The Kastori Chronicles: The Complete Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series

Emperor Caius Orthran retreated to the side of the massive hangar, away from all the departing ships and away from his children.

He had promised he would do his best to live, but feared that the end would come for him in a matter of minutes. He pinned all of his hopes for humanity on the future of his children and those on the ships leaving Monda.

But he gasped in horror and bowed his head in sorrow as many of the ships exploded. Even now, destruction. Our race is going extinct. The only solace the Emperor took was that the last ships to leave were the first to explode, meaning that Cyrus and Celeste’s ship was the most likely to escape.

Debris rained from the sky, and Caius ducked into a small room on the side, designed to overlook the entire hangar. What had once served as a secret operating room, a room set in place two years ago, had now transformed into a pit of fire, smoldering ships, and dead bodies. It represented all too well the tragedy of the war—Monda had once been a planet of peace and happiness and now contained violence and death.

“Sir!” a soldier yelled.

Caius heard him but didn’t turn back. Please, my children, he thought. Survive. They were the last hope. They must carry on with humanity's legacy.

“Sir!” the soldier yelled again. “Sir.”

The softer voice drew the attention of the Emperor. He turned back to see five men equipped with rifles, looking at him with a strong sense of duty. Caius felt no point in having them around. The magicologists would destroy them. He would die. The only question was how many people the enemy would tear through to get to him.

“If I may, sir,” the lead soldier, a loyal man named Barzus, said, “the enemy has advanced on the palace. Garrus is captured. The palace will fall, leaving this area as the last protected place. What should we do, sir?”

No more blood will be shed because of me, the Emperor thought. He would not be responsible for any more deaths.

“You should leave, Barzus. And the rest of you should follow him. They will come for me and kill me after I refused their offer today. If you are in their way, they will kill you too.”

Barzus’ eyes went wide, and he looked back at the other soldiers. Caius took the chance to walk outside the room and look back up. There were still explosions, but they came much further away in the sky, mere blips of fire instead of clearly defined destruction. And it was slowing down, perhaps a sign that the emperor's children would escape.

A loud boom rocked the hangar, so loud that the Emperor lost his balance and fell. Barzus ran outside with his four other men and grabbed the Emperor.

“I swore to protect and defend you until the very end, sir, no matter what the odds are. This doesn’t change that.”
Caius grimaced. His men would never quit their duty.

They had been trained too well.

“Very well. You may run, and I will not hold it against you. But if you choose to stay, please take me to the Imperial Bunker for our last stand.”

“Understood. Move out, men! To the bunker, let’s go!”

Caius followed the five sprinting soldiers toward the far corner of the hangar. With the open ceiling, he could hear distant explosions and one massive building crumbling on itself, its destruction likely bringing down other buildings around it.

Then came a sound so massive it destroyed the Emperor’s hearing.

He fell to the ground and looked up. A massive fire consumed the sky as if having ignited the clouds and storms themselves. Everything in the air fell to the ground, either nose-diving for an explosion or crumbling apart. They had just wiped everything out in the sky. The Emperor had never seen power like that.

Typhos could, in fact, destroy the world.

He felt two hands lifting him up, and though he could not hear the soldiers even as their mouths moved, he could see them running to the bunker. Caius stole one last glance at the red sky, shuddered, and sprinted toward the bio-identification marker protecting the shelter. He slammed his hand against it, caught his breath, and led the men in when the door opened.

“Close the door!” he yelled when everyone had entered, his hearing slowly returning.

He sat on the ground to catch himself as the troops positioned themselves at the door. He looked at the bunker, complete with five small rooms, each large enough for just a bed and a mirror; multiple cabinets with non-perishable food; and gallons of water. They had supplies to last them six months, but the Emperor had a nauseating feeling they didn’t even have six minutes left.

“Are you OK, sir?” Barzus asked, crouching.
Caius sighed, exhausted. He rested on his hands and slowly shook his head.

“I just wish I knew if my children made it, and there’s no way for me to know.”

Barzus bowed his head and said, “I’m sorry,” but added nothing more. The Emperor didn’t want him to add anything more. He just wanted the chance to collect himself.

Then Caius heard a loud slam on the wall. He also heard footsteps from outside the entrance. They found us.

“We fight until the end for you, sir,” Barzus said.

Another slam came to the door, and a dent formed. A loud, grinding creak came and the doors slowly pried open. The five soldiers, properly positioned, fired their rifles blindly into the opening. Screams came as the Emperor positioned himself a few feet behind the soldiers, ready to pick up a rifle if one fell.

But with frightening power, a magicologist struck all the soldiers dead with a powerful lightning spell. When the Emperor went to pick up a gun, it would not fire.

“Behold, my power,” the familiar voice in his head said.

All magic ceased. It was eerily silent for several seconds as the Emperor stood up. Smoke filled the doorway, making it impossible to see where the magicologists were.

Then an enormous figure filled the doorway, his black robes coming into view first, followed by the dark, featureless mask, his heavy breathing, and the bloodstains on his robes. Typhos stood tall over the Emperor, using his size and presence to intimidate him.

“I warned you what would happen if you did not surrender,” Typhos said. “And now look at what has happened. Your palace is mine. Your city is in ruins. Your ships are nothing but dust. And you survived to witness it.”

He then withdrew his sword from his sheath, slowly, letting the sound of its emergence grate on the Emperor’s ears.

“Pathetic. You see the destruction that I have brought, and you send your people scurrying away like cowards? What kind of leader is that?”

Typhos slowly paced around the Emperor, allowing his sword to occasionally “accidentally” bump into the Emperor.

“It matters little. You should know that I destroyed the entire fleet. No ship made it out.”

So be it, the Emperor thought. I may die, he continued, but you will have to earn your kill.

“Is this what you wanted, Typhos? A world for yourself just to burn to the ground? A planet full of ash, storms, and death?”

Typhos paused, his face remaining pointed at the Emperor. Slowly, he laughed, but it sounded more disappointed and sad than it did amused.

“If you knew what this planet meant to me, you would do the same as I,” he said. “But it matters not. I have accomplished what I want to do. Except for you. Now, Emperor.”

The soulless, empty mask stared at the Emperor. Just get it over with.

“I am feeling rather merciful today. Bow before me and you shall live.”

No.

We are humans, the proud Emperor thought. We die strong.

“I said, bow before me!”

Caius did not move. He barely registered Typhos swinging his fist before it collided with his jaw, leaving him bloodied and on the ground. Caius groaned on his knees and hands, gasping for breath as he rubbed his jaw. Then he felt the sharp side of Typhos’ sword resting on his neck.

“All bow to me in the end,” Typhos rumbled. “It is only a question of if they do so willingly or are compelled to do so. Take me as your Lord.”

Ignoring the painful scratching of the sword, Caius looked up and shook his head.

“No,” he said weakly.

Typhos kicked him in the face, sending the Emperor sprawling on his back as he held his hands to his face.

“Waste of my time,” Typhos said, raising his sword. “I have no use for you. Now, die!”

Caius closed his eyes and as Typhos held his sword high. The Emperor accepted his fate and thought of his children.

You will carry the future, he thought before the world turned to black. You will save humanity.

982 pages

For fans of "Star Wars," "Dune," and "Final Fantasy" comes the debut sci-fi/fantasy series of Stephen Allan. Set across a galaxy full of elemental magic, world-conquering villains, and a desperate quest to keep humanity alive, this series shares the story of family, betrayal, and redemption. Read on as our heroes fight dragons, monsters, and magic-wielding villains of the shadows who threaten to become gods!