Night had just fallen on Elluel. The Elf Queen entered her room. She squinted her eyes, adjusting from the sudden brightness of the lamps in her room in contrast to the darkness outside. Elf eyes were much more sensitive than humans. She noticed a letter on her table that wasn't there before she left.

Hey Darling~

How's it going? This evening, I'm organising an impromptu banquet at
Ereve. Why don't you come and join the party? We could use more
Lovely ladies to spice up the party. Be sure to come dressed in
Proper clothes. Hope to see you there.

Your Prince Charming,
Phantom

"That idiot is making a fool out of me."

The blushing Elf Queen placed the letter in her drawer. She opened her closet and looked though her dresses. She tried on her many dresses and took her time in front of the mirror, picking her outfit. This continued for about an hour before the commotion outside drew her attention. She left her room in a hurry, wearing her current evening gown.

"What's going on?" Mercedes asked a bystander.

"Look. The sky is falling." The bystander pointed to the sky.

Ereve was moving. It was falling slowly. The Elf Queen ran back to her room. She took out Phantom's letter and read it again. Vertically, it showed 'H E L P'.

"Argh! I'm so stupid! That idiot is REALLY making a fool out of me! Why can't he just state it clearly?"

Mercedes grabbed her bowguns and ran out. The nimble elf breezed through Ellinia's forest, making full use of elves' sharp eyes to navigate in the dark.

She arrived at The Victoria Tree Platform shortly afterwards. There she saw Kiriru, the manager of The Sky Ferry, curled up on the ground, in despair.

"It's over...it's over..." Kiriru muttered to himself.

"Hey, I need to get to Ereve right away."

The feathered sailor looked at the Elf Queen in confusion. "Ereve is gone."

"No it's not. It just moved."

After further persuasion with her bowgun, they set off on the flying boat. As the boat made its way past the Victoria Island landscape, Ereve could be seen crashing onto the ocean surface. Massive waves erupted from the contact with the sea. The boat sailed in the calm night sky, above the chaos of the ocean surface. They waited for the waves to settle down before landing on the island. Mercedes jumped off the boat, rushing to the town. What greeted her was a ghost town.

"What is this? Where is everyone?" Mercedes stood in the middle of the silent town.

Two figures appeared from behind a building.

"The whole island is empty. Everyone is gone." The dragon master came closer.

"Huh?"

"Wow, I'm surprised you can run in that."

"SHUT UP!" Mercedes fired a few arrows at Evan.

"Ahhh! That's dangerous!" Evan yelled as he and his dragon leapt away from each other. The arrows flew between them.

"Freud...err...I mean..."

"It's 'Evan'. I wished you could at least remember my name by now."

"Ah, yes, Evonne. What happened here?"

"It's Evan-...I don't know. Everyone on the island has gone missing. I've just arrived here not too long ago. Nice dress."

"SHUT UP!" The angry elf fired more arrows.

"YES MA'AM!" Evan squealed as the arrows narrowly missed his head.

They toured the island, looking for the inhabitants. There was not a man or animal in sight. They continued their search in the palace, while Mir flew around patrolling the island. They entered the kitchen. It looked as though the chefs had suddenly disappeared when they were halfway cooking. The pots on the stove were still warm.

"They couldn't have gone far." Mercedes turned to Evan, who was eating off a drumstick.

"How can you eat that? What if it's poisoned?"

"It's alright...nom...nom...I have the stomach...nom..nom...of a dragon."

They then proceeded to look through the many rooms of the palace before ending up at Neinheart's office. They searched the room for clues.

"So, why are you wearing that?" Evan curiously asked.

"Hah?" Mercedes had a mean look on her face.

"Nothing!"

"Ivan, take a look at this." Mercedes passed a document to Evan.

"It's E..."

Phantom entered the pavilion though the walkway. A familiar face was waiting for him there, sitting in the Empress's chair. The chair was the focal point of the pavilion's two sitting galleries, which was separated by a wide walkway in the middle.

"Oz! Where is Hilla?"

The flame witch laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Whaaat? You're asking for Empress Hilla?" Oz asked.

"Yes, where is she?"

Oz laughed again. "Lets play a game. If you don't melt then I will tell ya."

Oz left the chair, walking several steps towards Phantom. She raised her wand to the sky and chanted a spell. A huge wall of flames rose, encasing the pavilion. The wall was at least ten storeys high, towered behind the four storey sitting gallerys. Phantom threw a card at the wall. It vaporised before it could reach the surface. He could feel the heat from the middle of the cage of flames.

"UNYAA!" Oz flicked her wand at Phantom.

She casted Orbital Flame: from the tips of her wand, flame balls appeared. They swerved in random arcs, towards their target. Phantom ran to the side as the balls exploded along the path he had travelled.

"HIYAAA!" A huge ball of fire grew above the flame witch.

This ball was about three meters wide. It travelled slowly towards Phantom. The fireball shot out streaks of flame blasts in random directions, craving a trail of chaotic black lines on the ground. Phantom ran to the side, dodging some of the flame blasts. The inferno melted a hole though the sitting gallery and disappeared into the wall of flames. The whole area was heating up quickly. Phantom was drenched in sweat. He knew a prolonged engagement would be disadvantageous to him. His right hand glowed, conjuring a staff. He recalled the magic of ice mages, casting Ice Strike: blocks of ice fell around him. "UNYAA!" Oz initiated another attack. Fireballs flew from her wand, vaporising the blocks of ice into a cloud of steam. The steam dispersed. The thief was out of sight. He appeared behind the flame witch. He swung his staff, hoping to knock her out in one strike. Before the staff could do any damage, there was huge flame explosion around Oz which blasted Phantom away. He landed dangerously close to the wall of flames. He was now holding a shield, transformed from the staff, which he had used to shield himself from the blast. He turned his shield back to a staff and ran as more fireballs landed where he was.

What the heck is this?
Since when a Hilla Knight could be this strong?

The ground shook. They both ceased their attacks. Phantom's jaw dropped in disbelief. A huge wave appeared outside the pavilion, from the direction behind of the Empress's chair, towering higher than the wall of flames.

"Tsk. That bastard just had to dampen things up." Oz created a dome flame barrier above her.

The wave swallowed the wall of flames, putting it out. The mass of water then swallowed the pavilion. Oz stood her ground, under her flame barrier. Phantom however, had no idea how to react to it. He was swept away. The wave passed the pavilion. Oz undid her barrier.

"Where's your cane, old man...Wait, where did he go?" Hawkeye made his appearance from the source of the wave.

"Fo' real?" Oz was amazed at the fellow knight's actions.

As the wave died down, Phantom ended up somewhere in the middle Ereve's forests, a significant distance away. Some trees were uprooted by the tsunami. But most of the forest remained unharmed. Phantom suffered some bruises as he was carried away by the wave. He just sat on the ground, unsure of what to do. He felt powerless against the monstrosity of The Hilla Knights.

A sentence echoed in his head: 'There is nothing'.

Upon reaching the time limit, Phantom returned to his seat in The Witch's Garden. He took out his pocket watch. It showed nine o'clock and had stopped ticking. He then turned his attention to The Witch who was staring back at him from across the table.

"So Hilla. Who did you sell your soul to?"

"I don't know what you are talking about." The Witch had the usual smirk.

"I don't see the Skaia around your neck. What happened to it?"

"Skaia is like a philosopher's stone. I used up its magic and it disappeared."

"Skaia doesn't disappear like that."

"How would you know? Have you used it before?"

"No...But..."

"I know what you did. You stole it without even knowing what it was."

Phantom remained silent as he tried to recall what happened in the past. There were many gaps in his memory. His hundred year slumber had done a lot of damage to him. He could feel his despair growing. He reminded himself of his resolve when joined the heroes to fight against Black Mage.

Hilla resembles so much like Aria.
When I handed her the Skaia a few years ago.
When I thwarted the Sorceress' plan.
That Sorceress, what was her name?
Cy...

Author's notes:

I already have a rough idea on how the story will progress and end.

All that is left in to fill in the gaps.

However, I still have no idea how many chapters it will take.

To be continued-

(5 DEC 2014)