Bardarn, Bernice, and Rico stepped into the dim chamber, its stone walls rounded like the inside of an ancient tomb.
At the center stood a lone altar, a slab of obsidian, upon which rested a small, silent cube. The air felt heavy, almost expectant.
Bardarn raised a brow, smirking.
"Alright… so do we just sacrifice ourselves to whatever god they worship in this creepy place?"
Bernice shot him a sharp glare.
"Bardarn, stop talking like that. This isn't the time—"
Before she finished, the cube trembled. Its surfaces split open like unfolding metal petals, expanding outward until a mid-sized golem stood in its place, its body carved from shifting, geometric plates.
"Worship me," it commanded, voice echoing like clashing stones.
Bardarn only chuckled. He lifted his hand, summoning a compressed spiral of wind an aerial arrow condensed to lethal density. He fired it cleanly.
The attack fizzled into nothing inches before striking the golem.
The creature laughed, a grinding, mocking rumble.
"Pathetic."
Then its palm rose. The chamber floor quaked. Uneven pillars shot upward violently.
One pillar slammed into Rico, hurling him skyward. He spat blood as he twisted helplessly through the air.
Bernice dodged the first four pillars with acrobatic precision, only for the fifth to smash into her side. She crashed hard onto the stone floor.
Bardarn braced, forming gusts to force the rising pillars away from him. But before he could retaliate, the golem vanished reappearing directly in front of him.
A single heavy blow sent Bardarn spiraling backward into a pillar, cracking it.
All three eventually staggered to their feet.
Bernice wiped blood from her lip. "What's the plan now?"
Rico grinned despite the bruises.
"Simple. We defeat that bastard of a golem."
But before he could take another step, the golem appeared in front of him, faster than sight and drove a brutal jab into his torso, sending Rico tumbling across the floor.
Bernice turned sharply, but the golem clapped its hands. A shockwave of wind blasted her backward.
Bardarn leapt onto its back, wind circling around him as he formed a swirling vortex around the creature. For a moment the golem convulsed under the pressure.
Then its body compressed, then expanded, growing in size and force. The sudden burst launched Bardarn off like a ragdoll.
Far east, beyond stretching fields of green, rose a mighty empire framed by shimmering grasslands.
Seven knights rode out from the towering walls, their horses marching in battle formation.
A lone figure stood in their path.
The leader signaled the group to halt, dismounting with wary confidence.
"You there. State your identity."
The man wearing a grey-and-blue cloak chuckled softly.
"I'll give you to the count of three… to flee."
The knights exchanged amused glances. One of them scoffed.
"Is something wrong with this one? Counting down for knights?"
"Two," the stranger continued.
Six knights still seated drew their swords.
"One."
The knight standing closest to the stranger screamed, his armor hissing as acid melted through it. Half his body liquefied in moments.
The remaining six charged. Two knights swung their flame-coated blades. The stranger slipped through them effortlessly.
A flick of his hand and the six horses split open, collapsing in steaming heaps.
The knights crashed onto the ground, scrambling back-to-back, unable to track the stranger's movements.
A woman's voice echoed above.
"Now, now… why so frightened? I only came to play."
A corpse dropped from the sky, slicing into the earth beside them. The woman stepped out of the shadows, wearing the same cloak as the stranger.
Behind her, the man appeared again.
"Now now, Pyxus," she teased, "that's how you handle things. Learn from your superior."
The man smirked.
"Gloxina, you always amuse me. But don't forget, I am your superior."
She laughed lightly as four more figures emerged from the shadows.
"Come. We head to the Otrin Empire."
---
Rico sliced through the rising pillars, creating an opening as he rushed toward the golem.
Bernice's light magic wrapped around him like a protective veil, shielding him and Bardarn from the creature's retaliating strikes.
Together, the two managed to land heavy blows, though the golem simply enlarged its body again, its strength swelling.
Then Bardarn stepped forward, wind swirling wildly around his hands. He compressed the air into a reinforced cube, a barrier that snapped closed around the golem, trapping it inside.
While the creature struggled, Rico stilled himself, entering a focused stance. The air around him thickened, pebbles lifting from the ground. Then—
He vanished.
A single blinding slash tore through Bardarn's barrier splitting the cube and the golem in a clean, devastating line.
The trapped air exploded outward, ripping the chamber with a thunderous shockwave.
The golem crumbled instantly.
Rico collapsed to his knees. Bernice rushed to him, enveloping him with warm streams of light magic.
Bardarn let out an impressed whistle.
"That was insane. A dangerous move at the final second… Truly, you're a beast, Rico."
---
The six cloaked warriors now stood before the empire's golden, electroplated gates. Pyxus raised a hand, summoning corrosive green acid that ate through the metal like wax.
"Go," he said. "Retrieve the crystal for the master."
The other five stormed in, clashing immediately with knights pouring out from within.
Inside a lavish throne room, a nobleman dressed in ornate garments sat stiffly on his high seat. Three armored knights rushed in, kneeling as they delivered the grim report.
---
The first knight stepped forward, bowing before the nobleman on the throne.
"Lord Uzam… the East District has been breached. Rather than sending the minor units to handle casualties, permit us, the three Commanders to take the field."
Lord Uzam studied the trio before him. For a moment he was silent. Then he exhaled sharply, a smile spreading across his face.
"Good. It's reassuring to know I still have soldiers who truly value the Empire. Go, but do not die."
The three Commanders nodded with fierce pride.
One dissolved into thin air.
Another burst into flame and vanished.
The last sank into the earth, the ground swallowing him whole.
The six paladins tore through the streets. Buildings collapsed. Knights fell in droves.
Pyxus laughed wildly as every soldier who charged him melted under the spray of his greenish acid.
Suddenly the ground erupted. It rose unevenly as Commander Baylin emerged in a storm of earth and dust. He turned to a weary knight.
"Status."
The knight saluted shakily.
"We've evacuated the civilians, Commander. You… you can go all out."
Baylin smirked, stretching his shoulders as if waking from a long sleep.
"Well then… it's about time these fiends learn the wrath of Commander Baylin, Third Division Leader."
He slammed his palms into the ground. The earth responded like a living creature, splitting apart and dragging the six invaders away from each other, isolating two.
Nox and Troy.
They charged him instantly.
Nox conjured a metallic fist the size of a cannon and smashed it into Baylin's chest, pushing him backward.
Troy followed by trapping him in a sand prison but Baylin burst free, summoning two massive earth golems.
Nox retaliated by calling forth twelve spectral legions, warriors of steel and mana that rushed the golems.
Troy dissolved into sand, reappearing in front of Baylin with rapid strikes before vanishing again.
Baylin wiped blood from his lip and grinned savagely.
"Heh… it's been a long time since I've felt this kind of thrill… all thanks to the Union."
He roared, and the ground spiraled beneath him, forming a sinking vortex that pulled everything inward.
Troy and Nox leapt onto a rooftop, only for Pyxus to crash into them from above.
All three tumbled along the roof before springing toward Baylin once more.
But a massive wall of fire erupted between them.
Commander Orint strode out of the blazing inferno.
A gigantic corpse-like wolf emerged as well, carrying Gloxina upon its back.
The battlefield trembled as the four paladins engaged the two commanders.
Troy dashed forward, but Baylin trapped his limbs with rising earth pillars before punching him backward.
Orint hurled a storm of fireballs at Gloxina, vaporizing the wolf beneath her and reducing it to drifting ash.
Nox and Pyxus instantly targeted Orint, but Baylin created a barrier that shielded him and then repelled the two attackers, launching them across the district.
Troy, enraged, summoned dozens of sand spears that tore through Baylin's body at multiple points.
Baylin staggered, blood dripping down his armor then rose laughing.
"Is that the best four paladins of the Union can do?"
Orint raised his hands.
A colossal inferno erupted, scorching nearly every building in the area and badly injuring the paladins, only Nox's hastily summoned barriers kept them from being burnt alive.
But Baylin thrust his arm forward.
A platinum spear, dense and razor-sharp, drilled through Nox's barrier shattering it and leaving the four paladins exposed and vulnerable.
Commander Ronan stood amidst chaos, conjuring a massive barrier of raging wind that shielded both civilians and knights.
Karlos struck the barrier with jagged black lightning, but Melpha widened her portals, rerouting the lightning behind Ronan to electrocute the knights he was protecting.
Screams filled the air.
Ronan's eyes burned with fury. He summoned a titanic hurricane that swallowed the battlefield and charged at both enemies at impossible speed.
Karlos smirked.
"Impressive offense… but how long will you last?"
He unleashed countless bolts of lightning. They tore into Ronan only to cycle through Melpha's portals again and again, striking him repeatedly with no escape. The onslaught was brutal.
Ronan crashed to the ground, carving a crater into the earth. He struggled to rise just as Orint and Baylin landed beside him.
Before them stood the six paladins, prepared to finish what they started.
Bloodied but unbroken, Ronan stood tall.
"We are Commanders of the Otrin Empire. We will fight to our last breath… to protect our people."
Pyxus grinned, acid dripping from his fingertips.
"Then prepare to die by our hands."