“I remember the last time I saw my brother. It was just after my engagement announcement, and he had come to ‘congratulate’ me. I can still see that smirk on his face. He never gloated, that wasn’t his way, he just had this irritating, superior way about him.

He understood that I was being married off because that was the only value I had to our family, and the look in his eyes while he attended the party made me realize that, like our father, he would never respect me.

His useless, talentless, little brother. Weak, like his mother.

For years I had tried to be his equal, but it was impossible. Markus was just good at everything, more talented than I could ever be, and he knew it. I struggled to walk where he had easily run.

I can’t recall what exactly he said when he congratulated me, but I knew he didn’t mean it. Empty platitudes. It was at the celebration that he announced that he would be leaving to serve the church. Suddenly, our party became his.

I truly didn’t care, not at that point. I had already decided weeks before that I needed to stop the engagement, for April’s sake. I could lie and say that Markus’ disregard didn’t hurt, but in this diary, I will only write the truth.

Someday, when I’m strong enough, I’m going to retrieve my inheritance, protect those closest to me, make amends with those I hurt and neglected…and punch that smug smirk off Markus’ face.”

Chapter 89

“Hello, little brother.” Markus spoke quietly.

Their sudden arrival had left the crowd speechless. The combination of the powerful, Rank 17 holy mana released by the cleric that had obliterated the attacking infected, and their party’s high-ranking mana, meant that the entire cathedral was abruptly silent.

Wil was speechless as he stared at his brother. It had been five years since he had seen him last. Five long years of being ignored by his family, after a lifetime of living in his sibling’s shadow. A lifetime of being compared to him and falling well short of his saintly brother.

In that length of time, Wil had managed to sabotage his engagement, alienate his family out of spite and necessity, ruin his reputation in the capital, and barely scrape by in his academy studies. The only worthwhile thing he had done while his brother’s absence, took place in the last few months.

He was finally stepping into his own, becoming his own person. He was shaking of the status as Markus Brookmoor’s wastrel of a brother. And in a moment, all of it came crashing back down on him as he looked at his prodigal sibling, with that gods damned smirk on his face.

The cavalry, riding in to save the day. Wil was equal parts relieved and frustrated.

While Wil was wasting his life away, Markus had evidently been doing very well. Reaching Rank 16 at only 26 years old? It was an achievement that would be unimaginable for anyone else, but expected of his talented brother.

Sighing with resignation, Wil opened his mouth the greet Markus when he was interrupted by the middle-aged mage next to him.

“Yes, yes, hello everyone. Save the greetings until after we accomplish our task.” He grumbled, stepping out of the magic circle, its mana having faded.

Seeing the path to the exit blocked by the mass of people, the mage effortlessly channeled a small portion of his mana into a 3rd tier, transmutation spell matrix.

With a brief flash of light, the magic coalesced, and the mage’s body changed into a misty, white smoke. The gaseous form traveled swiftly along the stone floor of the cathedral. Like a rolling fog, it weaved and coaled around the onlookers’ ankles, before moving out of the room.

Seeing the Mage escaping the room, the Paladin, her large maul rested causally on her shoulder, formed a glowing, golden shimmering field of power around herself. Walking forward, the shield gently pushed the gawkers to one side, clearing the path forward.

Upon hearing Markus’ greeting, Kathryn focused her attention on her newly met brother-in-law, while her companions left the room.

She could instantly see the resemblance between the siblings, both tall and handsome, although Wil seemed…weaker than Markus, more vulnerable. It was a subtle thing, only made apparent by their proximity.

She was interrupted from her scrutiny by a hand resting on her shoulder.

“We should go. Wilhelm, we’ll catch up once this is over. Do not leave the Cathedral!” Markus ordered his brother, before looking down at his wife.

With a slight nod, she took one last glance at Wil before channeling her magic into the Symbol of Secundus that hung around her neck. With a flash of bright blue light, the pair was gone, transported directly to their companions.

Wil looked around the room, taking in the stunned faces of his companions. It wasn’t every day you were in the presence of such high rankers. The stifling feeling of their heavy mana slowly dissipated after they left, allowing those present to breathe normally.

“Well, Junior, I gotta say…thought he’d be taller.” Garman joked, slapping Wil on the shoulder as he and Martin followed the crowd out of the room. Now that the immediate threat was eliminated, everyone felt more at ease with staying in the cathedral, for now.

Many of the more adventurous people dashed out of the church, wanting to see the coming battle between the high-ranking party and the Lich. Simply watching them fight would give them insight on advancing their own ranks.

Wil didn’t remark on Garman’s comment, simply staring at the spell circle where his brother had suddenly appeared. He had ordered him around, then took off immediately, like he couldn’t be trusted to behave with Markus’ guidance.

Seeing that their friend was troubled, Erinn nudged Gunther , indicating for him to leave while she talked to Wil.

“Are you alright?” She asked, concern in her voice.

“Hmm? Yeah, of course I am.” Wil said distractedly, starting slightly at being addressed. Shaking his head, he gave her a small grin before turning towards the exit.

“Come on, we can’t miss the show.” He joked, leading Erinn out of the room. She could tell he was bothered but decided to let it slide for now.

“Are you sure you can come with us? He told you to stay here.” She teased, nudging Wil with her shoulder.

“Since when do I listen to him or my father?” Wil said, faking a smile as they joined the others, quickly leaving the cathedral and looking around for where Markus and his companions had gone.

The garrison was now nearly entirely aflame, half the wooden lodging buildings were gone, and the streets were covered in dust and grey ash. Whatever spell or ability the Cleric had used, nothing remained of the thousands of infected except piles of powdery residue, slowly blowing away in the gentle breeze.

But the damage had already been done. The garrison was destroyed, no building remained untouched by the fighting. The wooden walkways were empty, and there were no people anywhere in sight.

What shocked the small, gathered crowd of spectators was the damage done to the massive, grey stone wall. The black blood unleashed by the Lich had done more than just infect the living, it had eaten away at the fortifications, swiftly decaying the wards and crumbling the thick walls.

Large sections of the towering defenses were nothing but piles of rubble and dust, much like the once mighty Spire of the Mage Guild. The lich’s mastery of death and decay had deteriorated everything its foul mana touched. It was as if Aachen had aged centuries in hours, while only the Lich remained timeless.

The crowd quickly spotted where Markus had traveled. Past the broken wall, large explosions of fire, rays of piercing blue light and razer sharp slashes of red mana erupted into the sky above. The power of the battle beyond the wall lit the night sky with its fury, while the ground shook and rumbled as the powers clashed.

Without hesitation, the crowd, dozens strong, fought to move forward as strong waves of mana pushed against them from Aachen. Like fighting a heavy wind, they braced themselves and slowly moved forward, in a rush to reach a remaining section of wall.

The howling wind created from the battle became so intense that it took all of Wil’s mana to keep walking forward, his Ursine fur cloak whipping and snapping from the gusts.

Reaching the wall’s base, they climbed the twisting stairway up, before standing on the wall. Huddled behind the remnants of the battlements, they watched the battle taking place below.

It was unlike anything Wil had ever seen or imagined. He had read ancient records of the supposed battles between the gods and elder dragons millennia ago, how their fighting had changed the very world around them.

Their fury created mountains where once stood plains, boiled oceans and flooded cities. He had thought they were fanciful tales to hype the power of the gods and inspire terror of dragons.

After witnessing the battle below, he believed those stories with every shred of his being. The unbridled destruction being unleashed on Aachen from a false demigod made him realize, he could never comprehend the power of a true god.