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Boreas was growing increasingly frustrated as he repeatedly tried to establish a connection with Icylis back at Frostgale, but no signal was coming through. The communicator in his hand crackled with static, the once-clear link to his home now eerily silent.
Aurora, her face pale with unease, turned to him. "Should we just head back? Maybe there’s something wrong with the communication system."
But Glacius, ever the cautious one, shook his head. "This doesn’t feel right," he muttered, his icy blue eyes scanning the empty landscape where Shadowfen had once stood. "We received a distress signal from this exact location. How could an entire village vanish without a trace? It has to be the work of someone very powerful."
Aurora frowned, trying to grasp the situation. "But how could even the strongest of mages erase a village from existence? It doesn’t seem possible."
Boreas, still staring at the empty space where Shadowfen should have been, voiced a darker thought. "What could Shadowfen have been involved in to attract the attention of someone with that kind of power? They must have been snooping into something they really shouldn’t have."
Glacius nodded solemnly. "Whatever it was, we shouldn’t stick around to find out. Let’s head back and report what we’ve seen."
Boreas agreed. "Shadowfen was close allies with Frostgale, but that doesn’t mean we should be poking around in whatever trouble they were involved in."
Just as they turned to leave, a chilling voice echoed around them. "You’re on the right path. You’re asking the right questions."
The trio stopped in their tracks, eyes darting around the empty landscape. They saw no one.
"Who’s there?" Glacius demanded, his hands instinctively glowing with icy energy.
The voice responded, calm and composed. "There’s no point in returning to Frostgale."
Boreas felt his blood run cold. "What do you mean? What’s happened to Frostgale?"
The voice replied with an unsettling calmness. "Your village has disappeared too."
Rage flared in Glacius’s eyes. "What is the meaning of this? Show yourself!"
In response, a dark portal materialized in front of them, swirling with shadows. A figure stepped out, his presence exuding a cold, menacing aura. He was tall, with dark, shadowy armor and a long, slender sword sheathed at his side.
"I am Darius Kaine," the figure said, his voice smooth and mocking. "Seventh member of The Eclipse Sovereignty."
Boreas’s eyes narrowed as he shouted, "What have you done!?"
Darius tilted his head, seemingly unfazed by Boreas’s anger. "Calm yourself. It’s for the best, really."
Boreas took a step forward, his fists clenched. "Oh, yeah? I’ve had quite the day, and my temper’s starting to wane. I’m not in the mood for disrespect." He began to approach Darius, his voice low and threatening. "I’ll give you one more chance to—"
Before Boreas could finish his sentence, a blade of pure shadowsteel pierced through his chest. The sword had moved so quickly that Boreas hadn’t even seen it coming. The Shadowsteel Blade, forged from a rare material infused with dark energy, had cut through Boreas’s magical defenses as if they were nothing. The sword didn’t even need to be in Darius’s hand—it was an extension of his will, responding to his thoughts and movements with lethal precision.
Boreas dropped to his knees, gasping in pain and disbelief.
Aurora’s eyes widened in horror and fury. "Boreas!" she screamed. In a fit of rage, she unleashed her power, Luminous Frost. She conjured Radiant Shards, razor-sharp shards of ice that refracted and reflected light, creating blinding flashes as they flew through the air toward Darius.
But Darius disappeared before her eyes, vanishing into thin air. The shards hit nothing but empty space.
"What? Where did he go?" Aurora gasped, desperately looking around.
Glacius, thinking quickly, summoned his Frozen Fortress. "We can’t pinpoint his location! Aurora, get Boreas out of here! We need to retreat—now!"
Aurora nodded, though her heart was pounding with fear and anger. She used Crystal Mirage, creating multiple illusions of herself, Glacius, and Boreas made of light and ice, hoping to buy them enough time to escape.
Boreas, gritting his teeth against the pain, managed to push himself up, determined to keep moving. "Let’s go!"
The trio ran through the forest, not stopping for over two and a half hours, the fear of Darius and the mysterious Eclipse Sovereignty driving them forward. They didn’t stop until they physically couldn’t run any further, collapsing in a dense forest, far from where Shadowfen had once stood.
Meanwhile, in the Azure Universe on Luminastra, Thorne and Lyra had finally arrived at the sensory chamber where Elder Aeliana was trapped in a trance. As soon as Lyra entered the room, she began her quick assessment of the situation, her mind racing to understand the complex spellwork at play.
Her eyes widened in shock. "She’s trapped in a 7 to 5,764,801 combination spell," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
The revelation hit Seraphina, Thorne, and Aria like a ton of bricks. Seraphina’s anger flared as she turned to Lyra. "Why would Elara send a rookie like you? This is far beyond—"
Thorne cut her off, his voice firm. "Lyra is more than capable, Your Majesty. Queen Elara wouldn’t have sent her if she wasn’t."
Seraphina softened at Thorne’s words, realizing her frustration had gotten the better of her. "You’re right. I apologize." She turned to Lyra, her tone gentler. "Is there a specific place in the Azure Universe where you would like to go to break this spell?"
Lyra nodded, her confidence slowly returning. "We should head to the healing planet, Seraphis, where the energy is more focused. It’ll help me concentrate and unravel the spell."
Seraphina agreed, and they quickly made preparations to head to Seraphis, bringing the spellbound Aeliana with them. The weight of the situation bore heavily on all of them, knowing that the events unfolding could have far-reaching consequences.
The chapter ended as the group left Luminastra, their destination clear, but the outcome uncertain. The shadow of The Eclipse Sovereignty loomed large, its presence now felt across multiple universes, and the stakes had never been higher.
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