Chapter 26: Baldric and Kaelthorn Leave The Stage
The kingdom of Solstice was currently steps away from complete chaos.
The skies cracked into a purple hue, the grounds vibrated endlessly, causing earthquakes of different magnitudes to occur all over the kingdom.
The bells of the cathedrals rang on their own. The priests, saints and their followers stood in the streets brimming with chaos and began preaching about the end tis to whoever was willing to listen, whilst also silently urging the panicked listeners to pay an ’appeasent token’ to be able to earn forgiveness from their gods.
Children clung tightly to their parents as they ran Helter skelter, colliding with the rushing Royal Guards as they tried to maintain a semblance of order in the kingdom.
Redwyn, the King and Queen and mbers of the High Council alongside the heads of other important houses in the Kingdom currently sat at a large round table, their expressions incredibly solemn as they watched their wine glasses ripple in perfect geotric circles.
"Let’s not waste any ti with frivolities," the king started.
He interlocked his fingers and leaned forward, resting his face against the cradle of his hands. The gesture masked his mouth, leaving only his piercing eyes visible.
"As you’ve all seen and heard, there has been a breach in the agreent between warriors in the Dissonant and Resonance Lord realm concerning unrestricted battles."
The rest nodded, their gazes fixed on the marble table with unreadable expressions.
"I’ve designated the High tier mages and Resonance scribes to ascertain the people responsible for this and they should have co with a satisfying response at this mont."
A brawny man with long unkept hair raised his arm steadily.
The king gestured him to speak.
"I apologize for the interruption, but I have a suggestion to make."
The other mbers looked at him expectantly and hearing the hum of approval from the king, he spoke.
"Since the scribes aren’t here yet and the kingdom is still in a state of unrest, why don’t a few of us head there ourselves and put a stop to whatever battle is taking place over there?"
Many raised their eyebrows at the suggestion but they didn’t disagree.
The king closed his eyes for a mont before he replied.
"That’s a straightforward approach, Bardolf, but there are too many variables at play. Losing a family head would destabilize the kingdom"
"Variables? I’m sure my army and I can handle any variables that battle has to offer and worst case scenario if I lose my life, I already have an heir to the Valerion family."
The tension in the room increased ten fold as Bardolf and Alavric locked eyes.
"Your manpower is needed in the kingdom, especially at this dire mont. We cannot afford to let you wander off into a potential demon awakening site," Alavric rebutted calmly
Exhales traveled through the room, the troubled eyes of so people reflecting on the table.
Bardolf, however, remained undaunted.
"I won’t die, that much I’m sure of," he promised. "I’ll co back to the kingdom—"
A loud crash of the large door cut Baldorf short.
A flash of annoyance passed through his face, but he decided to suppress it after seeing the intruder.
A young woman with short blonde hair and round glasses wearing a long purple cloak with constellation designs stood at the edge of the table with heavy breaths.
With a panicked expression she spoke, completely ignoring the surrounding mbers.
"Your Majesty, we have successfully tracked the Resonant signatures of both parties involved and confird their identities!"
Everybody unconsciously straightened their backs, Alavric included.
The woman manifested a large scroll, and began tracing the surface with closed eyes.
The scroll shone a bright purple hue and small pulses of energy passed through its surface.
After a mont, she spoke with a calm, almost flat voice:
"The first individual is Baldric Dravern, and the second is..."
The woman’s eyebrows furrowed as she cocked her head to the side.
"The second person is..."
The listeners turned to face each other with weird expressions on their faces.
All except, Redwyn and Alavric.
"That’s enough. You may leave."
The woman stuttered over sothing but she eventually took her leave embarrassingly.
With all eyes expectantly looking in his direction, Alavric explained:
"We all know Baldric—the Head of the Royal Guard and the Royal Arbiter of Ard Houses."
The rest nodded with varying expressions. Baldorf had a particularly annoyed expression at the ntion of his na.
"The other person," Alavric’s expression beca solemn. "Shall be left anonymous for the safety of everyone involved."
"What?!"
They all exclaid at once.
"I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but you cannot withhold such valuable information from us, especially at a ti like this," a beautiful woman with blazing red hair spoke.
Alavric remained unchanged in his decision despite how much the heads of different houses protested. His eyes discreetly turned to Redwyn who hadn’t spoken a word since the eting started.
’I wonder what’s going through his head this ti.’
Before he could say anything else, a blinding light shone in the distance, spanning thousands of miles within seconds, decimating everything in it’s path.
Everybody else stood up with panic in their steps and watched through the window.
Below, elderly citizens wailed as they scread words like:
"The apocalypse has co once more!"
"The Harbinger of Death has co to take it’s due!"
The king stared out the window and watched as the light pierced halfway through the barrier before dissapearing into nothingness.
The sighs of relief beca clear as the sounds of the people below beca eerily silent.
Redwyn’s eyes remained fixed on the window before his lips parted, his voice carrying an oppressive weight.
"This is the First Demon War all over again."
***
Kaelthorn’s chest expanded. The air in a five-mile radius was sucked into his lungs, creating a localized vacuum that nearly pulled Aden off his perch.
"You’ve always wanted to see it, Baldric" Kaelthorn’s voice echoed. "The frequency that ended the Demon War and the lives of my disciples."
Baldric roared and flung his blazing spear with all ferocity.
"Thing is. No one ever sees this and lives."
The space around them began to twist inwards, almost as if it wanted to consu itself.
’NO!’ The Entity roared inside Aden’s skull, its voice cracking with genuine, unadulterated terror. ’NOT THIS. NOT AGAIN!’
Aden felt a cold, black hand seize his soul and drag it backward, plunging him into a dark abyss within his own heart.
’What am I witnessing...’
Despite being pulled into his subconscious, Aden’s eyes burned the view before him into his mory.
The blazing spear that was inches away from Kaelthorn’s face dissolved into nothingness, the ground glitched in and out of reality, the skies cracked and patched themselves ti and ti again, the world lost its colour and for three seconds, it beca "nothing".
The entity coiled itself behind Aden’s soul in horror, muttering sothing in a strange language.
A shrill scream sounded in Aden’s subconscious. His form turned to find the source, but he later realized the horrific scream ca from Baldric.
"He’s being unraveled. His identity, his form, his very existence. Just like my brothers."
If the entity had arms, it would have clutched the sides of its head, judging how horrified it’s voice sounded to Aden.
"You can’t be awake at this ti. As unfortunate as it may be, my existence depends on your life, and you’re too weak to withstand one–thousandth of this frequency without being erased."
Before Aden could refute, he was forced unconscious, leaving his body to the rcy of the scarred entity.
Outside, Kaelthorn stood over Baldric– at least what remained of him.
A sigh escaped his lips. "Old friend..."
A massive cavity extended from Baldric’s chest to his waist, but no blood could be seen. Strangely enough, he was still conscious.
His lips opened, crimson dust escaping them as he did so.
"To think I couldn’t kill a damned forest dweller..."
Despite his provocative words, a ghost of a smile ford on his face.
"Baldric I–"
"Don’t... explain anything. You won so whatever you say is the truth."
"And you don’t want to hear the truth..." Kaelthorn completed.
Sothing that could be taken for a chuckle was heard from Baldric’s lips. "I want to die knowing you killed everyone I held dear, including your disciples."
"And besides, it’s not like you’ll be seeing the next day either..."
A weak smile ford on Kaelthorn’s face as he glanced downwards.
His body was disintegrating in real ti.
"I guess I won’t be able to say goodbye to my student," he whispered as he collapsed next to Baldric.
"To think you’d train a foolish Redwyn," Baldric mocked. "Didn’t that kid kill your younger sister?"
Kaelthorn smiled.
"You have to learn to let go of the past, old friend."
Baldric’s body had almost completely disintegrated at this point.
"We’ll continue our battle in the afterlife..."
A freezing wind scattered Baldric’s ashes across the horizon.
Kaelthorn looked downwards only to see nothingness. All that was left was his chest and that too was fading away.
"He’s different, Baldric. He might be able to stop them after all..."
Slowly, Kaelthorn faded out of existence. His ashes spiralled in the sa direction as Baldric’s.
"I’ll miss you, Aden, my dear student."
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