“These are not even the worst news,” Licinia said, making Alex tense up. He turned to her, concern etched on his face, and braced himself for what was coming next.

“You need to understand that this information must not leave the walls of this room, as it is only known to a select few high-ranking officers,” Licinia said, her expression one of complete seriousness, and seeing Alex nod his head, she continued.

“Grand Arcanum Elara has been replaced by one of the three Advisors, her status unknown,” Licinia said, and he could not help but feel like he was punched in the gut.

Alex did not need an explanation to understand that her replacement could only mean that either she was dead or no longer capable of fulfilling her duties, meaning near dead.

In both scenarios, it was terrible news for him since Alex needed Lady Elara to deal with Vykan Zeld so he could safely go and collect the sword beneath his palace and eventually get his own sword back, but if she was gone, then he was in deep trouble.

Alex only had one year to get the sword, and failing to meet the challenge’s requirements would mean losing his legacy sword, which was a scary thought, to say the least.

“What is the situation of the other two empires?” Alex asked after taking a moment to get comfortable with the bad news.

“The number of mutated ones is growing rapidly in the Cultivator domain, and although the Seven Peaks have recognized the threat and are working to eradicate them, without addressing the source, they are simply locked in a stalemate.”

“As for the plague of Rust in the Empire of Iron, it has gotten worse in the last few days, as not only is it rapidly growing with each passing day, but now it is also affecting people’s minds, making them forget or lose conciseness,”

“These symptoms are also not limited to machine spirits but everyone whose bodies are augmented with technology past a certain extent.”

“There are also speculations that it would not be long before people began to lose their minds to the disease, going berserk, and since they are unable to find a cure besides erasing the affected parts and replacing them and if something of such nature happens, it would bring untold chaos to the Iron Empire,”

“The same holds true for the Cultivator Domain because if things continue on their current path, they will face significant suffering.”

“We are heading into dark, dark times,” Licinia said, a grim expression settling on her face, her emotional turmoil relating in her monstres Aura of Ruler bubbling out.

“We are in dark times, but as they say, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel,” Alex said, attempting to lift the heavy mood.

Alex understood her anger, especially when it seemed that someone lurking in the shadows coordinated and orchestrated all these events.

Alex took a moment to think about what he was going to do now since the whereabouts of Grand Arcanum Elara were unknown. He knew he could not wait around for good news since he only had one more year before the challenge’s deadline.

Alex knew that Lady Elara might be dead or alive, but since he could not approach her, he would not be able to get her help, so he needed an alternative to get the sword.

Alex was amidst considering his available options when suddenly his mind went blank. The memory of his last moments with Zahra flashed through his mind, accompanied by the soothing echo of her voice.

“Only if we had met a bit sooner,” The voice echoed, conveying emotions of loss and distress, a foreign sensation to Alex since he had no personal feelings for Zahra.

‘I need to find a solution for these flashbacks as they are getting stronger every time,’ Alex thought, feeling irritated.

“Licinia, you have my thanks for your help,” Alex said, and after a short conversation, the duo went on their way.

Once Licinia left, Alex sat down and began to brainstorm what he could do to achieve his goals, and since he only had a year’s worth of time, he knew that he could not just try every other option.

The only option that came to mind was winning at least two champion games using the first wish to confirm the current condition and whereabouts of Grand Arcanum Elara.

If Lady Elara was fine and could be contacted, he would be back on track, but if she was not, he needed to find another valuable weapon since he could not infiltrate the castle of a Monarch without getting caught by him.

Alex also still needed to acquire the last piece of the entry token, but acquiring it was only a matter of visiting the Kryssura Naga King who held it, and even though he was a pseudo Elemental Ruler, he would pose a little issue for him.

The list of things that he needed to do also included the two objectives of the Epochal Trial, but since they were related to the ongoing war with the Skaven, he was not worried about completing them in time.

Now, with his plans decided, Alex decided to first visit the command building to make an excuse for his absence and extend his leave for one more day. Once that was done, he left for the Luminous Abyss.

—————

Alex was walking through the Luminous Abyss, a jungle where the trees were twisted and gnarled, their trunks and branches contorted into strange shapes.

Small, irregular holes dotted their surfaces, from which a white mist flowed out, drifting silently through the forest like an ethereal veil, shrouding the surroundings in a ghostly haze.

While it appeared harmless, the mist was deadly even to Peak-stage elementalists since breathing it even a few minutes could induce vivid hallucinations, making victims pursue their deepest desires and dreams as if they were finally achieving them.

In reality, their bodies would gradually succumb to the effects, and their vitality would sap away in a slow, silent death.

After several minutes of walking, Alex arrived at a clearing devoid of trees, permeated with a thick, miasmic red fog that concealed a large gaping hole that descended into the earth.

The passage below twisted and turned, branching into numerous paths with walls that seemed to have been scorched and melted into dark, irregular shapes.

Alex leaped into the hole, navigating the winding passages with the aid of his void sense, and moments later, he landed in a vast chamber.

The chamber stretched nearly two hundred meters in every direction, illuminated by a pervasive crimson glow emanating from a jagged stone at its center shrouded in a dense veil of pure Destruction Mana.

This was a piece of Ragnarite, a rare and highly coveted material, yet it remained here despite it being known to many because this was the lair of Zarathrax, the Omenborn.

Alex’s gaze met the figure emerging from the veil of destructive energy, a towering man, nearly three meters tall, with skin as pale as snow, eyes darkened with glowing crimson pupils, and long, flowing white hair, including a full beard.

He wore black pants and a long overcoat with a wide collar that draped over his shoulders, crafted from the hide of a draconic creature, with armor covering his shoulders, waist, gloves, and chest, with each gleaming with a dark, menacing sheen.

In his right hand, Zarathrax wielded a heavy shield with a pointed end, pitch dark in appearance and tinged with crimson. In his left, he held a great sword of similar design, its length extraordinary even for his imposing stature.

The immense aura radiating from Zarathrax was palpable, causing Alex to briefly consider fighting him. However, he decided against it, not due to a lack of confidence, but because it was unnecessary to kill the creature.

“This is a Destrume fruit, capable of purifying your bloodline and enhancing your destruction elemental talent,” Alex said as he took out a small, pitch-dark fruit the size of an orange pulsating with crimson veins.

“It could be yours in exchange for a small, broken item collecting dust in your possession,” Alex continued, expecting a quick response, and while he got a response, it was not what he was expecting.

Without a word, Zarathrax vanished from his previous position and appeared before Alex, swinging his great sword in a swift, lethal arc aimed at cleaving him in half.

Alex sidestepped the slash, narrowly avoiding the blade, and without a moment’s delay, stopped the incoming shield with his left hand while winding his right arm back.

Mana flowed through every fiber of his arm, his muscles swelling with force before they contracted, and with a thundering boom, he punched the shield, sending Zarathrax reeling back, crashing through one of the stone pillars that held the ceiling in place.

“I wanted to burn off my anger on the Skaven, but I guess I would have to do with you,” Alex said as he took his sword out of the space ring.