novelraw Chapter 223: Etherbon Council
Chapter 223: Etherbon Council
Elsewhere in Druven, Vekta floated high above a tower. His eyes glowed as he raised his hand, ready to crush the structure below with invisible air pressure.
But then—
A soft whisper brushed past his ear.
A hand tapped his back.
Cyran Kade stood behind him, silent as a shadow.
"You forgot to watch the darkness," he said quietly.
"Shouldn’t have floated so high," Cyran added, already fading out of sight.
Vekta spun around, startled—bam!
A dark, shadowy strike hit his spine. He stumbled in the air, losing focus. Before he could recover, the very air around him seemed to vanish—stolen by another of Cyran’s attacks.
Vekta plummeted, crashing onto a rooftop below.
Cyran landed softly beside him, calm and still like the night itself.
"No footsteps. No mercy," he said, his voice as quiet as a breeze. "That’s how I teach my students."
Vekta tried to get up, but Cyran phased through him like a ghost and struck his ribs. CRACK! Vekta slammed into a wall.
He gasped, struggling to breathe. He tried to summon a wave of crushing air—
But Cyran disappeared again.
Then—strike! From the side.
Then again—from above.
Then from behind.
---
Flames rained from the sky as Karen, her wings blazing with fire, flew over the rooftops of Halros. Buildings cracked and streets burned beneath her.
But then—everything went cold.
The heat vanished.
The air turned crisp and sharp. Frost crept along the ground, coating the ruins in white.
Walking calmly through the mist came Nyra Frost, her breath forming snowflakes in the air. Her eyes stayed focused and calm.
"You burn bright," Nyra said softly. "But fire... it flickers."
Karen dove toward her, hurling a massive firebomb.
Hiss!
The flame crashed into a wall of solid ice and vanished instantly.
Nyra didn’t move. She raised one hand and blew out a freezing wind—fwoosh—coating Karen’s wings in thick frost.
Karen tried to fly again, but her wings froze mid-air.
"I don’t slip," Nyra whispered as Karen spiraled down and hit the ground. "Because I am the ice."
---
Elsewhere on the streets, Drayla’s illusions twisted the city into chaos—walls burning, people screaming, shadows fighting shadows. Fake soldiers ran in all directions. It was pure confusion.
From behind a shattered pillar, Drayla laughed. "Can’t fight what’s not real."
But someone wasn’t fooled.
"Boring!" shouted Sana Pyre, bursting through a fake wall with flames dancing on her arms. "Fake fire doesn’t burn, darling!"
She spun once, twirling like a dancer, and fire exploded around her—burning away all the illusions like paper in a furnace.
Drayla tried again—dozens of clones of Sana attacking from every direction.
But then—
FWOOSH! A cold wind swept through.
Nyra appeared beside Sana, frost on her skin, her eyes sharp.
"I see through illusions," Nyra said calmly, and froze the clones solid.
Drayla stumbled back, stunned, as her tricks failed one by one.
Sana smirked down from above.
"Next time, bring real fire."
---
In the middle of Elminar, where the streets had fallen silent....
Damon Vale stood tall, staring at the man who was once his hero.
"Dad, please stop!" Damon shouted, his voice cracking. "You told me this world was worth saving. Was that a lie?"
For a moment, Marcus Vale looked... almost sad.
But only for a moment.
His eyes hardened. "Good people believe in ideals," Marcus said coldly. "Strong people make their own rules."
Then, without emotion, he turned away. "Magnal. Take care of him."
Magnal opened his eyes from his calm, cross-legged position and slowly stood up. "The little pebble prince. Let’s see if you’ve learned anything."
He stepped forward, calm and taunting. "Your dad’s a king now, Damon. You? Just a boy playing with rocks."
BOOM! Magnal launched a shockwave from his spin—Damon was sent crashing into a broken wall.
Damon groaned, getting up and wiping the blood from his lip. He slammed his hand to the ground.
Stone spikes shot toward Magnal.
But Magnal dodged with ease, flipping and twisting like a spinning top. "Too slow!"
He spun again, this time smashing into Damon with a powerful blow that cracked the ground under them.
Damon hit the pavement hard—but refused to stay down.
With a sharp cry, he lifted his hands—stone rose around Magnal, walls forming quickly, wrapping around him like a cave.
The earth closed in with a clunk!—a full stone dome trapping Magnal inside.
Silence...
Then—CRACK!
Magnal burst out, shards flying everywhere. "You think that’s enough?" he smirked. "Your rocks are just paper bags to me!"
Damon’s jaw clenched. "SHUT UP!"
He slammed both hands into the ground again—but this time, he did something different.
From directly beneath Magnal’s feet, stone erupted upward, wrapping tightly around his legs, his chest, his arms—even his mouth.
In seconds, Magnal was frozen in place—his whole body trapped in a solid stone cocoon, only his eyes visible. He couldn’t even speak.
Damon stood, panting hard.
"You talk too much," he said.
---
Meanwhile, just behind them, Marcus raised his hand, not even glancing at the trapped Magnal.
All around him, metal objects—street poles, broken signs, even pipes underground—rose into the air, spinning like blades.
"Today, Dravaris will learn this lesson," Marcus said coldly.
Then—with one sharp motion—he fired the metal storm straight toward the towering White Citadel.
It was going to hit—
BOOOOM!
A silver light smashed into the ground.
From the glowing dust, Elira Frost rose, her entire body shining like diamond.
"Enough," she said calmly—but her voice carried power.
Marcus turned, smiling like he expected her. "Elira. I was wondering when you’d—"
CRACK!
Before he could finish, Elira punched him so hard, he flew back through three solid walls, crashing into rubble.
She raised her arms, sharp diamond spikes growing from her skin. Her eyes glowed icy blue.
"No talking." Her voice was cold. "Give up... or die."
---
At the same time, two shadows blinked into view—Rex Hollow and Cyran Kade.
Each of them dragged someone behind.
Rex grinned, holding the unconscious Grak the Red by the collar. "Guess teleport-boy ran out of places to hide."
Cyran let Vekta drop to the ground behind him.
Then came Sana Pyre, striding through the street with her usual fire trailing behind her.
"Got your little illusionist," she said, kicking the unconscious Drayla forward.
Nyra Frost followed close, calm and cool as ever. Karen, frozen and still, was floating behind her in a block of ice.
---
Since Marcus flew back, his control over the metal has stopped.
And the falling metal that Marcus had launched toward the city was coming down—dangerous, sharp, and fast.
"Oh come on, not this again!" Rex shouted.
He zoomed into motion—catching people, carrying kids, pulling soldiers away from the crash zones faster than anyone could blink.
Sana, with a spin of her arms, unleashed a wave of fire, melting some of the flying debris before it could land.
"No one’s dying on my shift!" she yelled.
Nyra, arms raised, froze the streets, forming thick sheets of ice where the metal was falling—slowing it down, making it slide harmlessly away.
"Cool it down... calm it down," she whispered.
---
Elira stood strong as Marcus hurled a storm of sharp metal at her.
The deadly pieces clinked and bounced off her diamond skin, falling to the ground like broken knives. Not a single cut marked her.
Then, without moving, Elira struck back—with her mind.
Marcus blinked. The world around him twisted. Visions spun in his head—crumbling cities, voices screaming, his own reflection turning against him. His balance wavered.
Just then, Cyran stepped out from the shadows beside him.
"You taught me everything," Cyran said quietly, his voice filled with pain. "You were our protector. Now you’re just another power-hungry fool."
Marcus shook his head, forcing the illusions away. He clenched his jaw, eyes burning with fury. "I protected them! I gave them strength! And they betrayed me."
His gaze darted to the battlefield—his Veilborn were defeated, his plan unraveling.
With a roar of rage, he raised both hands, summoning a final storm of jagged metal. This time, he aimed not at warriors—but at the White Citadel and the innocent people below.
"He’s aiming for the citizens!" Rex shouted.
"Split up! Save everyone!" Sana yelled.
Rex blurred into motion, zipping through falling debris to grab people and move them to safety.
Nyra raised her hands again, freezing large chunks of metal mid-air before they could hit the ground.
Sana spun, melting other sharp pieces with walls of fire.
Even Elira rushed forward, breaking through flying shrapnel to reach the president of Dravaris, shielding him with a diamond shield.
"Stay low," she said, voice steady. "You’re not dying today."
---
While everyone was focused on saving the people...
Marcus stepped back, breathing heavily.
Then, with a roar, he raised both hands—and a ship made entirely of metal rose from the ground behind him.
It floated in the air, its surface shaped from broken towers and street signs.
The unconscious members of the Veilborn—Grak, Vekta, Drayla, Karen, and Magnal—were pulled aboard by chains of metal.
Before anyone could stop him—
BOOM!
A huge cloud of smoke and metal shards filled the area.
And in that chaos... Marcus disappeared.
---
By the time the dust settled, the sky was quiet again. The Magnetar King had already disappeared.
Elira stood tall in the center of the ruined courtyard, her diamond skin slowly fading back to normal. Around her, the students who had fought for Dravaris looked up with tired eyes, bruised but proud.
She turned to Cyran, Sana, Nyra, Rex, and Damon, her voice calm but firm.
"I’ll protect this place from now on," she said. "And I’ll make sure Marcus never comes back."
From that day, Elira Frost was crowned the Diamond Queen of Dravaris, the new Principal of Ironheart Academy.
---
Far away, in a flying car, Sharky was hearing everything from his wives, Sophia and Rosie.
Sophia told him, "Like this, Elira became Diamond Queen and the protector of Dravaris."
Sharky leaned back, arms crossed, a small smile on his face. "Hmm... Elira. She always had that strength."
Rosie, sitting beside him, added, "Not just Dravaris. You should hear what else happened."
She leaned closer, her voice dropping.
"After Marcus attacked Dravaris, he didn’t stop there. He launched secret strikes on countries all over Aetherion. In some places, he didn’t even show up himself—he sent his followers."
Sophia nodded. "And it worked. Some Etherbon around the world... they started agreeing with him."
"That Etherbon was of royal blood," Rosie said. "That humans should serve them, not stand beside them."
"Soon," Sophia continued, "Malvara became a powerful force. A dark country where those thoughts were welcomed."
"And Veliborn?" Rosie’s voice turned cold. "It’s no longer just a rogue group. It’s the biggest anti-human, Etherbon-supremacy force in the world. A terrorist organization... and it’s still growing."
To stop this rising threat, the Etherbon Council was formed—a gathering of ten powerful Sovereigns who represented their continents, united to protect balance.
They gathered at Iliadra.
A small floating island, high above the clouds, nestled between the continents of Lumaria and Mirasia.
There, beneath an open sky, the Etherbon Council was born.
Their mission was clear:
Prevent wars before they start.
Protect the balance of Etherbon power.
Keep peace among humans and Etherbon alike.
And stop the rise of the Veliborn before it consumed everything.
The founding members of the Etherbon Council were—
Sarven Talaar, known as the Tornado King, was the first Etherbon ever called a King.
He represented his country Sonchi and took the responsibility of stopping all wars in his continent, Aerithal.
Aerithal was known as the Land of Sky and Storms.
A world of endless plains, high cliffs, strong winds, and ancient sky temples.
Air-based Etherbon lives here—masters of flying, wind control, and storm powers.
---
Elira Frost, known as the Diamond Queen, represented her country Dravaris and took the responsibility of protecting her continent, Cryostara, which was known as the Land of Ice and Solitude.
A vast, frozen land filled with glaciers, shining ice fields, and caves of frost and diamond.
It is home to Ice-type Etherbon, who control cold, snow, and crystal.