The Extra Wants Control

The small crimson and violet moons of Verona's 'Nameless Hour' hung very low in the sky, part of their curved surface being lower than the clouds, casting an unsettling violet-red glow on the world below. It was a sight that united the disparate races of Elnova in a shared sense of uncomfortableness, from the haughtiest nobles and race leaders to the lowliest peasants... Even monsters retreated.

In the continents slightly high above their respective lands, barriers shimmered into existence.

The Elven Queen, Ilyana with her big sister Clara had encased the entire continent in a dome, its surface reflecting and barely touching the eerie 'moons'.

The other races also followed suit, each constructing shields over vital areas – capitals, military bases, and administrative centers.

Their spells unleashed fast testament to a desperate need for protection, it was as if they were in a state of emergency.

In the Dragon Continent...

Aethelred, the Dragon King, snorted as steam practically came from his nostrils as he surveyed the scene from his castle throne room. "Absurd!" he said, his voice echoing across his empty throne room. "You want to tell me this is a law? A law that encompasses the entire world? Not even a continent, but the whole damn world?

This is just a sub-domain!" He said in rage but in truth Aethelred was feeling small... though he seemed out of it Aethelred diligently ensured a barrier on his strategic areas and area he needed to protect...

Unlike the elves he didn't have two 11 star beings lying around( he wouldn't even permit an 11 star dragon to be born cause that would threaten his rule) so he had to make do with what he had and allover the continent with no one noticing(cause that would practically tell the whole world, " look there's something important here!") he made barriers, invisible ones.

In the Elven palace, Ilyana stood beside her niece, Lara. Moments ago because of the ruckus in the north(Vamp Territory) Ilyana had used a telepathic link to project a vision of the battle between Verona and the unknown man on the vampire continent.

It was a brutal display of power, one that ended with Verona plunging the world into darkness. Now, the barrier cut them off from any further observation. She wanted Lara to see for herself how strong above 10 star people are and how strong you need to be to call yourself a race leader!

"If the Vampires are so strong…" Lara murmured, her voice laced with dawning realization. She had witnessed the unmatched power of the Vampire Queen firsthand.

"Perhaps," Ilyana replied, her emerald eyes shimmering with a mixture of apprehension and grudging respect. "It might be time for you to establish diplomatic relations with their prince."

"I told you that 4 years ago!" Lara said.

" Whatever." Ilyana would never admit being wrong.

Down on the scale of power, the peasants, fear gripped the hearts of many. Mothers clutched their children close, whispering prayers to their gods. But amidst the terror, there were people who had a different emotion ,a admiration of the strength of the person causing whatever this was.

The world held its breath waiting while being caught in the suffocating grip of the Nameless Hour.

***************

[Valeriana's Space]

Valeriana in her flaming armour unleashed a torrent of white fire.

These weren't the crackling flames of her usual starter inferno, these burned with an eerie white luminescence... She was using the energy she had learned with Neveah and it 'burned' independent of air.

With her fiery sword, her weapon imbued and coated with the essence of her aura which was fiery in nature, she skillfully swung her sword, each strike laced with devastating power. Her awesome martial prowess was on full display.

Thadeus, her ex-husband and a formidable mage in his own right, found himself slightly pushed back by the sheer audacity of her assault.

"Where there's no air," he had said earlier as he dispersed a major part of the air and used gravity to compress the flames while also simultaneously taking away the air around it to completely snuff out the flames,"there's no fire." He said with a smile.... but... He had underestimated her and Valeriana whipped out a new form of flames that were more destructive.

The air crackled as Thadeus countered. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned fierce windstorms with fierce wind blades to attach Valeriana as he bombarded her with gravity changes (heavy/ light/ normal gravity) to get her off guard and off balance.

But she was a mountain, unyielding. With a roar, she cut through the storms.

Seeing his efforts failing, Thadeus changed tactics. He raised his index finger, a pinpoint of focus forming at its tip. There, a tiny purple orb began to condense, gathering energy at an alarming rate. It pulsed with a dark, sinister power.

But Valeriana wouldn't wait for him to unleash whatever magic attack he was brewing.

She charged, a blazing comet hurtling towards Thadeus. In response, he slammed his other hand down and made purple doppelgangers, perfect copies of himself as he continued making his orb attack.

Reacting with lightning speed, Valeriana brought her fiery sword down, cleaving, cutting, dicing, slashing through the Doppelgangers with ease.

Each phantom dissolved into wisps of smoke upon contact. But the distraction had bought Thadeus precious moments. His dark orb had grown significantly, swirling with raw power. Valeriana knew she couldn't let him finish whatever he was preparing.

With a battle cry that echoed through the ravaged landscape, she shot herself at Thadeus once more, determined to end this fight before he unleashed his ultimate attack.

" Too late." Thadeus said.

And he shot the orb towards Valeriana which moved fast, by the time it reached Valeriana is when a sonic boom was heard from Thadeus' finger.

The orb was met with a sword slash that hit the orb making it shape into a heart... Then Valeriana channeled her energies both man and Zera and then cut through it completely as the orb fell on the sea while being eaten away by the white particles but no one noticed it...

By the time it reached the sea it was smaller but on impact it made the waters shoot up and split the very see floor made two craters. When the split see wavesade contact again violently splashing before calming as water drained into the crater... That day the sea level became even lower even if slightly.

The two responsible continued fighting....

Valeriana clashed with Thadeus the mage of air and gravity, their fight together with Verona's fight weare making map altering changes on the world, especially Valeriana's who unlike Verona who was preventing damage to the world by making portals that took away the attack to somewhere...

Each blow, each magical attack each counter, was a catastrophic event. As Valeriana's white flames cleaved through the air and Thadeus made terrific gravity shifts, tremors were felt in nearby continent, triggering earthquakes that even leveled entire mountains and of-course in this destruction a lot of beings lost their lives.

Thadeus and Valeriana fought mostly on the sea but they were north of the Vampire Continent where monsters resided.

Gladly they weren't near any other land mass... The other continents just experience high tides and violent winds of different temperatures mostly hot winds.

With a flick of his wrist, Thadeus unleashed a storm which was whipping the flames outwards by creating tornados that carved paths of devastation across the seascape.

The clash of their magic generated heat so intense, it split the seas, boiling the water down to exposed seabed in a matter of seconds. Only for them to be sealed back up.

Valeriana, radiating with her fire-natured aura, carved through the air, her attacks splitting the steam into swirling eddies.

Thadeus cloaked himself in a shimmering dome of purple energy, manipulated the very air around him, deflecting her fiery blows.

The gravity manipulation negated the heat, keeping him cool amidst the inferno she unleashed.

Locked in a fight of destruction, they ascended higher, their fight spilling into the heavens. Valeriana fueled by deep rage, unleashed a torrent of white fire so intense, it seemed to split the clouds above them.

Below, the world convulsed.

Tsunamis rose from the boiled seas, crashing onto the adjacent Continent's coasts especially the Vampire Continent which was already ravaged by earthquakes. The skies wept, unleashing heavy downpours that threatened to drown the undergrowth life. The Northern part of the vampire continent was a dangerous place to be as even monsters fled downwards...

Chatham was keeping them at bay so that they wouldn't get to civilization.

Finally, suspended high above the devastated world, they locked eyes. Both, battered and slightly tired, yet unwavering in their determination. Valeriana, her voice echoing with power, began and Thadeus followed,"Law Initialization:" they said in unison

" Maestro..."

" Destructive..."

Their pronouncements and initializion were cut short.

The world around them plunged into an oppressive darkness. The glow from Valeriana's white aura, however, remained, a beacon in the suffocating dark.

Verona's Nameless Hour had descended, casting a crimson pallor over the world, even amidst their cataclysmic battle. Suspended in the darkness, Valeriana was momentarily startled but focussed on Thadeus who she couldn't seem to locate.

*******

[Now]

The twin moons of Verona's Nameless Hour, once the only source of light in the suffocating darkness were suddenly attacked... They tried to attack them but the attack didn't make it far as it suddenly stopped mid air and was snuffed out.

Streaks of obsidian black crackled across their surfaces, like the veins of an enraged beast.

Then, with a deafening boom that seemed to shake the very fabric of reality, something ripped a gash across the face of one moon.

In that split second, before the world could react, a sound pierced the oppressive silence. Not a scream, not a roar, but something even more eerie. It was a laugh.

A sound that resonated deep within the sound that sent shivers down spines and as hearts felt cold, then a war horn was sounded like a declaration but mostly a warning to their enemies.

The demons! They were back.

All over the world the and from the darkness. Inky shadows condensed with purple streaks on them... forming grotesque shapes with burning eyes and razor-sharp claws.

Panic raw, unadulterated and universally shared erupted as the creatures materialized in every city, every village, every corner of Elnova. They shrieked and howled, their monstrous voices tearing through the night.

Amidst the chaos, in the space where Verona had m, a new figure appeared. Tall and slender, clad in a crimson robe that hung loosely around his form, he exuded an aura of dark power. Beside him stood Xavier, a bewildered look etched on his face.

"My apologies for disrupting your little fight," the figure said, his voice smooth surprisingly devoid of malice? It was mostly playful.

"I'm Marquis Memphis Yunael Mephistopheles IX and it's your pleasure to meet me" he introduced himself with a bow.

"Don't be offended, miss," he added, a sly smile playing on his lips as he glanced at the unamused form of Verona, "Unlike this man and his organization," he gestured towards Xavier, "we know precisely what we are doing."

" What they know us!?" Thought Xavier in surprise.