The thick silence in the aftermath of the battle weighed on the mansion like a suffocating blanket. The air trembled with unspoken tension, and somewhere in the sky, clouds began to gather—as if the heavens knew what was coming.
Cassandra stood on the balcony, her eyes closed. The future shimmered in her mind like a cracked mirror—chaotic, disjointed, but with clarity enough for warning. A single vision had returned to her over and over, like a cruel loop: Korrin would come tomorrow. Blood would stain the floors of the mansion, lives and properties would be shattered if they were not prepared.
"We don't have time," she whispered.
Selena, still shaken by the recent skirmish, approached her cautiously. "What do I need to do I don't even know where to start from....and Korrin is not dumb enough he will definitely find us?"
Cassandra turned to her, her silver hair brushing against her armored shoulders. "Trust me he wouldn't.You must hide the Queen, Princess and the egg. With illusion magic. I will teach you everything I can because you definitely did it."
Selena was a bit relieved but still worried she decided to put all her hope and trust in Cassandra and most especially Asher.
---
The Training: Selena and Cassandra
Illusion magic wasn't just about appearances—it was about perception. Selena had dabbled in it before, mostly for tricks or deception, but this would be different she now need to perfectly deceive everyone's eyes from seeing her two people and an object.
Cassandra placed a rusted blade on the training mat and waved her hand slowly. It vanished from sight.
"Did you destroy it?" Selena asked.
"No. I made you believe it's gone," Cassandra replied. "Look again."
"You can also use illusion magic"
"I might be a sword master due to my lack of abondant magic energy but I can still do some illusion tricks"
As she channeled a bit of magic into Selena's temples, the younger woman blinked—and the blade returned to visibility, shimmering like heatwaves.
"With my future sight, I already saw what you'll struggle with. So, I'll train you to master both animate and inanimate cloaking. You're not just hiding objects. You'll be hiding souls. Breaths. Sound. Scent."
Cassandra touched Selena's forehead. Memories of tomorrow's fight—Korrin tearing through illusions, Whisper's arrows flying—rushed into Selena's mind. Her heart pounded she could feel everything happens in seconds it felt like she was there but it happened so fast like a flash of reality.
"This is what will happen if you fail."
Selena gasped, falling to her knees. "That's not just future sight… it's like I am expirencing what is happening there."
"Yes. You need to feel the consequence of failing. Now—again."
For hours, they trained. Selena learned how to cloak the Queen's scent from the assassins' dogs. She learned to bend light, masking outlines and creating false shadows. Cassandra's visions of failure helped her correct mistakes before they happened.
By midnight, Selena had successfully cloaked a moving rabbit and a ceremonial shield behind a rippling veil of nothingness. Cassandra nodded with quiet approval.
---
The Egg and the Warriors' Preparation
Lyria entered the chamber as Selena practiced. Her usually aloof expression was gone, replaced by quiet seriousness. In her arms was a warm, glowing egg—drenched in a faint, pulsing light.
"This is sacred. If Korrin finds it, everything ends," Lyria whispered.
"Have you figured what's inside?" Selena asked, with a curious expression.
" am not sure but after studying it for a while it seems to be something ancient. Something powerful that shouldn't reach the hands of Korrin or his men . Here, Hide it."
Selena nodded, putting it in a dimensions pouch and concealing it in the folds of her illusion, tethering it to her mana like a limb.
"So how do you feel knowing that you will die tomorrow" The Princess asked the queen as they both were seated drinking tea in a quiet room "Don't say that Cassandra has already assured us that we will survive using her ability."
"But don't you fell scared I mean, Korrin managed to kill the top one and top three people who are powerful than Cassandra "
"That is because those people underestimated Korrin and let their guard down. There is nothing that will change if we're are scared"
"I am not scared of dieing "Lilly said and continued "Am just scared of dieing.... without having my first kiss"
The queen looked at Princess Lilly in a surprised manner " Really that is what you are scared of. So if you had your first kiss now you will be satisfied with dieing "
"As long as it's Asher" The princess said as she imagined it while smiling. The Queen didn't know how to respond but had a disappointed face🤦.
---
Meanwhile..... Outside the mansion.
Darian stood in the open field behind the mansion, shirtless, his blade glimmering with the setting sun. His Silo Slash vibrated with anticipation.
"Haaaah!" With a yell, he slashed horizontally—cutting through a line of trees over thirty feet away. Leaves flew perfectly in uniform, trees cracked and fell with a smooth vertical cut.
"You have to slice the very intention of the enemy," he muttered, visualizing Korrin.
Again. And again. Until sweat rolled down his bearded face like rainwater off stone.
---
At the back of the mansion
Talon lifted his massive cutlass, swinging it down with a thunderous crash. The earth cracked. The mansion shook slightly.
"Not enough!" he roared, eyes wild.
He swung again—this time leaping in the air and bringing it down with a ground-splitting quake that created a small fissure. "The bastard's gonna feel this."
He spent the next hour doing push-ups with boulders tied to his back.
---
Garek, calm and calculating, sat cross-legged. Dozens of boomerangs surrounded him. With his eyes closed, he began throwing—each boomerang slicing through tree branches, clipping leaves, disarming dummies.
He muttered names as he threw. "One… two… three…"
Thirty-seven perfect hits. No sight eyes fully covered. No hesitation.
---
Elias, with flames around one hand and ice around the other, stood in front of a magical forge. He blasted fireballs into the sky, then shattered them with icy arrows.
"Control. Chaos. Balance."
Next to him, Lyria chanted a soft incantation—spirits appearing behind her like wisps of blue and silver. A spiritual snake circled her body before dissolving into motes of light.
---
Deep in the meditation chamber, Asher stood before a mirror of obsidian. His chains rattled.
Inside his soul-space, the inner demon loomed—massive energy surging, with eyes like collapsing stars, bound by thick chains of magic.
"LET ME GO," it purred. "AND I'LL END KORRIN FOR YOU."
Asher's brow furrowed. "I'll loosen the chains. But I'm not letting you out."
"YOU'R SCARED"
"I'm smart," Asher countered.
The demon leaned close. " I CAN GRANT YOU THE ABILITY TO CONSUME MEMORIES.IMAGINE IT___ GAINING KORRIN'S SKILL, HIS STRATEGY, HIS PAIN____"
Asher tightened the chain around its throat, silencing it. "Am not stupid enough to trust you. I just need your power."
The demon's smile was venomous. "THEN TAKE IT.BUT DON'T CRY TO ME WHEN YOU BREAK."
---
The sun had barely risen when the mansion gates exploded inward.
Korrin, shrouded in a dark cloak, stepped forward with Whisper and a squad of elite assassins. The guards charged—but Whisper whistled. A piercing sound made them fall, ears bleeding as they covered it and screamed in pain.
They walked inside the mansion majestically and the Gaurds could not do anything .
Inside the mansion, Darian, Lyria, Elias, Talon, and Garek stood in formation. Behind them was Asher.
"You've already killed the king," Asher growled. "What more do you want?"
"I want the heads of the Princess and Queen," Korrin replied coldly.
"Who sent you?"
"You're not worth the answer," Korrin spat.
The atmosphere cracked. Magic pressure collided like two storms clashing in the sky.
"Attack."
A blur of shadows surged forward. Darian and the team sprinted to intercept.
Korrin dashed toward Asher—but was intercepted by Cassandra. Their blades clashed. Sparks flew.
Suddenly, Korrin vanished. Cassandra raised her sword quickly, angling it so she could see her reflection—an old trick she used that reflected half of her face with her glowing eyes. Through it, she saw the future—her own body being stabbed in dozens of daggers in every single place you can imagine.
She pivoted—but not fast enough.
STAB,STAB,STAB,STAAABB!!!!
Gasps echoed. Cassandra fell back, blood soaking her armor. Even with her future sight… Korrin was faster.
He dashed to Asher's who was luck enough to deflect the strick but was knocked out of the mansion thought the building walls and into the barkyard of the mansion where there the stream of water was .
Korrin dashed to where Asher was leaving the rest to fight inside.
---
Darian met an assassin with a huge blade surrounded by sharp teeth. His slashes tore pillars apart, but the assassin dodged with shadow-stepping magic.
Talon cracked the ground with every step, throwing enemies off balance. He picked one up and snapped their spine with his elbow.
Garek threw boomerangs like a machine gun, blindfolded—each weapon slicing tendons, slitting throats.
Elias fought with elemental storms, launching water spears and wind blades, freezing arrows midair and redirecting them.
Lyria summoned spiritual guardians—a falcon that screamed, disorienting enemies, and a bear that crushed a shadow clone underfoot.
Yet Whisper was the true threat.
"That's cute " she said and proceeded to whistling,This shattered glasses and made them disturbed from the aching pain that pierce their ear and felt like their soul's is being stabbed by a thousand needles.
She aimed and fired—an arrow laced with cursed poison.
THUNK.
Elias gasped. Blood gushed. His hand reached up—and dropped like a shot bird.
"No!" Lyria screamed, flames erupting from her mouth.
The poison was too potent that it was too late to heal him with Asher's elixer.
---
Meanwhile during the commotion, Fin, the youngest recruit, sprinted like lightning. His brother was still chained in the underground dungeon.
A guard chased him but he was able to out run him, he got to the underground dungeon and stole a key with his speed and releasing electrical arcs the attack was weak and the gaurd swinged his blade. Fin ducked and decided to slammed a door behind him, locking himself in the underground path leaving the gaurd outside.
He ignored criminals in chains that begged him to free them and reached his brother.
"what are you doing here !" his brother tony asked."I came to rescue your"
"Alone.... don't you know that is reckless and could get you killed ""relax tony aren't you glad you get to escape"one of the assassin said.
"Am not.He should have just given them the egg,get rewarded and stay safe at home"
"Well..the thin is I lost the egg"
"You what!!!?"
"There is no time to scream tony just tell your brother to get us out of this thing'
Fin went to them with the key in his hand .
Fin's hands shook as they hurried and pressured him. Tears flowed. "I'm scared…"
"LOOK AT ME!" his brother shouted. "Focus. Unlock me. I'll free the others. You just get out."
"But I locked us inside"
"Don't worry we will fight them together and get out of here"
Fin nodded, unchaining him. His brother went to the others with the key and freed the rest—but the guards burst in.
A bloody fight broke out.
Fin's brother charged to attack with some of the assassin but they were outnumbered even though they fought with all the got they fell one by one Fin looked in horror as he did not know what to do, his body could not move in fear "Fin get you head together and help" his brother screamed at Fin behind him but was stabbed at the shoulder and fell to the ground.
"NO— TONNYYY!" Fin screamed and his shaking knee fell to the ground "All my hard work is all in vain....Tony died because of me" He said with his hand on his head as some solider's came to attack him.
All of a sudden
Lightning exploded.
BOOM.
Fin screamed. Electricity poured from his body. Every enemy was vaporized in a massive blast that shook the dungeon.
He floated in the air as massive energy surged out of his body. His eyes glowed like twin bolts. His body brightened the dark dungeon so much it could blind a blind man and after all the guards where vaporized he fainted.
---