"Why didn't we take the carriage? I deserve to know," jake grumbled in frustration.

"We are going to pass by a forest ruled by bandits and thieves. Bringing a carriage would cause us unnecessary trouble, don't you think?" explained Timothy.

"Forest? Where?"Jake asked looking around .  "Just shut up and walk!" Ver screamed after growing tired of Jake's nonsense. Jake looked at her with a wronged expression, earning himself a scoff, leaving him grumbling to himself.

"There it is," Finn pointed at the distantsilhouetteof a forest. Jake almost yelped in joy looked like he was about to jump and scream before realizing that the forest was still an hour away. 

"Damnit, I can't catch a break, can't I?" Jake clicked his tongue in annoyance , Timothy shook his head at his friend's pained expression.

...

Back in Nâçiteñe'v city, four men dressed in white and gold magr robes with hoodies approached the city from four different directions. When they reached the outer wall, all of them started mumbling strange words. 

"Revi nor seij vor unze'r dela krovoz. Revi dela BLODKLOT CLEANSE THE WORLD WITH BLOOD." Their eyes started bleeding, along with their noses and ears, as two tentacles emerged from their backs before the tentacles started moving to the left and one to the right. 

The tentacles shot towards one another before joining together. As soon as the tentacles conjoined, a blood barrier appeared, covering the whole city. The people in the city looked up at the sky, amazed by what they saw. "My Lord, there is a barrier of blood covering the whole sky!" one of Iver's most trusted men reported to him. 

" Only Death awaits the city now , it seems like it is time ." he thought to himself. 

"Get me that boy Morgan and his two lackeys. I have something I need to discuss with them." Iver commanded.

"Yes, my Lord." The man bowed and left.

 A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Enter." Iver answered the door.

 "Saint Iver, we heard you called for us?" Morgan asked, concealing his happiness under a serious expression.

 "Yes, the city will perish, and I don't think I can protect any one of you. So right now I need you to leave and go to the capital and report the destruction of the city to the king's council." "My Lord, what about our families? What about you? Why don't you all leave with us?" Morgan asked as the weight of Iver's words sunk in. 

"Families? In this great peril? If your father was given the option to choose; your life or his,  what do you think he would choose? " iver asked scrutinizing the boys from head to toe. 

Morgan contemplated Iver's words and eventually nodded realizing that his life was the most precious thing,  therefore he had to put himself first. 

Iver smiled at Morgan before continuing " I on the other hand  , as the one in charge of the city, I have to be here when doom faces it and try to fight, even though the chances of me solving the problem are futile. I have to die trying , for that is the way of a true knight .....Of a true sword Saint." Iver spoke in a determined manner whilst handing the boy a map , his image of a righteous  man in front of the boys was fully portrayed in his words and expression.

 "This is a map of underground tunnels that go from here to Sondor the warringvillage. Once you reach Sondor  look for Faro jorn and explain everything I told you and everything you saw that way you can be taken to the capital city. I entrust you with this task , leave now before you too become collateral damage. If I survive, I'll definitely be behind you." Iver's words were like "The boys bowed before turning around to leave." "Morgan, remember you are the future of Zebha. Don't let me down." with that Morgan nodded proudly and left the room.

 "Sadly, you are not the main character of this generation nor are you of any importance," Iver spoke with a smile. Above the city, red clouds filled the sky slowly gathering , turning into one big cloud with blood lightning bolts flashing in the sky. With that, it started to rain, but the rain was not water but it was blood, raining heavily, filling the whole city in red and the scent of blood permeated whole seated like a deadly pandemic on the loose. 

The people of the city seemed to be in a daze before their bodies started mutilating. Their skin turned red, hands turning to claws, their teeth turned razor-sharp, and their eyes turned yellow. Those who didn't mutilate screamed in horror as they watched their loved ones mutilate. Children watched their mothers turn into a horrific creature before being attacked and ripped into shreds and ate. Husbands were killed by their newly mutilated wives, and children killed their parents . In a span of ten minutes, the whole city was now quiet with only the sounds of teeth grinding on bones as the abominations fed on the former occupants of the city. 

"This place reeks." Iver who had surprisingly survived the fall of the city spoke as he slowly navigated his way out of the city,  he seemed to be invisible to the horrifying creatures that murdered the whole city. The whole city was a mess filled with mangled flesh , dried up blood , and disfigured bodies of the former occupants of the city. Some were being ripped apart by the abominable creatures as they feasted on the lifeless remains of the former citizens of Nâçiteñe'v city , the city cleansed in blood.

" Not now.....they are not yet ready for me." Iver spoke his gaze in the direction of the capital , before taking the opposite route and heading towards the unknown.  His journey was a mystery to all except for him , smiling as he made his way to the unknown....

....

Timothy and the rest had finally entered the forest, breathing in a breath of fresh forest air. "Ah, magnificent trees, please continue sheltering us from the sun with your cool shade." Jake spoke, but no one reprimanded him as they all shared the same thoughts.

They walked for an hour before reaching the center of the forest. The plant life here was vastily different from the ones in the outer region; it was much larger , enchanting and beautifully scary. The forest had an air  of mystery and many creatures of legend seemed to reside in this magical place. 

"Now, remain cautious," Finn warned, his voice barely audible as they traversed through the center of the forest. They would occasionally hear many sounds from beasts and sometimes even from people but finn was good at leading , making sure they would not encounter danger along the way . But that wasn't until a deep and menacing voice resounded out through the forest followed by a series of mad laughter ,

"What do we have here, boys?!"

Fresh meat," a gang of menacing figures surrounded them, some lurking in the trees while others skulked on the ground—these formidable individuals were nothing short of ruthless bandits.

"Forgive us, gentlemen, for trespassing in your territory. Please allow us to pass, and we will be on our way," Elaine spoke with a composed demeanor.

"So, the woman speaks for you, huh? Well, I'm saying, for your lack of bravery, men and boys, you are all going to meet your demise right here," the lead bandit declared with a tone dripping with disdain.

Elaine, displaying a level-headed response, merely shook her head, taking a step back—an indication that she had exhausted her attempts at diplomacy.

Finn, however, moved forward, his irritation mounting in the face of these audacious bandits.

"I'm going to give you all up to a count of 10 to run before I start extinguishing your lives right here," Finn declared with a stern, no-nonsense demeanor.

The bandits erupted in mocking laughter at Finn's ultimatum, taunting their impending doom with a carefree arrogance.

Meanwhile, Finn picked up a twig and began counting, each number punctuated by the bandits' uproarious laughter, growing even more uproarious as the counting continued.

"I warned you guys. Can you close your eyes for a bit?" Finn turned to Timothy and the others, his request met with confusion.

They complied with his instruction, and after a few seconds, Finn instructed them to open their eyes.

"Where did they go?" Ver asked, her surprise evident

"They ran away," Finn nonchalantly replied, though the discerning eyes of Timothy and Jake detected a trace of blood on his hands—a detail that didn't escape their scrutiny.

"Let's proceed," Finn spoke as they continued on their way. Night was slowly approaching, but they were not out of the woods yet. Instead, Finn took them to a beautiful river deep in the forest.

"We are here."

"Are we not supposed to be going to the capital?" Finn chuckled lightly as he walked into the river, followed by Elaine, as they disappeared into the depths of the river.

"So we were brought here to do what? Drown ourselves in this river?" Jake asked, feeling agitated. "What are you guys doing?" To his surprise, Timothy and Ver also went into the river, leaving him standing on the bank all by himself. He cursed and followed behind.

"What is this place?" Jake asked as he stepped onto the stairs that led down. He could see Finn and Elaine standing near a huge boulder with runes all over its surface.

"Hey guys, wait for me!" Jake quickly caught up with Timothy and Ver. They, too, looked amazed at the sight. They had clearly entered the river, but it seemed like the water on top was just an illusion. They weren't even wet, but when they looked above, they could clearly see aquatic plants and animals, which confused them.

"What is this place?"

"This is the gateway to the capital," Finn answered Timothy as he placed his hand on the boulder, activating the runes. The runes lit up, and a portal appeared on the rock. Finn and Elaine looked at their expressions, but both of them were surprised to see the teenagers looking abnormally calm.

"I thought you'd be amazed or shocked. I mean, any reaction I was expecting, but not that one," Finn spoke.

"We are literally under a river, but yet we are not soaked, and we can still communicate normally. I don't believe there's anything more shocking than that. But I do believe it's about time you start telling us the truth, and I mean the whole truth," Timothy spoke in a somber tone , his somber expression a reflection of his current emotions and determination to unearth the truth.

"Very well, I will explain everything to you tomorrow. For now, let's go in," Finn spoke before disappearing into the portal followed by Elaine. The teenagers quickly followed behind  expecting  the portal to be filled with dangers, but in reality, it was just like entering through a door with the only side effect being a slight dizziness.

"Welcome to the capital." Finn announced  , right after they exited the portal gateway.  Looking dumbfounded by the scene in front of them they all  gasped . They were currently atop a mountain , and looking down below they spotted a majestic palace, standing tall and mighty. Built on high ground the palace overlooked the whole capital. In the center of the capital was the temple, the temple's architectural design was a Doric peripteral temple, which means that it consists of a rectangular floor plan with a series of low steps on every side and a colonnade (8 x 17) of Doric columns extending around the periphery of the entire structure. Each entrance consisted of an additional six columns in front of it. The rest of the buildings had a classical design and huge courtyards, but that was not what captured their attention the most.

"Am I the only one seeing this?" Jake asked with wide eyes staring at the sky.

"Nope," Timothy and Ver responded in sync , their expressionsno different from Jake's own.

In the sky above, many people were riding on flying creatures, mainly Griffins and a creature that looked like a hybrid between a beast and fowl. The flying steeds were huge , almost the size of a small house

"Uh, you think those flying steeds are impressive? Wait till you see mine," Finn spoke with a smile of anticipation plastered on his visage.

Four men in knight armor approached them from the sky , riding on  Griffins. They didn't land but instead they circled them 

"You there, state your business." The leader of the knights spoke , his domineering voice reverberating throughout the mountain. 

"I have been gone for not more than a month, and you all have forgotten me? Well that is a shame." Finn let out a helpless sigh 

"My Lord, forgive us. It's been a long time since someone used the ancient gateway to enter. We expected you to use the teleportation device in Sondor." The leader immediately ordered his men to land after recognizing finn.

"Whatttttttttttt!!!!!" The teenagers glared at Finn furiously  , their eyes darting from Finn to Elaine  .

"You should not have said that," Finn spoke , scratching the back of his head with an awkward laugh, shocking the knights with his reaction. Elaine quickly looked away with a "don't look at me" expression, making the three even more angry.

"Look on the bright side, we got to bond," Finn laughed awkwardly.

Jake glared at him with burning fury in his eyes , silently cursing hisfamily up to the seventh generation.

"My Lord, let us escort you and your guests." The leader of the guards spoke and gestured  for them to get on the steeds.

"We will wal- okay fine, fine, suit yourselves," Finn changed his sentence midway sensing the burning gazes directed at him. 

They rode on the steeds as each stead could carry up to three people. They took off flying towards the majestic castle , what awaited them was a whole new world.