Blackout Ascension: Return of Primordial Heir-Chapter 69: First Words

Soltheia refused to stop, her hands burning with golden green light, pushing the magic deep into Luna’s chest. The silver-haired boy was unresponsive. Blood stained his pale face.

"Soltheia, you are draining your core," Catherine warned, placing a gentle hand on her sister’s shoulder. "You have to stop. He is stable."

"He is not stable!" Soltheia snapped, tears cutting clean lines through the dirt on her cheeks. "His pulse is barely there. The cosmic energy shredded his nerves. If I stop pushing water mana into his heart, it will stop beating."

Velanor knelt beside her, placing his rough, callused hand over hers. "Princess. Look at him. He is breathing."

Soltheia blinked, her vision blurry. She looked down. Luna’s chest was rising and falling in a slow, shallow rhythm. It wasn’t perfect, but he was alive. She let out a ragged sob, dropping her glowing hands. She collapsed forward, resting her forehead against his chest.

Kairos stood near the edge of the stone wall. He sheathed Asteria. His arms felt incredibly heavy. The adrenaline from the Temporal Acceleration was gone, leaving his muscles aching and hollow.

He looked down at the canyon. The cracks in the dam were leaking shining blue water at an alarming rate. The Great Reservoir was lower than it had been an hour ago.

Ignis walked up beside him, leaning on his iron sword. The royal looked up at the night sky. "Do you feel that, village boy?"

Kairos nodded slowly. "The air is thin."

"It is not just thin," Ignis corrected him, holding up his bare hand. He snapped his fingers. Usually, a bright orange flame would appear. This time, only a small, pathetic spark flickered for a second before dying out in the wind. "The mana is halved. The whole continent just lost half its magic."

Terravarous joined them, his armor clanking loudly. "The dam didn’t fall, but the Herald accomplished its mission. They crippled us. Every mage in the world just became fifty percent weaker."

They didn’t have time to mourn the lost magic. They had to move. Catherine ordered the surviving Sylphyros archers to construct a makeshift stretcher from broken spear shafts and torn cloaks. Velanor and Terravarous gently lifted Luna onto the canvas. The Night Emperor looked fragile, stripped of his usual swagger.

"We need to get him to the High Healers in Solaris," Velanor said, adjusting the wooden poles on his shoulder. "My mountain paths are too rough for a carriage, and Sylphyros is too far away. Solaris is the closest option we have."

Catherine nodded in agreement. She looked at Kairos. "I will return to the forest. I need to purge the rest of the corrupt nobles from my court before the next attack. Soltheia will go with you to keep Luna stabilized on the road." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"I have to go back to the sky," Velanor sighed, looking toward the jagged peaks of his home. "The elders saw the aberrations, but with the mana dropping this low, they are going to panic. I need to keep the wind guards organized."

The Vanguard Generals were splitting up again, but this time, it felt different. They were seasoned commanders deploying to their respective fronts.

Kairos offered his hand to Velanor. "Keep the mountains safe, dirt boy."

Velanor gripped Kairos’ hand firmly. "Keep the idiot alive for me, Kairos."

Catherine gave her sister a tight, brief hug, then mounted a surviving wind horse. Velanor did the same. The two royals rode off in opposite directions, leaving Kairos, Ignis, Terravarous, and Soltheia to escort Luna back to the capital.

****

The journey back to Solaris was silent. The wind horses ran fast, but the air felt heavy and dead. Without the rich magic in the atmosphere, the world just seemed a little grayer.

When they finally passed through the tall iron gates of the Solaris Palace, it was late morning.

The courtyard was a mess. Palace guards were running in every direction. Minor nobles were shouting at servants. The sudden drop in atmospheric mana had caused a continent wide panic. Hovering magical lanterns had fallen from the ceiling. Heating wards had failed. The comfortable, magical luxury of the Dawn Era was shattering.

High Healers rushed out to meet the carriage. They carefully took Luna’s stretcher, rushing the unconscious boy straight into the intensive care ward. Soltheia refused to leave his side, ignoring her own exhaustion as she followed them into the white halls.

"You three," a sharp voice called out.

King Raezon was marching down the marble stairs. He looked stressed, his amber eyes bloodshot. He looked at the blood and ash covering his nephews and Kairos.

"The magical grid is failing," the King said, skipping any polite greetings. "The Royal Astronomers are panicking. What happened at the Neutral Zone?"

"The Fallen sent a commander," Kairos replied, meeting the King’s angry gaze. "A Void Herald. It attacked the Great Dam. We killed it, but the dam cracked. The reservoir is leaking."

King Raezon cursed, dragging a hand down his face. "The council is already turning on each other. Half the lords want to surrender. They think the gods are punishing us. I have to go into that throne room and tell them our magic is permanently crippled."

"Then don’t tell them," a new voice echoed across the courtyard.

Seyana walked out from the shadow of the grand pillars. The Crown Princess of Solaris was dressed in sleek iron armor. A crimson cape waving from her shoulders, and a silver rapier was strapped firmly to her hip. She looked like a warrior queen.

"Seyana," King Raezon frowned. "What are you wearing? Get back inside. The council is demanding answers."

"Let them demand," Seyana said, stepping up to stand beside Kairos. "The council is full of cowards and corrupted traitors. We are not playing politics anymore, Father. The Great War is here. If we leave the military decisions to a room full of fat merchants arguing over gold, Solaris will burn."

King Raezon stared at his daughter in shock. "You cannot just bypass the Council of Lords. It is against the kingdom’s ancient laws."

"The Dawn Era is over," Seyana declared, her amber eyes burning with unbreakable authority. "The old laws do not matter when the sky is falling. I am the Crown Princess. Effective immediately, I am taking direct command of the Solaris military."

Ignis grinned, leaning on his sword. "I like this new look, cousin."

The King looked at Seyana, then looked at the three battered Vanguard Generals standing behind her. He saw the resolve in their eyes. They had fought the dark and won. The old men in the council room had only ever fought with words.

King Raezon slowly let out a breath. He just nodded. "The crown is a heavy burden, Seyana. Do not let it crush you."

"I won’t," Seyana promised. She turned to Kairos. "Are you with me, Vanguard?"

"Until the end," Kairos swore, a gentle smile spreading over his lips.

****

Deep in the dark mountains at the edge of the continent, the shadows were moving.

The sky was blocked out by a rumbling storm of toxic black mist. The ground was made of corrupted obsidian. No animals lived here. It was a dead wasteland.

At the very center of the jagged mountains, a bottomless chasm tore right through the earth.

For thousands of years, the chasm had been quiet. The Locks had kept the void sealed.

But today, the ancient chains were rusting. The Great Dam was cracked. The world’s natural magic was slowly bleeding out. The cage was weak enough.

CRANKKKK!!

A sound echoed from the bottom of the black chasm. It was the slow sound of massive, ancient stone shifting. It sounded like a giant iron coffin lid being slowly pushed open.

Thick, boiling black mist erupted from the chasm, shooting hundreds of feet into the sky like a massive geyser. The ground rigorously shook, cracking the obsidian mountains in half.

Two eyes opened in absolute darkness.

They were massive. They glowed with a sick, terrifying, toxic purple light. They looked like twin dying stars burning in the endless void.

The Fallen Monarch was fully awake. He had waited for thousands of years in the crushing dark. He slowly tested the magical pressure of the world above him, feeling the weakness in the air. The mana was fading. The fragile mortal world was ripe.

The Monarch raised a massive hand, grabbing the edge of the jagged chasm. His pitch black armor absorbed all light, making him look like a hole in reality itself. He remembered the sting of the gods. He remembered the holy light that had banished him to the dark, and he knew exactly who was holding that light now. He had felt his Void Herald die.

"Kairos," the ancient god whispered.

The single word was not spoken loudly, but it carried across the continent. It lingered in the dark wind, vibrating through the shadows of every kingdom.

"Keep the silver sharp, little boy," the Fallen Monarch hissed into the dark. "I am coming to collect it."