PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 23: Gate to the Future

• Over the centuries, Lucid’s mind remained awake as she remained imprisoned within the ice with the other elves. With no hope of escape, Lucid desperately projected her consciousness as far as it could go, inadvertently stumbling into the Black Mage’s mind.

• Sensing her talent, the Black Mage offered her eternal life and the chance to see a new world. Seeing such a powerful being need her was all that Lucid needed, and so she readily accepted the Black Mage’s power, becoming his newest Commander.

• With her new abilities, Lucid manipulated the Gate to the Future in order to create an illusory future in which the Cygnus Knights had betrayed Maple World and sided with the Black Mage.

• As rumors about the ruined future spread, the Cygnus Knight and their Chief Knight investigated the Gate to the Future, where they were consumed by dark magic and Wightmares that attempted to brainwash them. However, the Knight fought them off and saved their Chief Knight before returning to Ereve.

• There, they learned that Cygnus had fallen into an enchanted sleep, as her connection to the Cygnus Knights meant that when the Knight had been infected with dark magic, their bond with Cygnus meant that Lucid’s powers were able to bypass Ereve’s defenses and Shinsoo’s magic in order to reach her.

• In order to save Cygnus, the Knight was sent by Shinsoo into Cygnus’ mind, where they found her being attacked by Future Cygnus. After defeating Future Cygnus, the Knight broke through her nightmare, allowing her to wake up in the real world. Because of their valor, the Cygnus Knight was promoted to become the sixth Chief Knight.

• Soon after, Neinheart launched a full-scale investigation to the Gate to the Future in order to learn the mastermind behind the plot.