On an island far away from the main island where the banquet was being held, a figure stood on a massive boulder, calmly overseeing a small army of youths.
The figure was tall and imposing, his presence cold and distant as he stood on the boulder with both hands clasped behind his back.
His expression was emotionless, as though carved from ice. He looked down at the trembling youths below, hundreds of them, shaking, some praying under their breaths, others staring into the void with lifeless gazes.
Yet, he looked at them like they were nothing more than ants meant for slaughter.
With the unmistakable features of the Dimensari race, Carius's lips parted, his voice rolling out like a death sentence.
"You have one minute to come to terms with your fate. Prepare to fulfill your destiny."
The shivering of the youths intensified the moment they heard him speak.
One minute.
Just one more minute, and they would die.
Despite this, there was only intrigue in Carius's gaze as he stared at the hundreds of youths in front of him.
It was an odd occurrence, but Carius was truly intrigued by the situation. It had come as a shock, even to him, but a well-warranted one, considering the sheer depth of what was unfolding before his eyes.
'Not everyone is as stupid as I presume,' Carius admitted in his head.
Because while the youths below were consumed by despair at the thought of their impending deaths, Carius looked at them as beautiful creations, perfect pieces in a complex puzzle.
They were a result of ingenuity, one that even Carius had to acknowledge.
He was a planner. Every step he took was calculated. He made plans for plans. Which was why this foresight from the Obsidian Order truly intrigued him.
The Obsidian Order had been orchestrating this for a long time.
They planned for years.
They had kidnapped children from different races of the Alliance, experimented on them, and placed them back into their respective societies, only to be used in the far, far future.
But even this wasn't what fascinated Carius the most.
It was their execution. What they had achieved.
A feat he would have never imagined possible.
At least, not in this world.
'It's beautiful,' he thought.
The experiments they had performed on those children, the reason only a few hundred remained, were all tied to one incredible objective.
The Obsidian Order had turned the youths into living artifacts.
A feat Carius never thought possible.
They had been transformed into beings who, upon death, could issue a single command, fueled by their life force.
'There's nothing greater than life,' Carius thought.
One could have overwhelming mana, aura, spiritual energy, and power…
Yet, he had just discovered something far greater.
Life force.
The Obsidian Order had obviously discovered this too and had successfully learned how to harness and utilize it.
From what Carius knew, there were still limitations to the ability.
The command the youths could issue was limited to one sentence. It was also bound by strict laws: it had to be physically actionable. Its strength scaled with the individual's life force, meaning the younger the person, the stronger the effect.
Abstract or cosmic-defying requests would fail. While the effect could be devastating, it offered no guarantee of success, only a powerful attempt.
And most importantly, the transformation was irreversible.
The moment the command was spoken, the youth's soul would vanish, leaving behind only ash and silence.
'Beautiful,' Carius thought again, his eyes gleaming.
He wanted it.
He wanted to be in control of such a force.
'Soon,' he resolved in his mind.
After this, he would dedicate all his efforts to attaining it.
But his thoughts soon shifted to the Obsidian Order, the very group he had temporarily allied with.
'I should be getting ready to sever my ties.'
After his loss to Atticus during the Nexus, Carius had been unable to fulfill his original plan of killing all the Apexes and becoming the sole remaining reincarnator. So, he had made another plan, another move.
Atticus was growing stronger than ever. Carius knew he needed outside interference, a temporary ally.
The Obsidian Order had been the perfect choice.
As it turned out, Carius reaching out had benefited both sides.
The Obsidian Order had sleeper cells in every race but lacked a proper way to communicate with them, especially after the children entered the academy.
They had planned to solve this later, but Carius became their solution.
As an Apex, he would soon be stationed with the very targets they wanted, and their own embedded agents. Communication was swift and efficient. Through this, Carius discovered the existence of Cores in each Apex, even himself.
Yet, Carius hadn't stopped pursuing his original goal.
To him, killing the Apexes was more important than the Cores.
He knew the being that reincarnated them was of a higher scale than this world. And though the Obsidian Order claimed there was a way to extract his Core without killing him, even suggesting a mana contract for it, Carius wasn't foolish. He made plans upon plans, accounting for everything.
Once he confirmed the deaths of all the Apexes, his mission would be complete.
But one question still lingered in his mind.
'Is it truly the Zorvans?'
Carius couldn't believe the Zorvans were capable of creating such a result. Living artifacts? It felt far too advanced, even for them.
'Maybe it's that being,' he suspected.
Someone beyond this world. Someone who taught the Obsidian Order how to create this.
His eyes glinted.
"It's time."
Carius's voice echoed across the clearing, sounding like death itself.
The one-minute mark had passed. From their meetings, they had agreed on an exact date and time when the commands would be executed.
Carius had spent his time gathering all the youths. Now, it was finally time.
The youths shivered, bodies trembling.
They had once longed for death. But now, after finding a life, making friends, and tasting freedom, they hesitated.
Yet, they had no choice.
Tears streamed down their faces as their voices echoed together, strained, broken:
"There is nothing greater than life."
The air around the area shifted violently.
And with clenched fists, they each completed the final line.
"I give my life to teleport…"
Each of them then called out a name, names that Carius had given each of them, names of the ones they wished to teleport:
"…Xal'zereth."
"…Mourak Veyne."
"…Sirael Nyx."
"…Dravok Thorne."
"…Velmira Khareth."
"…Karnath Oruun."
"…Ezerak Mor."
"…Vaelion Drekk."
Dozens of names. Hundreds of sacrifices.
And then, in the next instant, they each burst into ash.
An intense surge of light erupted. The clearing was filled with overwhelming radiance as mana twisted unnaturally around the area.
And from within that light, figures began to appear.
One after another, shadowed silhouettes formed in the brilliance.
And as the seconds passed, the light slowly began to dim and their appearances were revealed.
Then, the last of the youths spoke.
"I give my life to seal the camp from all external interference."