There is no victory in winning a hundred battles. There is victory in subduing your enemy without fighting at all.

– Sun Zi, Spring and Autumn Period

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"As I said, it was impossible, your Lordship," the eldest among them added.

"In Enchantria, nothing is impossible," Alvier uttered as he pushed himself up from his chair and looked at the Enchantrian map projecting from the crystal table in front of them.

Meanwhile, back to Cithara, the young lady was still baffled about the strange visions that came into her mind. She dashed towards the castle where most of the visitors were dwelling, hoping to see her aunt.

As she walked towards the crowd, she was accidentally bumped by a mysterious man wearing a grey hood.

"Edue!" the man exclaimed, her gaze dropped towards the anxious Cithara.

"Forgive me! I didn't mean to," said Cithara.

The man took a gaze towards her and then walked away immediately.

Cithara paused for a moment, thinking about her current situation. "Strange," she sighed.

Back to the hall came the rulers of the lands with a big decision to make.

"The demons will surely come back. They will not show their presence if they don't have a plan," the leader of the Farisae spoke.

"I agree," the queen of Aquaria, a kingdom from the Western Land, added, "But... what should we do?"

"I have the best solution for that," Alvier suggested, "We must find the new Avallons!"

"The magical rings do not exist anymore, and we never encountered those kinds of creatures before. How can we fight such creatures who not only have stronger magic but also have a whole flock of mischievous demons from the Spirit Realm?"

"Let's just say that the rings still exist," said the Emperor of Mithrin, "will it be given to the Northernfolks again?"

"So what's your point?" Torin asked with annoyance that slowly flowed inside his mind. "Are you saying that Northernfolks aren't the ones who should have the power of the sacred stones? Did you forget that the Avallons saved your empire from the pesty mountain trolls?"

"That's not what I meant," the Emperor of Mithrin spoke.

"They saved you from the mountain trolls, but did they save our kingdom from the great plague?" the queen of Guevaria interrupted.

"Calm down, everybody," the Grey Wizard, Dholin, uttered, trying to let everyone remain seated calmly.

"This is why we Liberians hid away from the other kingdoms!" Aja exclaimed. "The creatures around here aren't at peace!"

The chaotic conversations continued to fill the corners of the hall, which made the young soon-to-be-Emperor disappointed. With all the power he had, he slammed the table hard, making the map shuffle up.

"Everyone, stop!!!" he shouted out loud.

As they heard his voice, everyone shut up their mouths and sat down on their chairs once more.

"It is nobody's fault!" he added. "The tree of Avallon chose them. It was a choice from our ancestors, not just the Northernland ancestors but the ancestors of the whole three realms of Enchantria!"

The words he had spoken entered the hearts and minds of everyone who was inside the room. "The former Avallons might be Northernfolks, but they didn't give in on pride. Queen Ylexis, they did help your subjects when the great plague in Guevaria happened. However, something happened that made them go back here to Everdaile," said Alvier.

Silence surrounded the room. The distress that was aroused just a while ago was cast off from their minds.

"So we should pick the new Avallons, right?" the Emperor of Mithrin reminded. "But how do we do that? Remember that the Avallons were chosen by the ancestors?"

Time passed by with their mind trying to figure out something that seemed to be impossible for them to do. Everyone was reticent, deeply cerebrating for an answer. After a while, their attention was caught by the light of the Avallon Tree, which could be seen from the palace's windows.

"Maybe there's still a way for us to choose the right person, even though the rings don't exist anymore," Alvier stated with their eyes fixed on the tree.

The wizards of the four lands circumambulate around the tree, which caught the attention of the creatures inside the castle grounds.

They began to utter Enchantrian words as they held each other's hands. Their chant made the leaves of the trees light up.

After finishing the ritual, it was just poor silence. The light of the leaves began to fade. And by that, the hopes inside their hearts slowly faded away as well.

"Edue!" Wil exclaimed in a whisper. "Nothing happened."

As they were about to turn their backs away from the tree, a beam of light suddenly appeared from its roots up to the leaves. With just a few seconds, the light burst, traveling all over the four lands.

With the lights fading away, a sudden sense of energy flowed up inside Wil's body. A golden mark appeared on his right shoulder, which seemed to take an image of an ancient Enchantrian symbol, which could be read as Dreus.

"The Emperor-in-waiting is one of the chosen Avallons," the Elders of the Northernlands cheered.

"I... I am?" Wil asked in surprise.

All of a sudden, images appeared in front of them. They were transparent figures of the great rulers who passed away.

Everybody kneeled before them, including the current rulers of the five lands.

"One by one, the chosen Avallons will receive the marking that we will give. Have patience, and by the fourth day, they will all unite," the first-ever Emperor who united the Immortals and Mortals together spoke in his voice full of wisdom.

"For now, your mission is to gather the new Avallons," he added as he turned his gaze towards Wil, "Take this crystal sphere that'll lead you to the newly chosen ones. Even though the journey will be perilous, I am certain that it will all be rewarded at the end and will lead you to your biggest dreams in life."

"Yes, You're Highness. I will," Wil replied bravely, taking the blue crystal ball from the former emperor. "But I have one question that I would like you to answer. Am I... Am I the rightful one for the throne?" he asked, catching the attention of the people around him.

"That's a question only you can know," the Emperor spoke then vanished as fast as they appeared.

Those words lurked inside Wil's heart. "I... I am still not ready to be a ruler, to be honest," he whispered as he turned to Alvier.

"But we waited so many days for this time to come," Torin uttered.

Alvier sighed, knowing that the decision was not his to meddle. "If it is his decision, then we should respect it. Besides, we can still wait for the right time when he's ready to be crowned our new Emperor," he stated.

As time passed by, the number of Enchantrians who visited the castle became lesser and lesser for the reason that they were all heading back home, including the rulers of the other kingdoms.

"As a chosen Avallon, I must go and gather the others," Wil spoke to the Elder Committee.

"Are you sure you can do this mission alone, You're Majesty?" Freia asked. "The Farisaes can accompany you."

"I can, and I will," Wil replied confidently. "I am sure that our ancestors chose me for a reason. Besides, the people need them here in case the Demons came back."

The Elders let out a bright, radiant smile with their hearts filled with proudness for the young man. "The whole Everdaile is pleased to have a soon-to-be-Emperor like you," they spoke as they helped him pack up the things he would need for the long journey.

•○GLOSSARY○•

⚔️Edue
- an Enchantrian word to express surprise or anger

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