"You shouldered something alongside all of us. But unlike us, you were stuck with immortality, continuously being played at the palm of the gods…" Zack muttered as Xelor's eyes lightened a bit.
"Old times. Now, I serve under Golden dusk since the gods asked me to do that." He replied in a dazed tone before turning his head towards the portal. "Leave now and I will let you and your teammates get away freely otherwise I will be forced to take you all down."
Zack's expression turned grim as he knew that fighting Xelor meant death. Despite the many fights he had fought, he knew that he would have to run away.
Zack turned back to his feet and dashed out of the library while trying to think of a plan he and his friends could use against Xelor.
The first thing he did was contact them and tell them everything about Xelor. His words seemed to awaken small amounts of their memories as they too remembered who Xelor was.
The undead had started pouring out of the portals again and they were busy fighting them when Zack appeared beside them.
He used his blue flames to provide them some support before trying to formulate a plan.
[ If it is him, how are we supposed to fight him? ] Emma asked Zack as well as the others.
None of them had a reply since they had no idea how they were going to fight an Archmage, especially one who they knew the best.
As far as they remembered Xelor had no weaknesses and since he was now immortal and could also use dark elements, defeating him felt like a dream.
It would be a miracle if they managed to neutralize him but other than that, nothing was possible. Their current options consisted of trying to talk him out or helping him which were both almost impossible.
[ How much mana does he have? ] Hayden asked as Zack shook his head.
[ I don't know the exact number but it should be well enough to last for a year. He has been alive for that long to have such a huge mana source. ]
The team then started handling the portals in shifts while the other members would brainstorm. They passed an hour in such a manner before Ken suddenly had an idea.
[ Why don't we ask the temple for help? ]
[ That should be possible if the temple hasn't already been taken over. Speaking of that, let me contact Emma. ] Due to meeting Xelor, Zack had forgotten to contact Emma.
He went to the sidelines and opened and contacted Emma.
[ Emma, you alive or dead? ]
[ Is that any way to ask whether one is doing fine or not? ]
[ So you are alive. ]
[ yes I am alive though I have no idea how long this will last for. Currently, I am above the temple and things don't look good here. I am stuck in a fight between two archers flying on top of beasts. ]
Hearing her words, Zack turned toward the team and announced his departure while explaining Emma's situation. No one objected as he flew at the speed of lightning towards the temple.
Nobody knew the exact location of the temple and only those called by it could see it. However, there were many instances, like the current one, where the temple would be visible to all humans.
Zack had directly pinpointed Emma's location to fly to the temple which was currently situated in the middle of the continent.
The golden building stood tall in the center covered with black clouds. Thunder echoed around the entire area as lightning stuck repeatedly.
Zack had a feeling that something big was about to happen as he checked the remaining duration of his lightning movement skill.
He only had it available for thirty more minutes and decided to use the skill again. The time stacked up and gave him the same movement for ten and a half hours.
'Lance, you know what to do.' Zack was able to see Emma flying atop Icarus as the eagle cut through the air at hyper speed.
Daedalus on the other hand was flying in the other direction and appeared to be chasing the two archers Emma had told him about.
[ Leave your back to me and go ahead. ]
Zack then shot forward as the clouds rumbled once again as lightning struck down from the clouds. Zack moved at the same speed as the lightning as he appeared behind one of the archers and grabbed his neck.
Before he could even realize what was happening, Zack had burned him alive and jumped onto the second archer.
After killing both of them, Zack looked at their steeds and saw two slave collars around the birds. They had been using griffins who rarely liked to be tamed.
Zack decided to free them from their slavery by burning the runes embedded in the collar. He then saw the two beasts fly away before looking down at the two collars with a grim expression.
"So, what bad news do you have?" Emma asked with a sigh as she and Icarus appeared beside Zack.
Daedalus also followed behind them and both the eagles took a double-take when they saw Zack's new form. The wings reminded them of their boss's wings and moments after they had thought that, a sigh echoed inside their skulls.
[ Yes, you good-for-nothing idiots. It's me, your one and only Vermilion Phoenix boss. ]
Daedalus and Icarus were at a loss of words as Zack smiled a little despite the circumstances.
"You guys can talk later but for the time being, we have many enemies to fight." Zack reminded them as he told Emma and the eagles about what had happened back at the capital.
Emma was left shocked when she heard about Xelor and double confirmed to make sure she hadn't heard wrong.
"Then that means that the golden dusk organization or whatever it is has more powerful people backing them up…" She muttered in a grim tone before staring at Zack's face. "How are we supposed to fight them?"
"Don't ask me that and also, give me the pink gem we received alongside the divine grade quest."
"Ok?" Emma handed Zack the pink gem who in turn let Lance separate from his body.
The Phoenix then swallowed the gem and got another hundred levels. He merged with Zack again before Emma's looked surprised.
"Don't worry, you still have the gem but not just in a physical form," Zack replied as he turned to look at the temple.
The words that had echoed inside his mind when he faced Lucifer once again resounded inside his mind.
"When the light of the past guides the hand of the future,
The darkness will once again make its return.
For all that has turned into dust and ashes,
Will once again rise and burn.
For all the blood spilled,
The cries of anger will be instilled.
The dead will no longer stay dead,
Reality will just be a cracked mirror in the face of the wicked.
For such a catastrophe will come sooner,
When the past illuminates the future."
"What?" Emma asked with a confused expression as Zack took a deep breath.
The undead line had come true due to Xelor while the others were still not clear. Zack's best guess was that the entire thing was a prophecy and he and his friends played a key role in it.
"The past illuminates the future in the form of all those who are alive again. Just like all five of you."
A voice suddenly rose from the temple as Zack, Emma, and the two eagles stared at the top of the temple to see a miniature statue of the goddess to be standing on top of the place.
"Welcome, Zack and Emma. Go down to the hall and meet Joshua. He will guide you both to your next destination." The statue didn't appear to be talking yet its voice reached their ears.
Zack and Emma exchanged a look before asking the two eagles to shrink down. The statue then vanished in front of their eyes as they started making their way to the center of the temple.
"Emma, why were those two members from Golden Dusk chasing you?" Zack asked in a low tone as he and the others had seen the symbol of the organization on top of the collars that Zack carried in his inventory.
"I have no idea. I was flying over Hethburn when they suddenly saw me and started attacking me. They even followed me and I decided to get to the temple in hopes of escaping but that didn't work."
"Shouldn't you have been able to defeat them, especially with the two eagles?"
"I should have been able to do that but something felt wrong. It was as though both the griffins as well as the archers atop them were being controlled by someone that we have met before."
"Hmm…" Zack fell deep into thought as they reached the center of the temple and saw the giant statue of the goddess of light.
The entire place felt dim for once as though even the goddess of light was aware of the upcoming battle that faced the group like an immovable mountain.
"Don't despair just yet," Joshua's voice suddenly came from the corner of the group as the priest moved forward in the light. "There is a reason both of you were summoned here."
Zack and Emma raised their hands in greeting but Joshua shook his head as he came to stand forward in front of them.
"We don't have time for chit-chat. The goddess has asked me to bring both of you to her. She wants to talk with you both face to face."
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