Proise Lake!
As Volmar's broken laughter dissolved into quiet, hiccupping sobs, Willy Tybur rose to his feet, testing his newly regenerated limbs. They felt strange and functional but lacked the muscular memory of years of use. He took a few experimental steps along the lakeshore, then turned to face westward, where the distant silhouette of Wonka City was still visible against the darkening sky.
Twenty kilometres away, the once-proud towers and spires of the city had been reduced to jagged ruins. Even from this distance, Willy could make out an unnatural darkness surrounding the city walls—a seething, undulating mass that reflected no light. As he watched, the darkness began to shift, flowing like liquid shadow along the southern road leading away from the devastated city.
"They're moving," Willy said, voice sharp with urgency. He pointed toward the distant writhing mass. "The Zergs…they're not staying in the city."
Kalina rose immediately, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten as she followed his gaze. She squinted, focusing on the distant movement. For several seconds, she observed in silence, her expression gradually shifting from concern to horror.
"No," she whispered, then gasped in worry, "No! They're heading toward Roimika!"
The name meant nothing to Willy, but the fear in her voice conveyed its significance enough. "What is Roimika?"
"A fortified city, 80 kilometres north of here," Kalina explained, her voice tight with tension. "Population of approximately fifteen thousand. It houses one of our Summoner branch towers. Past that is just flatlands. It's not possible to stop the Zerg Advance on flat plains."
Volmar lifted his head, momentarily pulled from his despair by this new threat. "They're expanding already? Have their losses been so little?"
Spontaneously, he glared at Willy, implying the situation had progressed to such a despairing extent because most of the damage done to Wonka City's defence force came not from the Zergs, but the Warhammer Titan.
"The Queen seizes every damn opportunity," Kalina said grimly. "With the Summoner Tower destroyed, nothing's left to halt their advance. Once Roimika falls, Greta and Rheumberg will swiftly follow suit."
Willy frowned, trying to understand the geography of this alien world. "I need context. What does the land look like here? Where are these cities in relation to each other?"
Kalina took a deep breath, visibly gathering her thoughts. "Encarta is shaped roughly like a kite," she began, tracing the outline in the air with her finger. "The southern tip bulges outward, forming the Misty Lands—the domain of the Zergs."
She gestured toward the south, where the distant darkness was spreading. "That bulge alone is massive—at least a million square kilometres of territory claimed by the Queen and her swarm. The rest of the continent stretches northward for thousands of kilometres."
The continent she described was enormous, comparable in size to the entirety of Asia on Earth, with diverse landscapes ranging from dense forests to mountain ranges, vast plains to winding river systems. Humanity had established cities primarily in the central and northern regions, maintaining a defensive line against the ever-present Zerg threat from the south.
"The Summoner Tower…" Kalina's voice choked momentarily as she corrected herself, "…was positioned close to the southern border because our magic allows for an expendable army. We fight with our Summons and can avoid sacrificing human lives needlessly."
She pointed north along an invisible map she roughly sketched using lines of mana. "Beyond Wonka City lie Roimika, which is situated along a mountain range's pass. Beyond that are just endless plains, mostly filled with forests and farmlands. Their centre of operation is Greta and Rheumberg, two smaller cities with branch towers of Summoner magic. Both houses primarily apprentice and junior Summoners, with only a handful of instructors. The strongest of their kind are only at two circles."
Willy processed this information attentively. "And these branch towers…they're not strong enough to repel the swarm?"
Kalina shook her head, her expression grim. "No. Not after what happened to the main tower. They'll fall within days, perhaps hours. They have limited mana reserves and few experienced Summoners."
She traced further north on her invisible map. "Beyond them lies Niem City, home to the Wind Tower."
"Wind Tower?" Willy inquired, committing each detail to memory.
"Wind Mages," Volmar interjected, his voice hollow but coherent. "They maintain communication networks across Encarta. Their magic allows for message transmission across vast distances."
A sudden realization dawned on Willy. "So, if Niem City falls..."
"The continent's information network would be compromised," Kalina confirmed. "Cities would be isolated, unable to coordinate defences or warn each other of advancing threats."
Without communication, each human settlement would stand alone against the Zerg tide. Isolated defence was doomed to failure against an enemy that moved with such coordinated purpose in endless numbers.
Kalina began pacing, her movements nervous. "Roimika is probably done for already. That means…we need to reach Niem City immediately. We must warn them about the Summoner Tower's destruction and the advancing swarm."
"Has information about such a catastrophe not been sent out?" Willy asked, surprised. "Surely, if not radio, you must at least have pigeons for information exchange, right?"
"Radio? Pigeons?" Volmar stared in confusion, "No, our Wind Mages transmit information across large distances."
"The Wind Mages stationed in Wonka were housed in the Summoner Tower," Kalina explained, casting a brief accusatory glance at Willy. "They died when the tower collapsed. There was no one left to send a warning."
"So, Encarta remains unaware of what's happening," Willy concluded soberly. "The swarm advances, and no one beyond Wonka City knows to prepare."
"Exactly," Kalina confirmed. She straightened her shoulders, ready. "We need to move. Now."
She raised her hands, forming a single magic circle that pulsed with blue light.
Summoning Magic—Cerberus!
From the circle emerged the familiar three-headed hound. Willy recognised it from its midnight-black fur that was matted with blood from past wounds. All three heads hung low, tongues lolling with exhaustion.
Its injuries had been completely treated thanks to Kalina's magic. However, it needed desperate rest, a bath, and most importantly, food.
"Kalina," Volmar said, frowning, "why not summon a fresh Cerberus? This one is clearly exhausted."
She avoided his gaze, focusing instead on stroking the central head of her summon. "I would love to do that…if I could."
Volmar's eyes widened in understanding. "No…It can't be."
He grabbed Kalina by the shoulder and whispered. "Tell me you haven't dropped to single-circle status."
Kalina bit her lower lip, the gesture confirming his fears before she spoke. "I wasn't able to undo the summoning fast enough. As each Cerberus died, I lost the contract and dropped by a circle."
She gestured to the wounded Cerberus. "This is all I can manage now. One circle, one summon."
"Curses," Volmar pressed upon his temples, "We don't have enough time to forge a new summoning contract."
Kalina, once capable of summoning five Cerberus simultaneously, had been reduced to maintaining a single, exhausted version of her signature creature. Her power had been dramatically diminished.
"We're travelling to Niem City with an exhausted Cerberus as our protection," Volmar stated flatly, voice hollow with resignation. "During the time of a Zerg invasion."
Willy stepped forward, studying the wounded creature with a thoughtful expression. "How long will it take to reach Niem City?"
"At least three days of travel," Kalina answered, "longer with the Cerberus in this condition. And we'll need to avoid Zerg patrols along the way."
The situation seemed impossible—three exhausted travellers with limited magical resources attempting to outpace a swarm of nightmarish predators across hostile territory. Failure meant not only their deaths but potentially the collapse of human civilisation across Encarta.
Willy looked down at his hands, contemplating the power that resided within him—power that had caused so much destruction, but might now be their only hope for salvation.
"Three days," he repeated softly. 'The Cart Titan would have been perfect for this situation. But since it doesn't exist in this world, I need to make do with what I have at the moment.'
"Give me some more time," Willy stared at his hand and observed only a small portion remained to regenerate, "And then, I'll swiftly bring you to your destination."