THE SAGE SPENT MOST OF HIS TIME WITHIN THE TOWER, RARELY MAKING AN APPEARANCE ON THE MAIN PLANE. THEIR BEST HOPE WAS TO STRIKE WHEN THE SAGE WAS AWAY. IF THEY COULD TIME IT RIGHT, EVEN TRIGGERING THE ALARM WOULDN'T BRING HIM BACK IN TIME.
"TO BE HONEST," BASTIAN SAID WITH A HEAVY SIGH, "I NEVER THOUGHT THIS MOMENT WOULD COME SO SOON."
"NONE OF US DID," A VOICE AGREED, FILLED WITH GRIM RESOLVE. "NO ONE EXPECTS TO FACE A BATTLE FOR THEIR LIFE WHEN THEY AREN'T FULLY PREPARED."
THE SAGE HAD LONG BEEN AN ELUSIVE FIGURE ON THE MAIN PLANE. HIS ABSENCE WAS ALWAYS A MYSTERY, BUT IT WAS CLEAR THAT HE VALUED HIS TIME IN THE TOWER OF ORIGIN FAR MORE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE.
STILL, IF THE COALITION FORCES AND THE ELVES WERE TO ENGAGE IN A TRUE DECISIVE BATTLE, THERE WAS NO DOUBT THE SAGE WOULD EMERGE. HE WOULD NOT ALLOW SUCH A MOMENTOUS CONFLICT TO OCCUR WITHOUT HIS PRESENCE.
THE SCHEDULE HAD ALREADY BEEN SET. THE DECISIVE BATTLE BETWEEN THE TWO FORCES WAS FAST APPROACHING, AND THERE WASN'T MUCH TIME LEFT.
THIS WASN'T A TRAP TAILORED SPECIFICALLY FOR BASTIAN AND HIS ALLIES. HOWEVER, AS THE WAR PROGRESSED, STRATEGIC POINTS THROUGHOUT THE COALITION BECAME MORE AND MORE VULNERABLE. SKIRMISHES ESCALATED INTO FULL-SCALE BATTLES, AND WITH EACH CONFRONTATION, BOTH SIDES SUFFERED HEAVY LOSSES. THE ELITE OF BOTH ARMIES WIELDED SAGE STONES AND DIVINE ARTIFACTS, THEIR CLASHES TEARING APART THE VERY FABRIC OF THE WORLD. TRIBES WERE DECIMATED, AND MIGHTY WARRIORS FELL.
THE WAR HAD REACHED A TIPPING POINT. VICTORY WOULD NO LONGER BE ACHIEVED BY SIMPLY DESTROYING A SINGLE ARTIFACT OR SLAYING AN INDIVIDUAL ENEMY. THE STAKES WERE FAR GREATER NOW.
"DO YOU REALLY THINK SCORMETHEUS'S PLAN CAN SUCCEED?" ONE OF BASTIAN'S COMPANIONS ASKED QUIETLY, DOUBT LINGERING IN THEIR VOICE.
BASTIAN LOOKED UP, HIS GAZE STEADY AND DETERMINED.
"WE'LL FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH," HE REPLIED, HIS VOICE FILLED WITH A QUIET, UNSHAKABLE CONVICTION.
EVEN AS ONE OF THE KEY DECISION-MAKERS AND A WILLING ACCOMPLICE, BASTIAN FOUND HIMSELF PLAGUED BY DOUBT. CONFIDENCE ELUDED HIM, DESPITE THE WEIGHT OF HIS RESPONSIBILITIES. HIS ONLY SOLACE WAS IN ENSURING THAT EVERY DETAIL OF HIS MISSION WAS EXECUTED TO PERFECTION, PREPARING FOR THE MOMENT WHEN EVERYTHING WOULD FALL INTO PLACE.
"COUSIN, OF ALL THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH I IMAGINED SEEING YOU AGAIN, I DIDN'T EXPECT IT TO BE THIS." NAAVYA DIONA'S VOICE CUT THROUGH THE AIR, SHARP WITH SUSPICION. HER EXPRESSION BETRAYED THE FRUSTRATION AND BITTERNESS LINGERING FROM PAST WOUNDS. "IS THIS BECAUSE OF THAT INSUFFERABLE SCORMETHEUS? IS WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT HIM TRUE?"
BASTIAN GLANCED UP AT HER, HIS SHOULDERS SAGGING UNDER THE WEIGHT OF HER WORDS. NAAVYA HAD EVERY REASON TO DISTRUST SCORMETHEUS; THEIR HISTORY WAS FAR FROM HARMONIOUS. STILL, THERE WERE THINGS THAT COULDN'T BE EXPLAINED EASILY, AT LEAST, NOT NOW.
"YES," BASTIAN NODDED, THOUGH HIS RESPONSE WAS BRIEF AND HEAVY WITH UNSPOKEN TRUTHS. HE DIDN'T HAVE THE ENERGY TO DELVE INTO THE DETAILS. BESIDES, WHO WASN'T DECEIVED BY SCORMETHEUS? THAT SLY FOX HAD FOOLED THEM ALL, EVEN DOWN TO HIS LAST MOMENTS, CRYING OUT "NANA" AS HE PLAYED THEM LIKE PAWNS IN A GAME HE ALONE UNDERSTOOD.
"HMPH," NAAVYA SCOFFED, HER EYES FLASHING WITH ANGER. "THAT BASTARD. I'LL CONFRONT HIM MYSELF, IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO. HAS HE MET HIS END YET?"
BASTIAN LOOKED AT HER WITH A MIXTURE OF AMUSEMENT AND WEARINESS. SHE WAS MORE AFFECTED BY SCORMETHEUS THAN HE WOULD EVER ADMIT, THOUGH HER FRUSTRATION SEEMED TO MASK SOMETHING DEEPER.
"NO, NOT YET," HE SAID, SHAKING HIS HEAD, THOUGH A WRY SMILE CROSSED HIS FACE. PERHAPS THEIR ENMITY WASN'T QUITE AS FIERCE AS IT SEEMED. THE BOND BETWEEN OLD FRIENDS COULD BE COMPLICATED, AFTER ALL.
"WELL, THEN I GUESS I'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT. IF NOTHING UNEXPECTED HAPPENS, WE MAY MEET HIM AGAIN SOON ENOUGH," NAAVYA SAID, HER TONE SOFTENING SLIGHTLY.
BEFORE THEY COULD CONTINUE, THE ARRIVAL OF REINFORCEMENTS SHATTERED THEIR BRIEF REUNION. THE MISSION AT HAND WAS TOO CRITICAL, AND THEIR PERSONAL GRIEVANCES HAD TO BE SET ASIDE.
EVERY RACE HAD SENT ITS FINEST, THEIR MOST ELITE WARRIORS, UNDER STRICT ORDERS OF CONFIDENTIALITY. TO ENSURE SECRECY, ONLY THE YOUNGER GENERATION'S MOST POWERFUL AND BATTLE-HARDENED WERE SELECTED. AMONG THE RECRUITS WERE THE NEW CHAMPIONS OF THE DRAGON CLAN, THE NEXT CANDIDATE FOR THE HILL KING OF THE DWARVES, AND EVEN THOSE WITH TITAN BLOODLINE FROM THE GOLDEN GIANTS. THE COALITION HAD ASSEMBLED THE STRONGEST STRIKE FORCE POSSIBLE, ALL WHILE ENSURING NO UNEXPECTED COMPLICATIONS WOULD ARISE.
THE PLAN WAS SIMPLE, YET RISKY. ALL THEY COULD DO NOW WAS WAIT. WAIT FOR THE SAGE TO LEAVE THE TOWER OF ORIGIN, WAIT FOR THE COALITION'S MOST POWERFUL WARRIORS TO ENGAGE THE SAGE AND PREVENT HIS RETURN, AND FINALLY, WAIT FOR THE EXACT MOMENT TO STRIKE.
TIME CRAWLED BY, TESTING THE PATIENCE OF WARRIORS ACCUSTOMED TO ACTION. SUPPRESSING THEIR BATTLE-HARDENED INSTINCTS, THEY REMAINED POISED, WATCHING AND WAITING FOR THE GATE TO OPEN. YET, EVEN IN THIS STILLNESS, THE SOLDIERS WERE FAR FROM IDLE. TRAINING BECAME THEIR OUTLET, A WAY TO SHARPEN THEIR SKILLS AND PREPARE FOR THE UNCERTAIN BATTLE AHEAD. COMBAT DRILLS AND SPARRING FILLED THE HOURS, A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE STAKES.
BUT NO ONE WAS BUSIER THAN BASTIAN. HE BORE THE TWIN FLAMES OF CREATION, MAKING HIM THE MOST EFFICIENT ALCHEMIST AMONG THEM. AS HE PROCESSED THE ALCHEMY STONES FOR THE COALITION, HE ALSO FOUND TIME TO UPGRADE THE EQUIPMENT OF THE TEMPORARY SQUAD, METICULOUSLY ARMING THEM FOR THE UNKNOWN DANGERS AWAITING BEYOND THE PORTAL.
NO ONE KNEW WHAT LAY ON THE OTHER SIDE. EVEN IF THE SAGE WASN'T THERE, THE TOWER OF ORIGIN WAS LIKELY FILLED WITH TRAPS AND DEFENSE MECHANISMS, LURKING IN THE DEPTHS OF THAT UNINHABITED DIMENSION. CAUTION WAS PARAMOUNT, AND BASTIAN KNEW IT BETTER THAN ANYONE.
THE WAITING WAS AGONIZING, MADE WORSE BY THE EVER-GROWING LIST OF CASUALTIES. WITH EACH PASSING DAY, FAMILIAR FACES DISAPPEARED, CLAIMED BY THE BRUTAL WAR RAGING OUTSIDE THE CAMP. AND THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND THEM DETERIORATED, AS IF THE WORLD ITSELF WAS CRUMBLING UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE CONFLICT.
SOME BELIEVED THIS DECAY WAS A TEMPORARY SIDE EFFECT OF WAR, THAT PEACE WOULD RESTORE THE LAND. BUT BASTIAN SAW THE TRUTH THAT OTHERS COULDN'T, OR WOULDN'T, SEE. THE WORLD WAS AT ITS BREAKING POINT, AND THE END WAS LOOMING, CLOSER THAN ANYONE DARED TO ADMIT.
THEN, FINALLY, THE CRITICAL MOMENT ARRIVED, JUST BEFORE THE WORLD COULD COLLAPSE ENTIRELY.
WORD CAME TO THE CAMP: THE DECISIVE BATTLE HAD BEGUN. THE COALITION'S FORCES WERE ENGAGING THE ENEMY IN FULL, AND THE SAGE WAS OCCUPIED ON THE MAIN PLANE. THIS WAS THEIR CHANCE, THEIR ONLY CHANCE.
WITH A DEEP BREATH, BASTIAN AND HIS SQUAD STEPPED THROUGH THE DARK, SHIMMERING PORTAL, LEAVING THE FAMILIAR WORLD BEHIND. THEY ENTERED THE UNKNOWN, A DANGEROUS VOID WHERE EVERY STEP COULD LEAD TO THEIR DOOM. BUT THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK NOW.
WHATEVER AWAITED THEM ON THE OTHER SIDE, THEY WOULD FACE IT TOGETHER.
***
THE WORLD AHEAD WAS BLINDING, BATHED IN A SEA OF RADIANT LIGHT.
SUNLIGHT POURED OVER EVERYTHING, BUILDINGS, STREETS, AND EVEN THE VEHICLES HUMMING ALONG THE ROADS SHIMMERED WITH A STRANGE WHITE GLOW. IT WAS AS IF THE ENTIRE LANDSCAPE WAS ENGULFED, WRAPPED IN A BLANKET OF LIGHT SO PURE THAT NOTHING CAST A SHADOW.
"IS THIS THE TOWER OF ORIGIN?" SOMEONE FROM THE TEAM FINALLY ASKED, THEIR VOICE QUIET, AWED.
BASTAIN SHOOK HIS HEAD, HIS GAZE FIXED ON THE HORIZON. "NO, NOT YET. THIS IS JUST THE PLANE THAT HOUSES THE TOWER. OUR TRUE DESTINATION STILL LIES AHEAD."
THE TEAM, A COALITION OF ELITES FROM DIFFERENT RACES, STOOD TRANSFIXED. NONE OF THEM HAD ANTICIPATED WHAT THEY WERE SEEING NOW, THOUGH THEY HAD TRIED TO IMAGINE IT. SOME HAD PICTURED A GLITTERING TREASURE HOUSE, OTHERS A GRAND PALACE THAT COULD RIVAL THE HOMES OF ANCIENT GODS. SOME THOUGHT THEY MIGHT STUMBLE UPON A SINISTER NECROPOLIS, WHILE OTHERS IMAGINED A CITY, A UTOPIA NESTLED IN THE ARMS OF ANCIENT TREES.
NONE OF THEM HAD ENVISIONED THIS, A FUTURISTIC, ALCHEMICAL WORLD THAT SEEMED TO HUM WITH LIFE, YET WAS DEVOID OF PEOPLE.
WIDE STREETS STRETCHED BEFORE THEM, NOT FILLED WITH THE USUAL CLAMOR OF A BUSY CITY BUT INSTEAD WITH AUTOMATED CARRIAGES, TRANSPORT PUPPETS, AND STRANGE, UNSEEN FORCES. CONVEYOR BELTS HUMMED ALONG THE STREETS, CARRYING SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS INTO TOWERING BUILDINGS, ONLY FOR THE FINISHED GOODS TO EMERGE MOMENTS LATER AMIDST THE RHYTHMIC CLANKING OF MACHINERY.
EFFICIENCY, SIMPLICITY, AND CLEANLINESS REIGNED SUPREME. THIS WAS A WORLD METICULOUSLY CRAFTED BY ONE BEING ALONE, THE KING OF ELVES. HIS VISION SURPASSED ANYTHING THE TEAM COULD HAVE IMAGINED, FAR FROM THE RUSTIC BEAUTY THEY HAD ONCE ASSOCIATED WITH HIS KIND.
THERE WERE NO ELVES IN SIGHT. INSTEAD, ALCHEMICAL MACHINES MOVED OF THEIR OWN ACCORD, MAGIC PUPPETS TIRELESSLY WORKING WITHOUT A MASTER. THE VERY CONCEPT OF ROADS HAD BEEN REPLACED BY THESE RAPID-MOVING BELTS, AND EVEN THE BARBARIANS AMONG THE GROUP COULD SENSE HOW FAR THIS WORLD WAS BEYOND ANYTHING THEY KNEW.
"WHAT DO WE DO NEXT?" ONE OF THE TEAM MEMBERS ASKED NERVOUSLY, EYES TURNING TOWARDS BASTAIN.
THOUGH THEY WERE ELITES, BATTLE-HARDENED AND FIERCE, THE SHEER SCALE OF THIS PLACE HAD UNSETTLED THEM ALL. THEY HAD EXPECTED BLOODSHED, CHAOS, A FIGHT AGAINST GODS AND MONSTERS. BUT NOW, STANDING IN THE MIDST OF THIS STRANGE AND WONDROUS WORLD, THEIR WEAPONS SEEMED LAUGHABLE. COULD A BATTLE AXE REALLY TEAR DOWN THESE TOWERING STRUCTURES? COULD THE CLAWS OF A DRAGON BEAST WREAK HAVOC IN A PLACE SO FINELY TUNED, SO VAST IN ITS PURPOSE?
BASTAIN, THE LEADER, REMAINED SILENT FOR A MOMENT. HE COULD FEEL THE WEIGHT OF THEIR GAZES UPON HIM. THEY HAD ALL SWORN TO DESTROY WHATEVER STOOD IN THEIR WAY, TO TOPPLE GODS IF NECESSARY, AND TO BRING RUIN TO THIS PLACE. BUT NOW, FACING THESE TOWERING BUILDINGS, THE AUTOMATED MACHINES, THE ENDLESS STREETS, DOUBT CREPT INTO THEIR HEARTS.