The Forest King's Prophecy: Choices That Will Decide Aetherian's Fate

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Episode 8, realm of Kings.
The rift expands the air overthe Shardred Forest shuddered,
the very fabric of realitytwisting and unraveling.
As the prism pulsed with wild,uncontrollable energy.
Zuli could feel it in his bones, a deep, unnatural wrongness

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that sent every nerve in hisbody screaming in warning.
The prism's destabilization hadbegun and now the void was
answering.
A fracture split through theground at the heart of the
ruined river Amunet, jagged andpulsing with a sickly violet
glow.
A low, guttural hum echoed fromits depths Not sound, but

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something deeper, something thatgnawed at the soul.
Zarian was the first to react.
He dropped to one knee besidethe rift, his rune blade planted
in the earth, the obsidianblade strapped to his back,
humming in resonance.
This is bad, he muttered.
The prism's energy is tearingat the boundary.

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Elira took a shaky step forward,sweat beating on her brow as
her celestial senses recoiledfrom the corruption.
We have to seal it.
She said, her voice urgent,before the first creature

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crawled through.
It was wrong, its form shiftingbetween shadow and flesh, its
limbs elongated and jagged.
Its face, a shifting mask ofnothingness.
It did not belong here.
And it was not alone.
From the depths of the rift,twisted horrors began to spill
forth Things that had no name,creatures that had been waiting
for centuries in the Void'sprison clawing for release, and

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now they were free.
Zuli moved first, the Luminarchblazed with golden fire as he
lunged into the fray, his bladeslicing clean through the
nearest creature, it shrieked,its body splintering into black
mist.
But more took its place.
Hold the line.

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Zuli roared.
Felipe was already charging inhis flaming blade, cleaving
through the nightmare-spawnedabominations.
They just keep coming, heshouted, dodging a shadowed
tendril that lashed toward him.
Ronan's arrows flew with deadlyprecision, but some of the
creatures did not fall whenstruck.

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They're not dying.
Ronan growled what the hell?
Are these things Not of thisworld?
Zarian answered grimly.
Lightning crashed down asSirenia unleashed her storm
magic, blasting back a wave ofhorrors that lunged toward Elira
.
Elira herself was fighting tomaintain her balance, her

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celestial magic flaring inunstable bursts, struggling to
counteract the corruption.
We can't kill them all, shegasped.
The rift is still open.
They'll keep coming.
Zarian clenched his fists, hisrune blade pulsing as he took a
step toward the rift.
Then I will close it.

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Zarian planted his rune blade inthe earth, drawing on the
energy of the land itself.
The prism pulsed, sensing theshift in magic.
The rift responded violently.
A surge of dark tendrilserupted, wrapping around
Zarian's arm, trying to pull himin.
Zuli lunged, grabbing Zarian'sother arm.

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I won't let it take you.
Zarian's eyes flashed withresolve.
You won't have to.
He drove his will into the rift, channeling ancient magic
forging a barrier betweenAetherian and the encroaching
void.
The air cracked with raw energy.
The creatures howled in agonyas the rift began to seal, their

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bodies unraveling into mist.
As their path to this worldcollapsed, a final roar of
defiance echoed through thebattlefield.
Echoed through the battlefieldand then silence the aftermath.
The rift was gone, but thescars it left behind remained.
The land where the battle hadtaken place was withered, its

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magic still tainted by the void.
Felipe wiped the sweat from hisbrow, exhaling that was close.
Ronan nudged a dissolvingcorpse with his boot.
His usual smirk absent, youdon't say.
Elira's hands were stilltrembling, her celestial power

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flickering uncertainly.
Zuli looked toward Zaryon.
The keeper was silent, his gazelocked on where the rift had
been.
It's not over.
Zarian said his voice low.
Zuli felt a cold weight settlein his chest.
The prism's fracture is growing.
Zarian continued.

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And now something else iswatching.
And now something else iswatching.
Zuli turned toward the darkenedhorizon, where the echoes of the
rift's collapse still lingeredin the air like an unfinished
whisper.
Though the rift is contained,it leaves behind irreparable
scars both on the land andwithin the champions themselves.

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But worse, the Firstborn iswatching the Shardred mountains
loomed before them, their jaggedpeaks wrapped in mist, standing
as sentinels to an age longforgotten.
Zuli led the way, his griptight on the Luminarch, his mind
weighed down by the wordsZarian had spoken after the

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battle.
The rift had been sealed, butsomething had taken notice,
something far worse.
Now, as they ascended thewinding paths, pushing through
the thin, frozen air, zulicouldn't shake the feeling that
they were walking into yetanother fate they could not
control.

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The Oracle of the ShardredMountains awaited them and with
her the truth.
The trail was ancient, carvedinto the mountain itself, its
walls lined with glyphs olderthan any kingdom.
Sirenia ran a gloved hand alongthe stone, her brow furrowing

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these markings.
They predate even Celestia.
Elira murmured, tracing onewith her fingers the language of
the First Realm.
Zarian, ever silent, studiedthe symbols, his expression
unreadable the Oracle is olderthan our wars, he finally said.

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Zarian, ever silent, studiedthe symbols, his expression
unreadable the Oracle is olderthan our wars, he finally said,
older than the prism, older thanthe firstborn.
Felipe scoffed.
Then maybe she could havestopped all of this before it
started.
Ronan smirked.
Or maybe she's been watchingthis mess unfold for centuries
and is going to tell us it wasall doomed from the start.
No one laughed.

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They all knew the truth.
There were no easy answers,left only the choices they would
make.
At last, the group reached amassive stone archway, its
entrance shrouded in anunnatural darkness, as if the
mountain itself had swallowedall light.
Zuli stepped forward, inhalingdeeply.

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Then he stepped inside.
The chamber was vast, linedwith pillars of polished
obsidian, each one reflectingthe past, the present and a
future that had not yet come topass.
And at the center, seated upona throne carved from the bones
of the earth itself, was her,the Oracle.

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She was not old nor young.
She was timeless.
Her eyes, silver pools thatreflected the endless threads of
fate locked onto Zuli themoment he entered and she smiled
you have come.
She said, her voice like windover stone, ancient yet soft.

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Zuli swallowed hard.
You knew we would.
The oracle tilted her head.
I know many things.
She lifted her hand and the airshimmered.
A vision took shape around themthe prism burning with
fractured light, the forest kingstepping from the mists of

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legend and behind him, a door,the forbidden door.
The image flickered, showingwhat lay beyond it Darkness,
fire, a world breaking apart,consumed in a void that did not

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hunger but simply erased.
Zooli exhaled, his pulsequickening, it's true.
Then Elira whispered theprophecy the firstborn is
stirring.
The oracle said her voice,carrying the weight of certainty
.
The seals are weakening.
The last gates will soon fall.
Her gaze darkened.
Gates will soon fall, her gazedarkened, and the forest king

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will choose.
Zuli frowned Choose what?
The oracle watched him closely.
Then she whispered who must besacrificed?
The words hung in the air,sinking into each of them like a
blade Felipe, stiffened.

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Sacrifice, you mean?
Not all will walk away fromthis war.
The oracle said, zarian's eyesnarrowed Tell us what must be
done.
The oracle rose from her throne,her silver gaze unreadable.
There are three final seals,she said, one already broken,

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two still remain.
She lifted a hand and thevision shifted again, showing a
war not yet fought.
Celestia and Archelon at war,the skybound knights clashing
with the guardians of the forest.
The skybound knights clashingwith the guardians of the forest
, and at the center of it all,zuli standing before the

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forbidden door.
But he was not alone.
A figure stood beside him, ashadow against the light, and
then a sword was driven intoZuli's chest.
The vision ended.
The chamber fell into silence.
Zuli exhaled, his heartpounding.

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Fate has been written.
The oracle murmured, but theink is not yet dry.
She turned away, her voicesoftening.
The forest king must be found.
Only he can decide which pathwill be taken.
She glanced at Zuli one lasttime.

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And only you can decide whetherto accept your fate or defy it.
The champions left the oracle'schamber changed, no one spoke.
As they made their way down themountain, the weight of the
prophecy pressing against them,zuli could still see the vision
burned into his mind, couldstill feel the blade piercing

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his heart.
He clenched his fists.
He had not come this far toaccept fate without a fight.
He would find the forest king.
He would unlock the truthhidden beyond the prophecy.
And if sacrifice was required,then he would decide what price
would be paid.
But make no mistake, asacrifice must be made.

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Armed with this new knowledge,the champions must now find the
forest king, the only being whocan interpret the final meaning
of the prophecy.
And Zuli must face theterrifying possibility that his
fate is already sealed.
The winds howled through theShardred forest, weaving through

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the towering trees like thewhispered warnings of spirits
long gone, the echoes of theoracle's prophecy still clung to
the air, each word heavy withconsequence.
But for Elira, the prophecy wasnot a fixed destiny.
It was a puzzle to be unraveled, a truth yet to be fully

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understood, and she would notlet her sister Serenia or the
others dictate what that truthmeant.
Serenia's storm-kissed eyesburned with frustration as she
grabbed Elira's wrist, her gripfirm but trembling.
You're being reckless, shehissed.
The Oracle gave us a warningand you're ignoring it.

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Elira wrenched her arm free,her expression unshaken no, she
countered.
I'm refusing to let fear guideme.
The group watched theconfrontation unfold, the rift
between the two sisters wideningwith every word.
Elira, still weary from theirencounter with the oracle,

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stepped forward, her tonemeasured Elira, what are you
trying to prove?
Elira's gaze flickered that wedon't know everything, that
there's more to this prophecythan we've been told.
She turned toward the easternpath, the direction the oracle

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had avoided.
Speaking of there's another way, elayra said firmly, and I'm
going to find it.
Sirenia stepped into her pathIf you walk away now.
You're walking into the unknown, she said, and you may not come
back.
Elira's jaw tightened Then I'llcome back with answers.

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And before anyone could stopher, she vanished into the trees
.
The deeper Elira ventured intothe forest, the quieter it
became.
The rustling of leaves, thedistant songs of unseen
creatures, all had faded intounnatural silence, but still she

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pressed on.
She could feel somethingpulling at her, a presence
hidden in the void of theprophecy, something neither the
oracle nor the others hadaccounted for.
And then the forest moved.
Shadows stretched unnaturally,twisting into elongated figures,

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their hollow eyes flickeringwith the same dark fire that had
erupted from the rift.
Elira drew her twin daggers, herbreath sharp.
She had not come unprepared.
She lunged first, her bladeslicing through the air, carving
through the nearest construct.
It dissolved into black mist,screeching as it unraveled.

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Another struck from behind.
She twisted, parrying withprecision, but she was
outnumbered.
They were not ordinary shadows.
They were watching her,studying her, learning her
movements, adapting.
A tendril of darkness wrappedaround her wrist, pulling her

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back with terrifying strength.
Another wrapped around herankle.
She tried to break free, butthe more she struggled, the
tighter the void's grip became.
The realization struck her likeice in her veins.
This was not just an ambush, itwas a trap.
The shadows had been waitingfor her and now they were going

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to drag her into the void.
The moment Elira's scream echoedthrough the trees.
Echoed through the trees,sirenia knew.
She didn't wait, didn'thesitate, didn't think.
She ran.
Felipe, elira and Ronanfollowed close behind.
But Sirenia was first.
Her magic crackled in the air,fueled by anger and fear, her

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storm energy surging withuncontrollable force.
When she saw Elira ensnared,her body nearly pulled into the
darkness, something inside herbroke.
No, the sky answered her fury.
Lightning split the heavens,tearing through the trees,
striking down the shadowconstructs in a blinding cascade
of divine wrath.
The void screeched, eliracollapsed, gasping as the

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shadows recoiled from the light.
Felipe and Ronan rushed in,cutting through the remaining
creatures, while Elira sent awave of celestial energy outward
, purging the remnants of thedarkness.
The void constructs vanished,the forest stilled, but the
damage had already been done.

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The price of defiance.
Sirenia dropped to her kneesbeside Elira, her breath ragged,
her hands trembling.
Elira's face was pale, herpulse weak.
The void had touched her.
It had not claimed her, but ithad marked her.
Elira knelt beside them, hereyes grim.

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She'll recover, she said.
But the void doesn't let go soeasily.
Sirenia's anger wavered,replaced by something closer to
grief.
You almost died, she whispered.
Elira smiled faintly, herfingers weakly grasping her
sister's hand.

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But I didn't.
Sirenia exhaled sharply,pressing her forehead to Elira's
, her storm magic stillcrackling around them.
Ronan, standing nearby, rubbeda hand down his face.
Next time, how about we don'tsplit up in a cursed forest full
of shadow demons?

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Felipe shook his head, agreed.
Zarian, however, was silent.
He was staring at the groundwhere the void had taken root,
his eyes dark with thought.
They knew she would come here,he murmured.
Zuli stepped forward, hisexpression grim.

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Then the void is watching usmore closely than we thought.
A heavy silence fell over thegroup and in the distance, far
beyond the horizon, somethingstirred.
Elira had survived, but thevoid has marked her.
And now the champions know forcertain the void is not just a

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distant threat, it is watching.
The great city of Greenspirestood tall amidst the Shardred
forest, its emerald towers wovenseamlessly with the trees, its
roots deep in magic, as old asAetherian itself.
But now it burned.
From the skies, celestia'sfleets descended, their golden

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warships blotting out the sun,their star-forged cannons
unleashing ruin upon the capitalof the forest realm and in the
heart of the chaos, thechampions prepared for war.
Zuli stood atop the ramparts ofGreenspire, the Luminarch
clenched tightly in his grip.
The Luminarch clenched tightlyin his grip.

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The celestial bombardment raineddown, explosions ripping
through the ancient city,turning its sacred groves into
fire and ash.
The skybound knights soareddownward, their radiant wings
cutting through the smoke, theirlances charged with divine

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energy.
Queen Salara stood at thehighest tower, her emerald cloak
billowing in the wind, hervoice carrying over the
battlefield.
Defend the green spire.
Let the forest rise with us.
And it did.
The trees groaned and moved,their branches becoming whipping

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tendrils, their roots surgingupward to ensnare Celestian
airships dragging them from thesky.
The ground cracked as guardianbeasts of wood and stone emerged
, their eyes glowing withancient wrath, hurling back the
invaders.
Felipe charged the front lines,his flaming sword cutting

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through celestial foot soldiersas they landed upon the city
walls.
Elira fought in the air, hercelestial magic turning against
her own kind, her silver-whiteenergy clashing against the
golden radiance of the skyboundnights.
Sirenia stood in the heart ofthe city, lightning crackling at

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her fingertips, bringing downdivine warriors with storms of
unrelenting fury.
Zarian wielded both his runeblade and the obsidian blade,
his dual presence in light anddarkness, making him a force
unlike any other.
And Ronan ever the shadow inthe chaos loosed, arrow after

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arrow, striking down celestialofficers with terrifying
precision.
The battle raged, but for everycelestial knight that fell, but
for every celestial night thatfell, another took their place.
Then the sky split open.
Zuli barely had time to reactbefore the Celestians began
their true assault.

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The skybound night ceased,their advance falling back in
perfect formation, their eyesglowing with eerie determination
.
And then, from the heavens itcame A blinding sphere of light

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unlike anything seen before.
Celestia's greatest weapon,forbidden star magic.
Queen Salara's eyes widened inhorror.
They would dare.
A single knight descended fromthe leading airship, his armor
engraved with runes that pulsedwith celestial fire.
High Commander Kaelor, heraised his sword of starlight
and the sky ignited.

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A burning storm of divinedestruction rained down upon
Greenspire.
The very air trembled as if theheavens themselves had been
torn open.
The city's protective barrierscracked, the living forest
screamed.
Magic older than kingdoms beganto unravel.

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Zuli stared in disbelief.
Felipe shielded his eyes fromthe overwhelming light.
Sirenia threw up a barrier, butit buckled against the sheer
force of the attack.
Elira gritted her teeth, horrorin her voice.
They're trying to unmake thecity itself.

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Sylara's emerald eyes burned asshe raised her staff, her voice
filled with the full might ofthe forest.
No more.
A wall of emerald energy rose,silara's power holding back the
celestial flames.
But the strain was immense.
Zuli saw the queen falter, herstrength draining as she

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countered the forbidden starmagic.
She turned to the champions,her voice clear but pained Go
now.
Elira shook her head.
We can still fight.
No, silara's voice left no roomfor argument.
Her gaze locked onto Zuli.
The prophecy is unfolding.

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The forest king must be found.
Her hands glowed with the lastremnants of the forest's power.
Zuli realized she was preparingher final spell.
His heart clenched, don't, hewhispered.
Queen Salara smiled softly.

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Do not mourn me, she said.
I am the forest and the forestnever dies.
With a single motion, sheraised her staff high and
Greenspire answered.
A colossal wave of magic eruptedfrom Solara, a last defiant
stand against Celestia'sforbidden power.

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The forest rose one last time,its roots becoming spears
impaling celestial airshipsdragging them into the abyss
below the very land, split apart, consuming, invading soldiers
in an emerald inferno.
The storm of star magic andnature's fury clashed in an

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explosion of raw, unbridledpower.
And then Greenspire was gone.
Zuli and the champions wereflung backward, caught in the
force of the destruction, barelyescaping through a portal
forged in Salara's final moments.
When they emerged on the otherside, they stood upon the edge

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of the shattered battlefieldwhen Greenspire had once stood.
Now there was only silence, thegreat capital of the forest
realm reduced to ruins and QueenSalara vanished.
The air was heavy with theweight of their loss.
Sirenia fell to her knees,gripping the dirt beneath her,

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her entire body trembling.
Felipe stared at the burningremains of the once-thriving
city, his fists clenched inhelpless rage.
Ronan removed his hood, bowinghis head.
Elira turned away, unable tolook any longer.
And Zuli?
Zuli felt the weight of it allcrushing him.

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His hands trembled at his sides, his breath was shallow.
They had fought, they had giveneverything, and yet they had
lost.
He felt a hand on his shoulderZarian, the war isn't over.
He said, his voice low we findthe forest king and we finish

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this.
Zuli inhaled sharply.
Then, with one last look at theruins of Greenspire, he turned
away.
There was no time to grieve,only time to fight.
To be continued, continued.

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This chapter brings adevastating blow to the
champions.
Queen Solara sacrifices herselfto repel Celestia's attack, but
Greenspire is lost.
Celestia has shown its fullmight and now the champions must
press forward to find theForest King before the prophecy
unfolds further.
The war for Aetherion is nolonger just a battle between

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kingdoms.
It is the fight for thesurvival of the world itself.
Don't miss the next thrillinginstallment.
Tune in bi-weekly as the epicunfolds.
The choices made now willdecide the future of Aetherian,
and the storm is only growingstronger.