The swing of a sword cannot cut the mist from the sky.

– Li He, Tang Dynasty

•☽────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧────☾•

As she stated those words, a beam of light shone upon the palms of her hands together with the leaves of the tree radiating with their various colors. Time froze at that moment, which let nobody witness that phenomenon.

At the moment that time ticked normally again, Cithara gained her inner consciousness, unaware of how she ended up at the center of the garden.

"What happened?"

Strange thoughts began to wrestle inside her again – thoughts that seemed to be impossible to happen.

The light of the sun slowly faded away as dark and stormy clouds gathered high up above the sky. A roar of thunder caught everyone's attention, which was accompanied by several bright flashes of lightning that struck the ground. Thousands of rain droplets fell down the sky, which led the Immortals to find shelter.

All of a sudden, they were shocked by the scene of a flock of shadowy figures heading fast toward the Empire. The Elders Commitee, together with the rulers of the other lands who gathered at the Emperor's hall, were flabbergasted by what happened.

The immortals had no choice but to watch the figures land toward them.

One by one, the shadowy figures turned into human form with blood-red eyes and razor-sharp fangs.

"Greetings, Immortals," one of the strange creatures spoke. He seemed to be different from the others, for he had a crown on his head made with withered leaves. He also had wings like a raven and a third eye located at his forehead.

At the time they transformed, the Elders knew what they were as they rushed outside the castle to confront the unexpected visitors.

"Demons?" Cithara spoke nervously as she slowly stepped backward. She hid behind the Avallon Tree, pushing herself to avoid making any unnecessary movements.

One of the demons landed right in front of her, and she was certain that they were not as friendly as they looked. That one demon was the king of the demons. His eyes were fixed on the tree, where she sought protection.

"I heard that one of the empires will have a new Emperor," the Demon King spoke, then let out a chuckle. "Too bad you don't have your guardians to protect you anymore," he whispered to himself.

Due to her close distance, Cithara heard every word that came out of the demon's mouth.

"What do you want?" Alvier spoke as he stepped up with the other Elders from the different lands.

"There's no need to worry," the Demon King answered, "We are here to see the coronation. We want to show our respect to our fellow Enchantrians."

"How did they manage to enter our Realm, and how did they know about the coronation?" Torin, one of the Elders, asked out of curiosity.

"Could this mean that the prophecy is already fulfilling?" Freia uttered.

"The prophecy? What prophecy?" the innocent soon-to-be Emperor of Everdaile asked.

Alvier sighed as he put his arms over the boy's shoulder. "At the time the moons and the sun align, the Immortal Realm will be doomed."

"Could this be the end of the Immortal Realm? Or worse, the end of Enchantria?!" Cithara gasped.

Little did she know that with the noise she made, she caught the attention of the Demon King. An evil smile crept upon his face as he walked towards the sacred tree where he heard the voice.

"Just a child who's unaware of what she is," he grinned with his gaze dropped towards Cithara. "How pitiful! A life of misery awaits her," he added.

Hearing those words, the things she saw earlier flashed before her mind again. There, she saw a man dressed in black who had raven wings like the demon in front of her.

"Well, it seems like nobody wants us to be here," the Demon King spoke. "We will just head back to our realm. This is enough touring for today."

And with a blink of an eye, the dark forces vanished together with the rain, thunder, and lightning that interrupted the whole ceremony.

Terrified of the things that might happen, the Elders and all the rulers of the Immortal Realm rushed towards the main hall.

"Is it... Is it too late to cancel the coronation?" the soon-to-be-Emperor, Wil Elashor, asked.

"What is the problem?" The Emperor of Mithrin, one of the kingdoms located at the Western Lands, questioned.

"The coronation can wait. Right now, we must focus on the whole thing that just happened," Wil answered as they passed the corridors leading toward the hall.

"But we traveled to great lengths just to see you being crowned as the new Emperor," the queen of Guevaria, a kingdom from the Eastern Lands, murmured.

Wil took the words he heard inside his heart. "Maybe... Maybe that's not a great idea," he murmured.

"What do you mean?" asked the Emperor of Mithrin.

"Maybe Wil has a plan," Alvier uttered to the rulers of each kingdom, backing up Wil's plan as he saw him losing confidence.

Everyone sat down in their chairs with a crystal table that seemed to be an Enchantrian map at the center.

"The creatures will be so disappointed if they found out that the coronation will be canceled," the queen of Guevaria added.

"Yes! Yes, we know, You're Highness!" Alvier exclaimed. "Isn't it bothering to know that the portal towards the Spirit Realm might have been opened?"

"Who might open such a portal? How could he do that?" Greo, another member of the Elder Committee, asked. "For many years that I studied the Immortal and Mortal Realm, I didn't get any clue of how to open it. I didn't know that it was even possible!"

"Maybe they passed through the Endless Sea," Aja suggested.

"It is impossible, My Lady. No creature had ever survived when they reached the Endless Sea. Even the Avallons cannot go there," Alvier answered. "And I can be sure that the Demons cannot survive that mysterious place as well."

"There's no way that the Demons can go here without the help of the hidden portals unless..." Wil spoke, "Unless someone opened it."

•☽────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧────☾•