Somewhere south of Zuri'el, hundreds of soldiers occupied an encampment. Dozens of tents stood upright, being held down by metal nails planted into the ground. People sat by campfires, eating and talking. Weapon racks were scattered across the area, and a man was sharpening his sword by the fire.
In the largest tent, towards the center of the encampment, Asfodel was standing over a large wooden table. On the table was a large map of The Thirteen Kingdoms. Suddenly, a man walked in and came towards Asfodel, "Sir, the troops are ready to go at your command." Asfodel smiled and laid down a pin onto the map. The pin was pointed into a label that read, Sumerst. "Alright then… We leave at dawn.
Farther north-west, in the capital of Sumerst, Paarl, Lura, Nyleah and Nazeem were having a chat, "Alright kids. Our frontlines have been set up, and war is on the horizon. You three are young… too young to be putting your lives on the line. But I'm afraid most of our allies are staying neutral, so we don't have nearly enough manpower to stop the south. As much as I hate to say it… you three are gonna have to fight on the frontlines too." Lura sighed, "Sigh… We were completely prepared to fight y'know. And I personally have no intention of staying behind to let this war go on without me. I bet you two feel the same, right?" She turned to face Nyleah and Nazeem. The two of them nodded their heads. Paarl stood up from his seat, looking down on the three of them, "I'm glad to hear it. We'll be leaving soon, so I suggest you begin packing your belongings by tomorrow."
The four of them left the room. Paarl headed out of Sumerst's main castle. Lura, Nyleah and Nazeem made their way back to their rooms. As Nyleah was walking back, she cast her gaze to the floor, "I wonder how Kiliano's doing." Lura glanced over to Nyleah, "I wouldn't worry. That boy's a different breed, so there's no way he'd let himself die just yet." Nazeem giggled, "Yeah I second that. Ever since we were kids, his strength has been beyond my understanding. I wouldn't be surprised if he surpassed all of us by the time we reunite." Nyleah smiled, "Yeah… you're right." Lura made a confused look, but after a few moments of thinking, her eyes widened from surprise.
Farther down south, in the kingdom of Anthesia, a man covered in a beige robe walked up to a giant castle. A guard stopped him just short of the entrance and said, "Halt. Due to the dire situation of this country, the king is only permitting special guests to enter." A gust of wind blew by, blowing off the man's hood, revealing piercing gold eyes, and white hair, "Yes, I believe Himil is waiting for me. I hope he told you Shyzen was on his way." A malicious aura filled the air, and the guard's knees grew shaky, "Y-yes I see. Please come through sir." Shyzen walked past the guard and into the castle. He opened the castle's main doors and headed inside. The interior was covered in silver flooring. Towards the end of the room, a man sat on a throne. Shyzen walked towards the man and stopped a few meters away from the man, "I'm guessing you know why I'm here?" The man placed his fist onto his cheek, "Yeah I do. And we're fully prepared to support your forces." Shyzen took off his cloak and handed it to a butler by his left side, revealing black metal armor, resembling Solomon's, "Alright, then I'll tell my forces to move out immediately, got it?" The man nodded his head, "Yessir. In the meantime, please make yourself at home." "I do not intend on staying here… So this will be goodbye for a while, Himil." Suddenly, Shyzen's body began emanating a black aura, and his body seeped into the floor like a liquid. Himil relaxed into his seat, "Sigh… That man is terrifying." He turned to face one of his advisors, who was standing to his left, "Ready our platoons. We leave in two days, got it?"
At the same time, in a place much farther away, a man was walking down a path, lined in a crimson red stone. He wore black, baggy pants and a white collared shirt. His black hair glistened in the sun. The area around him was covered in deep, red rocks, but the path he was walking on was paved in chiseled stone. The man turned around, looking behind him. A giant red dragon's corpse was laying on the pathway behind him. Its head was severed from its body, and hundreds of cut wounds covered nearly every inch of it. He smiled, and turned back around, casting his gaze towards the sky. Continuing his walk, he said "It's almost time… I'll see you soon… Monfril."
Back at the westernmost reaches of The Thirteen Kingdoms, Vencer and Victoria made their way to Sumerst's capital. "Hey Vencer…?" Victoria turned to face him, "...What'll you do once we make it to the capital?" "Oh that's easy. I'm gonna help fight on the frontlines. Word has it that the south has already made their move. We've set up platoons and military encampments in case of sudden invasions. But as of now, we're outmatched. Hopefully, my presence can help shift the tide a little bit." "Okay… would it be alright if I stayed with you? I could be of some use, y'know?" Vencer patted her on the head, "That's up to you. George allowed you to come with us because he knows you're responsible. So I'll respect any choices you decide to make, okay?" Victoria smiled, "Well then… I'd like it if I could join you on the frontlines." "Alright then… It's decided." "Oh, and also… I'll get to meet Kiliano's friends, right? He's talked about them a lot, so I'd like to meet them, even if just for a short while." "I'm not sure if we'll be placed in the same encampment as them. But you'll get to see them for a little while once we make it to the capital." "Yay…!" She jumped into the air, "...I'm so excited!" "Why? They're just mutual friends. It's not like you've met them before." "Yeah… but this is the first time I've been allowed to leave Vraldeen. And I've heard that Lura is the future queen of Zuri'el, right?" "Well, that's true I suppose. But I doubt she'll be much different from the average person." Victoria stuck her finger in Vencer's face, "Don't say things like that. Why do you gotta burst my bubble, man." Vencer threw his arms up, "Sorry, sorry. Just don't get your hopes up. We aren't going to Sumerst to have fun… This is a serious matter, and should be treated as such, got it?" Victoria shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, sure. But it can't do too much harm to have a little fun, right?" "Sigh… maybe bringing you along wasn't such a good idea." "Aw c'mon don't say that! I bet you enjoyed my company." Vencer hit Victoria's head with a chop, "Keep walking. We don't have time to play around anymore. Now that Kiliano isn't with us, I'll have to stay much more alert during our travels… So don't distract me with your nonsensical banter." Victoria slouched, "Yeah, yeah… whatever dude." And the two of them continued their journey to Sumerst's capital.
Farther west, on the same path they had taken, Kiliano and his new master, Torrid, the Northern Sword God, officially started their training. "Come here boy." Torrid pointed to a pedestal in the center of their training room. Kiliano walked onto it and stood there waiting. Torrid walked to the side of the room and grabbed two wooden swords. He walked back to Kiliano and handed him one, "Defend yourself for one hundred consecutive strikes. Got it?" "W-what!? A hundred… are you sure about this?" "The purpose is for you to push yourself. There's no point if you're gonna be able to do it on your first try." Suddenly without any warning, Torrid swung his sword, hitting Kilano on the right side of his ribs. "Gyah!" He staggered, and slouched down. But Torrid continued swinging. Smacking Kiliano dozens of times all over his body. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Kiliano gritted his teeth, and opened his eyes. Twongg! After over eighty strikes to his body, Kiliano managed to block one of Torrid's swings. Twong, twong, twong, thwack! Although he managed to block a few strikes, Torrid was still too fast.
After one hundred swings, Kiliano hopped off the pedestal, landing on his feet and promptly falling to the floor, gasping for air. Torrid sighed, "Sigh… Next time, I won't allow you to wear clothes. Take a five minute break, and we'll continue again." Torrid walked over to the end of the room and grabbed a wooden bottle filled with water. Kiliano stood back up, still gasping for air. He took his shirt off, revealing dozens of bruises, "Jeez. Try holding back a little… please?" Torrid scoffed, "Absolutely not. I will not allow you to grow soft whilst living here. Your goal is to kill Shyzen, so I will not allow any weakness to grow within you…" He put the water back onto the floor and turned to face Kiliano, "...It's going to be hard… but try to stay strong. Everyone is counting on you." He smiled, and the mood in the room shifted ever so slightly. Kiliano grabbed his wooden sword and nodded, "Alright… Then let's continue, master!"
Epilogue,
Over hills, and through a large valley, the cries of men roared. Swords clashed together, and painful cries rang out. Corpses laid waste to the rugged dirt, and blood stained the dying grass. Two men clashed swords, both of them gritting their teeth while eyeing each other down. "Grah, die!" Their swords slid off each other. But they swung once more, clashing with a loud, tshang! But then, out of nowhere, the atmosphere completely changed. The sky turned dark, and a suffocating aura filled the air, "FALL!" Suddenly, a massive pressure pulled everyone on the battlefield to the ground and on their hands and knees. The two men who had been fighting looked beyond the battleground. One man stood before them. A man wearing piercing black metal armor, golden eyes, and pure white hair. It was The God Of Gods, Shyzenkraum.