Max is saved by Khris and the force heads back to the castle to talk with the King, which begs forgiveness and excuses himself about being under Kane’s power. There, he finds that the King was threatened about his Kingdom’s safeness by Kane and is thrown to prison. Max heads to the Kingdom of Alterone, which is an ally of Guardiana and lies close to the northwest. The King also dies and Mae, distraught by her father Varios’ death, joins the force. The King, also heavily wounded, reveals that the Gate can only be opened with a key, and instructs Max to find it before Runefaust and to discover the motivations behind their actions. Max quickly returns to Guardiana, just in time watch Varios being killed by Kane and then leaving. Max accepts the King’s plea to leave with a small force assembled by the adviser Nova to stop their antics and they are successful, but as the commander of Runefaust’ troops dies, he laughs at them, as Lord Kane from Runefaust should be invading Guardiana by now. One day, the King informs them that the Gate of the Ancients, a place Guardiana has watched over for centuries, might have been reached by the forces of Runefaust. Max is a young swordsman who trains under the wing of Lord Varios, in the Kingdom of Guardiana.