The death of the Watcher was not peaceful, or quick.

For a long time, the sound of feasting continued as the Watcher, a powerful Rank 9 Archmage, a step below the Supreme Magus and holder of a powerful Will that should have guaranteed her forever immortality, was slowly devoured, body, spirit, soul and Will. Nothing was being spared.

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A teleportation wave brought Andar and Khasos to the field of unending bodies resurrected by the Tower Masters.

Andar had not recovered from experiencing the strange energy that had rippled through the universe and his skin was red as if he had been boiled, and pain filled every inch of his body but his pain-filled eyes looked around in search, and paused when he saw her. It became the only thing he saw.

Mira hung naked in space as if held by an invisible hanger, her limbs were splayed outward and her eyes were vacant. Her beautiful black hair that she had allowed to grow out surrounded her body, giving her a hint of decency.

Flashes of memory from the moment they met until this moment blasted through his mind, and with his perfect memory, he could recall everything in aching details.

Andar choked back the cry that threatened to escape from his chest. He wanted to go to her but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up in confusion at Khasos, the Warden of the Black Tower, who shook his head and motioned to the three Tower Masters ahead, who seemed to be in deep discussion.

“Hold on until they are done with their deliberations, I know you wish to see her, but it would be foolish to distract the Tower Masters, their powers are mighty and if anyone would be able to save her, they would be among them. You should take the time and heal, don’t forget, we are still in the midst of a war, and as this present event has proven, none of us are safe.”

Andar nodded stiffly, his mind racing as he allowed himself to see the full scale of the devastation before him, he did not care about healing, his body was far more potent than it appeared on the surface. There were so many horrible events happening around him to consider pain as important. Although the Tower Masters had resurrected only a few of the casualties, they still numbered in the billions. He shivered. How could life be so cheap?

Growing his power as a Mage had always been fun and challenging to him, and even though he knew that such abilities could be incredibly destructive, there had always seemed to be enough safeguards in place to prevent something like this from ever occurring. How did it all go to hell so quickly?

The guilt in his heart could no longer be held back. He should have never allowed Mira to follow him on this expedition to madness. Although Andar knew denying the fierce Mage was most likely a journey of futility, he could have easily placed her to sleep before he left. Why did he ever think she could be safe in a war zone?

He sat and waited for what seemed like hours as the Tower Masters were deliberating, his mind going through various scenarios as he debated what had happened and what would be coming next. His only hope was that Mira could be saved by the Tower Masters, it did not matter the sacrifices he had to make for them to push more resources towards her reawakening.

His body had recovered but there was an echo of that energy inside him that he preserved with a fierce madness, this echo was his inky connection to the bastard who butchered Mira, and by the looks of it, was also killing the entire universe.

“Andar Erikson, come over here!” The voice of the Watcher broke him from his reverie and he looked at the surprised face of Khasos who nodded to him.

Andar thought he saw a hint of desolation and hope deep in the eyes of this Archmage, and he realized that he had lost Mira, but Khasos most likely had lost dozens of friends and disciples and millions of his students, that he might have known for millions of years. The weight in his heart must be a million times heavier than his own, but Andar had been blind to everything else but his grief.

Did death ever get easier to handle? Or was the solution to such grave losses to become indifferent?

Andar reached the Tower Masters and bowed deeply, his gaze shifted to the bodies of several Archmages, most of them he recognized they had been his teachers and had guided Andar with care and consideration, every one of them geniuses of their generation, and now they lied here like refuse, their skull had been split open and their brains tampered with.

This was an odd sight, Archmages were immortal, and even if their bodies were destroyed, they would be reborn inside their Tower, there was no reason to desecrate their bodies in this manner… unless. Andar’s heart grew cold, surely it could not be possible…He looked at the position in the brains and he sensed the fleeting energy of a Spirit Matrix.

“Look at the way his little mind works Silas, he is surely an odd one. How he is able to pierce all the small clues is astounding, and his talents…hahaha.”

“He is special and should be kept intact until it’s all over.”

Andar went quiet as he stood straighter, before the gaze of the Tower Masters he felt like an ant, but he had become used to being so weak before these titans, something else deeply disturbed his spirit, if Aeris had been the one to comment about his observation on the Archmages, he would have not been surprised, but those words had emerged from the mouth of the Watcher.

Andar had not forgotten the vision Rowan showed him, and the suspicion that everything, this war and the unexpected deaths of immortals, was tied up with Silas and Aeris, and now every fiber of his being was telling him that the Watcher had become compromised.

No matter his speculations, he was too weak to do anything. He could only accept whatever was coming.

“This war is not going the way that it should.” The Watcher spoke to Andar and she smiled as if that thought was amusing, “We cannot let the talents of our next generation go to waste. You shall return to the Black Tower and further instructions will be given, you are to leave this universe, but other preparations need to be accomplished before you leave.”

Andar’s mind was working a thousand miles a second, fear and desperation clouding his thoughts, he felt as if he was being pushed towards death, but he had no way to stop or resist.

The moment he argued or resisted this order, Andar knew he would be killed immediately, this was a truth he felt deep in his spirit, and the only thing he could decide was if he was going to die now or later.

He opened his mouth and said, “Thank you for your consideration Tower Master, but I hope to ask for a favor.”

The eyes of the Watcher tightened for a fraction before she smiled, “Of course child, what is it you want?”

“Can I bring her body with me? Mira, she was my companion.”

“Oh, that, sure… with her physique that lump of flesh can live for another four hundred years. I know how you young things are still ruled by the urges of the flesh.”

Andar gritted his teeth and he bowed towards the Tower Master, and he waited for a few seconds before turning and leaving.

If his senses were more capable, he would have seen that at this moment, Silas and Aeris were not even focused on him, but were busy devouring the Watcher, who had begun releasing cries of pain.

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The three consciousnesses of Rowan appeared inside the Great Nexus of Trion. Like every time he entered this space, he always appeared in a new location. He had not figured our how that was possible, but this space was indeed strange.

It had all the appearance of a three dimensional world and yet it contained an unknown number of beasts that controlled Will and the red moon overhead was a dead Supreme World.