The Last Warning

Evening fell across Elandor like a velvet curtain.

The streets of the capital shimmered with torchlight and soft Essence lanterns, the people basking in the illusion of calm. Merchants haggled, adventurers laughed over mugs in taverns, and children chased one another through the cobbled paths without fear.

But above it all—at the summit of the Worldflame Spire, overlooking the city—Kael Fael stood.

His aura, though tightly suppressed, still rolled in subtle waves over the surrounding space like the pull of a deep ocean current. His eyes, sharper than ever, scanned the horizon, the sky, the stars.

They looked the same.

But they weren't.

He could feel it. The hum beneath the world. The quiet shriek in the wind. The way the Essence felt tainted, just slightly, just enough for someone like him to know something was very, very wrong.

He closed his eyes. Then opened them.

"It's time."

—

An Hour Later – Central Assembly Grounds

Word spread quickly. The Ethereal had summoned everyone — not a guild council, not an emergency war meeting, but everyone.

Citizens packed the outer grounds. Guild leaders and headmasters stood at the center. Radiant-ranked adventurers ringed the perimeter like silent statues.

Leiya stood off to the side, brows furrowed, her usual cheer completely gone. She had never seen Kael like this.

He stood atop the speaker's platform in silence, arms folded, gaze unwavering.

Then he spoke.

"Elandor," he said — his voice not loud, yet heard by all.

A quiet fell like a blade.

"I know many of you believe we've entered an age of peace. That the Varnok threat has faded. That our greatest warriors have pushed back the tide of extinction."

He looked over the crowd. Not at them — through them.

"But that peace… is a lie."

Murmurs broke out. Several gasps. Some angry scoffs. Kael raised a hand — not for silence, but in warning.

"The truth has been hidden from you. Even from our leaders. But no longer."

He looked to the guildmasters — veterans, warriors, scholars — all watching him with furrowed brows and unease.

"Prepare your forces. Not for expansion. Not for conquest. But to protect. To endure. Very soon, this city will no longer be safe."

A silence followed.

Then a guildmaster stepped forward — Grandmaster Thalos, Eclipse-ranked, draped in obsidian robes lined with gold. His voice cut through the quiet.

"Kael Fael," he said, careful and cold, "Are you claiming you alone know the fate of this city? Of this world?"

Kael met his gaze.

"No," he said simply. "I'm saying I've lived it. Again. And again. And again."

Thalos frowned. "Explain."

"I've died here before," Kael said. "So have all of you. Every one of you. The world ends, resets, begins again. And it's always the same hands pulling the strings."

He turned, slowly, until his gaze fell upon the Worldflame Spire in the distance.

"Arkzen."

The name struck the air like thunder.

More whispers. A few people actually laughed—nervously.

Kael's expression didn't change.

"He has shaped this city. Crafted its laws, its ranks, its training systems. He taught us how to reach Origin. Lied to us. Kept us from rising higher. He culled those who got too close to the truth."

The crowd shifted uneasily. Some Radiant-ranked adventurers lowered their heads. A few of the oldest among them looked pale.

Kael pointed at the sky.

"And worse — he has served something that dwarfs even him. The Varnok Sovereign."

This time the crowd recoiled. The very mention of the name sent Essence ripples through the air like distant thunder.

Kael didn't flinch.

"Something is stirring beyond Valeria. You've all felt it. You've sensed the shift. That unease in your gut, the dreams you can't explain, the way the stars have shifted ever so slightly."

He looked at them all — no longer as a boy who rose through the Flames, but as something else entirely.

"I'm not here to be your leader. I'm not here to rule. But I will give you this warning once."

He stepped forward. The pressure of his Essence finally slipped, just enough to make the sky dim and the ground shudder slightly beneath everyone's feet.

"Keep your people inside the city. Lock the gates. Call back your elite forces. No one leaves Elandor until I say otherwise."

Thalos tried to speak, but Kael raised a hand again—this time, his aura flared.

"I am not asking."

A long silence followed.

Then Leiya stepped forward. Her voice wasn't cheerful — but clear.

"I believe him," she said.

A few others joined. One by one, reluctant, but steady.

The guilds didn't fully understand, but they obeyed.

Not out of trust.

Out of fear.

Because Kael Fael wasn't the same man anymore.

—

Later that night — atop the Spire

Kael sat alone, staring at the stars.

They looked familiar.

But now he knew better.

"They're watching," he muttered. "All of them. The Sovereign. The Gate. The thing behind it…"

He clenched a fist. Carefully. Slowly.

Not even a breeze stirred.

"…but this time, I'm not losing."

He looked down at the city lights below.

"I will protect them. Even if I have to destroy everything that stands above them."

From the far horizon, where the skies shimmered unnaturally…

The Gate pulsed.

And the Sovereign… smiled.