***

The South. Once a large expanse of land colored with lush, rolling green forests, crystalline rivers that dug valleys between lifeless canyons, or the seemingly endless grains of gold that dune and dipped in the continent's largest desert.

It was a vast land that had sheltered life for countless generation.

That was until roughly twenty years ago, when a large scale drought began to redraw an increasing portion of the map with blinding color of the golden sand and brought ruin to the generations of balance.

Starting from continental tip that shares borders with the southern seas, drought had spread to adjacent lands that left no vegetation alive.

Animals were forced to flee their homes due to lack of water and too much heat, and they began to venture further north in search of new habitats. However, such sudden immigration offset the established ecosystem in their destination. Competition drastically heightened over hastily dwindling resources, resulting to cascades of effects that complicated survival to become harsher than ever. And yet, the drought only pushed further north, west, and east, leaving lifeless lands in its wake.

What was strange though, was how lands that did not receive rainfall for mere years soon cracked with audible dryness then soon crumbled to golden dust, as if something else entirely was causing the drought more than just a natural order of balance.

By this time, numerous southern nations were highly aware of this disaster spreading and it worried them a great deal. However, the phenomenon was as mysterious of the world's laws itself. As much as they had little idea why no rain fell for the past decade, present science also had little clue as to why the dry earth was crumbling into dust.

Studies were conducted about the matter, but it bore no significant discoveries as questions only increased instead. One of the scholars commented how their findings were "as if life is being eaten away". The idea was seconded by many, for the absence of water was causing so much destruction as if life was just basic need for this disaster.

Thus, the mysterious phenomenon was came to be known as, 'World Eater', a term that would linger in history far longer than expectations.

-

After twenty years, the largest desert of the south had nearly doubled in size, enough to engulf the most celebrated city of the continent, Manara the city of dreams.

However, its inhabitants did not mind at all.

Under the cover of crackling dark clouds that spewed blue webs of lightning flashes, the city of Manara was absolutely still. Not a single fire flickered inside the homes nor any signs of movements besides the rap of wind against the rattling roofs could be observed in the streets, creating a tragically desolate scene no different than a dead city's.

However, Manara is not a dead city. Every home housed a number of men, just that, these men were neither dead nor alive. They were exactly the League of Nation's troops that did not return, animated from the dead to serve a single purpose, to be puppets of their animator.

At the center of the city, right where the infamous Coliseum, Hominium, once stood, a towering infrastructure stood with domineering aloofness. Made of glossy black material, the slim tower blended well with the night but also became blindingly bright as it reflected every flash of lightning. This structure was extremely slim, no wider than five meters in diameter, and yet it stood hundreds of meters high, even a craning neck from the ground up would not see its roof. It defied logic in architecture alone.

Meanwhile, at the top of that tower, a lone figure stood overlooking the still city down below, watching the darkness that covered every home. Dark clouds fogged its way under him, but he was not bothered in the least of it obscuring his vision. Even the constant flares of brightness that the tower rappedly gave off was of no concern. With his glowing golden eyes, he peered down low from the high up with piercing clarity that surpasses imagination. Yet his gaze was self-mocking.

He was conflicted.

Not for what he did to this city, he was pretty proud of that, but of his current perspective.

He hated them, those beings that overbearingly looked down from up high, as if their mere vantage point gave them the right to be superior. So what?

And yet, here I am. How preposterous.

His self-reprimanding thoughts drew dry chuckles that reverberated in the strangely quiet platform.

The tower he stood on, was not exactly a tower. It resembled one, but one great different was the roof, or the lack of thereof. Rather than a tower, the term 'column' would be more suitable.

On the platform he stood on, runes upon runes were intricately drawn to form prism of colors arching into a magic circle. They gave off a surreal glow, and the circle of light hummed into a singsong of power, one that gave chill to an unworthy that drew near.

The display of beautifully dancing lights contrasted greatly against the maelstrom of darkness that of its surrounding. And the man standing by the edge only made the image stranger. With his ragged golden eyes, and tattered robe flapped harshly with the wind, occasionally hinting fleshless skeleton underneath, the 'man' dealt horror unto any beholder's eyes.

He sighed momentarily then turned his back from the edge and proceeded towards the platform's center. There, floating serenely, was a crystal clear cube, bound by the dazzling magic circle beneath it. The cube floated in fiery defiance, evident with the constant billows of smoke or streaks of fire aiming for the dark robed man.

Nonetheless, the man ignored the spiteful attempt of harming him and casually turned the cube. With its six sides, different images were flashing. One of them showed a place not of this world, another showed a scene of the past, one more that of a future's. However, there was one unlike the others. The image in this side was faint and gritting, like a long lost memory that refused to be remembered. It was too blurred to make anything out of the cascading colors it was showing.

The man looked at that particular side of the cube, which, even after a decade, had always remained as a stubborn fog he could not clear. It was supposed to keep watch over 'her', the woman who would tear the sky asunder and make his long wish come true.

"Milord." A voice whispered by.

The man did not bother to face the new arrival as he spoke, 'Do tell.'

"We have found 'her'."

This rather short rapport lacked the respect as one would expect from a mere servant to his lord, but the news was so critical the dark robed man did not stop to fancy propriety.

'Are you absolutely certain? Where is she?' His voice resounded in the servant's mind with impatience, excitement, glee, doubt, and hinted with fear.

The servant was confused but instantly judged to contain his curiosity in fright of what this inquisitive nature of his always brought. "Yes, she is northwest from here, a several thousand kilometers away into what the humans call Yenoa Academy."

The dark robed man did not waste more time and hastily manipulated the crystal cube to move its 'eyes' to his servant's reported location.

With thunder in his mind and titanic quakes in his heart, the man's bony fingers slightly trembled as it twiddled his proud creation. Then, he stopped.

His heart trembled once more as he spotted a group in the middle of a forest battling hordes of mutant beings. His eyes decidedly glanced away from the bloodbath as it focused on the woman standing behind, against the cliff.

In his eyes, he saw a woman surrounded by a ring of golden light. She was definitely as much as the goddess he imagined. No, even more. With a breathtaking face molded by her divine soul, a figure of abundant praise meant to step over creation, hair braided into a bundled dark waves of dreams and fantasies, she was absolutely perfect in all aspects of his judgement.

Pity, her eyes were stolen. He thought. No matter, I will gift mine in loyalty.

Despite the bones without of skin, a revering twinkle in his eyes were enough to give an impression of a 'smile'. The servant behind him had never seen his master this elated, but his fear only increased. It was all he could do but maintain his wavering silence on what the near future had in devise for him.

'You had done well.' The bony figure spoke in the servant's mind, startling the latter. 'And as I had promised, I will set your sister free.'

The servant could not help but rejoice. "Thank you for your kindness!"

'However-" The bony man continued, leaving the servant in abated breath. '-Let me warn you that once she sets out under the sun, she will be burnt to ashes.'

Isn't that no different than imprisonment!!

The servant was enraged. It was like being shown heaven only to reach for it and find it as just another illusion in his hell.

But he kept the fury tightly clasped in his heart. Fighting the master never turned out good. His several nightmares brought by the ten years he had known him would prove testament to that. However, for the sake of his sister, he gambled in his master's good impressions in chances for more information.

"May I ask, why it would be as such?" His voice trembled with conviction.

'Hmm, because a shard of that god's soul was never meant to see the light.' The man replied ruefully, finding joy in trampling his servant into trepidation. 'Enough of this. I must make haste for her sake... You continue the march north, finish securing the eastern borders, and start preparation for naval warfare.

The servant felt the sudden responsibilities weigh heavily on his back. "Yes, Milord."

'And before you go, let me remind you again. Sirius, I am watching you.'

He only nodded once, fully aware what his lord said... and did not say, before jumping away from the platform and landing on a winged beast then caressed its furred neck to spur it into flying in his wishes. As he absently did, Sirius chanted strings of curses in his head, swearing that someday, one day, he would ruin that pieces of bones into wishing to be grounded into dust, dead and irrevocably so.

Yes, and maybe he could start by ruining his plans of amassing an army, make the opposing nations win by rigging the war to tip in their favor. Or shatter that crystal cube and free the being sealed inside, make the bony man feel its wrath. Or better yet, kill that woman his lord viewed with disgusting reverence, make him feel the despair he remorselessly brought to the world that orphaned unknowing children like Sirius and his sister.

Sirius was quite sure that any of these would make those bones rattle with rage, and the thought brought placid joy to his soul.

Now, if only any of these could spare his sister from her gruesome fate...

***

I bit my lower lip to distract my mind. As we drew nearer to the Academy, my anxiety only increased along with amplifying dread I was sensing. I trudged forward with unwilling steps while my arms stiffly cradled the sleeping kid in protective embrace. He felt comfortingly warm, and I drowned myself in this comfort to counter the cold running down my spine.

The group progressed onward swifter than our initial experience. Cautious tension still filled us, but it seemed I was the only restless one instead. Oh the irony, they must be thinking the same line of thought I had when we just started, a thinking like how ridiculous I am being.

I inhaled a deep breath through my mouth and slowly let it out as a humorless chuckle.

True, I was being ridiculous. We soon arrived at the Academy, but there was nothing worth being scared over. The fifty meter tall rectangular wall still stood proudly, undamaged and defensively surrounding the five buildings of the Academy.

There was no gate leading in as usual. The walls was built to bar any form of foreign entry, but, at the same time, it was an all-welcoming entrance for known identities. Anything that had been inside could go in and out like there were no walls to begin with, while the unknown strays that tried to wander in were blocked without exception.

Besides this ID-ing process, the defensive system of the wall also had a mirror function. That was to say, everything done to the walls would be reflected back in equal force. Kick it, and you'll get kicked back. It was quite impressive.

However, the most important of all about it was how the system could sustain itself autonomously. Borrowing strength from its environment, the mechanism was programmed to be kept alive by mana that were free flowing around it. The boundless energy scattered about were captured and conscripted to keep the whole system working. It was similar to how solar energy worked, except that not only sunlight, but the wind, the forest, and the underground were its infinite battery charger.

This defense mechanism was one of the Academy's pride with all its perplexing glory. However, there were two major flaws that even a passerby would notice.

One was aerial vulnerability. As simple as that sounded, the whole area above the school was completely open. The system only covered the walls, and the walls don't encompass the skies, so a simple arrow would hit the ground as long as it didn't hit the fifty meter high walls. This led me to wonder what in the world was the creator's priority, definitely not impregnable defense. With all the efforts in those walls, why was the sky left alone like an invitation? It was either they were being lazy, or there were other factors involved. The latter was obviously the reason but... why all the complications for a school.

Whatever the reason, it was probably connected to the second flaw which was, as long as a person knew how some sort of warping magic, then the walls were practically nonexistent. Teleport in and infiltration was done and over with. It was so obvious, I wondered why all the effort to make indestructible walls. Decoration? A statement? Bored?

Either way, whatever these mysteries implied, it was not my business... just that, with me being paranoid right now, the seemingly patch works in the Academy was making me edgy. It felt like I was missing something that was already plattered in front of me. This kind of feeling only increased my wariness, yet I could only ground my teeth because there really was nothing I could do but be endlessly suspicious. My stress level was increasing.

Passing through the walls, we entered the Academy. We were in the courtyard where the initial gathering of five schools took place. It was empty and lifeless, a great contrast compared to the previous lauding of youthful atmosphere. With all the students scattered in the western forest, it was only natural that no one would be strolling around here. But then again, I was being paranoid so this stillness just fueled my anxiety.

"We have to find an instructor. Surely, there are some that remained." Yulan took the initiative and strove towards the main building.

We all followed him silently. Our footfalls echoed strangely on the desolate courtyard. Even the fountain shooting water up did not feel noisy despite the area's silence.

Suspicious. So suspicious.

I meant, it was already around nine o'clock. The level 10s might be in the forest, but lower leveled students of Yenoa Academy should have had stayed here and were having their daily lectures.

Should be, but even extending my hearing towards the eastern wall, my ears did not catch a single rustle of movement.

That was until sudden steps closed on us from south east. I swiftly faced it along with a backstep.

"Vitaly? What now-"

"Ssh!" I hissed.

The figure slowed down and closed on us with humane pace, very unlike its previously monstrous sprint. "You... what are you doing here!" Not a question but a severe reprimand.

I didn't recognize his voice, but judging from his harsh, low baritone, the figure was undoubtedly a male no younger than forty.

"Sir Xanathos." Yulan bowed in reverence. "We had come back because-", he briefly pointed at my arms, "-we found... a child in the forest and concluded that we must inform instructors about it."

Yulan was very polite and humble in his speech. This Xanathos must be pretty high up in the social ladder.

Xanathos looked at my arms then suddenly moved to snatch the kid. I hesitated... but ultimately surrendered him.

It was for the best.

The kid immediately woke with a start and began wailing desperately. His frail arms reached out for me as he struggled futily in that person's arms. My heart can't help but twitched at the scene and thoughts of snatching him back quickly crossed my mind. However, I clenched my hands to a fist and steadfastly kept them rigidly clasped on my chest in numbing embrace. It was for the best.

"I will take care of him for the time being. Now, scram and finish your little test!"

"E-excuse me! What will happen to him now?" I asked, shocking myself. So I was actually concerned over a nameless stranger.

Xanathos looked my way. He did not say a word, and I couldn't make out his thoughts without hearing his tone. Unable to see his face unexpectedly frustrated me this time more than being blind over the last few years. I thought I was over this regret and had already moved on...

"What is it?" I kept my irritation at bay and stood my ground. The guy was very unnerving as he kept his silence looking down on me.

His muscular and overbearingly huge build dwarfed my petite frame. Even though size never bothered me, what with all my morning jogs and eating early appetizers, this man actually made me feel small, frightened.

Then suddenly, he laughed. He laughed so loudly it made waves after waves of echoes to assault my ears. His attitude made me reel in annoyance, but something clicked inside my head.

I know this guy. Xanathos? That was a false name. But not only his name was false, his physique and his voice were also false. This guy...

There was one thing I recognized as true. The way he laughed was something etched into my memory. I could never forget that laughter every single time 'he' succeeded in his experiments, or when he failed and saw me spasming in pain, or when evil thoughts bubbled in that demonic head.

Right, this guy. Oh, my dear, Master. "Wu-Wuen... Wuen Dreik...?"

I don't want to believe this.

***

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