I want things to go back to the way they were

There was no point in staying in the ruins of the Academy. Everyone had moved to the ground, some to other rooms, and Liam didn't know what to do to occupy himself. After two days had passed, the Head went to the funeral. First it was goodbye to Grady and Michal, and then it was Non and Rashid's turn. Liam had reached a nervous breakdown, and Cal had to cancel all further participation in the funeral. He took Liam to Pitts.

On the marshal's planet, time had no power, and it was as peaceful and prosperous as ever. The ornate parks and gardens, the lavish palace-all of it was an eye-catcher, an invitation to enjoy life here and now, but Liam wanted to suffer. The marshal didn't admit it for a long time, but then he did tell him the news from the front: Marshal Pitsu had officially been dead for ten days, killed by his dragon.

"Stupid animal," the living Pitsu was furious, "how could you do such a thing!?"

"He couldn't do otherwise," Cal answered him, sitting him down in a chair and handing him water, "the artifact stripped the animals of their will and forced them to obey their master."

"I'll kill him!" The marshal jumped up and swung his hand with an imaginary sword.

"Of course, you'll do everyone a favor and become a hero, but I'm afraid it won't be as easy as it looks," Cal replied.

"What do we do?" The marshal stopped pacing and sat down next to Liam, who was taking strong sedative drops and staring blankly at the people around him.

Cal himself didn't know what to do. The enemy's blow had been so unexpected and mean-spirited that there was no hope of quick revenge. The two worlds he knew, the Academy and the frontiers, had been destroyed, and many good people had died. The Dragons, on the other hand, remained at the mercy of a crazed fanatic and Cal had no one to discuss his ideas with.

Liam, intoxicated of the drugs, was unable to think straight, and if he stopped taking them, he went mad with grief. Cal remembered only one person who had kept his mind clear all this time, and that was his grandfather. Leaving Liam in the care of the marshal, the man left for the front.

The ruins where he found himself only remotely resembled the former location of the majestic army because no war had been fought here. As the army was destroyed and scattered, the dangerous creatures were advancing, sweeping away everything in their path. They devoured planet after planet, dooming the people and millions of living creatures on the worlds they were destroying to death.

Cal tried not to think about the scale of what was happening and did his best to find Tishow. It turned out that the hospital he was staying in was constantly moving due to the dangerous proximity of the creatures. It wasn't until the end of the day that Cal managed to pick up the trail of the traveling infirmary and with difficulty, avoiding death by fighting off the foul creatures, he caught up with the small convoy. It consisted of a tiny number of wagons, two orderlies and one crippled doctor.

As soon as Cal looked at the sick with his experienced eye, he realized that most of them were not residents. Fortunately, the general was in the first wagon, and the doctor kept a constant eye on his condition. Cal joined the wagon and gave all the help he could to the wounded, encouraging the two orderly boys, who were constantly shaking with terror and predicting that they would all have to die.

Realizing that it was useless to change their minds, Cal focused on the general, who seemed to be freaking out from the whole thing. He'd talk to himself or start laughing wildly and hysterically. It was tolerable, but the planet was nearing the end of its life, and Cal could see the ugly Reapers landing on the surface. They wouldn't be interrupted, except that the General had one thing stashed away.

The wagon traveled along the rocky road, avoiding where the creatures congregated and constantly changing its route. This wagon had no clear purpose for its journey. It was more like a race for survival. To last another day, or an hour, or five minutes – it didn't matter. Just the living thought of the living and wanted to keep breathing and feeling.

Shaking and creaking, the cart was going nowhere. The horse, which hadn't eaten in an unknown amount of time, occasionally paused thoughtfully, slowing the whole colony down. Cal looked at the skinny and dull mare and wondered if she would live to see the evening. Though the man had not seen this world at its best, it looked squalid and uninviting now – the fires were long gone, all vegetation dead, animals dead or mauled. There were thunderous black clouds in the sky all the time, but it wasn't raining. The air still reeked of cinders and metal.

When Cal noticed that the general seemed to be coming to his senses, he leaned over to him and made the same conversation.

"Tishow," Cal called out to him when no one was listening, "where did you put the bracelet?"

"It's evil, it should have been destroyed," the general answered with a frightening smile on his face, and began to laugh.

"If you have kept it, give it to me!" Cal begged.

"No one should have that kind of power, it's maddening," the general replied ominously.

"Damn you!" Cal was angry and turned away from him.

Then the general tugged at his sleeve.

"Tell me about Liam and Pitsu, I haven't seen them in a long time," Tishow asked him.

"Liam, he's not in much better shape than you are. The students' deaths have taken a toll on him, he's on medication all the time," Cal said, stammering.

"Poor boy," Tishow repeated, and then laughed again.

Cal surmised that the general's mind was clouded by the defeat he'd suffered, especially since he'd been attacked by Azinoth. Everyone is having a hard time these days. Many spirit families had called their relatives back to earth and guarded them like the apple of their eye. Because of this, the creator settlements weakened and became easy prey. The whole world order was a house of cards because one man had subjugated the dragons.

Cal was angry and couldn't do anything about it as he jolted on the broken cart next to the mad general. At times, though, he became very sensible, listening to Cal carefully and saying sensible things. At one such moment, the general hurriedly shared his thoughts with Cal.

"Whoever the instigator of this chaos is, he has a strictly defined purpose. He is using distractions and manipulating everyone around him. All he's doing is getting a few steps ahead of us. To defeat him, you must do the same. Study your opponent first, find out who he is and what his weaknesses are, what he wants," the general said.

"Good," Cal replied.

"Think about it and tell me, what do you already know about him?" The general asked.

"He does dirty work with other people's hands, he probably can reincarnate, he's taken possession of the treasures of the Overlord's library, but I still don't know his purpose," Cal listed.

"That's too bad," Tishow replied, "he's deliberately not revealing his true purpose, but rest assured, we've all fallen into his trap by now."

The words made Cal feel uncomfortable.

"I don't even know if he's human or maybe something not of our world," Cal said.

"You have to find out," the General insisted.

"Where is the bracelet?" Cal asked again, but the General pretended not to hear.

The rest of the time, Cal talked to himself, following Tishow's example. He asked what the enemy had accomplished by taking all these measures. And he couldn't say anything definite. It wasn't as if his motive had been revenge or a desire for power. People died and others went home.

He didn't go after anyone in particular, but used Michal's naivety and adventurism to gather all the dragons together and turn them into assassins, then took possession of the lake before attacking the army and capturing all the dragons in general.

"Where with such an armada could he go next?" Cal had no idea, and it wasn't known if dragons had ever appeared on the ground until now. If it did, nothing could save the humans anymore, but for some reason it wasn't happening. Stop! There was only one reason why Schwartz wasn't leading an army of dragons to earth – that's where the puppeteer was!

That thought inspired Cal: "at least there's a clue." If he's living on earth, he's going to stay there, so he would rather not crap where he lives. "But then what is he up to? Who is he? What's his purpose?" — Cal ran those questions over and over in his mind. He also thought about how to save the general and himself.

He had long ago looked at the primitive horse harness and imagined stealing the animal. The opportunity came suddenly: the wagon had run into a large group of angry creatures. Cal seized control as soon as he saw the dark mass of bodies ahead and swung the cart sharply to the side. The others didn't have time to react and fell right into the trap.

As the shouting and neighing of horses could be heard behind him, he raced at full speed toward the platform he had accidentally spotted. It was destroyed, however, and Cal continued in despair, chasing his horse in the other direction to the accompaniment of the general's comedic laughter.

Cal promised himself he would put a gag in Tishow's mouth if he continued to laugh so wickedly, but his hand still wouldn't go up. After a few miles, he saw another platform, but the wolf-like creatures were rushing toward him. Their speed was much faster than that of a hunted, hungry horse, and there was no hope of escape unless he took the fight to them.

Cal released the horse to rush freely and began shooting the creatures with his crossbow. Occasionally, he was lucky, and a wounded beast would fall and roll away, knocking down the others. But occasionally the cart would hit a rock, and even a keen eye and a steady hand would not help him to send the precious arrow precisely to the target.

Then Cal swore and took another wolf in his sights. He managed to shoot about six of the creatures, but a dozen were more rushing toward him. "Too many," Cal thought, and wished with all his soul that he had a second dragon to save him.

Suddenly, the cart struck a gigantic chunk of rock and the wheel came apart. After dragging the broken cart a few meters, the horse broke free of the harness and sped away, leading the pack of distraught creatures away.

Cal breathed a sigh of relief. Their situation with the general had temporarily improved, and so far, no one had tried to attack them. Hefting Tishow onto his shoulders, Cal took a quick step toward the platform. It wasn't that far away, just as long as they didn't run into anyone, Cal prayed. He hurried as best he could, and even the general was silent, not annoying him with his chatter.

When the platform was a few meters away, the ground suddenly trembled and began to walk. "Oh no! It's the Reapers taking over the core!" — Cal's mind raced, and he sped up as fast as he could. Throwing the general onto the platform, he began to climb the next. Suddenly, he was pushed down by some flying monster that looked like a giant mouse with long claws on its dangling legs.

Cal tried to climb the platform again as another monster pounced on him from the other side. No matter how many times Cal climbed onto the tall rock, he was inevitably thrown down, and meanwhile the platform shook more and more, ready to collapse at any moment.

Making one last attempt, Cal drew his sword and began fighting back chaotically, defending himself. The creatures squealed and came back again, trying to drag him down with them. After fighting off a couple of pesky monsters, Cal saw another creature fly by, aiming for the general.

Cal struggled to turn around and hit it on its approach, but missed the other side and fell back, bleeding. It looked like his shoulder had been severed. The smell of blood attracted more creatures, and Cal grabbed the general's arm and clutched the crystal with his other hand. Nothing happened. "Too late," Cal thought, "the platform won't work anymore." Everything started to move and the platform beneath him split open, dropping the General and his grandson to the ground.

They lay in a pool of Cal's blood, unable to move: the general because he was paralyzed, and Cal because he was wounded. Rapidly losing vitality, he felt his chest being squeezed by an unknown force, and it became difficult to breathe. The atmosphere was collapsing, taking with it the hope of salvation.

With a trembling hand, the general pulled a shining bracelet from his pocket and pressed it forcefully on Cal's wrist until it encircled his arm completely. Suddenly, the surrounding atmosphere changed. The creatures that had been trying to drag them away began circling aimlessly above Cal, as if they had lost their target. The General tore several pieces of cloth from his shirt and tugged his grandson's shoulder.

Then checked his pulse. "He'll live," he thought and put a pill in his mouth, forcing him to swallow. It was a strong stimulant that could make a half-dead man dance, so after a few minutes, Cal opened his eyes and was able to rise to his feet. Suddenly, he saw the coveted bracelet on his arm and rushed to the general.

"Hurry, you don't have much time, I gave you a medicine that will make you awake for a while. Try to get out and help who you can. Let this bracelet do you good."

"I'll take you with me!" Cal exclaimed. He mentally summoned the flying creatures, and as they descended gently, they picked up the men and soared into the air.

Swooping over the plain, which was shaking and tearing apart, Cal looked out for an entire platform. Nearby, geysers and puffs of steam erupted from the ground, but the flying creatures maneuvered carefully. Cal mentally tried to stop the Reapers destroying the planet and ordered them to sleep. He didn't know if his orders had worked, but after a few minutes the atmosphere was much calmer.

After flying another dozen miles, Cal spotted a lonely standing platform. It was still intact because it was on the coast and the tremors had just partially sunk it into the sand. Cal commanded his new wings to fly straight to it, and the creatures also carefully lowered them onto the flat rock.

Cal tried to move again, and this time it worked: he saw a waterfall in front of him, a painfully familiar place, he was back in Marshal Pitsu's realm of peace.

"Mate, send your carriage to the waterfall, I'm back," Cal said with relief, holding on to the crystal and falling to his knees.

It didn't take long for the six horses to arrive. Cal carried and laid the general on the soft cushions and sat down beside him, holding him with his healthy hand. His strength was slowly leaving him, just as Tishow had promised. "Gotta get there soon," he fussed, "How's Liam?" was the last thing Cal thought before he passed out.

When the carriage stopped in front of the palace, the marshal was defiantly waiting for his guests at the top of the stairs, but since no one was getting out, he got worried and went down. Looking into the carriage, Pitsu was astonished to saw Cal's exhausted body lying on top of the motionless general, who was laughing like a madman.

"Good God!" wailed the marshal, and, calling for servants and physicians, began to deal with the difficult situation. At the top of the stairs appeared the indifferent Liam. He, too, came down slowly and looked over Pitsu's shoulder. His look became more animated.

He climbed into the wagon and felt for Cal's pulse, then without delay infused as much spiritual energy into him as he could, channeling it into healing his wounds. When the healer and his assistants arrived, Cal's face went from dead pale to waxy.

He gave him a tincture and began to examine the wound. Liam turned away as the doctor untied the bloody bandages-the skin had been torn in the most brutal way, so that bone was visible in one place. Carefully moving Cal onto the stretcher, he was lowered to the ground.

The doctor treated the wound as best he could and re-bandaged it, after which the man was carried into the room and Liam, silently, followed. The marshal didn't bother him and took care of the general.

"Well, my friend, life has been hard on you, hasn't it?" He smiled sadly and patted Tishow on the shoulder, "But it's all right, you're home now.

"And you, I hear you're a dead man," laughed the general, seeming quite normal.

«In my case, you can die twice», also jokingly answered Pitsu and, lifting his head, helped him to drink water. After a few greedy sips, the general closed his eyes and passed out.

The marshal called for servants, and they took the man downstairs, seating him in a special chair. After the general was taken away to rest as well, the marshal went to check on Cal. Surprisingly, Liam had found a use for himself and went from being a gutless vegetable who wanted for nothing to a tireless caregiver.

Currently, he was dipping a towel in a basin of warm water, wringing it out, and then rubbing Cal down. He did it diligently and responsibly, not missing an inch of skin. The Marshal marveled at his friend's zeal, then called the doctor away and listened to the verdict. The doctor promised that everything would be fine, he had carefully disinfected the wound and stitched its edges, so it would heal quickly.

It remained to provide good care and not to disturb the patient with bad news. As for the second man, the doctor was talking about the general, his injury was already old, and the doctor could not give a good prognosis.

With mixed feelings, the marshal let the doctor go and sat down on the edge of the bed where Cal lay. He watched Liam cope for a while and couldn't help but praise him mentally. "If he's found the sense to move on with his life, maybe the doctor will reduce the sedative dosage, and then it won't be long before he's off it," the marshal hoped.

Suddenly, Liam left the towel on the edge of the bowl and left the room. Pitsu stood up and took a comb and gently brushed the man's hair, wiping it clean of dried blood. He barely had time to finish when Liam burst into the room with an incredible bouquet of flowers.

Marshal wanted to scold him for such a gesture, as he'd probably knocked over more than one flowerbed, but he kept silent as he watched him pick through the stems and tear off the leaves and put the flowers in a large jug. Liam scrutinized the bouquet and, satisfied, carried it over and placed it next to Cal.

This simple and sweet gesture, made the marshal blacken with envy. He set the comb aside, running the silk of his hair through his fingers once more, and as the tips of the strands slipped through his fingers, he felt his heart clench at the prickling sensation of emptiness inside.

Marshal left them discreetly and left the room. In the distance, Ange was frolicking in the meadow. She was already much larger than his Frisian breed, but she clearly fancied herself a frisky filly, and she was competing with the scraggly stallions. Marshal loved this breed for its luxuriant mane and harmonious croup.

Although the breed as a whole was not particularly fast or trainable, but for beauty, why not keep them? Admiring their grace and strength, the marshal turned around and went to the workshop to blow off steam. He had been practicing more and more lately and had reached new heights.

As he drew, he had forgotten everything, including the fact that he was officially dead and could not suddenly appear anywhere without causing shock and bewilderment. "What am I supposed to do, so dead?" — he wondered and sat down to finish another canvas. "What's the point of my life?"

Liam clapped diligently around the recovering Cal, warming his heart with his lively demeanor and lack of hints of depression. The doctor had actually reduced the dosage of his infusions and left only the evening intake of sleeping pills because the Head often had nightmares.

Ronu was still in Dai-Kun space, so Cal was able to check on them when he felt better. Looking at their harmonious and warm relationship, he was genuinely happy for them, and in his heart he hoped one day to be a stranger to universal worries and just live for his pleasure.

Liam was glad to see his friends, and a semblance of a smile began to appear on his face. Spending peaceful evenings at the marshal's residence, strolling in its parks and enjoying the coolness of the lake, Liam was becoming more and more like himself.

However, Ronu had warned Cal that the flow of energies within him was very unstable. As the Twelfth Elder had warned him before, Liam was special and therefore vulnerable. Ronu had scared him even more when he said that this instability could cause him to lose his mind.

But all those fears seemed unfounded when he saw Liam leaning over flowers or talking to the marshal, taking Tishow out for a walk and taking long walks with him. Looking at this measured and peaceful life, Cal hoped that bad things would never come. But one day, Liam was contacted by his uncle.

He reported something that made the Head's face go pale again: a widespread, bloody war had begun in the land. Since the Elder had lived on earth all the time and was particularly attached to the people, it was understandable that this situation greatly affected him, as well as all those disciples and spiritual families who had hidden on earth from the mayhem in the Aether.

The predictions were disappointing. Many countries had been building up military power for years to intimidate the enemy, and they were eager to show themselves in action. As it turned out, not even two weeks after the bloody wedding, war broke out.

At the beginning of September, there was an invasion of one of the countries of Europe. Cal found this fact highly suspicious and certainly not a coincidence. It looked more like a planned sequence of moves. But for what purpose?

Cal didn't notice Liam vigorously measuring the room with his steps. He paced from corner to corner and his lips moved slightly. Marshall was the first to react:

"Liam, what's the matter?"

"I'm worried about our men and my students."

Cal was about to say that he was the only one left, but remembered that there was also Unner, who had been taken home by his relatives before the bloody events and thus had been incredibly lucky. After discussing the news that the Elder had given, they all decided that they could not interfere with the history of the land, unless it was to save a single life.

This made Liam back down from his intention to go into the thick of things to save whomever he could. But it was noticeable that he had great doubts in his heart, and Cal decided to keep an eye on him. However, Liam's frequent conversations with his uncle and the other Elders continued to elude him, as the Head was making heavy use of sound suppression techniques.

They were strangely distant from each other, and no matter how hard he tried, Cal couldn't break through the crystal wall between them.