Ramose's breath hitched and he painfully closed his eyes, grazing his nose on her smooth cheek as their foreheads touched. He wrapped his arms around her waist and laid down with her in his embrace.
"Light, try to get some rest. I will take you out for a stroll later...okay?"
His racing heart calmed down and his breathing returned to normal. Feeling content and at peace, Ramose gently rubbed her soft waist as he lulled her to sleep.
Versailles felt discontent at the sudden disappearance of his lips, but she was too shy to take the initiative. Hence, she turned in his arms and found a comfortable position to settle in, and fell asleep.
The two mates who were finally together after many ordeals were more at peace at that moment than they had ever been.
*
In a land covered in snow and ice, a troop of black-clothed beasts marched towards an ice hill. Headed by Chief Mein, the three groups of Pink Goblins, Gorgons, and spider-scorpion beasts expressionlessly trudged through the field of snow and surrounded a giant ice dome.
The Ice Building was in a circular shape with various trails leading inwards towards a giant plaza in the center of the ice structures. The group of spider-scorpion stealthily climbed inside the Ice Mound and crawled to the center of the ice structures, where a fierce clash between White-Eyed Seers and dark shadows was taking place.
"They are really caught in a struggle for survival against the dark shadows." Chief Mein followed by Ulain and Ian arrived at the vicinity of the Ice Mound center and took cover in wait of the opportune moment to attack.
At this moment, in the center of the Ice structures, groups of White-Eyed Seers surrounded an elder as they relentlessly fought back the shadow army.
"Chief Kelpin, we can't go on like this! These Shadow Armies show no signs of stopping. If we don't come up with a plan soon, then the White-Eyed Seers will be wiped from the history of the Nar Races and will be reduced to the status of puppets. Once the races of the Nar realm find out, they will ostracize every last White-Eyed Seer!" A fat male with fair skin and white eyes hollered beside an elder.
With a stoic expression and cold eyes, the elder slashed his staff and cut apart another dark shadow. "I am aware of that, Elder Ben. But right now, we are caught in a situation where we are unable to accept or believe in our approaching doom. The White-Eyed Seers don't see that which we see. They don't see our end..." He sighed in exhaustion.
An entire three days of fiercely battling and struggling against the reforming dark shadows.
"But how can they not see our doom?" Elder Ben shrieked.
Fighting for three entire ice nights and warm mornings had most of the White-Eyed Seers exhausted beyond their limits. They swung their staffs and hurled magic spell after another sending the shadows bursting into bubbles or foams, but compared to when they first started, their momentum was obviously a notch lower.
"It's not that they don't see it, but that they refuse to see it. If they acknowledge the fact that our home and people are on the brink of extermination, the little strength they possess to keep fighting will be shattered to pieces. Elder Ben, we have to evacuate the elites of our race. That is the only way to ensure the continuation of our race." The elder solemnly declared with a fierce gleam flashing through his eyes.
"For the sake of our White-Eyed Seers race, we must evacuate the promising youths. Elder Ben, I am releasing you from my side to accomplish this task. Now, go!"
"But Chief Kelpin..."
"This is not the time to hesitate! This is not the time to stammer or trip. This time, we are at the end of our string, and the only hope for our White-Eyed Seers are those youths. The Shadow army attacked our race with the clear intention to either enslave or destroy. We have no chance against their restrictions spell." The Chief of the White-Eyed Seer sorrowfully looked over the crumbling ice buildings and the stark crimson blood on the snow-white ice.
He slashed another descending dark shadow and swept towards his right, severing the heads of three shadows at once.
"Elder Ben, I will hold them back as long as I have blood in my veins. Leave quickly and gather the treasures of our race. Use them to exchange for protection. Inform the Six Supreme Clans of the shadow army's return. Now, go!" With a fierce push, the Chief of the White-Eyed Seers clapped roughly on the elder's shoulder and rushed into the battle gore.
"Yaaaaaaaa!"
"Ahhhhh!"
"Kill them! Kill them! For the White-Eyed Seers!"
"For the White-Eyed Seers!"
A group of similarly determined elders followed behind the Chief and roared as he shouted. Figures flashed and blood splashed as head after head fell and more followed in their wake. The field of white was covered in red as the seers fell one after the other.
Chief Kelpin could sense the extreme exhaustion and hopelessness radiating off of the seers, but there was nothing he could do to lessen it. The gnawing uselessness made him even more desperate to protect the outstanding youths.
With them safe, he could at least be assured of their race's continuation.
"Ahhhhh!"
Another scream rang out as another White-Eyed Seer fell, however, Elder Ben's footsteps did not falter as he raced through the cluster of engaged opponents while screaming at his brothers in arms.
"We need to evacuate the youths quickly. The Chief won't be able to hold them back for much longer." He hissed through clenched teeth.
The more he thought about their hopeless situation, the more desperate he felt. Elder Ben's eyes felt hot as his gaze swept over the cluster of fallen bodies and lifeless corpses. Three ice nights ago, these lifeless corpses were proud members of the White-Eye Seers. But after only three ice nights, these members were reduced to a tenth of their original size.
"Yaaaaaaaa!"
Roaring with rage, hate, and despair, Elder Ben led his group through the various groups and effortlessly appeared before a round mound.
"Go!! Get the youths while I stand guard!" He hollered to his right and left-hand men.
"Yes, Elder Ben!"
The two entered the mound, slashing and hacking their way through a giant dark shadow. A while later, they reappeared with tens of youths, some frightened while others stared coldly.
"Elder Ben, we got the youths!" The two White-Eyed Seers brought the trembling Youths before Elder Ben and returned to their positions on his sides.
"Great! Now, we leave!" With a turn of his head, Elder Ben led the group through the shadows of the ice buildings, hacking and slashing when the need arose.
After a long period of time, the exhausted group made it out of the center plaza. Not daring to lower their guard, the White-Eyed Seers cautiously scanned their surroundings as they left behind the blood and gore.
When they were about to cross the threshold of the inner buildings, a group of dark shadows appeared from the shadows and surrounded them. The hearts of the White-Eyed Seers fell as despair and hopelessness replaced the el
"Elder Ben, What are we going to do now? Our group is too exhausted to hold off another wave of attack!" A female White-Eyed Seer cried despondently. The never-ending shadows became a torturous sight to them, leaving the members' hearts with only helplessness and powerlessness.
"Yes, Elder Ben. We no longer have the energy to hold them back."
"It doesn't matter whether we have the energy or not. What matters is that we can't back down no matter what. The Chief entrusted the final hope of our race to us. We have to secure their safety no matter what." Twirling his black staff, Elder Ben fearlessly charged at the shadow.
Puchi!
Bang!
Seeing Elder Ben charge at the shadows, the spectating White-Eyed Seers joined the fray. Sparks flew and limbs fell. One after the other, the group of seers fell to the ground. Before long, the threshold of the Ice Mound was cloaked in crimson with the warm blood trailing into the distance.
'Is this really the end of our White-Eyed Seers race?' Elder Ben stood with various gruesome wounds decorating his body as he tried to keep his blurry vision clear. No what how long they vanquished the shadows, more appeared. It was as if they were stuck in an endless sea of darkness where, no matter how much they struggled, their efforts never made a difference.
The group of White-Eyed Seers he came with were annihilated to the last men, leaving him as the only individual facing off against the mass of black shadows.
"It...is...the end." With bloodshot eyes, he viciously glared at them, and if looks could kill, the black masses would have been reduced to ashes. Unfortunately, Elder Ben's glare elicited no reaction from the shadows. Seeing him not make any moves to attack, they charged.
"It's never the end until every last one of these dark shadows disappear from the surface of the Nar."
Right at this moment, a slight disturbance occurred and from the shadows appeared a troop of beasts with bared fangs and claws. The beasts stepped forward and stood in the path of the black shadows, directly confronting the shadow army.
From the looks of things, a devastating battle was about to occur.