Pillar of Yita

”There’s one more, don’t let him escape!”

The fire spread in the Hall of Trees, but the Invokers quickly reacted. It was more important to capture the culprit than to extinguish the fire.

The Elementalist was escaping towards the kitchen through the smoke, where a window led into the outside Forest — their pre-planned escape route. But then, a shout came from behind him: ”He’s over here!”

He turned back to see several Invokers burst through the door. The Elementalist was furious, ”These meddlesome fools!” If it weren’t for these busybodies, they would’ve completed the mission and retreated smoothly.

He turned and raised his Magic Wand, slamming it onto the ground. When its tip struck the wooden floor, bright flames rose up, and several Fire Serpents spread from there in all directions.

”Watch out, it’s the Ring of Fire Spell!” Someone among the incoming Invokers recognized it, screaming as they pulled their companions back. But given their Level, avoiding this Spell required some luck. The unfortunate one stumbled over a wooden barrel as he retreated, sending mushrooms spilling everywhere as they rolled on the floor.

A Fire Serpent crawled up his pant leg, turning him into a walking flame amidst screams, the fat crackling under the high heat, and a burnt meat aroma filled the air. The remaining people’s faces turned pale, nearly vomiting. Soon, only a skeleton remained in the flames, which turned to ash.

The fire spread along the walls, charring the wooden cabinets and ceiling into scales. In an instant, the kitchen was engulfed in flames. The Elementalist stood at the center of this sea of fire, defiantly raising his Magic Wand—knowing now he couldn’t escape, he resolved to fight one last battle before dying.

But then, all of a sudden, one Spell vanished from the orderly arrangement in his mind.

The Elementalist was slightly stunned, realizing something, and his face turned deathly pale. This moment of hesitation broke his calm, and the seven Spell Array constructed in his mind collapsed, leaving the Spells scattered chaotically in his thoughts. The once-familiar Magic now seemed strange and distant.

”No!” He shouted with wide eyes, ”Remember it for me!”

But it was useless; the fire in the entire kitchen rapidly died down, and the magic flames were pulled from their manifested state back to free Elements. The primordial Ether, like a landslide, surged back to the center of this collapse point.

Yet just before the immense force reduced the Elementalist to dust, it seemed as if an invisible hand intercepted them, reshaping them, capturing the rising steam, and then condensing the moisture into droplets, which fell from the air.

A light rain drizzled in the kitchen, extinguishing the remaining flames. Just as the Elementalist was stunned, several robust Invokers pounced and pinned him to the ground:

”We got him!”

The scorching floor sizzled against his face, and as he rolled his eyes and screamed, no one cared about his feelings at this moment.

...

The man withdrew his gaze from the distant blaze, coldly looking at the edge of the Forest. In the darkness outside the window, a Ranger raised a hand, signaling that everything was normal. He turned, standing with arms crossed before the tall man, and spoke:

”Captain, how long will you consider? The order came from your Guild, you should have confirmed it.”

The Captain of the Holy White Stone Guild looked up from the projection of the Light Page in front, gazing at the other: ”What do you plan to do there at this time?”

”Our mission’s objective is at that location.”

”But you could achieve it in a more peaceful way, you have seen, the Tree People mean us no harm. If you request, Yali, the Heart of Tree, will meet you.”

”The Heart of Tree remains in slumber, we have no time to wait for it to awaken. And to be honest,” the man shrugged, ”I doubt these people can hold off the Monsters outside. If they break in, our mission fails.”

”But you must admit, they’ve done quite well, repelling the Crystal’s attacks three times, with minimal casualties in the latter two.” The Captain of the Holy White Stone Guild said, ”Orca’s reinforcements are here now, just waiting for other Guilds to reach the forward camp, I don’t understand why you’re seeing it this way.”

”So you call it the Crystal, but it doesn’t matter, do you think its power is limited to this? It’s just probing,” the man shook his head, ”If Orca’s men hadn’t arrived, I might not be so urgent. But their arrival might signal it, if it acts with full force, this place will be destroyed.”

The Captain of the Holy White Stone Guild paused slightly, they had received similar information from another vital source not long ago, and these words forced him to ponder carefully, hesitating:

”I have to consult the Guild.”

The man watched him, gesturing: ”Please go ahead.”

The Captain of the Holy White Stone Guild drew his lieutenant aside, taking out a Communication Crystal, and as soon as the sound from the other end came through, he whispered: ”Chairman, what’s this order about?”