Arcadia, a planet that was filled with life. Markets consumed with chatter, homes full of families and a Kingdom that flourished for thousands of years. It was now a wasteland, voided of life and on the brink of collapse.
From the rear observation deck of The Angel, the survivors could only watch as the world they had once called home disappeared beneath a storm of fire and green light. The planet had already begun to fracture, enormous cracks spreading across its surface as the Arcane Energy buried deep within its core tore through the foundations of the world. Entire sections of the continent collapsed into the widening fractures, swallowed by a violent glow that grew brighter with every passing second. Cities that had stood for centuries vanished beneath clouds of ash and debris, while the oceans themselves began to rise and churn as the planet's crust buckled beneath them. No one aboard the ship spoke. There was nothing left to say.
Daeron stood near the observation glass, his hands resting against the railing as he stared at the destruction. He could still see the outline of the capital in the distance, though it was becoming harder to recognize. That had been his home. His childhood had been spent within those walls, running through the palace halls with Vilor, training with his father, listening to his mother tell him stories about the kingdom's history. Every memory he had ever associated with the word home existed somewhere down there. Now the land itself was breaking apart beneath the force of the Arcane Energy. His father's final words still echoed in his mind, refusing to fade.
Go, my son. Be the Great King I could never be.
Daeron lowered his eyes. He couldn't accept them. Not yet.
A violent tremor ran through The Angel, throwing several survivors against the walls. Ezekiel grabbed the nearest console to steady himself while alarms began screaming throughout the bridge. The ship's engines were already running at full capacity, but Arcadia's destruction was spreading faster than they had anticipated. A massive wave of energy erupted from the planet's surface, racing outward like a second sun being born beneath them.
"Ezekiel!" one of the crew shouted. "We're not going to clear the blast radius!"
Ezekiel looked toward the observation deck. His expression hardened.
"Keep the engines at maximum. Don't change course," he commanded.
"We won't make it!" replied crew member.
"I said keep the engines at maximum!" Yelled Ezekiel.
Another tremor struck. Renku immediately looked toward the exploding planet. He could feel it before the explosion even happened.. The pressure in the air changed and the blue energy within his body reacted instinctively to the immense force moving toward the ship. He stepped away from the others and walked toward the exit leading to the outer deck.
Zether noticed. "Renku."
Renku stopped and glanced back at him. "Stay here. If anything goes wrong you get them out of here."
Zether's amber eyes narrowed. "That isn't a planetary explosion you can simply block. That Arcane Energy is enough to destroy the entire universe. You will need my help."
"I know," Renku said. "But we can't risk losing all these people. It has to be me."
"Renku..." Zether whispered under his breath.
But Renku was already moving.
The outer doors opened, and a violent current of air tore through the passageway. He stepped onto the deck as The Angel continued accelerating away from Arcadia. Behind him, the planet looked almost unreal. Fire and green energy had consumed much of its surface and pieces of the world were breaking away and drifting into space. Renku stared at it for a brief moment, feeling the weight of everything that had happened settle over him.
So many people had died.
So many more were still depending on him.
He couldn't let them die now.
Renku turned toward the approaching blast and raised both hands. Blue light gathered around him, starting as a faint glow before rapidly expanding outward. Within seconds, it had grown far beyond his body, forming a massive sphere around Arcadia and the explosion that was tearing the planet apart.
The explosion slammed into the barrier.
Renku immediately felt the difference between trying to stop an attack and trying to contain something of this magnitude. His feet dragged backward across the deck as the force pressed against him. He dug his heels into the metal and pushed back, pouring more Cosmic Energy into the barrier as fire and green Arcane Energy swallowed Arcadia on the other side.
"Come on..." he muttered.
A crack appeared across the blue sphere.
Renku's eyes widened. He pushed harder, forcing the fracture closed, but another one formed farther across the barrier. His arms were beginning to shake, and every breath felt heavier than the last. He knew Zether was right. This was more power than he had ever tried to contain.
He could hear Zether shouting his name from behind him, but Renku didn't look back. If he turned around, even for a second, he might lose focus.
His mind went back to the people aboard the ship. Daeron. The Arcadian soldiers. The families who had managed to escape. They had already watched their home disappear. Renku couldn't allow them to watch everything else disappear with it.
He remembered what Zether had told him.
They don't need revenge.
Renku tightened his fists.
They need hope.
He closed his eyes.
"I won't let you lose anything else."
The Cosmic Energy inside him surged.
Blue light flooded across the barrier, forcing the cracks to close as the sphere expanded around Arcadia. Renku felt the power running through him grow stronger, but it wasn't coming from him alone. He could feel the people behind him. Their fear was still there. So was their grief. But underneath it, buried beneath everything they had lost, was the desire to keep going.
That was enough. Renku opened his eyes. They burned with blue light as he pushed back against the explosion with everything he had.
Arcadia continued to break apart inside the barrier. Continents collapsed into the planet's core, oceans were thrown into the air, and the green light beneath the surface grew brighter until the entire world seemed ready to tear itself apart. But the explosion couldn't get past him. Renku held the barrier. He held it until the last remnants of Arcadia disappeared. Only when he was certain the explosion had finally weakened did he allow the barrier to fall.
Renku held the barrier for several more seconds, making certain the last remnants of the explosion had been contained before finally releasing his power. The sphere dissolved into particles of blue light that drifted into the darkness of space.
Renku's strength left him almost immediately. He dropped to one knee, breathing heavily, his hands shaking from exhaustion. Behind him, the survivors remained silent. No one celebrated. No one cheered. They simply looked back at the place where Arcadia had been. The planet was no longer visible. All that remained was empty space, scattered with the last remnants of a world that had once been filled with life.
Daeron watched without moving. His kingdom was gone. His father was gone. His little brother was gone too. But there was still one thing he held onto. His mother was alive. At least, that was what he believed.
The Realm of Fate was quiet when Aevor felt Arcadia die. He had been standing among the strands when the pain suddenly hit him. Aevor stumbled backward, one hand gripping his chest as his breathing caught. For a moment, he didn't understand what was happening. Then the voices came.
They weren't one voice. They were thousands upon thousands crashing into his mind at once. People were screaming for their families, calling for their children, begging for someone to save them. Some prayed. Others cried. Many didn't even have the time to understand what was happening before the world beneath them began to collapse. Aevor dropped to one knee.
"Stop..." he whispered.
The voices didn't stop. He could feel their fear as the Arcane Energy tore through the planet. He felt people running through streets that were falling apart beneath their feet. He felt parents desperately trying to reach their children. He felt soldiers who had spent their entire lives protecting Arcadia realizing that there was nothing left for them to protect. The screams kept coming, each one cutting deeper than the last. Aevor pressed his palm against the ground, trying to steady himself.
"Please... help us!"
The voice came through so clearly that Aevor looked up. But there was no one there. Another wave hit him. More lives disappeared, more voices and more fear. Aevor clenched his teeth as the pain spread through him. He had witnessed death countless times. He had watched civilizations rise and disappear, and he had learned long ago that he couldn't interfere with every tragedy that crossed the strands. But this was different. He wasn't watching Arcadia from a distance.
He was feeling it.
Every life, every final breath and every desperate plea.
"Enough!" His voice echoed through the Realm of Fate.
The screams continued for several seconds before finally fading and then there was nothing. Aevor remained on the ground, breathing heavily. His hand slowly fell from his chest as he stared into the darkness. Arcadia was gone.
He knew Zavala was responsible for the destruction. He had warned Renku himself that the Demon King had to be stopped because of the Arcane power inside him. Aevor had known what the power could become if it was allowed to grow unchecked. But Zavala was not the one who had set all of this into motion. Aevor looked toward the strands surrounding him. Several of them were trembling. Others had already snapped.
His expression hardened.
Valak
Aevor had watched the Orion of Chaos manipulate events for too long. He had allowed the pieces to move because that was what he had always done. He observed. He waited. He let Fate unfold. But now he could still hear the people of Arcadia screaming in his mind. He couldn't simply stand by and allow it to happen again. Aevor rose to his feet and wiped the sweat from his brow. His breathing had steadied, but the anger hadn't left him.
"Lynassa," he whispered.
He opened a passage and stepped through. The Realm of the Gods stretched out before him. The throne sat suspended within the endless expanse, surrounded by the infinite multiverse. Countless universes floated around it, each one containing its own worlds, civilizations and lives. From this place, they appeared almost impossibly small, drifting silently through the darkness around the throne. Lynassa sat upon it, watching the universes move around her. She looked toward Aevor as he approached.
"You're angry," she said.
Aevor didn't bother pretending otherwise.
"Valak needs to be stopped," he demanded.
Lynassa's expression remained calm. "Why?"
Aevor stared at her. "Because I just felt an entire world die."
She said nothing.
"I felt all of them," he continued. "Every person who was trying to escape. Every family searching for each other. Every person who knew they were going to die and still begged for someone to help them."
His voice tightened as the memories came back. "They were screaming."
Lynassa glanced toward the universes surrounding her throne. "And?"
Aevor's expression changed. "You don't care?"
"No," she replied.
The answer was so casual that it angered him more than if she had argued.
Aevor stepped closer. "You created them."
"Yes," she said.
"Then how can you sit there and listen to this?" Aevor questioned.
Lynassa looked at him. "I don't have to listen."
Aevor shook his head. "You're unbelievable."
"They were never meant to become what they are," Lynassa said.
"What is that meant to mean?" Aevor asked.
"Parasites," she replied.
Aevor stared at her as Lynassa rose from the throne and looked out across the infinite multiverse.
"They consume everything around them. Worlds. Resources. Life. They build civilizations and destroy them, only to build another civilization on top of the ruins. They fight over things they didn't create and destroy things they don't understand," she explained.
"They've been doing it since the beginning." Her eyes moved from one universe to another.
Aevor followed her gaze. "They're alive."
"So are parasites," she answered.
Aevor's jaw tightened. "You created life and now you despise it."
"I despise what they became," Lynassa answered, her eyes glowing green with hatred.
Aevor didn't immediately respond. For a few moments, he simply looked at the universes surrounding the throne. Somewhere within them were people living ordinary lives, completely unaware of the gods watching from above. Families were eating together. Children were playing. People were falling in love. Others were fighting wars. All of them were just as real as the people he had felt dying on Arcadia.
"You could stop Valak," Aevor said.
Lynassa looked at him. "Yes. I could do that."
"Then do it." Aevor gestured towards her..
"No," Lynassa said, her voice stern.
Aevor's hands tightened. "Why?"
"The multiverse needs to be reset. If I want my utopia to exist, the old one has to be torn down first," she explained.
"How can you just stand by and allow this to happen?" Aevor stared at her before continuing. "They pray to you. Worship you. And this is how you repay them? In death?"
"I told you. I despise them." Lynassa's expression remained cold.
Aevor looked away, trying to control his anger. The screams were still there. Not as loud as before, but he could still remember them.
"I can't see what's coming anymore," he said quietly. "You know that."
Lynassa didn't answer.
"The Fate Break took that from me. I can't look ahead and know where any of this leads." Aevor looked back at her. "But I know what happened today."
His voice hardened. "I felt every person who died on Arcadia."
Lynassa remained silent.
"And I'm not going to stand by and let Valak do that to another world." Aevor turned away from the throne.
Lynassa watched him. "You don't know what happens next."
Aevor stopped.
"No." He glanced back at her. "But I know what happens if no one stops him."
He opened a passage behind him.
"More people die," he said.
Aevor stepped through the passage, and it closed behind him. Lynassa remained standing beside the throne, looking out across the countless universes surrounding her. Worlds continued to turn. Civilizations continued to live and die, completely unaware of what had just taken place. She eventually returned to her throne and sat in silence, her eyes fixed upon the endless expanse before her.
The news of Arcadia's destruction reached the Angelic Capital.. Communication towers throughout the capital came alive one after another, carrying the same message across the city. Within minutes, screens displayed the symbol of the Angelics as the announcement was transmitted to every district, every military outpost and every settlement under Angelic control.
Arcadia has fallen.
The words spread through the streets. Some stopped what they were doing to listen. Others gathered around the screens as the report continued, explaining that the kingdom that had stood for thousands of years was no more. The threat that had once existed beyond the Angelics' borders had been eliminated. There would be no Arcadian army marching toward them. No Arcadian fleet waiting beyond their territory. No kingdom capable of challenging their authority. For many of the Angelics, that was all they needed to hear.
Cheers began to rise throughout the capital. People poured into the streets, embracing one another and celebrating what they believed was a victory. Soldiers raised their weapons into the air while citizens gathered beneath the communication towers, some laughing and others shouting that the Angelics had finally been freed from the threat that had loomed over them for so long. The celebrations grew louder with every passing minute.
At the center of it all stood Gnoth. He had gathered several members of the council around him as the announcement continued to spread through the capital. The expression on his face was one of satisfaction. For years, he had warned the Angelics about Arcadia. He had argued that the kingdom could not be trusted, that its growing influence would eventually become a danger to their people. He had demanded action when others had chosen negotiation.
Now Arcadia was gone. Gnoth stepped forward as the communication network connected him to the capital and the surrounding Angelic territories. His image appeared across thousands of screens, and the voices of the celebrating crowds slowly quieted as they waited for him to speak.
"Today, the people of the Angelic territories have witnessed the fall of Arcadia."
His voice carried across the capital.
"For generations, that kingdom stood beyond our borders, growing stronger while we were forced to question what their intentions would eventually become. Many of us warned that Arcadia could one day threaten the peace of our people. We were told that war could be avoided. We were told that perhaps they could be reasoned with."
Gnoth paused, allowing his words to settle.
"That concern no longer exists."
The streets erupted again.
Gnoth watched the reaction before continuing. "Arcadia has fallen. Its military has been broken, its kingdom destroyed and the threat that once stood before us has been removed. Let this day be remembered as the moment our people no longer had to look beyond our borders and wonder when the next conflict would come."
The celebration grew louder.
"Send this message to every Angelic settlement. Let our soldiers know what has happened. Let our people know that the threat is gone."
He raised his voice.
"Arcadia has fallen."
The crowds answered with cheers.
"And today, the Angelics stand stronger because of it."
The transmission continued across the network, carrying Gnoth's words far beyond the capital. Ships received the message. Outposts received it. Military stations received it. Even The Angel, still traveling through the darkness of space with hundreds of Arcadian survivors aboard, received the broadcast.
The main screen flickered before Gnoth's face appeared above it. No one aboard the ship celebrated. The Arcadian survivors stood in silence, many of them still wearing the same clothes they had worn when they fled their homes. Some had blood on their armor. Others had burns across their bodies. A few were sitting against the walls with their heads lowered, too exhausted to even look toward the screen.
Daeron stood among them. He listened as Gnoth spoke about Arcadia as though it had been nothing more than an enemy that had finally been removed from the galaxy. Every word seemed to become heavier the longer he listened. His eyes remained fixed on the screen, but his expression had changed.
Arcadia had been his home. His father had died defending it. Vilor had died because of the invasion. Thousands of people had been left behind and somewhere in the back of his mind, Daeron could still picture the streets he had grown up in. The markets. The palace. The training grounds where his father had taught him how to hold a sword. His mother waiting for him when he returned from training. Now the Angelics were celebrating its destruction.
One of the Arcadian soldiers slowly looked toward Daeron.
"They're celebrating."
Daeron didn't answer immediately.
His hands tightened against the railing beside him as Gnoth's voice continued through the ship.
"The fall of Arcadia marks the beginning of a safer future for all Angelics..."
Daeron finally looked away from the screen. "They don't even know."
The soldier frowned. "Know what?"
Daeron looked toward the window.
"They don't know what happened." His voice was quiet. There was no anger behind it yet. Only exhaustion. "They weren't there."
Renku stood several feet away, listening to the conversation without interrupting. He looked around the ship and saw the same thing everywhere. People who had lost everything were now being told that their loss was something worth celebrating.
Zether stood beside Andreia, whose condition had continued to deteriorate during the journey. The green Arcane Energy beneath her skin had spread farther up her arm and her breathing had become more strained. He kept his attention on her, but even he glanced toward the screen when Gnoth's voice echoed through the ship.
Renku looked back toward Daeron. He could see what the loss was doing to him. Daeron had been forced to watch his kingdom disappear, his father die, and his brother vanish. Now the first message he received from the people who were supposed to be their allies was a celebration.
Renku stepped toward him. "Don't listen to them."
Daeron looked at him. "Easy for you to say."
Renku didn't argue.
Daeron turned back toward the screen. "That's my home they're celebrating."
Renku looked at the image of Gnoth before answering. "I know."
The transmission continued for another few minutes before finally ending. The screen went dark, leaving the survivors staring at their own reflections. No one spoke.
Across the Angelic Capital, however, the celebration continued. Music filled the streets as citizens gathered beneath the towers. Soldiers congratulated one another. Some spoke about how Arcadia had finally received what they believed it deserved. Others were already discussing what the fall of the kingdom meant for the future of the Angelics.
But away from the crowds, inside one of the quieter chambers of the capital, Oldol stood beside a large window overlooking the city. He had watched the entire broadcast. He had heard Gnoth's words and he had seen the celebrations. Heidel stood beside him, his expression troubled as he looked down at the streets below. Thousands of Angelics were celebrating the destruction of a kingdom that had existed for thousands of years.
"They're treating this like a victory," Heidel said.
Oldol remained silent.
Heidel looked toward him. "Oldol?"
The former High Elder finally turned away from the window. "This isn't a victory."
Heidel frowned. "What do you mean?"
Oldol looked back toward the city. He had spent centuries watching the balance between the great powers of the universe. He had seen wars begin over borders, resources, pride and revenge. He had watched civilizations rise believing they would last forever, only to eventually become memories. But Arcadia's destruction felt different. The timing. The chaos surrounding it. The power that had been unleashed and most importantly, the forces now moving behind the scenes.
Oldol's expression grew increasingly grim. "Something has changed."
Heidel followed his gaze toward the sky. "What do you mean?"
Oldol didn't answer immediately. His eyes remained fixed on the horizon as the celebrations continued below them. For once, he wished he could believe the people around him were celebrating the end of a war. Instead, he felt as though they were celebrating the beginning of something they didn't understand.
"The end of days is near," he answered.
Heidel stared at him. Oldol said nothing more. Outside, the Angelic Capital continued to celebrate the fall of Arcadia.
The Angel continued through the darkness of space, leaving the remains of Arcadia farther behind with every passing minute. The ship had become strangely quiet. No one had much to say after what they had witnessed and the celebration broadcast from the Angelic Capital had only made the silence heavier. The survivors had returned to their seats and gathered with their families, holding onto whatever belongings they had managed to carry from their homes. Some were injured. Others were still covered in ash and blood. A few simply stared ahead, unable to process that the world they had known their entire lives no longer existed.
Renku stood near the center of the ship, looking over them before his attention shifted toward Andreia.
She was sitting against the wall with Zether beside her. The green Arcane Energy had continued spreading through her body since the battle. Thin lines of green light moved beneath her skin, extending farther up her arm and toward her shoulder. Her breathing had become noticeably weaker, and she looked exhausted even though she had barely moved since leaving Arcadia.
Renku walked over to them. "How is she?"
Zether looked down at Andreia before answering. "It's getting worse."
Renku crouched beside her. "Can you stop it?"
"I can slow it down," Zether said. "But I don't know how long I can keep it under control."
Andreia opened her eyes and looked at Renku. Despite her condition, she managed a faint smile.
"You look worse than I do," she whispered.
Renku gave her a small smile. "I'm fine."
"You always say that," she replied.
Zether glanced toward Renku. "She's running out of time."
Renku's expression changed. He looked at the green energy beneath Andreia's skin and remembered what Zether had said during the battle. The Arcane Energy wasn't simply sitting inside her. It was moving through her body, attacking her from within.
"We need to get her back to the capital," Renku said.
Zether nodded. "That's what I was thinking."
"You take her," Renku said.
Zether looked at him. "And you?"
Renku turned toward the survivors. "I'm staying with them."
Zether was quiet for a moment. "You're going to take them somewhere else?"
"We can't bring them to the capital." Neither of them needed to explain why. The broadcast they had just heard had made that clear enough.
Renku looked back toward Andreia. "The Angelics are celebrating the destruction of their home. Imagine what happens if they find out hundreds of Arcadians survived."
Zether's expression hardened. "We would be sentencing them to death."
"Exactly," Renku answered.
Renku looked across the ship. "These people have already lost everything. I'm not going to take them somewhere they have to spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders."
Zether leaned against the wall. "So where are you taking them?"
"I don't know," Renku answered, unsure of where to go.
Zether raised an eyebrow.
Renku gave him a tired look. "I'll find somewhere."
"You don't have a planet. You don't have a settlement. And you're responsible for all of these people," Zether stated.
"I know," Renku replied.
Zether stared at him for a few seconds before shaking his head. "You really don't know how to make things easy for yourself."
Renku smiled faintly. "Never have."
Andreia let out a quiet breath that was almost a laugh. "You two are terrible at reassuring people."
Zether looked at her. "You're the one who keeps getting injured."
"And somehow I'm still the reasonable one," Andreia whispered, a faint smile appeared on her face.
Renku couldn't help but smile. The moment passed quickly, but it was enough to remind them that Andreia was still herself beneath the pain.
Renku's expression became serious again. "Zether, you need to get her back to the capital as soon as possible."
Zether looked at him.
"I'm asking you to save her," Renku pleaded.
The words carried more weight than an order ever could. Zether looked down at Andreia. The green energy had reached farther up her arm, and her breathing remained shallow.
"I'll get her there," Zether said.
Renku nodded. "Find someone who can remove that Arcane Energy before it reaches anything vital."
Zether looked back at him. "Hope never dies."
Renku smiled and nodded. Zether studied him for a moment before helping Andreia to her feet. She stumbled, and he caught her by the arm.
"I can walk," she said.
"Doesn't mean you should be," Zether said, lending her his shoulder as support.
Zether raised his hand. Cosmic Energy gathered around his hand rapidly. A shadow portal appeared before him and Andreia. Both of them stepped into the portal. Renku watched them for a moment before turning away. There were still hundreds of people aboard the ship who had nowhere to go, and he wasn't about to leave them behind simply because their home was gone.
He made his way toward the bridge, where Ezekiel was studying the navigation system.
"Can you find us a planet?" he asked.
Ezekiel looked over his shoulder. "A planet?"
"Somewhere outside the Angelic territories. Somewhere they won't find us," Renku said.
Ezekiel turned back toward the navigation screen. "That won't be easy. Most inhabited planets are already known to the Angelics and the ones that aren't may not be suitable for settlement."
"Keep looking. If you find one, I'll go down to scout the surface," Renku said.
Ezekiel began searching through the star charts. Renku stood beside him, studying the countless worlds displayed across the screen. Somewhere among them was a place where the Arcadians could start again. It didn't need to be perfect. It didn't need to replace what they had lost. It just needed to be safe. Renku glanced back toward the survivors.
"We'll find somewhere." His voice wasn't loud enough for everyone to hear, but the people closest to him looked up. "We'll give them somewhere to live."
Ezekiel nodded. Renku turned and saw Daeron standing near the observation deck. He had barely moved since leaving Arcadia. His eyes remained fixed on the darkness outside the ship, as though he could somehow find his home among the stars.
Renku walked over to him. "We're going to find somewhere for your people."
Daeron didn't turn around. "Somewhere away from the Angelics?"
"Yes," Renku answered.
Daeron remained silent for a few seconds.
"And what happens after that?" questioned Daeron.
Renku stopped beside him. "We rebuild."
"Rebuild what?" Daeron finally looked at him. "It's gone. All of it."
"Hope." Renku looked toward the window.
"Hope?" Daeron asked.
"We can't bring Old Arcadia back," Renku explained. "As long as you have hope, the new Arcadia can be even better."
Daeron lowered his eyes. "My father wanted me to become a Great King."
Renku said nothing.
"I spent my entire life preparing for that." Daeron's voice was quiet. "He trained me. He taught me how to fight. He taught me what it meant to protect our people. I always thought I'd have years before I had to take his place."
He looked down at his hands. "Now I don't even have a kingdom."
Renku looked at him. "You still have people."
Daeron slowly raised his head.
Renku nodded toward the survivors behind them. "Castles don't make a kingdom. The people do."
Daeron looked across the ship. He saw the families sitting together, the soldiers who had survived the invasion, and the children who had lost everything they knew. None of them had a home anymore. None of them knew what came next.
His father's final words returned to him.
Go, my son. Be the Great King I could never be.
Daeron swallowed. "I don't know how."
Renku looked at him. "Neither did your father when he started."
Daeron stared at him.
Renku gave him a small nod. "You don't have to know everything right now. Just don't abandon them."
Daeron looked across the ship again. The grief was still there. It wasn't going anywhere. But for the first time since Arcadia fell, he wasn't looking at the empty space where his kingdom had been. He was looking at the people who had survived it.
End of Chapter 28