Chapter 174: Farewell
[Scene: The Village of Elaria, just as the survivors arrive. Knights stagger in, carrying the wounded. Villagers panic as the news spreads.]
Villager 1: "The gas—it's coming here too?!"Villager 2: "What do we do? Where do we run!?"Knight Captain: (shouting) "Outskirts of the South Nation! NOW! Everyone move!"
[Thalanor, gasping for breath, breaks away from his men and charges through the village.]
Thalanor: (frantic) "Where is she—where is she—?"
[He bursts into a small home. His wife, Lysera, turns, startled. Before she can speak, he grabs her, holding her tightly.]
Thalanor: (voice breaking) "Lysera… thank the gods… you're safe."Lysera: (confused, worried) "Thalanor? What—what's happening? Why are you trembling?"Thalanor: (tears forming) "There's no time. The Aquarians… their gas… it's here. We must flee—NOW!"
[They embrace again, tighter this time. Thalanor pulls her out into the crowd of villagers gathering at the entrance.]
Thalanor: (booming voice) "All able Knights—carry the elderly, the wounded, anyone who cannot keep pace! No one is to be left behind!"
[Knights obey, lifting villagers onto their backs. The crowd begins to move. But the faint hiss of the gas is already audible, rolling over the hills like a creeping storm.]
Villager Child: (pointing, terrified) "T-The purple fog… it's coming!!"Knight Recruit: (shouting) "Faster! MOVE FASTER!"
[The villagers quicken their pace, but Thalanor stops in his tracks. His eyes widen. The gas is spreading much faster than he calculated.]
Thalanor: (low, grim) "...No. At this rate… there's no hope."
[Nearby, Volkra clenches his fists, his eyes darting.]
Volkra: (to himself) "Damn it… DAMN IT! Zarek… if only you were here with that teleportation ability…!"Milton: (snapping at him) "Don't lose it now, Volkra! This is bigger than us!"Kara: (trembling) "We can't outrun that gas… it's going to swallow us all…"Alexis: (thinking hard) "...Wait."
[They all turn to Alexis, who adjusts her glasses, eyes narrowing.]
Alexis: "Volkra, you said teleportation, right? It's not impossible. But—"Volkra: (hope sparking) "But what? Tell me, Alexis!"Alexis: "The mana cost is astronomical. Volkra, you don't have nearly enough to take an entire nation. At most… a handful. Maybe five."
[The recruits fall silent. Volkra's teeth grit. He slams his fist into the ground.]
Volkra: "Damn it! Then what's the point?! What good is saving five people when the rest…"Kara: (tears in her eyes) "But… maybe five is all we need."Milton: (looking up) "The King. If we save him… there's still hope."
[The four sprint to Thalanor, who is helping an old villager onto a knight's back. They bow their heads in urgency.]
Volkra: "Your Majesty! We… we have a way out."Thalanor: (stern) "Out? Explain, boy."Alexis: "Volkra can teleport us. But only a handful. If one of us has been to the North Nation before, we can make it there."Thalanor: (eyes narrowing) "...The North Nation."
[He looks back at the hundreds of villagers, Knights, his wife clutching his arm. His jaw clenches. His decision is instant.]
Thalanor: "Then it is decided. The villagers… my people… will remain here."Lysera: (shocked) "Thalanor—no! You can't—"Thalanor: (cutting her off, voice low but resolute) "Lysera… if I stay, we all die. If I leave with them, there is a chance… a sliver of hope. Eren, Zarek, Rylan… Elara… they will return with a cure."
[He raises his sword, amplifying his voice with mana so all the villagers hear him.]
Thalanor: (booming across the village)"Citizens of the South Nation! Hear me! This gas cannot be outrun. It will engulf us all in minutes. I cannot save you now… but I swear, this is not the end. I will join these knights, and we will seek salvation from beyond these lands. And when the day comes—your sons, your daughters, your families… WILL RETURN TO HUMANITY!"
[The villagers fall silent. Then cries erupt—painful, bitter, but filled with acceptance. Some scream Thalanor's name. Others sob. But no one curses him—they all bow their heads.]
Villager 1: (weeping) "We believe in you, Your Majesty!"Villager 2: "If anyone can bring them back… it's you!"
[Thalanor's hand trembles as he grips his sword tighter. His wife clutches him, sobbing.]
Lysera: (whispering) "Come back to me… no matter what."Thalanor: (softly) "I swear it."
[Volkra steps forward, eyes glowing with divine mana.]
Volkra: "I'll do it. Everyone… hold on tight!"
[Thalanor, Lysera, Volkra, Milton, Alexis, and Kara stand together. The ground beneath them glows as Volkra channels every drop of his divine mana. The villagers watch, crying, praying.]
Volkra: (screaming) "DIVINE ART—TELEPORTATION!"
[A blinding white light engulfs them. In the next moment—they vanish.]
[Silence. The villagers stare at the empty space where their King stood. Then—]
Villager Child: (crying out) "Goodbye… Your Majesty!"
[But the farewell is short. The hiss returns. The gas rolls in, blanketing the entire South Nation. Knights scream as their skin turns blue, tails burst forth. Villagers claw at their throats, eyes rolling back.]
Knight Captain: (last words) "S-Save… the South…!"
[Within minutes, silence falls. The entire South Nation—every man, woman, and child—is transformed into Aquarians. The once-bright kingdom drowns in purple mist.]
[Cut to: The five survivors, reappearing in the North Nation. Volkra collapses, unconscious, blood dripping from his nose. The others stare back in shock, the last images of their homeland burning in their minds.]
Thalanor: (low, hollow) "…South Nation… forgive me."
[The chapter ends.]