England | Parliament for National Security
A tense silence fills the room. Everywhere on the walls hang detailed plans showing the outlines of Berlin. Twenty soldiers stand at attention - ten women and ten men all wearing tidy brown uniforms and each of them armed with a machine gun.
Suddenly the heavy door opens and all eyes focus on the man entering. An aura of authority accompanies his steps. His only remaining left eye glowing with an eerie, icy blue. Although he wears the same uniform as everyone else present, the soldiers salute him respectfully and reverently.
Without saying a word, he strides toward the briefing room. Arriving there, he takes hold of the board and turns it around. Immediately, the soldiers' voices echo together through the room:
"Welcome, Master Mage Joul!"
With a brief nod as Joul acknowledges their greeting. His deep voice now clearly and powerfully pierces through the tense atmosphere.
"Gentlemen we will attack. Our primary target is..."
His stare solidifying in an angry expression, his voice deeper and more threatening then before.
"Lucil the Rose Mage!"
A female soldier raises her hand immediately. Her long blonde hair shines as she energetically lifts her weapon into the air.
"He's just a mage! That shouldn't be a problem. One good sniper and bam."
Murmurs of agreement spread among the soldiers.
Yet Joul shakes his head slightly in a disapproving headshake while his voice becomes warning and forceful.
"Lucil is no ordinary mage. He fights with two swords and is exceptionally agile. He teleports, causes gigantic detonations and wields the most powerful illusions known to us."
Another soldier timidly raises his hand. Joul gives him a short acknowledgement to allow him to speak.
"Nevertheless - one shot -"
"He has a dragon as an avatar." Joul sharply interrupts him. "Moreover he possesses an extraordinarily powerful shield. Lucil always approaches his opponents first. Stay alert! As soon as he gets into close combat he is among the strongest fighters in this world."
"Yes, nevertheless, he cannot alone -"
"The last time, as tried to drop a bomb on him…", Joul interrupts him with a thunderous voice. "... I still had both eyes and Arazaha was still a settlement and not a goddamn graveyard."
Instantly all the soldiers fall silent. The seriousness of the situation is becoming tangible and the weight is slowly dawning on the soldiers.
Joul's silently sweeps through the ranks with his eyes before he concludes decisively and with unyielding intent:
"Lucil must be eliminated. As long as he lives the devastation will be immeasurable. He and his tower must fall."
After Joul's words fade away a chill runs down the soldiers' spines as if they'd just personally looked into the eyes of the devil himself.
Once again, Joul raises his deep, cutting voice:
"The highest priority is the elimination of Lucil. Accordingly all circle battalions have agreed - including the Anti-Magic Battalion."
The soldiers exchange intimidated, downright uncertain glances.
"All?" the blonde female soldier hesitantly asks.
"All! "Joul nods shortly, somehow even more serious and uncompromising than before.
Battlefield | Berlin | Domain of the Tower
Before them an enormous palace rises - dark, with an evil aura of sinister magic. In the front garden the endless rows of magnificent roses bloom but beneath these roses lie hundreds of fallen soldiers fully scattered across the ground. Each corpse gets overgrown by roses that slowly sprout from their bodies. Some of the dead disappear entirely into the overgrown tangle of roses.
All soldiers have fallen - except for one man. Joul stands alone now frozen in shock and trauma.
Opposed to him, a man in a deep red coat with two swords tightly in his hands. A long scarf flutters around his silhouette. His eyes meeting with Joul's singular eye.
"LUCIL!" Joul desperately yells with all his remaining fury.
Lucil calmly slides both of his swords back into the Sword sheaths on his back, wraps his scarf around his right arm and while all around there are no signs of the soldiers' corpses bleeding - instead the rose petals sprout from their wounds until their bodies are finally completely transformed into violet roses and get dissolved.
"Those who play stupid games win stupid prizes." Lucil speaks with icy calmness.
He looks at Joul with pity in his eyes.
"Joul, I had warned you. No one touches this domicile."
He looks up to him as he rises with determination, drops his now useless weapon to the ground and cracks his knuckles as blazing blue streams begin to surround him.
Lucil then slowly closes his eyes while the harrowing howl of a dragon echoes in the distance.
Lucil vanished after taking one step and the next moment a tremendous impact noise.
Before Joul can realise what just happened Lucil is already back in his previous position.
Without any word he turns and makes his way towards the castle.
Joul looks confused as to what has happened as he looks down at his own body. Where a devastating strike should have left a gaping wound now his limbs begin to crumble into rose petals.
Lucil's voice rings out once more - clear and cold:
"Endless Blossom - Mage Sacrifice."
As soon as Lucil spoke the words more corpses across the battlefield began to dissolve into countless magnificent roses.
"Silver will save us.. !" Joul gasped in despair.
"Then I will die with him - and erase these extremes from this world.",Lucil responded calmly with a firm resolve.
He slowly raises his hand and snaps his fingers.
A mighty storm of rose petals swirls up behind him and from within it a colossal dragon manifests majestically.
Without another word Lucil returns to the interior of the tower.
LuSilfer - the dragon - rises thunderously above the palace and breathes down a wave of destructive violet flames which consume Joul's remains once and for all.
Rose Temple
Lucil and the Shadow clash with devastating force.
A massive shockwave erupts. The ground vibrates and shatters; earth and chunks of stone are spinning chaotically around through the air. A black, menacing mist rapidly spreads out.
Lucil quickly pushes himself backward leaving deep grooves in the ground and lands safely a few meters away. He takes a deep breath to refocus his mind.
"Rose Environment - Movement 4 - Swarming Petals" Lucil says with a calm determination.
At that moment his eyes begin to glow with intense light as do the chains that adorn him. Massive thorny vines burst from the ground and quickly cover almost the whole area. The vines spread at an unstoppable pace while countless roses bloom rampantly in every direction.
The Shadow casually snaps his fingers.
"Behemoth." a distorted, monstrous voice echoes out.
The black mist around him thickens immediately. All the roses near him wither at once and crumble into dust. From the shadows rises a gigantic, horrifying creature with nightmarish appearance - four massive, monstrous legs stomp impatiently against the ground.
For a brief moment Lucil lets his guard down - a tiny and a barely noticeable distraction.
Suddenly the shadow stands right in front of him; from its arm, a glowing sword forms in a flash, ready to strike. Lucil reacts instinctively just barely able to block the blow with his hand gripping his opponent's wrist tightly.
But at that exact moment the Behemoth is already charging toward him from the side. Its thundering steps leave deep cracks in the ground and the earth trembles ominously.
"Rose - Shif -"
Lucil doesn't make it in time. With brutal and merciless force the Behemoth slams into him from the side. Yet Lucil remains rooted in place unmoving, rock solid.
His body withstands the impact but his arms tear under the immense pressure. Instead of blood a bunch of softly swirling rose petals flow from the open wounds into the air.
"Rose Switch." Lucil stoically with a cold, emotionless voice.
In a blink of an eye he vanishes - leaving both the Shadow and Behemoth striking nothing but air. The Shadow's sword crashes with a metallic sound into the ground and the Behemoth loses all control.
A second later the earth shatters entirely, forming a massive crater several meters deep. The dark mist continues to spread and annihilates every remaining rose mercilessly.
"You're not an illusion... You're taking the trial too." the Shadow speaks with a surprised tone.
"Your illusions are useless." Lucil replies flatly.
A deep, amused laugh rings out. The Shadow snaps his fingers once more.
The black mist slowly withdraws and finally reveals the true face of the opponent:
A man steps forward - sharp brown eyes beneath a black fedora, a three-day beard, giving him a refined yet threatening presence. He wears a sleek black suit, his hands adorn mysterious magical circles from the center of which the symbol of the Behemoth gleams darkly.
"Lucil - Rose Mage." Lucil fully fixated on him.
"Kragalta - Shadow Mage." the man responds with respect, still menacingly.
"It will be my honor Shadow Mage. I've rarely seen such power." Lucil nods slightly with acknowledgement.
"A mage focused on close combat and illusions - very rare but only one can leave this trial with their Avatar." Kragalta returns a dark smile.
"The other one dies." Lucil responds with cold determination.