Level Up: Voidwalker

Duke Eldric Montague, a revered figure in the empire, was pacing in the mansion's foyer Emperor Leonidas Thalassia gave him once he learned of Echo Isles's fate. He was waiting for the leader of the Silvershield Company.

The warriors had been dispatched to the island to put the Monster Wave down after being hired by the Emperor. Eldric knew they were one of the best mercenary bands on the Astoria Continent and only sold their services to the Thalassians.

The leader of the Silvershields was a famous Arch Master, which gave him confidence that she would find his son. While he was there, his wife Evelina joined him with a concerned expression, ''I wonder if they found Atlas. I knew we should have forced him to come with us.''

Eldric had to agree with his wife, but it was too late. He was about to reply, but his guard commander Rowan entered the foyer and bowed, ''My Lord, Lady Sylpha Silverscale has arrived and is approaching the entrance now.''

The commander opened the door wide, revealing a woman with silky orange hair and piercing green eyes. Eldric couldn't help but notice the finely crafted silver armor she wore, which offered both protection and agility.

Rumors of the renowned commander's beauty circulated among the nobles, but witnessing it firsthand surpassed all expectations. She walked up to him and greeted him, ''Duke Montagu. It's good to finally meet the Demon General of Thalassia.''

Eldric smiled while returning the greeting, ''It's good to meet you, Lady Sylpha; I hope you bring some good news.''

The woman nodded as the Montagu couple led her and a younger woman to the nearby sitting room, where they all sat down as Sylpha started speaking, ''We searched the island and wiped out the Monster Wave, which wasn't too hard, but the area cannot be used for a colony as the creatures inhabiting it are dangerous, and another wave could break out at any time.''

After speaking, she pulled out a map of Echo Isles, pointed toward the settlement, and continued, ''The town of Ironclad Pass was destroyed. No building was left standing; only rubble and debris remained after the Monster Wave's rampage.''

Eldric's face went white, but Sylpha pointed toward Wildwood City. ''But we found a trail that led to a group of survivors who escaped the town's fall and made their way through the Wailing Woods. We found all but one dead at the hands of Icefang Wolves.''

His eyes widened, but then the woman turned to the younger woman, who introduced herself, ''I'm Atalanta Silverscale, Captain of the First Company and the one who found the survivors' bodies.''

''Was my boy there!''

Atalanta shook her head, ''No, My Lord. We found no children's bodies, only two sets of tracks that led deeper into the Wailing Woods.''

'Atlas! He must be alive,' Eldric thought to himself as his wife Evelina inquired, ''Did you track them?''

The younger woman, who looked to be a more youthful version of Lady Sylpha, continued to speak, ''Yes, it was a young boy, according to our tracker, but the second set of footprints was completely different. It was a creature that seemed to be stalking Atlas.''

Eldric jumped up, his eyes filled with panic. Still, Sylpha interrupted, ''My daughter and the First Company followed the tracks to a village in the Frostmark Kingdom, but the trail died when slavers attacked, and most people managed to escape thanks to a young boy who fought alongside a girl.''

The older woman let the information sink in before she continued, ''A trader named Biric informed us that they were captured alongside the village guards.''

Upon hearing this, Evelina and Eldric visibly paled, their worry etched across their faces. However, Sylpha reassured them, her voice steady, "I will dispatch my second in command to Slavers Bay immediately to search for the boy. Can you provide us with a description of him?"

"He possesses snow-white hair and bears the semblance of an elf, although he does not belong to their kind. His complexion matches the fairness of his hair," Evelina replied.

With a nod, Sylpha absorbed the information, then inquired, "What affinities did he possess, and how old is he?"

Eldric thought for a second, ''He's very good with fire magic and can use ice to some extent,'' he said. ''Oh, and he's turning fourteen in a couple of weeks.''

''Okay,'' Sylpha said. ''The Silvershields will locate your son, but we cannot stop the rumors from spreading, so I suggest you hire my daughter and her company to protect the Montague Family until the empire knows you're innocent.''

Eldric nodded, ''I do not know why people would think we are trying to free ourselves of Atlas because he is adopted. But that has never mattered to me, Sylpha; he is my son through and through, and I'll never stop loving him.''

Sylpha nodded, ''I believe you, Duke. Atlas may not have been talented, but I know you love your children by how you dote on them. Diana tells me that your eldest Eleonora is doing good at the Arcane School of Magic.''

''Yes, she just started her second year while my youngest daughter Ashe is on her first,'' Eldric said with a smile, remembering his daughters.

They then discussed the Silvershield Companies plan on locating Atlas from the slavers.

***

[Neapolis City, capital of the Olympaea Kingdom - Aridonia Continent]

A brown-haired young woman named Artemis was sprinting through the city streets while being chased by the Royal Guards. Her second mother, Anastasia Olympaea, was now the undisputed queen of the kingdom until her daughter could take the throne.

The queen ordered her to be imprisoned because she was a threat. In Olympaea, tradition dictates that the strongest prince or princess took the throne, and Artemis was far stronger than her older sister Athena, Anastasia's daughter.

However, despite being older, Athena was far weaker and less popular. Their father, the peaceful King Priam Olympaea, was slain during the Battle of The Lionheart Pass with the Vagrannians, which invaded Western Aridonia.

The Vagrannian Hordes were a nomadic empire that stretched from the Sylphara Continent to the West, with rolling plains, vast grasslands, and mountain ranges. The Olympaean Synedrion advised the king to let the bigger powers fight the invaders and suggested they not get involved.

All the old men and women were convinced the ravenous hordes wouldn't bother the smaller Olympaea Kingdom as the other empires were far wealthier and bigger. They also wouldn't allow their armies to fight the barbarians.

But the king disagreed with the nobles and took his Royal Guard, The Sacred Band, to Lionheart Pass to set up a defense in case the nomadic warriors came knocking, which they did two weeks later.

By this time, thousands had flocked to the king's banner when the invaders decided to head for the Pass that the enemy would need to cross, leaving the council angry. As her father predicted, the Vagrannians annexed the Graecorian border region neighboring Olympaea when the twin empresses were battling in the far north.

This allowed the enemy enough time to ship in reinforcements and continue their expansion south, which caused the council to panic. Her father held off a million-strong Vagrannian army with only a few thousand soldiers.

This gave them enough time to gather their armies and lead a counterattack, as rumors spread that the twin Graecorian Empresses were leading a 1 million-strong army south to engage with the Vagrannians.

But they weren't alone. The Nubians sent 20,000 of their world-famous Nubian cavalry, while the Sylvandorians sent 10,000 of their infamous Savage Knights, who were notorious on the battlefield.

Artemis was fascinated by everything that was going on but stopped daydreaming when she was nearly out of the city and about to pass through the gate when the Imperial Guardians blocked her way.

She rushed forward with no choice but to plow her way through, casting a spell that she was famous for, 'Thunderpunch.' A large boom was heard as thunder shot out from her fist and crashed into the soldiers, causing them to fly as the impact hit them.

'Hopefully, no one got hurt,' Artemis thought.

She could pass by the soldiers using Gaia's Glide, thanks to her attack. The soldiers who tried to catch her couldn't because she was gliding along the road like she was riding a hoverboard.

Once Artemis made it through, she darted into the grasslands surrounding Neapolis. Thanks to her Enhancement spell, she got a good head start on her pursuers but was soon stopped by her older brother Nikolas Olympaea the first prince, a talented warrior who equaled her in skill and courage.

When Artemis saw him, she sighed while unsheathing her sword, ''Big brother. Anastasia is lying. I would never try to harm Athena; she's our sibling!''

The young man sighed. ''There are witnesses, Sister,'' he responded. ''Surrender, and I can talk to our mother so she will lessen your punishment. We do not need to make this harder than it already has.''

Her grip tightened on the hilt of her sword. "Anastasia wants me out of the way. Athena and I have no dispute with each other as she knows I have no interest in ruling Olympaea,'' she said. ''You already know this, brother, so let me go, and I'll leave the kingdom. There's no need for us to fight.''

Nikolas readied his spear while speaking for the last time, ''I'm sorry, Artemis, but I have to bring you in so justice can be served even if I don't want to.''

Following that, he activated his movement skill and dashed toward her, but Artemis already knew this would happen, so she cast Earth Spike that blocked the way, allowing her to cast Enhancement and Gaia's Glide to speed across the ground.

Artemis charged at Nikolas, who was caught off guard by defending against the spikes. He was struck in the chest with the pommel of her sword, sending him flying backward. She was about to flee when a dome appeared above her.

Recognizing the danger, Artemis quickened her pace, but golden chains sprang from the ground, ensnaring her limbs and trapping her in place.