"SKYLER! DOESN'T THIS MAGIC BELONGS TO YOU?!" Oyne shouted as he started rubbing his back and started running towards Skyler as he responded, "No..! This magic is mine but... It... It's Thyzarynth's magic! She's my daughter too after all yeah I know but I never taught her this-!"
"If that thing blasts everyone on the battlefield will die!"
"I don't care about those evil spirits but what about the core?!" Morthraxion spoke up as Dzaqol'mirathrax rang towards Skyler, "What about our baby!"
"Tsk...!! You all go destroy the core into six parts! And scatter it around Lunareth and protect that world! Tell our assistants to watch after the broken core for another 500 years!!" Skyler shouted as they all went to their separate works.
.
.
.
"SEREN!! THYZARYNTH!! LISTEN UP, I WILL SEND YOU TWO TO THE FUTURE, COLLECT ALL THE CORE SHARDS AND MAKE SURE TO FIND THE INCARNATION OF ORPHIEL...!!"
"Dad-!!" Thyzarynth said looking worried while Seren just nodded.
As Skyler screamed his huge horns appeared, his eyes turned black as his black hair grew longer.
"Time... Wrap...!!" He cast his magic as both Seren and Thyzarynth got captured by the black fog and disappeared.
"Now what shall I do about you..." He looked at the orb which was about to blast as he raised his hand.
"Be consumed by darkness..."as he spoke the whole surface was surrounded by shadow along.
"That little king is still strong heh... I want to fight him someday" Morthraxion said with a sneer as he focused on protecting Lunareth.
.
.
.
.
YEAR 101 2ND SOLAR YEAR
.
.
.
The jungle air was thick, damp with early morning fog and the distant rumble of falling water. Vines hung low over twisted trees, their branches blooming with strange, luminous flowers that pulsed faintly with ambient magic.
"Ouch…!" Seren hissed, sitting up and rubbing the side of his head. His robes were torn and muddied, his long lavender hair tangled with leaves. "Where… am I?"
He blinked several times, trying to adjust to the filtered sunlight pouring through the canopy. His gaze swept the dense greenery around him. No castles. No sky bridges. No mystic guardians. Just tangled wilds, strange flowers, and the constant drone of unseen creatures.
"Thyzarynth!" he gasped, his voice rising. He scrambled to his feet. "Thyzarynth?!"
Silence.... followed by more silence until...!!
A sharp pang clenched his chest. She had been right beside him when the Time Wrap spell activated he had seen her silhouette vanish into the same shadowy magic. Where had she landed?
A loud bang echoed from beyond the trees. Seren's ears perked. His instincts honed from years of arcane discipline immediately kicked in. That wasn't a natural sound. He took off, weaving through the thick underbrush. The source of the noise grew louder, shouting, metal clashing, and… laughter?
.
.
.
He pushed through a tangle of ferns and came to a sudden stop at the edge of a large clearing.
A battle raged before him, not between armies, but between a small group of travelers and a wave of snarling, corrupted beasts. Five of them black-eyed wolves twisted by dark energy surged toward a trio of fighters holding their ground at the center of the field.
At the forefront stood a young man with wild crimson hair and a beaming smile, swinging a sword that shimmered with radiant energy. He laughed mid-swing, dodging an incoming attack with ridiculous ease.
"Yvaraen, a little help?!" he shouted cheerfully.
From behind him, a tall elven woman with jade-green hair responded. Her hands moved like a dance, and arrows of light shot from a glowing bow. "Try not to get bitten this time, Orrizael!"
"To be fair," a voice muttered on the left, "his optimism is the only thing keeping us alive."
Seren caught a glimpse of the speaker a dark-haired boy with sharp golden eyes, surrounded by swirling green runes. Magic... Deep, old magic...?🤨
He observed from the tree line. His hand instinctively hovered near his side, where a faint constellation sigil glowed under his skin. He wasn't sure what these people were fighting but whatever those beasts were, they reeked of something familiar. Corrupted energy. Spirit remnants.
The battle reached a climax...!! one of the beasts lunged, claws bared.Seren didn't think.
A radiant circle of stars formed beneath the creature mid-leap. With a flick of his wrist, he whispered, "Fall, like stardust...!"
The magic burst upward like a silent explosion of light. The beast was suspended mid-air frozen then shattered into golden dust.
All three fighters turned sharply toward the trees.
"Who?!" the red-haired boy pointed. "Hey! Who are you?!"
Seren stepped out slowly, hands raised, "I mean no harm," he said quickly. "I was... passing through. Saw you were in trouble."
The girl named Yvaraen lowered her bow just a little. "You don't look like you're from Elyndor"
"Not from around here, no," Seren said with a half-smile, "Name's Serren... Just a traveler"
"A traveler with celestial magic?" the third boy asked. His tone was calm but wary.
Seren shrugged. "A little trick I picked up on the road"
Orrizael jogged up, his sword slung over his shoulder. "Well, 'Serren,' your timing was perfect. You saved my face and that's a very important face!"
Yvaraen rolled her eyes. "I'm Orrizael," he grinned. "This is Yvaraen and Qirellien. We're part of the Elyndor Vanguard..!"
"Elyndor…" Seren repeated thoughtfully. "The Land of Justice..."
Yvaraen raised an eyebrow. "You've heard of us?"
"Bits and pieces," Seren said, glancing away to hide his familiarity. He knew far more than he let on knew that Elyndor's foundation had been overseen by the Heavenly Realm itself. But right now, he wasn't Seren the Celestial Herald. He was Serren, the wanderer.
"We've been tracking those corrupted beasts since yesterday," Qirellien said, studying the now-cleared battlefield, "They've been spreading from the old ruins west of here"
Seren tensed. "Ruins?"
"Yes," Yvaraen said, "near the Cradle of Luma. Ancient place. Untouched for centuries. Now suddenly crawling with energy and warped monsters!"
That confirmed it. The Mystic Core's influence. One of the shards had awakened and was feeding energy into the region, tainting the wildlife.
"Are you headed that way?" Seren asked casually.
Orrizael grinned. "Of course! We're not about to let cursed magic run rampant through Elyndor. Besides, the Council wants a report. You're welcome to come with us. We owe you one, starlight!"
"It's Seren..."
"Starlight hehe!"
Seren just sighed. Revealing too much could alter the course of destiny. But refusing might leave them vulnerable and he needed information.
"I'll come," he said. "For now..."
.
.
.
They traveled east toward the Cradle of Luma, walking a narrow path through ancient forest. As they journeyed, Orrizael kept the mood light with jokes, while Yvaraen lectured him about tracking signs. Qirellien was mostly quiet, but he never let Seren out of his sight.
"Your magic," he finally asked, "what school is it?" Seren gave a modest shrug. "A mix of celestial and temporal"
"Temporal?" Qirellien frowned. "There hasn't been a time-weaver in this region since…just who are you..." He let the sentence hang. Seren didn't answer but just smiled, "You shouldn't pry too much Mr.ancient~"
"You how-! Tsk..."
.
.
.
By midday, they reached the outskirts of the Cradle. It was an ancient temple, half-swallowed by trees. The earth around it had cracked open, and strange black vines pulsed from the gaps.
"There's something wrong here," Yvaraen whispered.
"Definitely a shard," Seren muttered under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing~"
They entered carefully. The moment they stepped across the threshold, the air thickened, humming with barely contained magic. In the center of the ruined chamber hovered a shard, glowing with fractured light, flickering between blue and violet. Then a shadow moved.
From the far end of the temple, a figure emerged. Dressed in ancient armor, his face covered by a broken mask.
"Another child of the stars…" he rasped. "You're too late.."
Before anyone could react, corrupted energy surged from his body, blasting them backward. Orrizael rolled to his feet, sword drawn. Yvaraen nocked an arrow, and Qirellien cast a protective barrier. Seren remained still.
"You... serve the Six?" he asked quietly.
"I serve the return of the King," the masked figure answered, raising his hand. "And you will not have this shard." He charged.
The fight was fierce, Orrizael and Yvaraen flanked the warrior, while Qirellien created barriers and wards. Seren held back, analyzing the energy.
He couldn't let them see the full scope of his power. Not yet.
But as the masked warrior unleashed a wave of darkness toward Orrizael, Seren stepped forward.
He raised his hand.
"Stellar Cage..."
Constellations formed midair, trapping the enemy in a burst of compressed starlight. The figure screamed as the light seared his armor, breaking his hold on the shard.
The warrior vanished into smoke, leaving the chamber silent. The shard hovered, dim but intact. Orrizael turned, wide-eyed. "That was incredible...! Where did you learn that?"
Seren gave a soft smile. "Old books~"
He walked to the shard, extending his hand just enough to absorb its signature. He didn't need to take it, only know where it was, and how many remained.
Five...
The others gathered around, "What now?" Yvaraen asked.
"We return to Elyndor," Qirellien said. "The Council needs to know... And I think we have to check up on the other countries too!"
Orrizael turned to Seren. "You coming, starlight?"
Seren looked out through the broken archway. Somewhere, Thyzarynth was out there. And somewhere deeper still, the Six Shadows hunted..
He nodded slowly with a smile, "Yes. Lead the way..."
"Ugh...he gives me the creeps..." Qirellien said with a shiver.
.
.
.
Too beautiful continue→↓