Chapter 425:leaving.

Chapter 425: 425:leaving.

Atheline raised one hand.

Wind appeared.

It circled his fingers without consuming enough Aether to matter. The other also followed suit as they made their presence known. He closed his hand and everything vanished.

His rank hadn’t changed, yet comparing himself now to the man who’d walked into the Forbidden Forest six months earlier felt almost ridiculous.

Atheline understood why; rank measured power but it didn’t measure understanding. He looked toward the sky.

"Sovereign."

The word felt different now, closer. It wasn’t going to be easy or guaranteed but it was reachable.

Atheline could feel the boundary clearly. He suspected forcing his way through it now would be possible. He also suspected doing so would be a mistake.

He would wait.

The final step needed to happen correctly.

A roar echoed through the forest. He glanced sideways as a massive SSS-ranked beast emerged between the trees. It resembled a horned tiger covered in dark scales.

The creature stared at him and he stared back. Six months earlier, he would have immediately reached for his bow, but now he didn’t.

The tiger growled.

Atheline released his aura, spreading it through the forest. The trees bent, leaves rose, the river nearby changed direction, frost appeared across the ground, a few sparks of flame appeared in the air, lightning crackled overhead and the earth trembled.

The tiger froze.

Atheline raised an eyebrow.

"Still interested?"

The beast turned around and disappeared into the forest.

Helaughed.

"Good choice."

He packed his belongings. There wasn’t much left. He destroyed anything that could attract corrupted creatures and checked the surrounding region one final time.

Then he started walking. For the first several hours, Atheline simply traveled through the forest. Places he’d once considered dangerous passed around him. Creatures remained hidden as though sensing him.

The deeper forest gradually gave way to more familiar territory. Atheline noticed signs of Dark Elven patrols, then stronger barriers, then maintained paths.

Civilization.

He stopped near the boundary. He looked toward the direction of the Dark Elven capital.

"I’m coming home."

Wind gathered as Atheline stepped forward. His body became a blur, then Lightning flashed. The transition between the two Laws happened almost naturally.

Wind provided movement while Lightning provided release. He crossed an enormous distance.

He laughed because the combining the two didn’t feel forced. There was still much to learn.

Decades, perhaps centuries, if he wanted to understand every Law completely but he didn’t need complete mastery yet.

He needed enough strength to survive what was coming. Enough understanding to protect Lilith.

Enough authority to ensure that if the World Will attempted another Nirvana, it wouldn’t find him helplessly trapped inside the cycle.

And enough power to eventually discover what had caused the Cataclysm in the first place.

Atheline accelerated.

The Forbidden Forest disappeared behind him.

.

.

.

Atheline had expected to return home to political problems.

Six months was more than enough time for kingdoms to quarrel, councillors to complain, nobles to take advantage of uncertainty and rumours surrounding Klaith to spread into increasingly ridiculous versions of themselves.

He’d half expected to arrive at the palace and immediately be dragged into a council meeting concerning the missing librarian, territorial disputes or another argument over the accusations of treason.

He hadn’t expected to smell blood before he even reached the capital.

Atheline stopped in the air.

Wind disappeared from beneath him as he landed on a hill overlooking one of the roads leading toward the Dark Elven court.

There were soldiers everywhere.

Several wagons moved along the road carrying injured people toward the court, while another convoy traveled in the opposite direction loaded with weapons, medicines and supplies. A group of Dark Elven knights rode alongside it.

Atheline frowned.

He’d been receiving reports from Lilith throughout his training; the corruption was worsening, attacks were increasing, and the Blood Ocean had become more active.

He knew all of that, but she had clearly been editing the reports she gave him.

His eyes narrowed.

"That woman."

A soldier noticed him, then froze.

"Your Majesty?"

Several others turned in both confusion and disbelief. Recognition spread immediately.

Atheline approached.

"What happened?"

The soldiers exchanged looks. That was enough to make his unease worse.

Atheline looked toward the wounded.

"Where did they come from?"

"Vel Village, Your Majesty."

Atheline searched his memory.

"That’s less than two hundred kilometers from the capital."

"Yes."

"What attacked it?"

The soldier hesitated.

"Corrupted beasts."

Atheline’s expression hardened.

"How many?"

"We don’t know."

"How do you not know?"

"They came from beneath the village."

He became still.

"Beneath?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The soldier swallowed.

"There was no warning. No corrupted zone nearby. No reported contamination. Nothing. The ground opened and they came out."

He looked toward the wounded again.

"Casualties?"

"We’re still counting."

That answer was becoming far too common.

He disappeared.

The soldiers barely had time to react before Wind and Lightning carried him toward the court.

He didn’t bother with the gates and landed directly inside the palace grounds using wind.

Chaos greeted him.

Officials moved between buildings carrying reports. Messengers arrived constantly. Several teleportation formations remained active.

He saw wounded knights being escorted toward the medical wing. A group of councillors were arguing beside the administrative building.

Atheline’s expression darkened.

Six months ago the kingdom had been preparing, now it looked like preparation had become war.

"Atheline!"

He turned.

Zelpher approached rapidly; Alive.

He still hadn’t completely lost the habit of checking. Every time he saw Zelpher, some part of him remembered the body he’d seen in the Unaspected Ruin.

"Welcome back, Your Majesty."

"Where’s Lilith?"

"Council chamber."

"Of course she is."

Atheline started walking.

Zelpher followed.

"What happened?"

"Several things."

"Give me the worst."

Zelpher hesitated.

Atheline stopped.

"Zelpher."

"The Blood Ocean has expanded."

Atheline’s expression changed.

"Expanded how?"

"The corrupted region has spread beyond every boundary we’d established."

They continued walking.

"Three coastal settlements have been evacuated. Beastmen territory has lost several villages. The Dwarves closed two underground routes after corrupted creatures appeared inside them."

"Inside?"

"Yes."

Atheline’s frown deepened.

"How?"

"We don’t know."

"Any connection to the surface?"

"None we’ve found."

That didn’t make sense since the corruption spread. It contaminated creatures, land and Aether, so there should have been a path or a source, just something.

Zelpher continued.

"The Human Continent has reported similar incidents. Two kingdoms have had attacks far from previously contaminated regions."

"Demonic Continent?"

"Worse."

Atheline looked at him.

"How much worse?"

"A village disappeared."

He stopped walking.

Zelpher’s expression told him he’d heard correctly.

"Disappeared?"

"Completely."

"The people?"

"The village."

Atheline stared.

"Buildings?"

"Gone."

"Corpses?"

"None."

"Signs of fighting?"

"Very little."

Atheline’s voice became quieter.

"How many people?"

"Approximately eight hundred."

He resumed walking, faster this time.

"What has Seragus said?"

"He’s personally investigating."

"Dragons?"

"Draco sent observers after similar disappearances were reported near the Beastmen Continent."

Atheline reached the council chamber and opened the door. Every conversation stopped the moment he appeared on the door.

Lilith stood at the head of the table looking exhausted. Maps covered almost the entire table with markers had placed across every continent. There were far too many were black.

Lilith stared at him clearly not wanting to explain. Atheline stared back, then he looked at the maps.

"You understated it."

Several councillors suddenly found the maps extremely interesting.

Lilith crossed her arms.

"Welcome home."

"Don’t welcome me."

"You’ve been gone six months."

"And apparently you decided that ’the corruption is worsening’ was sufficient explanation for this."

Lilith glanced toward the councillors.

"Leave."

Nobody needed to be told twice; the chamber emptied quickly.

Atheline waited until the doors closed, then he pointed toward the map.

"How bad?"

Lilith sighed.

"Worse than yesterday."

Atheline’s irritation disappeared.

"Yesterday?"

"That’s the problem." She moved toward the table. "Two months ago, the increase was gradual. More corrupted beasts. More contaminated regions. The Blood Ocean expanding."

She moved several markers.

"Then the rate changed."

"When?"

"Approximately three weeks ago."

Atheline studied the map.

"Every continent?"

"Almost simultaneously."

His eyes narrowed.

"That’s impossible."

"I know."

Lilith pointed toward several isolated black markers.

"These are worse." ℴℴ𝘮

Atheline immediately understood why. Although none were connected they seem to have a few things in common; one was deep inside Dark Elven territory, another was within the Human Continent, several appeared far inland on the Beastmen Continent, plus there were two inside Demonic territory.

"No contamination paths."

"None."

"Underground?"

"Checked."

"Water?"

"Checked."

"Teleportation?"

"We’ve found no evidence."

Atheline leaned over the map.

"Then how are corrupted creatures appearing there?"

Lilith looked at him.

"We don’t know."

That answer followed Atheline into the following weeks. The corruption violently accelerated. The Blood Ocean became the center of the crisis first.

The water darkened across enormous regions.

Creatures that had previously remained in the deepest contaminated zones began moving outward in coordinated groups. Corrupted fish attacked vessels. Massive sea beasts surfaced near coastal settlements. Several ports were abandoned entirely after repeated attacks made maintaining them impossible.

Then villages began disappearing; one on the Beastmen Continent, two within Human territory, another on the Demonic Continent, then a Dark Elven settlement vanished.

Atheline personally went there but nothing remained. He stood where houses should have been. There were foundations, broken roads, plus a few scattered objects but no bodies, even insects seemed absent.