Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

50 years later…

A storm was brewing.

The night sky above the city of Lania was dismal.

Rain poured from the charcoal clouds, the large droplets beating upon the marble roof of Mirus Bardi's palace. The white structures appeared black in the darkness. The burning torches on the walls wavered in the angry wind.

The city was asleep. Tempests were new to them. But something about this one wasn't right. Something about the storm's abruptness and violent nature had piqued Mirus Bardi's interest.

The leader of House Aegir stood on the balcony connected to his bedroom. The freezing, salty winds tugged at his night clothes. Years of swimming in freezing waters as a form of magical training meant his body was used to the temperatures.

The cold wasn't what he was worried about.

It was the suddenness of the storm. The rolling clouds, crackling with lightning and deafening thunder, had seemingly manifested out of nowhere, miraculously appearing over the ocean surrounding the concealed island his people lived on.

Waves crashed upon the craggy rocks of the cliff his pristine palace sat upon, the seawater gently spraying Mirus' tanned face. His cloudy eyes—the blue-grey irises almost imitating the actual storm above—were intense and calculating as they gazed upon the never-ending sea ahead of him.

Something was wrong.

He just wasn't sure what.

"Father?"

He half-turned to look at his youngest daughter, a magician that has wind and light elements, Siren. And beside her is a baby gray wolf with a light blue crescent in her forehead, Luna.

The young woman was clad in her silver nightgown, her bare feet gliding along the stone floor as she walked up to him. Her blonde hair, usually tied in a fishtail braid, rolled down her shoulders. She held a curious look in her sea-colored eyes, an equally intrigued expression resting against her soft, elegant features.

"What are you doing out here so late?" she asked.

"I couldn't sleep." Mirus kept his attention on the sky. "This storm is an omen."

His daughter took a spot next to him on the balcony. "I think you're right. I've been having... strange dreams and I don't know what they mean."

Mirus didn't respond, for he knew what they meant. He had been hoping this day wouldn't have come; that the prophecy wouldn't happen in his lifetime.

Deep down, he knew it was coming. Ever since Moreau visited the goddess of light in Lumendar, he knew their world was going to change once again.

A frown tugged at his lips as he thought about her and her family. The headquarters of House Lumai—the light magicians—had been attacked the day of The Mark of Dance 10 years ago. Since then, the Lumaian magicians either were killed off or went into hiding.

Most people had no idea what happened. But Mirus had a theory. Of course, he had no evidence to support it.

"I think something terrible is going to happen soon," Siren whispered, her voice trembling as she gripped the stone barrier that kept the waves at bay.

"I know, dear," Mirus said.

More lightning streaked across the sky, stabbing the clouds and bathing the island in blinding light. Thunder shook the land, echoing for what seemed like an eternity.

"I know…"

Meanwhile in the abyss…

The hero looked at the ocean of lava, hardly daring to breathe. Above him stood the towering monstrosity, the Great Beast

"It will be ok; it will be alright. Thousands have done what you will do. Thousands have sacrificed themselves." he whispered, trying to reassure himself.

The hero looked up at the fiery, ginormous demon and yelled, "I am not afraid of you!"

It laughed coldly. "Then you are a fool," it's voice spoke, echoing all around the abyss. It sent vibrations throughout the hell which caused him to stagger but the hero got up determinedly and faced him.

"I WILL NOT DIE! I REFUSE!"

"What? What is this?!" He seemed angry, his body becoming more tense, and the hero swallowed nervously, but stood his ground.

"You will kill no more. You will feed no more. Your chains of lava will surely imprison you for eternity. Centuries will go by, and you will be forgotten, just like we all are in the end. You will become a myth, no more than a fairy story. And I will live. Goodbye." The hero could feel his voice cracking towards the end, but the hero refused to break eye contact. The hero turned to leave but not until he spoke.

"No, you will not die. I curse you," he said maliciously, his eye gleaming as the hero widened in fear, "with immortality, with the life, that I am forced to lead. You will watch everyone you love die, and yet you will never join them. Millions of years will pass by, and you will still be trapped here, with me. Only then will you truly know what it is to be alone. Until we meet again." He finished and disappeared back under the ocean of lava.

The hero can't help but feeling the dark side pull him close. After day after day in hell with chains he is ready to escape. he spent 50 years in the Abyss.

In Earth…

Mirus POV:

2:xx pm

Mirus and his crew has a mission to explore the sudden appearance of an unknown forest with grey clouds circling around the forest, with many thunders as if it was just an air that its just normal in the forest.

Five airships were send to explore the forest, they all head to the forest straight away because one of the members saw something flying in the sky but couldn't analyze it because it's too cloudy.

They have a suspicion that it could be a wyvern, dragon, or an unidentified species, that could annihilate the world, because of a sudden appearance of a forest.

As the airships go to the forest, they were interrupted by a red dragon. And fly straight above the airships to not get through the forest. They couldn't do anything but to engaged.

Five airships engaged the dragon, spreading out around it to avoid its deadly fire breath. The ships fired at it from all sides, searching for a weak point in its armored hide. The dragon wasn't idle; however, it sent its white-hot flames in an arc in front of it. Three airships swerved to dodge the firestorm, inadvertently getting close to each other. The dragon immediately took advantage of this, turning to bear down on the center ship, trailing smoke from its jaws.

The dragon brought down the whole ship with one swipe of its claws. Debris from the ship smashed down onto the dragon, sliding off its scales and causing no damage. The dragon whipped its bladed tail forward fast enough to create a shockwave as it sliced at the rocky cliffs, carving off a chunk as though it were clay. The shockwave caused two airships to lose control and fall to the ground, smashing into pieces. The dragon opened its mouth and picked up the boulder it had created, then tossed it at the ships. They nearly crashed dodging to avoid it, then retreated to regroup.

The magicians sent a rain of fire and ice projectiles toward the dragon. It spread its wings and roared at them, the air alone enough to blow the projectiles aside, knocking some of the magicians off their feet.

Siege ballista sent heavy iron bolts at the dragon, and it curled its enormous wings in front of itself like a shield. Despite being more vulnerable, the wings were still armored enough to withstand every single one of the ballista bolts as they glanced off in bursts of sparks. The dragon then spread its wings once more and took to the air, gusts of wind blowing down anyone left standing.

One of the two remaining airships changed course and flew straight at the dragon. The flying monster saw and tried to turn, but it had too much speed built up as they rapidly approached each other. A second later the ship collided with its head, shattering into wood shrapnel, and whipping the dragon's head around. An audible CRACK sounded above the destruction of the ship as the dragon's neck was broken, and it collapsed to the ground, dead.

All the combatants on the ground fell silent for a moment, then all began to cheer in victory. A victory at great cost. Destruction and death lay everywhere, and the survivors began to help search for the wounded. But then...

A series of terrifying roars sounded past the valley. The ground began to tremble slightly. Everyone presents stopped and looked down the valley uneasily.

Mirus suddenly screamed to take cover. Hundreds scrambled into motion, panicked cries filling the air. Not ten seconds later a blast of fire erupted over the hill as more than a dozen dragons flew into view, each one as big and deadly as the one they had already killed.

Mirus felt cold dread grip him as he whispered, "God help us all."

Some of the dragons that has a colored white scale roared loudly, and flew towards the city of Lania, because they can scent humans. Some of the red dragons flew to help them.

Siren POV:

Earlier after the dragons flew to the city

They stood in the dancing grass, touched by the warm sun setting before their eyes. They watched the birds soar in the field below their grassy cliff.

Siren picks out a handful of wildflowers growing near the edge of the cliff. She closes her eyes and breathes deep. The flowers slip through her outstretched hand and fall gently down to the windy meadow below. She opens her eyes as the last flower lands, and the dying rays of day burn upon her face.

"Mother?" Siren says looking at her face.

"Yes, darling?" Her mother stands to her side, warm tears slowly leaking through her shut eyes.

"What happened to the lost cities?" Siren asks. "The ones in the old stories." Images of stark, sky-reaching towers and dark temples flash in her mind. Then all turns to ruin and it all lays bleak and empty with the solemn wind shrilling through the fallen stone.

Her mother sighs and looks up at the sky dotted with the first stars. "We don't know. The span of time between is too vast and all we have are fragments; shattered on the rocky rivers of time." Siren wonders at the aged eyes of her mother as she continues, "And perhaps we may never know".

The two of them saw many creatures flying in the distance going to City of Lania…

Siren looks at her mother once again to see her mother scared and confused as she says "W-w-why are t-they here…?!" Stuttering at every word she says, like she's been through a war that never ends in a cold and darkness battle.

Siren is worried, she tries to use a magic that only the light magicians can do, while Siren's goes through her mind, She found herself in a white room, but Siren were interrupted when she glimpse of a door that was opened before her, was emitting a black aura of dark and cold air around it, she hears a deep breath under her neck, she looks behind her surprised and scared but only saw nothingness… She turned around slowly to see the mysterious door only to find nothing. She is confused, but then she run as fast "Deeps cinos" her foot was emitting a silver glow, as her body feels light making her move as fast than a blink of an eye because she doesn't have much time or the City of Lania will be destroyed, to find what her looking for…

"A memory of memories."