It was as if their efforts were wasted.

  Queen Aerathis sat in her chair, her posture frail as servants attended to her trembling hands. Vaelros' gaze lingered on her eyes, now rimmed with sorrow. Red veined lines were chiseled across their surface. He had experienced that too just a while ago, so he understood.

  Vaelros’ negative emotions started to take over his mind again, as his thoughts were filled with the evil humanity could do.

  There were many things which happened while General Vaelros and the Silver Legion were not in Faliamber.

  King Thalorin and the other soldiers did not even inform them completely about these due to all their predicaments.

  ‘Are our enemies so heartless? Will they willingly kill their children with their own hands to gain more power? Were they so selfish and cowardly that they would not even face us directly?

  And instead kill our children first. If that’s what was done to them, what would they do?’ General Vaelros was lost in thought, thinking of the reminders the wizards always told them.

  They often repeated that the outside kingdoms would do anything to gain power, to show their dominance, to brag, and to gain riches

  As they all coped with what happened, the mighty Den of Irons began to unravel without Beledon’s power which suspended it in midair.

  Vaelros' thoughts were cut off as he heard the sound of metals and weapons which fell from the castle.

  Great jagged rocks split and tumbled. The earth trembled beneath the weight of its collapse.

  Soil erupted and spread like a dark wave, choking the air with dust. With a deafening roar, the once imposing stronghold crumbled utterly, crashing into the ground in a cataclysmic force that obliterated everything beneath its shadow.

  Some held their hands to their head and closed their eyes as if to calm themselves. Many looked in silence and sadness as General Vaelros’ mighty stronghold shattered like a delicate glass.

  The general remained composed. Yet within, his soul churned in turmoil. That castle, now but a memory crumbling before his eyes, held countless echoes of his past: glorious triumphs, whispered promises, and the fleeting warmth of days long gone.

  Each stone falling felt like a fracture in his very spirit, yet he was unwilling to let the storm within show.

  “King Thalorin, look at the Auroras…” Uther stood up and pointed to the defense shields while the dusts from the Den of Irons were still floating in the air.

  King Thalorin looked up and breathed heavily.

  When the people gathered in the palace heard the voice of the Divine Archmage, those in the shade scrambled to look outside and above. All the Auroras were crumbling, too.

  The magical defense fields, forged by the wizards of old, stood as an enduring testament to their unmatched power. The Kingdom of Livingrings remained shielded, its walls of arcane energy unwavering, as long as the wizards from the legendary eras drew breath.

  For countless generations, the barriers had never faltered.

  It was a constant sight that the people of the past had known no world without their ethereal glow.

  Yet now, those alive bore the weight of a grim reality, they would witness the final days of these multilayered shields, the last vestiges of a bygone age.

  Uther, Dunesther, and Jenna, the last of their kind, stood as the sole surviving wizards to behold this fading glory.

  They knew the kingdom’s survival had hinged on this magic, for without it, the Livingrings would have long succumbed to the relentless might of the Nexxus.

  The barriers’ collapse was not merely the end of an era, it was the heralding of an uncertain and perilous future.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Within the sanctuary of the kingdom, life thrived as if under the watchful gaze of the heavens. The citizens moved freely beneath the protective embrace of the multilayered shields. Their lives were untouched by the chaos beyond.

  These Auroras, shimmered with ancient magic and not only thwarted all forms of large-scale attacks, but also extended their vigilance to the skies. The Auroras sensed the movements of enemy hordes across the air, land, and sea. No army or fleet could breach their luminous defense.

  Yet, the shields were not impervious. Continuous magical attacks and dark energies sought cracks in their luminous weave, seeping through even the smallest of breaches.

  So, to safeguard the kingdom, the wizards often ventured beyond the barriers, waged relentless battles and defended these to mend the magical fractures; while the Divine Army fought in the second layers and inside the Auroras to protect the citizens.

  Their efforts kept the tides of darkness at bay and ensured the shields remained steadfast, guarding the kingdom as they had for countless generations.

  “Does this mean...?” King Thalorin was terrified to see the Auroras and the wizards disappear during his reign.

  Throughout the ages, many Sealbearers had been chosen by the wizards, each anointed from the bloodlines of diverse and storied families.

  Thalorin was the first of his lineage to bear this honor. He vowed to uphold the dignity of his ancestors, but the legacy he inherited was carved by glory and tragedy.

  Countless kings before him had met untimely deaths, murdered alongside their kin. The invaders had surely planned their sinister invasion in advance, taking the advice and information of their evil predecessors.

  Thalorin carried this heavy burden as he prepared to face the trials that awaited, knowing his name would either ascend into legend, or fade into the annals of the fallen.

  He was frightened by the sequences of events, as if he could no longer see the Livingrings existing in the future. He could not even wield the powers he once had just like General Vaelros. But, at least, they did not perish if magic departed their mortal bodies.

  What would they do without magic, the Auroras, and the wizards?

  All the kingdoms outside had already nurtured strong and powerful armies using sorcerers, wizards, and the forces of the underworld. He had seen many wastelands and slaves crushed to nothingness by those who had power when he ventured to these lands.

  If they became prisoners, his people would face the same fate, and the Livingrings would just turn into a dark, polluted land thrown with metallic wastes and carcasses.

  King Thalorin hoped the Divine Archmage could still help them, but it was as if Uther already knew there was nothing they could do, unless they could bring the Seal of Gaxinar to a safe location

  “Yes, for the first time, you’ll see what we’d been seeing and dealing with all these years, King Thalorin, only on a far larger scale.

  Look closely, those were what our fellow wizards had been fighting all these hours, when you all thought that you were fighting small numbers of intruders. They could not see us yet, but they will soon be able to even launch their attacks directly.

  If it’s me, I would not look longer and should have taken us to safety, but my powers were gone. Only the Sightseekers which Zoho gave us are keeping us here alive for a while.” Uther said, facing the weary face of the king.

  Then examined his hands and staff, without any signs of spells or magical energies coursing through these ever again.

  “Uther, you must not say that to them, they had lost lives, too. It was better to not harm each other’s feelings now.” Dunesther interrupted.

  “What do you want to tell me, Dunesther? Those are in Time Vials.” Uther emphasized that the dead humans were preserved, while their kind vanished. The wizards did not lie about that.

  “Don’t forget that only a few were allowed to leave this kingdom. Only we can freely roam around.” Dunesther replied to Uther.

  All the humans in the area were also listening.

  “And us?” Uther inquired; his eyes got colder as they went on with this conversation.

  “I know. But… now… How can we even activate the Seal of Gaxinar without powers? How can we save the living?” Dunesther repeated these again, knowing that in only a few minutes the enemies would all be here.

  What should they do?

  “We don’t really have the means now, but we could follow what has been told to us all for a long time. And maybe, maybe, figure it out,” Jenna interfered, believing there was always a solution.

  Uther gazed at Dunesther and Jenna with pity, he could not blame them though. They had assisted the humans to prevent more chaos inside the kingdom.

  If this situation was like in ordinary days, he would have congratulated them for a good work done.

  General Vaelros amassed his courage, and got near Uther while the wizards argued. He already asked King Thalorin’s permission to ask the wizard. They both understood that it was critical to know what was out there, and the Time Vials they relied on.

  “Uther, great Divine Archmage, could you please enlighten me more of what we are facing now and of the Time Vials. My King also wanted to be prepared and evaluate what to do.” General Vaelros asked and politely knelt before the small frame of Uther.

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