When the doors of the elevator opened, I was greeted by a long, red carpet. Running wall-to-wall, it covered most of the expensive wooden floor. Unfazed by the opulence, I marched down the long hallway, towards the light in the distance. The walls were lined with framed portraits, which depicted the ancient Archmages of the seven towers, the founding fathers of Astralis and predecessors to all generations of Grand Mages. At least that was what the plaques beneath the paintings told me.

Not long after, the narrow hallway released me into a large, circular room. Just like in the hallway, the rounded walls were covered in wooden panels. However, I had no more time to marvel at the view, as right before me stood seven lecterns. Behind each sat an old man or an old woman. Right away, I recognized the one in the central seat. He was the one who had blackmailed me, the one who had brought me here: Titus Dawne.

These must be the seven Grand Mages of the council, I thought. No wonder the other towers had been abandoned. All of the council members had gathered here.

On instinct, I collected mana once again, ready for a fight. However, I realized just how stupid my reaction was. If I couldn't detect the fake Titus Dawne before, what proof did I have that the ones before me were real? Why would they be dumb enough to show themselves in front of someone who wanted to kill them and destroy their city? Once I understood the truth, I reclaimed my mana and tried my best to calm down. For now, I would just listen, though I had to stay vigilant of more lies and trickery.

“Young Brayden, we are exceedingly happy you have decided to visit the council,” Dawne began.

I just snorted in reply. The grand mage ignored my silent protest and continued.

“We have called you here to tell you about the city of Astralis. About its past, its present and its future. I'm sure you wonder why we would talk to you, a simple apprentice mage, but I am sure that at the end of it, you will understand. I hope you will see things in a new light and help us create a better tomorrow for everyone. As someone born with the unique gift of magic, this is your responsibility, your burden. Just as it is ours”

“Talk. I'll hear you out so long as you don't try anything funny,” I answered.

No matter how polite they were, my anger wouldn’t vanish. There was no reason to give these monsters any quarter. Not after what they had done to the people of Astralis, to the people of the Squalor, and to Eileen.

“Good. First, we should start with the past. Back in the old days, when our great founders, the seven ancient Archmages, built this city, they found the world engulfed in an overabundance of mana. The richness on offer was immeasurable, and so they created this city, a perfect society, a place for all humans to strive for perfection.”

“..except the non-mages weren't allowed to do anything and lived like cattle,” I added.

“An unfortunate side-effect of progress.” Dawne sighed. “Because of the increased importance of mana manipulation in any productive work, those less talented could no longer contribute to society. However, the mages gave them ample space for self-improvement, and thus the chance to find value in their lives nonetheless. While the non-mages would provide the city with culture and free thought, knowledge and progress were laid into the hands of the mages. And it worked. The rule of the towers stood stable for centuries.”

Though Dawne's voice had oozed pride at first, it had turned thin and wistful by the end, a distant memory of a better time.

“However, after centuries of prosperity and many generations of Grand Mages, the world itself colluded against the bounteous paradise of Astralis. One day, without warning, the mana of the world began to seep away and corrode. Today, we call this event the Mana Blight. Not only became mana less plentiful, sucked away to some place far away, it also began to resist, no longer malleable by human minds. The Grand Mages of the time began to despair. There had to be a way to save Astralis, this paradise of knowledge and artistry.

“So the Grand Mages decided to take a great sin upon themselves. Except for the Grand Mages themselves, anyone with a mana reservoir sacrificed their lives, and the natural mana they were born with, to provide the precious lifeblood for the city. At the same time, the Grand Mages, the most talented among the scholars, would dedicate their lives to research, until they found solutions to our problem.”

“You enslave everyone else, just so you can stay around?” I sneered.

“How dare you slander the conviction of our ancestors!” Another council member burst into the conversation. His bony finger pointed at me in accusation, trembling with anger. “The choice was made for the good of the species! Not only the mages, the council also sacrificed far too much to secure the future of the city! We have spent our entire lives in research, in attempts to find solutions to the blight!”

“...you already did, didn't you? Find a cure to the blight? I've heard your fake Magister Sandow say so. You’ve learned to draw ambient mana again. Why isn't that solution taught to the students? Why do you keep enslaving the mages in the lower floors? Why turn them into monsters and force them to enforce your will as the red guards?”

“Boy, you have no idea what you speak of!” the angry mage answered. “The guardians of peace are a remnant of the great ancestors! You will not slander the descendants of the Archmages!”

“Huh?”

For the first time since I had entered the room, I had been truly caught off guard. After Sophie's explanation, I had been convinced that these monsters were the creation of the council, formed from the enslaved mages to tighten their grasp on power. However, while I had plenty of reason to believe in another lie from the council, I somehow felt that the story might be true. While I was still conflicted, Dawne picked up the conversation to present his version of the truth.

“The guardians are the offspring of the Archmages. It is regrettable, but time has not been kind to their bloodline. However, out of respect we have done our best to keep their offspring alive. Even more so, once a generation, a true talent of magic rises among them, one to inherit the virtues of the first masters.”

“So the inbred rule over us and you rule over them. Just a convenient excuse to take our freedom.” My sneer had returned. Even if Dawne's words were true, they changed nothing.

“It is unfortunate, but law and order cannot be avoided, even in paradise. People can't handle perfect freedom and absolute choice. Without any direction, they will only stay adrift, with nowhere to go. At first, the outer city didn't have currencies, did you know that? Everyone could take whatever they wanted. But some began to bunker popular and essential products, and drained the city of mana with their incessant greed. Once they had created a shortage, they could sell off their stockpile, and gain the new money the mortals had invented once again, all by themselves. Human nature cannot be changed, no matter how good the system. However, despite our hardships and despite our flaws, Astralis still stands, as a beacon of light in the never ending darkness. In its current state, Astralis might not be perfect, but out there, nothing but death awaits.”

“There's other places in the world. Maybe they'll be less corrupt. What do you think?”

“You should take a look for yourself, at the world as it is today,” Dawne replied in a solemn voice.

A wide gesture of his hand swiped past the wall behind him. In response, the wooden panels behind the lecterns slid into the ground. With the covers gone, the room was fully exposed to the outside. Nothing stood between me and the world beyond the city. Bound by the view, I walked past the council and stepped out through the open window, onto the balcony which led along the now opened wall. Although the cold, sharp wind blasted my face, I could see the entire city stretch before me, all clean and tidy, way down below at the foot of the towers. This was my home, the place I had explored for nineteen years of my life.

However, beyond the familiar I could see even more. My view went far, much farther than it had ever reached from the ground. Beyond the wall around Astralis was a sea of rubble. What once was part of the city had turned into a circle of ruins, run-down buildings and cluttered streets for miles on end. I had never realized how much the city had shrunk over the years. No one had ever told us. If this was what Astralis had once looked like, then right now it was no more than one hundredth of its original size.

Even more shocking was a look beyond the limits of my own perception. The world outside had never mattered to me. Like most, I had assumed it to be similar to Astralis itself, with the other cities of the Great Alliance of Mages closeby and easy to reach. However, right outside the city limits began a hell like I had never seen. Colored in red and yellow, I found nothing but cracked earth, baked by the never-ending, relentless assault of the sun. There wasn’t a single cloud to spare rain or shadow, no solace for the tormented earth. Outside of Astralis, there was nothing. No signs of life, no roads, no trees, no anything. Nothing but sun and heat and dirt. I stood there in shock, my view engulfed by the terrible sight.

“This is the present state of our world,” Dawne's voice sounded from behind me. “The earth is scorched and the oceans dried. We don't know if there is any life left out there, but none of it has ever reached the city. We are the last bastion of light in an ocean of darkness; and we are drowning. The ancients were unsuccessful. We still haven't found a way to convert the blighted mana back. The entire city is powered by its own mages alone.”

Somehow, I tore my eyes away from the real world and looked back to the rulers of the city. As I was shocked into silence, the Grand Mage continued.

“This is why you stand here, why we want a peaceful solution. There is no reason to fight each other and waste precious mana. Even united, we're already losing the war against nature. One hundred years ago, or maybe longer, another young man stood before the council, just like you. And just like you, he saw the truth of the world. He knew what the destruction of Astralis would mean, what hell would be unleashed on its people by its destruction; and so he chose to stand down. Can you shoulder this burden? To snuff out this flame and release us all into a hostile, dead world? Are you prepared to shoulder this sin, young Brayden?”

Now I understood what the Mystic had meant when he had talked about his lack of conviction. He must have stood here and chosen to back off at the words of the council. Ever since then, he had regretted his decision, but I understood why he had made it. No one would be this selfish, to destroy this world based on nothing but one's own opinions. However, I was different from the Mystic. Unlike him, I had something more to lose than my conscience.

“So I and all the other mages need to sacrifice themselves, for nothing but a temporary stay of execution? My sisters as well? You pretend this is the only way, but you've been researching for centuries and you're nowhere near an answer. I'd rather try my luck out there, with the heat and the dirt, than stay and watch my second sister follow the fate of my first, you monster!”

My words aggressive and my pitch low, I accused and insulted the council for the first time. My tensed body was prepared for a fight, but the Grand Mages stayed silent. I knew they were waiting for me to calm down again. They must have realized that I still had scruples and wouldn’t attack for no reason. I had only tried to provoke a reaction and blow off some steam, but they had denied me even that most simple pleasure. When Dawne continued, I did nothing.

“It seems you do not understand. Your sister, Eileen Rovis, is still alive.”

Unconvinced, I scowled at the mage's words. I had seen Eileen die right in front of me. How could she still be alive?

“You underestimate the power of magic, young Brayden. With the ancient knowledge of Astralis, almost anything is possible. All we need is enough mana. In fact, there is no need to sacrifice yourself, or your sisters. This is the true reason the council decided to bring you here. Finally, after all these years, we have found a path into the future. You are a mage. Your older sister is a mage. Your younger sister is a mage as well. Do you understand what that means?”

Dawne’s smile warped. Now it looked more like the manic grin of a lost desert traveler who had found water.

“We could be on the verge of the greatest breakthrough! Maybe there has been a mutation in your DNA, maybe you have lived a certain way, but everyone in your family has been blessed with the gift of magic! This should be impossible! Just imagine: If your case could be replicated for everyone in the city, we would no longer have to sacrifice anyone for the good of the group!”

As he spoke, his hands ran all over the place, grasping at the chance in front of him. However, Dawne soon regained his composure. After a short pause, he spoke in his previous calm tone.

“By then, every mage would have to give just one percent of their mana pool and there would be ample power left to fight back the darkness and restore the city. So this is our request, and our offer: Lay down your arms and cease this pointless battle. We offer you and your sisters a seat on the council and a position as the heads of the tower’s mana research. All we want in exchange is that you don’t destroy what might be the last bastion of human life on this forsaken earth, and instead work with us, for a brighter tomorrow.”

I wanted to refute, but couldn't. I could never forgive the monsters for what they had done to Eileen and all the other young mages who had given themselves into their care, but no matter how hard I thought, I couldn't find any reason to refute. They were right: Any choice against them would be petty and self-destructive.

Even worse, there was a tiny chance I could save Eileen if I complied, so how could I not? On the other hand, how could I, after everything I had done? Dawne’s words swirled in my head, just like the faces of everyone I had left behind on my way here. Sophie, Eileen, the Mystic, Amy, Nate... my mind became a mess, split between reason and emotion, as it ran in circles, ever faster. The world around me soon followed and started to swirl just the same. Before I had realized, nausea overcame me, and the world went dark.