In an office situated at the highest level of the temple, Chosen Ymal watched, staring through the window as the powerful stranger was led past the temple's gate by Commander Ali and then accompanied by his head priest, Hahkim.

  The man was powerful, that much they could tell. Very powerful, now that Ymal laid eyes on him. But what they still failed to grasp was how powerful he was. This was the reason he'd counseled caution.

  When he'd heard about the outsider who had casually drunk alcohol even he himself wouldn't have dared, Ymal had known something was up. As Chosen, he was confident in saying that on this continent, he could count the number of people more powerful than him on his right hand. The only edge he had was this city and the assurance that none of those individuals had much of an interest in his city beyond the casual thought.

  Which was why the discovery of someone more powerful than him present in the city's belly stoked a kind of fear he never thought he'd ever feel. For this individual to so bravely walk into his city, it either spoke of extreme power or extreme stupidity. Did the man not fear that Ymal could kill him, or was he just so powerful that he didn't care if he was attacked or not? Either way, it didn't bode well for anybody.

  When the warlord had first appeared, he had thought nothing suspicious, but after the constant boasts about conquering the city, suspicion began to set in.

  Tashin was no small city-state, no matter how anyone beyond the continent would want to believe. It might have lacked a presence in the international board, but that was simply by design. Everyone on the continent, both of major and minor significance, knew of Tashin and knew of the futility in trying to assault its walls.

  The warlord should have been aware that he was planning on capturing a territory, an absurd ambition. Even though the creator had abandoned the territory after raising it, leaving it with only a minuscule amount of power enough to empower them against the roaming desert storms and shield them against the great monsters of the continent, it was still an essence territory. Alongside the citywide enchantment against far-scrying, anyone with ambitions of assaulting the city should have thought twice and scurried away with their tails tucked between their legs.

  He knew well that on the continent, Tashin was the only settlement to boast such a level of protection. The only settlement capable of standing unfazed against the roaming nightmares of the continent.

  Most warlords wisely steered clear of the city as it was a futile endeavor to raid, let alone a full invasion. But this one showed too much confidence. That left one conclusion: Hidden backers.

  Were the powerful figures behind the warlord finally coming into the light? Was this new arrival one of their representative?

  At first, Ymal had thought to apprehend the stranger, even though he was potentially stronger. The combined might of his soldiers, alongside the protection of the Territory, should be enough to hold down the man. Surely, the man couldn't hope to defeat the might of an entire city all by himself, Ymal had reasoned. But something had stayed his hand, he didn't know what it was. And now, staring through the window as the man was led into the temple, Ymal thanked whatever it was that had stayed his hands.

  He turned, doubly grateful that when reports came in of the strange anomaly that had taken the room the stranger was reported to have rented, he'd cautioned restraint. Fear had crept in back then. What manner of thing could bring about such a warping effect as what had occurred in that room? An artifact? Ymal scoffed; those were as rare as a blue sun. A technique scroll was more believable, but that realization only served to upscale all the speculations brought up about the man's identity. There were only a few elite nations that could afford to give out technique scrolls with such power, and none of them were on this continent.

  In the presence of confusion, Ymal had ordered back the executioners who'd been gearing up to assault the room. However, he'd also erred on the side of caution and commanded that they remain a good distance to monitor the place.

  He had kept his attention through one of the enchantments on Ali's armor, which had the effect of broadcasting sounds from the armor back to a receiving sound rune in Ymal's office. The same enchantments had been imbued in the armor of all his executors. So he was aware of when the man had stepped out, whole for that matter, and with another person in tow.

  That action alone had riled up all the fear Ymal had managed to strangle and hide away, bringing them to the fore.

  His unconcern in the face of two executors, coupled with his request— more of a command, really—to see Ymal, had then finalized the fate of his city. Tashin was on a ticking time.

  Ymal knew that this was a pivotal moment. The fate of his City and its inhabitants was on a cliff's edge, and his next decision would determine what way it would go. His father had always warned him against hasty decisions. He thanked the stars for those lessons now as he moved to get a feel for the man before he made any decisions.

  Looking at the man, he didn't know what to think. For a man who looked to be in his early twenties—young—he carried the eyes of one who had seen death beyond reasoning. The grey hair and eyes were oddly mystifying, though, given who they belonged to.

  Young men weren't supposed to have grey hair. Ymal chalked it up to either a family trait or the effects of an affinity. The young man's features were pleasant enough that Ymal did not doubt their capability in drawing in anyone they wanted.

  Right now though, he felt only fear when he looked into those eyes. They gave him the impression of a painful death.

  Ymal steeled himself against the shiver that attempted to roll over him. This man was surely not ordinary, and despite the realization, Ymal would try his best to carry out his duty. He would not capitulate easily.

  Barely three minutes after they passed through the gate, a sharp knock rang through his office door, and then a face peered in to inform him of the imminent arrival. He thanked his assistant and nodded for the visitor to be let in.

  Despite the lavish display on the temple's exterior, his office was the opposite. Everyone who had ever stepped into it had left cowed.

  This man disregarded everything as he walked in.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Walls of obsidian black with throbbing veins of crimson crisscrossed the surface of the room, which should have had an intimidating effect on anyone who saw them.

  The young man seemed not to notice them as he entered, the door closing firmly behind him.

  The glassy floor was made from obsidian glass, which usually gave the appearance of a window into an abyss.

  The young man crossed it without batting an eye.

  Finally, he crossed the room, coming to stand across from Ymal, with his large glass table the only thing standing between them. There wasn't much in the room other than the tea table placed on one side of the room and the giant mural of Ymal that he'd had fixed to the ceiling.

  Two chairs were placed opposite him, low-backed enough to indicate to any visitor that they were a supplicant before him. Many an ambassador had taken offense at the subtle insinuation, but the man simply took his seat without an ounce of offense, leaving Commander Ali to remain by the door.

  Ymal and the young man studied each other, and what he discovered was not what he had expected at all.

  Ymal had been a child when his parents had encountered the being that had granted them this city. His memories of his childhood were mostly murky, but he knew he'd never forget the level of power that being had oozed.

  Ymal knew true power and had seen it up front, which made him all the more shocked when his visitor oozed the same aura. Significantly numbed down, certainly, but there was no hiding the aura of power his visitor carried.

  Oh, Ascendant. Help me.

  This young man should reasonably have been at the Adept Stage, and in the Lord realm if he were a one-in-a-millennium genius. The amount of killing he must have partook in to achieve this realm at such a young age...

  Ymal inwardly shook his head.

  The man was the first to break the silence.

  "Since I'm the one who came to you, I'll introduce myself. My name is Damien Elason."

  And there went another surprise. Usually, from stories he'd heard, powerful figures always expected their names to be known far and wide. They never introduced themselves and were always miffed when anyone failed to recognize them.

  Ymal sighed before he spoke. "I knew this day would come. Dreaded it, even, but still accepted the eventuality that it would come."

  "I would like you to expound on that."

  "We knew that eventually, people of your caliber would take an interest in this city, despite all the defenses and attention-diverting enchantments placed on the city."

  "You mean the thing that fools far scrying?"

  Ymal nodded. "If you would humor this lowly one, may I ask what brought you here? I know that people of your status do not just up and decide to travel to a small city in the middle of nowhere."

  He knew he shouldn't be putting his nose in the business of higher realm individuals, but his curiosity needed to be sated.

  The man studied him for a few seconds. When Ymal began to think that maybe he might have crossed a line, the man surprisingly answered. "I felt drawn here. I don't know why, but something from this place calls to me."

  He didn't say anything more. Ymal knew there was something more to it than that, but he didn't pry. The man's grace could only go so far.

  "Was that why you demanded to see me?"

  He shook his head. "At first, I had simply planned to see the city and discover what had drawn me here on my own, but new developments has led me to seek you out."

  "I assume it has something to do with the man you were seen with?" Ymal hedged.

  Damien smiled. "Astute, I like it. You are correct." He nodded before continuing, "He was a spy sent by the Solarian Empire."

  Ymal's heart froze and Ali jolted from where he stood. He looked shaken but still showed discipline and calmed himself.

  The man continued, seemingly oblivious to their reactions. "From what I got, a calamity has been prophesied over their Empire, and now they seek to avert it."

  "What does that have to do with us?" Ymal asked, careful to keep the fear from his voice.

  "It has everything to do with you, or more precisely, your city, given their prophesied calamity and the Key to stopping it could all be found in this very place."

  Ymal sighed at that. So this was it then, their death had come. "I knew that eventually, a time would come when this city would face its end, I just never envisioned it being done by the Empire," he said, defeated.

  Their visitor narrowed his eyes at them. "Why do I feel like you know something about all this?"

  "Because we have also been forewarned," Ymal said. "Years ago, when my family was given charge of this city, we were given two warnings."

  The man's gaze turned intense, and Ymal swallowed. He continued.

  "One; To never go below the City. And Two; To beware the coming of higher realm Wielders."

  This had been a warning passed down from Chosen to Chosen, with only the inheritors and high priests having heard of it.

  "To beware the coming of higher realm Wielders?" The man said skeptically. "I'm sorry to break it to you, but this isn't a warning that's exclusive to this City. All around the world, cities are put on high alert whenever any of my peers are in the vicinity. Surely you know that?"

  Ymal nodded. Spirit lords might have been rare in the Desolate continent, but that didn't mean they were non-existent. The few Spirit lord monsters that dwelled on the continent were so powerful that their presence alone from miles away triggered the shielding layered over the city.

  "I need to know who created this territory."

  Ymal focused on the man. "We don't know his name. He never told us. What we know is that he was from beyond our world, as he'd proclaimed."

  "Can't you reach him?" Damien asked. "Call on him or something, at least to help you against the coming storm."

  "No," Ymal shook his head. "My father was the only one to speak to him, and he believes that after he created the territory, he left, with no word of ever returning.

  Damien looked surprised.

  "Then where is the city drawing power from, if not from your patron?"

  Ymal contemplated for a second whether he should divulge such a secret, and then decided. After all, there was nothing he could do if the man decided to check. "I'm uncertain, but I believe that there is something buried beneath the city that powers it."

  The man, Damien, raised an eyebrow at that, skepticism plain on his face. "I didn't think there was anything left in this continent strong enough to power an entire city. But given who your benefactor is, I think I'll just throw my disbelief out the window," he chuckled.

  Ymal thought for a second before he decided to place his bet. So far, the man had been civil, even to the point of friendliness. Ymal knew that he'd be ruined if this all turned out to be a ruse, but it could as well turn out good if his faith turned out right.

  "I assume you're aware that this desert-filled continent wasn't always this way?"

  Damien nodded. "One moment the continent was full of life. Jungles and forests covered the land in spades, and great nations and cities rose above it. Next, a cataclysm ripped through the entire land, terraforming it into a desert and causing a continent-wide magical storm that warped harmless creatures into monsters and created wandering sand cataclysms that constantly rip across its surface.

  "Only the humans were spared from the transformations, but they weren't exempt from the destruction in the aftermath, which killed at least seventy percent of the population on the continent. The ruling speculations around the world are that it was caused by the World Spirit, whom the people on this continent had somehow angered."

  Ymal nodded, and then broke the truth. "The event wasn't caused by the World Spirit."

  Damien gifted him an amused smile, like an adult indulging a child.

  "Nothing other than the power of a Spi... Can..." his eyes then widened as he looked down, eyes boring downward as if he could see through the multiple layers of reinforced concrete and into the earth beneath.

  Ymal nodded in confirmation. "Something crashed onto the continent, and the aftereffects are what you see today. Shortly after the event and the magical storms were beginning to settle, my patron appeared in front of a roaming band of struggling survivors, led by my father. We were led to this city and then given all the information about it as well as the freedom to settle in, but we were expressly told never to go beneath its foundation."

  Damien's eyes were filled with awe. "Then—"

  Everything was beginning to come together in his mind, Ymal could see.

  "—that means—"

  Suddenly

  BOOM!

  The whole city shook.