As tensions began to rise between the North and South, The Thirteen Kingdoms seemed to be on the edge of war. King Piule had officially declared war against the north, but not without proper precautionary methods. The Southern Kingdom Thyndhime, which Piule ruled over, had the support of all three other Southern nations along with the support of Yordrum, which is a nation in the west that borders Phulkart. After the Zuri'el Massacre, King Piule continued advancing his dominance by occupying Zuri'el with some of his most trusted generals. The entire kingdom changed dramatically ever since Thyndhime took over. King Piule started implementing laws that restricted human rights and forced most into labor which solely benefited the South. The entirety of Zuri'el had become a prison encampment. The former capital of Zuri'el was so devastated from the fires which ensued 4 years ago that most of the buildings were rubble and the ones that remained were on the verge of collapsing. Refugees hid inside the collapsed buildings. All the while lookouts made their rounds in search of them. Within another city inside Zuri'el's borders, laid large battalions of soldiers. They numbered in the tens of thousands. Nearly all of them looked ready for battle. It's clear that these soldiers were preparing for war against the rest of the north. Within the city's central most tower, was a new throne room. And on this throne, was none other than Asfodel. He sat there wearing a casual grin, with the palm of his hand on his chin as he stared intently towards the large clusters of men outside his palace. "Master Asfodel…" A voice rang from his left side. He turned to face the person who was talking. It was his advisor, "...I suggest we set out at once. If we don't, it will give Solomon a chance to gather more allies." Asfodel closed his eyes and smirked, "I believe you're right. As we stand now, I doubt that oaf will stand much of a chance. What of the Gods?" The advisor cleared his throat, "Ahem… we currently have the Western Sword God amongst our ranks. Along with five other Sword Emperors. Our opposition has the Eastern Sword God, and the Northern Sword God. But I doubt the North's Sword God will intervene with this war. So long as we leave him be, his stance on this war will remain neutral. Other than that, the north also has four other Sword Emperors. I've also heard some news of some new recruits which have been hyped up significantly. Apparently, these children have shown so much promise that Solomon has lent them his training aid. I doubt any of them will be too much trouble, but just to make sure, we should stay cautious and take them out before they mature." Asfodel nodded, "I agree. My master has sensed a disturbance in the world recently. Be believes there to be a new golden era of Gods. An era so promising we've seen nothing like it since the last Great War nearly 300 years ago. I trust my master's intuition, and have no doubt those kids will become a problem if they aren't taken care of." Asfodel stood up and began walking over to the room's exit. He took a look outside and smiled once more at the sight of his men lined up and ready for war. "Get ready. We leave tomorrow morning."
In the South, King Piule begins getting ready for a meeting with his allies. He currently has 5 total kingdoms in his alliance, which include Thyndhime, Phulkart, Anthesia, Homstine and in the West, Yordrum. Out of all these Kingdoms, their forces include two Sword Gods, 11 Sword Emperor's, Asfodel, and Shyzenkraum. King Piule's meeting will be held inside Thyndhim's capital. Its attendees will include King Piule of Thyndhime, King Yamma of Phulkart, King Seccar of Anthesia, King Homme of Homstine, King Calvin V of Yordrum, and Master Shyzenkraum. Currently, Shyzen is situated within King Piule's capital, as his chief advisor and commander in war. After his revival four years ago, Shyzen made it his mission to seek out the current king and create an alliance with him. Once Shyzen made his presence known in the South, King Piule wasted no time in seeking him out. The two of them shared common interests and easily formed a pact which would allow both of them to achieve their goals. Asfodel was later sent to Zuri'el and Shyzen took his time preparing for war. Now that four years have passed, King Piule and Shyzen have finally organized a meeting that would decide their actions for this war.
Before long, the 4 other Kings arrived in Thyndhime's capital. King Piule sat in a large room with a circular table that had 5 other chairs lined up evenly around the table. Shyzen was the second person to arrive, "Hello Piule, it seems I arrived before the others." King Piule nodded, and Shyzen took a seat next to him. After a few moments, the four other Kings arrived simultaneously and sat down on the table. Their expressions were all grim, as they knew the battles to come would certainly lead to a multitude of deaths. However, King Piule was grinning with pleasure. He opened his mouth and was going to speak but Shyzen interrupted, "Thank you for coming. As you all know… I, Shyzenkraum, have returned after being sealed by Solomon The Angel. With my return, I have made it my mission to conquer the entirety of The Thirteen Kingdoms. And with you as my allies, I have no doubt we will achieve this goal. Thank you." He sat down. King Piule was agitated that he wasn't the first to speak but brushed it off, "Thank you, Shyzen. And yes, as he said, we intend to invade the rest of the country in due time." A man grumbled at this statement. It was the King of Phulkart. He stood up from his chair and began to speak, "I can see that Shyzen has returned. But I'm still confused on how we are going to deal with the North. Afterall, they do have Solomon on their side, and the Master Swordsmen." Shyzen smirked, "Do not worry about Solomon. He has grown weak throughout the years. I doubt he's powerful enough to pose much of a threat by himself. And as far as the Master Swordsmen go… we have enough power to take them out. Just leave it to Asfodel and I." The King of Phulkart nodded and sat back down. King Piule continued to speak, "I intend to use your Kingdoms' military resources to their fullest. If we want this war to end quickly, our tactics must be fast and without hesitation. We cannot afford to make any mistakes. Although Solomon is old, he is still a major threat to us, and cannot be underestimated. Therefore I suggest we take out the Kingdoms who possess the most military might first." Another man stood up from his chair and began to speak, "I agree with everything you've said, but I don't think taking out the strongest Kingdoms first would be the best move. If we deplete too much of our resources early on, the rest of the war will become significantly harder to win." The man sat back down. King Piule nodded towards him, "I can see why you would think that. But with Master Shyzen's help… our victory will be swift and easy, so do not worry." The man who had originally objected seemed a bit wary of the idea. But he nodded his head and remained silent. King Piule continued once again, "With your permission, I would like to send out troops to Zuri'el and clear a path towards the North at the same time..." The four kings all nodded their heads in agreement. "...Well then, it's settled! We will have other meetings after this, but I suppose we've made enough progress for one day. So, thank you all for coming." The four kings got out of their chairs and left the room. Shyzen and Piule were now the only ones present. Shyzen seemed content with the outcome, and so did King Piule. But something about Shyzen's aura changed. It was emanating more prominently. Almost as if he were excited for the events that would be taking place very soon.
Further North, Nyleah, Lura, Nazeem and Master Gannon were all making their way to Sumerst. They were on foot, and would often stop at any nearby village. But their journey was not uneventful. Master Gannon would sometimes lead them towards a high ranking dungeon, and let his three pupils enter, as practice. Each dungeon they went into would either be Saint or Lord tier, and was never much of a challenge for them. One day, after they completed a dungeon, Master Gannon noticed that Nyleah was wearing a necklace, "Hey Lura, do you mind if I see your necklace?" She looked up at him and nodded before loosening up its back and handing it to Gannon. It was a white crystal. The crystal was emanating mana through it which created a faint glow. Lura started talking, "The three of us each got a crystal after completing the dungeon master Solomon assigned to us for Kil's birthday. I decided to turn it into a necklace so I could remember him… and it looks pretty, hehe." Gannon smiled, "I'm glad you three still share a strong bond towards Kiliano. Even after four years, I can tell your friendship hasn't faded, even a bit." Nyleah began smiling too. Meanwhile, Nazeem and Lura were talking about a completely different subject. "Why can't you understand!? Are you some sorta idiot?" Lura said with a demeaning tone. Nazeem backed away, "N-no I just don't get the appeal in always showing off magic. It could end up biting me in the ass later on if everyone knows about it." Lura scoffed, "That's such a cowardly way of thinking. If I could cast spells like you, I'd do it to make everyone around me realize how much more superior I am! Hahahaa!" Nyleah overheard this and giggled, "I don't think your superiority complex is going to work on very many people." She whispered. Lura overheard this and turned her head slowly in Nyleah's direction, "What… did… you, say?" Her eyes were dark and frightening. She was emanating a malicious aura that nearly made Nazeem -who was next to her, poop himself. Master Gannon giggled again, and continued walking. Nyleah smiled as well and followed behind him. Lura snorted and followed behind. Nazeem got up and started walking too.
Master Vencer started talking, "Kiliano… are you ready?" The two of them were still up in the Northern parts of Vraldeen. They were situated inside a large cave, with a dragon's corpse lying by their side. Kiliano stood up from their fire and turned to face Vencer, "Yep. I can't wait, hehe." He said with a smile. In another region, somewhere far away, trees with bright golden leaves shone in the sun. A man was walking down a path which these trees surrounded. He wore a traveler's attire, and walked with pep. The man looked to be in his mid twenties, and held a content smile as he walked closer into the orange horizon. Meanwhile, Solomon is walking down a hallway with a man to his left. The man is wearing a black tank top and baggy pants made of silk. He wears a sword by his waist. The sword's sheathe is lined with gold and silver, which makes it obvious the sword which it holds is much more valuable than an average one. The two of them stop walking. Before them, was a large door made of a black metal. Solomon reached out his hand and placed it on the door. He began emanating his aura which triggered the door to light up and open. They walked through the door, and into a pitch black room. Once the two of them made it completely inside, the door behind them shut. Solomon began emanating his aura once more. This time, he lit up the entire room with a golden glow, "Alright, enough games…" He said with malice in his voice, "...This war will not be a continuation of the Great War 300 years ago." His aura grew stronger. Strong winds began circling around him. The golden light that lit up the room began growing brighter and brighter, until the entire room went blind with a golden color. Flick! Solomon snapped his fingers, and the golden light that was blinding the two of them faded. The room around them had completely changed. Rather than an empty pitch black room, it was a large well-lit room. Inside the room were rows of tables with chairs, but nobody was there. The entire room was empty aside from the two of them. Solomon continued walking down the room. He made his way to the end of the room. It was stopped by a large door which held a similar pattern to the door Solomon had previously opened. He raised his hand and knocked on the door, "We've arrived!" He said, with his voice towards the door. After a few seconds of silence the other side of the door began to make noise. "Give me one second sir… my apologies." The door began slowly opening. It revealed another room, which over a dozen people lined up on each side of Solomon and his compatriot. Past the rows of people lay a throne. And on the throne was a woman. She wore a large red robe with black silk pants, and a silver crown on her head. Her facial expression seemed to be agitated, but the sight of Solomon put her at ease. She was originally facing one of her advisors, but once Solomon walked in, she turned to face him, "Ahh, master Solomon. It is wonderful to see you again." Solomon bowed his head slightly, "Yes, it is good to see you too. I'm sad that we must meet again for such depressing matters." The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds. Solomon's compatriot chimed in with a subtle cough. This triggered Solomon to introduce them, "Ah right. I suppose the two of you haven't met. My friend right here who has come with me is master Paarl. He is the current Healing God Of The East." The entire room began to murmur. Master Paarl is already well-known throughout the entire country for being one of the only people in history to hold the title of a Sword God and a Mage God. His support in the war was crucial if the North wanted to hold their own. Solomon continued talking, "As you all may know… Paarl is considered the most skilled fighter in The Thirteen Kingdoms, and is probably the strongest too…" He turned to face Paarl, "And the woman on the throne here, as you may have been able to guess, is the Queen of Sumerst, Lady Maddenalla. She is going to be the leading head of the North's resistance in this war…" He turned to face Maddenalla, "...With Paarl's assistance, I have no doubt our military might surpass the South's." Maddenalla chimed in, "Yes, well their military isn't the issue, now is it? How do you expect us to deal with Shyzen?" Solomon closed his eyes and smiled, "Yes, well I know quite well Paarl can't possibly defeat Shyzen. But I have someone in mind who can do the trick…" An image of someone popped into his head. It was Kiliano. "...I doubt any of you know of him, at least not yet. But I've got a boy who can undoubtedly deal with Shyzen." Maddenalla and some of the people surrounding them began to grow suspicious, "Boy? As in, he isn't considered a man yet?" She said, Solomon smiled awkwardly, "W-well yeah. He's probably around 14 years old right now, hehe." "What!? Is this a joke!?" Solomon's awkward expression disappeared and his face turned serious, "Yes. I know it may sound odd… but this boy has the potential to kill Shyzen in due time. That boy is destined to become a great warrior, and a legendary hero." Maddenalla scoffed, "Well if you say so. Although this all sounds far fetched I do trust your judgement. Let us begin our preparations. This war has now officially begun!" Solomon and Paarl turned their backs to Maddenalla and walked out of the room. Paarl turned to face Solomon, "Sir, are you sure this boy can handle killing Shyzen?" Solomon smiled, "Once you meet him… your doubts will disappear. Afterall… that boy has power far greater than my own."