When the Emperor entered the castle, which was partially destroyed, he got shocked with the next thing he saw: the dead body of the Empress was laying on the ground. The Emperor hurriedly commanded the General, "Find Artenious as soon as possible, and find out what happened here."
The General, obeying the command, asked the citizens for information regarding this disaster and the Emperor. He reported back to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, according to reports, we have found out that two days ago a great disaster was summoned here. It looked like a devil. Mages and knights couldn't fight it, so the Emperor of Arcanis used teleportation with the devil, and then everything became quiet. But after some time, a bright light could be seen in the castle and then a loud noise of a nuke was heard. The direction of the sound was from the forest near the capital Arcendra."
The Emperor ordered, "We shall march towards the forest and find Artenious at once."
As they got near the forest, they could see a large flattened area which had been burnt. Nothing in the radius of the blast could be seen but a few large bones, the skull of a devil, and a man layed on the earth.
Theron got shocked and terrified after seeing the monstrous skull but decided to at least retrieve the corpse of the Emperor of Arcanis, one of his best friends. After they retrieved the corpse of Artenious, the Emperor was angry and sad at the same time, and even terrified. Then the Emperor decided to go back to Valthera to check on the condition of Caelith and ask him about the proper details.
The Emperor reached the castle of Arcanis with the corpse of Artenious and layed it with Artenious's wife. He asked the General to check on the condition of the teleportation portal.
The General reported, "Your Majesty, the teleportation portal is working now. We can go directly to Valthera."
The Emperor nodded and entered the portal. He reached Valthera. After travelling a few distances, he reached his castle and checked on Caelith.
Caelith was still on his bed, traumatized from the event. The child who liked to talk was now quiet. The Emperor got even sadder but decided to still ask him.
The Emperor entered the room and asked Caelith, "Cael, can you tell me what happened that day? I need to know."
Caelith became startled from the sudden voice and replied, "Uncle, how are my mother and father?"
The Emperor said, "I'm really sorry Cael, but before we reached there, everything was ended."
Caelith understood what he meant and told him about the incident. This time Caelith wasn't crying, but the Emperor could still saw the sad look on Caelith's face.
The Emperor told Caelith, "Don't worry Cael, we'll prepare a grand burial for them to honour their sacrifice."
Caelith nodded, and the Emperor got out of the room and ordered the General, "Send an invitation to all Emperors and tell them it's Code Black[1]."
Every Emperor got the invitation and hurried to Valthera. All Emperors were in one meeting hall. The Emperor of Parthion asked, "Why didn't Artenious come, and what's the reason for Code Black? You know we can't use it anytime we want, only when a great disaster strucks."
Theron with a heavy voice said, "Artenious is dead... and the reason for Code Black is Artenious's death and the reason he died."
Everyone got shocked. "How could Artenious even die? He was the best mage in the current world." This shock was too much.
But still, the Emperor of Dravonar asked, "Can you explain?" With that, Theron told everyone about the incident. Everyone got terrified that Artenious got on the verge of using that technique.
But still, the Emperor of Celestial asked, "Cael... he's alright, right? We still have an Ardynveil. We can't let the legacy of Ardynveil die. He must live on."
Theron said, "Yes, he's fine for now, and you're right. If House Ardynveil were to fall, the world will be in turmoil. And with this meeting, we should also start training ourselves and our children to the extent, since we don't know if it was a coincidence or a planning."
The Emperor of Dravonar said, "Wait... did you check the seal? It can't be possible for a monster monarch like that devil to be summoned into the air."
Everyone got on high alert. The Emperor of Veyndor said, "He's right. We should check the seal first."
Everyone placed their hand on the table and got teleported to a different dimension. There lay only a gate, sealed, and void. The Emperor of Celestial said, "The seal... it can't be... From the Godwar era, it didn't even move, but now the seal is weak by 2%. This isn't a good sign."
Everyone understood the gravity of the weakening of the seal by 2%. For thousands of years, this seal was supreme. None could even touch it. The documents of the family say, "The seal is supreme, created by the Seven Thrones. Inside lies destruction."
Everyone returned to the hall after confirming it. The Emperor of Valthera said, "Now since we have confirmed everything, we shall put ourselves to the limit and acscend to the next level. And the preparation of the grand burial for our friend will commence tomorrow. Let's see each other in Arcanis tomorrow."
With that, everyone left.
The next day, preparation for the grand burial commenced. Every Emperor came to Arcanis. Caelith was sad; maybe the word sad can't even describe his emotion. In order to give him respect, every soldier from each empire saluted. The Emperors placed white flowers on the body of Artenious and the Empress.
When Caelith placed a flower on his father and mother, a strange phenomenon occurred. The voice of Artenious could be heard throughout the whole continent, "To the people of Arcanis, I might be no more in this world, but House Ardynveil shall pass its light to the world. Therefore, I hereby announce, Caelith Ardynveil is your new Emperor..." Everyone acknowledged it. And a space opened and a pouch got in front of Cael with a letter that said, "This is your birthday gift, dear Cael."
Caelith burst into tears. Caelith told the Emperors, "My little sister was going to be born in three months."
Everyone got shocked and too sad. Everyone could feel their blood boiling. With a grand ceremony, everyone paid their respect to the Emperor, Empress, and the brave fighter who fought till the last breath for this nation.
A strange shadow watching from a tree said with a deep voice, "This path will be covered in darkness, but his light will light others' hope."
The strange shadow was Mr. X[2].
The Emperor of Valthera said to Caelith, "Cael, if you want, you can stay in our castle until you become an adult. Until the age of 16, you should complete your education and become one of the greatest mages. The work of your empire will be handled by us and the cost of repairing. What do you think?"
Caelith answered the Emperor, "Thank you, Uncle. Please take care of Arcanis. I'm going to a closed-door training for 10 years. I'll return after 10 years and go to the academy after that."
Everyone understood what he meant. He wanted to become strong, strong enough so that an incident like this would never happen again.
With that, the ceremony ended with grand gestures. Arcanis was being repaired, and Caelith was gone to the closed-door training in the family library of Ardynveil. It consisted of everything: information, a training ground, and the food was provided by the maid.
---
While Caelith was in closed-door training.
Two years passed. In the empire of Valthera, a new sword prodigy came to light, Astrein Valenor. He's at the age of three but could lift a sword. It wasn't any sword but the family sword passed down by the progenitor. Not anyone could lift that sword, but for Astrein, it felt like the sword allowed him to lift it, as a grandfather allows his grandchildren to play with him.
Astrein had golden hairs, blue eyes, and a cute face with a tiny body of a three-year-old baby. He used to run throughout the whole castle. He spent his whole time watching his brother training rentlessly. His brother used to tell him about a mage named Caelith and the great Emperor of Arcanis, Artenious Ardynveil.
Draen was 9 years old now, and was a 3-star warrior. He could use aura and was an exceptional swordmaster. His father used to train him in family arts. Theron was a 7-star warrior now. He really trained rentlessly after his friend's death. This was same with the other Emperors; they trained themselves to the limit and achieved the next level.
Next year, an invitation for a birthday celebration came to everyone. This invitation was from Veyndor. The third child of the Emperor of Veyndor was born.
Caelith was invited but didn't attend the party. He sent a gift for the child and an apology letter for not attending. Other houses attended the party.
Draen was present too with his brother Astrein.
Draen introduced Astrein to everyone.
[1] code black is the highest form of emergency for nations. It is also used so meeting on the most important topic , it can't used until the situation is too dangerous
[2] His identity is mysterious but he's the the person whom I mentioned in the first chapter. The mysterious entity.