A month and a week earlier... by a river near a cliff; the place had several dark trees, tall and medium-sized. A creature with black fur lay in the current, letting the water drag it along. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the river running, and the only thing that could be felt was how the current slowly carried it away.

  "Damn... I was defeated. But the worst part is that I'm not dead. I have nothing left to live for... So why am I still in this world? Should I take this as my last chance or let this river end it all? Maybe, if I reach the camp, I could save myself, but I'm already old... I've already given everything I could, and they have the leaves of the ancient items, what could they need me for? Although that kid will be a problem for them if I die," thought Gilbred, as the current continued dragging him aimlessly.

  Two silhouettes covered in cloaks appeared, one approached the riverbank while the other stayed watching. "Hello! What is a werewolf doing in the current of a river in the forest?" His voice was robotic, and to not lose track of the werewolf, he kept walking along the bank next to him.

  "Who... are you?" Gilbred asked with difficulty upon hearing the voice, turning his head slightly toward him.

  "You didn't answer my question, little wolf... Hmm... You look really bad, did something happen to you?" he said with annoyance and then with sarcasm in his question.

  "I fought with a hunter... And a paladin," he answered, not paying attention to the stranger's behavior.

  "Huhhh, I see... Do you want help?" The man kept walking along the bank while looking at his metallic hands.

  "I don't know... I think... it's my time... I lived 240 years thanks to a Krinai sphere. I'm not who I was before, and what I was supposed to do is already done," he responded sadly, with a void inside him.

  "Krinai sphere? I don't know what that is, but..." The man in the cloak grabbed his arm, stopping him from being dragged further by the current. "Wait a moment... Did you say 240 years? Are you an ancient werewolf?".

  "Yes... I thought I could defeat him, but the fight with the hunter was enough... I felt strong, I thought I could win... In the end, the damn magic has become more powerful... I hope they can handle this," Gilbred kept speaking with difficulty, looking very tired and almost as if these were his last words.

  The man lowered his cloak, revealing his black metallic helmet. "My name is the Dark Lord... I can save you, but I need you to join me to take Ystir off the map".

  Gilbred seemed unsure of the Dark Lord's words. "You... I've heard of you, but how will you save me?".

  "This here... is an experimental serum I created, thanks to a mineral called plumorium. I was passing through here to fix some machines and test it on some animal," he replied, showing him a cylindrical glass object with a black cap; the content was purple and quite bright, and it had an empty compartment. Then he pulled it out of the river and crouched in front of him.

  Gilbred groaned due to his wounds and looked the Dark Lord in the eyes. "So, could it kill me?".

  "Yes, but... What do you lose? You will die anyway," he added, taking off the cap and revealing three small needles.

  "Alright, inject it..." Instantly, the Dark Lord applied it, causing Gilbred to groan a little. "What’s wrong with you?! Why so...?" Gilbred’s fur began turning dark purple, his hands trembled, and he saw blurry, his pupils turned purple, and in the end, he howled loudly as his wounds closed.

  "Wow, it worked... This will help make it more suitable for humans," the Dark Lord commented as he stood up and seemed to be writing something on his right arm through a holographic panel.

  "It can't be... I feel like I'm 140 years old again..." Gilbred stood up and looked at his hands in amazement, then touched his wounds, which seemed to already be healed with fur over them.

  "Yes, you look younger, another good point... Alright, follow me, we’ll take you to Zthur" The Dark Lord and the other person jumped to the other side of the river without any issues.

  "Who is this Zthur?" Gilbred asked, filled with doubts, staying on the other side of the river.

  The Dark Lord turned around and stared at Gilbred. "Right, I forgot to say... He is a nerosma".

  The other person hit the Dark Lord on the right arm. "You shouldn't have told him," she said in a cold, low, and annoyed tone.

  Gilbred opened his eyes, shocked by the revelation. "Impossible... They all died... If that's the case, I won't join you".

  "What are you... Saying!?" he yelled angrily, hitting the ground with his leg, causing the place to tremble a little.

  Gilbred didn’t flinch at the Dark Lord's action and responded seriously. "I won't join one of them. They are a great danger to the planet, and as much as I want to destroy Ystir, I won't destroy the world".

  The Dark Lord looked even angrier, pressing his right hand with force, creating a metallic screech. "We don’t want to destroy the world, we’re just going to turn it around!".

  "It doesn't matter what you want to do, I won’t join, but I'll return the favor you've done me... I’ll do whatever you ask of me, but nothing that involves the nerosma," Gilbred turned and started walking south.

  "I can't let you go" Gilbred stopped. "We don’t want the world to know that there's still a nerosma. I’m sorry, no, in fact, I’m not sorry!" The Dark Lord extended his right arm, from which a cannon emerged, charging blue energy.

  "I won’t do it... If I do, they’ll capture me and know I’m an ancient werewolf, I could risk it, but... I won’t, I won’t waste my second chance. You have my word, but I suggest you be careful... They’re not just any beings," the other person raised her hand to stop the Dark Lord, and he looked at her, surprised by the action.

  "Did you face one?" the woman asked, revealing her ice-white eyes.

  "Yes... The level was... Uncommon. I used most of my ancient items, plus the support of my men... Many died, but we understood how dangerous they were, I would say they’re more dangerous than the Yorkens" With these words, Gilbred headed into the deeper part of the forest to find the camp.

  "Wait!" the Dark Lord shouted, pointing at him again.

  "Stop!" the Lord Zthur was right, you’re too unstable," the woman stopped him once more and looked at him with an annoyed expression.

  "What do you know?!" The Dark Lord pointed at the woman’s head, but she didn't seem scared.

  The woman grabbed his arm, and it froze. "You saved him, and now you want to kill him. Think before you act! You have his blood, with that, you can experiment to make the plumorium work with us and also... You have a favor from an ancient werewolf" She let go of him and stepped back.

  The Dark Lord growled and removed the ice from his arm. "You're right... Now I can experiment with a blood that can withstand the plumorium" He raised the object containing the serum to see Gilbred’s blood in the second compartment.

  "Alright, now let’s go" The woman began walking east, and the Dark Lord followed her while activating his holographic screen.

  Returning to the present, south of Lyran, we find one of the most dangerous places in these lands: the Rift of the World. This place was created due to the final confrontation to banish Mayestad from this world... And where Lión Fordesthmans died.

  As its name suggests, this place had a huge rift that separated one part of the planet from the rest. The sky was dark, and the edges of the rift were black. Not too far, but at a moderate distance, there were several towers with silver cannons that had a large sphere of white and bluish energy inside. Each tower also had signs written in a hazel-green color. Behind, but not too far from the towers, stood a gigantic building that seemed to be made of metal rather than any other material. It was equipped and supplied with everything necessary to prevent any Macrou from entering the realms.

  Everything seemed calm... until the rift lit up, and several knights began preparing, taking several white weapons that had a sphere with white and bluish energy inside them. The cannons in the towers began to move to aim at the rift, and the knights took their positions beside the towers in a horizontal formation, already prepared to fire at any moment.

  The rift roared with thunderous sounds that shook the ground, cracking it slightly. Suddenly, several Macrous of various shapes and sizes began emerging from the rift and running uncontrollably. These creatures had black skin as tough as tungsten armor; some had eyes, mouths, and others didn’t even have heads, but still kept running like wild, thoughtless beings.

  "Don't let them advance!" shouted a man with a black patch over his left eye, who was standing behind the knights (this man was Captain Grim, who organized the knights and was in charge of containing the lifeless bodies of the Macrous). His black hair, neatly cut, was carefully styled. He wore a long white cape resting over his shoulders, without the sleeves on. On his back, he had a golden cross-shaped emblem. He wore a black long-sleeve shirt with double-breasted buttons, perfectly pressed white pants, and a golden glove on his right hand. Additionally, his white, slip-on shoes had a golden cross-shaped buckle on each side.

  In that place, only the sounds made by the plasma weapons could be heard, easily destroying the Macrous, and of course... loud explosions still came from the crack... growing louder with each passing second... until three 10-meter Macrous emerged from the crack. The three had heads; the one on the right had no legs, the one in the middle walked on four legs, and the one on the left walked on two.

  Four figures walked toward Captain Grim, who was still looking at the Macrous, not paying attention to who was behind him.

  "Now it's our turn. If you need help, Solarius, just let me know," said the paladin Cybren in his deep, calm voice, with a serene tone but emotional weight behind it. He was 184 cm tall; his hair was silver, and his eyes were blue. He wore silver technological armor, had two metal wings on his back, and his left arm was a large mechanical arm with a piston at the elbow.

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  "I can handle this, don't worry!" said Solarius in a somewhat youthful but deep voice, radiant and full of excitement. He was a white and yellow-furred werewolf. He was stocky and two meters tall; his eyes were yellow, and he wore no shoes. He wore a yellow jacket and pants with fur on the shoulders; his abdomen was exposed, and he had a silver buckle belt. He also wore yellow gloves and a necklace with bluish-gray spheres, with the largest sphere featuring the letter "L".

  "He can take care of himself," said the paladin Siny in a very calm, low, and calculating voice. She was 170 cm tall; her hair was crimson, and her eyes were blue; she had red lipstick. She wore a white hooded shirt and a light black harness with golden lines, crossed at her back. Her pants were very dark blue, and she wore low-heeled shoes. On her left arm, near the shoulder, she had a badge with the letter "D".

  The 10-meter Macrous roared with fury, advancing toward them.

  "Are you sure I can handle this, Mom?" asked a girl with a high-pitched but calm voice, though now she seemed a little fearful and unsure. She wore the same outfit as Siny, but with an orange shirt and cream-colored pants. She had brown hair and eyes; her hair was tied in a bow, with two strands falling on either side of her face.

  "Of course, Milian! We'll take... the one on the right! Let's go!" Siny began to fly toward the Macrou. Milian had doubts, but in the end, she followed her mother.

  "I’ll go for the one on the left!" Cybren opened his wings, crouched slightly... and shot forward toward the Macrou, extending his left arm.

  "Well... then I’ll take the one in the middle!" Solarius ran past the general and the knights, then lifted the earth diagonally, using it to propel himself into the air toward the Macrou, with a smile on his face.

  "Fire at the smaller ones, we don't want friendly fire!" shouted Captain Grim as he crossed his arms, keeping an eye on the paladins.

  Cybren was the first to reach his target. He had a fixed gaze, while his hair flapped due to the speed. Just before colliding with the Macrou, Cybren extended his left arm backward. "Plasma Punch!" He delivered a powerful punch that expelled a large amount of plasma, tearing apart the Macrou's armor. The sound of the impact pushed the Macrou back, making it fall on its back, destroying the ground beneath it.

  Then, Cybren flew very high, turned in mid-air, and dove down with his left arm extended. He struck the Macrou's head, causing a large explosion that shattered it into pieces, sending rocks flying from the ground and making the neutralized Macrous' bodies soar with the debris.

  "Whoa...!" said Milian, surprised and amazed at what Cybren had done, as she flew at high speed behind Siny.

  "Focus, it's our turn! Start charging energy!" shouted Siny with a serious and controlled expression. Her daughter, without much thought, obeyed, and her hands emitted a yellow aura with blue particles. "The first thing we need to do...!" She brought her hands together, and they began to emit the same aura as her daughter's, but brighter. "Is to stun them!" She increased her flying speed to land a blow on the Macrou's jaw, cracking it and making it stumble sideways, falling onto some smaller Macrous. "Now, shoot at its head!".

  Milian cast her magic, and upon impact, a great explosion occurred. The Macrou let out a high-pitched, ear-piercing scream, making Milian cover her ears.

  Siny began to concentrate more magic in her hands. The glow intensified, and small lightning bolts escaped from her, crackling in the air. "You're lacking concentration and... practice! Charging magic, Perfect Thunder!" she exclaimed, extending both arms. A blue and yellow lightning bolt shot out, cleanly piercing the Macrou's head with a sharp, penetrating sound. The lightning hit the ground, creating an explosion beneath the creature's head, sending debris and several nearby Macrous flying.

  "You told me you've been practicing," Siny approached her daughter as rocks were heard lifting off the ground.

  "I did, but... I haven’t been able to do it like you..." Milian touched her arm, a little embarrassed for not having achieved it.

  "That's okay..." Siny gave her a hug. "Look at how Solarius does it".

  Solarius was moving at high speed, riding a rock surrounded by a yellow aura. His fur was wildly blowing in the wind's current. As he moved forward, he covered all the Macrou's limbs with the yellow rock that emerged from the ground. "Earth Magic, Yellow Shield!" The creature tried to break free, but Solarius kept his fists tightly clenched, emitting a yellow glow as he held it in place.

  He then positioned himself in front of the Macrou and began to rise, propelled by the rock rapidly stretching toward the sky. With a quick motion of his clenched fists, he made a rock stake emerge right beneath the Macrou's chin, striking it with force. Solarius took advantage of the momentum, jumped even higher, covered his whole body with the yellow rock, and dove down on the enemy's neck. Upon impact, the Macrou's head was impaled by the previous stake, causing the rocks covering its limbs to shoot off, colliding with other smaller Macrous.

  "Whoa, that was amazing!" shouted Solarius excitedly, but a smell distracted him. "Smells like burning... Aaah! This thing is hot!" He quickly jumped off the Macrou, landing on the ground and creating another rock to move forward on.

  "Wow... I doubt I could do something like that with his magic," Milian thought with some discouragement, wearing a frustrated expression.

  "Well done!... With them here, I don't have anything to worry about," said Captain Grim, crossing his arms with a relieved expression.

  "Oh! Sorry, General..." said a man with a high-pitched, modest, calm voice, and a little distorted.

  The captain immediately turned around. "Supreme Leader! What are you doing here? And... why are you apologizing?".

  The Supreme Leader walked slowly toward the captain, while the sounds of the battlefield faded away. "You’ll have to worry a little... I'll take Solarius and Cybren with me" Each time he spoke, the white particles forming his face glowed delicately.

  "What?! Why?!" he blurted out, completely bewildered.

  "Hmmm... Why do I say so?" said the Supreme Leader with a touch of sarcasm, gesturing with his right hand.

  "But... Solarius arrived a week ago, and Cybren..." The Supreme Leader stood in front of the captain, halting his words and making him nervous by seeing his face... (If you could even call it a face). For there was nothing but white particles.

  "Well..." The Supreme Leader placed his right hand on the captain's shoulder. "There’s a big reason, but I'll tell you at the base".

  Inside, the base was entirely made of metal, including the floor. It had several hallways and up to four floors, with rooms, storage areas, training rooms, and a monitoring room. Many knights were entering the base, chatting among themselves. The Supreme Leader and the captain were set apart, near some metal benches.

  "A nerosma... If that’s the case, I won’t oppose it, but are you sure these two are the right ones?" The captain sat on the bench, understanding all the information the Supreme Leader had provided.

  "Of course! Moreover, they're the ones available. Point A has received the least Macrous attacks, while the other points have been very busy, and I've had to assign extra personnel. As you know, I don't have full authority over the larger paladins, but it's a miracle Lynquia and Dajara lent me Cybren and Solarius for a war; both have great ability, and I believe they'll help Ystir enough" The Supreme Leader walked slowly back and forth, his hands clasped behind his back.

  "Yes, I understand everything, sir, it’s not easy handling all of this" The captain covered his mouth with his right hand and lowered his head for a moment to prevent the Supreme Leader from seeing the concern etched on his face.

  The Supreme Leader noticed the concern hidden by the captain and tried to reassure him. "Hmm, don’t worry, I'll assign you two paladins who’ve fought Macrous, so you won’t have to teach them the basics of how to fight one, and you have Siny, she's one of the longest-serving here, which is why I'm not taking her as well, she can handle several Macrous on her own".

  The words helped calm the captain. "Yes, you're right. Also, she brought her daughter, and she’s training her to fight Macrous".

  "Really...!? Wow..." he expressed in surprise, turning to look at the captain. "I heard her daughter has the same types of magic as her".

  "Yes, charging and flying magic. Sir... When do you think this will stop?" she asked with a concerned expression.

  The Supreme Leader sighed and watched as the paladins entered the base. "I don't know... I hope the investigations work so we can... end this once and for all".

  The paladins approached them, but the only one surprised was Siny and her daughter.

  "Leader, what are you doing here?" Siny asked curiously, with Milian on her left.

  "I'm here to see Cybren and Solarius," he replied as the captain stood up from the bench.

  "Oh... Then, captain, let's put the Macrous in confinement," she said, turning around, followed by her daughter.

  "Sure. We'll talk later, sir," the general followed her while creating a brown box with his hands.

  After the general left, Cybren hinted, "I know why you're here".

  "In fact, we were notified at the same time. I'll go pack my things," added Solarius, then hurried out.

  "What's wrong with him? Is he excited to fight in a war?" asked the Supreme Leader, confused.

  "No... He just wants to ask his mother how he did it," Cybren replied, looking at him for a moment before looking away.

  "He keeps seeking approval... I wonder why Chloe took this attitude with her son?" The Supreme Leader began walking toward where Solarius went.

  Cybren followed him until they were side by side. "Are we leaving immediately?".

  "No, we'll wait for their replacements to arrive, though it will take a while; they are from Alahead. I also want us to go to the church first; I told Joap to find a way to improve your plasma arm and create plasma claw gloves for Solarius," he replied calmly while continuing to walk.

  Cybren looked at his arm for a moment and said, "Sounds good, that way we could easily destroy the nerosma".

  "Well said. I doubt he'll have a Macrou armor, have any been released yet?" he exclaimed with a joking tone, as they reached the end of the hall, which had an elevator.

  "Heh, heh, if any escape, it'll be because I'm not here, I assure you" They both entered the elevator, and it began to rise.

  Solarius was in a room with yellow walls with white lines, a desk with a keyboard, a metal closet, a large bed, and a small space for training if he wished. "Mother, did you see that!? It was the best thing I've done! Catching like that and... What did you think?" he asked excitedly through a communicator.

  "More or less, Solarius... Were you calling me just for that? I have to work," she replied, annoyed through the communicator before ending the call.

  "More or less?... Why can't I impress you?! What do you want me to do?" Solarius punched his bed, frustrated and sad at the same time.

  The door to his room opened, and the Supreme Leader entered. "Ahh... Frustration... In your case, you're desperately seeking your mother's approval, thinking that what you do isn't enough. You're special, you're only 15, and you're already a paladin. You can defeat a Macrou without help!".

  "For us, it's different... Our race develops earlier than yours; I may be 15, but I'm no longer a teenager... If we compare it to you, I would be 21," he said discouraged, slowly adopting a human form. His body was robust and that of a young adult. He had now gone from being two meters tall to 186cm.

  "Yes, and that's why Paladin Louis took the spot as the youngest paladin... As a being with many years of life, I tell you that... Normally, children seek their parents' approval, but this isn't something necessary... What matters is that you live your life according to your own values and passions, not seeking your mother's approval. True happiness and fulfillment come from following your own path," he expressed sincerely and gently, while exploring the room.

  "Maybe you're right..." he said in a low, reflective tone.

  "Of course I'm right! Especially if your mother doesn't care what you do; she doesn't even value you..." The Supreme Leader looked for a moment at an object on the desk, a sort of round golden box. "I have a surprise for you at the church. It's a new weapon..." he hinted mysteriously to grab his attention. Then, the Supreme Leader left the room, leaving Solarius deep in thought.

  "Heh... A new weapon..." Solarius smiled a little and began preparing his things in a suitcase he took out from under the bed.

  *Ashes of Trownlian - Zthur's Base*

  Several kilometers away, to the east of Lyran, we find an inhospitable place surrounded by fog, but if you get close enough, you can see the ancient rock castle with several giant tents and factories surrounding it. In the room where everyone gathered to give news.

  "You’re trash! That’s why I hate you, it's always the same with you!" Renog expressed, furious, smashing a chair from the table just by resting his hand on it.

  "What you were about to do is unthinkable! We don't harm those who are beneath us," Yeynos said without losing his composure.

  "Damned blind man... Always with that morality!" Renog took what was left of the chair and slammed it against the wall, turning it into splinters.

  "Enough!" Zthur turned around, and from his shoulders and head, a substance similar to fire erupted, but it was the energy emitted by Zthur’s body. "Can't you two get along?! How will you do in the war? Are you going to fight each other?!".

  "We both know he's the one who loses it every time," Yeynos replied, gathering his hands in the sleeves of his clothes.

  "I don’t lose it! And by the way... Why does he lead this?" Renog slammed the table, banging both his hands on it.

  "Because he's the only one keeping us in check, because he started everything, because there have been no mistakes, because he recruited you, not you him," Yeynos replied rapidly and calmly.

  "Pure nonsense! So, how do you justify my machines in Ystir?" Renog’s arms and back expelled steam, reflecting his fury.

  "That was because of the two idiots you sent with my son, and now because of them, he got captured," Yeynos answered, frowning and lightly pressing his teeth.

  "See?! " Renog turned to look at Zthur, pointing at Yeynos. "Do you think you know more than me?! Do you think you know more than me?! Answer!".

  "Silence! You won’t give them experimental serum; they are like us, and we won’t harm them. Besides, I want to see how far their attack goes; it could help us learn more about how Ystir will defend itself," Zthur took a seat and joined his hands.

  "But if I have my device! Why do you need to know!?" Renog mentioned in frustration and desperation.

  Zthur ran his left hand over his forehead in frustration and sighed. "Renog, I know what I'm doing, and anyway, Gilbred doesn't accept, so we can't do anything. If he manages to take Ystir before we do, he'll have to give us those plasma cannons, along with the technology Ystir has".

  "So, no experiments? *sigh* You're such a bore," Renog pointed his right hand at Yeynos. "I don’t know why I told you!".

  "I already told you to stop experimenting with the plumorium, you have the doses for us, you don’t need more!" Zthur clenched his fists in frustration before continuing. "You could work on a new weapon or improve your animal robots or some new machine".

  "Oohh, that's right... I could continue with my flying machine," Renog looked calmer and quite curious about his machine.

  "Good, with that, everything is settled. Call Elisa to help you load the boxes," Zthur expressed with relief, relaxing slightly in the chair.

  "Fine..." Renog left the room but before he shouted: "Nosy!".

  "Hmph, be thankful I'm not like him," Yeynos said, sitting in the chair calmly.

  Zthur sighed, annoyed. "I won’t put them together again; it's a miracle they haven’t killed each other".

  Renog walked through the rock corridors of the palace. "Yeynos, Yeynos, damn Yeynos... Ohh! Ideas are coming to me... I can’t wait to build that armor, it'll be a marvel!".

  Outside, several people were working, carrying boxes and using weapons that emitted a purple aura. The factories kept creating black pieces that were carried to the front of the castle. The sounds produced by the people, the machines, and the factories were all that filled the environment. After walking quite a bit through all of this... Renog entered a store that had stairs going down. There was also a kitchen, a bed, a hologram, and the place was quite tidy.

  "You’re back! Miracle you’re still alive. Yeynos will kill you if you keep this up," said a man in dark purple battle armor. He had a multi-colored sphere embedded in his chest, his voice robotic yet relaxed and high-pitched. He was sitting with his feet on a table and his arms crossed behind his head.

  Renog stopped and stared at him. "Do you think he would kill me?" he asked seriously and threateningly; it was clear from the holes in his helmet that his eyes were wide open.

  The guy stayed silent for a moment, thinking about his response. "Nah... You’d probably beat him" Despite everything, he didn’t sound intimidated, just calm and relaxed.

  Renog went down the stairs to a laboratory, where the color of his machines dominated the space. He passed by several capsules, each with a different color and name. At the back of his laboratory stood a colossal glass capsule filled with purple liquid. On several nearby tables were various pieces of a cylindrical mineral, purple and black in some parts.

  Renog placed his palm on the capsule. "This beauty is the new World! Ha, ha, ha, ha".

  "He's laughing like a madman again," the guy commented, hearing Renog's laughter while playing a card game. "Damn, how did this girl improve so fast? Someone must be helping her".

  "I can't wait to see the faces of those from Ystir when they see the power you can unleash, heh, heh, heh 'sigh' no one is better than me..." Renog took a wooden box that was next to the mineral. "Not even you, Jonathan!" He crushed it, making several springs, screws, and a photo of two people fall to the floor.

  End of chapter