Pyroverse: Breach/Story

This is the story of Pyroverse: Breach, kept separate from the main article due to concerns about length. If you would like to return to the main page and view gameplay-oriented aspects of the article, please click the above link.
Having been fractured or damaged and no longer functioning properly; having given up all hope, despairing.~
The camera pans over a ruined, destroyed city, smoke curling upwards from the once proud skyscrapers as blue embers dance through the wind. Pulsing with a subtle glow, strange vines pierce through concrete and asphalt, and the streets are strewn with human bodies, torn clothing, and broken weaponry- the signs of a defeated resistance. The camera finally stops on a lone radio sticking out of the rubble, a small light indicating it is receiving transmissions.
Radio Speaker: *panting* This is newscaster Airy Atkins, reporting live from an undisclosed location. As many people in this great nation- and across the world- may have swiftly realized, life on our world has turned incredibly hostile in only a matter of weeks.
A pair of strange humanoid figures wrapped in ivory armor walk down the street, sinister-looking gunblades at their sides. As they scan the horizon, they let loose a low, guttural growl that belies the creature's otherworldly, divine nature.
Radio Speaker: After a cavalcade of largely undocumented events taking place in the arctic nation of Cesserx, various individuals across the world have begun transforming into inhuman entities, creatures that appear to be organized and bear hostility towards humankind. While many military forces have attempted to engage the growing threat, all attempts to confront them have been met with varying degrees of loss, and with much of the world's military now defeated or out of operation, many citizens of Earth have been left to fend for themselves.
After firing at something offscreen, the two figures turn their heads to face the noise that they hear, leading them to the broadcasting radio.
Radio Speaker: The Iliad Organization, the peacekeeping task force established two years ago during the invasion of otherworldly force Mosaic, has not been located since these events began. In a world with no heroes, a world in which the threat seems unassailable, things may seem bleak... but this reporter is here to tell you that we cannot give up!
As one of the two figures placed their foot over the radio, the broadcast was suddenly filled with the sound of pounding on wood and what appeared to be the sound of a shotgun being loaded.
Radio Speaker: Listen to me! Each and every one of you is strong and capable! If our heroes do not return... we will give it our all!
The broadcast cut out as the radio was crushed underneath the figure's foot, silencing the woman's voice completely. The city was now entirely silent, save for the sound of flames flickering and the occasional building alarm. Continuing their trek onward, the inhuman creatures began the hunt for stragglers anew... all to serve the goddess that had created them.
----
Lucius opened his eyes, waking up in a landscape he had no recollection of. He felt water trickling down his face as he sat up, getting up off of his back as he gazed around his new surroundings; the ground was a greyish stone, grown over with moss and covered in almost a foot of clear, pristine water, which he had been sleeping in just a second ago.
He gazed around his environment, looking for any sign of life or civilization. He found none- save a few large rocks that had miniature waterfalls running down them seemingly endlessly, the flat watery expanse appeared to extend to infinity. The only sign that any life had ever existed in this area was a large stone brazier a few feet away, a bubbling orb of water taking place of the inferno meant to be contained within. The horizon was absolutely breathtaking, the foggy grey hues giving way to a beautiful orange as a piercingly brilliant sun shone through. As it warmed his body and soul, Lucius realized he couldn't tell whether or not the sun was setting or rising... It seemed to simply hang in the air, defying the inexorable pull of time.
Just where had he arrived? The last thing he remembered, he was asleep in his bed- at least, the bed that had been hastily made for him in... Via Spectrum.
Would his life never know peace again? Was it not enough that he had been tormented for years on end, the voice of a cruel, mocking fairy dancing through his comatose psyche? The moment that he was finally able to rest peacefully, his whole life had been uprooted yet again, and now he was confined to a nebulous pocket dimension while a divine figure sought to bring about the end of all life in the galaxy. And now, he had been swept from his rest- the sole place of respite he now possessed- to wherever this mysterious new realm was. Was he just cursed? He had been taught as a scientist of Coronite to doubt the existence of magic and curses, but considering he was now fighting against a goddess, all of these doubts may as well have been cast aside.
???: You are in Alterminus.
Lucius turned around to face a rippling sound in the water behind him as a figure silently rose from the liquid. Its body was transparent at first, but slowly shifted into a pitch-black being, its features obscured entirely. The only characteristic he could make out was its soft, feminine voice.
???: This domain is where souls who have passed on- or whose fates are in danger of being severed- arrive. Some may call it a place of death, while others may call it a land of peaceful rest.
Lucius: Did I... pass on in my sleep?
???: I cannot tell, stranger from a distant world. But your essence reeks of death and departure... perhaps you hold death tightly in your psyche? Some traumatic event, perhaps? In any case, your fate in particular is very intriguing to me... So I pulled you from the world of pain and strife to speak with you.
Lucius backed away from this mysterious figure. Whoever she was, she seemed to be able to stare deep into his heart- and brought up the painful memories of Corona slaughtering his race. If this place was the realm of the dead, then he knew something must be terribly wrong, one way or another.
Lucius: Who exactly are you?
???: My name is not one so easily described, but my role is merely the caretaker of Alterminus. I exist to guide souls into their eternal rest... if they so choose.
Lucius: Why have you brought me here? If I have not passed away, then why am I somehow in the realm of the dead?
???: Death weighs heavily on your mind. Not merely in your past, but in your thoughts of the future. You are terrified that in your quest to save our universe, your newfound friends may die.
Lucius didn't respond. The grim countenance he bore across his face said enough- the thought of any of his allies falling in battle, or being lost like Fera had been, was horrifying to him.
???: You have attachment issues, Lucius. An eternity without any comrades has made you desperate to have a familial bond, so you latch onto strangers you have merely fought alongside in order to fill the festering void within. And now, with the cataclysm you now face, the thought of losing them eats away at you once again.
Lucius: Enough of these clinical evaluations, spirit. I have more important things to do than be told about my inner insecurities by a being who can't even show their face to me.
The spectral figure suddenly moved as if it had been flustered by Lucius's statement.
???: You may be correct. Before you wake from this deathsleep and return to the world of the living, I have a proposal you may be interested in.
Lucius: Show me your hand, keeper of Alterminus.
???: You are facing a desperate battle which you may never triumph in. At the bare minimum, it is likely that some of your allies may perish in the path to victory. This is my proposal... If you truly seek to defend your allies, I will give you the power to bring about the ultimate sacrifice and bring those you have bonded with back from the brink. No situation will be able to bring about the death of the ally you choose... but the cost will be your own life.
Lucius thought things over for a second. The ability to save his allies from doom... Something he had lacked in regards to his own people's destruction. Lucius couldn't take that chance again. Even just as a backup, he felt like he needed to accept this spirit's offer.
Lucius: I accept.
???: Then it is done.
Another ripple in the water appeared as the spirit seemed to form a strange looking ring, resembling a cross between a magical sigil and an iron cuff. The ring glistened with power before flying into Lucius's chest, a strange tugging sensation forming around his heart as he felt the object tightening itself around it.
???: Simply wish it, and that ring will siphon your essence to bring back the one whose bonds are so deeply etched in your heart. I pray you never have to deal with such a sacrifice, but the stench of death lingers so heavily around you that even I cannot be certain.
Lucius: I can't lose anyone. I'm not willing to take that risk. If this power can make a difference, then I'm willing to pay the price for it.
???: You are a brave soul, Lucius. Now, return to the land of the living. It appears as though your real trials are about to begin.
A small ripple emerged from the spirit's position, blasting across the empty plains with surprising force. Lucius felt the sun's rays get hotter and hotter, drying off the water on his body and obscuring his vision as everything faded to white...
----
Quetz: Morning, sleepyhead!
Lucius found himself waking up to a sharp pain in the gut. His eyes flew open as the multicolored harpy divebombed directly into his stomach, seemingly in an attempt to wake him from sleep. Grasping his stomach, Lucius fell out of bed as his unwanted alarm clock perched on the backboard of his bed.
Lucius: *panting* What was... that for?!
Quetz: You said you wanted to wake up bright and early today, right?
Lucius: ...Fair enough, I suppose.
Lucius looked around the room as Quetz flapped out the door. This small room, which was cramped, barely had space for anything other than a bed, desk, and cleaning station, and smelled faintly of sulfur, had been his home for the past two weeks. A room like this had been home to everyone here in Via Spectrum, in fact; their caretaker had hastily thrown together lodgings for their entire conglomerate after a hasty retreat.
Lucius, alongside many of his allies, had been wounded badly in the battle against the newly-reborn goddess Tiera. The shadow mage Nyxiel, who had been working behind the scenes with her father, the godly figure Inversim, in order to stop Tiera's uprising, had whisked them away to this pocket dimension when things began to seem unwinnable, and they had been here ever since, licking their wounds and preparing to make their next move.
Stepping out of the barracks, Lucius gazed upon the strange void spread out before him. An endless expanse dotted with floating islands, mired in a deep red fog and strange glitchy blotches hovering in the middle of the air. The only real ground they had had any room to set up on was a large circular plaza, a beam of yellow light rocketing off into the aether as far as the eye could see. Everything else looked like it was almost right out of a nightmare- the world of Alterminus somehow seemed more realistic and tangible than this spiritual realm.
But this is the place they would need to call home while they worked to save their own.
Quetz: You going to see Inversim like you said you were?
Lucius: Yes. I think its about time I brought this up to him.
The Coronid walked down the stone steps to the central plaza, Quetz flapping just behind him. Along the way, he saw many of the faces he had grown to see as friends walking around with him; Gargan and Retron had set up a workshop where they had begun tinkering with weaponry, the young warrior RoJo was conversing with the mad doctor Stark about some matter concerning his bleeding arm, and the mute heroine Bynde was sitting alone, silent as she held a seat at the restaurant Bubba had opened in order to improve morale. Between his own allies, the forces accumulated by Nyxiel in her travels, and the combined members of the Iliad Organization and what remained of the evil SYNDERS, they had set up quite the community for themselves. It was the most like home Lucius had felt in years.
Eventually, Lucius arrived at what what had been designated as the central command of their little hideaway, an area marked by a strange shrine and a massive tablet inscribed with strange scrawlings. These were no mere scribbles, however, as the tablet had been designed to act as a map of the planet Earth. After all, Tiera seemed dead set on using the planet as a base as she rebuilt her power.
Standing in front of the tablet were two figures, talking about something in hushed voices. One was a mysterious man in black and yellow clothing, his body flickering with strange cracks, while the other was a woman in purple who Lucius recognized all too well by now.
Lucius: Nyxiel, where is your father?
The conversation broken up, the two turned to face Lucius, with Nyxiel speaking first.
Nyxiel: He's off somewhere right now. Probably sleeping, knowing him. What's up?
Lucius: It's about taking on Tiera. I think it's time we stopped waiting around in here and stepped out to face her.
Nyxiel: You kidding me? Lucius, you've been hospitalized for two weeks with broken bones and muscle tearing. It took us half that time to understand how your anatomy works!
Lucius: I've rested enough.
Nyxiel: And what about everyone else? Plenty of people almost died fighting against Tiera and her goons last time we saw her. We've still got a lot of people licking their wounds.
Lucius pointed up to the map behind them.
Lucius: And what about those people? While we sit here, countless people could be dying without anyone else to protect them. I thought you would be jumping at the first chance you had to fight against the enemy you and your father have been planning to face for so long.
Nyxiel: And that's the point! We had a plan to prevent her from ever reaching this point, but after like eight hundred years of preparation, all of that failed horribly! People almost died! I don't want to have that happen again until we make absolutely certain we're ready-
Möbius: I think Lucius is right.
Möbius: Sure, people may be a bit worn down, but their spirits are ready and willing to fight. I know that feeling all too well.
Nyxiel: Moby... I just don't want to mess this up. Not again. We have one chance to defeat Tiera and I don't want to blow it because people aren't prepared.
Möbius: You were like this with Malphea and her friends, too. I think it's not that you don't think they can handle it, but that you're scared of people getting hurt.
Nyxiel: I...
Möbius: It'll be fine, Nyx. Trust me.
Lucius was beginning to believe that Nyxiel's boyfriend was the only one who would ever be able to talk some sense into her. The pair turned back around to face Lucius.
Nyxiel: ...You win, Lucius.
Nyxiel's hand began glowing with a subtle purple light as she cupped it to her mouth. She spoke a few words as if testing a microphone system, her voice echoing across the void as it was amplified by her magic.
Nyxiel: Attention, everyone... I understand that the past few days may have been hard for everyone to come to grips with, but right now, I've come to break the news that we're officially back in action. Everyone's gonna be heading out to Earth's surface periodically... In pairs. We can't risk anyone getting separated or lost out there in the hostile landscape. Everyone needs a partner.
Nyxiel turned her head back to Lucius as she continued her speech.
Nyxiel: Everyone also needs to check back here intermittently. Dad'll handle the portal business if I'm not there... Basically, what I'm saying is we're going at this with a structure in mind. Just because we're fighting for the safety of the universe doesn't mean you can go risking your lives willy-nilly. That's all I have to say... The fight's on.
Nyxiel took her hand away from her face as a faint murmuring could be heard from everyone else on their little island. The three looked at each other as Quetz caught up to Lucius, perching on a nearby rock.
Lucius: Thank you, Nyxiel.
Nyxiel: *sigh* If you wind up dying out there, don't come crying to me, alright? I warned you.
Nyxiel tapped Lucius on the nose before walking off with Möbius, presumably to continue the conversation they were before. Lucius stared at the map of Earth, gazing upon the destinations they would all need to free from Tiera's grasp. An entire planet to save... This would be by far one of the most difficult challenges any of them had ever faced.
But he knew they could do it. For the sake of the universe.
----
Bynde sat alone at the meal counter, staring wistfully at the plate of vegetables in front of her. Though her wounds had long since healed, her psyche had not. The dread of being separated from her friends was weighing more and more on her heart, and she hadn't felt well enough to converse with her newfound allies, especially considering her... muteness.
She continued poking at her meal, stabbing through a few leafy greens without putting them in her mouth. Sure, she had had plenty of time to train up for the battle that had just been announced behind her, but she had lost her most valuable weapon. The one thing that had demonstrated the capacity to hurt Tiera... The legendary sword known as the Seeker's Blade.
It wasn't just the sword's loss that was making her feel so awful... One of the group's members, a woman named Osuna Meadows, had vanished in their final battle against Tiera. Nyxiel had informed her that it was a self-sacrificial attempt to prevent Tiera from following the rest of the team into their new safehold. Osuna had been the person to help try easing her into the mysterious new world she had been thrust into, yanked from her own home to assist the right against Tiera before everything went wrong. Seeing her gone, and without the one tool she had to stand a chance... Bynde felt incompetent. Incapable. Like her status as a hero was nothing more than a sham.
Bubba: Kid, eat up before I gotta kick you out of the joint.
A slam on the stone countertop jolted Bynde back to reality as she looked up from her plate to face the red-skinned chef glaring at her, smoke curling off of his fist. Growling slightly, he turned away from Bynde and continued peeling a potato in his other hand with a large butcher's knife, keeping up the conversation with the Lumina warrior.
Bubba: You've been bummin' around the table for hours. I have other people who need food and drink, I can't just ya sit there and waste time by not eatin' anything.
Bynde looked at Bubba, then back to her plate.
Bubba: *sigh* Ya think you're the only one who's got somethin' on their minds? I'm the chef. Everyone comes ta me for a nice, hearty meal. And I hear a lotta things from a lotta people in the process. People have been worryin' up a storm over the past two weeks, this and that about "Tiera this" and "We're gonna die" that. And I, for one, am sick of it.
Bubba sliced clean through the potato as his knife embedded into the countertop. Bynde jumped up again, startled.
Bubba: The word from the boss is out. The fight's started for real this time. I don't wanna see anyone mopin' from this point onward. Everyone needs a clear head and heart for what we're about ta go through. And that's my job. I keep everyone happy with food.
The devilish-looking chef took the opportunity to lean into Bynde's face, a sinisterly mocking smile across his chiseled chin.
Bubba: So I'd appreciate it if ya bucked up, ate the stuff I gave you, and scooted off somewhere else.
The two were distracted by a small rustling in the chair next to Bynde as a smaller figure wiggled up, climbing the high school with an audible grunt. Sitting upright, the figure revealed themselves to be another familiar face to Bynde- the young girl Vessa. She turned to Bubba and asked something of him in that strange, chirpy language of hers.
Bubba: Alright, one juice coming right up.
Vessa turned to Bynde with a cute smile as Bubba went back to work preparing her drink. Vessa had been one of Bynde's closet companions since she was taken from Kalidia to this world; in fact, the two had arrived at the same exact time, being introduced to each other through Nyxiel. There was just something about her optimism and innocence that Bynde found reassuring. Perhaps it was because she reminded her of her younger sister Tai, and she found comfort and solace in having her near? She couldn't tell exactly, but if there was anyone in this group Bynde felt close to aside from Osuna, it was Vessa.
Bubba handed Vessa her glass of what appeared to be fruit juice as the young girl quickly took to slurping it down. The chef looked at her with what appeared to be confusion, or perhaps hesitance.
Bubba: Hey, kid, uh... Ya heard the announcement, right?
Vessa looked at the two of them with a perplexed expression.
Bubba: Everyone's... gonna be fightin' again real soon. They're probably gonna want you too. Ya sure you're up for that?
The young girl put on a determined expression as she stood up on the stool, pulling off a dramatic pose as the yo-yo attached to her arm bandages swung around her. It would've been impressive if Vessa didn't immediately turn her head to face Bynde, an optimistic smile on her face as if she was looking for her approval. It got a chuckle out of both her and Bubba, at any rate.
Bubba: Ha! Suppose that means you're rarin' ta go, then!
Vessa jumped back down on her seat and continued her drink. Bynde looked back towards her plate of vegetables; her mind still mired with doubt, she left the platter be and grabbed the simplistic metal sword at her feet, a blade she hadn't used since her own adventure had begun. She headed towards Via Spectrum's command center, eager to do what she could to help. Even though now was the time for action, however, she was still shrouded in doubt and despair; would this even work?
----
Lexi had thought that being trapped in some strange, otherworldly realm would have been the most terrifying experience of her life. After what she had been through, though, this was almost a step up.
She had spent years in the "service" of Cevress Katarina, repaying the contract she had signed in order to save the life of her daughter. In the process, she had spent what felt like an eternity functioning as a living radio broadcaster, the superhuman abilities she had manifested during experiments on her body being used in the ruler's bid to conquer the world. Even after she had finally been freed from her confinement, she wasn't free to view the world like she wanted- the arrival of some strange goddess figure saw to that.
At least here, she was confined in a place filled with people who cared about her, including that girl who had broken her out of the place where she had been effectively tortured. And she had already found a useful role here, in this new family of sorts, attempting to head the role of communications officer. She was actually doing something to help the world now...
???: Hey, LaZulia.
If only she wasn't stuck with the remaining agents of SYNDERS as well.
The three individuals she had come to know all too well over her time in confinement walked into view. Dalia Palaso, Elton Hask, and Itoki Takana, all three of them former field operatives for Katarina's mission. The Iliad Organization had captured them during their previous final bout against the ruler, but after their sudden need to retreat, the people they had apprehended came with them. For the first few days, they had been confined to their rooms, but as of late, the flaming spirit that called itself Inversim had let them roam free among everyone else. Seems like things must've really been desperate.
Palaso: Where have you been? We've been looking all around this rock for you.
Lexi: ...Around.
Palaso: Look, I know things have been rough for the past few weeks, but we've been meaning to say something... We're sorry. On behalf of the cevress, we're-
Lexi: You let this happen for years on end. I don't want your halfhearted apologies.
Hask: Half... What reason would we have to throw out half-baked apologies here and now?
Hask: The world is in ruin. We're trying to make amends among the last people who can save it. Everyone hates us for what we did. Why can't we make things up?
Lexi: Your organization. Tortured me. For years. You spent your time trying to bring about a world of ruin yourselves, unless you've forgotten that.
Hask: SYNDERS was made with the intent of doing good! Our leader wanted nothing more than to bring what she thought was peace and justice to a world full of strife and chaos. There were sacrifices we thought we were making for the greater good.
Lexi: And look... look where we are now.
Palaso: Everything that happened aside, the situation with the goddess or whatever is its own problem. I'll come out and say it. We screwed up. In a time where we need to work together, what we've done in the past is only making people hate and distrust us. We want to help save the world, and apologizing for our treatment of you is part of that. Lexi, please...
Lexi turned away from the trio, not wanting to look her captors in the face. She couldn't trust them, not after everything they had put her through... She felt the sting of cold metal on her shoulder, turning around to see the Takana woman trying to offer her some sympathy.
Itoki: I understand that we may perhaps never see eye to eye. We are responsible for years of pain and misery on your part, and if you continue to distrust us... we deserve it. But in this time of crisis, we need to look past this and focus on the bigger picture... Stopping Tiera. Is this acceptable?
Lexi thought to herself for a moment before standing up, turning towards the trio of former operatives.
Lexi: As soon as this is all over, I never want to see any of you again. You've done nothing but bring my life pain... but you're right. W-We need all the strength we can get.
Palaso: That's all we ask, hun.
The scrawny woman outstretched her arm, her hand soon grasped by everyone else in a sign of solemn solidarity. For the time being, they were back to being partners... equal partners, not merely acting as a tool.
Hask: Well, with this all out of the way, nothing more to focus on than kicking Tiera's hind end. Stay safe, LaZulia.
Lexi: Don't push your luck.
----
Gargan: FINALLY! I've been waiting long enough over here!
Gargan tightened up his belts and made some last minute adjustments to his mechanical arm, something he had been absentmindedly tinkering with for the past two weeks. Sitting idle while there was a job to do was something the Vulkonian absolutely hated, and now that they had sounded the alarm bell to begin excursions back into enemy territory, there was nothing stopping him from taking to the battlefield with all of his pent-up rage.
Gargan: You ready too, little buddy?
He turned to the side to look at Retron, the diminutive partner who had been with him through thick and thin for the past few years. Retron looked up from polishing the small sword and shield he often carried with him, his pixelated eyes forming a happy expression as he rang out in a cheery sort of noise. Gargan didn't claim to understand Retron's speech, but he knew from experience that his partner was just as eager to venture forth as him.
Gargan: That's the spirit! C'mon, we're heading out as soon as you're finished here.
Raune: Are you not forgetting about someone?
The pair looked behind the stack of supply boxes they were sitting on to see their recent compatriot Raune walking up to them. The Lillius had seemingly spent her war preparation time grooming herself, as her entire ensemble was cleaned up to the point where she didn't seem like she was aiming to fight in a war. She twirled her wooden staff through the air, smacking it against her open palm.
Gargan: Raune? I thought you were the pacifist one here.
Raune: While I prefer to avoid conflict, there's no point to taking that route anymore. We're trying to liberate a war-torn world from the clutches of a ruthless dictator... One who won't respond to reason whatsoever. I have to fight.
Gargan: It's good having you on our side, then. I still remember what you did to that Skoru'Da guy who almost murdered us back on Coronite.
Raune looked to the side and grimaced as if she didn't want to remember when they first met. After all, viciously tearing someone apart didn't exactly seem like something a princess would like to remember.
Raune: This'll be different. I don't feel any qualms about going into this mission.
Gargan: How does someone like you have reservations about killing normal people and then go guns blazing when we're fighting against a literal god? What's the deal with that?
Raune: We've got no other choice this time.
Raune somberly walked past the pair towards Central Command, turning her head back once she had taken a few steps away.
Raune: Besides, it's not like there's any moral ramifications for killing a god, if you think about it. What else is going to judge you for it?
It took Gargan a second to think about the statement that his friend had just spouted, trying to verify whether or not it made any sense. In this timeframe, however, his back was jostled by someone immediately behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Lucius and Nyxiel, standing over the plaza railing and looking at the pair of them.
Lucius: Gargan, are you willing to j-
Gargan: YOU KIDDIN' ME?! Of course I'm going! What are we all standing here for?!
Retron joined in with a slightly more aggressive beep than usual, swinging his short sword around as if trying to intimidate an unseen foe. Nyxiel simply chuckled to herself.
Nyxiel: More people seemed to be prepared to battle against Tiera again than I initially assumed... Perhaps I was wrong.
???: I'm coming with too.
Lucius watched as none other than Ronin Johansson- a man the rest of the Iliad Organization referred to as RoJo- strode onto the scene. The muscular man had been the leader of the crimefighting team ever since he helped found the group, and his strength was certainly no joke. Seeing him strutting up confidently, ready to take on this battle, filled Lucius with relief as well.
RoJo: We've waited long enough licking our wounds. We've recuperated, and I'm ready to make the biggest first impression we can possibly make. I've been through crises before, and I'm not willing to let anyone else fall victim to this horror.
Lucius: That settles it, then. Us three will be the first team dispatched to Earth for tactical excursion. We'll gather all the resources and information we can, then return back to Via Spectrum. And if any of Tiera's forces get in our way?
Nyxiel: They may have been human once, but now they're little more than puppets to her will. Don't think twice about offing them if push comes to shove.
Gargan cocked his mechanical arm with a grin. Seemed as though that wouldn't be any sort of problem for him... but Ronin seemed to show a bit of hesitancy at that last part. Nyxiel, seemingly ignoring it, began walking over to Central Command, gazing at the map as purple energy crackled between her hands.
Nyxiel: I'm sending you to Orenia. That country is one of Earth's most populated and heavily militarized. If any major resistance force has accumulated on Earth after Tiera's two weeks of rampaging, it'll be there.
The three heroes nodded as Nyxiel opened up one of her portals in front of the map tablet. Nary a shred of fear in their souls, they stepped inside, prepared to begin the final battle against the goddess who threatened to devastate the universe.
----
Lucius: What... happened here?
The trio had stepped through Nyxiel's portal and emerged back on Earth. What they had been informed would be a bustling city near the edge of the ocean was now a dreary waste, buildings broken in various ways as if they had been blasted through by some kind of projectile. The streets had been flooded, covered in what seemed to be about three feet of water flooded in from the nearby port. Not a single light, or anything electrical for that matter, shed a hint of light over the cloudy city.
Gargan: Shrakh... Looks like things on Earth were worse than we thought.
Lucius: I thought this was meant to be a heavily populated area! Where is everyone? I don't see any signs of life out here.
RoJo: This... I knew what happened here was tragic, but-
Gargan waded through the water, looking under some nearby rubble with a scowl on his face.
Gargan: The fact it was so heavily populated may have been why it's in this state.
Lucius: Striking at the civilians first? What would Tiera have to gain by doing that?
Gargan: Think it might have something to do with what RoJo told us happened at the arctic palace place. With the civilian transformation?
Lucius thought on it for a second. He hadn't seen any of these transformations take place, but he had heard all about it. People exposed to the element known as Synergium Z- or, more accurately, the arcane substance known as Feyblood- began a transformation into some sort of feral, ivory-shelled monster. If what Inversim and Nyxiel had told the group about Feyblood was true, and Tiera could control the wills of those exposed to it, then setting loose a horde of servants within a heavily populated area could only result in a bolstering of Tiera's forces.
Lucius: There's no way we're completely alone here. We need to keep searching.
RoJo: Don't have to tell me twice.
The group walked further and further through the city streets, gawking at the destruction that had torn its way through a once vibrant city. Streaks of oil from broken vehicles danced across the surface of the water, sparks descended down from a nearby window as remnants of the electrical system failed to spark to life, and all manner of refuse floated next to them, ranging from smaller bits of rubble to what looked like torn clothing. And all around, what looked to be strange ethereal vines wrapped themselves around the ground and ruined buildings. They almost looked as though they were pumping something somewhere, but what they truly were, neither could tell.
Eventually, the three came across the remnants of what looked like some sort of plaza, situated outside a large stone building. The signposts dotted alongside the ruins carried advertisements for a variety of products, making it clear this used to be a shopping center of some kind before the devastation set in. Lucius was being reminded more and more of the devastation that had visited his own people at the hands of Corona...
Gargan: Hey, pretty boy.
Lucius: Hrmm?
Gargan: You hear that too, right?
The faint sounds of someone struggling, panting heavily, could be heard as the group silenced themselves. Urgently, RoJo rushed forward, eyes scanning the city in front of him in search of whoever could possibly be in trouble. He soon zeroed in on a pile of rubble from a collapsed building, the faintest flash of skintone color flickering in a small hole.
RoJo: There! Let's get them out!
Gargan: Way ahead of ya!
Gargan primed his mechanical arm's weaponry to try to uplift the heavy rubble, only for the loud clicking and whirring to seemingly attract the attention of something off in the distance... a guttural howl that only grew closer.
Gargan: What the-?!
From around the corner, a group of strange-looking creatures in ivory armor rushed onto the scene. Their eyes were glowing an intensely burning blue color, similar to Tiera's own hue, and they seemed to be wielding strange gun-like blades, many of which were directly primed and set on the pair. These must have been the transformed humans the Iliad Organization had spoken of... but these weren't feral creatures. These had organization, sentience. Even if that sentience was under the servitude of their foe, that made them all the more dangerous...
Gargan: Our move?
Lucius: We have no choice. RoJo, you run after the survivors. Gargan, let's take them out!
Without hesitation, Gargan switched into rocket launcher mode, firing a screaming projectile right into the cluster of enemies. Some got caught in the blast and thrown backwards, but the others simply rolled or sidestepped the blast, catching their bearings quickly. Summoning a plasma blade around his arm, Lucius ran towards the nearest soldier, slicing through a few energy blasts heading his way. Energizing his leg muscles with plasma, he leaped high into the air, hoping to catch his target in an overhead strike.
Was this the right thing to do? Surely they could turn these creatures back somehow... Lucius gritted his teeth as he sliced through his adversary's body, panting as it seemed to dissolve into bluish particles. There was no time to think about reversing the corruption. They needed to be dealt with now.
RoJo rushed towards the rubble, ignoring the creatures to focus on helping out the survivors. His vision was tunneling as he ran faster and faster towards his goal, propelling himself forward by launching waves of energy out of his feet and surging through the water. Finally within reach, he began yanking away the boulders of concrete sealing the survivors in, slowly but surely opening up a way for them to escape. Peering in, he saw about six or so people in varying stages of physical trauma, one woman holding a crying baby in her arms.
RoJo: Everybody, this way!
As he spoke, however, a force behind him grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and hurled him backwards, sending him crashing into the water. Another one of those ivory soldiers, sneering at him with its inhuman face. The monster drew its gunblade as it growled, RoJo standing upright as he flipped upwards. Evading his foe's opening swing, he darted forward and jabbed it right in the stomach, comboing it immediately into an uppercut that knocked the foe backwards. A swift kick to the stomach sent them flying, removing the gun from their hands, but another pair of surprise assailants soon leapt from a destroyed building, seemingly ready to continue the offensive.
RoJo: Bring it on, chumps!
Gargan kept firing on the squadron with his gatling arm, with the remaining soldiers firing back. With his partner suppressing them with cover fire, Lucius rushed back in, moving so swiftly that he appeared to be running on the surface of the water. He swung at another soldier's arm, only to be blocked by its gunblade, a swift kick to the stomach following shortly after. The soldier primed the gun for a follow-up shot, but Lucius retaliated by stomping on the ground, sending out a burst of energy that sent waves of water rippling through the streets. Dazed, the foe was swiftly gunned down by Gargan, as well as two of its allies hiding behind cover.
Gargan: One more!
The last remaining soldier, sensing there was nowhere to run, shifted its gun into a glowing blade and began running at the pair. Lucius threw a cluster of plasma blasts at it to halt its advance, but it performed a combat roll underneath them, leaping out from under the water to try to get an overhead attack on Gargan. The Vulkonian swiftly responded with his grappling hook arm, grabbing the enemy out of the air and slamming them back down into the water. All it took was one final dashing attack from Lucius to finish off their final adversary.
A short ways away, however, RoJo was having a tough time dealing with the pair of soldiers on his own. His breathing grew harsher and harsher as he was attacked from both sides, trying to parry gunblade blows from both of his assailants. It wasn't long before one managed to get a headlock on him, pulling him down to the ground as the gunblade was aimed square at his temple. It was then that the second soldier turned towards the survivors under the rubble, aiming the weapon at them...
RoJo: N-NO! DON'T YOU DARE!
It was too late. The soldier opened fire on everyone still stuck in the rubble, ending their lives in instants. RoJo screamed in primal rage as he struggled to escape his opponent's grasp. While he couldn't escape on his own, Lucius soon swooped in with a plasma blade to stab the creature holding him down through the chest, with Gargan grabbing the other with his grappling hook arm and yanking him directly into a powerful punch that shattered its armor entirely. The fight concluded, the silence settled back down, the lack of any life other than them making Lucius hurt inside.
Lucius: RoJo...
The man screamed as he punched the ground, his emotions reaching a boiling point. He seemed so emotionally broken that neither of the others could say anything in response... All Lucius could do in this moment of bleak reality was put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
Lucius: We're going to have a lot to talk about when we return home.
----
Nyxiel sat with her feet dangling off the edge of the floating island, gazing down into the void below. This entire battle with Tiera felt so surreal to be participating in; she felt that her father had been preparing her for this ever since she was born. Now she was in charge of all these people who were willing to throw themselves at what seemed like an insurmountable task, all for the sake of friendship.
Was it worth it though? She had already lost Osuna to this fight, with no word being received since. She could be dead for all Nyxiel knew. And if anyone else were to die along the way? The people she had grown to know and love over the course of the past few years in the Iliad Organization, or even the newcomers she had just met for this plan? She was so adamant about not losing anyone, but people seemed to want to be lost.
She sighed as she heard a familiar crackling appear behind her, as if a fire had burst to life in the immediate area.
???: 
Nyxiel: Hey, dad.
Inversim: 
Nyxiel: Dad, why don't you just go out there? Sure, you may not be able to fight Tiera on equal footing, but you're just as much a god as she is. We could use your help!
Inversim looked at his hand, wiggling his levitating fingers together. He seemed to be anxious himself.
Inversim: 
It still felt weird to Nyxiel that Dr. Malphea, the woman she had helped bring aboard their little resistance group to help in Inversim's ultimate weapon project, was in fact another of his daughters. Nyxiel had been around for just over a thousand years, and never had she heard that her dad was off having more kids. For the past two weeks, she had been picking up on a lot more new feelings and sensations as she delved deeper into everyone's psyches... and learned just how united everyone was in the quest to kill Tiera. How disappointed they would be...
Inversim: 
Nyxiel: Yeah... Dad, are you absolutely certain there's no other way to do this? No more... permanent solution?
Inversim: 
Just then, one of her portals opened up in Central Command. Out stepped Gargan, RoJo, and Lucius, all three sopping wet and panting as if they had been in some kind of combat encounter. She was so glad to see the first excursion team had come back safely... and so was her father.
Inversim: 
RoJo broke out in a screaming fit, clawing at the air where the portal once was as if he wanted to return to where he had come from. Everyone was shocked- they had never seen the fearless leader of their organization so broken and despondent.
RoJo: I CAN'T LEAVE THEM!
Lucius: RoJo! It's over! There's... There is nothing more we can do.
The commander kept bawling, clearly inconsolable, leading Nyxiel to ask what in the world was going on with him.
Gargan: Earth's a craphole. That's all that needs to be said.
Lucius: Tiera doesn't just have a horde of beasts under her command. She has an army. An organized one. We tried rescuing a group of survivors and... They slaughtered them all.
Nyxiel: Oh my- That's...
Lucius: RoJo has been taking it personally. I don't know how I feel about this expedition...
Gargan: I'll tell you how I feel! Right now, we're way in over our heads! We're fighting a goddess with a nearly limitless army at her side! Unless we can figure out a different way of going about this, it's suicide!
Gargan stormed away from the group, with RoJo silently following him. The mood had gone from electric to deafening silence within instants.
Nyxiel: Lucius... don't give up hope. We have a plan to get through this.
Lucius: How much hope is there to really be had?
----
It had been too long since Tiera had been able to relax.
The goddess sat on her throne, placed at the highest point of her newly constructed citadel. The stars she had created so long ago shone down on her through the massive clear dome surrounding her, bathing her in starlight. A soothing energy coursed throughout her body as the tendrils sticking out the back of her throne pumped energy into her through her shoulders... the very same tendrils that wove themselves through the construction of her new palace and throughout this entire planet.
After what felt like eons wasting away, deprived of the very essence that gave her a will to keep on existing and a drive to create, Tiera had finally attained a host with enough of that vital force to keep her going. It was glorious to finally have access to even a fraction of her power again... but it wasn't enough. To restore all of her power- and restore order and perfection to the universe that had fallen away from her designs- she would need to absorb a much, much greater amount of Drive. And what better source than the planet that somehow had survived multiple attempts at a reset over the course of its existence?
Looking up at the sky again, Tiera stretched her finger outward. As if scraping a stone, she dragged it through the air, leaving behind a black cloud that spread out as though she was passing it through water. The pitch black smoke soon gave way to a vibrant rainbow of color, and stars began flickering throughout it; it was only a matter of time before the entire room was engulfed in this cosmic cloud, beautiful nebulae dancing around Tiera's head. It felt absolutely wonderful to be able to create once again. She couldn't wait until her freedom to do so was unshackled by the limits of her current host.
As if to interrupt this auspicious moment, a figure warped into the room- Tiera's faithful disciple, the Cataloger San-Sokeh. A man who had crossed the boundaries of time itself for the purpose of fulfilling her will... If there was anyone on this planet she had legitimate respect for, it was him.
San-Sokeh: Great Mother Tiera! I have urgent news!
Tiera: 
The Cataloger made a quick bow before continuing.
San-Sokeh: It's those individuals you fought in the arctic palace. The ones working with Inversim and his half-blood daughter. We've caught sight of them!
Tiera: 
San-Sokeh: That's not all! One of them... managed to reroute one of your Feyveins. They've learned of your plan to regain your true power. It's only a matter of time before more reappear and continue to halt your return.
Tiera pounded her fist on her throne's arm, cracks splintering through the impact point. Inversim's spawn were trying to pursue her even after she had defeated them?! What kind of insanity drove them to such lengths? Couldn't that blasted wraith realize that she was only trying to do what was best for the universe she had created?
Corona: Oooooh boy, looks like Mom's mad! Someone better get on it before she snaps!
Corona floated down from the ceiling, bumping shoulders with San-Sokeh in an apparent attempt to annoy him. The Cataloger simply shooed her away as the fairy chuckled to herself, a smile across her face.
San-Sokeh: This is no time for games, fool! This is serious business! Mistress Tiera has not even chosen the fourth member of her defensive force, and we have a horde of whelps crawling out of the woodwork in order to undo all of her rejuvenation!
Corona: So? You wiped the floor with them before! Do it again!
San-Sokeh: And once we do, whats to stop more from coming?!
Tiera: 
Both of her chosen generals fell silent as Tiera snapped her fingers, summoning a pair of figures to the room. One was Mikhail Toronova, a human who had pledged undying loyalty to Tiera's cause and had been rewarded with a position as one of her generals. It would be his duty to judge and exact punishment on the humans who dared disobey her whim and convert, being the most familiar with the workings of the human psyche.
Toronova: Oh! Well, greetings, Your Omnipotence! I was not expecting to be called here so soon! How may I assist you?
As Toronova bowed, so did the being next to him, a tall, slender being that appeared to be carved from ivory. This woman was once another of that group that dared try to cut her life short, sacrificing herself in order to allow that wretched half-blood an escape route. Deciding to honor her strength, Tiera disposed of both a potential threat and one of the few weapons she had ever found to harm her directly, serving as a being Toronova had been referring to as the Executioner ever since. It seemed fitting for the loyal swordswoman to rely on such a title.
Tiera: 
Toronova: Iliad is back?! You don't have to tell me twice, ma'am! I've been looking for a reason to finish those guys off for longer than you realize!
Tiera: 
Tiera stood up and floated upwards from her throne, the tendrils detaching from her back as her wings of light flared to life. The faces of her servants were full of determination, an eagerness to carry out the order they knew she was about to release.
Tiera: 
----
Lucius was in the lowest spirits he'd ever been. The task he had been chosen to perform seemed more and more impossible the more he thought on it... At the very least, he felt he had to apologize to RoJo for everything that had happened. Searching all around Via Spctrum, he eventually found him in the training grounds, sitting alongside the girl in red who had spent almost all of her time there since her arrival.
Lucius: Hello, Aysu.
The girl said nothing, simply slicing through one of the many holographic projections that had been set up in the sparring grounds to emulate Tiera's troops. Like liquid lightning, she jumped too and fro, dazzling Lucius with what almost looked like a fireworks display. As she sliced through the last one, she panted a few times before rising to her feet, slamming her massive sword into the ground.
Aysu: RoJo, time.
RoJo: 38 seconds. A new record.
Aysu: Still not fast enough. Start the clock again.
Lucius could sense it. Between Aysu's heavy, almost mechanical breathing and RoJo's silent, motionless stance and his pink, teary eyes, it was clear that both of these two were at their breaking points for one reason or another.
Lucius: What are you two doing?
Aysu: Heightening my reflexes and reaction time. No point in lending my sword to this battle if I can't strike things down in a single blow.
Lucius: You do realize that all you're doing is wearing yourself down, right? We're facing odds that are near impossible, and you're making yourself too worn out to stand a chance-
Aysu: Shut it. I know we've literally only just met, but this is all I've been doing my entire life. My existence up to this point has been to act as a weapon. And we lost that battle hands down. If you think I'm going to let anything stop me from reaching the power I need to stop this Tiera monster, you have another thing coming.
Lucius: And RoJo? You're just letting her burn herself out like this? I thought you were a more cautious leader than this.
RoJo: Yeah... I'm done with being the leader.
Lucius: W... What?
RoJo: You heard me. Like Aysu said, we failed. I lost one of my closest comrades in that battle. I vanished on the world for two weeks. And I failed to defend the people I swore to protect when I took on my status as leader. People might see me as some great valiant leader and the head of a government organization, but the truth is, I'm just some highschool dropout who can punch things really hard.
RoJo sat down on a nearby bench and sighed. Lucius walked closer, trying to figure out what the muscular man in front of him was saying.
RoJo: And look at you over here. You literally sacrificed yourself to hold that fairy thing back for like a thousand years. You're taking charge where I can't. You're inspiring everyone with words alone. That's what a leader's meant to be. It took me until our loss against Tiera to realize I had to grow up, to realize I wasn't cut out for being the bigshot. So I stepped down.
Lucius: I- RoJo, you can't be serious.
RoJo: And another thing, I'm done with that name. It's a dumb nickname I thought sounded cool and stylish. But that was years ago... I'm a different person now. I've grown up. Please... call me Ronin.
Ronin: The Iliad Organization is no longer mine to lead. Maybe it never was. Point is, this is on your hands now. Do the job I couldn't.
With that final statement, Ronin walked away, his conscience seemingly clearer than ever. Lucius looked at his hands as they trembled with fear- he was completely unprepared for the responsibility that had fallen into his hands.
Lucius: Wh-What do I do now?
Aysu merely returned to her training, eyes focused and stance sharpened.
Aysu: I am just the tool. You're the wielder now. If you think things are bleak, then they will be. But if you can turn things around from here-
She cleaved the head off of the holographic soldier in a single blow, as if to accentuate her point.
Aysu: Then everyone else will follow in your stead.
Aysu walked off as Lucius contemplated everything that had happened over the past day. Suddenly, he had become the de facto leader of their entire group, but that only meant the responsibility for their success- or failure- rested on his shoulders. If he couldn't figure out a way to stop Tiera and her seemingly infinite army... who would?
Fera woke up in a cold sweat, the heat that had just been passing through her body dissipating as she caught her breath. This was the third night in a row.
Fera got off of the couch she slept on in lieu of a bed, walking around her apartment and heading towards the kitchenette. This place wasn't much, but it was just about the only place she could really afford. As it turned out, even if she was some extremely powerful super soldier from another planet, there really wasn't a whole lot of demand for that in the work force- she had a brief stint working with the police, tried and failed to apply for F.A.N.T., and even got into bounty hunting for a week before deciding it didn't feel right to her. All she really had to live off of was a job at the nearby library and some supplies from her girlfriend Aurora.
Of course, she was starting to be unsure of that super soldier thing herself.
Fera reached into the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and chugged about half of it down in an instant before sitting back on the couch. She reminisced over everything that had happened in the past week... She had gone to participate in the recent World Tournament event, partially to get whatever prize money they had available and partially to prove to herself that she was strong as she had hyped herself up to be. Instead, she wound up releasing some kind of power from within herself, something she had no idea she possessed. Sure, she helped save everyone in the tournament from a crazed lunatic in the end, but she left without the prize and with more questions than answers.
She placed the cold bottle to her head to try to soothe it. Ever since she had been abducted and rescued from Svarga, she had been having weird, splintery visions of things she could barely even identify. If she was really starting to lose it...
Suddenly, there was a knock at her apartment door.
Fera: Come on in.
The door opened as a young woman walked in, her hair shimmering with a rainbowy glow. Fera didn't even need to notice the shimmer to tell who it was.
Fera: Aurora? What are you doing here so late?
Aurora: I just felt like something was wrong. And considering you're up at 3 in the morning, I'm guessing that I'm right.
Aurora sat down on the couch next to Fera, patting her on the back and helping her catch her breath. Fera visibly relaxed in the presence of her girlfriend, someone who had helped her out through thick and thin over the past few years.
Aurora: Fera, is it about the tournament again?
Fera: ...Yeah.
Aurora: Look, I told you. That was probably just some Hyper Mode thing you triggered on accident. It's nothing to worry about.
Fera: I don't have a Hyper Orb though. I have absolutely no idea what came over me then, and I've been hurting all over ever since.
Aurora: Fera-
Fera: It's not like I don't have enough on my plate already... *sigh* I just don't know what to do anymore.
In a moment of vulnerability, Fera curled up into a ball on the couch, hiding her face away. Aurora wrapped her arm around Fera, giving her a big hug... This seemed to do the trick, with the larger of the two women peeking her head out again.
Aurora: If you're so worried about whatever this is, why not check in with that hospital Sarah used to run? If anyone can help you determine what's going on, it should be them.
Fera: Yeah... yeah. I need to stop moping about this and get some answers. I'll head to the hospital as soon as I can.
Aurora: Good. And I want you to stop worrying about the money thing too. You shouldn't be hopping from job to job like this. I fell in love with you because you were strong and confident... I don't like seeing someone like you this worried over something so small.
Fera: I know, but what else am I supposed to do?
Aurora: Join the Firehouse? You've fought alongside the gang a lot, I'm sure they'd be happy to have you!
Fera: Nah. Those guys are like a family. I'd be scared of intruding on them or forcing myself in.
Fera wiggled her way closer to Aurora and pecked her on the cheek.
Fera: At least I've got you for family, Aurora.
Aurora smiled as the two shared another kiss. The pair held each other tight for what felt like a lifetime for Fera- she felt her strength returning to her after a night of fear and exhaustion. Eventually, Aurora fell asleep in her arms, and the two cuddled together on the couch as dawn drew ever nearer.
A new goal set in stone, Fera felt more and more ready to face the future. Despite her newfound confidence, however, she couldn't help but think that there was something more to all of this... and as she drifted off to sleep, the heat in her chest started building again.
The restoration of friendly relations; the action of making one view or belief compatible with another.~
Saipha Notozawa was not a man who was easily moved by emotions such as fear. But even he had to admit that the past few weeks had been nothing but a nightmare.
The weapons manufacturer and inventor had been holed up inside his headquarters since word got out of the strange transformations taking place across the planet. He had shut out all but his most loyal staff, some of whom he had had to put down anyways after things got out of hand. There had been no contact from any sort of world government organization, or even any military group looking to purchase his wares. There hadn't even been any raids. Saipha was almost starting to feel lonely.
He hadn't had any contact from his acquaintance in SYNDERS, either. Cevress Katarina Omegance, one of his most trusted partners and the person who had requested the aide of his daughter and ultimate assassin, Aysu. Saipha couldn't believe his luck- his daughter had gone rogue while working under Katarina, and he hadn't had any contact with her since. When he found her, the punishment would be so severe that she would never even consider stepping out of line again.
That is, if she wasn't dead.
Everything was far too quiet. He hadn't had any of his scientific breakthroughs in a long time- his source of inspiration had dried up. He was trapped in a gilded cage, unaware of the events transpiring on the outside and too fearful to even attempt to look out. He just needed something, anything, to change his perspective... And that's when the communicator rang.
Saipha pressed the answer button with a speed and desperation unlike what his cold, calm exterior would have one expect. As the hologram flickered to life, Saipha saw none other than Katarina Omegance herself, her face wracked with both relief and terror.
Katarina: Notozawa! Thank the heavens I've been able to contact you!
Saipha: Cevress, are you alright? The last I heard of you was from that broadcast some time ago. Do you know what the cause of this-
Katarina: Yes. All of this is my fault.
Saipha was staggered. He couldn't believe what was transpiring or what the cevress was saying; taking his stunned silence as a reaction, she continued.
Katarina: I let loose a terrible monster, whose power has begun corrupting the entire planet. The Iliad Organization has fallen victim to its might... as has your daughter. No force on the planet is capable of striking back against it.
Saipha: Aysu... Aysu is-
Katarina: Gone, yes. I am sorry, Notozawa-san. As if the guilt in my heart does not weigh heavily enough...
Saipha: So why are you contacting me, Cevress? Saipha got back to business quickly. There was no time to worry about a defective product.
Katarina: Listen, I have a plan to fight against this monster, but it's going to be tough, arduous, and potentially life-threatening. I've assembled three other powerful individuals who are capable of fighting off this threat... and I want you to join them.
Saipha: You want me to fight something that wiped out every military force on the planet? Are you insane?
Katarina: Saipha, please! You have access to the largest weapons storage remaining on the planet, you have an impregnable fortress capable of repelling all threats, and you're a person who has always done everything in their power to aid humankind... no matter the cost. Please! There's nobody else I can turn to!
Katarina began softly weeping as Saipha thought it over. This whole business was something entirely out of his league, and he wouldn't be lying if he said he sensed something fishy about this... but if he truly was the last bastion for humanity like his friend was saying...
Saipha: ...I will be your general. If you truly have nobody else to turn to, then my services are yours.
Katarina: T-Thank you! From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your service, Saipha. I promise, you'll help usher in a new era of peace for this world!
Saipha: Just let me know if something needs to be killed. Or blown to kingdom come. I can provide either.
A glint flickering across his glasses, Saipha shut off the connection with his new superior. It was strange to go from a mere inventor to one of the planet's last bastions of hope, but it filled him with a sense of pride. No more fear for him... Notozawas didn't feel fear. They crushed it.
On the other end of the line, however, Katarina simply laughed to herself, a sinister expression crossing her face.
Katarina: 
Her body flickering like a hologram, Katarina's visage disappeared as it was replaced with Tiera's, her true form revealing itself. Having access to this woman's body was useful for more than supplying her with energy... it was perfect for manipulating sorry wretches like her new General into doing what she wanted.
Tiera: 
Toronova: Oh, trust me, he and your Host go way back! Convincing him to follow your command was simple!
Tiera: 
Tiera floated over to the nearby balcony, the night sky she had created still hanging in the air for her to bask in. She stared over the horizon, her burning determination blazing a path clean across the ocean.
Tiera: 
----
It had been multiple weeks since Lucius and his new band of allies had been venturing out onto the wartorn Earth, making excursion after excursion into Tiera's new territory. Not once had they found any signs of life, only having encountered the goddess's military forces and engaged in skirmishes with them. Many members of their resistance were stockpiling a fair share of stories to tell about their escapades on Earth, some more... falsified than others.
Gargan: I'm telling you, the thing was five stories tall! Me and the time guy took it down, no sweat!
Raune: Five stories, huh? Then why didn't we hear any reports from Möbius when you got back? Surely he'd-
Gargan: No, I'm not making this up! And it had laser eyes too...
While these battles were progressing smoothly, to Lucius and some of the "intelligence officers", it was becoming clear that they were missing a key ingredient- resources. Food was just one of the many issues- it was difficult to scrounge for food out in the wastelands and ruins the team was having to pillage, and even though they had one of the greatest chefs in the universe in their lineup, their food storage was shrinking by the day. Even then, there was the matter of endurance. The limited teams were still being pushed for safety purposes, but despite being one of the few groups capable of taking down Tiera's troops, they were still only human. They would wear out. And the army was limitless.
It was also, in part, made with humans. Every day they continued the fight, every enemy soldier they defeated, more human lives were burned away to fuel the flames of war. Every day, victory slipped further and further away.
Lucius sat down on the ledge of one of the nearby floating islands, dejected. They couldn't just keep up this nonstop assault. They needed a plan.
Nyxiel: What's up, Luci?
Nyxiel sat down next to Lucius, her expression a mix between happiness and concern. Lucius didn't even turn to acknowledge her presence.
Lucius: Nyxiel, we're backed up to a corner right now. We can fight, but we haven't made any significant progress. We've got to change up our gameplan.
Nyxiel: Lucius, don't worry. Things behind the scenes have been progressing smoothly. It's only a matter of time before-
Lucius: We don't have time for some absurd scheme. At the rate we're going, we cannot win. I may not be a warrior, but I was- AM a scientist. I know there's always a better solution to these things.
Nyxiel: Father's plan will work, trust me.
Lucius: Your father's been working towards this plan for how long? Over a thousand years? And look where we are now. You need to be more independent, Nyxiel.
While Nyxiel simply stared blankly ahead, as if the argument shook her to her very core, Lucius got up and started staring at the monitors situated around the map of the planet. Stark and Malphea had been analyzing the structure of the mysterious plant-like objects Lucius and Gargan had found; apparently, other teams had encountered similar growths in their own travels. Analysis of the objects determined that though not true plants, they functioned approximately the same, pumping energy through their roots to some unknown location.
Roots... energy...
Lucius: An army has to have a head, right?
Gargan: Well, yeah, of course. That'd be Tiera, right?
Lucius: No, no, Tiera thinks she's too important to concern herself with day-to-day battle operations. Besides, if she were actually in direct command, don't you think someone would have seen her out on the field by now?
Raune: What are you saying, Lucius?
Lucius: I'm saying she has to have other operatives. Field commanders. Disciples who can relay her orders to the masses.
Lucius swiped through a few of the monitors before finding a view of the entire planet from orbit, hijacked from a live satellite feed. Upon closer inspection, he could almost make out what looked like blue flowers, just barely visible from space. While it could just be the ultimate form of those energy-siphoning flowers, his instinct... and the ring still around his heart... told him otherwise.
Lucius: If we keep cutting away at the infestation as it grows, all we can do is stall it. But if we can find these roots, remove the source... then everything collapses.
The few standing around him perked up and took notice, including a sword-sharpening Bynde sitting nearby. At long last, another glimmer of hope was shining through for the team.
Lucius: Change of plans, everyone. We're going after Tiera's commanders!
Cheers from the group rang out as Nyxiel didn't say anything, simply putting her hand to her head and walking away. Once again, Lucius was risking everything on some insane stunt that could very well end the universe as they knew it. If they didn't play their cards right, Tiera could wind up back in power...
It'd be alright, she told herself. Her dad's primary plan was still going along well anyways.
----
???: So... this is what you needed my help so badly for.
Malphea had had a very strange time every since meeting Nyxiel. The revelation that her long-lost father was some sort of all-powerful wrath deity was shocking enough, but her newly-found sister claiming that she held what would be the key to saving the entire universe was something that shook the doctor to her core. Malphea had spent years in the field of medical science trying to do something, anything, to help the world she cared about, even when that wound up getting her thrown in prison.
But this... was not what she expected.
Nyxiel had taken her to some sort of hidden room inside the floating island where everyone had set up base, a location lit only by a single orb of pure white light. Scattered around the room were all sorts of monitors, crackling with strange magical runes and binary code, along with trays of medical equipment and tubes of some strange fluid filled with bizarre-looking pieces of stone. And on a table in front of her was some... strange-looking girl, adorned in a purplish jumpsuit with her stomach split open. Inside the wound was nothing but empty void.
Nyxiel: Tell me, are you aware of what we like to call the First and Second Extinction?
Malphea: No, I believe not.
Nyxiel: Well, it goes a little something like this. When Earth was first created, apparently it was ruled over by a kingdom of vampires. Tiera didn't like that, so she had them wiped out and placed humans in charge over the rubble. Centuries later, she sent down another fairy- like Mosaic a few years ago- to try wiping it out again. This time, however, one of the human rulers had a plan.
Nyxiel patted the body on the table affectionately. Malphea winced a little- partly from confusion, partly at the chance that Nyxiel could be contaminating a precious body.
Nyxiel: He created what became known as Masquera, a golem designed to house the souls of humanity before the coming apocalypse in order to ensure their safe passage beyond. This empty vessel saved humankind once, and my father thinks it can do so again.
Malphea: How did you manage to-
Nyxiel: After the whole incident, Masquera sealed herself away in some underground temple to lay herself to rest. It didn't take long for humans to find her again, and they built some hyper-advanced ocean city around it called Palacio de Sol or something. Then that collapsed because they delved too far into researching Drive and people started becoming monsters. Point is, the place has been in ruins for centuries. I just popped in and dug up the golem's body.
Malphea: You're being awfully nonchalant about all of this.
Nyxiel: Maybe. Point is, this old wreck of a body is in a state of incredible disrepair. Father says that if we can restore Masquera to working condition and use her absorption powers, it could turn the tide in the battle against Tiera. And you're the smartest, most talented medic humankind has ever seen.
Malphea looked at the strange-looking body lying in front of her. All she could see after recent events were Ridley's body on the operating table, a failed attempt to save the life of the person she loved. As it turned out, she actually did succeed in saving them... But at the cost of turning them into the masked, feral woman who had been chained up in her room for the past few weeks.
Before Malphea could make a statement, she heard a strange hissing sound coming from behind her, something that sounded like acid burning through solid matter. Turning behind her, she saw a pile of purple sludge rising from the ground, slowly taking a humanoid form. In a matter of seconds, a pale-skinned girl in a mask and sweatshirt was standing in front of the two, Nyxiel looking shocked and concerned at someone finding their hidden location.
Sarin: Mom, I'm worried.
As if dealing with all the other revelations of the past month or so hadn't been enough, Malphea apparently had a daughter she didn't know about until she showed up to break her out of jail. Well, technically Sarin was more of an experiment gone horribly right than a real flesh-and-blood daughter... Perhaps that was why she felt strange looking at the child standing before her. She was her daughter, right? Why did she feel these strange emotions around her?
Nyxiel: How long have you been listening in?!
Sarin: Not the whole thing. Just the last part. Mom, I don't think this chick is telling you the whole story.
Malphea: Please, Sarin, I've got enough going through my head right now. If this is another attempt to get me to spend time with-
Sarin: No, sis. She deserves to know. After all, we're all on the same team here. What is there to hide?
Everyone quieted down, even Nyxiel. All that could be heard was the faint beeping of the medical equipment as it ran diagnostics on Masquera's body. After a short break, the demon daughter began to explain the plan that her father was riding so heavily on.
Nyxiel: Tiera is seeking to obtain the power she possessed at her peak... when she created our universe. Her initial plan was taking the body of Fera as a host, leeching off of her supply of Drive, but we managed to prevent that outcome. She went with the next best thing- Katarina Omegance- and now she's attempting to siphon what she can from Earth itself in order to refuel that last little bit.
Sarin: So where's this plan come in?
Nyxiel: Masquera was designed to house and protect the souls of hundreds, if not thousands of people. Her body was specially designed to act as both a vessel for the spirit... and a prison. Malphea is going to resurrect Masquera's shell, restoring its power. Our strongest fighters will do whatever they can to tear Tiera from Katarina's body, severing her link to a host, and then we'll use Masquera's body to imprison her.
Sarin: And then what?
The silence between the three of them was deafening. Nyxiel looked like she clearly did not expect this sort of response.
Nyxiel: Then... nothing. My father will keep Masquera's body under custody, keeping watch over her until the heat death of all existence. Life on your world- on all worlds- will return to normal. That's the end.
Malphea and Sarin both looked shocked at this revelation. They had thought all of this was in an effort to kill Tiera off for good, but now they were being told all they could do is seal her behind something that may not work out at all... It was much to take in.
Malphea: Are you certain there is no other way?
Nyxiel: I... didn't realize there would be hangups about this.
Sarin: Of course there are! That monster needs to answer for her crimes! We need to end her!
Nyxiel: Look, it's not like this situation is ideal! In the good timeline, we wouldn't be here right now! Tiera would have been unable to find a powerful enough host if we had managed to deal with Katarina right, but now we're out of options! Masquera's sealing powers are all we have access to that can hope to deal with Tiera at any capacity right now.
Malphea: ...I understand. It's a shame, but-
Sarin: Mom, you're not seriously going along with this. There has to be another way!
Malphea: *sighs* Sarin, this is disappointing for me, too. I don't like having to resort to something like this. But the world comes before our feelings. This sealing plan may be our only option to save the universe from this monster. So stop talking back and let me do the job I was chosen for.
Sarin glared at her mother, almost looking like tears were welling up, before reverting back into a pile of toxic slime and climbing up through the ceiling. Malphea simply sighed to herself- her experiment had certainly nailed the "stubborn teen phase" part of human development. The doctor looked up and down Masquera's body, analyzing every fine detail she could, before looking back up at Nyxiel, who seemed to be lost in thought herself.
Malphea: Give me some time. I can do this.
----
Corona hadn't had this much fun since she died. Her mother having the kindness to resurrect her after her previous failure in acquiring the Host meant that she got to enjoy herself on a planet not completely devoid of life... Stupid Lucius and his martyr complex. If he couldn't kill her, why not just lay down and die like the rest of his people? Sealing her in the planet's core for centuries was just a buzzkill.
That was in the past, she thought to herself. Right now, she was having the time of her life, lying back in the arms of her mother's devoted servants while they rounded up and slaughtered the few people in this desert region who dared put up some kind of resistance. Screams let loose through the air as human lives were snuffed out one by one, the spurt of blood and clash of blades signifying the victory of her cause. The bloodbath was horrific and grotesque. Just the way Corona liked it.
The fairy stretched her arms out as she yawned, her crystal wings vibrating alongside her. This was the life.
Corona: Keep slicing away, idiots! We've got to get these things out of here one way or another!
She closed her eyes and began humming to herself, the sounds of combat acting as little more than white noise for her depraved mind. As she tried to relax, however, she began to feel something perking up in the back of her mind. Something refreshingly familiar... Something that her mother would reward her greatly for disposing of.
Corona: Why, hello there, Luci. It's been a long time since I've last seen you. Oh, don't worry...
By this point, almost every human in the settlement had been slain, with one lowly shopkeep pulling out a heavy firearm and blasting it in the direction of Corona. At the last second, one of her eternally loyal guards leapt in the shot's path, sacrificing themselves as another guard lunged in. Within a second, the last human standing was impaled on the Disciple's blade, the gun dropping to the ground as they gave out their last gasp of life.
Corona: I've been dying to see you again too.
----
Lucius figured now would be as good a time as any to talk with Aysu again. She seemed to be much more prepared than him in regards to all of this leadership stuff, and she also appeared to be a powerful tactician in her own right... The perfect person to address in order to pitch his plan to hunt down Tiera's commanders. Surprisingly, she wasn't in the training area anymore, having moved instead to the hot spring area. She appeared to have taken her jacket off and was meditating in the soothing water, with RoJo... Ronin squatting nearby.
Lucius: I see you two are still together.
Ronin: Hey, Lucius. I have a feeling you're here for advice.
Lucius: Yeah... How do I manage to track down the head of an army?
Aysu: Are you certain this is not too ambitious? We have barely been able to fight off the basic troops of this army as is.
Lucius crouched down in the steaming water, trying to avoid submerging any more than he needed to.
Lucius: That's exactly why we have to go this route. We won't stand against the bulk of their might, all we can do is go for the biggest weakpoints- the commanders. That said, I've never taken on a task like this before... Ronin, you fought against that Mosaic creature, yes?
Ronin: Yeah, back when Iliad was first formed. We were just a cute little ragtag bundle of heroes then, no official organization or anything... Kinda like now, actually. We had to scour the world, cleaning up everything she was doing until she finally became so angered she demanded our presence. Basically, we either need to make a big enough stir for someone to notice... or go undercover and track them down ourselves.
Aysu: The group's already been doing research into that second part, at least. But Lucius... have you not also fought something on par with Mosaic? That Corona entity you've mentioned?
Lucius: Corona was nothing like this. She wasn't the head of any kind of army when I fought her, just an unstoppable entity in her own right. She was... she was...
Aysu: Lucius?
The Coronid sat down, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion as he splashed into the hot spring.
Lucius: She was my rival for what felt like an eternity. You have no clue how terrifying an enemy is until they quite literally get inside your head, tormenting you for years and years. And that's not even getting into the massive destruction she caused to my planet... and my people. She was a despicable monster.
Ronin: But you defeated her. You managed to vanquish her. You need to have the confidence that you can do the same with whoever else is leading this army. I know you can do it, Lucius.
Lucius: I... I suppose you're right. Now, wrap it up here. You two need to go down and get some food or somethi-
In that instant, a splitting pain started shooting through Lucius's head. He winced in pain as he put his head to his temple, hoping to stop the sudden burning sensation. Lucius hadn't felt this pain in weeks, but it was something he remembered all too well...
Corona: Luci! So glad to know you're still alive and kicking! Really makes my day and all.
Lucius: Gahhhh... How are you... in my head?! You died!
Aysu: What's going on? Should we help him?
Corona: Oh, yeah, I did die! Wasn't that your fault? Sorry, it's been a long week of slaughtering people, I've barely had the time to think about calling you!
Lucius: WHERE ARE YOU?!?
Corona: I'unno. Some desert somewhere. Better get here, fast, though! I see another village of completely innocent bystanders just asking to be purged! See you whenever you decide to stride in and save the day like the gallant hero you want to be so much!
Lucius swatted at the air in rage, with Ronin stepping back cautiously as Aysu picked up her sword. He couldn't even describe the pain and anguish listening to that monster's voice again brought him. Getting the chance to kill her again would feel infinitely more satisfying after what had been transpiring.
Ronin: Lucius? Are you alright?
Lucius: *panting* I'm sorry, I just... there's something very important that needs to be taken care of. We might have gotten our chance to kill one of Tiera's generals.
Ronin: Say no more, boss. We're right behind you.
Aysu: Guess you were wrong about having time to socialize and relax, huh?
Lucius: Oh, trust me. When we come back victorious... I'm going to party harder than I ever have.
----
The trio emerged from the portal somewhere in the desert of La'Neqa, one of Earth's drier climates. There was no sun beating down on them, but the moon felt as though it was equally oppressive as silvery light dashed across the ruins of what seemed to be a major city. Lucius felt yet another chill up his spine as he stared across the landscape, looking for any sign of Corona.
Ronin: Are you absolutely certain she's here?
Lucius: Positive. She mentioned a desert, and this is tarnished enough by battle damage to be a place where that blasted fairy has shown up.
Aysu: Why would she just blow her cover like that? Isn't she supposed to be-
Corona: In hiding? Why ever would I do that?
The group turned around, Aysu drawing her blade. Surely enough, the eldritch being who had tormented Lucius for years was floating right above them, the moon casting her shadow on the wreckage of the city below. It was worse than the Coronid had feared... she looked as though she was back in her prime.
Corona: It's in my blood to slaughter in the name of my mother! Why would I just sit and hide when I can be having some fun?!
Lucius: Corona!
Corona: Luci! And some new friends, I see! Guess you must've turned off that last batch pretty badly, huh?
Ronin: ...You're not related to Mosaic by any means, are you?
Corona: Oh! Someone here knows our family history, then? Perfect!
Ronin: More than "know". I killed her. You shouldn't be any different.
Corona snickered to herself before her crystalline wings flashed, a volley of blue crystals hailing down from the sky in the group's direction. Lucius and Aysu deflected the incoming attacks with slashes of their own, with the fairy simply laughing to herself harder and harder.
Corona: Finally! I've been waiting for someone to put up an actual fight all day!
Corona crashed to the ground in a shockwave that seemed too intense for her petite body to be able to make. Another storm of crystals appeared behind her as her wings changed their form into a pair of massive blades, which she held in a reverse grip before pointing forward. The onslaught of projectiles launched forward, with the trio of heroes doing their best to dodge the hail, but Lucius was suddenly caught off guard by Corona lunging into her own attacks to knee him in the stomach. She brought down her crystal blade to slice away at him, but he managed to quickly block the attack with a plasma blade, countering with a swift punch to the gut.
Aysu, standing in the thick of the storm, parried every single attack that came her way. The sound of crystal shattering against crystal all around her was almost deafening, but she barely even noticed... She had tuned out everything aside from the sound of her opponent in hopes of increasing her concentration. Ronin, on the other hand, didn't have any means of blocking the projectiles directly, so her had taken to lifting up a nearby dumpster and using it as cover. Their eyes meeting on the battlefield, the two nodded as Ronin rushed in towards Corona like a battering ram.
The fight between Lucius and his mortal nemesis was still going strong, with the pair trading blow after blow with equal ferocity. Just seeing Corona's face again was enough to make Lucius seethe with rage, and she knew that.
Corona: All this time, and this is all the strength you can muster? You're even weaker and more pathetic than I thought! All this bravado and all the gallant hero can do is hide behind some girl in armor!
Lucius: Shut up, you miserable wretch!
Corona: Touched a nerve, did I? Let's go for some blood vessels next!
Corona darted away from Lucius to avoid another of his slashes, raising both of her blades overhead for a downward strike. Seizing his opportunity, Lucius jumped high in the air, leaping over her strike; he then followed up with a downward kick, landing directly on the blades and sinking them deeper into the earth. Before Corona could lift them back out, he smacked her in the face with a plasma-infused roundhouse kick, knocking her away from her weapons. As her concentration broke, the storm of crystals shattered into nothingness, and Ronin took the opportunity to rush in with his stone barricade. The muscular hero jumped into the air, aiming to crush Corona with the intensive weight; to his shock, the petite warlord managed to have enough strength to fight back against his assault.
Corona: That all you got? I thought you were supposed to be these all-powerful heroes! How did you ever manage to beat my sister with brilliant, awe-inspiring strategies like "hit them with a rock"?!
Ronin: We beat Mosaic with teamwork. Starting the clock!
Corona: What are you-
In that instant, a flurry of slashes cut through the very air surrounding Corona, and as if through teleportation, Aysu appeared right next to Lucius, Lunarista at her side. She smirked as she sheathed her oversized blade, knowing what would happen next.
Aysu: Time.
Corona's body suddenly found itself engulfed in a flurry of cut marks, which all burst open one after the other and began leaking a dark powder that blew off into the night wind. Her expression turned blank as she threw Ronin down, staggering forward like she didn't have any life left in her.
Ronin: 15 seconds. You got her!
Aysu: ...Acceptable.
Lucius: Hold steady, everyone. She's not through yet.
Ronin: But she's been cut into pieces! What do you mean she's not-
As if on cue, Corona's body burst open, her form being shredded by the storm of black particulates that came flying out. The dust clustered together in the air like a horrible swarm of insects, powered by nothing but the forces of chaos and malice. The group prepared to fight once more, Ronin and Aysu looking confused as to how a sentient cloud of dust could pose much of a threat. Lucius merely regretted not bringing Gargan along, for his ice missiles had been a major key to defeating Corona's true form before.
No, he thought. He had to do this. For both his own conscience and for the sake of Earth's future.
Lucius: Engage the enemy! Now!
----
As the swarm of darkness descended upon the group of heroes, Lucius summoned more of his plasma blades, slashing away at the dust bearing down on him. He was beginning to feel the stress on his nervous system for having to call forth this power so often over the course of the past few weeks... The weight of that ring around his heart was also weighing on him, both figuratively and literally. Under normal circumstances, he would be exhausted... but having the opportunity to kill Corona kept him motivated enough to fight through the exhaustion.
Corona: 
Ronin: Y'know, the last person who said that to me is dead, right?
Ronin picked up a slab of rubble and hurled it into the eye at the center of the storm. His target shifted to the side quickly, causing the stone to sail harmlessly through Corona's body.
Corona: 
Corona coalesced her body into a thick cyclone before slamming it down on Ronin's position, only to have him punch directly into it, the impact scattering the particles around and splintering the storm. Ronin grunted as he caught his breath for the next attack, only to have the dust around him begin to orbit him before forming into spiky shards. Being attacked from all sides, he did the only thing he could think of and slid under the projectiles.
Aysu was facing her own problems, with her sword swings being unable to impact the fluid mass that was her opponent. She swung as fast as she could, and her cybernetic endoskeleton provided her with enough mobility to evade the strikes coming her way, but her inability to attack was growing concerning.
Aysu: Lucius! You've fought this creature before! What do we do?
Lucius: Give me a second to get back to you on that!
Lucius was in the middle of dodging a multitude of spikes that were emerging from the ground, chasing right behind his every footstep. No wonder Corona was going straight for him- she wanted him dead just as much as he did her. That said, finding a solution was going to be tricky. Back when he had Fera and the others with him, they had forced open Corona's weak point and frozen her entire being solid before cutting her in two. Even though they didn't have a means to do the freezing part anymore, the core was still solid enough to be damaged...
He jumped up in the air, narrowly dodging a cluster of spikes attempting to cut off the space in front of him. The glowing orange eye of his opponent was focused squarely on Aysu at the moment, only absently throwing spikes at Ronin's position. Forcing his blades together, Lucius charged up an orb of plasma in his hands and let loose with everything he had.
Lucius: Corona! Have a taste of this!
The beam from his hands blazed a path of green flame through the air itself, the light only attracting Corona's attention seconds before impact. Lucius's attack hit directly, staggering the cloud of malice as it drew away from the group, clustering to defend the core from further attack.
Corona: 
Corona tensed up even further before exploding entirely, her body scattering around the environment in a fine mist. Drawing together in a phalanx formation to protect themselves from stealth attacks, the trio of heroes knew now more than ever that they needed to come up with some sort of plan to stop this monster entirely.
Aysu: Was that your whole plan? The laser?
Lucius: Part of it. Aysu, I'm going to need you to play defense. You have the sharpest reflexes of anyone here- if any attack comes near, you slice through it.
Aysu: Understood.
Ronin: What do I do, chief?
Lucius: When I give the word, unleash your strongest attack onto the central core. And that'll be my job... opening it up.
Ronin: And how are you going to do that without her just dodging it?
Lucius: Trust me. I've got this.
The sound of shifting sand around them alerted the trio to Corona's next move. All around them, scattered through the mist, crystalline shards began forming and pointing in their direction... As if on some sort of invisible cue, they all began flying towards Lucius and his allies. Aysu began darting around Lucius and Ronin wildly, doing everything in her power to block every projectile she could. The Coronid simply cleared his throat and began speaking.
Lucius: Corona, answer me this. All this untold destruction, all this slaughter... Why do you feel the need to resort to violence?
As expected, Corona didn't show herself, but Lucius felt her voice echoing in the back of his mind.
Corona: 
Lucius: Interesting response... Are you absolutely certain she cares about you the same way you care about her?
Corona: 
Lucius: Because the way I see it, she's just using you.
Lucius felt the winds get stronger as the swirling storm of mist began spinning faster. Aysu was slowly losing track of every individual projectile coming their way, and a few of them managed to get past her blade and scrape by someone's clothing. Lucius felt one attack graze by the side of his torso, leaving behind a thin wound that began to slowly bleed out. Nevertheless, everyone remained firm.
Corona: 
Lucius: Well, why just you? If all of your sisters are so great, why not bring them back as well? Where's that Mosaic that Ronin keeps talking about?
Corona: 
Lucius: Punishment?! She punished you?!
Corona: 
Lucius: ...You poor thing.
There. Out of the corner of his eye... He could see Corona's eye staring down at him, burning with an intense hatred. She was almost open...
Corona: 
Lucius: Your creator slayed you herself, then brought you back to life just for the sake of using a failed weapon as cannon fodder. Even with all that, you still have completely blind obedience to her. Tiera doesn't care about you. She doesn't care about anyone.
The mist was condensing together again as the flurry of projectiles slowed down. One grazed by Lucius's temple, landing a deep cut that began sparking with plasma. It was almost time.
Lucius: After spending decades in cryostasis with you, I used to think you were the most hideous, revolting creature in all the cosmos. But the truth is... now I just pity you. You're nothing but a sad wreck, a mere shade of what you once were. You're barely even worth my rage now.
Corona: 
Corona began forming the very same final attack that she had used in her previous battle, solidifying her body and twisting into the shape of a gigantic drill. Screaming with rage, she spiraled towards Lucius at incredible speed. Seizing his opportunity, he raised his hand, firing a thin beam of plasma into the tip of the drill. It did nothing to stop the fairy's rapid approach, and Aysu and Ronin's face tensed up without any idea as to what Lucius was trying to pull off.
Lucius: NOW!
In an instant, the beam widened up into a massive explosion that shattered the drill and forced Corona's core out into the open. Staggered by the impact of the blast, she couldn't do a thing to retaliate against Ronin, who was barreling towards her with a brightly glowing fist.
Ronin: Dust Knuckle!
In a single punch, Ronin knocked Corona's core outside of the cloud of darkness, the particles slowly fluttering to the ground as her control over them was severed. The helpless eyeball soared through the air, only to suddenly be caught in midflight by a swiftly-moving Aysu.
Aysu: Prepare to meet your end, monster.
Before Corona could let out another word, Aysu slashed back and forth in the air, scratching through the armor surrounding the core. In her final attack, the swordswoman swung her leg around in a midair cartwheel, slamming Corona back into the sandy pavement. Lucius leapt overhead, a massive orb of plasma glowing in his hand as his head wound sparked with more and more ferocity. The last thing Corona saw was the silhouette of her greatest adversary against the shining moon, the light growing brighter and brighter.
Corona: 
The massive blast engulfed the entire city block. As the last remnants of her life faded and her core began breaking down on a subatomic level, all Corona could feel was sadness... sadness at the fact that she really had been used. The strange feeling echoing through her body, the smallest remaining speck of her essence warped away, aiming to return to Tiera and recuperate.
Lucius floated downward after unleashing all of his energy, staring deep into the giant impact crater he had left with his attack. It was over... Corona was gone for good. His panting became heavier and heavier as he reached the ground, Ronin catching him in his arms. Aysu put her fingers to his neck in an attempt to check his pulse, only have him brush them away.
Lucius: I guess... it worked, then.
Aysu looked around the environment. All around them, the bluish tendrils that had been associated with Tiera's conquest began crumbling away, dissolving into the air in glowing particles. Killing Corona had managed to purge La'Neqa... or what was left of it... of the infestation. They did it.
Ronin: Yeah, we did it.
Lucius: Good...
Lucius closed his eyes, a smile on his face as his hand drooped to the ground. The sparks faded from his wounds as they began to bleed more profusely, and as the two began panicking and attempting to bandage the injuries, he fell deeper into sleep than he ever thought he could.
----
Corona arrived back in her creator's inner sanctum, panting as her body reconstituted itself in the presence of Tiera. She was lucky to have survived that final attack from Lucius... It was clear he had somehow managed to become even stronger since back in the day. That said, however, his last words before blasting away like a maniac were resonating her, and the room that once felt like a safe haven now felt more threatening than that last battle.
Tiera: 
Even her mother's voice felt harsher and less caring than it did before. Corona was feeling more and more conflicted by the second about all of this.
Corona: Lucius and his cronies... they beat me in battle.
Tiera: 
Tiera wasn't even facing her throughout all of this, simply looking away as she looked up at the stars on that throne of hers. Corona clenched her fist as she began to realize something she never thought she would admit... Lucius was right.
Corona: Stop calling me your child.
Tiera: 
Corona: During that fight, Lucius told me something that managed to stick with me. He told me you were using me. And as much as I didn't want to believe that annoying pretty boy, he's right. I died for you! Twice! And you've done nothing but downtalk me and claim I've been useless!
Tiera: 
Corona summoned her blades in defiance. She didn't appreciate being called a parasite by her own "mother"... Funny. Guess she owed Lucius and his little friends an apology for calling them that now.
Corona: I am my own person! If you can't see that, then you're clearly not as good a mother as you think!
She lunged at the goddess with ferocious anger, only to be eradicated in a single blast from Tiera's finger. Painless, clean, instant. Tiera simply sighed as she returned to her throne, even more determined to win this battle against Inversim and his wretched servants.
Outside of Tiera's view, however, a single mote of dust floated away on the wind...
----
When Lucius opened his eyes, he could instantly tell from the sensation of water flowing around his body that he was back in Alterminus. Sitting up, he came face-to-face to the mysterious girl who had greeted him the last time he had shown up here.
Lucius: Hello again.
???: What are you doing back here? I was under the impression that someone as tainted with death as you are would not turn up at my feet yet again.
Lucius: Beat one of Tiera's soldiers. Used up a vast quantity of my power. Fell unconscious as a result. Now I'm here.
The girl simply sighed as if she was getting frustrated.
???: When I put that ring around your heart, I was fearful that perhaps the pressure would harm your resolve, kill your drive to battle. The true intent was to push you into acting with caution, for the sake of both yourself and those you hold dear, but I was always willing to accept something going wrong. What I was not expecting was to have you burning every last ounce of energy in your body in what looks like an attempt to sacrifice yourself.
Lucius: Is self-sacrifice not the point of this enchantment in the first place?
???: That's not... *sigh*
The robed figure turned to the side, Lucius finally being able to catch a glimpse of her face in profile. She looked shockingly young for what he assumed was some sort of reaper figure.
???: When you first arrived to this realm, my search of your soul told me you suffered from attachment issues. I very much sympathize with that... I once had a brother who I couldn't stand to be apart from. The gift I've given you is meant to circumvent the grief of losing a loved one on the battlefield by breaking the boundaries of death itself.
Lucius: But if I put everything I can into protecting them, then there's no need to use it anyways. That's the backup plan.
???: If you kill yourself trying first, then it's all worthless! When are you going to get it through your thick skull! You have received a gift from the caretaker of lost souls for the purpose of protecting your friends, and yet you still can't let go of your obsessive desire to throw your life away for simple companionship. Have you learned nothing?!
The two went silent for what felt like a solid minute. Lucius couldn't do anything but reflect on what he had been told... He didn't feel as though he was doing anything wrong by simply trying to protect those he cared about. All he felt was a desire to prove this woman wrong.
???: At any rate, it seems our time together is up once again. I bid you farewell, Lucius... Perhaps one day you will figure out the best way to use my gift.
The sun's warming light shone across Lucius's face as he returned to the land of the living once more.
Fera really didn't like this hospital. Maybe it was just because she was waiting around for news on what could be the most groundbreaking moment of her life, or maybe it was something deep-rooted that she couldn't remember at this point. She could just have a phobia of needles for all she knew. She was so turned around at this point that she legitimately couldn't be certain.
The door to the examination room opened up, a stern-looking woman with a scar on her face walking in. Fera couldn't tell if the expression on her face was that of anger or confusion.
Fera: Well? What's the verdict?
Lucille: Ms. Bolstar, you have some explaining to do.
Lucille pulled out her clipboard, flipping through the sheets of paper until she came across one that looked like an X-ray of Fera's skeleton. She had already gone through a lot of procedures today, ranging from X-ray scans to MRIs and physical fitness tests... She had even donated some of her fluids for analysis.
Lucille: To say your body is unusual would be an understatement. Your skeletal structure, for one, is unlike any human I've ever encountered. A secondary femur and humerus? Skull plate sutures connecting in entirely different ways than usual? 8 extra teeth? This isn't some mutation, I'm guessing. This is something more.
Fera looked down, feeling both disturbed and oddly guilty. She hadn't realized this was what her body was like until now... There's no way she was a normal human at this rate. And with her being told her faint memories of Terra were a lie, she was starting to be more and more confused in regards to what she really was.
Lucille: Your muscular structure is also startling... I've never encountered a being with folded muscles before. Under most circumstances, it seems as though these would be capable of releasing more pressure and power than a normal human being, but I have absolutely no idea what could have caused this to happen. Even your organ proportions are all out of whack. So tell me... What are you?
Fera: Ma'am, I seriously have no idea at this point. I don't know what to take from these results... Are you certain I'm not some kind of alien after all?
Lucille: Nope. We tested your blood. Nearly identical to human blood.
Fera: Well, what am I, then? Some wartime experiment? Where's all this power of mine coming from?
Lucille: That, we couldn't actually trace at all. As far as I can tell, that's one of those magical metaphysical abstract concepts like Hyper Mode that's more a part of someone's soul than their physical body. Really wish we understood more about that sort of thing.
Fera fell silent for a second... before remembering something else from her time in the Threat's clutches. A faint memory that stuck out through the scorching heat of her powers unlocking... Something about a man in green standing alongside her, a swarm of darkness floating on the horizon in front of her.
Suddenly, it all came rushing back. She was a member of the Terran military after all... Terra being the eventual fate of Earth far off in the future. She was trying to save the world from some monster alongside... Lucius... and her other friends... And then some woman told her that she needed to help someone else and leave her home in order to defend the universe. And that's when she woke up and got picked up to fight Clockwarx alongside Aurora...
Lucille: Ms. Bolstar?
Fera: Ma'am... What would you happen to know about alternate dimensions?
A strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future; a belief that someone will or should achieve something; one's prospects of inheritance.~
Malphea: Why does this keep happening to him?
Stark: F**k if I know. The guy's an alien, maybe he's bad with the air in here.
Lucius groaned as he returned to consciousness, the ring around his heart feeling tighter and tighter. He was back in Via Spectrum, the two doctors on standby looking over his battered and wounded body.
Lucius: No, it's... it's not that...
Stark: Oh! Finally up, I see! Well, scram, the big fire guy's looking for ya.
Lucius: Inversim?
Malphea: Wanting to congratulate you for a job well done, I assume. Your mission was a success.
Malphea pulled up a screen showcasing Earth from orbit. While much of the world had been engulfed in a bluish tinge from Tiera's strange vine-like constructs, about a quarter of it had been cleared of the infection, with a central point glowing red in the middle of one of the continents.
Malphea: Your defeat of Corona appears to have destroyed one of the core structures where these strange roots were pumping energy to, and as a result, a chain reaction appeared to be sent up the system, destroying the veins connected to it. That's not to mention the impact it's having on her forces... They're scattering, falling apart in the regions Corona once lorded over.
Stark: So, in short, her death means we're gonna be able to kill that stuck-up goddess a lot sooner. Guess that crazy plan of yours was right on the money!
Malphea winced at this remark, though nobody seemed to notice.
Lucius: It worked... Right. I'll go check in on Inversim.
Lucius got up off the healing bed and stepped into the ankle-deep hot spring below, saying farewell to the doctors as he made his way to the alcove where the deity spent most of his time. Blocking the path was some sort of shrine in which the Lexi woman sat- the one Aysu had rescued from the clutches of SYNDERS.
Lexi: Are you here to see Inversim?
Lucius: What are you doing here?
Lexi: Well, heaven knows I'm not going to be able to fight like any of you... Even little Vessa's stronger than I am. But I wanted to do something to help everyone out, so I decided to put my powers to use as communications officer. Inversim set this up for me as a way to amplify my power... I'm just glad I can help!
Lucius: Well, I hope that pans out... Off to see the man himself.
The Coronid continued walking, eventually rising up a flight of steps to see the radiating essence of Inversim himself staring off into the distance, as if something important was on his mind.
Lucius: Excuse me? You called for me.
Inversim: 
Lucius: Thank you, sir... It feels surreal to have finally accomplished this.
Inversim: 
Lucius: Well, it does take some weight off my chest. But no, I can't rest easy until this battle is over. Corona was just one step on the path to defeating this evil.
Inversim: 
Inversim reached his massive clawed hand around Lucius's shoulder, bringing him close. He could almost feel his cheek being singed by the intense heat of Inversim's body, but he really could sense the affable, almost fatherly energy radiating from him. The hearty chuckling certainly helped.
Inversim: 
Lucius: Nyxiel said you had some other plan in mind that going for Tiera's generals went against. Is that true?
Inversim: 
Lucius: And to think... Her death is so close. We can save the-
In that instant, all of the warmth faded as Inversim turned to Lucius, a stern expression overtaking the charming, happy one he bore just a moment ago.
Inversim: 
Lucius: I... What do you mean?
Inversim: 
Lucius couldn't fully comprehend what Inversim was saying. Wasn't he the one who had been pursuing Tiera's downfall for almost his entire existence? What was with the sudden pacifism?
Lucius: Are you saying you're not letting us get the revenge we need? Tiera desires nothing less than the subjugation of all sentient life! She destroyed my home! She's on the path to destroying Earth too! It's thanks to her Osuna is gone!
Inversim: 
Lucius: I...
Inversim: 
Lucius: Why do you think we can control her?! She's deranged and, more importantly, incredibly powerful! This is just asking for something bad to happen!
Inversim: 
Lucius: You're making a terrible mistake!
Inversim: 
Inversim warped away, with Lucius falling to the ground in anguish and disbelief. All the happiness he had felt at the vanquishing of his rival was driven away by his sudden inability to complete the mission he knew in his heart- and in the ring wrapped around it- that he had to do. Sighing, he gathered up his energy and returned to his feet. Even if they couldn't kill Tiera, that didn't mean they could just give up this fight entirely.
They had to win this war. For the sake of everything in existence.
----
Tiera could feel it in her very essence. Corona had been slain in combat, her life force fading away into the aether. The Feygrove she had been placed in command of was now crumbling as a result, the veins siphoning energy from the planet decaying and detaching from the greater whole. It felt like part of her body had been forcefully ripped out.
The goddess simply sighed to herself, forming a glass of a clear liquid out of the void and sipping from it calmly. Inversim's little resistance group had caught on to her plan to reach her full strength, it seemed... they were hitting her right where it hurt the most. Not that this would hurt her in the long run. Simple parasites like them would never be able to defeat anything on her level of power.
Tiera: 
The Cataloger was, of course, standing there in her private chambers, hidden out of view to the side. Her voice seemed to snap him out of some sort of stupor.
San-Sokeh: Yes, Great Mother Tiera?
Tiera: 
San-Sokeh: Can you not merely revive the fairy? Your power, after all, is great and boundless. Surely resurrecting something like her would expend barely any of it?
Tiera: 
San-Sokeh: I understand. Merely bestow your commandments on me, and I will follow to the utmost-
Tiera: 
The goddess's visage was more frightening and rage-filled than anything San-Sokeh had ever seen from her before; as if motivated by fear rather than loyalty, he swiftly teleported away. Tiera simply sighed and turned back to her drink, taking another delicate sip as the subtle sensation of the alcohol she was ingesting coursed through her system.
In a split second, Tiera's eyes widened as she threw the glass to the ground.
This wasn't right. She was above the sort of base pleasures that these insects comforted themselves with. Why was her instinct subconsciously driven to summon forth this liquid? The goddess wracked her infinite brain before coming to the realization that her host- the woman whose Drive she was using to fuel her existence- was one such mortal. Was the body she possessed now influencing her, even after her mind had succumbed?
Tiera sat back down on her throne, claws gripping the armrests so hard they began cracking. This was beneath her. She would not let these creatures win... All of them would be exterminated. Every trace of them, down to the last strand of DNA. She would never give humanity- nor any of the other races who felt the need to defy her- another chance to rise up again.
----
Raune sighed to herself as she pumped another tendril of healing energy into Hayate, who she had been assigned to work with for this current foray behind enemy lines, the frigid snow battering at their necks. She felt bad that he and Vessa- the other hero she had been placed in care of for today's rounds- were so eager to throw themselves into the line of fire like this. The young human girl was now single-handedly fending off the ivory troopers assaulting them, a situation none of them particularly enjoyed.
Hayate: Well, so much for a sneak attack, huh?
Raune: What do you mean sneak attack? You snapped a water tower in half and attempted to crush them under its mass?
Hayate: Yeah. And they didn't see it coming. Sneak attack.
Vessa grappled onto one of the small flying drone-like assailants and swung them around like a mace, slamming them into a cluster of troops. A large explosion rocked the area and sent the group of Disciples flying, pieces of rubble landing on Raune and Hayate.
Hayate: Leg comin' along good?
Raune: Just a second more... There! Should be good as new!
The green energy faded away as Hayate flexed his blood-caked leg; surely enough, the healing energy had restored it to perfect health. The teen smirked as he stood back up, glaring at the approaching enemies on the horizon.
Hayate: Thanks, doc... Hey, kid! Jump!
Vessa looked behind her quickly, just finishing up entangling a trio of Disciples in her yo-yo. In response, she leaped into the air, carrying the hapless foes with her. Twisting his ankle to test its flexibility, Hayate performed a spinning kick in the air, his skates carving a massive crescent-shaped blade of wind that soared in front of him. The slash sliced its way through all the debris in its wake, and bore through the approaching band of troopers in much the same way, tearing them all open from the waist. Vessa hurled the three remaining enemies back to the ground, where Hayate skated over to their position and smashed down in a spinning tornado. Everyone caught their breath, the only thing surrounding them anymore being snow and the fading particles of energy emanating from the bodies of the fallen.
Hayate: See? That wasn't so bad, right?
Vessa jumped for joy as Raune caught her breath, resting on a nearby moss-covered rock. Looking up at the stars, it was hard to believe she was on an alien planet in the distant past, fighting against a goddess bent on erasing everything she stood for. Beautiful ribbons of light streaked across the sky as a gentle snowfall caressed her face... This was the peace she was striving to usher in as regent of the Lillius people. This is why she was fighting.
San-Sokeh: Beautiful night, is it not?
Shocked from her resting place, Raune turned around only to witness the face of the man who seemed bent on pursuing her for some unknown reason. Yelping, she backed away quickly.
Raune: You?! What are you doing here?
San-Sokeh: Pursuing the will of the Mother of All Creation, of course. It is by her power I am here at this moment, and the destruction of your miserable resistance is all that she desires.
The Cataloger stretched out his hand from behind his back... The hand that had been sliced off when Raune had made her escape from him previously. Now it had been replaced with a facsimile made of a strange, divine-looking metal that shone with an eerie light. Raune backed away further, fearful for her life, but Vessa soon swooped into action, pulling the glowing hand away from the Lillius using her yo-yo.
San-Sokeh: Ah... You again. You really think a child can do anything to stop the rebalancing of the universe?
Vessa pouted as she continued pulling away from the evil man threatening her friends. Hayate was soon on the scene as well, strolling up to San-Sokeh with a sarcastic expression.
Hayate: So what's the deal, bugface? Just showing up to taunt us?
San-Sokeh: Hardly. I've come to make a deal with you whelps.
Hayate: Ha! Look at what we just got done with taking care of! You're in no position to ask for a deal! Your forces are nothing compared to us...
As the skater kept talking, the severed upper half of one of the Disciples began crawling towards the group, the last remnants of life being driven by its loyalty to its goddess as it drew its gunblade to fire at Hayate's head. Raune noticed what was going on seconds before the trigger was pulled.
Raune: Look out!
In a flash of light, Raune summoned forth a giant root from the ground, blocking the energy shot before it struck Hayate. As the Disciple growled in its strange language, Raune ran over to it and stabbed her staff through its chest, causing it to fully dissipate into the ether. San-Sokeh simply began laughing.
San-Sokeh: Tiera's army cannot and will not be stopped. They have no regard for their own life... All they care about is fulfilling their creator's will. Nothing you can do will stop their approach. In fact, the more you slay, the more of the people of this world are conscripted to replace them. Is this crusade truly worth that much to you?
Raune: So why are you here, then? Negotiating surrender?
San-Sokeh: Hardly.
In a flash of light, the Cataloger blinked out of Vessa's grasp and into Raune's face, his aura of intimidating power overwhelming her. Hayate rushed in to defend Raune, but his opening was caught in San-Sokeh's hand, and the teen had his ankle snapped before being tossed aside. Vessa ran in to subdue him, but she too was punted away in a single swift blow. Raune found herself being backed up against a nearby cliff face, scared for her life.
San-Sokeh: You are the only one who matters to me, princess. Tiera wishes your entire alliance to be destroyed, but I know she, in her infinite wisdom and caring grace, may be persuaded. Come with me willingly, and I will ensure none of your comrades are slain in battle. You may even see the light and join her... like that Osuna woman.
Raune gasped as she tried to shrink away from her former captor. Osuna had joined Tiera's army? That... That couldn't be true, right? A hero as dedicated as her would never willingly give herself up to something this foul and dark... To say nothing of San-Sokeh's proposition. Shaking, she stood up, trying to summon her courage.
Raune: Y-You think I'll just abandon my friends and their cause? I am not some weak, pathetic woman who will just lie down when backed into a corner. I am the high regent of the Lillius, and you, San-Sokeh, are the most revolting, despicable being in the entire universe. You can't even hold loyalty to the very goddess you claim to serve, you wretched low-life!
San-Sokeh scowled as he flexed his metallic hand, blue energy crackling up and down it. His entire demeanor shifted almost instantly.
San-Sokeh: I would not say such things if I were you, leader of a race destined from their birth to be slaves to my own. You will regret this statement.
Raune: And you will regret treating me and my friends like this.
San-Sokeh: I will allow you one final chance to rectify this mistake, girl. Come to your senses and-
In the flick of her staff, Raune wrapped a thin tendril of energy around San-Sokeh's augmented wrist, yanking with all of her might. All she could hear was a sickening crunch as she ripped the Cataloger's arm clean off, a spray of blue blood splattering on the snowy ground. All was silence, with nothing but the heavy breathing of Raune and her allies to cut through the cold wind... and then San-Sokeh snapped.
San-Sokeh: AAARRRRGGGAAAHHH!
As he rushed at Raune again at lightspeed, she blocked his one-armed blows with her staff, holding firm as he kept up his assault. All of that composure was gone, his poise and precise attacks being replaced by pure animalistic rage as he flailed and slashed wildly at her. All of the built up anger he had directed towards her finally got him to snap, and now he was solely focused on ending her life. That narrow-mindedness was her advantage in this situation.
Raune stamped the ground, and a pair of tall vines pierced through the ground and sprouted up behind her attacker. The tendrils wrapped themselves around his shoulders, pulling him back and hurling him off into the snow. As she took the moment to regain her stance, however, the Cataloger caught himself and launched himself forward on the ground with his one remaining arm.
San-Sokeh: YOU WORTHLESS WRETCH!
Out of nowhere, Hayate darted forward, slicing his wind skate through San-Sokeh's cheek and knocking him off course. Vessa darted in from the opposite side, snaring his other arm and smashing him over her head against a rock. Another sickening crunch could be heard as the rage suddenly subsided, a gasping sound insinuating it had changed to fear instead. The trio of heroes stood triumphant over San-Sokeh, whose eyes were now filled with fear.
Raune: It's over, San-Sokeh. I'm ending this.
Before any of the three could take action, a whooshing sound and flash of light blasted through the area, the Chosen Speaker having teleported away out of fear. Hayate pounded the snow in frustration as Vessa collapsed from exhaustion.
Hayate: Come on! We were so close to polishing that dirtbag off!
Raune: We will soon. He's scared. Vulnerable. Wherever he is, he'll be open to attack.
Hayate: You seem... chillingly calm about all of this.
Raune looked at her hand. No fear or shaking whatsoever. She had conquered her fear of the being who had captured and imprisoned her... and the team could inflict all of that back on him.
Raune: I feel perfect, Hayate. Come, let us inform the others about this.
----
Back in Via Spectrum, things were hectic. Lucius had confided in Gargan and Retron about what Inversim had told him, assuming they would keep a secret and help him to vent his frustration. Unfortunately, thanks to them, the fact that Tiera had been deemed unkillable spread like wildfire, and now everyone was in a distorted funk of wild emotions. It felt like a week since Corona had been slain, yet they had barely made progress in tracking down another of Tiera's commanders.
At the moment, Lucius was sitting down in the middle of the plaza, trying to focus any amount of effort of actually progressing forward with his goal. He knew deep down in his heart that the had to, and the high from finally getting rid of Corona was keeping him in somewhat positive spirits, but the notion that everyone's quest to give the goddess what she deserves gave him a dreaded sense of futility.
Nyxiel: I hate to keep seeing you like this.
Lucius: And I hate it when you teleport in when I'm thinking to myself.
Nyxiel: Everyone's up in a stir lately. I don't get why everyone's so down in the dumps and angry about not having a permanent solution to the Tiera problem! Aren't you guys heroes?
Lucius: Well, it's disheartening when one of your long-awaited goals falls through. I'd assume you'd have felt that when the initial plan of disposing of Katarina went sour.
Nyxiel: Shut it.
The two stood in silence as Lucius tried to keep thinking about where the next commander of Tiera's army could possibly be. He had his personal mental ties with Corona that helped the two find each other before, but there were still more out there. People he had no association with. And picking them out was potentially going to be looking for a needle in a heavily armed, genocidal haystack. Yet another sound interrupted his train of thought, however, as the return portal from Earth reactivated. Raune, Vessa, and Hayate stepped out, clearly out of breath and scraped up from some sort of scuffle.
Raune: We found San-Sokeh. He's wounded. Scared. We can strike now.
Nyxiel: Hold on. You found another commander?
Hayate: You bet we did. He ambushed us out on our patrol, tried convincing Raune to join up with him in exchange for sparing everyone else. She kicked his butt.
Vessa mimed a fistfight in response to this, with Raune giggling at the sweet display. Lucius was well aware of the treatment Raune had suffered at the Cataloger's hands... It must've been satisfying on Raune's part to give him any sort of payback.
Nyxiel: Well, I'm glad we know who to search for... but how are we going to find him? It seems like he escaped.
Hayate: Oh, don't worry, Nyx. I thought of everything.
Hayate pulled his foot out of his skate and rummaged around inside, pulling out a small beeping device. Some sort of locator beacon, no doubt.
Hayate: I have these in my skates at all times. Growing up in the slums where people wanna steal everything that gets left out makes a guy super paranoid about security. When the guy was stunned from one of my kicks, I slipped it on him. Now we know his exact location!
Hayate hurled his cellphone over to Stark, who caught it out of the air with her psychic abilities. A quick download and, sure enough, they managed to obtain perfect location data for San-Sokeh's current whereabouts- the top of one of those giant flower-like towers. Now that they knew exactly where he was, they could warp there no issue.
Lucius: You three... Thank you so much. Now, Raune, I assume you're good with joining me in finishing him off for good?
Raune clutched her staff as she smiled an almost disconcerting smile. Absolutely!
Nyxiel: Alright then... Anyone else? Bynde?
Nyxiel turned to Bynde, who was silently sitting nearby, holding her sword in both hands as if she were meditating. She had been like this for the past two days- people were starting to become concerned for her. Her lack of response made Nyxiel change her mind nearly instantly.
Hayate: I got too roughed up in that last fight to be much good... Vessa's raring to go, though, she could probably do you some good.
The child excitedly jumped up in the air, enthusiastically giggling as she landed on Lucius's back. The positivity was infectious, and Lucius felt a smile return into his face after the storm had been brewing inside him for the past few days.
Lucius: That settles it, then. Let's do this.
----
San-Sokeh sat alone on the dais in his personal retreat built atop the Feygrove he was charged with protecting. Silent and motionless, he appeared to be little more than one of the many statues dotted around the dark room, their form hidden in the lack of visibility. As the sole light shone down on him, however, his mind was racing with a bevy of emotions.
Among the most prominent of these was fear. Fear of being overtaken and defeated by the Lillius woman. He thought that his people's tradition had given him the right to treat her as he wished, a servant... He had let this line of thought grow into something far more parasitic. A lust. For her, for power... He had even thought to betray his goddess's trust in order to continue pursuing that emotion. Now, he was broken. Literally. His very body had been torn in his pursuits... by the very creature he sought to own.
It was truly, truly pathetic.
Grunting loudly, San-Sokeh flexed his non-existent arm, and streams of the glowing divine metal emerged from his shoulderblade to reform it. It felt hollow and strange, just like when he had his false hand materialize for the first time, but he trusted he would grow to appreciate it in time. Just like everything his goddess had done for him since first contact.
He was wrong to have tried to betray her trust. How could he have been so blind? Tiera was the only thing that should have been in his heart to begin with. He knew that she would be the one to ultimately guide him to victory over these fools... He would be ready to face them again. He would hunt them down across the face of this pitiable, dying planet, and crush them for the glory of...
Raune: San-Sokeh!
The Cataloger didn't even flinch as the portal ripped open right in the heart of his lair, letting the heroes waltz right into his hands. Perfect.
----
Lucius, Raune, and Vessa strode into the inner sanctum of their enemy, not sure what to expect. Having infiltrated his dwelling before with the intent of saving Raune, Lucius expected something decadent and fancy, surrounded by priceless artifacts and beautiful decorations. What they got was much different... A blank void with only a single shaft of light coming down from the heavens, a multitude of statues hidden in the darkness. There was something deeply unsettling about all of this...
San-Sokeh: ...Why are you here? HOW are you here?
Raune: We stuck a tracking device on you during our previous encounter. You lead us straight to your place of respite.
San-Sokeh: That cannot be true. Tiera's blessing should have prevented this place from any sort of infiltration-
Lucius: I suppose this means your goddess isn't as all-powerful as you seem to believe.
San-Sokeh: SILENCE, PARASITE.
Vessa slammed her fists together angrily as the other two stepped forward.
Lucius: Where exactly is this, anyway? I'd have thought someone like you would be living it up as the world burns at your hand.
San-Sokeh: I have had my eyes opened. The goddess is the only luxury I need... and this dwelling is proof of such.
With a snap of the Cataloger's fingers, the beam of light above him began widening. No, not the light... The room itself was expanding, unfurling like some sort of corrupted flower. It was then that the group realized that they were atop one of the largest of the plant-like structures, growing so high above the clouds that the sky was ablaze with a massive aurora borealis. The cold air brought a rush of fear and energy to the heroes, preparing them for the upcoming fight.
What they were not prepared for were the statues dotted around the room. All of them bore the visage of Tiera, but none of them truly resembled the sinister conquering goddess the trio had met previously. They were much more... voluptuous and sensual, with an eerie vibe surrounding every single one of them. Raune felt the need to cover Vessa's eyes to shield her from the unsettling statues, with Lucius becoming even more confused and concerned.
Lucius: Wh-What is all of this?
San-Sokeh: Monuments to my goddess, of course! A tribute to her might and majesty, to the very essence which fills my heart with the strongest emotions possible! Perhaps, through this tribute, she may seek to grant me further power...
Raune: You... What is wrong with you? Was it not enough for you to want to have me in your clutches? You want a goddess to be in the same position?
San-Sokeh: I seek nothing more than Tiera's love and affection.
Lucius: No. You seek lust. There's a difference. Am I going to have to pity a second member of this so-called Chosen Four? So far you've both just been sad, pitiable wrecks.
The shelled humanoid slammed his metallic arm on the ground, cracking the floor in a startling impact. He rose to his feet, arms stretched wide as if he was beckoning the heroes to strike him down.
San-Sokeh: You will not be saying such things when I break you and offer you as sacrifices to the Mother of All Creation.
In what felt like a flash of lightning, San-Sokeh performed another one of his lightspeed lunging attacks, jabbing Lucius in the stomach. The force from his divine prosthetic was orders of magnitude greater than before, and the impact sent Lucius flying straight into one of the statues, breaking it in two. His attacker leapt high in the air to continue the pursuit.
San-Sokeh: You will pay for destroying one of my masterworks! It possesses more value than any one of your pitiable-
Lucius interrupted him by firing a beam of plasma from his hand, powerful enough to push the Cataloger away from him and throw him off balance. Leaping out of the rubble, he threw down a series of burning hot plasma knives, with the Cataloger catching one in midair and hurling it past Lucius's temple. The pain was intense, even just with a graze of the temple, but he stayed stalwart as he dove down towards his foe, tackling him and smashing him into the ground.
San-Sokeh kicked Lucius off of his body, backflipping up to a standing position as he began charging a glowing blue sphere of light between two of his fingers. Before he could attack with it, he was interrupted by Vessa stomping violently on his head and breaking his concentration. Flipping off of her jumping attack, the girl aimed a divekick directly into his chest, knocking him into Raune's sights; with a mighty shout, the Lillius fired a massive seed-like projectile from her staff, colliding with their enemy's back before detonating in a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared, his robes were charred and torn, but he only seemed to be getting madder.
San-Sokeh: Worthless... All of you!
Their assailant tried another lightspeed rush in Raune's direction, only to be caught in mid-flight by Vessa's yo-yo. Strangled, he stopped his approach, grabbing his neck to try to undo the bindings. Lucius took the opportunity to rush in, temple still bleeding, but San-Sokeh took the opportunity to hunch over and throw Vessa off balance, causing the two to crash into each other. Eyes back on Raune, the woman summoned a cluster of her vines and began rapidly jabbing in his direction. Every single strike was blocked by his lightning-fast reflexes... The two were equally matched.
San-Sokeh: You really believe you can stand against me? Against her?!
Raune: I know we can. Can you stand up to this?
With a swift wave of her foot, Raune caused the ground to start rumbling beneath San-Sokeh's feet. As he looked down, he realized the shavings of the vines he had blocked were now wriggling and growing swiftly, and before he could do anything, they had sprouted and snared around his waist. Thrown off his guard, Raune grabbed his limbs with the massive roots, stretching them outward and exposing his chest.
Lucius: This ends here!
Rushing in with maximum velocity, Lucius formed a plasma blade around his forearm and plunged it deep into San-Sokeh's chest. His eyes wide, the Cataloger let loose a terrible scream as he felt the unbearable pain course through his system. Lucius shut off the blade as his adversary's head slumped over.
Raune: Good riddance to him.
Lucius: Absolutely. I'm certain the universe will be better off without this monster in it.
As everyone caught their breath, Vessa suddenly thought she saw San-Sokeh's neck twitch just slightly. Before she could try to point the movement out, however, his entire body turned dark, engulfed in an eerie blue light. The roots holding him down evaporated from the sheer heat being given off by his body.
Lucius: First Corona, now this. Do all of you have second forms like this?
San-Sokeh did not answer, his eyes only flashing open with the same brilliant blue light. His wound flickering with cerulean flame that countered Lucius's own green-colored plasma, he began twitching jerkily from a slouching to an upright position. Sickening crunches could be heard as two more metal arms emerged from his shoulderblades, and a strange construct that resembled a broken halo emerged from behind his head. Lucius couldn't tell if he looked more like a god than before... or more like the sad, broken husk he now was.
San-Sokeh: THE UNIVERSE IS NOT VAST ENOUGH TO CONTAIN MY WRATH. P E R I S H.
----
Letting loose a guttural growl, San-Sokeh lunged for Vessa, the smallest target in proximity. Frightened, she jumped out of the way, countering the rapid swings of his arms with strikes from her yo-yo. The crazed maniac leapt over her head, charging spheres of energy in his two newly-grown arms, and threw them downwards at her. The force of the resulting blast launched her towards the edge of the giant flower, where she skidded to a stop while panting in fear.
Thrust back into battle, Lucius and Raune returned to the offensive, firing a barrage of plasma knives and explosive seeds in San-Sokeh's way. He managed to scrape by every single shot they fired; scuttling around on his four arms like an insect, he zigzagged across the battlefield at incredible speed, reaching up when finally in range to slug Raune right in the face before shoving her away. Lucius slashed at him with more plasma, but even the direct hit to his gut barely fazed him... The mad speaker simply turned to him and released a massive beam of energy from his jaw, knocking Lucius even further away.
Lucius: Gaaah- What's wrong with this guy?
Charging up another sphere of plasma in his hands, Lucius let loose another massive beam of energy in retaliation. San-Sokeh leapt up to dodge the blast, with Lucius angling it upwards in response, but the Coronid was shocked to witness his foe form another sphere of energy between his hands and thrust it onto the laser, grinding down it like some sort of skateboard. In record time, he was in Lucius's face, and his subsequent upwards kick left him stunned. Seeing his opportunity, the wide-eyed Cataloger began rapidly punching Lucius's chest at incredible speeds.
Raune: Hang on, Luci!
Doing her best to get off the ground, Raune stomped her foot to the floor, with a singular large vine bursting out and flying towards San-Sokeh at high speeds. Though the Cataloger was more than fast enough to dodge the attack under normal circumstances, his mind had been broken so thoroughly that the only thing he could concentrate on was crushing those standing before him. He barely even realized the attack had struck before it pierced through his chest, yanking him away from Lucius before he could do any sort of finishing blow. Unfortunately for Raune, this didn't do anything to halt his bloodlust, and he began running his body down the vine to attack Raune, another hideous screech emerging from his throat.
Lucius was still woozy from the beating he had just received, but he still had enough awareness of his position to summon another burst of plasma and aim it squarely at his head. Th blast blew past San-Sokeh's outer shell and left a nasty burning patch, but it still barely seemed to phase his rapid approach to Raune herself. She swung her staff to knock the impaled enemy away, but he smacked the strike away, and in the moment where she was off her balance... He sunk his teeth directly into her arm, tearing it off.
Raune screamed in intense pain, dropping to the ground as she let go of her staff. The vine going limp, San-Sokeh stood hunched over Raune's body, panting heavily... Only to rush back at Lucius with another intense scream. Lucius prepared to pull up another shield, his teeth gritted in rage, but at the last second, San-Sokeh stopped. Vessa had managed to sneak up behind him, snagging two of his hands with her yo-yo as she pulled back with all of her might. San-Sokeh clawed forward with his two remaining hands, desperately trying to reach Lucius. Under normal circumstances, he would have used the occasion to make some sort of comment or try to get under his adversary's skin even more. Now, however, he was too angry to do anything more than unleash his final attack.
In a single vertical slash, Lucius carved through the Chosen Speaker, and an eerie silence fell over the battlefield. Nothing but the howling wind and everyone's breath could be heard... Then, streams of metal began bursting from San-Sokeh's body, the same material making three of his arms. It was almost as if the divine presence inside him was trying to repair his wounds and failing, malformed limbs and growths appearing across his body and spilling from his gashes. Eventually, it looked as though he could no longer take the building pressure... In one last feeble gasp, San-Sokeh exploded in a burst of light and energy.
Not even stopping for a second to catch their breath, the two ran over to Raune, trying to see if there was anything they could do to mend her torn arm. The damage was worse than Lucius expected... Everything below the shoulder was gone.
Lucius: Raune! Please tell me you're alright!
Raune: I-I'd be lying if I said this wasn't unbearably painful, but-
Lucius reached to his communicator to signal the return trip. They needed to get her medical attention as fast as possible.
Lucius: Everyone! Open the portal ASAP! We won, but we need to-
Suddenly, the ground beneath them began shaking and cracking as it grew paler and dustier by the second. San-Sokeh's death must have been intrinsically linked to this place, and without its master, the vine network was crumbling like with what had happened with Corona. Vessa leapt to Raune's side in an attempt to pick her up, but the two soon had the floor crack under them, and before Lucius could react, they fell down into the clouds. Thinking on his feet, Lucius jumped down to try grabbing them, grabbing Raune by her free hand.
Lucius: I've got you! Stay calm!
Raune: We're hitting terminal velocity! How am I supposed to keep calm?!
Lucius: I'll think of something!
Raune: Apologies, but I've got it covered!
In a burst of green fluid, a multitude of vines erupted from Raune's wounded shoulder, swirling and spiraling upward. In a matter of moments, the three had their fall interrupted, with Lucius and Vessa gazing upwards to find Raune's new arm being tipped with a massive flower that was acting as a parachute. As the tower to their side continued to crumble into dust, the three skirted away from the debris, finally being able to catch a break.
Lucius: *panting* Feel good to finally rid the universe of that sleazeball?
Raune: Never better, my friend.
Raune giggled as the portal back to Via Spectrum, having finally locked back on their position, opened below them. They had done it. Another member of Tiera's army done for.
Two down. Two to go.
Fera probably shouldn't have mentioned that "other dimension" part to the doctors. The doctors had her confined to the room for some time now, telling her that they needed to discuss matters in privacy. Yeah, right. They probably just thought she was insane. Still, though, no time like the present to revisit those memory fragments that had been bothering her so much over the past few days.
She lied down on the hospital bed, put her hands behind her head, and closed her eyes. First off was that thing called Clockwarx she remembered. She had no recollection of it before, but now that all her memories were flooding back, she was beginning to pick up more of a handle on what had happened. She had been picked up by Aurora and her friends on some weird bus thing out in the middle of space somewhere... Their mission was to defeat the monster and stop something called the Shattering, an event that would wind up devastating their universe. The former gods of the universe she thought she called home- the Fan and the Enemy- had blanked everyone's memories of the event and rebuilt a new universe on top of an pre-existing one. That's why the Threat had risen up in anger at everything that had overtaken what she had once ruled over.
She shook her head. That was all in the past now that the Threat had been taken care of. Her focus was moreso on the memory wipe thing... She knew she must have gone through it, but how was she remembering all of this stuff now?
'Then she remembered the little growth that had been removed from her neck, the thing that started all of these flashbacks upon its release. That must have been some sort of memory flash drive or something, a data backup that meant she had a copy of her memories from before the Shattering. Whoever gave it to her must have anticipated something like this-
Nyxiel.
Flashing back even further, Fera recalled the mystery woman in purple who had explained everything to her before plugging that parasitic tool in her head. She went on about how she had some energy inside her that made her a valuable target, and for the good of the universe, she would need to go into hiding and have her power inhibited so that nothing back would befall her. That settled it, then. She was either from some other dimension, or she had gone completely insane.
But still... If this was all true, that meant her real home was in some kind of danger. She needed to go back somehow... if this weird Ultimate Form she had been using recently was any indication, she could have the strength to save it from whatever was so bad that she had to be sent here to protect it.
Aurora: Fera!
The door burst open as Aurora ran in, hugging Fera tight. The doctors were confused as they looked into the room with the two girls, Fera getting vaguely flustered by the sudden attention.
Aurora: They only just let me in to check on you. Is everything alright? They said you were saying some weird things...
Fera: No, no, it's okay. Just needed to come to terms with some stuff. Come on, lets head home.
As Fera left with a concerned Aurora to return to her apartment, she reminisced on what she had been thinking of before her girlfriend snapped her back to reality. Sure, she could do everything in her power to return to her home universe... but she had so many memories in this one, too. Would it be right to give all of that up?... Was this other world no longer even her home?
The action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered; the action or process of being received as adequate or suitable, typically to be admitted into a group.~
Toronova: I can't believe it! How could those measly creatures kill off not one, but two of the Chosen Four?! They're nothing compared to us!
Tiera was beginning to grow incredibly concerned. She had created an unstoppable army formed from the humans who infested this planet, infused with the very essence of her divinity. She had assigned four individuals with incredible power to command them while she took her true master plan- siphoning the planet's energy in order to refuel the last of her power- to its limits. It should have been foolproof. She was surrounded by an impenetrable barrier.
And yet the rats under Inversim's wings were managing the impossible. Somehow, despite day after day of constant pressure and warfare, they were rising up, managing to defeat half of the Chosen Four with no sign of stopping. This shouldn't have been possible. It couldn't be! And yet, it was happening right before the goddess's eyes.
Of course, perhaps this could also be attributed to flaws on part of the Chosen Four themselves. Not mere incompetence in battle- their personality. Corona had always been stuck-up and rebellious to a degree, but before Tiera disposed of her, she had gone as far as to turn her blades towards her own creator... Truly, not the most ideal of servants. San-Sokeh was certainly devoted, but as she had seen while watching his battle, perhaps too much so. Was his motivation true romance, or did he merely want to subjugate her and claim dominion over her as he had tried to do with the Lillius woman? A moot point, thanks to his passing.
Saipha Notozawa was perhaps the most noble of all four of her generals. Though there was darkness in his heart, a coldness seemingly targeted towards his daughter, he was courageous, brave, and almost admirable in the pursuit of his goals. The issue with him, however, was that he genuinely believed in saving the humans. Convincing him to allow his building to act as the root for one of the Feygroves and take on a role in the Chosen Four was valuable indeed, as it had afforded her army more resources to augment it, but doing so under the form of her host as an "old friend" had been a mistake. Tiera had no doubt that if he realized what was truly happening, he would turn against her in a heartbeat.
And then there was Toronova.
Toronova: What are we going to do?! What if this all falls apart?!
Toronova had been the first human to willingly join with Tiera upon her return to power, perhaps because he had formerly worked under the woman she now used as a power source. He was eager to serve, sharing her goals and doing everything under his power to spread her word. That said... She was beginning to think he was merely trying to get on her good side in order to attain power. When thrust into action, he was impulsive, cowardly, always aiming to dictate orders to others. That included the Executioner, the ivory-bound heroine that Toronova had been using as a personal bodyguard- and the tool to actually carry out his tasks- since she had been captured.
In a very real sense, the Executioner was what she sought in a follower. Silent. Obedient. Powerful. A stalwart soldier who would be utterly loyal to the end. In that sense, perhaps that was what she wanted from all of existence this time around. No more attempts at letting the perfect world she wanted to create sprout like a seed. She would need to mold it like a sculpture. Pour her heart and soul into making an everlasting monument to her grace and glory. Then, and only then, could she be satisfied.
But there was still the matter of Inversim and his kin. And Toronova's blathering. They would need to be dealt with.
Tiera: 
Toronova stopped venting to the Executioner and turned to face Tiera, his skin clearly turning red from stress as he hyperventilated. The Executioner, of course, stood motionless and graceful.
Tiera: 
Toronova: I... My goddess, are you giving me permission to-
Tiera: 
His expression becoming much more sinister and gleeful, Toronova began chuckling to himself as he exited the room, the Executioner silently following him. Tiera saw this as one last chance for the human to prove himself- if he could not defeat those who sought to strike her down, he would likely perish, proving himself unfit for duty. A win-win for her.
The rivalry with Inversim she had was now fresh on her mind... It must have been over a thousand years ago she first encountered the wrath deity, doing everything in his power to destroy her creations and interfere with her plans for some reason. It felt to her as though there was never a time in her memory in which he wasn't there, her exact polar opposite, the destroyer to her creator. That begged the question then... Why had he not shown himself, and relied on his spawn to do his dirty work? Why was he so adamant on protecting something the one time she wished to destroy it? It seemed as though there was something more to him than mindless oblivion after all...
She put it out of her head. Inversim and those who aligned with him were nothing more than scum to be wiped off the face of the universe when she reshaped it. Reclining back in her throne, she let out a sigh as the sensation of energy oozing into her system made her feel relaxed and rejuvenated. In due time... she would bring everything to zero.
----
Back in Via Spectrum, things were in high spirits once again. The away team floated back into safety as the portal abruptly closed, with the news that another general of Tiera's forces had been slain sending everyone into high spirits. Vessa and Raune were off with everybody else partying away, with even Inversim joining in on the festivities. Everyone felt they deserved it. This was a sign that the forces of darkness could be slain, could be driven back. It was a sign that this wasn't all in vain after all.
A couple people weren't joining the party. Malphea was still working away on the Masquera project, her tireless efforts hoping to eventually bear fruit. Sarin, still angered about the whole ordeal, was sulking in her room like a normal edgy teenager. Dalia, Hask, and Itoki- the three agents of SYNDERS- were still being ostracized from the group as a whole, adnw ere off drinking elsewhere. Lucius, exhausted from yet another battle, was recuperating in the hot spring medical bay, with Quetz sitting on top of his headrest looking down at him. And right nearby, sitting cross-legged in the water, was Bynde, mediating as she had been for some time now.
Meditation was not the right word... She had been searching. Part of the abilities granted to her by the Shard of the Seeker- the magical force that kept apparently reincarnating her over and over- was the ability to glance through time, something she had used in the past to try to experience what those alternate timelines could have been like. Right now, though, she was trying to use the ability for a completely different purpose- finding Osuna. The woman was the first person who had helped her feel at ease in this strange new world, a true friend that she missed dearly... and one who had sacrificed herself to help everyone else escape Tiera's wrath. Now getting her back was the only thing on her mind. She had to be out there.
Her meditation wasn't going the smoothest. Her stress was bringing up nothing but sour spots and tough moments the two had shared together... Including the moment where Bynde had accidentally stabbed Osuna through the chest as they were battling against Tiera. That one was looping over and over and over... She couldn't get the thought she had failed her friend out of her head. She just had to keep looking-
???: Struggling, are you?
It was a voice Bynde hadn't heard in what felt like months. Her eyes open, she saw a faint figure phase into existence, floating off the ground like some sort of ghost. It was a visage she recognized all too well... Noske, the Dark Lord she had slain.
Noske: The flow of time is a fickle beast to look through. I'm sure we of all people understand that.
Bynde turned her head to the ground in shame. She had no idea how to cope with all of the emotions she was going through, and seeing the man she had once killed wasn't helping. He didn't even seem that threatening right now... It was all her emotions boiling over.
Noske: Now, I'm not sure which Bynde you are. You could be the one who brought me down out of obligation of that accursed cycle. You could also be the one who slew me out of your own free will and desperation to protect your sister. It no longer matters to me. My spirit is free from the torment that reincarnation put me through. And now, I sense your own spirit is in turmoil.
Noske put his hand on Bynde's shoulder as she began to cry softly.
Noske: I sense someone important to you has been lost. The same held true for when we were locked in conflict against each other... Your sister's absence motivated you to take on a journey across an entire kingdom, cleansing it of the darkness I carried with me. You consider it your duty to find them.
Bynde nodded. It was times like this where her muteness only helped make her feel more incapable and useless. Tai was always the one guiding her back home, before all of this crazy stuff happened to the two of them. She lost the Seeker's Blade, getting rid of the one tool that had any demonstrable effect on Tiera... For a supposed hero, she felt like she couldn't do anything right without someone else's help.
Noske: You should not worry, child. Your strength and determination are far beyond what you consider them to be. I should know. I thought I would hold the title of Dark Lord for centuries, forced against my wishes to bring despair and suffering to all. But you managed to break me free of that fate, against all odds. There are timelines in which you brought the gods themselves to their knees, slaying them just to protect your sister from their influence. You branded yourself defiant of the gods and cut yourself off from her forever- all to ensure nobody would ever be harmed by the cruel puppetmasters of fate again. Bynde, you are one of the strongest warriors I have had the pleasure of coming across... You are absolutely a worthy hero.
Noske turned to face the party, with Bynde turning along with him. All of her newfound friends...
Noske: These warriors are all honored to be fighting alongside you. If there's anyone who can find this missing ally of yours, I'm certain it's you. Don't become too wrapped up in this time searching business, either... Follow your intuition, your Drive. It's only a matter of time before what you seek is obtained. And once that happens, I trust you to make the right choice. To reach the best ending for everyone.
Noske faded away, leaving nary a trace of the specter's existence. Bynde felt it would be wise to take her former foe's words to heart; it's not like she could tell anybody about them anyways. Just then, a strange siren began echoing across Via Spectrum, the apparent sign of something important going on on Earth. Before heading to join the group in the plaza, Bynde turned to Lucius, who was still asleep, with Quetz trying to wake him.
Quetz: C'mon! How are you sleeping through this?!
----
???: Is this going to be a recurring thing? I did not expect to see you here more than once, yet alone a third time.
Lucius was sound asleep, back in Alterminus. He was nowhere close to the brink of death this time, however- he simply felt like he had arrived on that precipice so many times that he could simply make his way back. Nothing better to do when resting, right?
Lucius: I promise I'm not leaping into the line of fire to save my friends' hides. As often.
???: Why are you here now, then? It seems you are no longer requiring the gift I offered to you.
Lucius: This ring... I believe it will be a good backup option. You're still such a mysterious individual, whoever you are. I have the feeling the power behind this ring will be key to a monumental decision in the future.
???: Well, then, I cannot help but wonder why you have chosen to come back to Alterminus. Everything is in order, is it not?
Lucius: The truth is, I want answers. Again, you're incredibly mysterious, but you also seem to hold knowledge far beyond anything else I have access to. I am a scientist, after all. I want answers.
The mysterious woman seemed almost offended by this. Did Lucius touch a nerve?
???: What would you have me lay bare for you, then? The secrets of the universe itself? The origin of all creation? The essence of Drive?
Lucius: Something along those lines. Alterminus is a land of peaceful rest, correct? But I haven't seen a single sign of someone other than us here since I began showing up. Where are all these other souls?
Lucius's companion didn't respond at first, merely glancing off at the distant sunrise. Or was it sunset? Lucius contemplated each possibility... a sunset for departure, a sunrise for rebirth.
???: *sighs* To begin, I must go back to the beginning. Long before I was brought into existence, before any of us were... There was a burst of light. A gigantic explosion that brought existence to an endless sea of cosmic dust.
The woman extended a hand from her dark cloak, what little skin that showed a strange grey color. She opened her palm, and a fine spray of starry mist crowded the sky of Alterminus as if she were blowing a handful of bubbles away.
???: Tiera herself was brought into being within this void, and using this endless expanse as a home, she began bringing life to the universe, creating planets and galaxies in an attempt to express her boundless creativity. I can see in your heart you are aware of how this went.
Lucius nodded.
???: I understand. This, however, is not the whole story. We must go back even farther... to before Tiera's birth.
The dust collapsed back into the woman's hand, collapsing and condensing into a single smoldering flame. Lucius recognized the orange glow anywhere... it was the color of Drive.
???: Before even Tiera's birth, the force of Drive existed. It is not a literal energy force by any means... Drive is nothing at all like electricity, steam, or even nuclear energy. Drive is the primordial force of creation, the determination to grow and express one's self. It exists in all life, but only the most determined and motivated individuals can harness it to unleash their full potential. Tiera is no exception.
Lucius: But if Drive predates Tiera's creation, and the creation of our universe... and if she was born requiring it as sustenance... then that must mean...
???: There was something in existence before our universe.
This revelation shocked Lucius to his core. Coronid scientists had proposed a theory about the universe's demise after learning the teachings of Corona- some sort of universal collapse that would happen when the universe was at its end. This sounded like the exact opposite of the massive explosion that his spirit guide had described... Could the two be linked?
???: I do not feel it is unheard of for a universe to undergo some sort of reset. In fact, I have a deep feeling that there are other universes out there that have undergone hundreds upon thousands, an endless cycle as old as the cosmos themselves. The existence of Drive before the creation of our own means that I cannot explain its true nature... but I can say with certainty that it is also tied to this realm.
The shadowy figure began pacing back and forth in the shallow water. Even though he couldn't see her face at all, Lucius could tell that this was suddenly getting more personal for her.
???: Alterminus has existed since the universe's inception, a parallel plane lying just under the veil of dreams and sleep... After all, what is death but eternal sleep? All life possesses Drive, but this is where the spirit is taken when it finally is drained of all of it... when there is nothing left to keep existing for, and the soul finally admits it is defeated. It exists as a place in which the spirit fades away, returning to cosmic dust. It's entirely possible that said dust may be reforged into new life one day, carrying faint memories along with it... That said, it's also possible that said dissolution becomes a truly final death. That's the reason you and I are the only ones here... Nobody lasts long enough to really converse with, other than you.
The two fell silent, nothing but the sounds of rippling water filling the area around them. Lucius was still taking all of this information in when his friend began to speak again.
???: The enemies you slay... They are deprived of Drive. They possess none. They are puppets commanded by the creator goddess, having barely a shred of consciousness left outside that. Their deaths are null and void, and no trace of what remains is brought to Alterminus... Lucius, your quest to defeat Tiera will destroy anyone under her sway, with no way to restore them. Is annihilating all those innocent humans under her influence truly worth it?
Lucius didn't even have to think about it.
Lucius: Yes. The entire universe is at stake. If we can save Earth... even if it results in the loss of all those twisted humans, it will be worth it.
???: Quite the change in demeanor, Lucius, from when you were so willing to throw yourself on the sword to prevent others from suffering.
Lucius: I've grown, phantom. I know what sacrifices need to be made and when to make them.
???: And what of this Fera woman? Are you willing to accept that sacrifice?
Once again, Lucius was shocked to his core. This keeper of the realm beyond death... She knew exactly how to get under his skin, break down his psyche. He didn't know how much of her understanding was from reading his emotions and how much was from personal experience.
???: I will say this much, my friend. You will have a difficult choice to make soon. I pray you make the right decision.
Lucius: Let me ask you this. Just who exactly are you? Throughout this conversation, you seem to have let it slip that you've both experienced events far beyond my understanding... yet also haven't existed for as long as Alterminus has. What exactly is your story?
Before the surprised specter could answer, Lucius felt a sharp pain in his forehead. Everything around him quickly melted to darkness, and he grunted as he opened up his eyes to see Quetz staring down at him, her eyes filled with worry.
Quetz: Finally! Geez! You were sleeping like you were dead!
Lucius: *groan* What was that for?
Quetz: It's some weird emergency broadcast! Come quick!
----
Everyone was gathered at the massive screen that typically displayed the map of Earth; now, however, Lexi was holding her hand on it as it displayed nothing but static, grunting as she tried filtering in the signal and transmitting it using her powers. It was slow-going, to say the least.
Gargan: Anyone wanna tell me why we're all just sittin' around here?
Stark: This message is being broadcast with an incredibly strong frequency none of us have ever seen before. That, combined with the fact that all transmissions across the planet are being more or less cut off, and you have a recipe for something that seems like either the doing of a member of Iliad we lost contact with... or a member of Tiera's forces.
Dalia: But why would someone working for a goddess try using a radio signal?
Lexi: I think I got it! One second-
The screen flickered and adjusted as Lexi homed in on the signal, broadcasting a clear view of the starry night sky- and three figures whose presence shocked the crowd. One was Mikhail Toronova- an agent of SYNDERS who had turned his back on the agency to serve Tiera- now garbed in white robes and a blue blindfold. The second of them was a female-looking golem, body covered in an ivory metal and with blades for hands, something none among them could identify. But the third they absolutely could- Garter, one of the Iliad members that had failed to reconvene due to splitting off from the group.
Her neck had been slit open.
Ronin: What in the- What is this?!
Everyone gazed helplessly at the surroundings of the transmission. It wasn't just Garter who was found dead lying on the ground, but almost everyone else that had gone missing or retired from working at Iliad since their founding. Pogo-san, Captain Vanhaus, Gawain Flambert, Clove... even the Drifter, an actual child. The only people left unaccounted for were Domina and Samaina- magical beings that would have been near impossible to track down- the vampire heiress Belladonna, and Queen Hildegard.
People they had come to know and love... strewn on the ground like raw meat. It was horrifying.
Toronova: Greetings, pitiful maggots known as Iliad. Or, that is, whatever we haven't managed to track down yet. The same goes for your little space-time friends too, and my ex-compatriots in SYNDERS who decided godhood was too good for them.
Hask: Hold up. That's Toronova?! What's he up to?
Nyxiel: Everyone... Why is everyone dead? What did this monster do?!
Toronova simply kept talking- he couldn't hear their responses, after all. He was merely transmitting the message with the goal of baiting them into a trap.
Toronova: I'll be brief- your friends here have been a pain in our side as well. Certainly nowhere near as much as your little god-powered conglomerate of friendship has, but enough to warrant personal execution at my hand. Look where your goody-two-shoes-ness has gotten you now, huh? A pile of dead friends and the personal ire of the creator of the cosmos!
Everyone was awestruck in their own way. Some, like Lucius and Raune, were just stunned and silent, while Nyxiel and RoJo were visibly growing furious. And then there was Phorine. The girl who had been in a stunned silence since the whole ordeal began- she couldn't handle all of this. She broke down into tiny, sparkling tears.
Bynde was the only one in the crowd not shocked at these events. She seemed too focused on the ivory golem... Something about it felt oddly familiar to her.
Toronova: This is why I'm sending out this message. I know you all want to try your darnedest to save the world and kill what you think is the big bad, but you've got it all wrong! This is all for the best... which is why I'm using this as a warning. If any of you dare show your faces on this planet, we will track you down. We will make this your fate as well. And just in case you thought you could try fighting against me like you did the last two of my colleagues-
Toronova snapped his fingers, and the golem dashed off into the distance at incredible speed, heading off towards a city in the distance. Within seconds, a blue line of light streaked across the horizon, and immediately after, one of the city's largest skyscrapers began crumbling down as if it had been sliced in half. The mystery woman appeared next to Toronova in a flash, as if no time had passed at all.
Toronova: I will not go down anywhere as easily as you think. You have been warned!
Toronova began cackling sinisterly as the transmission cut out and panic resumed among the crowd. It was a violent mixture of emotions... Fear, anger, sadness. Ronin slammed the nearest table with enough force to shatter it entirely.
Ronin: THAT SON OF A-
Raune: Ronin... Everyone... I-
Nyxiel: Lox! Stark! Leica! Play back the recording! Pinpoint the location of that city ASAP!
Quetz: But what about that scary lady in white? Won't she kill all of-
It was then that Leica Minolta, the time traveler who had been with Iliad since the beginning, rose to her feet. This girl had already withstood the chaos of Mosaic's invasion of the planet and had witness Tiera's might firsthand, breaking the laws of space and time to chase everyone into hiding. She had been silently working a support role ever since, too deep in her own personal depressive slump to say anything. Until now.
Leica: Yes, we could all be killed. But this is even more than the fate of the planet at this point. Toronova just made this personal. If that message was meant to discourage us, it failed. I don't care if Tiera is unkillable or not. I, for one, am going to tear down everything she and her little minions stand for. If humans like me or Möbius can travel through time, we can kill gods. We'll find a way.
Things quieted down before Ronin raised his hand.
Ronin: Lucius is too battered to lead the charge here. He and the others need rest after just fighting San-Sokeh. I'll take front here.
Dalia: No.
The SYNDERS agents walked to the forefront, determination sparking in their eyes. Ronin glared directly at them.
Ronin: Do you three have any idea how personal this is to us? Our friends are dead because of that man and the psychopath he works for!
Hask: So is ours. And Toronova used to be one of us, too! We've both got personal stakes here.
Dalia: I know to you guys, we might just be seen as criminals who tried toppling the world government. Granted, you would have a very real point. But that doesn't mean that we don't want this world saved just as much as you all.
Hask: Katarina was our life. She was the one who gave us purpose. She's the closest any of us in SYNDERS really had to any sort of guiding light. We made her a promise to stop her if she ever went out of control... And we're going to keep it. We're going to stop her and off the traitor who lead to her becoming this way.
Dalia: What are you gonna do, huh? Stop able-bodied people from trying to redeem themselves?
Ronin and Dalia glared at each other, the space between them nearly igniting with the tension. Eventually, Nyxiel stepped in, clearly as desperate as everyone else despite trying to appear as the voice of reason.
Nyxiel: Let them go, Ronin. This is their fight as much as ours. You three... Promise me you aren't just going to use this as an escape attempt.
Hask: No reason to, ma'am. There's nowhere to escape to.
Stark: Position locked. We're ready to go as soon as physically possible.
The three SYNDERS agents stepped into the open portal, ready to face off against their old friend-turned-nemesis. Even with forces dispatched, everyone back at the base seemed tense... as seeing the death of a multitude of sworn friends would do. As everyone solemnly returned to their various tasks, Nyxiel approached Leica with concern.
Nyxiel: Leica... Did you really mean what you said back there?
Leica: 100 percent. The love of my life is trapped in a future that may no longer exist, the entire face of reality could be obliterated in an instant, and ever since Tiera broke through my stasis field... I've felt helpless. Not anymore. She's going down.
Nyxiel: But we lost our chance to kill Tiera... It's not an option anymore-
Leica: Look around, Nyx. Everyone here wants her dead. Not sealed away, not imprisoned. Dead. I believe in everyone here... We'll find a way.
As the two women stared at each other in disbelief before turning away, Lucius silently thought back to the gift wrapped around his heart, the tool that would let him potentially give his own life away in order to save the lives of those he had just seen slain... But could it save all of them? What would his loss do to everyone else? Before all of this had happened, he would have gladly thrown away his own life to help someone else, but now... now he was paralyzed in fear.
Unbeknownst to everyone, the portal had been left open in all of the chaos and emotional turmoil, and Bynde found herself sneaking through when nobody was watching...
----
Dalia, Elton, and Itoki stepped out of the portal into the middle of the ruined city where Toronova's servant had chopped the building in half, clouds of dust still swirling through the air after the impact. They had popped out in what used to be the coastside capital of Ceralis, a nation who generated much of the world's electricity... With its infrastructure gone, life would get even worse for the human survivors still out there.
Itoki: There.
Itoki pointed her gauntlet's finger off toward the horizon. Standing tall above the ruined city was another one of those massive towers that had toppled upon the defeats of both Corona and San-Sokeh... Presumably, this was the place where Toronova was holed up.
Hask: So... we actually going to siege this thing? No attempts to escape?
Dalia: I meant what I said back there. Fleeing means death anyways. We either die failing to break into that thing, or we help save the world. We're doing this.
The trio glanced off the nearby pier, and Itoki rushed towards the water's edge, spraying a flurry of frosty gas into the sea. It froze on contact, creating a thick layer of ice on the ocean's surface; without a moment's hesitation, she began running on the trail, Dalia and Elton running right behind her. Things were going well until they got close to the tower's base... at which point they began to see small drone-like creatures patrolling the perimeter.
Dalia: I got this!
Flicking both her hands forward like guns, Dalia began sniping down the drones from far away, all the while continuing to run to their destination. After the first few went down, they became more and more aggressive, firing a few bolts of energy towards their direction. Hask went on defense, forming a shield out of iron crystals and slapping projectiles away to protect his allies. It was only a matter of time before they reached the tower's base, a tightly-packed wall of those mysterious vine things. There didn't seem to be a door... but that wasn't really a problem.
Itoki frosted up the wall with her gauntlets, and within a split second, she and Hask struck it with a synchronized punching attack, shattering a large hole in the side of the tower. As the two rushed in, Dalia took a second to notice that the severed vines stopped glowing and became duller in color, like whatever was inside them stopped flowing and began dripping out... Her thought process was stopped, however, when she heard the strange alien talk she and the others had grown to associate with Tiera's servants. Surely enough, when she looked up, a multitude of humanoid soldiers were aiming their weapons at her and the other agents, with a massive tank-like monster with floating hands glaring at them as well.
Hask: Any ideas?
Dalia: Just effin' shoot them.
Sliding across the floor, Dalia began firing away with her blasts of neon energy, piercing the chests of some of the enemies while knocking the weapons out of the hands of others. Hask rushed in with his upper arm covered in iron spikes, bashing directly into a cluster of Disciples to clear out space. Itoki, being confronted by another pair of foes, charged energy into the fingertips of her gauntlets, forming icicles at the tips; just as the enemies drew near, she slashed her hands forward, hurling the piercing spikes into their bodies and sending them away.
Scanning the room, all that was left was the massive titan in the corner, glaring at them as vents began opening in their shoulders, revealing what looked like a cluster of missiles. Nobody felt as though they had the ability to take this behemoth on... Instead, Dalia glanced over in the corner, noticing what looked like the beginning of a spiral staircase.
Dalia: Let's book it!
Rolling through the room to avoid the explosive attacks from the massive Champion, Dalia found herself getting shot across the shoulder as enemies filed down the staircase, weapons armed. Ducking around the corner of the stairs again, she charged energy within all of her fingers and hurled it up the path, the flurry of five ricocheting off the walls and piercing through the line of enemies. Motioning over to Hask and Itoki to follow her, Dalia began running upwards hoping to progress up the tower. Just as all three made it up the spiraling tunnel, however, the Champion lodged its massive body through the hole, preventing their escape. Opening its chest, it began charging up energy, presumably in a last-ditch effort to wipe them out.
Then, all of a sudden, a glowing golden wire pierced through the enemy's chest, and it was yanked back out of the tunnel as its laser cannon fired straight upwards. Itoki, the closest to the staircase's entrance, gazed out to witness Bynde leaping up into the air, diving downward to stab it directly in the head with her blade. The beast growled as it swatted away at her, launching missiles towards her location in attempts to get rid of her; Bynde simply slid away from the attacks as if she was moving in slowed time. Summoning a glowing green sphere in a burst of wind, she waited for her moment before hurling it into the depths of its core. In one final burst of intense winds, the Champion exploded, leaving behind nobody but Bynde.
Hask: Hey, it's that sword chick! What's she doing here?
Bynde waved with a smile before rushing up the staircase, barreling past all three of the agents along the way. Something was clearly motivating her past the desire to save the world.
Dalia: Who cares? Follow her!
----
Things were tense back in Malphea's lab. She had been dutifully working on the Masquera project without rest for what felt like weeks now, barely any sleep or food coming her way. She was being pushed beyond her human limits... and was nearly hitting the limits of her divine side as well. She put aside her scattered breathing and stomach pains as she rummaged her hands around the interior of the golem's body, painting over the mysterious runes inscribed within with a small wet brush to clear away debris and dust that had accumulated over the years.
Nyxiel and Inversim were in the laboratory's hidden room alongside her, helping watch over the procedure while everyone else was concerned about the death threat that had just been called in by Toronova... and the resulting loss of life his attack had incurred.
Nyxiel: I hope those SYNDERS agents actually manage to pull this off. Gah... this is so nerve-wracking...
Inversim: 
Sure, the fate of the world being in the balance was one of the reasons why Malphea was pushing herself to this breaking point- but the biggest reason was Inversim. Malphea had spent nearly her whole life looking for a place to belong in this world, feeling alone due to her powers and strange appearance. When an apparent god emerged to tell her she was his offspring... she felt as though she needed to repay him. Repay him for giving her answers she had sought for years.
Even if her body broke down in the process.
Her relationship with Sarin was one that may have already broken down, she thought. The experiment that had developed a child-like attachment to her had turned broken and scornful of her creator out of neglect, focusing all her efforts on Masquera. Was this wrong? Malphea was beginning to have second thoughts about how she had treated the girl... She was the one who broke her out of prison, after all.
Inversim: 
Malphea: What is it? She snapped back to reality upon hearing her father's voice.
Inversim: 
Malphea: Well, of course I want to do anything in my power to save Earth, and I'm eternally happy to be putting my skills to use with the plan to revive this vessel, but-
Inversim: 
Nyxiel: Mal...
Malphea: I've been reading up on ancient folklore and the remnants of whatever magic is intact inside Masquera itself. It's fading. I suppose that's to be expected, given how old this husk is, but that gives me great worry... especially considering what I've read and have been told about this golem in the first place.
The room was silent, with Inversim's single large eye closing ever so slightly... as if he were becoming angered.
Malphea: Masquera was designed to collect souls as protection in order to usher them into a new era beyond the apocalypse. It was a ferry, a transport... This was never intended to be a prison for spirits, yet alone an energy as bright and powerful as Tiera. Even if we-
Inversim: 
Malphea: Father, even if we did so, Masquera's body is literally not designed to be able to withstand this level of energy! If we seal her inside, it is only a matter of time before Tiera inevitably will break free and threaten the universe again.
Inversim: 
Malphea: I'm a scientist, father. If there is only one option, I can and will make another. As it stands, this plan is flawed. We need to rethink it!
Inversim sighed to himself. Nyxiel just looked scared, as if she were avoiding trying to upset her father anymore. A strange tickle ran down Malphea's cheek- touching her face, she saw that her gloves were now tipped in blood, implying that her built-up stress had lead to a blood vessel in her left eye popping.
Inversim: 
With that final statement, Inversim vanished in a burst of fire. Nyxiel walked up to Malphea- now breathing heavily- and put her hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
Nyxiel: I'm sorry about father.
Malphea: I know. It's just... today has been the culmination of a lot of stress, it seems. I need to take a break. Say hello to someone close to me.
Nyxiel: I'm certain that even after our last encounter, Sarin will-
Malpha turned around and swung open a nearby locker door. To Nyxiel's complete shock, behind the door was none other than the crazed, feral woman who had attempted to murder Malphea in cold blood- the near-vampiric monster Ridley.
Ridley was bound up in clear tubing that appeared to be pumping her blood elsewhere... and that was when Nyxiel noticed the vials of blood dotting the room. What was Malphea doing with the creature that had threatened her so viciously before... and why wasn't she attacking her now?
Malphea was shockingly calm as she knelt down to be at face level with Ridley, who tensed up but didn't show any signs of wanting to escape. There was still an animosity behind the eyeholes of her expressionless mask, but it was clear that something had happened to make this rage-filled destroyer at least somewhat less hostile towards her ex-lover.
Malphea: Hey there, Ridley. Thanks again for offering to do this.
Ridley: This is for the sake of the world, Malphea. Not for you.
Malphea: Fully acknowledged. But hey...
Malphea dragged her finger across the streak of blood trickling down her face and smeared it across Ridley's shoulder. The liquid seeped into the dark red suit covering her body, and the tubing surrounding her began pumping liquid more rapidly as Ridley visibly calmed down.
Malphea: Here's some of that blood you kept trying to kill me over. How's that?
Nyxiel: Malphea, how long have you had this woman down here? And for what purpose?
Ridley: I'm not down here all the time... I go out on my own patrols after dark. Tear up some of the goddess's twisted forces. Refuel on what I can. Bring the remnants back to Mal.
Malphea: Ridley's purpose here is two-fold. The tubing here is meant to distill the blood she collects in her system as fuel to help revitalize the runes giving power to Masquera, as my research into the subject has lead me to discover that she- and the Palacio de Sol technology that utilized her as a backbone- rely on "the power of the heart". I can only presume that this means blood.
Nyxiel: And the other?
Ridley: She thinks she can rehabilitate me. Like I'd trust this wretch with my life again.
Malphea: I have the technology to finally filter out the disease that has been plaguing Ridley's body... the reason I put her on ice in the first place. I have the tools to bring her back to normal, restore her faith in me, let her know that I still care for her.
Ridley: You abandoned me in cryogenic stasis for years. You lead to the loss of my memory. It will take more than platitudes to undo the years of hatred that have spent boiling in my body over you.
Malphea turned to Nyxiel, a sorrowful yet determined expression on her face.
Malphea: And this is why I'm so conflicted over my fath- Inversim's plan with this vessel. I want to make him proud of his lost daughter, yes... but I want to create a world where I can undo the hatred surrounding the ones I love. A world free from the threat and fear of Tiera. A world where Ridley and I can be... like we used to.
Ridley lunged her neck forward, detaching the tubing. As the empty pipes dripped blood down onto the floor, the masked woman turned to face Malphea before she left the laboratory.
Ridley: I appreciate that sentiment, but I'm certain other people you've wronged would also like to hear that. Like that little acid-spewing creation of yours, for instance. She could probably like some time with her "mother" more than you think.
Ridley rushed out of the lab like a crimson phantom, dripping blood along the way. Nearly motionless, the two daughters of Inversim turned to each other.
Nyxiel: So... what now? After all this, and with everyone else up in arms about not being able to kill Tiera and get what they see as revenge...
Malphea: I'm going to go talk with Sarin. Give her a hug.
Malphea stroked Masquera's empty vessel, running her hand along the runes before placing her hand where the heart would be.
Malphea: I've been a bad mom.
The two sisters left the laboratory to take a break and try healing their troubled hearts with the rest of the group... but as the lighting in the laboratory dimmed, a faint spark arose inside the vessel of Masquera. The crystalline core at the center of her being grew a bit brighter... the power of the heart beginning to course through it once more.
----
Toronova stood on top of the mighty tower that signified his dominion over the land, loyal servant by his side. He felt an unimaginable surge of pride sweep through his body- siding with that creepy goddess lady was the best thing to have ever happened to him. Toronova had been a man in search of power almost his entire life, and his career had done nothing but skyrocket on his ruthless pursuit of that power. From offing his father in order to become the heir of his investment firm, to joining with Katarina in her quest for world unity and gaining immense funding and power in the process, to now being one step away from the divine... It was the dream of all humankind to reach the heights he was now standing at. He had even managed to come away with the deal with one of his most hated adversaries working under him.
At this rate, Toronova could very well usurp Tiera herself one day... He began chuckling to himself as delusions of divine grandeur began to fill his head. He had sent out an ultimatum preventing his greatest enemies from pursuing him. There was literally nothing left in his path to stop him from-
Suddenly, the floor burst open some distance behind him, startling him and causing him to flail wildly in panic- the Executioner, of course, standing perfectly still. Turning around, he sensed the charred bodies of a few Disciples get flung out of the hole as an all-too-familiar mechanical hand grabbed the edge, pulling up not one, but three of his former comrades in SYNDERS... and one of the mystery individuals that had been there when that Notozawa brat cut his eyes out. The quartet found their footing before locking eyes with Toronova, summoning up their powers to prepare for combat.
Dalia: Well, well. Long time no see.
Toronova: That certainly feels a bit insensitive for the man with a blindfold, don't you think?
Hask: You demolished an entire city as a threat to the people trying to save it. You don't get to play that card.
Bynde nocked an arrow in her bow as the quartet began walking slowly forward. Toronova, feeling threatened, began walking backwards, maintaining the distance between the two groups.
Toronova: So you're here instead of Iliad and those other goons... or whatever they call themselves now. We used to be allies! Why must you turn on me now?
Dalia: Because SYNDERS was established to make the world a better place for everyone. It was about making a family out of shared chaos and strife. You don't seem like you care about that anymore.
Hask: Definitely not after you sold out Katarina to that monster just for more power. You don't care about anyone but yourself, Toronova. This just proves that. Now surrender before we give you what you actually deserve.
Toronova stretched his hands outward as if he was surrendering, turning his face to the ground. Everything was silent... before his expression shifted from scared to sinister.
Toronova: Engage hostiles.
The Executioner flared to life, her bladed arms glinting in the sunset as she darted straight for Itoki on the left. Not missing a second, Bynde let her arrow fly at Toronova, quickly dashing to the side in order to parry and intercept the Executioner's blow with her own sword. The two blades glanced off to the left, missing Itoki narrowly. Caught off guard, Dalia and Elton both blasted away at Toronova with neon and metal projectiles, but the robed maniac leaped high into the air as if suspended by magic.
Back on her feet, Itoki's gauntlet flared up with a burst of frigid smoke as she shoved her hand towards the Executioner's neck. The ivory golem dodged the attack with lightning-fast speed, countering with an elbow strike to the chest before raising her arm for a downward slash. Bynde, keeping in time with its movements, parried the blow, fighting against the Executioner with all her strength before striking her leg with a sweeping kick, knocking them back. The two stared at each other intently, as if the two mute individuals were communicating telepathically... Then, the faceless warrior turned towards Dalia and Hask, both attempting to strike down Toronova from the skies.
Hask: Get down here, coward!
Toronova: Why should I? I have people to do these things for me!
The Executioner darted towards the pair, blade arms to the sides as they glided over the floor as if defying gravity. Thinking quickly, Bynde pulled out the Holy Wire and swung it forward, the glowing golden thread sailing through the air and wrapping around the target's waist. Bynde pulled back as hard as she could, only barely managing to slow the Executioner down. That quick moment was all she needed, however, as while the ivory warrior turned around to sever the wire with her blade, Dalia turned around and shoved her palm forward, firing off a shotgun-like blast of neon bolts. Spinning around in midair, the Executioner deflected the barrage, shots ricocheting in all directions and grazing past the tubing on Itoki's back. As she iced up her wound, she got into position, the four warriors surrounding their foe.
Toronova: *laughs* This is just delicious.
Hask: Shut up, you monster.
Hask formed a shield out of iron crystal and rushed in towards the Executioner, Itoki's gauntlets surrounded in freezing gas as she joined in as well. Their foe was quick to retaliate, attempting to slash through Hask's shield in a single blow; while the attack merely knocked him backwards, they were quick to evade the blast of ice from Itoki's hands, which further coated the shield. Flipping over her back, the Executioner pierced Itoki's back with her blade arms, the resulting sickening squelch and scream of pain being followed by a second flip to throw her directly into Hask, knocking them both over.
Toronova: Nothing personal!
Bynde pulled out her bow again, taking aim straight at the face of who she was certain was the person she was so concerned about. Dalia, now enraged from both exposure to Toronova and seeing Hask and Itoki get hurt, was much more eager to kill, charging up massive balls of energy in her hands and thrusting them forward. The Executioner kept dodging and making her way towards Dalia, getting struck directly in the side of the head by one of the spheres and barely even flinching. Up close and personal with Dalia, the silent swordswoman brought her arm down swiftly, just barely being knocked off-course by Bynde's arrow. Had it not been for that shot, Dalia would have been killed instantly; as it stood, the woman merely fell to the ground in pain, a red crescent across her chest blossoming as she fell to the ground.
Toronova: And then there was one! This is what that whole warning was for, you imbeciles! This is why you don't stand in the way of Mikhail Toronova!
Bynde stared down the Executioner, the side of her head that had been struck with Dalia's high-powered attack now shattered. Underneath the ivory armor was the body of Osuna Meadows, the Iliad agent who had sacrificed herself to keep everyone else safe... meaning that this shell was, in fact, remnants of the Seeker's Blade, twisted into a weapon for Tiera to utilize. All that was visible of Osuna's real body was some of her pinkish hair and one eye, which looked dazed and glazed over with a blue hue. Bynde could faintly hear her friend whispering a short phrase over and over...
Osuna: Not worthy... Not worthy...
That must have been it. Only Bynde was supposed to be able to wield this sword... Tiera's own influence, combined with the trauma of constant contact with the magical artifact, must have forced Osuna into this state. Bynde only had one option, something to snap her out of this trance for good...
Before she could engage her plan, Osuna summoned forth a multitude of duplicates of the Seeker's Blade, an augmentation of the blade-summoning abilities she had possessed when Bynde had first met her. Being pelted by twisted copies of her own weapon, Bynde dove out of the way as the first blades impaled themselves at her position, putting up her own weapon in retaliation. She parried the first few projectiles, then paused a moment to gather energy in another of her relics that she had acquired; standing fast as more blades scraped past her body, the Ancient's Horn around her belt began glowing, and she charged forward with a burst of momentum to close the gap between the two. Osuna's arms swung downward, and Bynde quickly blocked the blow, but the unrelenting assault that followed was almost too much for her to follow.
The strikes came so fast that Bynde needed to pull out all the stops to block them- using the limited powers of the Shard of Starlight, which had been waning ever since she lost her sword, she paused time for just a split second every attack in order to get into position to block the next one. It was the most she could do while she waited for her opening.
Osuna: Not... worthy...
Every strike seemed to coincide with another memory of the time Bynde and Osuna had spent together... While short, it had impacted the warrior greatly.
Osuna (flashback): Nyxiel tells me you came from a farm on the moon? And you have some kind of godly powers? That's amazing. Meanwhile, what am I? A girl who got hurt in a fire and got a weird prosthetic that lets me make swords. Not even anything useful half the time. Just swords.
One strike.
Osuna (flashback): Sometimes I wonder if fit in with everyone else here... Everyone else is a hero who helped save the world in some way or another. I'm nothing compared to that, but they still consider me a proud member of Iliad.
Two more strikes.
Osuna (flashback): Bynde? You're living proof to me that I belong here... and I'm proof you guys do too. You're a part of Iliad.
One final strike. Osuna lifted her arms up for a guard-crushing blow, exposing her chest and torso.
Osuna (flashback): I'm here for you. Things may be scary, and you may have trouble expressing that, but there's nothing to fear. We've got you.
Seeing her chance, Bynde thrust her arm forward at extreme speed into her friend's torso, channeling the power of the Ancient's Horn to increase the blow's power. Staggered, Osuna was forced backward, only for Bynde to leap forward and grab the edge of the breach in her armor. Pulling with all her might, she tore off the outer layer, exposing Osuna's full face... The ivory material of the blade had managed to merge into some of her skin, including the side of her head. Despite both that and her dazed, sorrowful expression, she was genuinely beautiful. All this talk about not being worthy wasn't true- to Bynde, Osuna was one of the kindest, most selfless people she had ever met throughout her long journey, a truly worthy hero in spite of everything she was saying now.
Before Osuna or Toronova could react to what was going on, Bynde leaned in and kissed Osuna on the mouth.
Toronova: What is this?! Slice her in two!
Osuna didn't react to Toronova's command, her expression that of shock as clarity seemed to return to her eyes. Seizing the opportunity, Bynde reached into a glowing point on Osuna's stomach, summoning all the energy she could and pulling hard. As the armor around Osuna began to lose luster and crumble away, a twisting, glowing blade grew out of her body- the Seeker's Blade being restored to its original form, Tiera's blood being purged from both it and Osuna's system. With one final pull, Bynde reclaimed her blade, and the Executioner's shell broke away as Osuna collapsed to the ground.
Toronova: No... no, no no No NO NO NONONONO!!
Bynde ignored Toronova as she knelt down to check on her friend. She was quick to notice that Osuna's mechanical hand was entirely gone, seemingly being replaced by a replica made out of the same material as her sword and the other patches around her body. Before she could examine further, Osuna began coughing as she came back to her senses, rubbing her eyes before looking up and Bynde with a sweet smile.
Osuna: You... you came back for me?
Bynde nodded as she helped her friend to her feet- she supposed the jig was up on exposing how she truly felt about the woman she admired so much. Osuna looked down at her ivory hand, then ran her organic one down the side of her head.
Osuna: Well, then... Out of all my years working to help the world, I never imagined something like this would happen. Bynde... thank you for bringing me back to myself. For not giving up on me. I knew that faith in you wasn't misplaced.
The two women smiled at each other before catching on to Toronova's tantrum in the distance, turning to face him. Now on the ground, he was shaking with rage, his blindfold opening up to reveal a brilliantly glowing blue eye.
Toronova: My Executioner... How dare you betray me! I am one of the great servants of Tiera! You're all supposed to bow down before me!
Osuna: Mikhail Toronova... you've used and abused me mentally and physically for almost a month at this point. You've used me as a tool for destruction and annihilation of the human race. I once told your comrades in SYNDERS that Iliad doesn't kill...
Osuna looked down at Hask, Itoki, and Dalia, all three lying on the ground trying to recover from their wounds.
Osuna: But you've crossed the line to something beyond human. For the good of humanity, I, Osuna Meadows of the Iliad Organization, will end your miserable, pathetic existence.
Toronova snapped his fingers, summoning a large scythe-like weapon bigger than his whole body. His eye shone with a malevolent light as he prepared himself for battle.
Toronova: You'll see, wretch! You'll all see! I'M THE GREATEST BEING IN THE UNIVERSE!
Osuna: The way I see it, you're nothing more than a parasite.
Osuna flexed her ivory hand, summoning a multitude of blades around her. Bynde, gripping the fully-restored Seeker's Blade in her hand, stood by her side, grinning confidently as she prepared to fight alongside her newly rescued ally.
Osuna: It's time to cut you off.
----
Enraged, Toronova lunged towards towards the two women, floating over the ground as if being strung along like a puppet. His scythe clashed with Bynde's sword, the two weapons sparking as they collided with each other. Osuna tried taking the opportunity to pierce through his heart right then and there, but he chickened out at the last second, pulling back to avoid the dual blows. Osuna forced her hand forward, summoning more phantom blades to pursue him, but he wildly flailed his weapon around his body with a manic expression on his face, seemingly more focused on defense than offense.
Bynde summoned a Gale Bomb from the aether, the swirling green orb shaking with the power of wind stored inside it. The heroine hurled the explosive towards Toronova, who sliced through it and released the vortex within. He was blasted backwards in an almost comical fashion, but caught himself in midair, the blade of his weapon glowing brightly.
Toronova: Try dealing with this!
The maniac sliced through the air repeatedly, firing off wave after wave of energy at his assailants. Bynde and Osuna both dodged in different directions, with Toronova pursuing the latter; the more he slashed, the more his attacks lashed away at the ground, carving up the roof of the massive plant-like tower. Bynde fired off an arrow right at Toronova's head, but it just barely grazed him, cutting off a few strands of hair as he turned around to face her. His blindfold opened up wider and wider to reveal his glowing eye once again, his smile growing larger as well.
Toronova: You really think tactics like that are going to wor-
In that split second of gloating, Bynde followed through on the lesson her quest in Kalidia had taught her- always go for the eye.
Toronova recoiled as an arrow was shot directly into his exposed eye, his head snapping back as the divine energy he was charging for an attack spiraled into the sky and carved a path through the clouds. In a grunt of pain, he tore the wooden shaft of the projectile from the socket, the glow within revealing that there wasn't even an eye left in there, just a sphere of godly energy. Sensing his distress, Osuna snapped her fingers, summoning a field of blade around him in the air that all pointed towards him before zooming inwards.
At the very last second, Toronova regained his composure, striking a pose with his scythe that managed to deflect every single projectile at once. Panting wildly, he swung his blade over towards Osuna, an absolutely massive beam of energy forcing her to dodge to the side. He then flew down over to Bynde's position, presumably too hyperfocused on her damaging his eye to play defensively anymore. Though his strikes were simplistic- Bynde had had way more trouble parrying Osuna's blows- there was an incredible amount of power behind them, and that paralytic light shining from his empty socket was slowly but surely sapping her strength. She needed to think of something, fast...
Osuna: You leave here alone, you monster!
One of Osuna's phantom blades floated into the air above Toronova's head as he prepared a massive upwards slash to cleave Bynde in two; rather than the rush of his scythe through the air, Toronova felt his weapon get caught on the floating blade, and as he looked up to see what was wrong, Bynde took the opportunity to slash at his arms, cutting off his right forearm as Toronova backed away in a shriek of pain... The severed arm crashed to the floor and shattered like crystal, a sign that its owner had long surpassed humanity.
Enraged, Toronova took to the skies, lifting his one free arm as his scythe left his hands and began spiraling above him. As Osuna summoned more blades to her side and Bynde drew yet another arrow, the spinning scythe began to conjure a strange magic circle around it, making it clear that their foe was planning some sort of climactic finishing move.
Toronova: For TOO LONG, I have been looked down upon and disrespected! I have had to use fear and manipulation to get the prestige that I DESERVE! BUT NO MORE! NOW I SHOW THE WORLD MY TRUE FEROCITY! TODAY I KILL YOU ALL!
Away from all the fighting, however, the three agents of SYNDERS who had been injured in the fight were recuperating off to the side, having finally gotten their energy back. The trio looked up to the sky, seeing their former ally-turned-enemy floating in midair and cackling madly. With a grunt, Dalia leaned upward, using Elton and Itoki as support as she raised her hand towards Toronova.
Dalia: Nothing... personal.
Dalia fired out a single blast of neon energy towards Toronova, the glowing projectile streaking through the sky and ricocheting off of the target's robes. Toronova turned to the three agents, his expression that of someone who had completely lost his mind.
Toronova: Is that really all you can muster?!
Dalia simply pointed upwards, smiling a confident smile. Before Toronova realized what was happening, he felt a sharp sensation travel from his head down to his feet- his concentration broken by the tiny projectile and need to gloat about his own status as divine, the scythe that had been charging up for his massive final attack fell down through the air, slicing him completely in half. As his weapon clanged on the floor below before disintegrating into dust, he glanced down at his body, the central seam in the middle glowing bright blue was the cracks spread out to his extremities. He tried to let out one last scream, but in that instant, the energy built up within him exploded outward, scattering the now-crystalline pieces of his fractured body to the wind. Toronova was gone, and with him, the lifeforce of the tower seemed to fade as well.
Osuna and Bynde caught their breath as the three agents of SYNDERS began laughing alongside each other. Maybe it was just delirium from being injured so badly, but being the ones to take down their former ally like this felt like something they should be celebrating. Maybe now they had finally redeemed themselves.
Osuna: Wait... are those the other SYNDERS agents? What are you three doing here?
Hask: Helping save the world! Gotta earn back trust somehow.
Dalia: Don't complain, missy. We've been fighting on and off for years and you're saved thanks to us. Well, and the sword girl over there. Didn't know she had a thing for you!
Osuna turned to Bynde, who glanced off to the horizon and blushed. As Dalia tapped her communications device to signal home base in Via Spectrum of their mission's success, Osuna looked off towards the city in the horizon. That massive slash through the buildings... She knew that was her. If Bynde and the others hadn't come to her rescue, she would have been responsible for infinitely more destruction at Toronova- and Tiera's- command. Right now, Osuna was just happy to be herself again. She knew that even after all of this, she could still be a hero... she could turn the tide of the war against Tiera.
Tiera: 
Everybody turned around, back towards the center of the previous battle's arena, to see Tiera herself floating above the ground, her aurora-like wings spread wide. She held her hand out, remnants of Toronova's body fluttering away in the wind, before turning to face the party directly. Bynde slid in front of the group, sword drawn in order to protect them.
Hask: Sweet mother of- now we've got the head honcho to deal with?!
Osuna: You... What are you doing here?
Tiera: 
Osuna: You still aren't at full strength, then...
Tiera: 
Dalia: So I guess latching onto our boss and sucking her dry wasn't enough for you, was it?
Tiera: 
The ground began trembling as the Feygrove slowly started breaking apart; soon, it would collapse underneath all of their feet.
Osuna: We're trying to save humankind from your tyranny. The universe is better off without you!
Tiera: 
Itoki: What do you mean?
Tiera: 
Everyone was silent, the astronomic number of casualties that would stem from their goal weighing down upon them. Nothing but the crackling of the decaying ground below them was heard... and then the SYNDERS agents helped each other to their feet as Osuna glared at the goddess of creation before them.
Osuna: We're willing to put that on the line. Your victory will mean an infinitely higher amount of deaths. Humanity is strong enough to return from this struggle. Will you be?
Tiera: 
Tiera rushed in towards the group, arm outstretched in an attempt to grab at least one of them and choke their life out. Bynde slashed the palm of her hand as she drew near... and then something coursed through Tiera's body that she did not expect.
Pain.
In complete and utter shock, Tiera teleported far, far away, leaving behind nothing more than an echoing scream rippling across the sea. Everyone, Bynde in particular, was incredibly confused.
Hask: Did she just... show up and then immediately leave? What an anticlimax.
Osuna: Whatever happened, her being gone is a blessing. Now how do we get out of here?
The return portal back to Via Spectrum opened up nearby the group, who all rushed inside to get to safety. Osuna took one look back at the destruction around her as the tower began fully breaking apart, then jumped in. Three of Tiera's generals were now dead. Just one more... then her. Then this would all be over.
----
The group of five arrived back in their home base in a heap, having fallen on top of each other in their hurry to escape the collapsing tower. Everyone was standing around with bated breath to see how the mission had turned out... and then Ronin broke the silence.
Ronin: Osuna... You're-
Osuna got up from the pile and dusted herself off, tears twinkling in her eye as she looked at all of the friends she had thought she'd never see again.
Osuna: I'm here, everyone. It's great seeing you all again.
The moment of silence continued before Nyxiel ran up and gave Osuna a massive hug, sobbing softly. The expression of relief was followed up with practically everyone from the Iliad Organization, everyone being incredibly happy to see their missing comrade returned to them.
Nyxiel: We thought... We thought we lost you!
Osuna: Thank Bynde... and these three. They got me back to feeling myself.
Ronin and Lucius turned to Dalia, Elton and Itoki, who were untangling themselves from the heap. Lexi had come down from her workspace in order to ensure everyone was alright, shocking behavior from the people who had put her through so much through the years. Their victory over Toronova was clear of something aside from the fact that victory was just within reach- they had redeemed themselves of their past actions, at least enough to prove they weren't entirely morally bankrupt. Ronin took his hat off to the three agents- maybe there would be work for them in the future.
Eventually, everyone was concentrating around the portal, even the reclusive Möbius and Malphea. The celebration of victory over the third of Tiera's generals was one thing, but to have Osuna back was another. Inversim even showed up in a whirl of flame, intent on enjoying the celebration.
Inversim: 
Osuna: What on Earth is that?
Nyxiel: *chuckle* That's right. I never introduced you to dad!
Möbius: I promise, Inversim's a lot nicer than he looks. You'd think trying to ask a wrath deity to allow romantic relations with his daughter would be a lot more lethal than it turned out to be.
Osuna: You know what? I've seen so many surreal things at this point that I've just gone numb to it. Pleasure to meet you, Inversim.
Inversim: 
Malphea: ...Excuse me, Osuna?
Malphea parted the crowd and ran up to Osuna, interrupting Inversim yet again. The scientist seemed curious in the parts of Osuna's body that had transformed due to overexposure to the Seeker's Blade, rubbing the side of her head with her hand before grabbing Osuna's own transformed hand by the wrist to examine it. Despite feeling smooth and metallic, Osuna noted that she actually had a sense of touch to it, something that she didn't have with her older prosthetic hand- it felt surreal.
Malphea: What in the world happened to your body? This material... it's unnatural!
Osuna: It's Bynde's sword. I was sort of sealed up in armor Tiera made out of it, and I suppose after a month, the material started merging with my actual skin. I just kept getting weird visions of people in white cloaks telling me I wasn't worthy of something... I think whatever it was was magic.
Lucius: Bynde's sword... Wait. Wasn't that the thing that could hurt Tiera last time we encountered her?
Hask: About that- she actually showed up again. Sword girl apparently hurt her to the extent that she left us alone.
Möbius: She has it again?!
The crowd suddenly grew restless as Bynde proudly revealed the Seeker's Blade, the legendary weapon created by the gods of Kalidia back in its rightful hands. While everyone else simply seemed shocked, Inversim's own mask-like visage shifted slightly to that of a fearful concern.
Lucius: Everyone... Bynde has given us the tool capable of harming even the divine. We can finally-
Inversim: 
Malphea: Actually, father, if you'd allow me a quick analysis...
In a single fluid motion, Malphea whipped out a knife and lopped off a flake of metal from Osuna's transformed hand. Though the woman yelped in pain, Malphea was already hunched over the nearest table, pulling down a pair of goggles and zooming in on the flake to check it on a microscopic level.
Malphea: Trace amounts of iron, cobalt, platinum, steel alloy, and diamond, heavily compressed together. Structure takes on osseous formation akin to bone and contains both double-helix and triple-helix strands of DNA. Double-helix is probably Osuna's own genetic structure, triple-helix may be from an unknown creature in Bynde's homeworld. Both codes should be replicable with enough time. Infused with heavy amounts of what appears to be Drive energy...
Nyxiel: Mal, what's all this about?
Malphea: We have both Bynde's sword and extraneous material that has been metamorphosized into it through either magical interaction or exposure to Drive energy. I now know the fundamental materials that will allow me to replicate this substance exactly. And we know this material is capable of harming Tiera.
Malphea turned to everyone, looking directly at Inversim with what could almost be described as a smirk.
Malphea: I just found a way for us to be able to kill her.
Inversim: 
Möbius: Why don't you ask the timestream what it thinks?
In response to Möbius's query, everyone took a look at the massive beam of light in the middle of Via Spectrum's plaza. A trail which tracked the split choices a timeline could make, this pillar had been entirely static since Tiera's takeover, her ensured existence meaning that all outcomes lead to the same fate... her dominion over a reality entirely owned by her. Now, however, as if the ability to actually harm Tiera had given them a fighting chance, the timeline split into two. One path continued completely straight, while the new path began bisecting more and more, until the exponential choices on said path blossomed into one half of a magnificent tree.
It was as clear as day- they had the ability to end the threat of Tiera once and for all.
Fera had been sitting outside her apartment for hours in silence, coming to terms with everything she had been remembering over the past day or so. As soon as that flicker of a memory had returned to her, everything else followed suit. More than the massive events, like defeating Corona or getting sent to this universe by Nyxiel. All the little things that made up her life, too.
In her old life, she remembered having a passion for action flicks and espionage novels. Things influenced by her military upbringing and desire to be a heroine in her own right. Since coming here, though, she had been way more invested in romance novels. Maybe it was just something she picked up after falling in love with Aurora at that resort a few years back. She also remembered she used to be a ravenous meat eater, shirking off the fact Terrans like her had naturally flat teeth to get the sweet nutrients out of some chicken on the regular. Now, though, she ate a lot more balanced foods.
What had caused this? Was it Nyxiel's Drive inhibitor tampering with her behavior to make her act less aggressive and less likely to break out of its influence? Or was the loss of her memories really changing her that significantly?
She thought back to her old friends and family on Terra. Kobol and Teryx, her two best friends in the force... She had set them up on a date just before all these crazy shenanigans had begun. Then Gangue, her commander, sent her off to fight for supremacy over the massive superplanet because she tried to dissuade him from sending the military in to conquer it entirely. She tried to recall her mother and brother, even just a tiny detail... but nothing about them seemed to come to mind. She supposed that was just something that needed to return with time.
She pounded her fingers to her forehead as she drummed up as many memories as possible. That time she and Kobol had crashed into the side of his mom's house as kids trying to drive their hovercar. The first day after she was accepted into Terran military academy. The first time she ever met Lucius, putting him under arrest and assuming he was just some crazy wackjob. How wrong she was...
And then... she was back on Coronite, sitting in the middle of the desert facing some grey alien with a giant pair of scissors on his back.
Fera: I didn't want any of this. I stood up for what I thought was right and... And now everybody on this forsaken rock is stuck here fighting for their lives. All because of me...
Xyzor: I'll say this now, Terran. You have nothing to be at fault for here.
Fera: No, I-
Xyzor: You stood up for your beliefs. You showed courage in the face of something you thought was wrong and the result turned out to be this pointless conflict. You yourself are not the cause of this. If I had acted as you did, perhaps I would not be here... But I do not believe this event is your fault.
How much of this whole event was her fault? What had needed her to be shut away in another dimension from her home-
Nyxiel: The "Mother" that you heard about from the fairy is Tiera. She's the entity that created the entirety of the Pyroverse over the remains of some old, dying one... You are in essence, the perfect cocktail to create Drive. And that's what Tiera wants. The fact that you have so much Drive means you're the perfect vessel for Tiera- her mother- to inhabit and regain her powers.
Tiera.
That one piece of the puzzle snapped everything into place for her. She was thrown away from her home universe in order to keep her and whatever this Drive was- she assumed that her Ultimate Form had something to do with it- away from Tiera, who wanted her power to conquer reality. She couldn't help but feel that, somewhere out in the cosmos, her friends were in trouble thanks to Tiera.
But were they really her friends at this point?
Lucius, Gargan, Raune, Retron, everyone she was now remembering so vividly... They felt so distant now. They were quite literally worlds apart now, Fera having become an entirely different person in so many ways. She had gone through so much with the people in this world, especially with Aurora, that now she felt like she had become distant from these people she was now trying to help, and it was beginning to tear her up inside.
No.
Fera was a hero. It didn't matter whether or not she had become a different person than she once was. It was her duty to protect everyone she could. She would crawl her way back to her home dimension by any means necessary, stop Tiera from doing her wicked deeds, and then reconcile with everyone else later.
Aurora: Fera, is everything okay?
Aurora walked down the sidewalk, sitting down next to Fera on the steps up to the door and pecking her on the cheek. A warm fuzzy feeling drifted through her body as she realized what leaving this universe behind could entail... She could lose Aurora forever. She had to come clean about this.
Fera: No, not really. There's a lot on my mind after all of this.
Aurora: It'll be alright! Trust me, there's nothing the two of us can't handle!
Fera: What about interdimensional transport and amnesia?
Aurora went from cheery and optimistic to stunned and silent. Fera stood up, holding her girlfriend's hand gently.
Fera: Aurora, I'm from another reality. I was sent here without my memories in order to protect existence from a powerful threat that wanted to use my body to destroy everything. And now that all these memories are returning, I can't help but feel like I need to return there. Somehow.
The two women were entirely silent, staring deep into each others' eyes.
Fera: I know this sounds absolutely insane and you probably want to throw me in the mental hospital now, but-
Aurora: I'll help.
Fera: I... Huh?
Aurora: Fera, we've fought gods together. I went through the bowels of a divine spaceship to rescue you. We've seen insane battles that go beyond the limits of imagination. So when someone I trust and care about tells me something like this is gnawing at the back of your mind... I can't do anything but believe you.
Fera: Aurora, I could potentially lose you forever if I try doing something like this. Are you-
Aurora: Then I'll come with you!
Fera: What? No, no, I can't ask you to do this. You're from this world, you can't just abandon it for me!
Aurora: I'd rather give it up than lose you.
Fera sighed as she put her hands on Aurora's shoulders, cracking a smile.
Fera: I can't argue with you. Come on, I think I know what we need to do.
The most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex.~
Inversim: 
All of the celebration died down almost immediately. The thought that with this sword reobtained, they would finally be able to slay the being threatening all of reality with her immense might and power- dashed in a single word.
Inversim: 
Malphea: Father, I told you if I found a way to solve this issue without resorting to sealing Tiera away, I would pursue it. This weapon has fallen right into our hands, and now you're saying-
Inversim: 
Lucius: What is this, Inversim? Why are you so adamant about this being our only option? We've been pursuing your goal of sealing her away all this time, and yet that timeline over there seems to imply our only chance of changing any of this... averting any sort of bad future... lies in ending Tiera completely. Why are you so scared of this?!
Nyxiel: Lucius! Mal! Stand down!
Nyxiel rushed to the forefront of the crowd, urging her friends to calm down as she faced her father dead-on. Her expression was a mixture of confusion and concern, while Inversim's mask-like face was as blank as ever, only his tone dictating his emotions.
Nyxiel: Father... We're all working towards the same common goal. We should not be fighting amongst each other like this. You need to understand that for everyone here, for one reason or another... The goddess's death is the reason they've been fighting all this time.
Inversim: 
Nyxiel: That was when our plan was to prevent her from obtaining a host entirely, when it was possible to defeat Katarina and seal away the dying husk Tiera had devolved into. Things have changed! We need to change the plans along with them!
Malphea: I ran the numbers literally in front of you, Inversim. This plan will not work.
Gargan: Is there something like... If she dies, the universe blows up?
Inversim: 
Gargan: So what's the problem then, chief?! Are you just a coward? You don't wanna slug with her because you think you'll lose?
Osuna: Gargan...
Stark: No! The big red guy's right! We have plenty of evidence that offing this glowy blue monster once and for all is the only way to restore Earth to the way it was!
Ronin: Inversim, the Iliad Organization was founded to protect Earth first and foremost. Tiera is a threat to it. No god or goddess or whatever will stop us from fulfilling our mission.
Lucius walked to the front of the crowd, standing alongside Nyxiel.
Lucius: Inversim... we're going to do this. You can't stop us.
In a sudden burst of anger, Inversim tensed up his body, releasing a shockwave of heat that physically pushed back many of the team members. His tapestry-like wings flared up behind his body, making him look infinitely more imposing as the flames inside his body flared up to twice their normal ferocity. Inversim's fatherly benevolence was gone... This intervention had been the last straw for him.
Inversim: 
Nyxiel: Father!
Inversim: 
Both Bynde and Vessa looked at each other, suddenly terrified of the implication that they had only been called to join this battle as little more than cannon fodder. The pair then turned to Nyxiel, who silently turned away as if she couldn't bear to face either of them.
Lucius: You can't just-
Inversim: 
Everyone panted in fear, Inversim's rage having suppressed the excitement entirely. The deity had been such a helpful and genuinely noble spirit as long as everyone on the team had known him... but now, in this moment, he was just as terrifying as Tiera herself. His flames died down as he returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
Inversim: 
In a shower of embers, Inversim teleported away, causing everyone to fall silent as they tried to process what had just happened. Osuna and Bynde held each other by the shoulders as they walked over to the hot spring, Vessa following along. Gargan, Retron, and Raune all looked at each other with sad expressions, sighing as they walked off to who knew where. Lexi and the SYNDERS agents walked off as well, and soon the crowd had thinned out considerably. Quetz, ever the heavy sleeper, poked her head up from behind the staircase nearby.
Quetz: Hey, guys! What'd I miss? ...Oh.
Aysu slid down from the nearby rafters, approaching a solemnly reflecting Lucius.
Aysu: Well, Lucius? What are your orders?
Lucius: Are you really asking me this after what we just went through?
Aysu: Inversim may have brought us together, but he is by no means our leader. My duty is to follow your orders, not his.
Nyxiel: Are we really doing this now? Mutiny?
Malphea placed her hand on Nyxiel's shoulder.
Malphea: Nyx, you have to realize that your father has some ulterior motive right now. The way he's acting... He's throwing you and everyone else in the dirt. Treating them horribly.
Nyxiel: No, he... He just...
Aysu: Trust me, Lady Nyxiel. I can tell when a parental figure has distrust or resentment of their child. I've been a tool for my own my entire life.
Nyxiel: You're right. But regardless of whatever is going on with my father, Tiera is still the biggest threat. We need to focus on taking down the last of her generals, and then deal with her. Lucius?
Lucius took a deep breath. Wouldn't be the first time he screwed around with a god.
Lucius: Malphea, play along for now, but do research into Bynde's sword and that metal while in hiding. If things truly do turn sour... we need that backup option. Everyone else continues what we started... clearing the path to Tiera herself.
The four placed their hands together in unison, with Quetz flying over to join in as well. From this point onward, they were committed to this plan, wrath of the gods be darned. They had a mission to accomplish.
Get their perfect ending, or die trying.
----
Tiera: 
Following her encounter with the pests on top of Toronova's Feygrove, now the third of four symbols of her rule that had been destroyed, Tiera was back in her throne room, clutching her hand with disbelief. The wound across her palm was glowing brightly, dripping Feyblood onto the ground with light splattering noises. It wasn't that deep a wound, all things considered, and she had done worse to her own body in trying to spread her influence.
But that was the issue. Someone else had done this. The very infestation she had tried to dispose of had found a way to harm her.
As the veins plugged into her back pumped energy through her fortress, siphoned from the life of the planet itself, the wound slowly closed and restored to its proper shape... albeit much slower than Tiera would have liked. The defeat of three of her four generals did more than remove valuable pawns and defensive tools, but also ensured that her supply of energy was being rapidly cut off. If she didn't exterminate the little resistance that Inversim had created, returning to her full power would be nigh impossible.
She was the mother of all creation. Someone like that shouldn't have been able to hurt her at all... But here Tiera was, bleeding profusely. A scar from a battle that should not have caused her harm.
Tiera: 
The situation was dire, and the last of the guardians Tiera still had would require extra persuasion to deal with effectively. Shifting her visage back to that of her host body, the goddess summoned a holographic communications device, linking her directly with the man named Saipha Notozawa. His expression had turned all the more hollow and sunken since they had last spoken, and his hair was beginning to turn grey, as if the stress of warfare was beginning to break him.
Notozawa: ...It has been long since I have seen or heard from you, my friend.
Tiera: Notozawa, our allies are falling one by one at the hands of our enemies. You are the only stronghold remaining before I become vulnerable... They will come for you. For the sake of the world, you must be prepared!
Notozawa: By allies, do you perhaps mean those terrifying ivory creatures that have been attacking civilians?
Tiera: I- What?
Notozawa: Do not think me a fool, Ms. Katarina. Do you think the fact I have confined myself in my headquarters means that I am not aware of the goings-on in the outside world? People are disappearing, transforming into vile beasts that lay waste to everything in sight. Massive growths have appeared across the land, becoming a tumorous blight that threatens to drain the whole world dry. And one of those very growths has formed a monumental pillar atop my very own base of operations.
Both individuals were silent, neither willing to concede or press their argument further.
Notozawa: Throughout all of this, I have begun to wonder if this is truly what is best for the world. If this is truly the grand future you had planned, where all of humanity would live in harmony. And then... I began to question whether or not it truly was my old friend behind that mask.
Still silent, Tiera gave up her guise, showing her true form to the poor human in all of its glory. He barely changed his expression, something the goddess saw as an insult.
Tiera: 
Notozawa: Notozawa Corp was founded to help protect the world, beast. I fear I have strayed far from the path I set out to follow... but I will make it right. I will redeem myself and my family's name, no matter what it takes.
Tiera: 
Saipha thought to himself. Aysu... the daughter he and his wife had turned into a weapon to serve their family. His first response to it all was the thought of retrieving and disciplining her, but now... Perhaps she had been the one in the right. He would need to apologize to her- that is, if he could convince her to part with her friends. Return to being that weapon.
Notozawa: I will deal with my daughter myself. Without interference from you or whatever creatures that serve underneath you. This is a matter for the Notozawa family alone. And whatever outcome this will bring, one of us will deal with you next.
The transmission cut off. Tiera was even more furious than she had been already, pounding her fist so hard into her throne that the transparent crystal making it up cracked under the impact. She was running out of options, but she was still confident that she could not lose. The Drive supplied to her by her host would be enough to give her the strength to win this battle, even if Notozawa planned on deserting-
Then she felt the stirring in her stomach. The faintest whispers of the woman she had absorbed. Hearing Notozawa's speech and determination to win had filled what little remained of Katarina Omegance's spirit with Drive... perhaps enough to begin turning against her. It took all of Tiera's spiritual and mental might to quell this feeling inside her, firmly returning Katarina's body and Drive to her control. But the goddess was now damp with something other than her blood- tears. Whether emotional or borne of exertion, Katarina had driven Tiera to tears.
The anguished cry of the goddess could be heard for miles.
----
Quetz: You really think this is a good idea right now, Lucius? It really does seem like you've been sleeping a lot lately.
Lucius: I'm fine, Quetz. Everyone needs sleep.
Lucius was currently in the process of getting set to appear in Alterminus again, making up his bed in the Via Spectrum dormitory. He would have utilized the floating slabs in the healing hot spring for this purpose, but as of right now, his plan required at least a little extra secrecy. He didn't want Inversim to think that something strange was going on.
Quetz: Yeah, but this feels weird and different somehow. You've been taking so much rest it just feels like something's going on... and this is from someone who used to sleep 12 hours a day. You sure you aren't sick? Or hurt?
To tell the truth, Lucius really was feeling worn down by everything that had been happening, both on a physical and emotional level. Under normal circumstances, he'd try to push through it and claim that everyone else was the one who truly mattered. But now? After all he and the others had been though? He knew that sacrificing himself and burning his life away would just hurt everyone else... He needed everyone out safely. And that's why he was going back to see his mysterious friend for what could be the very last time.
Lucius: Trust me, everything is fine. There's just something I need to do.
Quetz: Alright... if you're sure.
Quetz flapped off as Lucius tried his best to enter the trance-like, meditative state that had lead to his encounters with the realm of Alterminus before. Surely enough, after some time, he felt the familiar sensation of water washing against his body, and his eyes were met with the same endless serenity that he had come to expect as soon as he opened them. The shadowy maiden who had come to be his guide in this realm emerged from the water, fading in as if her body was constituting itself out of the fluid.
???: Slipping into Alterminus at will now, are we? I am beginning to be worried about how closely death surrounds you.
Lucius: I've come here seeking more answers, ones that may be crucial to the survival of the universe as we know it. You have guided me thus far though all my spiritual issues, helping me understand my place in the world... and helping me realize the value of my own life. But I come seeking more than that.
???: What more could I possibly tell you? I have detailed the origins of the universe, of Drive, and of our foe. I have grown to appreciate your visits, Lucius, but I am beginning to-
Lucius: Who and what are you?
The spectral guide seemed shocked at this question, stammering before raising her voice to a tone that gave away how much the question had shaken her to her core.
???: W-What spurred this on?
Lucius: You have a great deal of knowledge about the nature of the universe and its origin, far beyond anything a scientist like myself could have ever comprehended. In spite of that, I fail to believe you are any sort of god... An entity like that would likely have far greater power than you seem to possess. Why grant me an artifact that transfer my life force to another when you, as an ally, could have all the potential to resurrect them yourself?
???: Lucius, that's not-
Lucius: Furthermore, why would the caretaker of a realm of death, of passing on, so adamantly wish to assist the realm of the living, a place that they have called a world of pain and strife? Why is Tiera seemingly such a threat to Alterminus as well as our own plane of existence?
???: Please, stop-
Lucius: Is it really just that her influence, her corruption, will siphon away Drive from the universe, preventing souls from passing on properly? You yourself have told me you aren't certain of what happens to souls when they pass on from Alterminus, whether they reincarnate or vanish from reality entirely. That seems like something that a true caretaker of lost souls would know full well if they've actually been here since Alterminus was forged.
???: Lu-
Lucius: My friend, your aid has been greatly appreciated, but your story is layered with so many holes that I cannot help but believe you are leaving out crucial information. I ask of you... who are you truly?
???: LEAVE ME ALONE, LUX!!
The pair went quiet, leaving nothing but the sounds of trickling water echoing across the horizon as they both tried to understand what had just happened. Sobbing softly, the shadowy guide began shifting around, becoming less malleable and more defined in their form.
???: I suppose I... have not been entirely truthful, Lucius. It seems I have no choice but to make my past clear... the reason why I am helping you.
The murky, shadowy fluid moved away from the spirit's head, revealing their true visage to Lucius. They looked like a semi-average teenaged girl, massive unkempt black hair obscuring much of their eerie grey skin. The only other decorative element they had was a simple black bow sticking from their head- of course, he was more focused on the girl's apparent stress-related tears. He felt sorry for seemingly having stuck a nerve with her, but the pursuit of answers came first...
???: My name is... Tenebra. But everyone I once knew called me Tene.
Tene: I am not actually the caretaker or overseer of Alterminus... I'm a girl who couldn't pass on, no matter how hard she tried. I became one with the realm itself, being absorbed into it the more my sorrow grew...
Lucius: If... If you didn't originate from here, then where did you-
Tene: The planet Earth, where the majority of your allies hail from. The region known as Equilibra, millennia in the past. I was once a normal human myself, daughter of a nobleman and twin sister of Lux, the brightest, kindest man I've ever known. Our paths soon diverged... We were swept up into the battle between groups worshiping the power of light and darkness, becoming their greatest warriors, chosen ones to their causes.
Lucius: What followed?
Tene: Nothing did.
Lucius scoffed. What do you mean, nothing?
Tene: The last I saw Lux, it was when we both realized that the paths we had gone down forced us to battle against each other. We each had a goal we were meant to fulfill, aiding the groups that had taken us in and changed us. And then... Tiera arrived.
Lucius: Tiera... Is this why you've been so eager to help us?
Tene began crying softly again.
Tene: In one fell swoop, Tiera crushed the civilization that our whole world was built around. All that remained was rubble, a few scarce artifacts, and enough people to pass the tale of legendary heroes down into the annals of Earth's history. It was not my or Lux's actions that upset Tiera enough to cause this vast devastation, no... She merely thought our story was not important enough to be told. That we were pitiful enough to be swept under the rug so that something she saw as superior could take our place.
Tears trickled down from Tene's face, turning jet black as they landed in the water and spreading across Alterminus's waterlogged ground. Lucius took a few careful steps back, growing more and more concerned.
Tene: When I woke up, I was here in Alterminus, right next to the spirit of my brother. It was then we finally took the time to make up, to understand what each of us had gone through... And then Lux passed on. It has been so long that I can barely remember his face, only his voice. The sorrow and regret I had for destroying the relationship with my brother, combined with the fear and hatred I held for the being that had done this to us, lead me into a deep despair that began merging me with Alterminus, becoming who you see now.
Lucius and Tene stared directly in each other's eyes, emotions heightened.
Lucius: You want to make sure that nobody has to go through what you did again. To spare them your fate.
Tene: My story has ended. I want you- and all who live on after this war- to have the chance to get their stories told.
Lucius: I promise, Tenebra. Tiera will be dealt with, one way or another...
Tene: You are referring to Inversim's ultimatum, yes? His demand that Tiera be sealed away inside that golem body instead of being slain?
Lucius: We have the power to harm her now, yet he seems reluctant to change his mind. Perhaps he is just being overly cautious, or trying to ensure the minimum number of casualties-
Tene: Familiar, is it not?
Lucius had to chuckle at that. He truly had been changed over the course of this conflict.
Tene: At any rate, all I truly know in regards to this situation is that he clearly has some sort of ulterior motive at stake here. Nobody who pursues a target with his ferocity for their entire existence gives up victory for no good reason. And therein lies the decision you must make... Something monumental enough to shake the boundaries of time itself.
Lucius: What would that be?
Tene: Do you trust Inversim and his plan enough to avoid slaying him alongside Tiera?
The world around Lucius began to grow brighter and brighter, a sight that this visit to the land of the dead was ending. As the Coronid felt himself slipping back to the real world, Tenebra smiled, calmly speaking her final words of wisdom to the man who she had grown so fond of seeing.
Tene: Lucius, do not let your story be written by others. Only you can find your happy ending.
----
Aysu: Steady, Aysu, steady...
Aysu was back training, as she often was. The longer this conflict had gone on, the less she felt tired or hungry, and the more determined she grew to become the strongest weapon she possibly could. She took a deep breath...
SLASH!
And in one clean stroke, she had darted across the training ground, as if she had moved at the speed of light. In the next second, the quartet of training holograms behind her shattered to pieces, dissolving into the aether as she put her sword on her back.
Aysu: Ronin, time.
Ronin: 5 seconds. Another new record.
The girl sighed with satisfaction, a smile finally creepy across her stoic face. She had already accomplished a multitude of superhuman feats in her life, standing toe-to-toe with things that surpassed the mortal, but having finally achieved this level of speed and power gave her something she hadn't felt in years... self-confidence.
Ronin: Now, what say you head on over to Bubba's and get a pick-me-up? You've earned it after all this hard work.
Aysu: Thank you... It'll be a good chance to clear my head and prepare for what's to come.
With that foreboding statement, Aysu left Ronin's side and made her way to the meal counter. The devilish chef was in the midst of cooking up a hot meal for Nyxiel, Möbius, and Malphea, who had seemingly taken a break from her work on the Masquera project. The three were quietly conversing, as though there was some secret they didn't really want out in the open.
Malphea: Look, I'm trying as hard as I can. Inv- Father really doesn't seem to have any idea how hard it is to resurrect some ancient magic creature like this golem.
Möbius: You're one of the most brilliant scientists of the modern age- if anybody can do this, it's you. And you have Nyxiel and I here to help with the more magical elements-
Malphea: Masquera comes from an age beyond anything in documented history! You'd think an actual god would understand that time gap.
Nyxiel: This whole thing is just growing more and more confusing, to be honest. Thanks to Bynde and Osuna, we now have the ability to kill Tiera outright... Why is Dad so bent on going through with a plan that's looking more and more likely to fail with each passing day.
Sarin: I don't know about the specifics of any of these plans, being entirely honest... I just think tampering with this stuff is an awful idea.
The grafitti artist sat down alongside her mother, looking ever more dejected.
Sarin: Our entire operation here feels like it's been wrapped in a blanket of lies and deception. Like, I don't think Tiera's secretly good or anything... She's committed too many atrocities to be pitied like that. But I can't be the only one who thinks that Inversim's whole obsession with sealing her away has something darker behind it, right?
Aysu: Well, at any rate, it won't be long until we see the climax of this whole ordeal.
The warrior woman sat down as the conversation continued.
Nyxiel: She's right. There's only one more general left on Tiera's side. Once that happens, her army of puppets should have most of their strings severed... Either that, or she'll have to take direct control, putting herself in the line of fire in the process.
Möbius: And that's when we strike. This whole ordeal will end, the timeline will return to normal, Tiera's grasp over the reins of fate will be severed...
Aysu: Not quite. That's when I strike.
Nyxiel: Wait, what's this now? Do we have yet another behind-the-scenes secret plan nobody was aware of?
Aysu: I've been honing my skills every spare moment since this conflict began. I helped to slay Corona, that despicable fairy creature. I know full well how powerful I have become... and that's why I'll be taking Tiera's army head on. The rest of you will have all the more time to combat the goddess directly. I will carve a path for you all...
Sarin: Are you insane! You can't handle that kind of pressure! Figuratively and literally!
Aysu: Are you saying I'm not capable of handling that?
Möbius: Ms. Notozawa, I understand your concerns, but no one person is capable of facing an army a million strong on their own. Not even someone like I, who can peer through time itself, would be able to keep up that sort of offensive for long enough to make even the slightest dent.
Nyxiel: And what about that emotional weight? Will you be able to handle ending ex-human lives to that level?!
Aysu just turned away from everyone else, her face blank again as she stared into the stone counter.
Aysu: I'm a weapon. I've been ending human lives for most of my life at the whims of others. This, at least, will be for the side of justice-
Malphea: Stop it.
The scientist got up from her seat, walking over along with Sarin to face Aysu directly. The swordswoman continued to ignore her.
Malphea: Ms. Notozawa... You participated in the Boundless tournament alongside my daughter, correct?
Sarin gasped behind her mask, surprised at finally being called daughter. Aysu, however, remained stone-faced. The scientist was correct... she and others had fought against each other in the great combat tournament Malphea had run before being exposed for her crimes. It was where she had met Sarin, alongside a great deal of other warriors- Aysu hoped that those brave souls had not succumbed in the battle against Tiera.
Malphea: I know what it means to put everything on the line for your beliefs. For the things... and people you care about. But you can't relinquish your life and free will at the commands of others. Humans are more than tools to be used. If you keep pursuing this route, you'll end up going beyond your limit. You'll kill yourself.
Aysu: But I can't-
Sarin: Mom- Mom's right. Screw your past, you're not some killing machine who got bent towards the path of good. As much as I managed to hear, you turned against SYNDERS originally because you couldn't bring yourself to kill Vessa, right? That proves you have a human heart under all that cybernetic nonsense.
The computer placed over Aysu's eye began heating up. She was flustered, unsure of what to say... and as if to punctuate the moment, a single tear fell from behind it, dripping onto the counter. She thought she had lost the use of that eye long ago...
Sarin: And isn't that what this whole war has been about? Fighting for free will, denying fate? We're all human, no matter what... That includes you, Aysu, and it's because of that we're determined to not lose you. We'll take on this fight together!
The group was silent, taking everything in. Aysu was the most impacted of all, struggling to even form words, yet something stirred in Malphea's heart as well. She couldn't quite pinpoint what exactly this feeling was, but it surged through her with a fiery intensity... Right now, though, Aysu was the thing she had to focus on.
Malphea: Aysu, we're all at your beck and call... In fact, if you really feel the need to put the pressure on our enemies, we'll come with you and defeat the last of the Chosen Four.
Nyxiel: Wait, Mal, are you certain we should-
Möbius: I, for one, am with Malphea.
Nyxiel: You too, Moby?
Möbius: Nyxiel, I love you, and I know that we do need to exercise caution on what exactly we do now that your father's eye is more closely watching us. But we need to act sooner rather than later. It has been some time since I have been able to utilize the full extent of my abilities... and I see no finer cause than taking down this final obstacle before we face down the goddess herself.
Nyxiel couldn't stop it. She knew her boyfriend was right... and that the suspicions and concerns of her sister had plenty of merit. It wasn't long before Aysu rushed through the portal to their destination, with the other three in tow. With only one Feygrove remaining to topple, locking onto a position was easy, especially since there seemed to be an easily accessible landing strip connected to it. All that was left to do was face whatever dangers were inside...
When Aysu stepped out from the portal, however, she was met with a shock. The towering cluster of glowing vines that reached up to the heavens was growing over a vast skyscraper off the coast behind them... a skyscraper she recognized. Her father's headquarters... What was once her home.
She smiled. It was more than a smirk this time. It was a full smile, a cross between sadistic glee and genuine joy.
If anything would set her human heart free, it would be this.
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