Chapter 22 - "Fine..."Hilda let out a deep breath, her shoulders dropping as if a heavy weight had finally been lifted. She turned to look at Nolan, a smile touching her lips, warm and genuine. But it soon faded, replaced by the usual mask she always wore, cold and distant."Though I must ask..." Her eyes narrowed, studying him with the sharpness of a teacher testing a student. "Why do you need me when you've already mastered all elements? In addition, you've unlocked an ability no one in over fifty years has mastered.""What ability do you speak of... Purple flames or spatial warp?"Hilda's head snapped back, her eyes widening then narrowing into slits. "Did you say purple flames?" Her voice dropped to a whisper, filled with disbelief and something darker. Fear. "That's only used by goblins. Ever since the creation of magic, only one being has ever used it, and after they were stolen by goblins, the magic was considered a failure and threat to the human world. How could you possibl

Chapter 24 - Morning came, pale and thin, filtering through the mansion windows like watered milk. Nolan stepped out of his chambers, boots clicking against the marble floor, his mind already drifting toward the day's plans. But something stopped him.His eyes widened.His soldiers stood in the grand courtyard, armor gleaming, weapons strapped to their backs. They stood in perfect formation, straight as spears, their faces hard and unflinching beneath the cold sun."Someone had informed them about the mission," Ralph muttered, appearing behind Nolan alongside Isabella and Hilda."You mean about the cave...""Not that one." Isabella cut him off, her voice crisp and efficient. "They heard about the inhabited forest we plan to make our land. They wish to lend a hand in helping."Nolan stared at them, his gaze sweeping across the rows of soldiers. Young faces. Old faces. Scared faces. Brave faces. Each one different, yet all bearing the same look he had seen in the mirror once, long ago.

Chapter 26Hours passed at the far north, where Hilda and her army pushed deeper into the forest. They had cleared six stages of different beasts, each one more vicious than the last. Blood painted their armor in streaks of green, black, and crimson. Their swords dulled. Their shields cracked. But they kept moving."We stop here for now."Hilda stood at the edge of a small clearing, her eyes scanning the darkness between the trees. The forest ahead seemed to breathe, its branches swaying without wind, its roots trembling with something buried deep beneath the earth.Her men dropped to the ground, gasping, their bodies hitting the dirt with exhausted thuds."Thank the heavens above... I thought we were still going." One knight sprawled on his back, staring at the canopy, his chest heaving. Others relaxed against tree trunks, their armor clinking softly, their faces pale beneath the grime."Eat up and drink water. Tend the wounded. We head out in an hour's time." Hilda's voice was flat,

Chapter 28 The defense dragged on for over twenty minutes, each second stretching into eternity. Nolan stood alone in the offense, his magic tearing through the darkness, fire and wind and earth exploding from his palms in desperate bursts. Blood sprayed across the forest floor, black and red, painting the leaves in streaks of death.The lizards learned. They adapted. Their attention switched to him alone, abandoning the shielded knights to focus on the mage who burned their kin. They attacked in groups, coordinated, silent, shadows given fangs and claws.His men stepped in, defending him as much as they could, their swords flashing, their shields rising, their bodies becoming walls between their lord and the monsters."Give me your sword."Nolan didn't wait for permission. He snatched the blade from a knight's hand and stormed into the fray, his movements wild, reckless, driven by adrenaline and fear. He slaughtered lizard after lizard, steel meeting scales, magic meeting flesh. But

"Arrrggghhhhh!!!"Xavier's scream tore through the void, raw and broken, as electric shocks crawled over his body like living snakes. He fell to one knee, his head hanging low, his whole body convulsing. Around him, dozens of golden strings lay dead and dull on the black floor, their light extinguished, their magic spent."Another wrong string chosen..." The voice echoed through the darkness, dripping with mockery, with amusement, with the cruel patience of something that had watched mortals fail for centuries. "This sure is entertaining. Which one will you choose next? Another wrong string, or..."Without another thought, Xavier reached out and pulled another. It turned gray in his hand, the light dying before it could even flicker.His eyes widened, horror flooding his chest."Wrong yet again."Electricity surged through Xavier's body, ten times stronger than before. He screamed, his voice cracking, his eyes rolling back until only the whites showed. He collapsed to the ground, twit