SANCTUARY [Nobledark | Progression | Apocalypse]

After the initial pain and chaos subsided, it became clear to Henry that he couldn't remain passive. Knowledge was power, and his lack of understanding about the organization, his mysterious comrades, and his enemies was his most fatal weakness right now. He began a quiet investigation of his own.

His work at the Bureau, though busy, gave him a significant advantage: access to Aerion's massive archives, which held countless confidential documents and historical records hidden from the public. Late at night, when Sophia was fast asleep and his other colleagues had gone home, Henry would often stay behind alone at the Bureau, under the flickering magic light, flipping through old, yellowed parchment scrolls.

He started with the names "Sanctuary Enclave" and "Will". He found no results. The absence was so absolute it suggested the names had never existed in the recorded history of Zephyros. The terrifying emptiness only confirmed the organization's mystery and power. He shifted his search to a more familiar name, one that every citizen of Zephyros knew and revered - Larsus, "The Sword of Zephyros".

Unlike the other mysteries, finding information about Larsus was much easier. His name, his image, and his deeds were recorded in countless epics, poems, and official military reports of the kingdom. In the archives, Henry found a book titled "History of the Zephyros Army - Seventh Era".

He turned to the chapter about the Four Divine Monarchs. The book described Larsus as a demigod, an outstanding military genius, a hero with a brave heart. He was considered the strongest Demigod among the Four Divine Monarchs, a man who wielded the power of fire and light and led the Zephyros army from one victory to another during its golden age.

But when he read the final chapter about Larsus's life, Henry felt a heartbreaking contradiction. The page described his final, tragic mission. According to the official report, when the first signs of trouble appeared in the frozen land of Iskadra - unusual blizzards, ferocious snow monsters, and the mysterious disappearance of patrol teams - Larsus did not hesitate.

He volunteered to lead Zephyros's most elite army, which included over ten thousand warriors and hundreds of powerful mages, to Iskadra to quell the threat.

Henry found another parchment scroll, a record from a few soldiers who were lucky enough to survive the tragedy. Their accounts, though fragmented and full of panic, painted a horrifying picture. They didn't just have to fight snow monsters. Deep in Iskadra, demons, creatures of fire and shadow, had flooded out, turning the frozen land into a battlefield of two extremes.

The Zephyros army had to fight on two fronts, against both ice and fire. Just as they were stretched to their limit, the real enemy appeared. A powerful Demon Lord named Belial, whose strength was described in ancient documents as "equivalent to an Archangel". He was the one who had opened the gate of hell, with a plot to turn Iskadra into an outpost to invade all of Tehra.

The final battle took place between Larsus and Belial, a battle that would decide the fate of an entire land. The soldiers said that they could only watch from a distance as the two god-like entities clashed. Iskadra's sky was torn apart, one half ablaze like hellfire, the other radiating holy light.

The aftershocks of the battle were immense, and the chaotic blizzards and firestorms obscured the details of the fight. They only knew that after the final explosion that shook the earth, when everything settled down, the gate of hell was closed. Belial had disappeared. And Larsus... had too.

On the desolate battlefield, all that remained was his legendary sword Calibur, plunged deep into a giant block of ice, and a few shattered pieces of armor stained with the hero's fresh blood.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

It was a tragic story of a noble end, but having met the man himself as Laurent, Henry understood it was merely a beautifully crafted lie. He had met him, in the form of Laurent. So this heroic last stand, though real, wasn't the end. It was just a beginning. A beginning of a new identity, a new mission.

Facing a Demon Lord must have revealed the helplessness of a nation and the limits of a Divine Monarch to Larsus. That was probably when the Sanctuary Enclave found him and offered him a choice, a different path. And he chose that path. He chose to "die" in the eyes of the world, leaving behind all his glory, honor, and his beloved sister, to bear a greater responsibility.

Henry felt a deep respect and a strange empathy for Laurent. The loneliness and the pain of making such a choice were deeply familiar to him. And he also realized that the path he was about to take was eerily similar.

He, too, would have to "die" in the eyes of Sophia and his friends to protect them and to face enemies he couldn't defeat alone. The legend's act of self-effacement had now become an example, a destiny that he, too, might not be able to avoid.

After the mysteries of Larsus were temporarily set aside, leaving Henry with more questions than answers, he turned his attention to someone he had the chance to meet: Mythris. The Rank 7 Demigod, Grand Master of the Celestial Accord Alliance.

He was the one who had saved Henry and his comrades from a near-certain death at the St. Elms convent. Finding information about Mythris was both easy and difficult. Easy because as the leader of one of the most powerful and prestigious righteous military organizations in Tehra, his public record was no secret. Difficult because, behind that official information, were countless rumors and conflicting analyses about an extraordinary man.

In the Bureau's archives, Henry found a detailed report on the Celestial Accord Alliance. It described Mythris as an outstanding genius from the country of Deviah, a superpower in the North known for its magic academies and elite warriors.

From a young age, Mythris showed a magical potential and a strategic mind far beyond his peers. But what surprised everyone was that after graduating from the military academy with the highest honors in history, he did not choose to serve his country or join the royal army of Deviah like other talented young people. Instead, he chose his own path.

Henry found another document, a Bureau intelligence analysis on the formation of new forces. It recorded that Mythris had founded a small righteous guild, bringing together friends and comrades with similar ideals.

Then, with his talent, prestige, and undeniable strength, he traveled across Tehra, connecting with countless other large and small righteous guilds, independent organizations that were not controlled by any nation or religion.

From that, the Celestial Accord Alliance was born, a cross-national military alliance with the noble goal of maintaining order, eliminating dark threats, and protecting innocent people in places where the laws of the kingdoms could not reach.

Under the leadership of Grand Master Mythris, the Alliance grew stronger and stronger, becoming a formidable force and a true rival to both royal armies and great churches.

But what surprised Zephyros's political analysts the most, what caused the most controversy, was that Mythris chose the city of Natsmunda to be the supreme command headquarters for the entire Alliance.

Natsmunda, the strange vertical city where the horrifying "Monster Tide" battles took place. It was a completely neutral land, a nation that only cared about the economic benefits of selling "Monster Hunting Ticket" Henry read the analyses and speculations of the experts.

They believed that Natsmunda's special system and complete neutrality were suitable for an independent alliance like the Celestial Accord. There, they would not be pressured politically by any superpower. Natsmunda was also an impregnable fortress, and most importantly, the "Monster Tide" battles were a perfect training ground, a fierce purgatory to forge the Alliance's most elite warriors.

Henry closed the parchment scroll. He was lost in thought. Mythris, a genius and an outstanding leader, had abandoned the path of serving a nation to build his own empire, a force that operated for a seemingly nobler cause. But Henry had a different view.

He didn't believe that the formation of the Celestial Accord was purely for an ideal. Could it be that the Celestial Accord was just a tool, a perfect cover for the operations of the Sanctuary Enclave? A righteous army, operating openly, that could freely move everywhere and carry out missions without arousing suspicion from anyone.