In the town square of the Lychnis Empire, peace filled the air as children played and laughed, their giggles ringing out like the sweetest melody. Merchants chatted with customers, and neighbors exchanged friendly waves.
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Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled violently. A massive earthquake struck, and people stumbled, their joyful conversations turning into panicked murmurs.
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“What’s going on?” a worried vendor shouted, grabbing onto his cart as it nearly toppled over.
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Children who had been playing moments earlier clung to each other, eyes wide with fear. “Mommy! Daddy!” a little girl cried out, desperately searching the crowd.
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A deep, resonating bang echoed across the square. Heads snapped up to look at the shimmering barrier that encircled the empire, a protective shield created long ago by the goddess of creation.
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Bang! Bang! Bang! The relentless pounding continued, each blow stronger than the last.
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“What in the world is that?” an old man whispered, clutching his cane as the barrier began to crack.
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With a final, earsplitting bang, the barrier shattered, sending shards of magical light spiraling into the sky. Darkness devoured the once sunny heavens, and ominous clouds rolled in like a wave of despair. Forces of nature erupted in chaos—furious winds, sudden lightning, and churning earth.
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“Run!” someone screamed as panic exploded through the crowd. People scattered in all directions, some trying to protect their loved ones, while others stumbled over one another in desperation.
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Children cried, separated from their parents in the chaos. “Papa! Where are you?” a young boy sobbed, searching for a familiar face.
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A woman knelt down, wrapping her arms around her frightened daughter. “Stay close to me,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “We’ll get through this.”
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As the barrier shattered, a terrible, unnatural silence fell over the empire—only to be broken by the eerie sounds of something coming from beyond the shattered shield. The air seemed to grow colder, and the ground trembled once more as creatures unlike any seen before began to emerge from the dark clouds above.
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First came the fire-breathing dragons whose scales glowed with an otherworldly heat. Their wings beat with thunderous force, sending gusts of fiery wind that singed everything in their path. Their eyes burned like molten lava, and as they screeched, the very air seemed to warp and shimmer with the intensity of their flames.
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Behind them, their bodies tall and wraith like, cloaked in swirling black mist. They had no faces, only hollow, gaping mouths filled with darkness that seemed to swallow the light around them. As they moved, shadows followed them, slithering like living tendrils, snuffing out any source of hope and casting a suffocating gloom wherever they passed.
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From the earth below, the ground cracked open, and out slithered the giant, scaled creatures that towered over the people. Their eyes were like dark pools, and their fangs dripped with venom that hissed upon contact with the stone beneath them. As they coiled through the streets, the sound of their slithering was like the rustling of a thousand dead leaves, each movement causing the earth to quake beneath them.
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Suddenly, a burst of wind heralded the arrival of the beautiful yet terrifying, with wings like dark thunderclouds. Their voices screeched through the wind, each cry capable of splitting stone. With talons sharp as daggers, they swooped down, their feathers crackling with lightning, as they tore through anything that dared to stand in their way.
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From the darkest corners of the sky came the figures of ash and smoke with hollow, glowing eyes. They were beings of pure despair, their forms constantly shifting like smoke in the wind. As they floated through the town, they left a trail of burning embers, igniting the buildings and spreading fire wherever they went, all the while whispering incomprehensible words that twisted the minds of those who heard them.
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The ground trembled as These massive, shadowy beasts had fur made of blackened flames, their eyes glowing a fierce red. Their jaws dripped with fiery saliva, and their growls sounded like the crashing of thunder. They tore through the streets with terrifying speed, attacking anything they could sink their teeth into, their fiery breath scorching the earth as they ran.
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And finally, as if the horrors weren't enough, a massive Demon Titan emerged, towering over the empire like a mountain of blackened stone. Its skin was cracked and charred, pulsing with dark energy. Its fists, the size of boulders, pounded the ground with terrifying force, causing the very earth to tremble with each step. The roar that erupted from its throat shook the heavens, and everything it touched seemed to wither and decay under its touch.
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These creatures of hell each one a manifestation of pure chaos rushed toward the empire, their presence causing mayhem and destruction. The ground seemed to shake with each step they took, and the once peaceful town square was consumed by a storm of terror and confusion. People screamed in terror, but there was no escape from the horror that had come to claim the empire.
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The horrors unleashed by the creatures of hell were unlike anything the people of Lychnis had ever imagined. The dragon, with their scales glowing like molten lava, unleashed torrents of fire upon the city, reducing everything in their path to ash. One unlucky merchant, standing frozen in terror, was consumed by the flames as the dragon's fiery breath scorched him from head to toe. His cries were drowned by the roar of the blaze, and by the time the fire passed, only a charred skeleton remained, a grim reminder of the creature’s devastation.
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Elsewhere, the Serpents coiled through the streets, their enormous, scaled bodies crushing everything underfoot. A Man, bravely attempting to protect his family, was caught beneath the serpent’s tail as it slammed into the ground with terrifying force. The impact shattered the cobblestones, and the soldier’s body was crushed, his limbs twisted at unnatural angles as the serpent's body passed over him. In another corner of the town square, a young woman was seized by one of the Gloom Fiends, its shadowy tendrils wrapping around her legs and dragging her toward its gaping, pitch-black mouth. She screamed, but it was swallowed by the darkness, and within moments, her body was consumed, vanishing without a trace as the creature fed on her essence.
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In the air, the Storm Harpies ripped through the skies, their talons like jagged knives. They swooped down on a group of fleeing citizens, their razor-sharp claws slashing across faces and limbs. One man was caught by a harpy, its talons sinking deep into his chest, lifting him off the ground before flinging him into the air. He was impaled on the jagged rooftop of a nearby building, his body hanging lifeless as the harpies circled above, their shrieks filling the air. In the streets below, the Cinder Wraiths ignited the bodies of anyone they passed, leaving them to burn alive in a trail of fire. Their ashen bodies would be left smoldering, unable to escape the inferno, consumed by flames that burned with the intensity of despair. The destruction was total—no one was spared. People were torn apart, burned alive, or crushed under the relentless onslaught of the hellish creatures, their screams lost in the rising cacophony of violence and terror.
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Suddenly, just as a baby was about to be swallowed by the massive serpent, a flash of lightning struck, slicing the serpent in half. The blade gleamed like liquid starlight, and intricate, ancient runes traced along its length, emitting a soft, ethereal glow that pulsed with each of its wielder's heartbeats.
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The flailing creature, witnessing what had just happened, let out a shriek and charged toward the emperor, its eyes burning with fury. The ground trembled beneath its monstrous weight as it barreled forward, its claws outstretched, intent on crushing anything in its path. "Hmm, disgusting creature." it bellowed, its voice a guttural growl that echoed across the battlefield.
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The creatures that charged to the emperor was all cut to pieces when suddenly the a scream was pointing towards the emperor from behind with one.bAt a glance, his shadowy figure emerged—a man whose eyes were covered with a silk cloth, his long, silky hair flowing, his muscular body marked by a scar on his chest, and he was wearing only a Chinese nightgown.
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"Muerte" the emperor calmly said when Muerte catches the flaying knife.
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Another figure emerged—a man wearing a skillfully crafted bird mask with a long beak that covered half of his face, leaving only his nose and lips visible. He had a muscular body, wearing only pants, with bead necklaces and bracelets adorning him. His mask also had the horns of a deer.
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"Why does Muerte always get to have all the fun while I don't?" Xyril teased.
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"Your Majesty, the people are already inside the barrier that Earl Tristan Noirceur created, as per your orders," the knight commander reported.
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"Good to know," the emperor replied. "Check for any survivors and bring them to Marquess Cedric Lucelence for treatment."
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"This feels like old times, Your Majesty," Duke Maximillian Evigheden said, a smile spreading across his face as the emperor scoffed.
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"Indeed, just like old times," the emperor muttered, his gaze fixed on the approaching monsters.
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____
Meanwhile, before the disaster struck, Emris stood inside the battle arena, his eyes locked on the chaos unfolding before him. The ground trembled violently, and the air was thick with a sense of impending doom. Suddenly, the ground shook even harder, sending ripples through the arena. Creatures, monstrous and twisted, began to spill into the arena, their eyes glowing with hunger. Panic swept through the crowd. Screams filled the air as people scrambled to escape, some trampled underfoot, others devoured by the grotesque beasts. Blood splattered across the floor, mingling with the dust of the arena, creating a nightmarish scene of carnage.
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But Emris, though his heart raced, didn’t falter. Instead of succumbing to fear like the others, he saw an opening, a chance. His eyes scanned the chaos, his mind racing. Xia! He thought. She’s still out there. I need to find her.
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With determination coursing through his veins, Emris pushed through the panicked crowd, weaving between fallen bodies and scattered debris. His every step was focused, his heart set on one goal—Xia. He had to find her.
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His mind flashed to the orphanage. That’s where he believed she would be, safe from the monsters, but as he reached the once-familiar place, his hopes crashed. The orphanage was empty, the doors ajar, the place silent except for the distant sounds of destruction echoing from beyond.
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Frustration gripped him, but he didn’t have time to dwell. He dashed out of the orphanage, heart pounding as he gazed upon the horrors that now engulfed the town. Creatures roamed freely, tearing into families, dragging people through the streets, and torturing those unlucky enough to survive the initial assault. The once peaceful village had become a slaughterhouse, and Emris could do nothing but watch, his rage building.
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“Xia!” he screamed, his voice breaking as it echoed through the chaos. He called out her name again, his desperation growing with each passing second. The wind carried his cries, but there was no answer. Only the sounds of destruction and anguish filled the air. He couldn't stop, through. He wouldn't stop until he Found her.
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Emris’s search for Xia that led him to the underground jail, a cold, dimly lit place where the air felt suffocating. The echo of his footsteps bounced off the stone walls as he hurried through the narrow, grim corridors. His mind raced, a whirlwind of fear and frustration. Each cell he passed was empty or desecrated, the faint smell of blood lingering in the air.
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Then, in the dim light of a nearby room, he spotted one of his subordinates lying motionless on the floor. Blood pooled around him, staining the stone beneath him. Without hesitation, Emris’s shadows surged to life, twisting and curling around the man’s body. The dark tendrils moved with purpose, seeping into the wounds and beginning to mend them. The man’s chest rose with a faint breath, a sign that Emris’s power had revived him, but the healer’s task was far from done.
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He stepped away, glancing around, his urgency mounting. "Xia, where are you? " His voice echoed in his mind as he walked through the prison’s narrow hallways, opening each door with a quiet dread. But no sign of her. No sound. Only the flicker of torchlight illuminating the cold, empty rooms.
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Then, at the very end of the hall, something caught his eye. A pair of familiar slippers, small and delicate, lay abandoned near the doorway. His heart skipped a beat, and he knelt beside them, his fingers trembling slightly as he examined the trail of blood leading away from the slippers.
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He followed the trail, his steps quickening, the scent of blood now thick in his nose. The further he walked, the heavier the atmosphere became, as if the very walls were pressing in on him. Finally, at the end of the corridor, in the dimmest corner of the underground, he found her.
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Xia’s body lay sprawled on the cold stone floor, lifeless and still. Her arms and legs were bound by heavy chains, the cold metal digging into her skin, the blood staining the cuffs where the chains bit into her fragile wrists and ankles. Her once vibrant form was now frail, drained of nearly all its energy. Her chest barely rose with each shallow breath, as if every ounce of strength had been ripped from her.
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Emris's breath caught in his throat as his eyes scanned her battered body. His heart shattered at the sight of her—broken, hurt, and helpless. Every part of him screamed in agony, but it was the sight of her lifeless eyes that broke him completely.
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He rushed to her side, his shadows already reaching out to envelop her, to heal her, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough. She had been drained, far beyond what his powers could easily mend. His hands hovered over her, trembling as he tried to reach her with every ounce of energy he had left.
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"Xia..." Emris whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "Wake up... P.. please... Open your eyes...." The words were barely audible, lost in the weight of the horror that had unfolded before him.
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Suddenly, Ermis's aura roared. His eyes turned dark, his hair turned white, and his tears became blood. He wrapped his arms tightly around Xia's lifeless body as he screamed, causing the entire orphanage to blow away. A Titan noticed it and heard the anguished cries. It slowly walked towards them, its shadow shielding their sorbonate.
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"Master..." His weak and worried voice said.
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"Let him be," the shadow replied.
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"But..." the man said.
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"Look at him... He now knows what he's fighting for," the shadow replied. "Without using my power, but his own gift... A real gift."
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The Titan reached for him as it spoke. "Poor human, that dead body can never wake up—" Before the Titan could finish, its body was sliced in half as Ermis, now standing behind the Titan with a huge dark sword adorned with a crest of a demon and ancient runic letters, struck. The crest rested on top of the Titan’s head.
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"Such creatures like you shall remain a myth," Ermis replied. The huge sword suddenly lost its gravity and pierced through the Titan, ending its life.
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The other creature charged towards Ermis, but with a snap of his fingers, a powerful wind sliced it in half.
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While Ermis was busy dealing with the enemies, a tall, thin, skeletal figure dressed in a sharp black tuxedo with a long tailcoat and black trousers appeared. He wore a black top hat and dark sunglasses, often with one lens removed. His face resembled a skull, either painted or naturally bone-like, with deep, dark eye sockets that gave him an intense, haunting stare.
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He sometimes had a cigar in his mouth or carried a cane, adding to his commanding and eerie presence. A purple or black scarf or sash was also part of his attire, enhancing his mysterious, otherworldly look.
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He carried Xia in his arms. When Ermis saw him, his aura grew darker with each step, causing the ground to break. "Get your filthy hands off her," he calmly said.
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"Rest," the figure said. Suddenly, Ermis lost consciousness, and his shadow disappeared. The man fell unconscious as well. "Get back to your places, the show is already done," the figure said.
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The creatures left, and the man took Xia's body.
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Meanwhile, before that happened, the Emperor and the Duke sensed a powerful aura they had never felt before.
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Inside the Queen's chamber, she also felt the aura. The Queen smiled in relief.
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Inside the Holy Church, the Priestess felt the aura, and her body suddenly trembled.
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Inside Lethyxia’s room, she also felt the aura. "Took you long enough to return," she said.
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