Southern Region, Llynun.
The earth still reverberated with the collapse of the Ice Titan.
Atop the mountain of Ice and snow, an undisturbed and pristine Ice castle sat quietly. Waves of chilling air flowed down the ice mountain like a waterfall of frost fog. The air was so cold it would freeze one to death in mere minutes. Skin would corrode and fall victim to frostbite, and bones would turn brittle and crack with just a slight touch. Here, all that remained would be left silent.
A large group of people approached, preparing to challenge the castle.
This group was formed from the elites of the Hellion Empire. They came from many different fields, some from the Imperial Army, some from the Royal Guard, some were Magitechnicians, and others were legendary Adventurers and elite Mercenaries.
Rotell stood on the wall, restricted by her father.
Arthur followed with determination, ready to close the prologue of the nine calamities.
He followed, preparing to enter this land of silence.
The path bellowed mist in lapping waves, spilling frost from its peek, as the icy mountain confronted the boiling air left behind after the Sun Spears' attack. The surroundings distorted in an illusory mirage, while the conflicting temperatures mixed and distorted.
They advanced, climbing the mountain.
To combat the cold, the army used a combination of sun stones and advanced magic enchantments.
They climbed, eventually reaching the great gates of the Ice Castle.
The crystal gates were wide open, releasing a dense white tide.
Past those gates, the temperature had fallen far past the level needed to maintain basic life.
One man asked if the high elves were a living race, while another man questioned if these were actually the gates to the castle, and not the gates to hell. Overall, the elite army was tense.
Despite this, there was no turning back.
The first man stepped forward, then another, and another.
They entered the castle.
-
When Arthur entered the castle, he immediately felt the world change.
This land of ice and snow, this castle of lifeless silence, was a domain, an area of unrivaled control puppeteered by the man hiding within the depths of the Ice Castle.
The air was so cold that the sun stones began to dim immediately. The eerie silence was only filled with the sound of clattering teeth and echoing footsteps.
Arthur advanced down the crystal halls, listening to the sounds of battle behind him.
This castle was alive, so it wasn't unreasonable for Ice elementals to spawn from its walls.
He wasn't a combat specialist, he was a strategist. His only mission was to confront the ice elf with 'that thing'. His hand tightened around something in his pocket.
Arthur knew that there was a large chance of them dying, but this mission was more important.
They advanced.
Arthur's plan to run straight through the castle was interrupted.
The path before them twisted and turned in unnatural ways. The floor twisted to become the ceiling, yet gravity did not object. The floor retracted and extended, yet space did not break. Halls and doorways appeared and disappeared at random, turning the labyrinthine interiors of the Ice castle into a winding mess of disorienting chaos. The most terrifying thing was the uneven flow of time.
Time in the Ice Castle changed depending on where you were.
Sometimes time would flow fast, passing a minute as an hour, and sometimes time ran slow, causing those around to become blurry flashes that moved like light.
Arthur's face darkened when he saw this.
The castle forward continued changing in unpredictable ways.
Gravity became inconsistent, doors connected to the wrong rooms, space was bent and uneven, sometimes even extending into non-Euclidean geometry. Time was displaced or lost, and a series of law-breaking phenomena all began to appear.
Combined with the painful silence, this alone was enough to drive anybody mad.
All the while, the elites from the Hellion Empire continued to fight.
Some died, some advanced, and others just disappeared.
The cuboid typology of the castle also began to distort, becoming more unnatural, almost eldritch in design. Many unnatural curves and spiraling shapes began to appear in the architecture. Flat walls transformed into distorted hands, straight halls bent back on themselves, and corners that should not exist began to appear.
Arthur knew that time was running out.
"Follow me!" He called, taking the lead.
The twenty or so who remained all followed him forward.
Arthur used his Future Sight ability to determine the best possible path forward.
After twenty minutes, the group found themselves in a large hall.
Unlike the twisted and distorted mess behind the group, this room was unchanged. On the far side of the room, a large silver door sat silently, emanating the ominous aura of death.
In the center of the room was a single large pillar of ice, standing alone.
There was a crack, its noise echoing throughout the silence.
The pillar crashed to the ground, transforming into an Ice elemental using the broken fragments.
Unlike the three Ice Kings that had attacked outside, this one was much smaller.
It only stood three meters tall, with a weapon in each of its four hands. Its silhouette was bulky and big, looking like a mussel-bound barbarian, but with very few definable features. In its hands were four halberds, each with a dark blue ribbon trailing on its end.
Woosh!
From Arthur's group flashed out a red light. Dilan Dimebek shot out from the crowd, his crimson spear thrusting forward towards the Ice Guardian's head.
Saah-swish!
His thrust was deflected by the sweep of a Halberd.
The speed of this Ice King's attack was almost three times the crimson spearman's, shattering his defenses and leaving the spearman wide open.
Dilans face paled.
The remaining three halberds were all poised to strike.
Shin!
A blade of water came from behind, solidifying into a thick shield and blocking in front of Dilan.
The three halberds thrust forward, piercing the shield like paper. There was only a moment of pause before the ice shield completely collapsed. Dilan was pulled back, an invisible hand dragging him away from the earth splitting attack at the last moment.
The Ice King did not charge. It simply stood there, blocking the silver door, like a guardian.
Dilan caught his breath and cursed. "It's too fast! It's almost like a fifth Realm!"
"You're too reckless!" Oxin scolded in a cold voice.
"It's impossible for it to be a fifth Realm... It's not that it's fast, you're just slower." Oz added while the broken shards of the ice shield returned to his side as small balls of water. "This castle seems to be affecting us. We need to be fast, who knows what else it can do. It's not impossible for it to affect our perception of time. Perhaps we're already perceiving the world many times faster than normal."
Dilan frowned. "Then what can we do?"
"We split up," Arthur added from the side.
Oxin's face twitched, seemingly displeased by the insinuation. "You think we can't beat it?"
Arthur shook his head. "It'll take too long, we don't know what will happen if we stay here for a long period of time. If it's already affecting us, then it will only get worse. I don't think you want ten years to pass in the outside world, right?"
Oxin's eyes darkened.
Actually, Arthur knew exactly what would happen if they stayed here too long.
First, they would slow down. This was matched by the reduced movements of the surrounding castle. Then, they would eventually stop, freezing in time like statues, still, silent, static, not even realising that they had frozen in time. If they waited too long, even if they received help, it would be too late.
Arthur knew that the front doors had closed behind them, so the chances of getting help were almost zero. Even in the few futures where they did, the outcome for those 'helpers' would be no better than theirs.
This was the worse case scenario.
Oz pondered for a moment before agreeing. "Me, Oxin, and Dilan will hold it back, the rest of you, go kill the castle master." He looked at Arthur. "You have a way?"
Arthur nodded, slightly hesitant.
Although he knew he could 'win', he didn't know what kind of victory it would be.
Dilan nodded.
Boom!
He rushed forward, attacking the Ice Guardian.
The group split, mostly staying behind, but a small few circled the room. After an opportunity arose, Arthur and a small group of people slipped past the Ice Guardian and approached the door.
The Ice Guardian was bombarded with a series of magic attacks, temporarily blocking its vision, and allowing the others to pass.
Arthur became resolute.
He stood before the door, hoping that his plan would work.
He pushed open the door, causing the Ice Guardian to snap its head towards him. The moment his hands touched the door, he felt his Future Sight become fuzzy, slowly becoming a static blur that covered his vision. After dodging one of the halberds that the Ice Guardian had thrown, Arthur disappeared behind the silver door.
Whatever was in this room, it was completely cut off from the outside world.
The door closed, sealing down the middle with a flash of light.
Light flooded in, slowly revealing what was in the room.
The room was a monotonous mixture of many different shades of blue and grey. A crystal-like canopy curtain hung down in the center of the room, encircling a bed of ice. On this bed of ice was a pale and sickly high elf. He had an androgynous face, making it difficult to tell his gender, even for an elf. On his forehead was the black totem of a phoenix formed from intertwining vines.
Around him floated a cloud of thousands of dancing butterflies, flapping their wings in a serene dance of mystic light. Within the cloud of butterflies were hundreds of Ice mirrors, each displaying a different place around the continent.
Arthur's golden eyes flashed through the Ice mirrors, looking at each scene for only a moment.
He saw Dorthy clearing out the hoard of Ice Demons in the northern region.
He saw Elena trekking through the snow in the central region.
He saw Kilemin crushing the Ice Demon Dragon in the western region.
He saw himself, confronting the Ice Castle in the southern region.
And…
He saw a strange silver haired elf. The youth had short silver hair and elegant black armour. Two pointy ears poked out from the side of his head. On his back was a massive great sword.
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
The images in the ice mirrors were not something he could probe with his future sight, but...
The last man... was it the missing hero?
Arthur only caught a glimpse before it disappeared with a wave of the High Elves hand.
Arthur turned his attention back to the High Elf on the bed.
He could hear murmurs behind him, exclaiming things such as, 'it's really a high elf' and 'he looks like he's going to die.' At first glance, this man did indeed seem to be dying, but Arthur knew that this man was no pushover. He was far more dangerous than the Ice Castle.
The high elf coughed a few times before struggling to sit up, his weak hands shaking while doing so. When he finally sat up, he smiled at these uninvited guests.
No, that's not right.
He smiled at Arthur, and Arthur alone.
"Ah, good. Let's talk." His voice was light, but for some reason, it sent shivers down Arthur's spine.
He waved his hand, transforming the room in such a way that the others, excluding Arthur, were all crushed to death in an instant. The ceiling and floor rose and fell, crushing them into meat paste before anyone could react.
'Damn it!'
Arthur cursed, stepping back unconsciously.
Something was wrong! Why couldn't he see that! Even with the interference, he should be able to 'see' the events of something so close to him!
He had not seen this future at all!
Arthur's gaze was drawn back to the High Elf. He suddenly felt like this sickly and pale skinned man was different, more ethereal, timeless, an existence that couldn't be judged by a single glance.
Meeting with the High Elves gaze, Arthur felt the world around him solidify, locking him in place. In an instant, Arthur had become a pig on the chopping block. This moment passed as quickly as it came, the elf turning away his gaze. This was not the gaze of a fifth level existence, instead, it was the sixth… No, maybe even higher!
The man raised his hand, scratching his ear. He spoke in a weak tone. "You know, your ability has the same weakness as the Sky God."
This caused Arthur to freeze.
The Ice elf smiled. "Your ability doesn't work against the strong. Not only does it not work, but it's also something that we can manipulate and use to lead you into a trap. Cough cough cough!" He suddenly bent over, coughing violently. After a moment to recover, he continued. "If you can never beat me, then I just have to open a future where you do something for me, then make it seem like it's a 'win'."
He wiped his hand on the bedsheet.
Arthur's eyes widened.
The red streak of blood was like a glaring red light.
The high elf continued. "Take this as a lesson from me. Your ability doesn't work in absolutes, especially near the end of the nine calamities. It might even turn into a detriment. That shouldn't be the only thing the Sky God gave you, right? Haha."
He looked deeply at Arthur. "Now..."
He pointed to Arthur, sending a wave of 'something' through the void.
Arthur's eyes flashed, then he gritted his teeth.
He felt space constrict, ripple, and bend. His spatial sense was extremely sharp. He didn't need to check to know that what was in his pocket had been taken.
A black twig suddenly appeared in the High Elf's hand.
"Ah, my name's Tsaral by the way." He joked, inspecting the black stick. He looked at it and nodded. He explained. "This is a part of the first Plant Saints oldest branch. With it, you can awaken a deceased plant spirit." He coughed again. "As for defeating me, you don't need to worry, I don't have long." He looked back, smiling. "Let's just talk for a bit."
Arthur could not answer, but he felt something change.
He was suddenly shocked.
Even through the strange restrictions in this room, he could feel the changing futures.
It was like a veil had been lifted the moment the twig appeared in the High Elf's hand, suddenly revealing all the possible futures where they could 'win', no, where he would let them win. What shocked Arthur wasn't the possibility of winning, instead, it was the possibility of losing! There was none! From what Arthur could see, there wasn't a single future where they could not win! It was impossible to lose!
Tsaral held the twig, pondering for a moment, before pushing it through one of the ice mirrors, sending the twig away.
He closed his eyes, seemingly letting go of a burden. When he looked at Arthur again, he suddenly became a lot more frail.
Arthur's eyes flashed with a sharp pain.
His future sight suddenly started turning on its own.
He was dragged into a future designed for him and him alone, a thread of time that only he could see, that only he could know.
Tsaral spoke…
"There was once a woman, a beautiful one, a mortal one. At least, that's what we all thought."
"We didn't know where she came from, but she just seemed so 'normal', so we never thought about it."
"Perhaps, if we looked into her background back then, we wouldn't have to face what we will today."
"She was beautiful, like a black sun. Our emperor fell in love, despite her repeated refusal."
"He pursued, he pushed, and he was relentless in his love."
"One day, he found that this woman already had a person she loved."
"What's worse, it was a woman, a very dangerous one."
"At the time, he was devastated. He convinced himself that the woman he loved had been taken advantage of and was forced to stay with 'that person'. She was just a mortal, after all. What could she do when faced with 'that'?"
"He brought the army and fought a great war, one that would leave both sides broken."
"In the end, we won."
"When he went back to claim his love, something happened."
"This was also the origin of the calamities."
"That woman, the mortal who the emperor had fallen in love with, became enraged."
"We were too late to realize, but she was no mortal."
Tsaral paused for a long time.
"She… was a monster, an unimaginable existence. To her, we were all just children."
"What we had done was unforgivable. We took away the only thing she cared about. We released a monster into the world, one that was uncontrollable."
"The moment she truly appeared, the sky turned black and the world cried out. It wasn't something like an audible cry, more like the feeling of a parent's pain manifested through the soul. As the children of the world, we could feel something was breaking, something unseen, something irreplaceable, something important..."
"I don't know if we were lucky, but just before that 'something' broke, something changed."
"The woman suddenly stopped, seemingly seeing something."
"I remember, back then, she smiled with an impossible malice. Those eyes seemed to hold all the world's darkness. She cast three curses, each more monstrous than the last. These weren't the kind of curses that you see today, they were like deep nails, directly piercing into the world's core and becoming part of the world."
"One of these curses was the 'Curse of Calamity'."
"That is the cause of today's Nine Calamities."
"Originally, we High Elves were supposed to face these calamities in your place, a kind of repentance for our mistake, but something changed."
"In the last era, 'something' came to our world."
"These were evil gods who didn't care for the order of the world."
"We don't know what they came for or what happened, but they made some kind of deal with the five gods of our world. This 'bet' transformed our 'punishment' into some kind of 'game'."
"With this change, our roles changed as well."
"I have no doubt that that woman has the ability to maintain the original arrangements regardless of what the gods want, but since she didn't, then it can only mean that she doesn't care,"
"That brings us to now."
"The high elves have become something like the curators for the current calamities."
"We want to help you, but we also have to make sure that the calamities continue."
"Cough Cough cough!"
Tsaral fell into another violent fit of coughing.
His pale skin even started to crack.
"We high elves are loyal, but to a fault. For the emperor's mistake, we don't mind throwing away our pride. If possible, we hope that there will be a day when we can properly atone, even if it costs us our lives."
Red blood seeped from his nose.
"Those evil gods aren't the only outsiders. Remember this, your enemy is not the calamities, nor is it the high elves. What you must face are those powers from outside the world barrier. Those things are far more dangerous than the calamities."
Tsaral collapsed back onto the bed.
His pale skin became even more pale. The cracks that now ran through his whole body started seeping red blood, dying the white bedsheets crimson.
"One last thing, that woman, the Witch of Calamity, she's not your enemy. If you can, you can find the witches around the continent. There will be a few young ones who have yet to grow. Help them. This might give you a surprising result. Cough cough cough!"
"Ah, I've lived so long, it's nice having someone by my side at the end. I never thought I would be so lucky. How strange, I suddenly feel less lonely..."
Something in the unseen world cracked.
A sound like the mourning void hummed throughout the room, like a silent death knell.
Tsaral closed his eyes, turning to snow like the Ice Elementals.
Arthur watched on with a solemn expression.
With this death, the first calamity had ended.
But he couldn't help but worry, worry about what was to come...
* * *