Chapter 49 - Time is the Enemy

The next day...

Voidanos and Morana were once again sitting together on the bench, each enjoying an ice cream.

"This is delicious. What was it called again?" asked Morana.

"Ice cream. I saw it in a culinary book here at the library and decided to make it," said Voidanos.

"How fascinating! I suppose that book has other recipes too?"

"Plenty. Dishes, soups, desserts, seafood, meals from all over the world," said Voidanos.

When they finished their ice creams, Morana stood up from the bench.

"What should we play now?" she asked.

"My tutor's coming soon, so I can't," said Voidanos.

"Oh, really? I'd love to play with you someday."

"Now that I think about it, Morana, why do you spend more time with me than with the other children?" asked Voidanos.

"I think you're special," said Morana.

"Aren't you even a little afraid of me?"

"Afraid? Of what?"

"At the end of the day, I'm Uanamangura. I'll be used as a weapon of war when I grow up. That's why I'm isolated from the others," said Voidanos.

"I want to spend time with Voidanos, not with the Uanamangura. That's all that matters to me," said Morana with a childlike smile.

Voidanos' cheeks turned red at her words.

"I promise I'll make time for you tomorrow, Morana," he said.

"I'll be waiting," said Morana as she walked away from the park.

Her words lingered in his mind, leaving the boy lost in thought as he sat alone on the bench.

"Voidanos!" a voice called.

"Tutor Magees!"

"I see you've been spending time with the princess again. I'm glad," said the tutor with a smile.

"I enjoy talking with her," said Voidanos shyly.

"I'm a few minutes late, so I suggest we start right away," said the tutor.

"Yes, Mister Magees," said Voidanos, following him into the house.

All Dominion military battalions had reached their designated locations at the eleven Gates of the Arch of Sizran. With the help of the tracking devices, they managed to locate the gates in record time. As we know, the locations of the gates are completely random within the Dominion Kingdom. Four of them were in the Guhojre Forest, near the Dominion capital; two were in the Altars Kingdom, near the Eibilisk Volcano in the northwest; three were in the capital city of Tamasi; one was at the Tilrens Waterfall to the north; and the last one in the Gerthrades Forest to the south.

Once the battalions were stationed, they set up camps, dining tents in case the soldiers got hungry, lanterns for nighttime visibility, and watchtowers for surveillance.

Meanwhile, in the royal palace of the angels, the testing of soldiers for compatibility with the Alitus Spheres continued.

"This is starting to get annoying. How many soldiers have we tested so far?" asked Kaela.

"One thousand seven hundred and ninety-third," replied Eliael.

"We've lost almost two thousand soldiers for nothing. I'm convinced you're exaggerating. You know what? You three!" she pointed to three soldiers waiting their turn "Come with me to my chamber. I hope at least you're worth something in bed," said Kaela as she led them out of the laboratory.

"What a vile woman," muttered Eliael under his breath as he watched the remaining soldiers testing the spheres.

Kaliga observed the entire scene through the eyes of a pseudo-Eliael.

"We're winning without even fighting," she thought. "When will these fools realize that I'm preventing their soldiers from mastering the spheres' power? I thought angels were smarter than this."

Through Eliael's body, Kaliga executed every soldier who showed potential to attune with a sphere, undetected by the angels, even though the distance between her and them was nearly 2,800 kilometers. The island of Ladnoria was believed to cover roughly eight million square kilometers, with each of the three nations ruling about 2.5 million. The Guhojre Forest and its surrounding natural monuments covered nearly three million. These figures alone made clear how vast Kaliga's power truly was.

A few minutes after Kaela left the room, Tarnael entered. Kaliga was intrigued by his sudden appearance in this web she had woven.

"Eliael, is something bothering you?" asked Tarnael.

"Nothing, brother. On the contrary, I feel fine," replied Eliael.

"I've noticed you've stopped making sarcastic remarks about Kaela lately. You've been calmer these days."

Kaliga watched the conversation closely, curious to see where it would lead.

"I've just been more focused on my work, that's all. Believe me," said Eliael.

"Hm?" Kaliga frowned as she noticed Eliael's image beginning to blur in her vision. The soldiers stared at him in confusion, unsure of what was happening.

"Ah, damn it!" hissed Kaliga under her breath.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" asked Tarnael, turning to the soldiers.

"Your Majesty, if I may ask, what's happening to Eliael?" said one of them.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" said Tarnael irritably, looking at Eliael, who appeared completely normal to his eyes.

"Well, there's no one else here now but us... and Eliael just vanished," said another soldier.

"What madness are you spouting?" shouted Tarnael, but then he too saw Eliael's body begin to fade.

"Eliael?" Tarnael whispered in disbelief as his brother slowly disappeared from sight.

He looked around desperately, searching the room.

"Eliael! ELIAEL!" he cried out in anguish.

"Tch... The cat's out of the bag," muttered Kaliga as she stepped away from her chamber, no longer able to maintain visual control over the angels.

Tarnael stormed out of the laboratory to search for his brother, checking every room, every corridor of the royal palace. He even entered Kaela's chambers without knocking, finding her naked, indulging herself with the three soldiers.

"WHERE IS ELIAEL!?" Tarnael roared, his voice filled with panic.

"What are you talking about? He was just with us," said Kaela.

"He was nothing but a hallucination," said Tarnael.

"Hallucination? Don't be absurd. He was right here talking with us. Hallucinations don't talk," said Kaela.

"Tch!" Tarnael gritted his teeth, slamming the door shut as he continued his desperate search.

Meanwhile, Kaliga emerged from her private quarters and sat upon her throne.

"So the technique does have a limit... Bring me Atbara and Aldes immediately," she ordered the soldiers.

"Your Majesty, they're stationed in the kingdom of Umines," said one of them.

"It's urgent. Bring them here before I decide to cut off your heads," said Kaliga coldly.

"Yes, at once!" the soldiers replied, rushing out of the hall.

"Now that I can no longer observe their scenario directly, the angels will soon gain control over the Spheres' power. That could be troublesome...," thought Kaliga, crossing her hands before her face.

At that moment, King Kasama entered the royal hall, noticing Kaliga's unease.

"So, they found out, didn't they?" said Kasama, who was evidently aware of the entire deception she had been orchestrating.

"It was only a matter of time. And you know as well as I do. Our greatest enemy... is time itself," said Kaliga...