Valric was laying on the ground, a camouflage spell active. One that not only hid his presence, but made him blend into the environment. Even if people looked at him with Magic Vision, they wouldn't be able to see him.
This was especially true the longer he laid there. It had been days, animals and insects waltzed right next or even over him without any problems. The only reason he was here instead of his scout was because his scout refused to take this assignment.
Ordered through Commander Rylo, they were assigned at the border with The Holy Kingdom. Their only task was to spot the possible troops their enemy was preparing and bringing that information back.
The only problem was, one of the Colors was spotted near this place.
'If that fucker finds me, I'm screwed.'
Surveying the area without letting himself be seen was an incredibly difficult task as there were a ton of mages, each with their own specialties. And while their commander had a few especially strong mages under his command, The Holy Kingdom overflowed with talent.
'It's not even a fair comparison. Why did he accept the task to defend the border so readily?! I should've left when I had the chance.'
Valric was of the belief that one should fight for their country, but not to this extent. If one stole the treasure from a dragon, they had to be prepared to run for their life. And while a man can try to run away from a dragon, a country can't. They were sitting ducks for The Holy Kingdom.
'Even just one of those bastards is enough to decimate the entire place. When did that egghead ever think we would stand a chance?!'
Valric was obviously referring to the Prince, and while the Prince had a full set of hair, Valric only saw the idiocy beneath. Sadly, his views had to be kept to himself. If he dared to say this out loud in the presence of the commander or even his secretary, his position would be emptied pretty quickly.
Time passed slowly as he tried to use his normal, unaided by magic, eyes to spot any kind of force. There were no visible movements, but for all he knew they were hiding themselves like he did. The only way for him to know for certain was to activate his Magic Vision and peer in the distance to find any sort of glimpse.
Sadly, doing so would reveal his position to people who were doing the same task he was. Scout without being scouted, see without being seen, it's a difficult task against a much larger opponent.
Not that Valric had any choice, his duty was his job, so he activated it as slowly as possible. His eyes quickly searched for anything and when he didn't pick up the slightest signal, he turned it back off.
Since he was still fine, he could breathe a sigh of relief. Were it not for the camouflage spell, the bags under his eyes would be plenty visible. To keep the spells that hid him active, he needed to stay awake. And while not impossible, it certainly drained his energy level to a daring low.
The boredom at first, the fear after he used his Magic Vision, believing that he was already spotted scared him. 'I understand why he didn't want to take this task. It's been a while since I felt so nervous.'
He almost criticized himself for almost bending under the pressure. Each time he activated his Magic Vision, his life was essentially being gambled with. For all he knew there was nobody going to come, but the chances of that were low according to him.
The pessimist inside him already surrendered himself each time he had to break his cover to scout the place. Not once would he use willpower unless he was tired of his life.
A day passed as he kept this stressful routine going, his body started to get tired as his mind did overtime to keep up. Tired, hungry, but most of all, thirsty, Valric didn't budge, his determination the only thing holding him up.
As his eyes started to slowly droop, he had to remind himself to stay awake. Even the threat of his death wasn't enough to keep him awake. He had been here for days, at this point, more than two weeks must've passed, and nothing happened.
He couldn't keep himself from getting bored. 'Just a bit more, and then I'll...!'
Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes staring at him. He didn't dare move a muscle as the final bits of adrenaline coursed through his veins. Slowly peering upwards, he had to hold his breath as high up in the sky a single man stood still.
His official white robe adorned with golden symbols, his hair, raven black, was combed back, a pair of fierce eyes stared right at him, or so he thought. Even if he was floating in the far distance, Valric could feel it in his bones that he was staring right into his eyes.
Valric could feel his heart almost being squeezed to bits, but then he suddenly vanished into the skyline. He didn't even dare move an inch, scared that he might return or even stand behind him.
'I have to get the hell out of here! It was Noir, that... we're fucked!'
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Noir, a high standing member of The Order of Light and one of the Elite Force of The Holy Kingdom, one of the Colors. A monster in human disguise. Simply invoking his name brought hundreds of disputes to an end in fear he might appear.
His ruthlessness was well known. All that mattered were his objectives, all the rest was background noise. As the only one in the Colors allowed to use Dark Magic, his powers were far above the rest.
There are stories of him intervening in a war because he had to ask a certain soldier something. Since the other army was in the way, he obliterated all of them so he had the space to talk. From that moment, no matter the forces, the moment they even saw a glimpse of him, they put their weapons down or ran for their lives.
Being Rank 8, he was a God. It was the highest Rank possible, Rank 9 was only spoken off in legends from the past, and he was alive back then as well. There was no such a thing as Rank 9. He was the strongest force of The Holy Kingdom, but even he occasionally felt fear.
Standing in front of the door that led to the chamber of The Lady of Light, even he felt sweat appear on his back. If he was called old, She would be ancient. All the religious texts they had mentioned the creation of the earth starting with Her, predating the very planet they lived on.
Worst of all, Noir was trained by Her. Everything he knew came from Her. He was heralded as the strongest mage, but even he wouldn't dare go against The Lady of Light.
Knocking lightly on her door, it opened automatically. The two massive doors slowly parted as it revealed a room filled with Pure Light. It was impossible to see anything, Noir had long given up on trying to lay his eyes on Her form.
Stepping inside, he stopped in front of what should've been Her bed. Yet it was massive in scale. Kneeling down, "My Lady, I have fulfilled your orders. Frigus's armies are aware of our presence near the border. Are you willing to declare war?"
"No.", Her voice was soft, yet Noir clung to each and every word from Her. "The fanatics will take care of it."
She felt absolutely no reason to declare an official war since the people who followed Her would take matters into their own hands. There were plenty of people in The Holy Kingdom that hated Frigus. Stepping in would be unnecessary. It was a political move that kept The Holy Kingdom's hands clean while still getting results.
"Of course, My Lady, if you wish so, I'll remove Frigus from this world.", Noir wanted to be in Her good graces, yet his voice rarely reached Her.
"I felt it again.", Her words were slow, yet carried a deep and powerful emotion.
"!", Noir's eyes opened as the Light blinded him. In surprise, he didn't know what to say. No, no matter what he said, it wouldn't soothe Her.
"He'll soon come for me.", She sounded as if She was in pain. Noir felt his mind race as he sought a suitable solution.
"Should I reset this world again?", Noir was serious as he proposed a simple but effective tactic.
"His soul has stabilized, I do not know where. You would have to reset all planets with intelligent life."
"If that is your wish, I'll make it my life's work.", he was determined to do so for his Lady. If Her desire was to get rid of all life in the universe, he would willingly fulfil it.
'Only those bastards are capable of standing in my way, I can do this.'
"No," a single word shot his idea down, but Noir didn't mind in the slightest, "my wish is for every living being to live without suffering. An omnicide won't help, it would only delay the inevitable. He'll keep coming back no matter what. Instead..."
What followed next was a grand strategy of The Lady of Light that would shock the entire universe. A bold move that was rarely done on such a scale.
There were certain rules when one reached this level of power. A Rank 8 and even some Rank 7's were capable of destroying a planet or sun, depriving light from entire solar systems. Thus, in order to keep balance in the universe, rules were written down to keep everyone in check.
These rules didn't have to be followed, but when someone broke one of them, the other Rank 8's had all the authority and reason to hunt that person down. There were plenty of mages who were waiting, itching for a fight, for someone to break the rules just so they would be able to go all out again.
And even with these rules in place, Noir didn't feel like there would be any response from the larger community. Nobody would dare go against The Lady of Light. Doing so only lead to one's ultimate demise.