Chapter 28- The Continent in Shock

When Engil woke up the sun was already high in the sky. He was in the ruins of what was once the grand Sage's Castle. However now the castle is in shambles, and is not crumbling. A vast expanse of flames still brightly burns and extends beyond he line of sight. Engil stands up slowly on his two legs.

"Wait!!"

Engil's shout of shock tore open the once quiet surroundings. He quickly moved his tense muscles and stretched his unused tendons. He felt the air flood his lungs as his diaphragm contracted and his nostrils flared. He wriggled his toes on the cold stone ground. He felt the blood flow through his veins as he held out an open palm. He had his human body back!

There were some differences though. He appeared to have a fuller build and his skin was whiter than it once was. He felt that his vision and smell stayed that same as if he was still a wolf, and he had a tattoo of a howling wolf on his shoulder. Most importantly he was naked!

"First I need some clothes, then I'll look for Roen."

Saying his thoughts out loud he set his priorities on finding clothes. He found the body of the dead silverback wolf that he once inhabited. He felt a little odd looking at the scene, but noticed a small backpack on it's back. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw that that the backpack was still unburnt. Quickly sorting out through it Engil took a blue robe that he graciously stole for a few towns back.

Then he turned to look for Roen. For some reason the connection to Roen's soul disappeared when that huge explosion rang out and now he is forced to use his senses to find the troublesome master.

'Hopefully Tyor is alright.'

Finally remembering the companion he buried alive Engil gave some thought and dismissed it from his mind. Using his superior sense of smell Engil started to sniff the ground.

'Then again what does Roen smell like?'

"What are you doing idiot?"

Engil happily turned around to see Roen in his usual clothes unharmed.

"I was looking for you geez, you know what I had to go through because of you."

"Yes, I've seen while you were asleep. Pretty impressive actually. To think that you could destroy a Nightmare race's soul albeit that Varnus' have the weakest soul out of all of them, but good job nonetheless."

"That's the weakest..."

"Yes, however they have pretty sturdy physical bodies, so their not bad."

"Sometimes I hate your nonchalant attitude."

Engil turned away from Roen, and started to walk to dig up Tyor.

"If you're going to Tyor he dug himself out two days ago after I woke up."

"What?! I thought I was only asleep for a day?"

"Your soul fused with a spirit of a wolf, something even I would have a difficult time doing, you could've died if I hadn't woke up and stabilized your soul."

"Uh thanks then."

Engil was a little shocked by Roen's statements and apparently he had been asleep for awhile. Roen then ignored Engil as he was realizing the severity of his circumstances. Roen turned and started to head away from the sea of flames.

"Now that you're awake, let's get moving you're lucky that we didn't leave you behind."

"I am sooooo honored for my master's concern."

Engil replied while rolling his eyes and the two started their trek to the Lands of Sorcery.

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Unbeknownst to the three the destruction of the entire Thaolos Kingdom has reached the ears of the other four kings. The sudden disappearance of the entire population of the kingdom, the huge explosion that could be heard for miles and the tremor that followed, and the sea of fire that sprouted out of no where with a heat that allowed no one to pass. All these events all happened in succession and the four other kingdoms were terrified.

A force capable of wiping out the strongest kingdom that reigned with an iron fist for 500 years. Such a force would be akin to a calamity. At first they believed that the Sage's Castle was the cause, but remembering the massive wall of light several months ago they changed their thoughts.

When the wars that were raging on got word of the disaster they immediately called for a ceasefire. Two kingdoms that were previously at each other's necks began to collaborate to understand the destruction of Thaolos. The disaster came to be known as the 'Shock of the Continent'.

~the royal court of the Higloas Kingdom~

A man wearing a gold embroidered cloak with a red sparrow styled into the back was currently sitting on the throne with a steady expression. He was a broad shouldered man and his body was fitted in silver armor that had lost it's luster a long time ago. He appeared to be more of a general of the battlefield, but he was the king of the Higloas Kingdom.

"My king, I implore you to reconsider working with those barbarians. They will stab you in the back at any chance they get!"

A man with a giant wall shield stood up and smacked the U shaped table that multiple others sat around. The king in his throne did not stir at the outburst and gave a heavy sigh.

"We are going through troubling times. We have an unknown entity that can annihilate us easily. I'd rather deal with a backstabbing then face an unknown."

"The king truly is wise!"

"The king's wisdom surpasses us!"

"The king's sight sees far into the future!"

All kinds of praise rang out from one side of the table. Nobles dressed in luxurious and expansive fine silk devoured well cooked quail and boar and spoke praise of the king between breaths. The king just sat in his throne not even acknowledging those annoyances.

The king was already in a bad mood. He had received word that his youngest daughter was on a trip in the Thaolos kingdom, but he never received another note. His worries were well founded as he uncovered an assassination plot that was staged to frame another kingdom. However he could not find any proof on the nobles he knew were involved. To condemn others to die without a justifiable cause was not the way he liked to deal with the situation.

"My king I bring news of your youngest daughter!!"

A man in merchant attire was led into the room by 6 royal guardsmen. The words he said shocked the entire room and gave the merchant their undivided attention. The room was deathly quiet in anticipation for the next series of words.