VI

  Flashback to 15 years ago, in a Realm across the Cosmos.

  Monivas Eldandril, wife of the Chosen Divine Emperor, Konriel Eldandril, takes her newborn baby into her hands after he wakes her up for the third time that night. He wouldn’t stop crying, and she knew he wasn’t hungry, as she didn’t feel the instinct to feed him. She assumed something was wrong with him, and she hoped it wasn’t some sort of sickness that lingered in his body. She called for her servant and requested that she go summon the Healer with the highest Resonance in the Palace. She confirmed her request and swiftly left the room.

  Ever since little Kazimoriel was born 3 months ago, he would have days and nights where he couldn’t rest, he would just cry for hours, until she managed to get him to sleep. She was tired and concerned, but sometimes newborns couldn’t help it. Her other 8 children before Kazimoriel were all different, but none have been as unsettled as him.

  Her servant returned with a Healer, to which Monivas quickly analyzed, and saw her Resonance was nearing 400, currently at 388, which was decent enough for this, she hoped. Monivas explained, “My little Kazimoriel is too unsettled. He cries often and doesn’t seem to be happy. He only is able to smile occasionally at my illusions, but never laugh, even a little giggle never slips through.”

  The Healer nodded, and reached out to take him into her arms. She performed Skill Ability, [ Cure Ailment ], and nothing appeared. She then decided to look deeper, and performed another Skill Ability, [ Life Sense ], and everything seemed to be normal. Puzzled by this, she decided to test one more ability, although the cooldown was long, she felt it was necessary for the Young Master. She started to cast [ Eyes of the Healer ], and her eyes blossomed a bright green, as she quickly started looking deep into the baby. Starting from the head, everything looked fine, his brain was unaffected, his heart pumped normally, his lungs were working correctly.

  She continued down and then stopped at his abdominal area. There was inflammation and she felt the pain radiating off the area. She looked deeper, and realized it was his mana core. His mana core was inflamed and causing the boy pain. She quickly sent a soothing wave of life mana, and the inflammation disappeared, and little Kazimoriel quieted down, falling asleep almost immediately.

  Monivas, unexpecting such a quick solution, joy filling her heart, quickly asked the Healer, “What was wrong with him? What was causing his ailment? Was it a sickness?”

  The Healer bowed slightly, confused, explained the situation, “The Young Master’s mana core was causing him pain, as it was inflamed. I healed the inflammation, but I recommend keeping an eye on him. If he begins crying and it’s not his time for food or to relieve himself, call for a Healer, and tell them to heal the area around his mana core, if it is not I who is available.”

  Monivas, nodded, confusion settling in, but her worried state vanished, glad that they found her son’s issue.

  ? ? ?

  Konriel Eldandril was summoned by one of the Oracles. He was notified by them around a year ago, that a [ Divine Vision ] was appearing, and that when they were able to piece it together, they would reveal it to him.

  He was deeply unsettled, as these usually meant something catastrophic was lurking in the future. The last time this has happened, the Vision spoke of invading Dragonwood Titans, from a neighboring Realm, Jelonda, who were attempting to conquer the nearby Realms to form an Empire to ascend their Realm into the next Stratum. When they stepped into Cordia, the Realm that Konriel was the Emperor of, they quickly mobilized and went on the offensive. It took over a decade to rid them from his Realm, but the scars were made. Over three-fourths of his population perished, and cities were dusted into the wind. Till this day, over two hundred years later, they were still rebuilding.

  Stepping into the Oracles Temple, Konriel sat with his legs folded beneath them before them and waited for them to recite the words of the [ Divine Vision ]. The runes all around the room glowed gold, and the Head Oracle began reciting:

  The Father, who sits on his throne, built on the suffering of his people, unable to deny the Divine Power of the one who wields it. In the twilight of his time, he shall not meet his fate, but his consequences. For his Son, shall Siphon his Father’s Divine, not in worship, but in retribution. The Heavens will remain silent, as peace shall be manifested, not from war, but from the tyranny that disrupted it. The Siphoner of Realms will consume the corruption ailing both his home, and his soul.

  After reciting the Vision, all the Oracles slumped unconsciously, being drained of all their mana to bring the prophecy of the future.

  Konriel sat there, taken aback by what was revealed. He sat there, stunned, unable to process the Vision presented to him. His own son will bring his demise? Which one would it be? Also, was he really a tyrant? He felt as if he guided his people well, always treating those who deserved it. He stood up in a daze, and walked back to the throne room and sat upon his throne, meditating on what was revealed to him.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  He decided from this moment on, he will have no more children, and he will supervise his sons. Those who aren’t present completing their own tasks, he will send his own reconnaissance group to track them and report everything they are up to. But in his mind, surely it couldn’t have been his little Kazimoriel, as the incoming Vision took over a year to manifest. But he was a baby and he would be able to keep a close eye on him anyways.

  Later on that night, he revealed to his wife about the Vision, and his thoughts. She was deeply troubled by the revelation, but as the mother to her children, she couldn’t see any fault in them. From then on in the weeks to come, Konriel noticed his wife beginning to separate herself from him. It wasn’t a complete shut out, but that flame that used to be between them was slowly diminishing.

  ? ? ?

  Around a year later, little Kazimoriel was stumbling around unsteadily around the throne room, still trying to get his balance under control. His mother watched him with love and curiosity, wondering if he will be finally able to walk steadily today. His father watched him with amusement, grinning at his son trying to get it right.

  Kazimoriel lost his balance and fell on the ground, his mother quickly cushioning his fall with her mana. He giggled and rolled around, enjoying the softness of the mana, like he always did. The servant then walked up, prompted by Monivas, bringing the basket full of toys for him. He clapped excitedly, eagerly waiting for his play time.

  The view warmed Konriel’s heart, but that Vision still bothered him to this day. There wasn’t a day that he didn’t think about it. So far, all of his sons have been normal, with no signs of corruption. But he wouldn’t loosen up his worry, as this Vision might take place today or in thousands of years. That was the problem with Celestials like him and his family.

  They already had unusually long lifespans, ranging from a thousand years to a quite a few thousand. And when one’s Resonance reached a certain point, aging slows down a lot. His long golden white hair didn’t have a single dark gray hair. His wife even with her dark purple hair, was the same color as the day he met her almost a thousand years ago. It was curious to him, as to why his little Kazimoriel had brilliant silver hair, almost bordering on white. Maybe he will have some kind of metal affinity? All his children had their own elements they specialized in, and only his eldest daughter managed to follow in his footsteps, developing the Divine affinity.

  At the thoughts of his children and his Divine affinity, he couldn’t stop the mana that was leaking out of him. This usually happened whenever his emotions were running wild. Most people who were below 100 Resonance would fall unconscious when coming in contact with his Divine mana leaking out, this is why he almost never visited the main cities. He was hoping for the moment he reached the Gold stage, which was near, as his Resonance was only about fifty away from 500, that the Vision might not become a concern.

  There was suddenly a violent shriek and crying from Kazimoriel, as the servant started to take away his toys from him. It was time to feed the little child, so the servant packed away his toys and got up, walking away from them. Konriel felt a little pinch in his mana, which was a new sensation for him, almost like a bug bite.

  What he didn’t see, was that Kazimoriel’s eyes glowed a bright silver. He then shrieked again, pointing at the servant, to give his toys back. And from his finger, a lightning bolt, made from Divine mana, struck the servant, knocking her out. Kazimoriel passed out, from the exertion and pain of absorbing so much mana while also channeling it into an attack.

  Konriel and Monivas stood there, bewildered at the scene before them. As they blinked and processed what happened, the two of them experienced two different emotions. Monivas was terrified. Konriel was outraged. Monivas was terrified for Kazimoriel’s wellbeing, and also terrified at what Konriel was going to do to their son, to her son.

  Konriel’s outrage exploded from him, his overbearing mana filling the room, as the final piece to his puzzle fell into place. He could prevent the Vision from coming to light. He quickly casted a Skill Ability, overcome by his madness to prevent his demise, [ Smite of the Heavens ]. Divine mana exploded from his hands, rushing towards Kazimoriel. As it was about to strike him, his mana was deflected to the side, crashing into a white marble pillar.

  Monivas casted [ Arcane Veil ], a defensive barrier that reflected all spells. In Konriel’s shock, she quickly cast another Skill Ability [ Veil Mirror ], which caused the target to see only themselves and disorient them by surrounding them in a crystal mirror.

  Quickly grabbing the unconscious Kazimoriel, Monivas knew she had around a minute before Konriel would be able to break free from her illusion. She dashed through the palace towards her own private quarters, where she called for her head servant, requesting her to get her team together urgently, as they needed to leave now. The servant crushed the pendant that would alert the others of an urgent matter, allowing them to warp to the pendant’s location.

  Konriel breaks out of his prison of illusion, and reorients himself with his surroundings. His golden eyes were now turning a goldish-orange and flaked with black specks, bloodshot as anger seethed out of him. His anger caused the tension to rise in his throne room, making the damaged pillar crumble. He scans around him, and flies toward his wife’s quarters, as he knew she would be in there.

  Monivas’s team arrives moments before Konriel. It was composed of three people, Walker of the Cosmos, known as Rienreva; Eyes of the Shadow, known as Dammi; and Hammer of the Sacred Flame, known as Phonve. All of their Resonance were approaching 500, becoming Gold, but they were roughly 50 - 75 tiers off. This was the party that Monivas began with long ago, and she never left them behind, as they shared a bond that nothing could split. Whenever they needed each other, they were there, just like right now.

  Konriel approached the building, and Monivas prepared one of her Ultimate Abilities, [ Veiled Dimension ]. Once Konriel blew her door open, she hit him with the Ability, causing him to disappear into her prepared Dimension, her eyes flashing a vibrant purple color, basking the room in purple light. She had minutes to spare until he blasted his way through the Dimension, so she explained to her party,

  “Sorry for the last minute call, my friends, but I am in a dire situation. My husband is trying to kill little Kazimoriel because of some Vision that one of his sons will use his Divine affinity against him and end his existence. He managed to absorb some of my husband’s mana, and that put Konriel into a state of madness. Rienreva, please summon a gateway to another Realm, far away from here, so I may be able to give my little Kazimoriel a chance at life.”

  Rienreva nodded solemnly and began her ritual. Within moments, a light blue mana gateway appeared, an oval shaped tear through the Cosmos. Seeing the other side, it was filled with a forest of trees and a town in the distance. Monivas, with a slight moment of hesitation, stepped into the gateway between Realms.