I was glad that Edlyn felt better about now. She didn’t seem to hold the sa fear as she did before. Although… it was hard to convince her that I wasn’t a monster.
She had seen what I was capable of. And even Noele thought sothing similar of . But fortunately, Edlyn no longer thought I was a terrifying monster. That was a key distinction, and that was what I wanted.
I didn’t want her to be so scared of that she ran away and quit her job. I wanted her to continue working at Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant and be happy. And I succeeded.
Now, she was going to see her family every weekend. While that ant that the restaurant was going to be closed on those days, I didn’t mind it that much. I was more than content with taking ti off to relax and get another hobby.
I was sure that Arthur and Harlan would have been enthused to hear about that too. Jax as well, but for other reasons. Because I knew he was going to pester to spar with him on those days.
I wondered how I was going to have to deal with that.
For now, I focused on the good things. Like how Edlyn had passed out as we were heading back to Wolfwater, so I couldn’t hear her screaming in my ears.
She did scream for about five minutes. But she must have been so exhausted from this trip, she fell unconscious. So as the night went on, I eventually arrived at the farming town. But as I passed a section of a forest overhead, I spotted the signs of a battle.
My eyes narrowed as I wondered what that was. At first, I had thought sothing had happened— that sothing had attacked Wolfwater. But then I caught a glimpse of two figures, lying and panting in the middle of a deep crater.
I recognized who they were imdiately. The first was a green-haired elf. Jax the Forsaken Archer. I should have known he had sothing to do with this. But when I saw the man next to him, I stared in shock.
“Is that… Arthur?” I asked nobody in particular.
It was indeed my bartender. The forr Lich King. And he lay there, the skin on his face partially burned off, showing a hint of his skull. But his flesh was regenerating, growing back slowly as the seconds passed.
I stared at the two of them as I flew under the moon. They were smiling, evidently exhausted as they lay next to each other.
“Uh, what happened to them?” I wondered aloud.
But I decided not to question it as I finally arrived back in Wolfwater. After all, for now, most of my problems have been resolved.
…right?
—--
Kallistus Kal sat on his throne as he heard the frantic voices coming from the outside hallway. Looking up, he saw the ornate double doors to his throne room swing open. A red-haired woman cursed at a guard, pushing him out of the way as she marched in.
“Get out of my way— I need to speak with my liege.”
“But Archmage, you cannot just barge in in the middle of a eting—” one of the royal guards said.
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But lissa didn’t care. The [Hero King] watched as the fiery woman marched into the throne room. His advisors and generals glanced at her quizzically, not expecting her sudden entrance. They faced her in confusion. One of the generals piped up with a frown.
“Archmage lissa, what are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” lissa snapped at him. She raised a piece of paper— a missive of sorts. And she pointed at it emphatically. “How about you read this and tell !”
The general— his na was Kane, and he was in charge of the Third Army— took the piece of parchnt and read from it. His face imdiately paled as he read what was written on it. Kallistus Kal raised a brow, intrigued by that reaction.
“What is it, lissa?” he asked as he faced his archmage.
She steeled herself with a deep breath and bowed. “I-I apologize, my liege, for the sudden intrusion. But this is a ssage of utmost importance.”
“Tell ,” Kallistus said as he gestured for her to straighten. “What is it?”
lissa’s lips quivered as the letter was passed around the room. Every single advisor or general who read it looked on in shock, and a susurration swept over the room.
Finally, the archmage spoke slowly as she t the [Hero King]’s gaze.
“The Archmage King of Scholus has declared war on the Kingdom of Kal. Soon, the dwarven republics and democracies will join the war alongside him. This is no longer a war that is contained to Laxo. this is a war that will affect all of Vacuos.”
And Kallistus Kal’s eyes flickered when he heard that. He leant back in his throne room, a frown crossing his lips. “I see.”
But otherwise, he provided no reaction. Imdiately, the room broke out into a panic. A myriad of voices spoke out, and the various advisors and generals there began to argue on what they should do.
“That is ridiculous!”
“How dare they involve themselves with our affairs!”
“We should recruit the aid of the fairies—”
But Kallistus Kal didn’t speak. He just sat on his throne as lissa eyed him. She faced him, looking for an answer. For a solution. Because she trusted him.
He knew that she believed he would be the one to provide a way out of this ss.
And he knew what to do.
Kallistus Kal rose to his feet as he raised his longsword. “Very well, if that is how they wish to play it…”
He strode forward as the generals and advisors gathered in the room paused. They exchanged glances, before looking towards their king. lissa stared at him hesitantly.
“What do you have planned, my liege?”
“Simply put, all we have to do is wipe out the Astrad Kingdom before they can intervene,” the [Hero King] said simply. “And that is why I will lead the charge to their capital city. Myself.”
“What…?” lissa gaped at him in shock.
But he strode past her. The rest of the generals and advisors heard this. They processed this for a long mont. And then they began to protest, breaking out into a babble of voices.
However, the [Hero King] continued on.
—--
And deep beneath the palace, the real Kallistus Kal sat in a dark hall. He looked through the eyes of his clone, before turning to address the lone figure kneeling before him.
“Ammon,” he addressed his personal servant. “Ensure that my city is protected while my clone deals with this business.”
“Yes, my King,” Ammon said as he drew back.
Kallistus Kal shook his head as he spoke to himself in the darkness. “So the Sect of the Abyssal Thorns wish to take action against . They believe that they can destroy with their combined might. But they are gravely mistaken.”
He rose to his feet and strode through the dark hall into an empty room. There, he saw a rift into the void. A portal to the Fractured Realm. And he peered into the infinite darkness it held within it.
“But I will not falter. I will not fail—” he spoke.
And as he did, a voice resounded in his head. The voice of the void that ca from the rift.
The Fal-Deus itself.
Bring to this world, and I will fulfill your greatest desires…
Kallistus Kal’s gaze bore into the blackened world. The prison that held the True God of Vacuos. He listened to the voice as he fell silent.
I will give your power unimaginable— the strength which you possess even right now shall be greatly surpassed. Heed my words, and I will grant you salvation.
And the [Hero King] closed his eyes, rembering his family back in his world. He took in a deep breath and began to reshape the rift. It grew bigger and bigger with each passing day, being molded into the vessel that would hail the return of the Fal-Deus.
“I will return to my world,” Kallistus whispered. “And I will make the people of this world suffer.”
As he resolved himself, his clone marched out towards the Astrad Kingdom, leading an army that could bring down the Astra Palace in a single day.
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