The conference hall was located on the second floor of the castle. The room was large, with a fire burning in a stove on one side. A slave was kneeling there and was responsible for adding wood.
There were traces of dried blood on his ears. They had been cut out so that he wouldn't hear anything of their talk. Not that it would have been possible for him to leave the fortress, but better safe than sorry.
In the center stood a square table decorated with beautiful golden patterns. In the middle of it was the claw with three fingers dripping blood, the symbol of the Polykenas.
The walls of the room were adorned with various symbols, though only basic ones, meant to prevent sound transmission. Because of their simplicity, they hadn't been drawn by Ramor himself, but by one of his students.
Nero sat at the head of the table. On his right sat Xersies, while the seat to his left remained empty, that was usually Ramor's place. Next to it was Ester's chair, who was seated leisurely, and across from him sat Fril. Fril's chair had no backrest, as he preferred to crouch on all fours while sitting.
Two other chairs in the room were unoccupied.
The only one standing was Shire, positioned behind Nero. As his personal bodyguard, Shire's place was always at Nero's side, even here.
They were all intently listening to Fril's report.
"...after I killed him, I had to walk away for a moment. It caught me off guard—I hadn't expected someone so powerful to exist on this planet. But as it turns out, there are many more..." Fril explained in his hissing voice.
After two hours, he finished with his report, and a brief silence fell over the room as everyone processed the information. Ester was the first to break it.
"You mentioned that humans aren't born with magic. Did you discover how they acquire it?"
Fril shook his head slowly. "The secrets of their magic are deeply buried. I managed to find some documents, but they're contradictory. Some claim that belief alone can grant magic. Others say it's unlocked by rituals or by visiting specific locations. Most of the true secrets, however, are stored in the city of Gloris. This, however, is the capital of the Church, where the most powerful mages reside. I believe I could defeat them... but killing all the witnesses would be impossible."
Ester leaned back with a disappointed sigh. "Interesting..."
Xersies continued, "Anyway, Gloris and the Church are clearly the greatest threat. According to Fril, they possess the largest number of mages. And if anyone has the power to unite the world, it would likely be them. And the leader of the church...holy Luis, if he is their leader, he will probably be the most powerful. We should put special focus on him..."
"Fril has done well in minimizing the influence of the church," Nero analyzed. "It's unlikely they'll recover quickly enough to restore order amidst this chaos. But the longer we wait, the more likely they'll regain their strength. We need to act fast."
Fril spread out a map across the table.
"I stole this from a library. In my opinion, it's a rough but fairly accurate map of the world. Many towns and villages aren't shown, but the key locations are marked," he explained. " Here's the village we destroyed on the first day," he pointed to an unmarked spot deep in the forest. "Here in the south is the city where I fought the knight. If you follow the road east for about seven hundred kilometers, you reach Gloris. Then up here to the north is..."
One by one, Fril explained all the crucial places in Scur, and the others paid close attention.
Once he finished, they began discussing the best course of action.
"Our army currently holds twelve million Polykenas. About half of them are still in the other dimension. We've got around twelve thousand mage Polykenas; the rest are warrior-class. According to Fril, this world has only a few thousand mages. The rest are ordinary humans. Based on estimates, their population is just over a billion, but only a fraction are fit for combat. The rest are women, the elderly, or children," Fril assessed.
Nero nodded. "Gloris will definitely be the strongest point of resistance. Xersies and I will head in that direction with roughly three million Polykenas. Krell and the majority of our mage force should accompany us. That way, we can take the city by force with minimal resistance. Shire, you'll head south with another three million warrior Polykenas. Take the Golden Patron with you, just in case..."
Calmly and methodically, Nero began assigning their forces.
The Golden Patron was one of their army's special units—elite warriors trained for specialized attacks. It consisted of seventy light mages, all personally trained by Xersies. Their general was a cunning Polykenas named Odir. There were twelve such Patrons in total, elite strike forces that served as both the spears and shields of the army. Each general had their own trained unit. Even Ramor had one, though his wasn't built for direct combat. His Patron was composed entirely of Symbolics.
After nearly four hours, the first meeting came to an end. Nero and the generals immediately began preparing for war.
The Polykenas army was summoned. Those who are capable of fighting and were still in the other dimension were brought forth. Thankfully, ever since Nero tore a hole into that realm, leaving it had become a thousand times easier. Entering, however, remained difficult.
Polykenas across the planet gathered at the castle. Soon, the fortress overflowed with them, eager to once again plunge a world into ruin. This wasn't just about carnage. For the Polykenas, it was a rare opportunity to gain power and to evolve.
Their forces were counted again. In the end, there were only about 10 million Poylkenas. That may sound like a lot, but this was a war between planets with billions of inhabitants. If a planet were to unite completely, it would be terrible for Nero and his army, because they would be massively outnumbered. That's why Fril's task was of utmost importance, because the Polykenas army struck quickly and united; they had the element of surprise on their side, while their opponents were in chaos and disunited.
Nero gathered the Polykenas once more for a final strategic update. Ramor, having just returned from the dimension, etched a few symbols with his students, ones that would allow for long-distance communication. These were active symbols, not passive; they had to be activated by the host and would only last for a short period.
And then... the time came.
Only two days after Fril's return, Nero opened the rift once more and stepped into the new world first. He wore his symbol-covered cloak that fluttered in the wind. A black crown rested on his head. Nero's skin was pale white, and his pitch-black eyes devoured all light like a void.
It was dark. Unnatural dark. He looked up, but the sky was covered. Only two moons—perfectly parallel—shone down on him. They were smaller than a normal moon and seemed to move. Nero frowned in confusion, about to turn and ask Xersies about it, when a strange sensation hit him.
It tore through his mind; he felt...something...watching him. It felt far away, yet also beside, above, and even inside him. It felt as if it had always been there, buried deep inside him. His hearts began to race. His magic spiraled out of control. He couldn't breathe, couldn't stand. The world spun violently, and he crashed to the ground.
He tried to command his magic, but it wouldn't respond.
Then... just as suddenly as it began, the feeling vanished.
Nero plummeted through the air, spinning. Stars and a single glowing moon glared down at him. He caught himself just meters before hitting the ground, finally regaining control of his magic. His eyes snapped upward.
The twin "moons" were gone.
He shook his head. He was silently standing in the air for a while. He needed to focus.
He rose again, flying higher into the sky.
---
Far away, on a lush world, a young man sat alone in a beautiful garden. The space was overflowing with tall, elegant trees and vibrant flowers. Fireflies danced through the air, illuminating the serene atmosphere. It was a secluded corner of peace, untouched by the chaotic wars raging elsewhere.
The young man hovered slightly above the ground. His hair was golden, his skin like porcelain. He wore a green robe, fingers adorned with dozens of rings. He was one of the highest-ranking individuals in his sect, but here, in this garden, he was finally free. No politics. No diplomacy. No cries for aid. For a few precious moments, the weight of responsibility belonged to someone else.
Then suddenly—his eyes flew open. His face contorted. He lost his balance.
A burst of magical energy exploded from within him, vaporizing everything in its path. The entire garden was obliterated. In less than a heartbeat, the entire planet was split, left with a gaping crack along its equator.
Terror twisted his features. Anyone who knew him would be horrified to see him like this. Such a loss of control was not only rare, it had never happened before.
A curse escaped his lips.
He ascended into the air, looking down on the shattered world. He shook his head and waved his hand.
He didn't even watch as the planet slowly reassembled itself. Within a minute, it was whole again.
Without another glance, the man vanished, as if destroying and restoring a planet was no more remarkable to him than blinking.