“Ha-ha-ha!” Zoho bade farewell by bursting with bits of warm flames and then showed his teeth proudly to the crowd as he grinned.
Parts of his face and body flickered and shifted when he used his power. Then everyone could almost see through his body as only the form of Dunesther, who was behind him could be clearly seen.
“...”
Silence hung in the air, stretching endlessly as the realization slowly dawned upon them.
The wizards, their forms weary and their light dimming, were not merely bidding farewell to go to the Floating Orb, they were succumbing to the final toll of their sacrifice, surrendering to the embrace of death.
Even King Thalorin and General Vaelros took time to process it.
No one ever imagined this would happen. Even the Eternal Maggis who were the most ancient had no records of how they died.
The Floating Orb, the wizards, were fully made of magical energies. This was written in the books which were taught to them early, but many mysteries dwelt in those pages.
Due to their amazement after witnessing the wizards' powers, their brains ignored Beledon’s warning.
He said that their magical energies were already depleted and millions of soldiers surrounded the kingdom outside the Auroras, which were now colored in dark violet.
Since the Auroras were said to be made of the magical energies of the wizards, these multilayer barriers would also be gone together with them.
Zoho and Beledon were only glad right now because they succeeded in returning to Faliamber.
It was so Uther could teleport the living in a bit farther place, reducing the distance needed to be traveled, and the magical energy this teleportation would consume.
Beledon and Zoho glanced around to see the humans they protected for the last time, then patted Uther’s shoulders.
“Time Vials!” All the wizards chanted while they lifted their staffs to the heavens, except for Uther and the Two Rune Masters.
As the people saw this and the wizards of Livingrings casted their final, earthshaking spell, a shimmer of ancient power enveloped the land, marking the end of an era.
The people, bearing witness to this ultimate act of sacrifice, knelt as one, their heads bowed in solemn reverence.
For generations, these protectors had safeguarded their kingdom. And now, with the fading light of their magic, the Livingrings bid them farewell.
With every ounce of magic left within them, the wizards unleashed their final spell. Swirling ethereal lights with various colors coated the Livingrings Kingdom, but these did not go outside the Auroras.
There were echoing words and sounds which could be heard from all the 37 wizards around, until they completed the Time Vials’ spell.
Songs of light dispersed everywhere and the dead vanished.
These wizards who helped guard the Seal of Gaxinar, lived for so long, but they were also too few. With the three who did not join the last spell, they were 40 in total.
Humans did not fully know how the Time Vials worked, but they trusted, as their hopes resided in them.
“Oh no! The Divine Archmages! Beledon! Zoho! I’m sorry!” Sergeant Demoir exclaimed and ran towards them as fast as he could, but was only able to reach their translucent forms diffusing.
King Thalorin and General Vaelros in front of them were not even able to say anything, but gave their last respects.
At the same time, the wizards turned to particles and slowly scattered around with the lights; before completely vanishing.
Something inside the people and the remaining wizards here broke apart…
All of them were static, connecting the dots.
The enemies outside were able to kill the wizards who were considered to be the strongest kind in this whole realm.
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What would happen next? What?
Even with grief, the realization of horrifying troops ready to crush their kingdom, made their hearts throb. Deep within, they weighed how formidable were those who made pacts with the devils and demons of Pyramortiss.
As the people glanced above them after the final spell of the wizards, the Auroras were already colored in black and dark violet hues.
Dark energies were quickly consuming the barriers.
“Uther, the seal can really turn the dead back, right?” Dunesther asked, hoping it could really revive the dead humans and their fellow wizards.
“Ask me after we’re safe.” Uther replied shortly, and hurried to cast his spell by touching the grounds with his hands, aiming to take anyone his remaining power could teleport.
They did not have the luxury to mourn or discuss things. King Thalorin saw this and did not interfere.
As General Vaelros waited beside the king for the teleportation, his gaze flitted back and forth, darting like a startled bird. There was unease inside him until sweat poured to his brows.
“Leap of the Moon – Timetr…!” Uther stopped.
“We would take them all, right?” Dunesther voiced his concern again to the Divine Archmage.
“Uther?! How about all the people!” Jenna asked too. She smiled when Uther did not continue the spell, she thought Uther stopped when he considered their worries about all the citizens.
The Divine Archmage did not glance at them or talk about the matter. Uther was too focused now to start his spell, he had to save what he could.
“Leap of the Moon – Timetransit!”
Nothing happened…
“Leap of the Moon – Timetransit!”
He waited, but no magical circles formed…
“No!!! The mission!!!” Uther exclaimed in dismay, while he kept looking down, thinking for another way if he could find one.
At this point, Jenna and Dunesther also felt it.
They no longer had any magical powers.
As if their home, the Floating Orb was gone, too.
All wizards born in it bear a link that was never cut off forever, as long as they live.
Jenna and Dunesther were dumbfounded. They felt lacking in insight, they did not notice what the Divine Archmages were doing.
They knew they lacked time, their powers were drained, and it seemed Livingrings had no way of winning this war.
Even the humans here could see the ethereal lights from their weapons and bodies disperse, since their magic were borrowed from the wizards’ magical energies that bathed the whole Livingrings Kingdom for thousands of years. Even the healing clans would all lose their abilities to heal.
Dunesther and Jenna remained oblivious to the real threat the Divine Archmages fought beyond the Auroras.
The Divine Archmages determined that the only way to save the future of Livingrings was to take a few living souls to a faraway place with the remaining power of Uther, as far as possible with the Seal of Gaxinar. They would live like the humans in the outer realms, bearing no magic at all except for the rare few whom they called their wizards.
The Nexxus owned vast lands, including those they conquered, so a few miles far from Livingrings were not enough. Their troops were also everywhere
Uther needed to teleport them outside the domain of the 13 kingdoms of the Nexxus, and away from the wastelands they had left empty with bones and the shrieking hatred of the slain.
“What just happened?” asked King Thalorin to the wizards, while he clutched the Wheelspires in his palms. He knew in his mind, but as if he wanted to confirm it.
The Wheelspires he clutched were small mementos of his dead children, which he grasped tightly as they waited for the teleportation to activate.
‘Wheelspires? Princess Nymeria and Prince Orion didn’t make it?’ General Vaelros confusedly stared at the king while he talked to Uther. He did not notice this before.
As if he lost himself, he did not bother about his magic gone, he casted a frantic gaze around the palace. Vaelros searched for General Hovereth, hoping he stood vigilant beside Queen Aerathis, Nymeria, and Orion.
Yet it was Lieutenant Gol Furbuw who guarded the queen, his posture steadfast but grim. There was no trace of General Hovereth, nor of the prince and princess, only an unsettling absence that gnawed at his resolve.
The chaos of recent events weighed heavily on his mind. It first scattered his thoughts like leaves in a storm.
So much had slipped through his grasp amidst the turmoil.
Witnessing the death of many innocents, General Vaelros turned his focus to the task that demanded his help when they arrived here: the Time Vials’ spell success and the protection of King Thalorin.
The spell was their fragile hope, and countless lives rested on its completion. Even in the haze of his duty a while back, he paused, and tended to his sons’ lifeless forms and hoped for their revival someday.
An unspeakable pain bore inside him, but even the wizards were in a hurry. They had to follow their commands or everything would be in peril.
It was just so bad and sad that the wizards gave their last magical energies for this final spell.
He was also remorseful since they recently saved Nymeria and Orion from death in the Floating Orb. The people were even glad when they succeeded.
And now they are dead? What were their enemies scheming?
*Leap of the Moon: TimeTransit - power of Uther
*Time Vials - power of wizards that preserves the dead
*Wheelspires - small mementos of the dead
