Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

In addition to the Guardian of the Forgotten Forest, who was already a familiar figure to Kaizen, two other armored creatures appeared in the hall of the Citadel of the Kings.

One of them was to the left of the Elder, and this one seemed to be the Guardian of the City of Tears, wearing a cloak of stars. This star cloak shimmered in shades of blue, purple, and white, as if it were made of nebulae. The crystal staff he was carrying glowed intensely, emitting a peaceful and soothing aura. However, there were some green algae between the joints of his armor, indicating that he had spent some time at the bottom of the City of Tears Lake.

Finally, there was the one who could only be the guardian of the Mage Citadel. However, unlike the others, this one's armor was almost completely destroyed, and part of his real body under the costume was on display for everyone to see, and in a way, there was nothing special to see, as his appearance was indescribable, as his body seemed to be made entirely of shadows.

The elder looked seriously at the forest guardian, then pulled his arm to free himself from the legendary creature's hand.

"Why are you interfering in the mages' affairs, Guardian? That goes against the orders the Founders gave you." The Elder asked.

"You know very well that we are not here only because you manipulated the Psyker to obtain the power of Alina and thus defeat one of your greatest obstacles, the Adohorn," the Guardian of the Forest told the Elder. "We are also here because you and the other Elders have made another grave mistake. Disregarding the Founders' wish to keep this place within the rules until the end of time is something I have come to expect, but I never imagined that you would try to stop the Guardians from acting and communicating by joining together to defeat one of us."

What he said suggested to Kaizen that the Elders had captured the Guardian of the Citadel of Mages and kept him imprisoned or tortured for a long time, which explained the condition he was in. On the other hand, the Guardian of the Citadel of Mages remained silent, his actual form of darkness moving slowly in response to the words of the Guardian of the Forest.

The Elder, for his part, seemed to be irritated by the Forest Guardian's accusation. He raised his left arm and tried to push it back with a wind spell, but the legendary creature in the golden armor retreated only slightly. Then the Elder pointed an index finger at him and said:

"You have no authority to speak to me like that! I am one of the Elders, responsible for maintaining order and deciding the future of all Olaynore. You are just guardians, funereal creatures bound in armor and obeying ancient orders that have not even bothered to act for hundreds of years. You have no right to judge our actions now!"

The Guardian of the Forest held his ground and looked at the Elder without flinching. "We are not here to judge your actions, we are here to fulfill our duty to protect this place. You wish to drastically change what was created by the Founders, and if you continue to act in contradiction to the primordial laws established by them, we will be forced to take drastic measures."

Silence fell over the room as the Elder and the Guardians stared at each other, each measuring the other's strength and resolve. It was clear that neither side was willing to back down, and tension hung in the air.

The Elder looked earnestly at the Guardian. "I admit it was foolish of us to try to stop the Guardian of the Citadel, but believe me, it was a desperate measure to save this place from a fate worse than destruction itself. Imagine that in the future, after Ragnorok, we will be the only ones left in all the worlds.

The Guardian of the Citadel, who had been silent until that moment, finally spoke:

"Yes, we will be the only ones alive when all is said and done, for we must be the bastion of life. Regardless of your intentions, disregarding Olaynore's central purpose is a grave transgression. You must answer for your actions and help to correct the consequences of your mistakes... It is also foolish of you to seek the Book of the Founders, for I have already used it."

This was a bombastic revelation not only to Kaizen and Alina, but also to everyone else in the room, including the other Guardians and the Elder.

"What do you mean?" The Guardian of the Forest of the Lost asked, looking at his brother in surprise.

The Guardian of the Citadel took a deep breath and bowed his head. "I know how this sounds, but it is the truth. Five hundred years ago, I myself used the Book of Founders to resurrect a mage from the Citadel of Mages."

All present looked at each other in disbelief.

The creature raised his eyes and continued:

"Many years before this happened, I watched a certain mage from the Citadel for months and years. She was so beautiful, so smart, funny, curious, and unlike any human I had ever met, that I think it was impossible for me not to fall in love with her, until she noticed me and fell in love with me, too. We lived happily for a while, she always came to visit me, but our emotional relationship was secret. Our conversations never seemed to end, but she was very curious about my existence and wanted to find out what I really was. I warned her, but since I loved her, I let her continue her research into my essence."

He paused and swallowed dryly.

"Years later, she got an idea and performed a dangerous experiment on me that went wrong. She was killed by the explosion of chaos that came out of my helmet. I was distraught, I knew I should accept her death, but I was not prepared for it. She was too young and she died in my arms, smiling as if it was a natural consequence, I knew there had to be a method to bring her back. Then I remembered the Book of the Founder, a book that can grant any wish. I betrayed the orders of my creators and used an ancient elder of the Sylly family to take the Book of Founders from him and use its power." He finished his story and looked at everyone with an expression of melancholy, but not regret. Then he looked at the Elder.

"In that case, your search is in vain. There is only one Founder's Book. Alina Sylly carries nothing but the blood of her family.

The Elder looked completely shocked.

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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