Part 5: Resolves

August 13th, 2220.

At the core of the Tremblay Guild was Aspen City.

Every window and door had gotten barricaded with just about anything the decaying population could find.

The metallic dome surrounding the city got breached. A shower of debris fell from the sky like meteorites.

Not long after, moving robots twice the size of tanks bombarded the city with missiles. The city’s streets had filled with a mixture of blood and fire.

Buildings fell one by one.

The great aspen forest caught fire.

Millions of people died.

When it seemed safer, the enemy entered Aspen City.

Under Rico Amon’s rule, the Topaz forces violated any war crime possible and behaved like barbarians. It didn’t help that half of them were androids without a sense of rationality.

Perhaps if Jacob Topaz hadn’t let Rico participate in the war, the Tremblay Guild’s population wouldn’t have been reduced by half.

However, Jacob Topaz wasn’t a righteous leader. He had taken a liking for Rico and proposed to his ‘conspirators’ they give him rule over the Tremblay Guild, to which they widely agreed since he had potential.

After 48 long hours, the massacre against the Tremblay Guild had come to an end.

…

In a dusty alleyway, safe from the fire, three members of the Snowrider faction fell to the ground.

Christiana de Champlain, on all fours, coughed an endless stream of blood. Johnathan Dubois lay on his back motionless.

Henri Tremblay was on his knees. There was a recent scar on his cheek and a hole in his thorax where blood poured out continuously.

Rico Amon looked at them with his fierce pink eyes. Crow and Explo were next to him, as always. "You lost. The Tremblay guild is now under my command."

Henri didn’t listen to him. As his vision became blurry and his eyes turned red, he saw a white light before him.

Two distinct white figures walked away from him, signalling him to follow after them. 'Well, my wife, Rose, and Alex, it seems I met you two again sooner than I thought…'

"Although, I guess it isn’t all that bad. I just wished for another death, not by the hands of the Topaz Guild."

Henri clenched his fists and shouted, "This nightmare from 20 years ago, why did it have to come back?!”

Suddenly, his wife and son looked back, smiling, inviting him to the afterlife with open hands. It may have just been his senses playing a trick on him, but it was enough.

Henri fell silent.

Christiana managed to catch her breath. “It was still worth it. For Alex- and everyone else in the Tremblay Guild.”

She stared at her foes. “The Democratic Alliance will avenge us!"

*Slash*

Crow’s thin black sword severed her head off her body.

John, spread on the ground, turned his head to the side. Her eyes stared directly at him.

For a moment, he was horrified.

John looked up, his muscles retracted. “Just get on with it.”

*Slice*

Henri closed his eyes. ‘Isaac, Aaron. If you are still alive, please get strong really fast because you’ll need more power than me to survive in this world.’

Henri was ready to die. He had given his all to save his homeland. But, they faced a stronger nation, and the other countries of the Democratic Alliance had abandoned them.

To begin with, the Tremblay Guild had zero chance of surviving.

Rico knelt down.

Then, he touched Henri’s shoulder and burst out laughing.

Catching his breath, he declared, “No. You won’t die- yet. You got in my way on multiple occasions. This time, I’ll be the one getting in your way.”

Henri froze. His face turned pale, and his breath hastened.

…

Far away, Titan City.

It was the capital of the Western Democratic Alliance Territories. Titan City was known for its statues of influential individuals from past eras. It was also known as the sanctuary for magician students and scholars throughout the Western Continent.

Being owned by the Democratic Alliance, the West DA put the well-being of its population as the number one priority. Medical care, free education, transport, unemployment insurance- It was a welfare state.

Amongst the tens of statues, one, in particular, stood up, the biggest one in Titan City: the figure of a man in a hooded robe. He had a long staff with an orb attached to it.

“This is a statue of the Wise Magician," said Ejiro Sani.

Aaron, Isaac and Gabriella followed him to the foot of the statue. There were carvings engraved in the giant stone plaque in front of them.

It read, ‘The Wise Magician, Darius Horlin. 1-88 AD. He who discovered magic.'

Alex looked at their confused expression. "That’s where he first appeared. With his unravelled knowledge, he built this city from the ground up before disappearing."

Isaac turned his gaze toward Alex. "Everyone knows that story. But what happened after Darius Horlin disappeared-"

"So you've arrived.”

Isaac jumped. A man in a black robe was behind him.

The aged man gracefully answered his question. “After the Wise Magician left this world, Titan city's development stagnated. However, much later, another revolutioner appeared. It was the Fallen God, the founder of the Democratic Alliance."

The man held a metal staff in his left hand that could retract to pocket-size. He wore black letter gloves and a long black sweater with a hood.

If it weren't for his long grey hair and slightly bent back, one would've thought he was still in his forties.

“Good morning, master. This is Gabriella Rivampe. The one I told you about. She’s- Arthea’s daughter." Alex paused before pronouncing Arthea Rivampe’s name, the previous queen.

Ejiro’s master inspected her. “Ah, you are the princess.”

“No, I'm the new queen.” Gabriella tried to correct him, but her voice was too quiet for him to hear.

Ejiro turned to the two boys. “This is Aaron Amon, the son of Elis and Daniel Amon. And this is Isaac Tremblay, Henri’s son.”

Seth plunged his staff onto the gravel path and straightened his posture. “It’s a pleasure to meet you three. I’m Seth Rayn, a retired magician from the DA.”

“Aaron Amon, the one who was to be the heir of the Amon Guild. The last time I met your parents was during the Topaz War.” Seth Rayn fixated his gaze on him.

Aaron shivered.

“You knew them?”

“Yes. Elis Leon and Daniel Amon both worked for the Democratic Alliance back in the day. Before becoming Guildmasters.

“Pardon me for saying this, but I guess they didn’t take the oath of democracy seriously.” The old magician narrowed his eyes.

“Democracy? The Amon Guild performed very well as a monarchy.”

“You should let go of your yearning to take back the guild and rule it."

They had a long quiet stare down.

The others chose not to intervene.

Aaron kept his eyes open for several seconds, but then he scowled and looked away, deciding fighting with a retired mage wasn’t worth it.

“Believe me. An absolute monarchy is too weak and unpredictable of a system. The fate of such a guild depends entirely on a single bloodline.”

Aaron stayed quiet, keeping his disagreement to himself.

Seth Rayn then looked at Isaac. “Isaac Tremblay, son of Henri Tremblay. I also met your parents during the Topaz War. It is a shame Rose’s path ended so early before you could meet her.”

He placed his hands around the edge of his staff, straightening his posture again.

“There are a few things you should know about the current situation. Your father, just like many of the magicians on the battlefield, has most likely been killed.”

Isaac’s voice shattered. He gasped, and his eyes widened. What? That’s not- He’s… dead?”