The War on The Xuidian Kingdom (3)

We stopped at the location where Cronus died with my hands. This is the place where it happened. I removed my black cloak. All the runes shined on my arm. I immediately created a sphere of dark light, which soon engulfed me. "Why did you cause him so much harm? Sora, if you knew he was a good man, why did you make him suffer like that?"

I couldn't say anything but shrug, unable to answer that. "Oblivion magic is something that not everyone can control; unfortunately, I was under the side effects of the oblivion magic, which clouded my judgement."

The runes on my left arm shine brightly as I release the dark energy around me into the sky, and the dark stormy clouds around the capital and Xuidian castle form as a result of this release. These ominous clouds cover the entire country. Elena steps back. The strength of my release made the surrounding rubble tumble down and the wind start howling. It's all quiet again once I lower my hands. Everything turned silent, as if no one lived here. "They're coming; get behind me. Xavier, go to the Khyuka Empire and begin the chaos over there."

"Yes, my lord," Xavier said as he teleported away.

"Remi, Enzo, Rayne… You still can't accept that what I am doing is righteous and just." I stared at the sky above me. The clouds swirled around us while light began to pour in through the thick, stormy sky. It took time. It took patience.

My mana rose so drastically that an indistinguishable crackling started. The surge was immense, to the point where I could barely even contain it in my own body. I channeled this dark energy to the orb-like form above me. I increased its size and power exponentially as the crackling of static reverberated and grew louder, getting louder and louder with every second that went by.

"Who is that beside you?" Remi questioned calmly; her stance lowered just barely, enough to prepare for combat, though I sensed it as clear as crystal that he didn't have much energy or focus to spare right now.

It was difficult to keep my breathing controlled as I fought against the influx of negative feelings from both Remi and Rayne. Their memories had begun flooding through our link in full force, and they refused to relent despite my attempts at cutting the connection short. There were so many conflicting feelings swirling around in my mind that I found myself struggling to stay standing straight.

"This is Cronus' sister; remember the promise that he made to me before he died? He told me to go find his sister and protect her with my life." I explained coolly.

"Did you tell her that you killed him?" Enzo glared over at his friends beside her in disapproval of my decision. He crossed his arms over his chest with a scowl plastered across his features, although his demeanor didn't quite suit his statement.

"Of course I did."

"Do you want to kill her?" he countered quickly, changing the subject entirely. "Is there even any point?" Enzo narrowed his eyes in frustration, clenching his teeth as he stared up at me for just a split second.

"Cronus asked me about one thing, and that is to protect his sister. This is the least I can do and the only thing I can do to redeem my wrongdoings." I said it sorrowfully.

Elena looked towards me with tears in her eyes before walking over to Enzo and lightly grasping his shoulder. The man tensed under his hold, appearing as if he'd explode with rage.

He held up a finger to stop her and growled, "Don't come any closer!" The sound vibrated within his throat and made it impossible for Enzo to understand that Elena meant no harm, so instead of reacting violently, like an animal caught in a snare, her muscles relaxed slightly, becoming less tense but not entirely free of the tension yet.

"Enzo, if you lay a finger on Elena, I will have to unfortunately end you." I said as I gave a piercing glare to Enzo.

She paused, closing her eyes and opening them again. "Sora has nothing against you, Enzo. Even if we get on bad terms today, don't you realize he has bigger problems to deal with?"

"What can be a bigger problem than this?" He was visibly angry; I felt his rage and disgust emanate from him even at this distance, while his eyes burned red with a glow of heat and magic, as if trying to light a bonfire directly within his gaze alone.

"Shit, if only our classmates didn't drop out after the incident with Williams, Leo, and you, then this issue would be over." Remi mentioned while sighing heavily.

Rayne just stood in complete silence, observing the four of us. There was no hatred within her, but only emptiness, something that would terrify even the bravest person ever born.

Enzo turned around, ignoring what was said by either Enzo or what he saw as too hard to decipher. All that could be said was that Enzo became extremely powerful as his magic turned even more terrifying and erratic with each passing second.

Suddenly, someone appeared in the corner of my eye. No, it couldn't be. "Long time, no see, Sora Katayama."

No... It couldn't be. As I glanced over, shivers ran down my spine. It was Zion.

Zion was the name of an individual I never thought I would see again in my lifetime. My heart thumped quickly while cold sweat formed on the sides of my temples, dropping ever so slowly until it reached my ears, dripping down and disappearing into the void between the cracks of the concrete beneath my feet.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" I shouted as if something terrible had happened, and there was no way I could change its course anymore. A bitter taste formed inside my throat, growing stronger by the second.

"You sure are naive and dense, huh? For now, let us catch up and talk about why I am here." His voice was calm, collected, and confident, which bothered me so much.

My blood boiled furiously while my skin became pale as snow; goosebumps appeared on the back of my neck from the mere feeling of having him nearby. As I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. There was a man who stood behind him; it was Noah Brown. The man who started it all, the man who took any chance I had at living a normal life.

This is what he meant about chaos starting again. This was what the symbol on the Xuidian kingdom looked like. The sight of it gave me so much pain that I had trouble remaining calm and collected; a small smile had managed to slip through as he took in our expressions of disbelief and rage. Zion's eyes looked hollow and empty, yet his appearance spoke volumes.

"Why did you come back after all of these years, Zion?"

"After hearing about your great destruction, I knew the moment was right. Come on, you know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, not only for me but for everyone."

I didn't expect what Zion had planned or where he planned to attack. His smile was pure evil; he stood behind me, waiting.