Darkness covers the sky, turning day into night and putting the kingdom of the Katlonians on alert! Klausio, realizing the gravity of the phenomenon, urgently summons the soldiers to the courtyards of Akatlon!
Murmurs of apprehension echo through the city. The restless warriors speculate about the abnormal darkness! Until Klausio appears in the courtyard. With a magical clap of his hands, the sound resonates like thunder and silences the crowd.
— SOLDIERS, PREPARE! I SENSE A THREAT APPROACHING! WE MUST PROTECT OUR KINGDOM AND ITS PEOPLE WITHOUT HESITATION! — Klausio declares, his voice firm!
— YES, SIR! — the soldiers respond, fueled by his determination!
A guard approaches and whispers that the king demands Klausio's immediate presence. At that very moment, he disappears and reappears kneeling before the throne, head bowed.
(All Katlonians whose names begin with 'K' have direct access to the king's chamber, being instantly transported when summoned. Ages ago, this chamber didn't exist; it was created in a distant past when the kingdom and the life of the Katlonians were very different. The chamber is not in the castle; it's a symbolic space, separated from reality, where guests are taken.)
— Here I am, my king — Klausio says, reverently.
The king, a Katlonian with dark brown skin and scarlet red hair that shone with the strength of his power, observes Klausio. The king's robes, made of dark, seemingly simple fabric but of surprising resilience, perfectly adapted to his dark brown and muscular body, typical of Katlonians. His scarlet red hair, a symbol of power, stood out against the sobriety of the garments. These were attires that proclaimed royal dignity through the strength and physical form of the one who wore them. The seriousness on his face, however, was unquestionable.
— Klausio, lead the soldiers to the center of this disturbance and ELIMINATE ITS CAUSE! Our mages have detected an immeasurable force behind this! Go and put an end to it! — the king orders.
The king, with his legendary "all-seeing eye"—an ancestral perception ability that transcends the ordinary, capable of observing events and auras beyond visible limits—had tried to identify the origin of the darkness. However, the eye revealed only the obvious: a sky shrouded in gloom. Nothing of the immeasurable force the mages detected.
— Yes, my king! — Klausio responds.
He leaves the royal chamber and heads to the bright, light-blue crystal that controls Akatlon's magical barrier, within which a dense gravitational core shimmered. Extending his hands, Klausio opens a passage in the barrier, allowing the soldiers to advance!
— THE KING HAS SUMMONED US TO DESTROY THE SOURCE OF THIS DARKNESS! ARE YOU READY? — he asks, igniting the warriors!
— YES, SIR! — they echo in unison!
Upon crossing the barrier, the soldiers feel their bodies incredibly lighter, as if a huge weight has been lifted from their shoulders! A wave of strength surges through their muscles, and they feel their combat capabilities soar. Even moving from Akatlon's constant gloom to the outside night, their eyes, accustomed to the kingdom's dimly lit environment, suffer no change, adapting perfectly.
(Akatlon's barrier is sustained by gravitational magic. This gravitational pressure is so intense that it makes the kingdom seem to be in perpetual deep night, as sunlight cannot fully penetrate. Outside, gravity reaches level 7; inside, it reaches 18, requiring constant adaptation from its inhabitants.)
(Gravitational magic has three stages: basic, from 1 to 6; intermediate, level 7, ten times stronger than level 6; and advanced, where each level is ten times more intense than the previous one; meaning, level 8 is ten times stronger than level 7, and so on.)
For seven hours, the soldiers march to the heart of Turfazia, determined to confront the origin of the anomaly! But with each step, the negative aura intensifies, draining their strength and shaking their confidence!
At three kilometers, they spot human soldiers marching in the same direction! They wore robust silver-toned armor, with golden reliefs that stood out. Leading them, the figure of a human leader caught the eye: his armor was a masterpiece of gleaming metal, its plates fitting perfectly, decorated with designs that seemed to emit their own light, complemented by a vibrant golden cape that floated in the wind.
— Sir, there are human warriors approaching! — a tense Katlonian reports.
— Like us, they must be seeking to end this darkness — Klausio replies, thoughtfully.
A thunderous sound shakes Turfazia! In the sky, a purple light shines intensely, and cracks begin to form, as if the firmament itself is splitting apart!
— What is that? — the soldiers murmur, gripped by fear!
Dark shadows plummet from the crevices, sinister hands connected to something beyond the crack! The Katlonians imbue their weapons with magic, the humans strengthen their bodies, and the mages cast spells against the creatures!
— ATTACK WITH EVERYTHING! DON'T LET THOSE THINGS TOUCH YOU! — Klausio orders, seeing warriors being swallowed by the shadows!
But their efforts are in vain. The hands pass through bodies, consuming soldiers slowly and painfully! Katlonians and humans fall, with no chance of retreat, fighting to their last breath!
{What is happening?} — Klausio thinks, his body riddled with dark holes, before, covered in intense pain, taking his last breath.
[ABOUT AKATLON]
Katlonians, inhabitants of the kingdom of Akatlon, have dark brown skin and black hair, a common characteristic of their race. Their bodies are naturally powerful and defined, which leads them to prefer battle attire that doesn't cover much of the body, exposing their sculpted musculature as a matter of beauty and racial pride. Their most powerful warriors receive names starting with "K," an honor bestowed after measurements of magical power, potential, and resistance to the gravitational barrier that protects the kingdom. Some Katlonians with "K" names are born with red hair, a rare mark that transforms into scarlet red when they unleash a large amount of power.
Five hundred years ago, four babies mysteriously appeared in the city, displaying never-before-seen talents: Kirk, Kannes, Kana, and Kewa. Unlike other children, who needed incubators to withstand Akatlon's gravity, they resisted from birth. All possessed red hair, a color so rare it appeared only once every five thousand years. To avoid a scandal, as four children with this characteristic would be unprecedented, their hair was structurally altered by magic, making it black, like that of common Katlonians. Kirk stood out even more, with potential ten times greater than the other three. Curiously, his name begins and ends with "K," but he had no affinity for traditional magic, possessing, instead, a rare dimensional magic, whose origin remained a mystery.
The king welcomed them as children, ordering generals to train them rigorously. Each child had a mentor, but an event disrupted this routine. The generals were sent to Mount Arf, an enigmatic region, under secret orders from the king.
— Why are they taking so long? It's been three months already! — Kana complains, restless.
— They must be facing something INCREDIBLE! — Kirk says, imagining epic battles!
— Calm down, prodigy. You're only 12 — a nearby guard jokes.
Annoyed, Kirk escapes the room where they were confined and wanders through the castle!
— Alert the guards! The king ordered them to stay here! — the responsible soldier shouts.
— We'll go get him! — Kana says, taking the opportunity to flee with Kannes and Kewa.
— WAIT, COME BACK! — the guard yells, ignored by the children.
Meanwhile, the newly returned generals reported to the king what they had discovered on Mount Arf.
— My king, we found a secret chamber connected to something outside of our time
— explains Karnero, leader of the generals. — It seemed like the seed of an unknown being.
— Outside of our time? Explain better! — the king asks.
— Mount Arf is a place where time distorts! For us, it was three days; for Akatlon, three months! We found a black cube that introduced itself as Aztrofi. It cursed us, saying we only have five years to live! — Karnero reveals.
— Our bodies are deteriorating — Kalena adds, regretfully.
Hidden, Kirk and the others hear everything!
— This can't be true... — Kirk murmurs, holding back tears!
Despite the shock, the four continued their training. At 14, Kirk defeated his mentor, an UNPRECEDENTED feat! Kannes, Kana, and Kewa achieved the same at 15 and 16. Due to his strength, Kirk was named leader, even without mastering traditional magic. His dimensional magic and physical strength compensated for any limitation!
[BACK TO THE CURRENT DAYS]
As the first dark hands plummeted from the sky, the King of Akatlon, with his all-seeing eye, watched the massacre with a heavy heart. At that moment, he sent a soldier with an urgent order for Kirk, Kannes, Kana, and Kewa: to quickly go to the site of the disturbance and annihilate the threat.
Even as the soldier ran to deliver the message, and the king's vision remained focused on the battlefield, the king's "all-seeing eye" began to pierce the darkness, revealing the origin of the immeasurable power. He saw through the sky, as if it were a separate, sealed dimension. There, was the figure that was the origin of the threat: a four-armed elf, embracing the cube his generals had reported in the past.
The four-armed elf, feeling observed, extended one of his hands, and from it emanated black flames. With a gesture, he pointed the hand burning with black flames to where the king's vision was focused. In a sudden movement, he closed his hand, and the power of the king's vision was broken. The King of Akatlon, sitting on his throne, fell lifeless, killed by that mysterious force.
Upon receiving the king's order, Kirk, Kannes, Kana, and Kewa prepare! The three, with magic flowing through their bodies, shoot off at high speed, leaving Kirk behind!
— Time to show what I'm capable of! — Kirk says, with a determined smile!
{WE'VE NEVER FACED ANYTHING LIKE THIS! I can unleash everything without fear}, he thinks!
Kirk takes a deep breath and leaps! The ground around him cracks with the impulse, and his speed surpasses the others, reaching the battlefield in moments! He spots dark shadows connecting the sky to the earth, as if feeding something malicious! Bodies of humans and Katlonians were scattered on the ground.
Without hesitation, Kirk concentrates dimensional magic on his swords, crossing his forearms in an X! A few meters from the shadows, he unleashes a slash that tears through space, destroying the hands in a single blow! He hovers in the air, breathless!
— Are you done with all of them? You didn't leave anything for me! — Kewa complains, arriving with the others.
— This negative energy is still here! It's coming from that purple light! — Kana warns, pointing to the sky!
— This power... it seems like what killed our mentors — Kirk murmurs, recalling the dark energy!
The purple light shines intensely and then fades! The cracks in the sky grow, and two giant hands force their way open! Suddenly, the sky restores itself, and the hands vanish. Something descends slowly: a shadowy figure, hovering in the air, a four-armed elf with dark hair and scarlet red eyes that radiated an oppressive and ancient aura. Its descent was a heavy silence, as if the very air bowed to its will.
— Well, well. Four insolents who dare to face me — the elf says with a wide grin, revealing sharp teeth. — I hope your courage will AMUSE me!