2025-05-07 09:45:45At Level 5, the stairwell opened into a surreal forest. Black, petrified trees with glossy, mirror-smooth bark rose into a darkness speckled with faint luminescent motes like stars. The ground was blanketed in silvery mist that swirled around their ankles.
“This can’t be real,” Neo whispered. He touched one of the dark tree trunks and yanked back his hand.
“It’s like glass...” Celestia peered into the polished surface of the nearest trunk.
“It’s reflecting... everything.” Indeed, the tree’s surface mirrored her face—though distorted—and beyond her, Ethan and Neo’s forms stretched strangely in reflection.
Ethan felt a prickling on the back of his neck. The silence was thick here, broken only by
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CHAPTER 82: Light and Shadow (1)
CHAPTER 82: Light and ShadowCelestia stared at Ethan in stunned silence, the lantern’s light casting wavering shadows across their tent. “Not from this world…?” she repeated. Her mind raced. Ethan himself hailed from Earth, a truth she had long accepted—but Kaelthorne too?Ethan nodded, eyes flicking to the crystal orb where Kaelthorne’s unconscious form floated. “He’s like me, Celestia. He came from Earth.”Celestia’s claws flexed at her sides as she struggled to process this revelation. The enemy warlord who had nearly destroyed them... a visitor from Ethan’s home world? “How can you be certain?” she asked warily.Ethan exhaled slowly, recalling the clues that had suddenly appeared back in Carosso. “When we first met at the palace, he tested me using knowledge from Earth,” Ethan explained. “At first, I thought I'd misheard. But then I noticed his background knowledge was too similar to mine—things I learned back on Earth.
CHAPTER 81: Aftermath
The battlefield finally quieted as dusk settled. Amid torn banners and smoldering wreckage, Ethan moved among the survivors, ensuring the wounded were cared for. At his side, Celestia strode with draconic grace, her tail flicking behind her. The Northern army had triumphed, but the toll was heavy.A sudden cry drew their attention to the makeshift refugee area enclosure. Two guards struggled, stumbling backward from a silver-haired thrashing figure. It was Lyssandra, the wolf-girl they'd freed during the chaos. Her amber eyes blazed defiantly, teeth bared even as her body trembled with exhaustion and lingering pain."Lyssandra!" Ethan called, quickening his pace.At the sound of his voice, her ears perked up, and she immediately stopped struggling, eyes wide and searching. "M-Master Ethan?""Just Ethan," he gently corrected, stepping closer. "You're no one's slave anymore."Lyssandra dropped to one knee, bowing her head deeply. "Forgive me, I—I onl
CHAPTER 80: Outcome
Sparks flew as Ethan’s sword met Kaelthorne’s black blade in a furious cadence of strikes. The courtyard burned around them – toppled wagons aflame, the air choked with smoke and ash. Yet in that moment, everything narrowed to the two combatants at the center of the ruin.Kaelthorne moved like a man possessed, his obsidian armor drinking in the hellish glow. He thrust out a gauntleted hand and a bolt of crackling purple energy burst forth. It caught Ethan in the ribs and hurled him backward into a pile of splintered timber.Ethan’s breath exploded from his lungs as he struggled to his feet. The taste of copper filled his mouth. Through bleary eyes he saw Kaelthorne stalking closer, confidence radiating off him in waves of palpable malice. Distantly, Ethan heard Celestia’s roar and Lyssandra’s battle cry as they fought off the last of Kaelthorne’s guards, but none could intervene in time. This fight was his alone.Kaelthorne lunged, raining down a flurry of bruta
CHAPTER 79: Assault on Northfort
The midday sun blazed in a hazy sky as Northfort shuddered under the barrage of siege engines. Kaelthorne’s catapults battered the fortress walls, each impact sending stone dust and shards showering down on the defenders. On the ramparts, Ethan wiped grit from his eyes and peered at the battlefield beyond. Enemy soldiers encircled the fortress in a bristling ring—infantry massed behind shield walls, archers trading arrows with the North’s bowmen, and two massive siege towers lumbering slowly forward on groaning wheels.“Brace!” a watch captain bellowed. A boulder struck with a teeth-rattling boom, but the walls held—for now.Nina emerged through the swirling smoke to Ethan’s side, flushed but determined. “They’re moving siege towers to the east wall,” she panted, just as a war horn’s blast signaled a renewed enemy push. “They’ll try to storm us any moment!”Ethan grimaced at the
CHAPTER 78: Blackwood Plains
Dawn broke cold and grey over the Blackwood Plains. Ethan’s forces stood arrayed at the northern end of the field, backs to the river. Across the southern horizon stretched Kaelthorne’s army—a dark tide of soldiers and banners beneath the rising sun.Ethan sat astride his warhorse at the center of his line, armor gleaming dully in the weak light. Celestia was mounted beside him, violet cloak rippling as she fixed her eyes on the enemy ranks ahead. Further back by the supply wagons, Nina watched anxiously, clutching her reins.A horn sounded from the Carosso side—long and low. The enemy vanguard began to advance, a bristling wall of spears and shields. Behind them, rows of conscripted infantry and knights on horseback moved in step. Ethan’s jaw tightened as he saw collared beastkin fighters being driven at spear-point to the front. The sight sickened him.Ethan raised a gauntleted hand, signaling his front line of pikemen to hold ste
CHAPTER 77: War Council
The heavy oaken doors of Northfort’s great hall groaned open, admitting a lone royal messenger clad in Carosso’s colors. Ethan rose from the high table as the man strode forward across the stone floor. Around Ethan, a ring of his closest advisors—Celestia, Nina, and several northern commanders—stood in tense silence.The courier halted and unfurled a parchment scroll emblazoned with King Aldric’s seal. His gaze swept the hall, taking in the stern faces and the silver dragon banners draped on the walls. He cleared his throat. "By decree of His Majesty King Aldric," the messenger announced, voice echoing, "Lord Ethan Blackthorne is hereby commanded to disband all armed forces under his command and present himself at Castle Carosso to reaffirm his fealty. Failure to comply will mark him and his followers as traitors to the crown."A flicker of outrage crossed Ethan’s face. He stepped forward, accepting the parchment from the messenger’s hand. The hall was deathly still as
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