The last thing either of them saw was the other’s outstretched hand, then... He disappeared.
Silence returned. The chamber restored itself instantly. The cracks vanished, the floor became solid once more, and the floating orb remained peacefully suspended where it had always been, as though nothing had happened.
Lilith stood alone, her breathing remaining calm, but her golden eyes searched every corner of the chamber.
"Atheline."
No answer.
She expanded her perception to its absolute limit. Dark Aether flooded the chamber; every shadow answered her call, still nothing.
It was as though he had never existed. For the first time in many years... A faint unease settled into the Queen of the Dark Elves’ heart.
Meanwhile... Atheline felt himself falling. Not through air but through something far stranger. Countless images flashed around him. Mountains rose and crumbled, oceans split apart, cities appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
He caught brief glimpses of enormous battles, impossible creatures, towering castles, and stars burning overhead. Each image lasted less than a heartbeat before another replaced it.
Then... Everything stopped.
His feet struck solid ground. He stumbled forward before quickly regaining his balance. Warm sunlight greeted him. The scent of smoke filled the air, and people shouted in every direction.
Atheline slowly looked up.
He froze.
Before him stood an enormous city unlike any he had ever seen. Ancient towers of white crystal rose into the heavens, golden bridges connected structures suspended among colossal trees, and countless elegant buildings stretched toward the horizon.
The architecture was unmistakably Elven, yet... far older. Beautiful beyond imagination and burning. Black smoke rose from every district.
Explosions echoed across the distant skyline. People ran through the streets carrying children and supplies. Soldiers hurried toward the city walls.
He grabbed the sleeve of a passing elf.
"What happened?"
The man stared at him as though he had gone mad.
"What happened?"
He pointed toward the sky in disbelief.
"Are you stupid? The Sovereigns are fighting!"
Another deafening explosion shook the entire city. The frightened elf pulled free and continued running.
"If you value your life... Stop standing around and get underground!"
Atheline slowly lifted his eyes toward the heavens. Far above the burning city... the clouds themselves were breaking apart.
.
.
.
The first thing he noticed was not the battle but the sky itself. It looked... different.
The blue heavens stretched overhead just as they always had, yet enormous cracks of blinding white light ran across them like fractures in glass. Every few moments, one of those fractures widened before knitting itself back together, only for another to appear somewhere else.
It was as though the world itself was struggling to remain whole. Then came another explosion, unlike anything Atheline had ever experienced. The sound did not merely shake the air; it shook existence.
Every building in sight trembled violently. Windows shattered despite being hundreds of meters away from the source. Trees bent low under a pressure that no ordinary storm could have produced.
The people around him barely reacted; instead, they hurried even faster. This had already become normal for them.
The streets descended into complete chaos. Parents carried frightened children in their arms, merchants abandoned carts filled with valuable goods, and even nobles dressed in elaborate robes had discarded their dignity in favor of survival.
Everyone moved toward enormous underground shelters built beneath the city. Nobody looked upward unless absolutely necessary. Doing so seemed to require tremendous courage.
Atheline turned in every direction. His heart raced. This wasn’t an illusion; everything felt real. The warmth of the sun, the smell of smoke, the rough texture of the ancient stone beneath his boots, and even the terrified cries surrounding him. Nothing resembled a dream.
An elderly woman stumbled while trying to keep pace with the crowd. Without thinking, Atheline caught her before she struck the ground. She looked up in surprise.
"Thank you..."
Before she could continue, another distant shockwave rolled across the city. She instinctively covered her head.
"They’re getting closer."
Atheline helped her stand.
"Who?"
The woman blinked, then stared at him with utter disbelief.
"You truly don’t know?"
He remained silent. Her expression shifted from confusion to pity.
"You must have come from one of the outer settlements."
She pointed toward the northern sky.
"The Sovereigns. They’ve been fighting for three days."
Three days... Atheline slowly released her arm. The woman hurried away before disappearing into the crowd.
He forced himself to remain calm. He had to think, observe, and gather information. Charging blindly toward beings called Sovereigns would accomplish nothing. Yet... He couldn’t ignore what was happening either.
He began moving through the city, keeping pace with the fleeing civilians. The architecture fascinated him despite the circumstances. Everything had been built around colossal trees unlike anything found in the modern High Elven Kingdom.
The trees dwarfed even the World Tree’s neighboring guardians. Bridges woven from living branches connected magnificent towers grown directly from wood rather than carved from it.
Crystal streams flowed through elevated channels across the city before cascading into waterfalls that disappeared beneath the streets.
The craftsmanship surpassed anything modern civilization could produce. Every building radiated mastery over both nature and magic.
A loud horn echoed across the city. Immediately afterward... A commanding voice boomed through the streets.
"All civilians below the Third Ring!"
"The eastern shelters remain secure!"
"Healers to the northern district!"
The voice wasn’t magically amplified; it simply carried that far. Atheline looked toward the source. An armored elf stood atop one of the towers, his silver armor shimmering with intricate runes.
Even from hundreds of meters away... The man’s Aether pressure rivaled the strongest rulers Atheline had ever met, and yet... Everyone around him still referred to him as merely a commander.
Atheline approached another fleeing civilian. A young man carrying medical supplies.
"Where is the battle?"
The young elf looked toward him anxiously.
"Outside the city. Stay away from the walls; even the aftershocks are killing people."
Before Atheline could ask another question, the man hurried onward.