“After the end of the First Golden Age and the fall of the Empire – which at the time had no name, but was posthumously called 'Strong' – there was a long period of wars where tens of thousands of Lords, Dukes, Kings and self-styled Emperors ruled the fragmented territories of the nation that had once united the continent, each and every one of them dreaming of military reunification.

  They focused exclusively on the development of war, and those who did not were quickly exterminated, they focused on the dream of the rebirth of the New Strong Empire, and to this end, jobs, social structures, settlements, technologies, creativity, values, and nature itself were shaped and distorted.

  Wars were fought on such a scale and intensity that the original reasons for declarations of war between neighbors were lost in history from generation to generation, and people only knew that they should decimate each other.

  The slaughter was so great that the rivers, the rain, and even the morning mist were perpetually stained blood red. Mountains were mined to their roots, forests cut down to the last tree, red bodies of water drained and their beds turned into deserts. And when the last resources of this small stretch of land were extracted, huge recycling centers cannibalized entire nations, including their inhabitants: human hides, flesh, and bones obtained from the battlefields were nothing more than raw materials, the wildlife in the region having been completely extinct by that time.

  Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the thousands of nations of this distant past were stripped of individuality and subjected to extreme transformations by their ruling elite: magical runes were surgically carved into their bones, and depending on their social caste, unnecessary parts of their bodies were sacrificed to war deities for superior combat power, loyalty and human virtues were taught to them from an early age, children growing up in institutions teaching the duties of their caste, without contact with their parents.

  This period, later known as the Red Age, lasted for three thousand years.

  Difficult times for many, but what makes us suffer enriches the soul, and for this very reason humans have managed to pull themselves out of the pit in which they originally placed themselves.

  The scarcity and isolation of the Arsenal Continent would come to an end with the development of a particular magi-technology: the portal; a device capable of traveling any distance instantly, as long as there was another portal at the destination, previously impossible even for the most powerful magicians.

  And with the discovery of lands beyond the sea during the portal tests, a new Golden Age broke the red clouds of pollution from the War Continent.”

  -Excerpt from the book Comprehensive Guide to the History of álfheim, by Elarico Milemario Saudoso.

  ?

  — And after destroying my businesses and killing my men, they fled in that direction! — the bald man, who was an influential member of the criminal world in that city and had his base of operations located in the sewers, reported all the events that took place in the clandestine coliseum.

  — And why did they do all this? — asked Landa.

  — Well, you know how it is... — the bald man smiled awkwardly. — There were some disagreements within our fine organization, rebalancing of powers and things like that. And when... we invited our old boss for a diplomatic discussion, well, the guys you're looking for were present, for some reason.

  — Who were the people besides the immortal man? — Leonico asked, staring reluctantly at the corpses of enormous and enormously powerful monsters that piled up in the arena. To his horror, one of them even displayed a pair of magical weapons of very high quality, though by then too destroyed and poisoned to be used comfortably once more.

  — I don't know, Mr. Hero. But they were strong. Very strong. In fact, much stronger than the immortal guy himself, if you ask me.

  — As strong as this Cornelius? — Saul wanted to know, disturbed by what he saw and heard.

  — Yes, sir.

  — I understand. Thank you for your information. In return, we will allow you to rescue the corpses of these beasts and sell them, instead of seizing them — Leonico dismissed the informant. — Only three people did all this... Saulo, how many soldiers would be needed to achieve a similar result?

  — Seventeen of these monsters lie down, so... eight hundred soldiers, more or less. Since I spent most of my time at your side, I can't tell you exactly how these forces would be divided, however.

  — And the informant said that the three of them were elves, just like the current Shadow King... — Mariah frowned, feeling the scars that covered her entire body with her fingertips.

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  Sooner or later, the Healer would discover that truth, after all, and it happened sooner than Saulo would have preferred. More than anyone else, the girl had good reason to resent those she branded as traitors to the species.

  — If they're REALLY elves, right? — Landa shrugged. — Maybe it's some kind of illusion, or weird defect. Like, I don't know.

  — Ah! — Hearing that, Saulo had a completely wrong idea, and I almost jumped out of my metaphorical seat to get that idea out of his head. — Now that you mention it, I believe I read about a very old Spell, of mysterious origins, that was capable of separating the essence of a being into multiple parts. And don't you think the division of functions of the Shadow King's team is strange? Magical power, brute strength, thievery and brains...

  — You're suggesting...! — Leonico, unfortunately, found it all very plausible.

  — Perhaps... ALL the suspects responsible for this battle are PARTS of the Shadow King's essence.

  The tense atmosphere resulting from the conclusion would have been effective, if the Wizard had not been completely wrong.

  — Four Shadow Kings at the same time...

  — And that’s not the only worrying thing about this story, is it? — Landa leaned back against the bleachers, comfortable. — Why do you think they came here in the first place? Think about it.

  — Of course he went to look for- Ah! — Saulo came to another hasty conclusion. — He's going to look for his other half, the one that was recruiting organized crime for the Shadow King's forces! — Maria and Veronico's eyes widened and their jaws dropped, shocked by the revelation.

  Landa, however, appeared calm, if serious.

  — And while this Cornelius failed to recruit the outlaws to his cause, we must not assume that the others had the same result. — The Rogue kicked a stone down the sand, and over the bodies of the monsters lying in the blood-soaked sand. — Otherwise, how would they have obtained all these monsters?

  If only the little rebel were that competent. The way things were progressing, it was most likely that he would die in the first encounter he had with Veronico.

  — The special-class adventurers were all agents of Demonia, secretly assembling an army... — My champion shivered. — There is no time to waste! Let us try to retrace the steps of the King of- no the Kings of Shadows and find out where they went from here! — he led his companions into the sewers.

  With his absurdly high Attributes, Veronico was able to see in infrared, thermal vision, visualize magical auras, and many more functions that I just piled into his repertoire of Skills. He was soon able to find footprints in the filthy corridors of the sewers without much difficulty.

  The final destination they reached, however, proved unexpected for the Hero's team.

  — A divine ruin? — Maria was surprised when they reached the metal circle. — Here? In the sewers? What an outrage! As soon as we have time, I will contact the historians so that this place can be properly preserved!

  — Then I have bad news for you, Maria: we probably won't have any free time for the next few months... or years! — Landa pointed out, with a half smile.

  — It is indeed an interesting location, but where did they go from here, Veronico? — Saulo wanted to know.

  — Here. The tracks end here.

  — Eh? — The Hero's friend could barely hide his surprise, and so he quickly bent down to hide his face from Leonico, pretending to study the structure... or at least that's what the Magician thought. In reality, a voice was whispering so softly in his ear that not even he was completely aware of it. And what the voice reminded him of was the fact that only he and his master, Celestino, knew the true function of that type of structure. He desperately tried to think of an alternative way that his enemies could have used to disappear like that: — Maybe the path we followed was a decoy to distract us from their true escape route?

  — No, only one of the four faces of the Shadow King seems to have any decent stealth skills, the others wouldn't be able to fool me even if they tried their best. In fact, I think this ruin might be a portal — Leonico, oblivious to the torments of his friend, pointed out exactly what the Magician feared.

  — P-Portal?!

  — Yes. It's a cliché like that, right? A circle on the ground, covered in inscriptions. A portal that would look even more typical than that would only be a stone arch containing a curtain of energy within it.

  — Sometimes I seriously wonder where you get these things from, Mr. Hero.

  — Oh, yeah! I guess that kind of thing doesn't make sense to you, right? Haha! Anyway, what do you think, Saulo? Can you activate this portal?

  — ...I can do it.

  — “Portal”... what is that? — Mariah asked, lost in the boys’ conversation.

  — Well, just stand in the center of the metal structure and observe.

  Veronico's companion was unable to program the portal's destination in the same way as his master, since those magi-technological contraptions used a completely different magical system, but it could still lead them to:

  “VUSH!”, a flash blinded my champion’s team for an instant, and the next instant, they found themselves on a plain of tall, yellow grass that stretched beyond the horizon.

  — The Lower Labyrinth. This is where the four faces of the Shadow King fled.

  While Mariah sighed and Landa whistled, both impressed, Veronico soon noticed crushed grass, its leaves bent by just millimeters, imperceptible to any other living being in that sphere, but to his eyes forming a direct path.

  — They were here, and only a few days ago. Come on, we can still reach them before it's too late! — He led his team forward.

  ?

  “Oh, my beloved husband, today my mother prevented me from leaving the royal pavilion to attend a ball organized to appease the growing anxieties of the many nobles of our nation, because, according to her, I am too fat and a disgrace to royalty. She also said that the reason I look so decadent is my passion for sailing, that the salt corrodes my skin, and that I do not exercise enough just turning a wheel. She said that is why you left. She sold my boat for this reason and hired a dancing teacher, whose classes I am now obliged to attend. My dear, my beloved, my promised soul mate, do you think like my mother?

  - With love, Princess Criscina.”

  “Of course you’re not fat, Criscina. It's great that you're taking dance lessons, Criscina. But I'm traveling right now, adventuring, chasing the elves' greatest enemy, so I don't have much time right now. Bye, Criscina.

  - Hero Veronico.”