"What an amazingly complex magic formation! I wonder how long it took to build considering-" Valentine said as he stared into the sky with his Eyes of Magic active. He spoke in an excited tone as he examined the magic screen, however, once Kryxelsia glared in his direction he shrunk back and fell completely silent.

Kryxelsia turned her gaze back towards the sky as she said, "This is one of the highest forms of communication magic, View of Worlds. It is used by the kingdoms of the Mortal Realm for one thing and one thing only; a declaration of war."

​​

Izroth and Valentine were surprised when they heard this, but for two different reasons. Valentine was not as knowledgeable as to what was going on behind the scene in Proximus due to the fact that he was totally focused on his study of magic.

As for Izroth, he did not expect Zenrou to make such a spectacle and let the enemy kingdom, Tempest, become aware of their intentions. Was it not better to prepare in secret and catch Tempest off guard with a full-scale assault?

Kryxelsia could see the slight frown on Izroth's face when she spoke of the purpose View of Worlds served.

"The Mortal Realm has been through countless disasters, many of which nearly exterminated all living beings. After the Seventh War of the Titans ended, the Timeless Accord was formed between the most powerful of kingdoms. One of the rules of the Timeless Accord included the installation of the View of Worlds magic formation in every major capital city." Kryxelsia explained.

She then continued, "Before a kingdom goes to war, it is a requirement listed on the Timeless Accord that they must first declare so via the View of Worlds communication magic. If not, the kingdom who instigated the war will be in violation of the Timeless Accord."

"Master, what happens if someone violates the Timeless Accord?" Valentine questioned.

"Divine judgment." Kryxelsia stated.

'Divine judgment?'

"Since Tempest has the backing of the eternal darkness, it is likely that they are afraid of facing the wrath of a Divine Judgment even if they break the Timeless Accord. However, that being is a special anomaly. The same cannot be said for Proximus, therefore, maintaining the Timeless Accord is necessary. Besides, after the disappearance of the second prince of Tempest within Proximus territory, it was only a matter of time until Tempest attempted to spread rumors about Proximus assassinating the second prince. This would have justified their excuse for war without breaking the Timeless Accord." Kryxelsia said.

"How devious." Valentine muttered to himself.

"The eternal darkness is still currently trapped in their seal. If that's the case, how is it possible for them to assist Tempest?" Izroth asked. He knew from facing off against Silent Steps in the Chaotic Dogma Realm that it was possible for the shadahi to have a certain level of influence in the Mortal Realm, even if they were all sealed in the Shadahi Realm.

However, he also knew that their level of influence was limited and greatly restricted. Otherwise, if they had the help of Tempest and the members of that kingdom could freely move in between realms, then why was it that Syxirius did not make a request their aid back when he entered into the Shadahi Realm along with Luna, Halls, and Scarlet? Pride? Stubbornness? No, Izroth did not believe that to be the case.

After all, even someone as powerful as Syxirius would not sacrifice the potential freedom of the eternal darkness who he was formed from. It was buried into his very existence to do whatever was best for the eternal darkness, just as it was carved into the existence of the lower-ranked shadahi to do Syxirius' bidding even if it meant sacrificing their own life. That was just how the nature of the shadahi worked.

Therefore, there were only a few reasons as to why Syxirius did not request their aid. One of them was the obvious reason that even though there was a tear in space that led to the Shadahi Realm, one could not enter or exit freely. Izroth believed that this was the most probable answer. But then the question still remained, how did Silent Steps come by the power of the shadahi?

Izroth found it too difficult to believe that Silent Steps made a trip all the way to Tempest. It was also impossible that Silent Steps had access via the temple located at the Lake of Tears. So then how did the shadahi's reach extend to a player like Silent Steps? There had to be someone who approached him.

'If the shadahi have already managed to tempt an entire kingdom like Tempest, one can only imagine just how deeply rooted they are in the Mortal Realm. If things continue to go down this path, then...'

"This is the question that continues to trouble me. Since I am sure that you already know, there is no trouble in telling you this. The seal placed upon the eternal darkness is weakening every day. But tell me, do you know the location of the seal?" Kryxelsia said.

The location of the seal? This was actually something that Izroth was curious about. Of course, there was no record regarding the location of the sealed eternal darkness due to clear reasons. However, surely a location like that must be heavily guarded and protected at all times.

"I'm afraid the Wiseman will have to enlighten me on this matter." Izroth replied.

"The capital city of Amaharpe was not always at its current location. Do you not find it odd that the royal family of Amaharpe does not live in its official capital city? Do you not also find it strange that the Crimson Corps Guards have suddenly been stationed there?" Kryxelsia said.

Izroth furrowed his brows at those words. In truth, Izroth had asked this question in his mind numerous times. At first, he thought that it was due to the monster waves from the Protectors of Amaharpe event, however, he quickly realized that even without the Crimson Corps Guards, it was not a true threat to a kingdom as powerful as Amaharpe.

In the end, the Crimson Corps Guards did not even have to take action. Even the regular military and city guards in Amaharpe did not have to take action. Therefore, was Amaharpe truly so insecure as to mobilize the Crimson Corps Guards? Not to mention the fact Kryxelsia stated about the royal family. Not many players knew this, but Izroth who had read through the books in the palace library and been to the palace itself was aware of it.

Before the fight against the shadahi, Amaharpe's capital city was in a completely different location. It was not until the war ended that the capital city was officially relocated. However, even though a palace was built there, the royal family never moved from the location of the original capital city. Why was this? Izroth believed that Kryxelsia had just informed him of some frightening information.

'So that's why the capital city of Amaharpe is constantly listed as being destroyed as a result of failing those quests.'

Izroth had connected all the dots. The appearance of the Crimson Corps Guards, the constant threat of the capital city's destruction, the absence of the royal family from the capital city, and the unrecorded location of the sealed eternal darkness.

"The capital city of Amaharpe." Izroth muttered to himself.

"The knowledge you have is not lost on you, Izroth. It is as you have said, the eternal darkness is sealed directly beneath the capital city of Amaharpe." Kryxelsia stated.

"Wait a second, you mean to tell me this whole time we've been casually strolling around above an existence that nearly destroyed the entire world?" Valentine said in a tone filled with disbelief and shock.

'How troublesome.'

As the three held their conversation, Zenrou finally finished his official introduction. It was at this point that Izroth, Kryxelsia, and Valentine halted their conversation.

"I, Zenrou Proximus, king of Proximus, has hereby satisfied the opening of the Timeless Accord." Zenrou stated with an aura of authority.

"Kings, lords, and citizens of the Mortal Realm, hear me! Our realm faces a great danger like no other before it. We may have our disagreements, our blood feuds that cannot be forgiven, hatred, anger, and grief. However, there exists a bottom line that cannot be crossed and there are those in the Mortal Realm who have decimated this line by doing the unthinkable!"

"Hear me, great kingdoms of the Mortal Realm! Or better yet, see with your very own eyes the sins of the Tempest kingdom." Zenrou said in a solemn tone as he played on the magic screen the contents of the mind beads. A few moments later, Zenrou reappeared on the magic screen as the contents stopped playing.

"You have witnessed it with your own eyes! Does it not anger you? Does it not mock the sacrifices made by our Mortal Realm to see those who swore to protect it, betray it? The honorable second prince of Tempest, Robinarzin, sacrificed his own life to deliver this information. Why? Because he is a man of justice! Honor! Truth! One who puts the Mortal Realm before all else! He is a man that I have come to deeply respect!"

Zenrou stood up from his throne with his hands placed behind his back.

"We cannot allow this evil to exist and threaten the safety of the entire Mortal Realm. Therefore, I, Zenrou Proximus of the kingdom of Proximus, hereby officially declare war on the kingdom of Tempest! Fellow kingdoms of the Mortal Realm, do not bring shame upon your ancestors by turning a blind eye to this evil. The Mortal Realm belongs to no one but us!" Zenrou stated with a fierce look in his eyes.

Just when Zenrou had finished making his declaration, the magic screen disappeared as Izroth received an alert from the system.

〈System Alert: The world event «First Declaration of War» has been initiated! (Begins In: 42 days)〉

〈System Alert: The quest «Choosing Sides» has been added to your quest logs!〉

Quest Name: Choosing Sides

Recommended Level: None

Recommended Party Size: None

Quest Rank: F

Quest Objective: Choose which side you will be fighting for. To learn more information, please visit the nearest event center.

Time Limit: 42 days

0/1 Choose which side you will be fighting for.

Reward:

-World Event: First Declaration of War!

Special Note: You will be unable to receive any event rewards if you do not choose a side before the time limit expires.

'42 days? That means we only have two weeks in real-world time to prepare.'

However, Izroth was not the only player to receive this quest. Every single player within RML also came across the same system alert.

This news would shake the very core of everyone throughout RML. It was a declaration of war!

…

When the magic screen disappeared, there was a deathly silence throughout all of RML. From the players down to the NPCs, everyone was left in a temporary state of confusion and speechlessness.

For the players who did not understand the history of this world, they were a bit lost as to what was going on. However, a few moments later, there was a complete uproar of excitement from the players within RML. A world event! It was actually a world event! Not only that, but it was not a small event like the previous one, it was a truly large scale world event that would involve the kingdoms!

What did this mean? The rewards from the event would be huge!

The world chat, event centers, and the official RML forums immediately went crazy as players scrambled to obtain more information. The ones who were the most thorough regarding this matter were the top guilds. While casually players did not have to worry about long term repercussions, it was obvious that this event that allowed players to choose sides was either a blessing or a curse depending on which side came out victorious.

Therefore, in order to prevent any mistakes, the leaders of the top guilds sent out a message to all the members of their guild to not choose a side without their approval.

Until they had more information to go on, the top guilds would not dare to blindly choose a side.