With the torment of the Crystal Froststorm bearing down upon them, Arlysa khat their only ce for survival was to retract her Extreme Magic, Eternal Nightfall.

  Arlysa’s was weakened and she let out a strained call. Her speech veyed frustration as she recalled her magic. “Eternal Nightfall... retract!” Her and echoed through the battlefield and slowly but steadily, the darkness dissipated, revealing the true extent of the damage that had been inflicted upon them.

  Arlysa’s extreme magic dissipated. She and Sylra were left battered, exposed and without defeheir clothes were tattered and their bodies had many wounds caused by the Crystal Froststorm’s relentless assault.

  Roselle, still rec from her attacks, looked around in bewilderment as the darkness dissipated and the battlefield was revealed once more. Her fiery aura flickered and she could barely make out the shapes and figures of those around her. Risebelle’s figure caught her attention causio look over with suspi.

  “That must have been Risebelle’s doing,” Roselle muttered with slight fusion.

  Roselle’s fiery aura bzed brighter as she regained her posure. “I see you now, Sylra! No more hiding in that ‘dirty darkness.’ Let’s finish this!”

  Sylra’s face torted with anger. She khat her advantage had been nullified.

  Meanwhile Risebelle, emboldened by her newfound elemental fusion powards Arlysa with fidence. “Your darkness won’t save you from my water and ice, Arlysa! Prepare to be washed away!”

  Arlysa was still rec from the effects of the Crystal Froststorm. She ched her staff tightly with her frustration mounting by the sed.

  Sylra retreated from her battle with Roselle and joined Arlysa. Roselle went over and stood by her sisters.

  Arlysa’s looked towards the three sisters with a sharp gre. She knocked her staff against the ground and then said, “Don’t make the mistake of thinking that was my oreme Magic. I produce far more than regur mages! I’m not do!”

  The sisters, gathered together, exged gnces, fully aware that they were still in the midst of battle.

  Sylra was now on the side of Arlysa. Her earlier frustration was eled into a renewed sense of purpose. She silently prepared herself for what might e , her earth aura swirling around her.

  Risebelle, her Aqua-infused power surging within her, stared at Arlysa with unwavering resolve. Roselle, her fiery aura still burning brightly, ched her fists in readiness.

  Suddenly, a massive wall of fire erupted betweewo groups obsg their vision. Amidst the inferno, someone heard, fotten, but unmistakably familiar pierced the chaos with their arrival to the se.

  Emerging from the fire’s embrace, An, the Elite Mage with his fiery-red hair and strikingly handsome appearaood before them.

  His crimson gaze swept across the assembled fighters with a smirk pying at the ers of his lips as he addressed them in a tone of amusement. “Looks like I’ve crashed the party a tad early, huh?”

  An looked towards Roselle, Risebelle and Runebelle with a demeanor that was different than they would have thought sihey would expect him to still be an enemy in a situation like this. He looked at each of them with a casual, yet attentive gaze, taking note of their newfound powers and transformations.

  “Roselle,” he said with a nod, “you’re looking ferocious. I like that fire in you!”

  His eyes then shifted to Risebelle, who now wielded both water and ice powers. “Seems like you’re learning some ricks, Risebelle. Impressive.”

  Lastly, wheurned his attention to Runebelle. He appeared momentarily puzzled. “And who’s this?” he inquired.

  Roselle and Risebelle exged a gnd then expined, “That’s Runebelle, An. She was there during our battle against you.”

  An raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by the revetion.

  Arlysa’s patience wore thin. She interrupted the versatioween An and the sisters with a stern tone addressing An directly with her eyes narrowing.

  “Enough with the pleasantries,” she decred. ” An, do you realize that you are under suspi of betraying the Magical Academy? Your as here have made you look very suspicious indeed.”

  An’s face shifted from friendly to fuse as he absorbed the startling information. “I had no clue about any of this,” he replied with genuine surprise. “Nobody informed me about suspi, accusations or anything even close to that. Why the hell is it me? What did I d?”

  Arlysa sighed but her suspi was still evident.”Aliaed in injured and we lost Abner. But you, An, you didn’t report back to the Magical Academy after your enter. Your maractor was destroyed which further raised suspis that you might have allowed it to happen iionally.”

  Arlysa’s gaze bore into An as she asked the question directly. “An, have you been helping Roselle, Risebelle and Runebelle destroy the Maractors?”

  An’s response was swift with a smile ing to his fad a shrug of his shoulders. “No, absolutely not. I would never do something like that. You know me, Arlysa.”

  Arlysa’s spoke with frustration and disappoi as she tio question An’s motives. “I know you, An. You’ve always been a hothead, gathering mages and showing mercy when you should’ve finished your enemies. We’ve had to up after your reckless behavior tless times at the academy.”

  She didn’t stop there. “A’s not fet the past. You had a ce to eliminate Dr. Kintovar didn’t you? What happened? You let her live and now Risebelle, Roselle and Runebelle are the result of your failures. You’ve proven time and time again that you’re a liability as ae Mage!”

  An recalled that fateful day. The memories rushed ba with vivid crity. The chaotic pursuit through the mystical forest, the traps and explosio by Dr. Kintovar and finally, the moment of frontation in the clearing. An could still see the tears behind Kintovar’s sungsses and the bruises on her battered form.

  He remembered raising his hand with fmes gathering to form a destructive fireball poised to elimihe stist who had caused so much trouble. Yet, at the critical moment, hesitation had gripped him. He couldn’t bring himself to strike her down. That moment of doubt proved to be his undoing. Kintovar unleashed a smoke bomb and made her escape taunting him with the words, “Sucker,” as she vanished into the forest.

  An’s gaze lowered as he reted the memory. Regret and frustration came over him. He khat his indecision that day had allowed Dr. Kintovar to escape which set in motion the events that led to the creation of Risebelle, Roselle and Runebelle.

  Arlysa, An’s introspe, couldn’t help but add, “Your inability to finish what you start has sequences, An. Those sequences have now e back to haunt us.”

  An grew a smirk as he pted the situatiourned his attention to Arlysa and inquired, “So, what does the Magical Academy pn to do if it turns out I’m still on their side and holding my position? What kind of punishment does the headmaster have in mind for me?”

  Arlysa’s response was swift and unyielding. She stated, “If you’re truly on our side, An, then you should know that I will make sure you face severe sequences for your as. Betrayal doesn’t go unpunished. But...”

  She paused, “If you help us take out Roselle, Risebelle and Runebelle right now, I’ll make sure to speak nothing but good things to the headmaster. It’s your choice, An. Prove where your loyalty truly lies.”

  An’s had a hint of uainty as he spoke, “I’ve been w, Arlysa, if helping this Magical Academy is truly worth it. Yes, we mages sacrifice our lives otlefield. I’ve seen the casualties of war but what I’ve also seen is what the headmaster is pnning to do to get us off this isnd. She hasn’t told us everything. Mages with low affinity growth are being... sacrificed by her, Arlysa.”

  Arlysa raised an eyebrow. “Proof, An. I need proof of what you’re saying, otherwise your words are baseless,” she demanded.

  “Think about it, Arlysa. We had over 100,000 mages on this isnd at one point. Yes, some died during the attacks from those stifically created creatures, but our numbers dropped signifitly after that i. The thing is, our casualties during that attack were retively low, thanks to the Magical Academy’s anization and defenses. Yet, we now have only around 1,000 mages left here. That’s a drastic decrease which doesn’t add up unless you sider that some mages are being eliminated for reasons we’re not told.”

  Arlysa frowned sidering the numbers and the implications of what An was saying.

  An, with a sense of finality then decred, “I, An, ae Mage, a Fire Master and a self-procimed ‘nice guy,’ hereby resign from the service of the Magical Academy. I o longer align myself with an anization that hides the truth, kills its own members i and pursues questionable goals without transparency. My loyalty now lies with the betterment and safety of all mages in this world. I will do whatever it takes to protect them on my own.”

  Arlysa wore a shocked face as she heard An’s words. She shook her head to snap herself out of it. “An, think about what you’re doing. You ’t just turn your ba the academy like this! There must be another way to address your s.”

  But A a fident look. He was unshaken by the words. He turo Arlysa and asked, “Are you going to stop me, Arlysa? I’m going to the Magical Academy to front the headmaster and put ao her pns.”

  “An, if you’re set on putting ao the headmaster’s pn, have you sidered what that means for the rest of us? The headmaster’s pn may be the only way off this isnd. Sacrifices are painful and darkness may be uling but sometimes, they’re necessary to achieve the greater goal.”

  Aed, “Arlysa, you’re blinded by your loyalty to the academy. The headmaster has used her brainwashing spell on you and many others and you probably didn’t know it. I’ll leave you with that information and go to front the headmaster now. Later guys.”

  Arlysa with her rage fring, shouted out furiously, “You’re not going anywhere, An! I’ll stop you!”

  Arlysa raised her staff high in the air, dark magic surged around her, creating an aura of malevolehat sent shivers down the spines of those nearby. The grouh them trembled as dark energy shot up from the earth, verging to form the ominous dark moon in the sky. It blocked out the sun, turning the day into an eerie twilight.

  Roselle, Risebelle, Runebelle and Aed swiftly and avoided the surges of darkhat shot up from the ground.

  As the ominous dark moon began to form in the sky, casting an eerie twilight over the battlefield, An quickly grasped the gravity of the situatiourowards the sisters.

  “Listen up, all of you! We ’t let her plete that spell. If she does, we’re all in big trouble. We have to stop her now, or we’ll be toast!”

  Sylra dashed through An’s fire wall with ease showing no fear of the fmes. She reached Roselle and their fists cshed in a fierce exge of blows; however, the iy of their battle caused Roselle to be struck by one of the surges of darkness shooting up from the ground which sent her flying toward the growing dark moon in the sky.

  With a smirk on her face, Sylra looked back at the remaining trio—Risebelle, Runebelle and An,

  “Good luck dealing with that spell, kids. Yonna .” With that, Sylra disappeared into the darkness.

  Roselle went toward the dark moon taking damage the more she got close to it. Her screams of pain pierced the skies above. The surges of darkness tio buffet her with each impact adding tony. Risebelle shouted out in sheer desperation,

  “ROSELLE!!!”

  Risebelle watched helplessly, her heart pounding with dread for her sister.