In the capital city of the Anastasia Kingdom, Celsius, the streets were full of life. The air buzzed with the sounds of merchants shouting, customers bargaining, and horses trotting on the cobblestone roads. It was a city of trade and wealth — markets stretched endlessly, selling everything from food and jewelry to rare essence stones and expensive magic items that could not be found anywhere else.
No shop was empty. Everywhere people were buying, selling, and haggling with passion. Among the busy streets stood a small but popular fashion shop, its entrance lined with colorful dresses, shiny bags, purses, and all sorts of cosmetics. The smell of perfume drifted out every time the door opened.
The shop was especially busy today. Ever since Prophet Maruti had said in her recent preaching that "women are the wonders of nature" and that they should be confident in their beauty and desires, the demand for makeup and clothes had exploded.
To prove her words, Maruti herself had started appearing in public wearing bright lipstick that made her lips shine, with her nails neatly painted and a light perfume that lingered wherever she went. Of course, no one knew that she hadn't done this on her own — Kailith and Alice had forced her to do it, and she only said all this to hide that fact.
But whether it was fake or not, her influence was real. The slogan "Black is Divine" had spread like fire.
Inside the shop, two young women were struggling to pick the right purse. One had light brown hair, and the other, a blonde girl, was scanning through the collection.
The blonde woman finally pulled out a black purse with an elegant, rich design. "How about this one? It looks perfect on you," she said with a smile.
Her friend tried it on and turned toward the full-length mirror. For a moment, she just stared at her reflection — the purse, with its deep glossy color, matched her outfit perfectly.
"I guess black isn't so bad after all," she said with a small smile.
---
Just across the street, in a quiet café with large glass windows, an old man sat by himself, sipping tea and reading the newspaper. His wrinkled face was calm, but his eyes were sharp.
"The pirates of the sea have abandoned their black flags and are now using red ones instead," he muttered after reading a headline.
It was strange news, but it made sense. For centuries, black flags had represented danger and death. But ever since the Prophet declared black as divine, even pirates didn't want to be seen using it. They had switched to red to keep their image of fear alive.
The old man quietly folded his newspaper and took another sip, unaware that someone he would never suspect was sitting just behind him.
Ethan.
He sat in the corner, drinking his tea slowly. His sharp eyes glanced at the clock on the wall before he stood up, brushing off his newly bought black coat.
"I guess it's time," he said softly to himself. "Let's see what kind of dangers are waiting for me this time."
He left a few coins on the table and walked out of the café. His destination — the government teleportation facility at the edge of the city. From there, he would teleport to Colac Village, the closest village to the Seven Kings Mountain.
It was the same route Esdeath had once taken.
---
A few hours later, Ethan finally arrived at Colac Village. The air was fresh, and the quiet streets looked peaceful, but he didn't stop or try to meet anyone. He wasn't here for rest or greetings — he was here to finish his mission as soon as possible.
After walking deep into the forest, he could already see the massive Seven Kings Mountains in the distance.
He took a slow breath. "If something goes wrong… all seven kings might attack me at once," he muttered under his breath. The thought alone made him nervous.
But what he found was far from what he expected.
As soon as he got closer to the mountain range, he suddenly felt his body pass through something invisible — like a thin wall of air. His skin tingled for a moment, and when he looked around, everything had changed.
The beautiful forest and strong mountain peaks were gone. What lay before him now was a land of ruin.
The Seven Kings Mountains were completely destroyed. Enormous cracks and burn marks covered the ground, trees were reduced to ashes, and the once powerful castles had collapsed into rubble. There were no flames anymore, but the air still carried the faint smell of smoke and burnt soil.
Not a single monster could be seen. Not even the sound of birds or insects.
It was as if every living thing had been wiped out.
"What… what happened here?" Ethan whispered in shock. "It feels like a war took place — a massive one."
He hurried forward, climbing over fallen rocks and broken debris. Each step made his heart beat faster.
"Did all seven kings fight each other and destroy themselves?" he thought aloud. It was possible — the seven kings were known for their power and pride. A fight between them could easily end the world around them.
But just as he was thinking that, he noticed something that didn't fit his theory.
About twenty meters ahead, a man was kneeling on the ground. He wore shining silver-white armor, though much of it was cracked and dirty. The helmet lay beside him, half buried in dust. His head was exposed — and Ethan froze when he saw it.
The man's face was pale, almost gray, his cheeks sunken, and parts of his flesh were rotting. It was clear that he had been dead for a long time, maybe months. Yet, even in death, his body gave off a faint but terrifying aura of mana.
The knight's hands were curved slightly, as if he had been holding something or someone very close to his chest when he died. But there was nothing there now.
Ethan carefully stepped closer. "A human did this?" he murmured in disbelief. "One has to be at least S rank to cause this much destruction…"
He looked closely at the corpse — at the position of its arms, at the strange way it knelt, and at the dried streaks of what looked like old tears on the knight's face.
"His hands are shaped like he was protecting something," Ethan whispered softly, scanning the ground around him — but there was nothing, no signs of what the man had been holding.
After a moment of silence, Ethan sighed and stood up, glancing toward the ruined castles in the distance. Every one of them had fallen, their walls shattered and towers collapsed. Only one — Trynne's castle — seemed to have survived slightly better than the rest.
He made his way there, stepping carefully through broken gates and cracked floors. Inside, he searched every room. The treasure hall was empty. No gold, no essence stones, no weapons — everything was gone.
Finally, Ethan stopped in the middle of what used to be the grand hall. The ceiling was half-broken, letting in beams of sunlight that fell over the dusty floor. He stood there quietly, staring up at the ruins above him, feeling completely lost.
"What am I even supposed to write in my report…?"
----
Wooshhhh… Woooshhh… Wooshhh…
The sound of rushing wind echoed through the forest as a lightning wolf darted between the trees, its silver-blue fur flashing like streaks of thunder in motion. Sparks of lightning burst under its paws every time it touched the ground. Behind it, sharp ice spikes crashed down, shattering trees into splinters and freezing the air with a chilling mist.
The wolf's heart pounded wildly. It didn't know who was attacking it or why. It was just a beast — guided not by reason, but by instinct. And right now, that instinct screamed one thing — run!
Branches snapped under its paws as it ran for what felt like forever. Its lungs burned, its legs trembled, and every breath came out as a puff of steam. After nearly half an hour of desperate sprinting, the forest around it finally grew quiet. No more crashing ice, no more deadly sounds. Only silence.
The wolf slowed down, panting heavily, its glowing eyes darting around to make sure no one was following. Its throat was dry, and the taste of dust filled its mouth. It needed water — badly.
Then it spotted it. A small pond, shining softly under the sunlight that passed through the leaves.
The tired wolf wagged its tail weakly and walked to the pond. It lowered its head and began to drink, lapping the cool, refreshing water eagerly.
But then — the water suddenly moved.
The calm surface began to swirl like a whirlpool, twisting faster and faster. Before the wolf could even look up, the water shot upward, forming a sharp arc — and in the blink of an eye, sliced clean through its neck.
Splash!
Its body fell to the ground, motionless. The glowing lightning from its fur faded slowly until there was nothing left but stillness.
From behind a nearby tree, a young woman stepped out of the shadows. Her focused eyes looked at the wolf's corpse with exhausted expression. It was Sylvania, assigned to hunt lightning wolves and collect their horns.
She knelt beside the dead wolf and carefully lifted its head. With a small, thin blade, she extracted the horn with expert precision — not a single scratch or crack on it. When she was done, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and let out a small sigh of relief.
"Phew… that's the sixth one," she muttered softly, putting the horn into her bag. "Four more to go."
She wasn't the only one giving her all.
All around the academy, Phase One students were pushing themselves to complete their missions as quickly as possible — hunting beasts, refining stones, gathering rare herbs etc.
In one of the academy dorm rooms, Cassandra sat cross-legged on the floor. Her face was pale, her hair slightly messy, and sweat dripped from her forehead. Around her were several high-grade mana potions and many resources that can be used to refine wind path Essence stones and earth path ones.
Her task was to refine, Three rank C wind path essence stones and ten rank D earth path essence stones.
She had already refined all ten of the Rank D stones. Now only the three Rank C ones remained — the harder part.
The ingredients floated midair in front of her. Below them, flames flickered fiercely, heating them like a magical furnace. The air around her twisted into small whirlwinds, glowing faintly with wind energy.
Cassandra's hands trembled as she tried to maintain the delicate balance between fire and air. Everything was going smoothly — until her mana wavered for just a second.
The flames flared too high, the air lost control, and in an instant — boom! — the whole process collapsed. The forming essence stone shattered midair, and smoke filled the room.
She coughed, waving her hand to clear the smoke. Her face looked tired, but instead of giving up, she smiled weakly to herself.
"Phew… guess I'll try again,"
---
Meanwhile, in another part of the academy, Sasha, being a Phase Two student, was lazily lying on her bed. She had no urgent missions like the first-phase students. Her eyes half-opened, she stared at the ceiling, clearly bored.
But then something caught her attention — the door knob moved slightly, and she noticed a letter hanging from it.
Her eyes lit up. She quickly got up, walked to the door, and took the letter in her hands. The wax seal on it carried a familiar mark — the symbol of the Vanara Tribe.
. "It's from Father," she whispered.
She had been waiting for days. A few days ago, she had sent a letter home — a rather angry one. In it, she had complained about her spoiled little sister, Maruti, who had started calling herself a "prophet" and spreading faith in the Goddess Seraphine instead of their tribe's god, Lord Hanuman.
Sasha had sais her father to stop dotting so much on her youngest and remind her of their tribe's true traditions.
But as she broke the seal and unfolded the letter, her confident smile slowly disappeared.
Her eyes ran over the words once… then twice. Her face froze in confusion.
"It's a good thing. Let her continue."