Chapter 80 - The End of an Era

'It's dark and quiet. I can't see nor hear, complete darkness. This feeling, it's familiar – I'm traveling inside another portal. This time, the portal is much denser. The gateway leads into my subconscious, the place where all magic and magical elements are controlled. It's dark, I can't make anything out, my body is gone. I don't feel anything. Whoever tapped into my psyche is truly powerful. I wonder how can one stand against that. At that moment, all I saw was strength, true power – the ability to make your enemies cower before you. I'm happy it happened, I lost yet another battle. It's always the same, in the face of true strength – I lose. I can't take it any longer, a part of me wants to become strong while another part wants me to give in and just rest. The latter is the better choice, I'm nothing but a fake.'  

Up high, the sun began its descent. "Master," Avon felt an urge to manifest, he could no longer feel Staxius's presence. "What happened to you?" a feeling of dread came from within – Staxius's defeated body laid under the tree, hidden from prying eyes. The ground around him damped and bloodied. 'Impossible,' Avon got closer, 'Staxius isn't that weak.' A faint odor of unknown mana source lingered in the air. 'I knew it, that vermillion meteor wasn't just for show, it's the mark of a new beginning.' Avon remained calm; the feeling of dread dissipated. 'Master felt it, I'm sure of it. He felt what true strength is, the god-slayer has awakened.'

The ground trembled, a humming noise grew closer. As black as shadow, Avon brought the car. Despite looking skinny and feeble, he picked up Staxius, placed him in the car, then drove off. Neither did the car stop for the hospital nor did it stop for anyone, it rushed out like a lightning flash. Blood continued to flow down his face, the eyes were destroyed completely. Blood poured down his ears as well, his limbs looked unnatural. Even in how bad of a state his master was, Avon didn't care any less. Deep within he knew. He knew that Staxius would pull through somehow.

"Master, some unsightly humans came near the border to our domain. As you ordered, I asked the wolves to take care of the pests, however, the intruders were more resilient. We lost some, but casualties were limited." A strange figure spoke, it knelt. It wore a suit and on its head, it bore grey horns. "How many times to I have to repeat myself." The man who sat down overlooking the valley stood. "-I don't like to be interrupted whilst thinking." The eyes turned grey, he stared right at the demon wearing a suit. It turned to stone, the strange figure could not even respond. "Servants, come take this piece of trash out. I care not for your worries; I've got more on my mind. Gathering power at this instant is more important than dealing with curious pests. Do whatever you want to stop them, give the orders to my guardians – I care not if most of our minion die. This realm will soon merge with the realms of monsters and demons." Two well-dressed ladies with horns on their heads took away the frozen corpse.

'There is only one person in this entire kingdom that can help master. The ones who are more in-tune with mythology and legends – the people from Arda. More specifically, the queen.' The shadow changed into a lightning bolt and the car headed to the noble district. A journey that would take one to two days; the only question in Avon's mind was, 'will he last that long?'

'I'm falling deeper into the abyss. Losing the ability to see and hear does take a toll on your body. I felt someone pick-me-up earlier but I don't know who it is or where we are. All I know now is emptiness and silence. This is the peace I've always sought after; a place where you can lose yourself without worrying about materialistic things. Little by little, I feel the death element dying. The immortality bestowed to me by Lord Death only works if our magical elements are active. Sadly, I can feel that seep away too, I don't feel anything anymore – it's numb. Even If I tried, I could not move.'

Time went by faster than expected; everyone went around minding their own business. Staxius Haggard lost everything yet again, but this time – he had someone beside him. A spirit who he liberated from a car out of all things.

The god-slayer, an entity so powerful a god could not hold a candle to him. What could an heir do to stand up against someone so powerful; death was what awaited him but in desperation, he saved himself and lost everything in the process.

Two days went by; the central guild got news to what happened out in Totrya. They didn't believe it at first. More and more adventurers came out gradually and claimed that monsters prowled around the borders; they were forced to act. To help in said situation, new orders were given out to every individual guild. Any piece of copper, silver or gold that got dropped when they slew a monster, the central guild would be the only one who could exchange it for standard issued coins from the kingdom. The purity was checked and the faceless coins were indeed pure – their price was evaluated to twice a normal coin. For example, one could exchange a monster dropped coin for two kingdoms issued coins.  

Over the course of a week, to stop any financial crisis, merchant guilds and any parties connected to said guilds were called in for a meeting. Royal advisors were present too. After a debate lasting two days, everyone came to an agreement. The faceless coins now known as Qaisar were to be banned from any public trading. It was the only way to prevent people from exhorting and raising up the price; for it would surely destroy the commoners. Instead, any Qaisar collected were to be exchanged at any guild or bank. The price of Qaisar varied, some coins were purer than others. This impacted their cost but averaged out. None really cared about the purity unless dealing with a blacksmith; though only a handful of people held that right.

This only made being an adventurer something to thrive for. The source of income was what inspired many to pursue that route. A new ranking system, separate from sorcerers was put in place. People argued that ranking adventurers using that old system wasn't viable. The ranks always changed there, it depended on your skill and not how strong you were, though mastering a skill can make you sharp – it didn't consider your innate strength. To that end, with the help from the Order to get a basic reference for the ranks should be given out.  The new ranking order was divided into ten different tiers. Tier-one being the strongest and Tier-ten being the lowest. Tier-two was SSS-rank for sorcerers which proved how futile that old system was.

The strongest mages could barely make it as Tier-two if they wanted to become an adventurer. It became harsher but it was fair. With the rise of people trying to join their ranks, acquiring, and leveling their standing in the guild had to be tough. This was to separate boasters and money-hungry freaks to the competent. This new order was only announced but not implemented. MARS, the guilds, and other organizations came together, every scholar and geniuses were brought in to make an accurate evaluation device. This was done to limit human error, the thought of having someone weak in a high tier would surely crumble everything. Slowly, after years being hidden in the shadows of mages; adventurers had a place to call home. The era of mages ended when long-range weapons got invented. They grew lesser and had come to the point of extinction.

In response to that, any previous SSS-rank mage given the title and standing of a noble was revoked. The Order had demanded it so, the Emperor gave his approval. With that, the era of adventurers began. It would be months until the few magical academies were to be turned into normal institutions. This inter-magical tournament was the last, the final hoo-ray before everything ended. The populous didn't really care and neither did the sorcerers themselves. Most of them lived outside Hidros; and were well off. The apparition of new beings required new blood and not some overused overpowered hierarchy of boasters and selfish individuals. It didn't mean the complete end, but it sure seemed that way.

The practice of magic remained fundamental in how people lived, therefore – it wasn't mages that grew unimportant but battle-mages. Learning how magic worked still remained a noble pursuit but in a different field, the field to improve the technology. For the few people remaining out in the field as battle-mages, their ranks were soon to be merged with the guild's ranking.

That following week where Hidros adapted how they viewed sorcerers and adventurers; Staxius remained asleep. Avon brought him to Arda, seeing the broken-down body of her partner, the queen personally decided to heal him. Ancient magic did naught but worsen his condition. It grew hopeless, even the sage was left baffled. All the knowledge about ancient magic did nothing, Staxius remained in a bed with aromatic flowers and plants around him. Their scent gave the patient peace of mind and lowered how they felt pain. No medicine could heal him nor could any magic; thus lowering the pain he felt became the only option.

Julius got worried; Staxius didn't get back to him. A call to Claireville academy to check on Ayleth proved to be more than enough. Staxius disappeared, none knew where he went. After trying to reach his phone, Avon finally answered the old friend. This call only served to confuse Julius further, Avon averted everything masterfully. In the end, Julius gave up and continued working as the changes in commerce made him envious.

"Sage, how's Staxius doing?" nighttime had come, Arda still dealt with paperwork concerning the independency from the royal family. "Not to well I'm afraid. There haven't been any improvements in the past week; we've done everything we could." The old man replied in a quiet and mesmerizing tone. "Are you sure we can't do anything else?" the last stamp and signature were filled out. The queen laid back on her chair to take a breather – Staxius's condition continued to ail her from within.  "I'm afraid so, Shanna, please take a break now and then, smothering yourself in work won't make his situation any better." He asked out of concern. "I know that very well, you needn't remind me. I'm only but lost, Arda has to come first. I'm not doing this as a means of escape, the paperwork has to be filled out before I can think about anything else." She stood and headed out. Her path was set on Staxius's room, the same one she gave to him, though now cleaned and more appropriate. Plants scattered everywhere; the place looked like a garden more than a bedroom. In the middle, like a flower, Staxius laid. The face turned pale, the same color as someone who had died, the eyes were gone; all that could be seen was black. From time to time, the left index finger would move gently.

'What is the concept of time, I'm lost. This is way worst then when I got imprisoned by medusa's curse. Is this how everything will remain now? My magical element has gone quiet, I can't sense the mana anymore. It's gone – surely this means that I'm dead right? Mana is a person's lifeforce and I'm pretty sure mine is exhausted. I dare not fathom what has happened to me, all I wish for is another chance. I've had enough of these dreams – I don't want to experience someone else's memories. The vagueness compared to the first time has lessened. I feel like I'm that person, I'm reliving everything he went through…just who are you, and why do I feel so at ease when I relive certain events.'