The Spectre

Chapter Four - Plans For The Future

As expected Ivana agreed to help them defeat Void. He had ruined the only place she'd ever known, her home and loved ones. The question she was plagued with is how, how could they ever hope to win such a fight against a being with seemingly endless power? But before she even asked, Craven as if having read her mind said "The plan is quite complicated, with the resources we have now there is no way to put an end to the void, what we need is in the far future. The one who's destiny is to defeat him has not yet been born into the world and until he does we cannot go up against Void, the seventh seal must be awakened"

As per usual Ivana had no idea what this enigmatic old man was talking about but she did understand that her only hope of getting Malevor back was to trust him. And so with no hesitation she asked them to tell her exactly what the plan was and they did.
"We do not have a clear plan as things may shift as time passes, but 670 years from now this city will be inhabited by strong seal bearers, who will have built a stronghold to help train seal bearers harness their power, we will use this power to free Malevor from Voids clutches" said Coral. Ivana agreed that this would indeed be a good strategy to begin with except for the simple matter of how are they meant to wait that long. Craven answered her "we aren't going to be waiting that long, we are going directly to that point in time, thanks to Coral over here". Ivana having realised what Craven had just implied, "so then, Coral has a time seal?!" asked Ivana and Coral with a smile replied "Well of course I do, how exactly did you think I stayed alive this long? Surely you didn't think I just lived through all these centuries". Baffled by what she just heard, Ivana was speechless, first she heard about the immortality seal which Optis uses, then a time seal which Coral uses. To her mind there could not possibly be anything more ridiculous than this, just then Craven said to her "never set a line between the possible and the impossible, for no one truly knows where that line truly belongs, that is why things astonish people", this gave Ivana some clarity and peace of mind, now she was ready to re focus on the plan.

"The plan is as follows, as stated before we plan on going forward 670 years into the future. But only you and Coral are going, Optis and I will remain, he will use his seal to stay alive and watch over this city in the meantime, and I cannot go with you because my time is nearly upon me, and so I must journey to Malevor and set the foundations for our victory against void, I will try to set up traps to help you in the future, and I will also leave checkpoints, secret hidden routes for you to take on order to infiltrate the tower. Remember Ivana, you cannot do this alone, your team must work together if you are ever to succeed. Oh and one last thing, do not judge a book by its cover, look through the darkness if you wish to see the purest of light" said Craven. While this was all a lot of information to take all at once Ivana understood and kept it all at heart. Craven did not seem very distraught about his soon to be death, he seemed happy and proud but Coral and Optis were saddened by this revelation.

Ivana requested time to think and prepare, skipping through centuries was certainly not something one could just come to terms with in an instant and so she left the city soon after, heading back to Malevor. While back there she was horrified to see what had become of the place, dark and full of despair with some of the citizens turned to obsidian monsters and the rest bound by dark markings forced to live under the rule of the demon guards. The more she explored the kingdom the more heart broken she became, with every ruin she saw her heart filled with rage and revenge until she could not take it any longer. So she journeyed back to Coralyta, on her way back she saw some demon guards wondering around searching, even though it had been nearly a month since her escape from the invasion it seems Void has been aware of her escape and is still searching for her. Unable to contain herself she charged at them attempting to get some closure but a split second before her blade could make contact time stopped in place, Coral approached her out of nowhere and pulled her away. "how could you be so careless! Anything that they see Void sees too so we should not make contact, not until it is time" said Coral with a worried expression but Ivana was too overcome by her rage to listen. Coral continued to reason with her until she was able to calm down, granted it did take quite a bit of time but that did not matter since time was frozen in place. After Ivana was out of her murderous fit of rage they started heading off back to Coralyta but just as they walked away the demon guard spoke "how long do you think you can avoid me translucent one, it is only a matter of time until I catch you too, and you mother, you'd better stay out of my way or you too will be in danger, you have been warned". This shocked them both to their core, how could void be able to see or speak through the demon when time was frozen in place? Did this mean that void could defy the parameters of even powerful seals like the time control seal? If so then what truly is the limit to his abilities.

Coral and Ivana quickly journeyed back to Coralyta and explained what had happened to Optis and Craven who were both equally shocked but the plan had to be put in place. With Ivana ready to journey to the future she and Coral headed to the power core in the middle of the city, here Coral replenished her strength and activated her seal, the ground beneath them shone a bright blue colour forming a circle underneath them, Coral said her goodbyes to her brothers and Ivana lowered her head in respect, showing her appreciation for the trust she had been entrusted. And in mere moments they vanished, completely out of sight.
Craven looking up to the sky with a smile remarked "stay safe, and may your guidance lead the future generations to peace, I will do what I can to support you from the past" and with this he walked away with Optis heading back to their home.