Advent of the Archmage

Saroviny’s words shocked the High Elf Queen.

She looked up at the World Tree. Some weird things had indeed happened recently. The biggest change was that the realm’s fusion had doubled in speed.

Using the Eye of the Void on the World Tree, she could see the image of Aragu. After a while, she could even see the image get bigger. This meant that the Aragu Realm was quickly approaching Firuman.

The two realms were about to fuse.

This would have been a good thing, but this demon who said she was a knight of the Fire Sect told her that something horrible had happened to Aragu. Even more shocking was that this demon was standing beneath the World Tree, but the World Tree didn’t attack her!

Sensing the horrible power rippling faintly from the other’s body, the High Elf Queen didn’t dare do anything brashly. After a few seconds of silence, she said, “I haven’t contacted Milda these days. Did something happen to her?”

“No, it’s worse.” As Saroviny spoke, her hand twitched. Some strands of dark Mana poured out, forming a ball of smoke in the air.

The smoke gradually turned into models of Link, Milda, the Inferno Archmage, and the Lava Knights. Then it replayed what had happened in Aragu.

“Link brought the Divine Fragment into Aragu. Due to an accident, he fused with it and received the horrible spell to suck souls for his own power. Then he killed Milda and absorbed her soul’s power.”

The black smoke showed how Link placed his sword on Milda’s neck. In the image, Link unsheathed his sword and sliced Milda’s throat. Then he grabbed her head and sucked out her soul.

The entire process was evil, creepy, and unbelievable. The Lord of Ferde had always fought against darkness. He was even known for being chosen by light. How could he do that?

The High Elf Queen was rivals with the Ferde lord, but she wasn’t stupid. She wouldn’t believe a demon so easily.

After the image, she looked coldly at Saroviny. “Demon, do you think I’m an idiot?”

Saroviny waved her hand. “Of course not. Please listen.”

Since she said that, the High Elf Queen could only listen patiently. Her mind whirred as she pondered how to drive this powerful demon out of the capital with the lowest cost.

Saroviny continued reenacting the image while explaining. “After killing Milda, Link took advantage of how the Inferno Archmage was at his weakest after the fight with the Snow Mountain Archmage. He entered the Yan Empire and massacred the citizens. He killed more than one million people within three hours! He absorbed millions of souls!”

In the image, the shadow flew in the air. Countless wailing souls flew up from the city below him, melding into the shadow.

The High Elf Queen frowned at this. “It looks like what you demons would do. Are you using him as a scapegoat?”

“Patience, Your Majesty!” Saroviny continued explaining. “Countless temples were destroyed; countless civilians were killed. The wounded Inferno Archmage was forced to fight him. In the last moment, he received help from the Ruler of Light and Darkness and recovered much of his power. This would have been a good thing, but the Ferde lord was too calculative and powerful. The Inferno Archmage was still slain.”

“Wait!” The High Elf Queen found this too fantastical. “Who is the Ruler of Light and Darkness? And the Inferno Archmage is at the pinnacle of Level-19, but I remember that Link is only Level-14. How can he kill the Archmage? Demon, speaking without evidence is a bad habit. Give me proof!”

Saroviny wasn’t angry. She put away the dark image and smiled at the High Elf Queen. “Indeed, so let me show you.”

As she spoke, she reached out and grabbed the High Elf Queen’s arm. Before she could react, what she saw started changing. She discovered she was rising quickly. The World Tree was below her, and it kept getting smaller. Soon, it became a tiny green dot, and then it vanished too. All the queen could see was white mist.

After soaring through the mist, the scenery changed again. Once again, she saw mountains, forests, and rivers. These images enlarged and then a ruined temple appeared before her.

It quickly zoomed in. With a whoosh, she was standing before the temple. Saroviny was still beside her, a smile on her face.

“We’re in Aragu?” The High Elf Queen was quite knowledgeable. She knew that she’d just traveled through the realms. This was very troublesome on the Isle of Dawn. They had to build a huge transmission seal, but this demon could do it with her own power. Her method was miraculous and had surpassed the queen’s knowledge.

She started to believe Saroviny’s words. Such a powerful person had no need to lie to her.

Saroviny kicked aside a rock and picked up a broken statue. She brought it to the queen. “More accurately, this is the temple that the Inferno Archmage built in the mortal world to land in. This statue is what he looks like.”

The queen took the statue and then looked around. She saw the broken walls and a shattered statue in the distance. It looked similar to the one in her hands. Even further, there was a huge white-gold pillar that shot into the sky. It went up as far as she could see.

“What is that?” The queen had an idea, but she wasn’t sure.

“That is the beam of light for realm fusion. It connects the origin of Aragu to the World Tree in Firuman. Five days ago, it was only 150 feet in diameter. Now, it’s twice as wide.”

“Who did it? My daughter or… him?” The High Elf Queen’s voice trembled. The truth was right before her eyes even if she refused to believe it.

“Your daughter was killed by Link. Not even her soul was left behind. Look, here’s the evidence,” Saroviny said, pointing somewhere.

The High Elf Queen looked over and saw a mostly completely temple. People walked in and out of it. Most wore gold-red robes. The queen had seen it before—it was the robe of the Fire Sect’s clergy.

There were many stone coffins in the temple. The High Elf Queen used the Eagle Eye spell and saw clearly that one of the coffins had her daughter’s name. Milda Silvermoon, Saint, slain by the Soul Devourer’s hand.

The High Elf Queen felt dizzy. She swayed and almost fell over. Saroviny caught her just in time.

After a long while, the High Elf Queen said, “Why does Link want to quicken the realm fusion?”

“He has the Divine Fragment and can absorb the Fire of the Soul. He’s risen to Level-19. No one in Aragu or Firuman can stop him—not even the World Tree. He has a smooth path to becoming a god. A vast and populated realm is the best for him.”

“Level-19? He wants to become a god?” The High Elf Queen’s heart shuddered. She didn’t think the Ferde lord could reach this level. Within a decade, he’d gone from an insignificant Magician to a demi-god. And he was a rival of the Isle of Dawn. This was terrifying!

No, he couldn’t become a god. She had to stop him and stop the fusion of the realms. She couldn’t let the Ferde lord succeed so easily… But she wasn’t powerful enough to stop all this. What should she do?

A name suddenly jumped out of her chaotic thoughts: the Ruler of Light and Darkness!

“The Ruler of Light and Darkness?” she asked. “Who is that?”

Saroviny smiled as she’d expected this. “The Ruler of Light and Darkness used to be the God of Light. He comprehended the mystery of darkness and now controls both. He has escaped from the difference between light and darkness. Now, he is the only true god in the Sea of Void and is the only existence that can help us against Link.”

“The God of Light?” This familiar name calmed the queen. After thinking, she turned to Saroviny. “What should we do now? Destroy this fusion seal?”

“No, we can’t. Link used the Inferno Archmage’s Divine Fragment to create a supernatural defensive magic seal. No power can destroy it. The only way to end the realm fusion is in the Isle of Dawn.”

“I understand. Take me back, and I’ll stop it immediately. I will never let Link become a god!”

By now, the High Elf Queen didn’t actually hate Link. As a High Elf royalty, she didn’t really care about relationships. Her daughter and husband had died by Link’s hands, but they had to die for the Isle of Dawn’s interests.

Right now, she was only thinking about the Isle of Dawn. And what she could see clearly was that if Link grasped this unbeatable power, the Isle of Dawn wouldn’t exist anymore. It would be a disaster for the High Elves too.

In this case, she must stop Link!

These were the thoughts of an old politician who’d manipulated Firuman’s balance of power for years. But unfortunately, Saroviny was a Warrior. She didn’t know much about politics or the High Elf Queen. She couldn’t entirely comprehend what the High Elf Queen meant.

What she thought was that the High Elf Queen’s daughter and husband had both been killed by Link. She would definitely fight Link to the end, which was what Saroviny needed.

As long as the queen would delay the fusion until her father arrived, everything would be set.

“Link, your end is coming.” Saroviny smiled.