The golden sun was sinking below the horizon, its dying light spilling through the windows of the Tier 1 house. The air inside glowed a deep amber, painting everyone's faces with hues of fading warmth. Shadows stretched long across the wooden floor, converging around the single round table where they sat. The world outside was silent—only the distant hum of evening winds filled the room.
Kairo stared at Claymond, his breath still shallow after that proclamation—the Era of Eclipses.
He couldn't tear his gaze away. The story, the scale of it all—it was beyond anything he could have imagined. Entire continents destroyed. Skies turned to flame. Oceans boiled away.
Compared to such grandeur, his struggles felt like the play of children with wooden swords.
He chuckled softly to himself.
Varen turned to him, concerned. "Don't worry," he said with a gentle smile. "Everyone feels that way the first time. You'll understand it all soon enough."
Kairo blinked, then smiled back. Somehow, varen's words—simple as they were—brought him comfort.
Claymond's voice broke through the quiet. "The dragons of the silver and the giants of the crimson…" he began, his tone grave, "were forces that defied reason itself. Indestructible. Unstoppable. The only beings capable of stopping them… were themselves."
He leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. His shadow stretched across its surface like a mantle of dusk.
"They clashed one final time," he continued. "Their battlefield—the deepest ocean of our world. Indra the Silver led his kin from the skies, and Rudra the Crimson from the molten veins thay they stretched beneath the earth. When they met, existence trembled."
Claymond's eyes gleamed in the dying light as he spoke.
"The dragons unleashed a storm of argent fire. Beams of silver light cascaded across the sea, vaporizing the waters themselves. The ocean screamed as it boiled into mist. But the giants answered with flames that could devour creation. Crimson fire that burned not only flesh, but essence. Their inferno turned the seabed into glass."
Kairo could almost see it—the clash of two titans across a dissolving world, their roars shaking the heavens.
"Their final collision," Claymond's voice deepened, "was a wound in existence. The very laws that bind life and death… shattered. Reality split apart, and from that tear, horrors spilled into our world—creatures that should have never existed. The dragons and giants vanished, consumed by the very rift they had created. Time itself halted. And then…"
He hesitated, his eyes dimming. "Some say that God descended to mend the tear. Others say that what emerged was no god—but something far worse."
Claymond leaned forward, his voice calm but weighty. "The remnants of the old world… the fragments of the four original continents eventually merged, giving birth to new lands and new life. Our Forbidden Continent, where we now stand, is a product of these cataclysms—a fusion of shattered Dravathron and remnants of Elyndra. Over time, these fragments collided and intertwined, forming the land we call home today. Its soils still carry the scars of ancient battles, and its currents of power are remnants of what once shook the very foundations of existence. Every ruin, every relic, echoes that lost world."
Silence settled again. Only the crimson sunlight flickered through the room.
Kairo's hands trembled. His mind drifted back to that vision—an endless sea under a dying sky. A creature vast enough to blot out light, its wings rotting and yet divine. Spines jutted like mountains from its back, and bound by colossal chains, each thicker than any building Kairo had ever seen, And those eyes… those ancient eyes that stared through him.
Then, a voice.
A whisper from eternity.
"Break my chains… or all will burn… and drown."
Kairo froze, every breath sharp and cold. The words echoed again and again in his skull, like waves crashing against the edge of reality.
Kairo leaned forward, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Claymond… was there any other important figure besides Indra or Rudra?"
Claymond looked up from his notes, adjusting his glasses as the orange sunlight cast long shadows across the round table. "Someone equal in power to them?" he asked calmly, his tone curious yet cautious.
Kairo nodded. "Yes, someone who could've stood against both."
Lyra, who had been silently listening, raised an eyebrow, her expression subtly intrigued. Varen let out a quiet chuckle, as if amused by the idea.
Claymond sighed softly, leaning back in his chair. "I'm afraid not. There's no record of another being matching their power. Where did you get that idea, Kairo?"
"Ah—uh, nowhere," Kairo laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. His thoughts churned—Crap, I can't tell them about the Command Nexus or that vision. That would just complicate everything.
"I was just curious, that's all."
Claymond studied him for a moment before giving a small nod. "Curiosity is good. It means you're thinking beyond what's written.
His tone grew serious. "This leads us to our true goal—the knowledge of the old world."
Kairo furrowed his brow, his voice laced with intrigue and confusion. "Knowledge of the old world? What do you mean by that?"
Claymond leaned forward, hands resting on the round wooden table as the last rays of the sun glinted off his glasses. "The people on the top… they have hidden away the history and knowledge of our world behind personal vaults. They feared that anyone with the drive to uncover the truth might threaten their rule over everything."
Lyra's gaze sharpened, her white hair catching the fading sunlight. "The Three Absolutes," she said in a serious tone, "the three strongest powers within the Forbidden Continent. Their power is unmatched by anyone else in this land."
Claymond continued, "The first Absolute is the Valdez family, led by a powerful high-tier lord. Their blood is said to be blessed by the angels themselves."
Lyra's expression darkened with disgust. "They are fanatics about keeping their bloodline pure. They even perform rituals to transfuse their blood into others and force marriages into their family. Truly horrid."
Claymond nodded solemnly. "The second Absolute is the Lord of Flood. Not much is known about him."
Varen smirked, folding his arms lazily. "Some say he's a cannibal, but really, who would believe that?"
Kairo shivered slightly, unsettled by the notion, but Claymond pressed on. "And lastly… the one they call the Inheritor of Dragons."
Kairo's interest piqued instantly, his eyes narrowing.
Claymond added, "He is said to possess a connection to dragonblood. That boy—the one with the scales and horns—I think you know he has at least some connection to dragons, am I right?"
Kairo's face grew serious, silent for a moment.
Claymond leaned back, a confident smile forming. "If you wish to keep him and protect your territory, you will need us. So, Kairo, Lord of the Western Ruins…"
He gestured formally toward Kairo. "Once again, I extend our proposal. Would you like to join the Ruin Lord Alliance?"
To be continued.....