle were many people seated on thrones at various levels, as though the height indicated how much power they had. Just beside her were two seats, on her left and right, occupied by two young men who bore a striking resemblance to each other.
She asked the young man on the right, "So, William, what's the update?"
"You should have received some info from that person?"
The man, who also bore a resemblance to her, bowed and said, "Mother! It's in progress! Once the boy and the girl are delivered, we can begin the process…"
"If we succeed in the ritual, I will finally achieve what I wanted."
The man on the left commented with a sneer, "You... Mother!! You really think it's going to work?"
The woman looked at him as the regally dressed man, William, muttered, "Brother Rhyvis!! So, you tell me... How can we protect our kingdom?"
Rhyvis commented, "Aren't we already ready for war?"
Just then, an old man in yellow came slowly walking up the stairs. He had long, heavy metals on his body that vibrated as he walked, and there was a book in his arms—a huge black book.
The queen looked at the man and asked, "Oh, Sage Preceptor... Please unbind your wisdom and tell us: is it time?"
The old man bowed as he said, "Oh, Queen!! According to the calculations of the planes, it indeed is time. It is the correct time to attack Drudar and, once and for all, end all grudges and reap the benefits of what they are doing."
Many people, probably the court elders, stood up, trying to protest, but before they could, the queen raised her hands.
Suddenly, she and the preceptor both froze for a moment when the queen said, "It's the emerald bow…"
Every member of the council stood, startled, until she said in a commanding voice, "Stop the chatter."
"Everyone, sit down and listen. Knight Matreal, go bring the Knight Captains..."
The man bowed and went away. His footsteps echoed in the hallway as everyone fell silent.
The queen looked at the man before her, William, and continued, "It seems the plan failed—but that was somewhat expected. Regardless, we continue with the war. Prepare and depart."
She raised her hand, and six knights entered the hall. The air turned eerily silent. There was complete silence among the court elders, as none seemed to dare raise their voices.
Leading the newly entered team was a woman with a spear. She, too, had black-and-white hair.
The queen said, "Merissa, you will lead the team—with Neigrel, Kandra, Sethsi, Vridga, and Canthia."
Merissa looked like a frail but beautiful girl whose eyes were blackened, as though she hadn't gotten enough sleep for days. Draped in silver armor, only the spear behind her indicated that she was a formidable person, as the spear itself seemed to cause fear in people's hearts.
Beside her, Neigrel, a typical knight standing next to Merissa, yawned as he bowed.
Kandra, a massive knight, held a spiked weapon. He wore black armor with intricate wolf designs on his breastplate and a spiked mace on his back. Sethsi, a short-haired female knight, had two short swords at her waist. She looked less like a female and more like an exceptionally beautiful man, with silver armor that had a drake design on it.
Vridga carried a long sword on his back and wore deep red armor, while Canthia bowed with her eyes closed.
Canthia wore a dark, elongated dress that completely covered her. She appeared to be blind, as she wore a white band over her eyes, and her black hair fell all around her. She didn't have any weapons.
The queen said, "Council dismissed."
Everyone departed without question, but...
Only the prince, the queen's protectors, and the six knights remained. The queen stood and walked toward them.
There were three queen's protectors standing behind her, dressed in red armor. Their armor was identical, seemed extremely formidable, and also had drake-like designs on it. The tops of their helmets had feathers on them. Each of them stood like a statue behind the queen as she rose.
"Prepare a map," she commanded.
A map was prepared before her as a discussion took place between her preceptor and the captains, along with the two brothers who were the princes.
After the discussion ended, Merissa's eyes widened. "Queen, you…"
The queen smiled. "The apocalypse is coming. It's either now or never."
The rest of the knights were stunned. Vridga trembled. "This…"
The preceptor said, "It's worth it...."
The queen said, "Make sure to inform the Shuras...."
The queen's voice dropped as another tall woman entered, dressed in typical nun's clothes. She had a band at her waist, and her head was covered by her robes.
She had a huge scythe in her hand as she shouted, "Don't leave me out of this, Mother..."
....
In the east of Drudar, an old man sat in a restaurant, gazing outside in shock.
The atmosphere was tense, and a small girl was walking out of the restaurant with her mother as she muttered joyfully, "Mom, look! It's so bright..."
Everyone stopped eating and going about their activities as many people came outside.
The small girl then exclaimed again, looking at the sky as she muttered, "Mom... what a huge bow....."
Inside the restaurant, tears welled up in the old man's eyes as he muttered, "The Starweaver's Singularity Slash… Young Master…... Where are you?"
.....
At the same time, in a different area, a red-armored knight struck down a Breaven soldier with a flaming sword. Another knight with black hair and golden armor approached and said in a cheerful voice, "John, it seems our captain's judgment was correct."
John was about to respond when a streak of white light appeared—and an emerald bow manifested in the sky. He muttered in shock, "That light felt familiar…"
The golden-armored girl, Caria, jumped excitedly. "It's the emerald bow! The Kingdom of Drudar will rise!"
John gazed at the sky with a serious expression as he asked, "Whose power was that before...?"
Caria's face also became solemn as she said, "I've never seen anything like that...."
She paused and said with a sigh, "Anyway, with the bow manifesting, the war will become even more dangerous..."
John asked another knight nearby, "What's the situation with the captain?"
The knight replied, "The captain said to relay that our job here is done..."
"The Breqavan forces have been completely cleared from this area, as the commander wished. Knight Rhaelle says we can rest now."
John nodded as he sheathed his sword, but his gaze remained fixed on the eastern sky.
"What a familiar and ominous strike..."
....
At the same time, Veer felt broken as he caught Sythris, who collapsed onto him. Around them lay devastation. Veer looked at the last fragments of his projection, not knowing what to think or even understand.
The things that had happened surpassed anything he could ever imagine.
Sythris gazed at Veer as tears streamed down her face. Blood dripped as she sobbed, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't know at that time!"
She grabbed Veer's shoulders as she cried. "The commander said she would follow us and act before anything happened..."
"I just needed to warn you that there was a secret presence."
"I am sorry..."
She continued crying and apologizing, while Veer just looked at her in silence. He was too broken after watching his comrades die before his eyes.
Sythris cried and then noticed that Veer was barely maintaining his sanity and consciousness. She rummaged through her pockets as she tended to Veer's wounds. As she bandaged him, she looked around and saw that so many of their comrades had died—at least a dozen of them.
She muttered, "Veer! Don't blame yourself! It happened because of me!! Not you..."
Veer didn't speak. Sythris just wept.
Sythris looked toward Veer and saw something that deeply troubled her for some reason. It was a shock. More than that, she was overwhelmed by the immense scale of what had happened.
Veer's listless eyes stared past her—toward the ruined camp, reflecting the dead bodies.
He wondered… probably, who was he? What was that power? Was that really himself? Why was he so powerful? Why did the innocents have to die? Who was behind it all?
Did a spell summon him? That version of him? Did he just pull the stars themselves to unleash that unavoidable attack?
Veer's worldview was shattering, his emotions spiraling out of control as he looked at Sythris.