The Legendary Mage (Alavin)

"By all means, I shall return you to where you belong!"

"I require your protective powers."

Alavin growled inwardly, gritting his teeth as he opened his mind to the scrutiny of the Kings.

Buzz! A powerful surge of light burst forth, returning to the statues of the Kings. The dazzling space of the Royal Mausoleum was suddenly dimmed and fell silent.

The trial was brief, with no heated debate, and the statues of the Kings lapsed back into silence.

Alavin was gasping for breath, and his mind was a whirl of confusion as if he had just experienced a nightmare.

"Speak, will you leave or not?" The Ivory Turtle grew impatient, hopping and shouting eagerly.

"Didn't you all slumber collectively in the past, waiting for a future rise? Don't think I'm clueless! Now that you've handed over the legacy, it's time to surrender yourselves.

"Enough with the gibberish, he's only an Advanced Mage now. He is unable to safeguard the legacy. If you don't want your hard-earned treasures taken by some vile fiend, then humbly drop your pride and follow him.

"Have you become too lazy after a slumber of a millennium? Lost the will to depart?

"Wake up, everyone, it's time to depart.

"In plain words, the legacy is given. Will you choose death, or will you leave?"

Alavin looked up in confusion. Where did this little critter come from, and how could it speak?

"Little one, I'm with you! These old fossils are stubborn beyond reason..."

A crisp sound silenced the Royal Mausoleum.

The Ivory Turtle paused, slowly turning its head. The ivory chains that had bound it for millennia shattered, breaking into a shower of gleaming fragments, silently dispersing. Were they broken?

They were broken!

The Ivory Turtle stared in disbelief, its eyes misting over. They were broken, indeed, they were...

"Please help me persuade the Kings," Alavin stood up and pleaded loudly.

The ivory turtle was so brazen and unafraid of the Kings. Could it be the guardian of the Royal Mausoleum?

How long had it lived? How strong was it? If the Kings couldn't be persuaded to return, would it suffice to ask for its help?

"I have a..."

Just as Alavin was about to shout, the voice of the Kings boomed again.

"Heir, we accept your invitation.

"The final judgment!

"If you succeed, we shall guard your new kingdom!

"If you fail, we will reclaim the legacy and slumber for eternity!

"Accept? Reject?"

The voice thundered, echoing throughout the Royal Mausoleum and in Alavin's ears. The terms were harsh. If he failed, the legacy would be reclaimed.

"I accept!" Alavin replied without hesitation.

However...

Splat! A chain suddenly shot out from the altar like lightning, piercing through Alavin's body.

"Ah!"

Alavin stumbled backward, blood spewing from his mouth as he gazed in disbelief at the chain running through him.

"You..."

Thud, thud, thud!

One after another, all the chains broke free, whistling and flying, brutally striking his body.

Alavin staggered backward from the sheer force. His blood boiled and sprayed, and his consciousness spun as he nearly knelt at the altar. The agonizing pain swept through him, and he clenched his teeth to suppress a scream.

"The final judgment, if you can drag the eighteen statues of the Kings back to the ancient city, we vow to stand guard forever!"

The eighteen Kings roared in unison, their magnificent forms stirring violently, freeing themselves from the corners. They towered a hundred meters tall, imposing and massive, a sight to behold. Each statue extended a chain from its chest towards Alavin's back, seemingly becoming one with him.

Drag them back to Stormcast?

Alavin coughed up blood, looking up in shock. Across the Watchful Shore, through the Cloudveil Woods?

He had intended to bring back the spirits of the Kings, but were they asking him to drag their very bodies? Over two thousand kilometers of mountainous terrain, with his flesh and blood to drag these colossal titans?

The Royal Mausoleum began to collapse, the altar was crumbling, cracks were spreading rapidly with deafening noise, and stones and dust were falling in torrents. The entire space seemed on the brink of collapse.