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_Time for another chapter. While Killer and Alexis fight in Alfaya, the battle rages on in other places as well. A lot of things are happening at once. __See the full picture revealed. _

As always, i hope you will enjoy the ride. This chapter is a pretty long one, but also very important. Have fun, and as always you are encouraged to comment and let me know what you think! There is no greater joy for an author than to know what his readers think of the story.

War will rage upon the earth, from east to west, from the high north to the deep south. The ice will melt. A new light will fill the sky, born from destruction, and it will paint the oceans crimson. And the seas will reclaim what's theirs, and life will be dragged back into the depths that generated it.

Chapter 89 -** And The Sea Shall Rise**

Riaku of course knew all the stories about the Ice Eden. Everyone in the Northlands had been told them at least once or twice: the place was the stuff of legends, as well as a holy place to all religions in the tigers' lands. The tigers shared the same general ideas about Elelyon and his allied gods, but of course had a number of different interpretations. Naturally, the god of War was particularly popular among civilizations founded upon valor in battle, but Nature was held in just as high regard, and the Ice Eden was obviously most often interpreted as a gift of the goddess for the tigers. And in particular, for the Huxley bloodline, that had conquered the sanctuary soon after its discovery and had protected it ever since. It was a symbol of power and many across the Northlands believed that the holy place was the source of the extraordinary strength and the supernatural abilities long associated to the Huxley's name. The Ice Eden was both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because many rivals had been cowed away from the idea of challenging the Huxleys just because the Eden existed... and a curse because others had moved war on Kesteven with the exact purpose of stealing away the wondrous temple.

Not all Huxley kings had attached the same value to the temple: depending on how much they believed in the gods, they had either cared enormously about it, or had done the bare minimum to preserve it in their possession. But perception was a powerful weapon in itself, so every king in the last few centuries had expanded the temple, digging new levels deep down into the ice. Digging a new cave and finding more beautiful, green, vigorous vegetation deep under the ice was considered proof that the gods favored the king. So far, none of the Huxley sovereigns had lost the gods' favor, although more than two centuries had passed since the last few pilgrims had been authorized to visit the temple. Naturally, some whispered that the decision of the king of Kesteven to deny access to the temple was meant to hide the sad truth that the gods had withdrawn their support to the Huxley bloodline. The truth was simpler: Killer's predecessors had decided that too many wars had been fought on the ices of the North Pole for possession of the temple, and they had sought to cancel the memory of its exact whereabouts. Very few, if any, northerners now had any real idea of where the entrance to the temple was. Of course, the gigantic statue towering over the flat plains of ice of Syrane gave a general idea of the direction. In that zone, years before, an extraordinarily young Killer had led a small but powerful army to a spectacular victory against a much larger invasion force put together by a number of hostile kingdoms. It had been a surprise assault, unannounced and unexpected, launched from the sea. The young prince Killer was in the encampment of Syrane as part of his training, but when the assault force landed, he took the lead of the small local garrison and, instead of fighting a mere rearguard battle while waiting for reinforcements from the kingdom, he had crafted a bold battle plan centered on his own extraordinary strength. The enormous monument, towering on top of an artificial hill overlooking the battlefield, commemorated the courage of the Kestevenian defenders and the valor of the young prince. Tigers were a race that literally had war in the DNA and that developed extremely quickly, but leading an army from the front at 7 years of age, towering above adult, expert warriors and besting them in strength, courage and wits remained an unprecedented feat.

But Syrane was many miles away from the actual temple, and since his entrance was well hidden in one of countless great cracks and fissures in the cliffs and seas of rock-solid ice, it was virtually impossible to find. Not even the RA had been able to locate it, despite all its technology and resources.

Riaku had heard a lot of things about the Ice Eden, but like most others he had no clue about where the temple actually was, and only vague, albeit grandiose, ideas about its legendary halls.

When Gaia had teleported the whole group straight to the ices of the North Pole, he had spent the first few moments gazing at his own body, making sure that all of his limbs were still in place since the disassociation and re-aggregation had felt him feeling funny... but immediately after that, he had begun to appreciate just how serious Seth was about protecting the Ice Eden.

Killer's father had surrounded the Ice Eden with a ring of steel, solid and virtually invisible. For the Kestevenians, the cold was an old friend and the vast, freezing expanse of the Arctic was the traditional boot camp of the army, so the warriors carefully picked to protect the temple had no trouble blending in. The bulky, massive tiger warriors all dug their sleeping holes and refuges deep into the ice, where they were safe from the freezing gales, the true killers of the north. Riaku knew all too well how they were trained from very young age to master the art of fighting in the Arctic and he had dug countless foxholes of his own when he was in the Army and then in the Predators Corps, but he still couldn't help being amazed as heavily armed warriors emerged from the frozen ground around them, cracking the thick ice with their muscular backs and breaking out of their holes to survey the newcomers. The scary thing, of course, was that for every warrior that revealed his presence, ten more continued to spy on them from their concealed positions, keeping them in the crosshairs of massive, cannon-like sniper rifles, in the tactical sights of assault rifles and machine guns and in the thermal cameras of shoulder-fired missiles.

Riaku felt more than a little embarrassed as he walked past the well concealed observation posts, knowing that a far share of the warriors looking at him had been in Kesteven during the war, fighting back his troops, his very own invasion. Many more veterans had fallen during the far more terrifying demonic invasion and in the many struggles against the RA and they had been replaced by young and sometimes very young, new recruits. They had experienced the invasion as children, as civilians, or as soldiers in the very early phases of training, and in the latter case they had been rushed to the battlefield in the moment of emergency, to cover a variety of roles in the rear echelons. Riaku felt their gazes bearing down on him with coldness and hostility that were more than justified. He kind of expected them to gun him down or rush forth to swarm all over him and beat him into a pulp, but nothing happened: the proverbial discipline of the Kestevenian forces held true and none of the warriors strayed away from his duty and position. Riaku still shivered, however, and he felt almost physical pain as he was forced to walk past them, compatriots and comrades, in terrible, sinister silence, followed by their angry, unforgiving gazes.

In truth, as had already happened in other areas of the empire, Riaku was accepted surprisingly quickly. The stories about his heroic efforts in the war against the demons had spread far and wide through the army, redeeming him somewhat. More importantly, he now wore a collar that unmistakably marked him as Killer's property, as the king's servant, and that was enough. If Killer had accepted him back into the family and given him power, he was trustworthy. Not a single warrior in the whole Empire was willing to second-guess Killer's and Alexis's assessment. There was no way to quickly erase the past and all the sorrow it had caused, yet the warriors were grudgingly willing to give the "Black Lightning" a second chance.

It was much more than Riaku dared hoping for, and he kept turning slowly from side to side, looking up at the cold eyes of the warriors studying him, his head bowed forwards in shame. He wanted to say sorry, to make up for the past, to explain his actions to every single soldier, but he knew that was just a dream, an unworkable illusion. He was all too aware that only his actions were going to truly matter: he had to give them good reasons to trust him again, and he was determined to do so.

A couple officers stepped forwards and exchanged a few words with Gaia, who opened their little procession, clad in form-fitting body armour made of sturdy, tangled vines for flexibility and by plates of dark stone injected with incandescent magma. Water flowed endlessly over the joints between a plate and another, forming a layer of protection that was almost impenetrable yet so light and flexible that it was like she was wearing nothing. There could be no doubt about her identity, and the soldiers respectfully bowed before her, going down to their knees and watching at her with true adoration, amazed by her beauty and beaming in joy because of her mere presence. Diana followed, clad in her Seraphim armor, improved and enhanced by Killer's immense energies, and the warriors honored her just as enthusiastically, since she was a true heroine for every soldier, thanks to her ceaseless efforts to rescue, save, heal every last wounded warrior. She had saved countless lives, eased the suffering of many more and put back on their feet young men who had been crying, sure that they had no hope of ever walking again. She had accomplished true miracles, visiting bases and colonies and bloodied wastelands all over the world, rushing to the help of every suffering soul and filling all other souls with hope and confidence. Most, if not all, soldiers in the empire now routinely wore little silvery necklaces with the same pendant which depicted her, on one knee, two fingers held up to infuse healing energies into a casualty, with her six wings standing proudly up on her back. Diana always blushed quietly when she was told about it, or shown one of the little images of silver: they didn't make any real difference, because she already heard the prayers of all ill and wounded beings, no matter what they wore. She always did all what was possible, for every last ally suffering, but she couldn't save everyone, not even with the help of the many healers she constantly trained and surrounded herself with. The trinkets made no difference at all to whether the soldier would be rescued or not; to whether he could be healed or not. Despite that, the soldiers found them immensely comforting all the same.

Kathy had been with them too, but she had teleported back to the battlefield of Alfaya when they had heard, loud and clear, the worry and fears of the other Disciples on board the Ark Royal. Even Riaku had heard all of their voices and thoughts in his mind. He had even been able to see through their eyes, staring in awe at the sudden flash of sinister light over the desert, then at the immense wound that had opened in the fabric of reality, almost breaking the sky in half. It had been a traumatic - and literally painful - experience for him, who experienced such neural connections for the very first time. He had been a god for perhaps two hours, probably less, when that multitude of alarmed voices had invaded his thoughts, followed by the terrifying images.

They could hear nothing directly from Killer and Alexis, but what the other disciples had seen from the Ark Royal left little doubt about the gravity of the situation. Riaku had been very tempted to teleport back to Alfaya and rush to the help of his father, but Diana had squeezed lightly on his wrist and looked straight into his eyes, shaking her head once, without a word.

Gaia had not been as quick in restraining Kathy, and the young feline had left in a hurry, rushing towards her father. It had not been easy, but they had resisted the temptation of following her: Killer expected, and feared, an assault on the Ice Eden while he was bogged down in Alfaya. Their task was clear: they had to keep the Ice Eden safe, no matter what happened elsewhere.

Riaku couldn't quite imagine why the Ice Eden was so important at that point of the war, but Gaia and Diana had assured him that there were excellent reasons to care about the temple of ice. They hadn't explained the whole story to him yet, but it didn't matter: if his mother said it was important, then there was no need to add anything more.

As they advanced further, led by Gaia, they moved past several Seraphims as well: Vesta had sent a large contingent of Dark Wings in support of the mortals, and Ira had offered Hell's help as well. In the end, the Hell Guards had not been deployed because hiding gigantic, eternally-incandescent Gigataurs from the RA's sensors was way too complex. Admittedly, it was also because the warriors of Kesteven had been fighting against demons until very, very recently. Asking them to work side by side with the fearsome Gigataurs while the memories were still so fresh had not felt like such a good idea.

Riaku smiled a bit to himself when they moved past a group of warriors in white, arctic outfits working to dig a literal bunker deep under a small cliff of ice, with several small and virtually invisible arrowslits cut open in the wall of solid ice that glinted under the sun. Any advancing enemy was going to have immense trouble seeing the loopholes in time to avoid them, and even returning any kind of fire was going to prove problematic due to the way the ice glowed. The white brilliance was so intense that it could literally hurt the eyes. The black-furred male looked down at his feet and smirked a little as he lost himself in memories of the past, of the days of his intense training. Digging foxholes, bunkers and shelters in rock-hard ice with little more than tactical pickaxes and spades had been a daily exercise... or, more accurately, a daily torture. It normally was one of the very last actions they were ordered to accomplish during a standard training day that always began with a sudden, violent wake-up call abruptly ending a short few hours of invaluable sleep. Pants, shirts, boots. An enormous Bergen rucksack on the back, with a single-use rocket launcher strapped on top, sword at the belt, personal weapon, ammunitions. All to be donned up in the almost complete darkness, and quickly. Then, squad weapons: the biggest and strongest in the team picked up the heavy machine guns, handheld mortars and shoulder-fired missiles. Everyone else helped carry the reloads for said weapons: everyone got a couple of sealed green tubes containing ready-to-use mortar shells, for example, and at least a long belt of rounds for the machine guns.

When they were in the Predators together, of course, Killer carried the heaviest weapon in the whole team. Riaku back then was not a great lifter for Predator standards, so he was in the covering group, with his assault rifle and spare ammunition.

With that monstrous load, they were ordered to run out into the freezing night, running for miles all the way up to the storm-battered coast of the Syrane channel. Even after years had passed, Riaku sincerely couldn't recall a single night which hadn't been stormy, with freezing gales and enormous waves crashing into the cliffs as they worked to embark all their gear in a number of rigid-hulled inflatable crafts, which were incredibly sturdy boats yet looked and felt horribly fragile when thrown back and forth, up and down by the immense, angry waves. Common sense told him that, surely, at least one night every now and then must have been calmer and less hostile, but his memory insisted in reminding him of how many times he had cursed under his breath while a sudden waves the boat around and crushed him back against the cliff, or sent him under the surface, in complete, terrible darkness.

When they were done loading the boats, the instructors allowed the massive outboard engines to be turned on and they sailed across the arctic sea, riding on top of waves that still filled his nightmares. But of course, the last few miles always had to be covered by paddling, because the instructors "simulated engine breakdowns". And the very last couple of miles of approach to the arctic pack was actually covered by swimming under the surface, dragging the boats along purely by means of muscles.

Climbing up onto the pack and lifting the boats out of the water always made the loading process feel that much easier and more desirable. And of course, they had to drag the heavy boats well inland, until they found a suitable place where they could be hidden under camouflage nets and fresh snow.

Then they were off for another long run, carrying all ammunition, all weaponry and all the explosives. The route always took them north towards the pole, then south again towards the edge of the arctic pack in the area of Syrane, when a permanent camp already existed, for one or two companies-worth of warriors.

They had to reach the area undetected, and that was the scariest part of the whole training programme as they used to punch holes in the ice to dive into the dark, freezing sea and swim under the pack to get past the outer surveillance outposts.

They had to find places where the ice was thin enough to be broken through... and while Killer even then could literally punch holes through enormous thicknesses, Riaku had had many close shaves with death, with his lungs running out of air, spasming painfully and hammering away at a solid roof of ice that refused to give away.

After re-emerging, they had to set up their own covert observation posts and shelters. They had to do so in complete darkness, and quickly. By dawn they needed to be well hidden under the ice and the snow, while having good visibility upon their "target", the camp of Syrane. During the brief hours of daylight, patrols were sent out of the camp and stormed the pack searching for the assault group, and if they were found they were captured with simulated yet very real brutality. Being captured meant going through mock interrogations and torture sessions that were far more realistic than Riaku wanted to remember.

When everything worked for the best, the assault group waited for nightfall to launch its assault on the fortified camp, with full freedom in terms of tactics. There were no deaths, normally, and no real bullets were fired, but "simunition", aka simulated ammunition that looked and weighted exactly like the real thing but had a frangible bullet-head filled with paint, still hurt plenty when it found the target. Worse still, the assaults invariably resulted in ferocious close-quarters combat with bare hands, in which the punches were not pulled back.

When part of, or even the entirety of the assault group was discovered and captured, the end result was normally still a brawl since they were supposed to put to full use their SERE training: Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape. At the end of the battle, the assault group had to run all the way back to the boats, heft them out of their hiding place and carry them back to the sea to return home.

Those scenarios were repeated at least twice in a week, and they were so grueling that sometime they truly succeeded in making actual war look easier and softer than expected. Riaku could easily recall a number of fights against the NWOA which had been far less demanding than a training night... And he couldn't help but shake his head a little, remembering how having Killer in the team radically changed the equation. Even back then he was like a god among mortals, and his brutal strength turned the battle on its head every single time, so much that to even things out he was assigned to every team on rotation. Riaku had clear memories of one night when they were particularly late on schedule, and Killer had salvaged the entire mission by lifting not one but two boats, full of kit, out of the waters, carrying them for a mile inland, balancing one on each shoulder. It had been as intimidating as sharing the showers with him back in the barracks... and Riaku shivered a bit, feeling his cheeks burn as his mind, for no apparent reason, went back to the sight of Killer's monstrous cock dangling ponderously while Killer showered.

He did his best to shake the image out of his thoughts. Those had been difficult times, but also happy times. Riaku had been accepted in the Predators more because of his determination than because of physical power: he had impressed the officers at the selections by pushing through trials he was not quite mature enough for. He had barely passed the threshold, in almost every test, and always by spending every last bit of energy he had. He really wanted to be with the best warriors. He saw them all as divinities, and wanted to be in their pantheon, even if he always felt somewhat out of place among them. Back then, Riaku didn't know he was son of Killer, and Killer didn't know he was Riaku's father. Diana was a Forbidden Female, one of those reserved for the King and the king alone, and her clandestine love for Killer was potentially dangerous. In truth, king Seth knew all too well that Diana, and many others like her, spent far more time with Killer than with him, but had never really tried to put an end to it because he was painfully aware that Killer could not be controlled. But Diana worried, and so she insisted on saying that Riaku was one of the many non-royal sons of Seth. Killer, in his selfish naivety at the time, chose to believe to what was very clearly a weak lie, while Riaku only started wondering about it a bit later on.

For mysterious reasons, Riaku was one of very, very few children of Killer who had taken more from the mother's genetics that from the father's. Diana had always been beautiful, but also frail, and some of that frailty was passed on to Riaku. That, and the fact that Riaku came alone, while Killer's obscene fertility was usually associated with triplets at the least, were the only reason why the lie about the paternity had any credibility at all. It was crystal clear that Riaku was conceived when Killer returned to Kesteven after his triumph in Syrane. Riaku was one of many children generated by the prince's celebrations that night. Killer was only 7 years old back then, but already had dozens of sons and daughters and years of experience that put older males to shame He had started very, very early on, even for the completely different standards associated with the tigers, which matured far quicker than other races. Killer had had a flawless start by filling up two young maids tasked with his well being, pumping 4 children in one and 3 more in the other, and had liked it so much that he had never stopped since.

Riaku had grown up with his mother, but the large shadow cast by Killer had burdened on him just like on everyone else. The prince left Kesteven when he was 14 years old, sent to Ire to study and to improve relations, but that had only made him more famous: if in the Northlands he was like a god among mortals, in the south he was even more of a divinity, a literal titan, a force the world was nowhere near prepared for. Riaku grew up surrounded by the stories about the prince of Kesteven, and like every other young boy he wanted to become just like him. First he idolized the war hero and then, a few years later, he started admiring Killer even more for his porn career, for his popularity across the world, for how he could have anything and anyone he wanted. Riaku's feelings towards Killer were a mix of love and hate: he idolized the prince, but also envied him to the point of hating him sometime... but that was partially justified by the fact that Killer visited Diana every time he came home from Ire. Riaku was given plenty of occasions to listen at his mother's shrieks and cries while the walls of the house literally rattled and cracked, and more often than not he spied on Diana and Killer, awed by the prince's sizes, by his strength, by his stamina, by the way he could melt any woman into a sweaty, exhausted, blissful heap of flesh. And of course, he was left in awe of Killer's gigantic cock, unable to believe that something that huge could exist and wondering bitterly about why he had to be so much smaller.

Riaku had joined the army at the age of 10, more or less in line with the Northlands standards. Killer was 17 years old then, and still in Ire for his "studies", which had actually been more or less entirely replaced by his porn career. By then he was about to win the "best male performer" award for the third year in a row, and his fame only kept growing.

They had first crossed in the barracks when Killer came home one weekend for a session of training and evaluation. Being prince, in fact, meant that he was tested more frequently and more harshly than anybody else, and he had to drive back to Kesteven with regularity to prove that he was not allowing his southern adventures to soften him. Riaku remembered clearly the awe with which he had stared while Killer aced all the tests, and he remembered even more vividly how the prince had spotted him in the crowd and walked over to talk to him and welcome him into the army. He had been kind, and his smile had been sincere... but Riaku's chest had filled with bitterness all the same. The strength he had just witnessed was godlike, and the dream of ever becoming like Killer felt hopeless. It was not easy to live in his shadow, figuratively and literally. Over time, however, true friendship had grown between them despite the envy, as they spent more and more time together and Killer went out of his way to help Riaku along, to train him, sometime even to protect him when some other soldier got overboard with teasing the black-furred male.

Riaku didn't know, but could imagine, that his mother Diana had prayed Killer to keep an eye on him.

Killer was back more and more frequently in the following years, until he returned home for good when he was 20: the "war of Dark" had begun, with the NWOA forces under general Dark launching their vicious assaults against Kesteven. Killer was needed to lead the defending force.

During that war, which lasted another three years with intermittent phases of combat and quasi-peace tormented by smaller-scale actions and terrorist attacks, Killer created the Predators Corps. Riaku of course wanted to get in, but before entering the selections he visited his mother and ordered her not to seek help from the Prince. He wanted to be sure that the success would be his and his alone, and not due to any sort of favoritism.

The rest was history. Riaku had made it into the new Special Corps. Killer wanted him in his team, and Riaku ended up being the radio operator, following the general everywhere and ensuring he could communicate with all his forces. They were together right up to the very last day of the war, when Killer killed Dark in duel. But months after that victory, the prince grew tired with peacetime barracks life and left Kesteven again, for those that come to be called the "seven years of the fury".

During all that time, Killer never visited his homeland again. Diana's frail health degenerated and she died after a long agony, and Riaku's feelings towards Killer changed. The friendship forged during training and on the battlefield was replaced by the old envy and by new hate. Hate because of Diana's death. Hate because in the meanwhile Riaku had discovered who his true father was. Hate because despite being his son, Riaku felt like so little of Killer's strength and physical supremacy had trickled down to him. Riaku had left the army, then Kesteven. Like Killer, he returned only after years, as sovereign of another kingdom.

Riaku closed his eyes and shook his head slowly, sighing a bit. He regretted so many things... and missed so many others. He often wondered about what could have been, even though he knew it was pointless. The past could not be changed. He reached up to slowly stroke over the thick black leather of his new collar, once more amazed by the warm, great energies that permeated the jewel, and he smiled a bit to himself. It was still almost impossible for him to conceive the fact that he had been elevated to godhood. Whenever he thought about it, part of him snapped that he should just wake up from childish fantasies. But the collar was solid and true, and the immense, terrifying, reality-altering power pumping in his veins was no illusion either. He had been given a new chance, and he was determined not to waste it. He had his family back. He had power. He had immortality. He had been blessed with the greatest of gifts, and now he had to demonstrate that he was worthy of them.

He smiled softly to himself, straightening and looking up, one hand still lightly rubbing at the lion head clasp of his collar, and Diana turned around to smile at him with affection. Her expression told him that she knew exactly what he was thinking, and that she was going to help him every step of the way. He smiled back with love and gratitude. She was the best mother anyone could wish for, and she had always been... even when she ceased struggling against her sickness, giving in to depression and regret. She had never been able to get past Killer's departure, and that was a big part of the reason why Riaku had dedicated his life to exacting revenge on his father. Now, fortunately, they could leave the past behind, trying to build a better future together. Riaku looked up as they walked past another small cliff of ice, in which he identified several more loopholes. He couldn't see the barrels of the guns on the other side, but that was normal: he had been trained in the exact same way, to achieve the exact same invisibility. When there was a chance to adequately prepare, it was always better to stay well inside. Snipers will tend to never stay directly behind a window, and even less let the rifle stick out of the opening. The smart shooter sits well back, in the shadows, from where he can see through the open window without being seen. When there was the time to do so, the loopholes were dug with an ample opening towards the inside of the bunker, to enable a good field of view even through the small fissure.

The garrison of the Ice Eden had had plenty of time to prepare, so its positions were carefully positioned and even more brilliantly designed. Of course, structures built inside banks of ice sometime became unsafe and had to be abandoned and replaced, but that was part of the daily workload for the defenders.

Once they walked past a small ridge, they entered another area of white desolation. At first glance there seemed to be absolutely nothing other than ice and snow, but Riaku knew that they had actually gotten into an inner layer of the defence system, and that even more warriors were hidden all around them. He did his best to remember his training and his expert eye did the rest, identifying several positions, but many more remained invisible. The soldiers that Seth had deployed in the area knew their trade, that was definite... and the next thing that Riaku noticed was the presence of well camouflaged anti-air missile batteries. He almost stumbled onto one, with how well hidden it was, even though the large sealed canisters containing the missiles were mounted on tracked, articulated all terrain vehicles with an armoured cabin at the front. They were not small vehicles: amphibious, armoured and equipped with fully independent tracks on both cars, they could move literally over any kind of terrain, from the softest dunes of sand to snow banks, climbing over obstacles and never getting bogged down, not even in the most insidious of mud banks. Driving them there from Kesteven had been easy, but making them invisible had obviously been a whole different story: the soldiers had been forced to dig into the side of cliffs and tall hills of ice to create hiding places for the launchers, which had then been parked inside, where they could be invisible to satellites and aircraft. Obviously, they couldn't fire without driving out of their holes, but that could be fixed in mere moments once the alarm was given.

A number of well camouflaged fixed radar arrays were barely visible under banks of snow and camouflage nets, and Riaku spotted a number of smaller, almost invisible dome-antennas that contained passive electronic sensors and electro-optic sights. In order to be undetectable, the radars in the area were actually all in stand-by, not transmitting anything. That made them blind, but also invisible. The electro-optic cameras and the passive electronic antennas were their early warning instrument: if an enemy radar or radio transmission was detected, or the thermal sign of an incoming aircraft popped up on the screens from the electro-optics, the radars could begin tracking the targets within seconds, while the missile batteries could drive out in the open and get ready to fire.

Seth, in his wisdom, had conceived a defensive plan that first of all sought to preserve the invisibility of the temple, so that the enemy couldn't even launch an attack in the first place. At the same time, he had done all in his power to ensure that the garrison could beat back any kind of assault force if the bullets started flying. With the help of Vesta he had set up magic barriers and traps as well, and made teleporting too close to the temple simply impossible, so that even demons and supernatural entities could be repealed.

But what Riaku noticed above all else was the vast presence of top-tier equipment and elite soldiers from the empire's army. The fact that Seth had decided to deploy so much of the kingdom's military might up in the frozen north even while enemies of all kinds pushed hard at the borders; even while demons rampaged all over Kesteven, was another confirmation of just how important the Ice Eden truly was.

Riaku speeded up his steps until he pulled up on Diana's side, and the goddess welcomed him with a soft smile, reaching up to squeeze lightly on his powerful shoulder and looking at the collar around his neck. "I know what you are going to ask." She gently preempted, looking entertained as she nodded a bit and explained: "Obviously, the Ice Eden's value is not in the flowers and in the trees, no matter how beautiful they might be. It is not in the sculptures and in the artwork, even though they say the temple's halls are otherworldly. And it isn't even in the tradition that wants the king's power underlined by the gods' favor. Killer is God, he does not need anyone else's favor."

"And that's definite." Riaku easily agreed, nodding a little before looking at her with an interrogative frown: "But what does that leave? What could be worth all this effort, all of these troops, and our presence here, when dad is fighting right now and could use our help...?"

Diana gave him a little smile, nodding in approval of his question before she frowned a bit and replied in a serious voice: "This place protects an enormous power source that is called Anchor. It would take Vesta and a lot of time to properly explain how Anchors work, but you only need to know that this object drains away an immense amount of destructive energy that ripples through the universe. If not adequately restrained and contained, that energy would destroy the entire planet in mere instants."

Riaku made a grimace at that, then nodded slowly. "Okay, that sure sounds like a good reason to be here."

"If I listened to the heart, I'd teleport to Alfaya like Kathy did." Gaia quietly said, looking back from over her shoulder. "But Killer wants us here, because he expects an attack on this place. And my mind knows he is right." The goddess of Nature didn't add anything else, but her expression gave away all of her tension and worries. And Riaku shared the same feelings, even though he couldn't quite follow and understand the voices and thoughts that echoed in his mind, coming from the distant battlefield. He recognized Vesta's voice for a brief moment, and Pamela's, but he struggled to make sense of what they were saying... yet it was obvious from those shared thoughts that they were engaged in a vicious, unrelenting battle and that things weren't going well.

"Killer and Alexis are isolated." Diana explained, speaking almost in a whisper, her eyes open wide and fixed on the snow ahead of her feet but clearly seeing far more than just whiteness. "Thanathos showed up, with all of his Reapers, and is attacking Killer. An army of alien gods was hidden in Alfaya, ready for the ambush..."

"How did they get there without giving us any clue...?" Gaia wondered, making a grimace and snorting in irritation as she rubbed a hand nervously over her forehead. "What else can they sneak in without us noticing it...? The Swarm is supposed to be light years away, still!"

Diana could only look down in silence, listening to the very same questions buzzing around in her head, demanding answers that they could not get. Riaku gave a slight nod, but there was nothing he could add: for him, things had taken a very sudden, very violent acceleration. Fighting against demons popping out of portals that could open out of thin air, anywhere, anytime, had been plenty shocking; yet he was now learning that things were even more complex and complicated than that.

The soldiers surveyed them, but rapidly went back into their shelters after they were gone, to limit their exposition to the extreme cold and the terrible gales and because everyone's concern was with unseen enemy sensors. In theory, all satellites passing overhead could be tracked by the great radar sites back in Kesteven, and an alarm blared over the camp every time the passing of one was imminent. In practice, the RA had deployed such otherworldly technologies that nobody could be truly confident about escaping detection. The RA could well have low-observable satellites able to avoid radar detection, or some other kind of spy system, such as small and virtually detectable drones, or high-flying, hypersonic aircraft or who knew what. The only way to be "sure" was to minimize the exposition times, and Gaia accelerated her step, urging the others on as they jogged through the open, frozen plain towards one of many anonymous little dunes and cliffs of ice, sculpted by the vicious wind, which poked up from the otherwise flat expanse of arctic whiteness. Riaku made a bit of a grimace, almost disappointed by how trivial everything looked in that desolated inferno of cold and ice, and he gaped a bit in disbelief as Gaia led them towards a barely visible crack, a fissure in the ice in the side of a large cliff. Surely that can't be the legendary temple, can it...? The snow leopardess did not alter her course, however, and turned sideways instead to squeeze through the narrow crevice, beckoning for them to follow her. Riaku gaped in silent disbelief, but walked forwards and tried to peek inside, finding only darkness broken by flashes of sapphire created by the reflection of sunrays filtering in. He couldn't restrain a chuckle when Gaia grunted in annoyance as her splendid, huge breasts became stuck in the narrow opening, but he did his best to hide it with a cough, feeling embarrassed because his mother was right there at his side. Diana did not suspect anything, or she pretended not to notice, and Riaku invited her to go first, before modestly looking away as the goddess went through the same kind of difficulties as Nature had. Diana was considerably smaller than Gaia, but still sported a formidable chest that Riaku had not failed to notice: it was clear that when Killer had taken her as Disciple he had "blessed" that side of her along with all others.

When he squeezed through the fissure, hissing a bit at the extreme cold that bit into his shoulder and then into the middle of his chest, he immediately realized that the dark cave beyond rapidly grew wider. After the initial difficulties, he was able to walk through a rather large cave that led to a literal door which had clearly been carved in the rock-hard, centuries-old ice. Voices echoed up from beyond it, and Gaia resolutely walked past the threshold and down a number of large steps. Diana and Riaku followed her lead, and the male listened carefully to the voices, realizing that they were mixed with the clanging of blades. The ice and the shapes of the cave warped the sounds and made them hard to read, but everything became clear when the staircase, carefully chiseled in the ice, led them into another large cave... or better, a vast room, with walls chiseled with vast panels of bas-reliefs showing warriors and kings, queens and peasants bringing tributes and gifts for the gods. The gods themselves, with Elelyon in the middle and his seven advisors standing at his sides, filled the wall straight ahead of the entrance, and Riaku noticed that they stood in front of well detailed trees, flowers and plants all arrayed around a single, immense, titanic trunk that grew all the way to the sky, going beyond the limits of the wall itself... and merging into a spectacular ceiling that was chiseled into a multitude of branches and an infinity of leaves, so detailed to look real. It left Riaku staring straight upwards, gaping in amazement, deeply touched at the thought of the countless hours of hard work and sacrifice that such a masterpiece had requested.

The vast chamber had two vast, monumental exits, one tall archway on either side, while a small but incredibly elaborate altar, also entirely made of ice, stood right in the middle. Until the Huxley family had decided to seal the temple, pilgrims had visited that great hall to pray and to leave their gifts to the gods, much like in the bas-reliefs on the walls.

Now the vast, cathedral-like room was used as a command post for the garrison: the soldiers had set up a map board to one side and brought in a number of tables, organizing a headquarters which had all functional areas. Riaku easily identified the officers in charge of the logistics at their table, while another area grouped the intelligence section and the artillery officers that managed the feed of information coming in from the various deployed sensors. Nearby, the air defence commander sat at his chair, talking quietly into his headphones and checking the status of his missile batteries on the screen of his ruggerized laptop. There was a small camp of tents on the opposite side of the vast room, which were used not only by the high officers, but on rotation by everyone, so even the soldiers could leave their foxholes under the snow and enjoy some more space and comfort at least for a few hours. A large field kitchen worked in a corner, distant enough to cause no disturb to the other areas, and a number of cadets, too young for actual combat but still eager to help, kept going back and forth, carrying sealed tins of hot food and beverages all the way to the distant outposts of the first defensive perimeter.

The clanging of swords that Riaku had heard on the staircase came from two figures engaged in a fast-paced, elegant training duel in the vast, clear area ahead of the altar. The Black Lightning immediately looked in that direction, studying the moves of the two contenders and immediately realizing how well they knew their trade. One was a male, bulky and muscular and imposing and yet quick and elegant, graceful even when he used his obvious physical power to deliver true hammer blows with his gigantic cleaver sword. The other contender was a female, slender but with obvious, extremely well developed musculature. She moved with great grace, dancing away from the great hammer blows that were too powerful for her to properly block and then lunging forwards with formidable speed, slashing a cleaver sword that traded beam and thickness away in favor of length. Riaku studied her moves for a moment while descending the long staircase, and he smiled a bit to himself as he thought that, had her musculature been bulkier and more developed, the two would have very much resembled Killer and Alexis.

He instinctively bent the fingers of one hand backwards, brushing the large blade of Toryu, "Dragon Slayer", his massive cleaver-sword that rested upon his back, and wondered with a smile how he'd be able to fare against those two warriors, which he couldn't quite identify yet, due to the semi-darkness prevalent in the hall. He watched as the female sprung forwards and slashed her sword towards the male's legs, forcing him to retreat out of range before the two heavy swords clanged together as she pressed on her assault, but the male exploited her momentum against her and knocked her sideways, swinging the cleaver up towards her neck and nearly smashing her off her feet when their swords impacted with terrible force. Riaku nodded a bit to himself, approving the technique and power on display, and then his mind wandered away once more, thinking of how he had named his sword Dragon Slayer thinking of Wyvern, and of his desire to defeat Killer, to get revenge over him and to conquer Kesteven. Now things were radically different, so much so that part of him wondered whether his sword needed a new name. He had forged her himself and had baptized her in blood, swearing that she was going to eclipse the fame of Wyvern and begin a new legacy that would be eternal... Toryu was in many ways a copy of Wyvern, simpler in design, with a straight, thick blade covered in finely chiseled drawings of dying dragons with their long bodies tangled together and pierced by a multitude of spears and blades. She had been forged ahead of the invasion of Kesteven, specifically to terminate the old Huxley bloodline and open the way for Riaku's own era. According to common beliefs and traditions, changing the name of a sword would bring nothing but bad luck, breaking the unique bond between the sword and the fighter... but now he wore Killer's collar. Now he was Killer's property in every way, and now that he had witnessed a tiny sliver of his father's absolute power he couldn't help but feel that it was utterly laughable to ever have dreamed of defeating him. Could Toryu carry on in her current "identity"? She was now destined to further Killer's glory rather than challenge it. "Servant of the dragon" would have been a better name, Riaku thought, and he was surprised by how natural it now was to think of himself as second, as servant... as slave. Riaku swallowed thickly at that, but he couldn't help the echo in his mind, like a shout: slave! Slave! Slave! And he closed his eyes for a moment, and he was again huddled near Killer's feet, licking his toes, staring up at him with awe, his trembling hands massaging his mighty feet, while his eyes traveled reverently over the handsome, spectacular build of the titan, following the profile of his muscles. Toryu was there, and it was puny in front of Wyvern, so outmatched that the blade almost melted due to the power and heat radiating out of the godsword... and then the comparison was between father and son, and Riaku could only stare with a drooling maw as the great dark god smirked and took his great, monstrous cock in both hands, stroking it slowly, as more, and more, and more grew out in mighty, awesome throbs of pure power; so much that, even while still mostly flaccid, it made Riaku's painfully hard cock look puny in comparison. That gargantuan cock, still mostly flaccid, was at least twice as long, and getting longer as it slowly hardened under the idle strokes of the behemoth, dwarfing Riaku, making him feel insignificant. Riaku had never been stronger: he was a god, e was supernatural, he was limitless... and yet Killer dwarfed him worse than before. Riaku felt his mouth go dry, closing his eyes with a shiver as he admired that colossal black shaft, able to visualize every last thick, arrogant vein... and Vera was there, trembling and flushing before Killer, entirely ignoring Riaku's presence even though they were lovers. Everything that had existed between them was gone, forgotten and cancelled as the muscular Doberman foamed at the mouth and helplessly ground her thighs together, trashing on the spot, clawing into her own legs as she looked up at Killer with adoration and need, hugging herself to keep her trembling hands from touching him, struggling with all her might to not touch that glorious, monstrous, titanic godcock dangling ponderously ahead of her.

And Riaku should have been furious but instead he was... at peace. No, more than that, he was happy, because that was the natural order of things. Because Killer deserved it. Because Vera deserved to be owned by the best. And Riaku saw himself crawling forwards and taking hold of Vera's long dark hair, pulling her ponytail and the wild bangs back away from her eyes when, finally, Killer smiled softly and allowed her unworthy hands to touch him. And Riaku imagined himself speaking words of praise and gratitude on her behalf while she immediately gripped the phenomenal, godlike cock.

It was so vast and thick that she couldn't wrap her fingers around more than perhaps half its girth even using both hands. It was so heavy that she couldn't quite heft it up, and it flexed slowly, lazily, arrogantly, veins bulging out against her fingers, that great, monstrous cockhead flexing as its huge cock-maw stretched open and began to leak an ungodly globe of thick, potent precum.

Vera leaned under the extending rope, hungry for the mighty taste of her god, to be claimed by him, to serve him in any way he'd allow her... because there was nothing, nothing she wouldn't do for him. But she was unworthy, cheap, inadequate, and only his generosity would determine how much she got to touch, to explore, to worship. She wanted to know him in every way, even the filthiest and most humiliating, and her eyes sparkled as she told Killer just that, breathing out how lucky she was to be in his presence...

And Riaku was happy. Riaku begged for her and with her, praying his father to pardon their shortcomings and be generous with them, even worthless as they were...

And Vera drooled and panted, hugging his immense shaft, his cockhead far too massive for her to fit it even into her jaws, no matter how hard she tried, loudly dislocating her jaw as, she forced as much of that monster head into her jaws as she could, sucking hard on it, choking loudly and coughing hard as an immense rope of dense pre crammed her stomach full, causing her neck to bulge as her throat overflowed and an ungodly flood of thick batter burst back out of her stuffed cheeks, thick and sluggish and gluey, potent and so dense it had to be chewed, forming in ropes that stretched for countless feet out of her lips, draping down across her breasts and stomach. Riaku felt dizzy, almost slipping on the steps of ice at the clarity and reality of the scene, at once aroused and terrified by how much he was loving the humiliating experience, how much he was wishing for it to soon be reality. He stared in a mix of awe and horror as Vera's face vanished under a thick blanket of hypervirile sludge, her breath blowing small bubbles in the liquid part of that tar-like masculine nectar as she kissed and mouthed hungrily at the colossal cockhead, eagerly grinding forwards into the shaft while she stroked that colossal cock with all the strength she could manage, desperately trying to gain the god's approval, putting her life on the line as she used every last bit of her energies, knowing that there was no way she could ever be too rough, or able to hurt him in any way: she was nothing but a speck of dirt compared to him, a worthless flea, a frail toy. And that aroused her, filled her with craving as she helplessly squirted her hot juices on the floor, grinding her thighs together as she burned with need and imploringly looked up at him, sweating and trembling, all but melting when the only blessing he gave them was a single gaze of mild entertainment, followed by a snort of contempt at their weakness and inadequacy even as Vera slurped even louder, producing an obscene, wet cacophony as she gargled on his thick essence and dragged her tongue across that immense cockhead, wrapping her lips as best she could over the vast cockmaw as more pre pumped out over her, covering her unworthy body, drowning her, marking her forever...

And Riaku kissed her precum-drenched cheek, feeling it bulge monstrously with the girth of the cockhead she desperately tried to take into her mouth, and he was happy. Proud of her for serving such unrivalled god. Moved to tears by his luck because he could assist her, because he could cower in Killer's shadow... because Killer's power was so immense, so unbelievable, that as long as he served him well, he knew he'd never, ever have to worry about anything else... he was a speck of dust under his father's toe, but that meant being an invincible god to everyone and everything else.

And even as Riaku forced his eyes open, his chest heaving as he panted in shock, all he could hear was a chant of serve-serve-serve! in his mind, telling him to obey, to listen, to please and pleasure his master and God at any and all costs. The collar burned, clamping almost teasingly on his throat, and Riaku felt as if his father's strong hand was hefting him off the ground like a naughty puppy... and it was great. It was liberating. Riaku could be a god, invincible and unfathomable for mortals and lesser divinities alike... he only had to remember his place, which was under his father's foot.

"That's right, my boy..." Diana whispered, and Riaku swallowed thickly as she gave him a knowing grin, while her own collar and her KO tattoo glowed brightly in the dark. "Don't worry, dad will be glad to have you around..."

Riaku swallowed, and nodded. He should have been scared by her words, and by the mere fact she was saying them, but instead he was happy. His new life felt just perfect. Scary at times, but always exciting. Always rewarding, in its own ways.

He returned his attention to the two figures battling in the hall as he stepped off the staircase and walked closer to them, just as they leaned against each other, swinging their fists past their crossed blades. The female had to duck to avoid the heavy fist of the much larger male, and as she broke contact to spring into a ready position, both warriors finally came under the light. Riaku smiled, somewhat surprised, but in a good way, to recognize Seth, king of Kesteven and father of Killer, and Kaya, Killer's sister.

Seth was in spectacular form, with not a single ounce of fat on his body. His musculature was bulky, massive and toned, with powerful chords that bulged and thrummed with power, hefting the heavy cleaver sword like it was made of paper, swinging it like it was a small, light, agile knife. He was shirtless, wearing only the white and grey striped camouflage pants of his arctic uniform and heavy combat boots, and his herculean form was covered in a light sheen of sweat that evidenced the perfectly chiseled shape of his muscles. Riaku spotted a series of large scars going from his shoulder down across his broad chest, and he swallowed a bit, shamefully remembering that those were wounds that the king had sustained while fighting back the invasion of Kesteven that he had launched. When the battle in the streets of the capital had ended, Seth had looked exhausted and shaky, with much of his body covered in bloodied bandages, to the point that Riaku had wondered whether he was ever going to recover. But Seth was a formidable force of nature and a fearsome warrior. He had not just fully recovered, but made himself even stronger, intensifying his training and building new muscular mass to make himself harder under every point of view. The incredible achievements of Killer over the years had stolen the spotlight and made it admittedly kind of easy to overlook Seth Huxley's own conquests. The last three decades or so of Seth's long reign had been dedicated to peace, consolidation and social progress within the borders of Kesteven, giving the king his current fame of man of wisdom, knowledge and diplomacy. It hadn't always been like that, however: Seth had actually carried Wyvern into battle for far more time than Killer had. Before settling fully into the complex job of nation-builder and guardian of order, Seth had been the apex predator, the best warrior of the Northlands, the conqueror that had other kings trembling in fear as he toppled throne after throne after throne. His spectacular strength had terminated several ancient bloodlines and greatly expanded the borders of Kesteven, and he had covered himself in immortal glory in numerous key battles about the NWOA, which had appeared on the international scene when he was in his third year of reign. Even more notably, Seth had led formed and led to victory an alliance of kings in a major, long and bloody war against a group of southerner states that had launched a literal crusade against the tiger kingdoms of the North.

Seth had always been a wise man, and it was during that terrible war that he realized that the relationship between tigers and "prey" had to change and normalize. On one side, he worked tirelessly to prepare his kingdom and his army for possible new assaults from the south; on the other he worked for peace within the borders of Kesteven, enacting laws that for the very first time gave full citizen rights to the "lesser species". Working with his greatest ally, the king of Glacial, father of Alexis, he had tried hard to give a new social organization to the whole of the Northlands, encouraging modernization and moderation, even though it had predictably led to a number of conflicts against other noble bloodlines which had no intention at all of renouncing to the benefits that came from slave labor and complete domination over entire races. Seth had needed all of his guile as well as all of his strength to rally the whole of Kesteven behind him, and then to win other allies abroad. At first, many tigers within his own army had bitterly opposed his plans, as was to be expected, but he had persevered. Within a few years, the new society was a reality in Kesteven and the prey species within the kingdom had become precious allies, leading to the establishment of the first few army units open to non-tigers, and to a generally stronger, more closely-knit country. It wasn't a quick and easy affair, anyway, and several kingdoms continued to intermittently move war against Kesteven for many years, so that even Killer and Riaku had taken part in some of the clashes, but Seth had never regretted his decision and, to his relief, Killer had absorbed his ideas and carried them forwards. Having to fight for his ideas was not a problem for Seth back in his prime: he had been as eager to crush his rivals as Killer was, if not more. Seth was a formidable warrior and absolutely adored the thrill of the fight, so he had been all too happy to have new reasons to challenge other kings and take their thrones away. He also had the wisdom to realize where his limits were, however, and when the borders of Kesteven started getting too vast he began forcing other kingdoms into alliances rather than taking fully over them. The real moment of change in his life, however, had been the birth of his first royal son and heir. Of course, Seth had a huge number of sons before Killer, but for the laws of the Northlands they had no royal rights whatsoever. Only after choosing and marrying a queen could a true prince be born... but even then, the succession to the throne in any kingdom of the North remained determined not by birthright, but ultimately by strength. Any "illegitimate" son could become the rightful king with full merit and legitimacy if he could defeat the king and any other contender. Princes normally had the advantage only because queens in the North were most often warriors themselves. Genetics were the ultimate prize: in the Northlands, physical prowess was held in the highest possible regard, as kings were not only leaders but breeders. They literally were fathers of their nations, siring enormous numbers of children to further their bloodline and make their kingdom stronger. Queens, with almost no exception, were just as exceptional as kings, and the union of such good genetics meant that the princes normally had an advantage over all their stepbrothers. The history of the Northlands contained notable exceptions, but they only confirmed the rule. Seth and Isis were true specimens of the tigers' race, and had all the characteristics that the Northlands held in greatest regard, so no one was surprised when they married, and even fewer were left in any way shocked when their first son demonstrated, right at birth, all the signs of greatness.

Seth himself had chosen the name Killer. A word that in the south of the world would have never, never been considered as viable name for a child, and that in the Northlands was reserved for the most promising of all children. Being a killer, a destroyer of rivals, was after all the greatest aspiration for any tiger, and only a couple of previous kings of the North had carried such a heavy name. Their legacy was great enough that for centuries nobody had ever again dared thinking about using their name.

But when Killer was born there could be no doubts about his destiny of greatness: Isis had a tough and torturing time giving birth to him because he was massive, strong, far larger than any other newborn. The strength in his little hands had left Seth almost terrified, and the size of the child's maleness was obscene, a clear portent of the boy's future development. To add to all that, Killer's birth had been accompanied by a series of other prodigious events and omens: the Sun was eclipsed by a sudden, unexplained darkness that seemed to swallow the star, trying to snuff it out like a candle. The complete obscurity had lasted for close to an hour, during which a tempest of terrible violence had rattled the buildings of Kesteven like they were small trees. Nobody of those who had lived through that afternoon had ever forgotten the immense, terrifying clouds, the devastating lightning bolts, the explosions of light in the sky above, as if a battle was ongoing between the gods... only for the sun to return in full force later on, burning bright as if in the middle of summer, almost scorching the ground as it drained away every hint of the terrible storm.

The whole kingdom had witnessed the omen. The whole world, in fact, had witnessed it. The unexpected eclipse was still without explanations years after scientists from all around the world had begun studying it.

Less well known was the fact that the newborn had fallen terribly hill by nightfall. Killer's body burned with fever that would have easily killed fully healthy adults. Every muscle in his body spasmed out of control, and whenever his hands grabbed into something as he cried in agony, his short, young fingers crumpled metal and cracked stone with an ease that kept Seth glued into the chair from where he kept watch on his son. Isis was sleeping, weak and exhausted, and Seth had chased all servants out of his quarters to look personally after his child. It had been a terrible night, and in several occasions he had been on the point of calling the priests in, because whatever was wrong with Killer was supernatural in nature... but in the end, he hadn't called, because he realized that no priest could possibly be able to do anything about it.

The morning after, Killer finally relaxed, his temperature normalized somewhat and the tremors ceased, allowing the child to fall asleep. Seth couldn't possibly know at the time, but the incredible events of that night had been caused by the remains of the essence of Light and of Darkness, the two primordial entities that had destroyed each other in the titanic clash that had created the universe. The two entities, more ancient and more powerful than any god, had both chosen Killer as the perfect vessel, as a body with the potential to ascend to something greater. The war between Light and Darkness had never ended: with their bodies destroyed and their energies scattered across the entire universe, the two entities had fought each other through mortals and gods alike. Killer, with his extraordinary physical power and almost endless potential, was the first living being ever to offer the two entities a chance of resurrection. The eclipse and the sun had been the tangible signs of their coming, of their struggling over the child as they both permeated him. The illness that had threatened to literally shatter the newborn was due to the eight Great Seals that Elelyon and the 7 gods had urgently casted upon Killer to imprison and contain his power, which threatened to become entirely uncontrollable. A very similar series of events happened a second time a few years later when Alexis was born: the same eclipse, the same storms, this time over Glacial. Alexis had been through her own night of pain and agony as the Great Seals clamped down on her... and Seth had rushed to Glacial the following day to visit his old friend and ally and talk about the events. The idea of organizing the marriage between Killer and Alexis was born on that very day, even though the girl had just come to the light and Killer was just 5 years old. The omens were too incredible to be ignored, and the alliance between Kesteven and Glacial too important: the two royal families had cultivated the project for the marriage for years afterwards. Of course, destiny can be full of irony and Killer and Alexis, both prideful and stubborn and independent, had at first opposed the idea of having their future decided and planned out by their parents. The events had then made the marriage impossible, only for Killer to meet Alexis in Riaku's castle in Mottram, where they had irremediably fallen in love with each other. But that was well known and more recent history.

Even without knowing the truth of the omens in their full, astonishing implications; Seth was left in no doubt about the godlike power that his son possessed, and he decided that the borders of Kesteven had been expanded more than enough, and that he now had to think of consolidation. Some said that Seth had been scared and cowed by Killer's power and had wanted to leave plenty of neighboring kingdoms standing just to feed them to his son when he started having hungers. In part, it was kind of true. Seth's main motive, though, had been to pacify Kesteven before Killer came of age, because otherwise he fully expected his son to use his monstrous strength to crush all opposition, no matter how bloody it might get. He never doubted that Killer would grow up to be a spectacular conqueror, but he worried that he might also grow up to be a tyrant if he was not taught a better, more balanced interpretation of power.

Seth had thus done his best to set a good example, ingraining in his son the concepts of honor and the full awareness of the duties of a king towards his people. Mindful of his temperament on the battle, Seth had elected not to personally train his son in the art of combat, passing that responsibility to William, the war hero that the whole army idolized and, more importantly, a warrior known for the cool, unemotional way he fought. That ability made him the only teacher which could perhaps put brakes on the brash, reckless, bloodthirsty temperament typical of the great warriors of the Huxley bloodline.

Seth had been a fantastic father and a great example for all of his sons. He held himself responsible for all the atrocities that Killer had committed, and felt particular guilt for the "seven years of the fury", that he considered his greatest failure. But in truth, he had been a great teacher, and it showed. Killer respected him so much that he had refused to fight against him, leaving him on the throne of Kesteven. More recently, Killer had blessed his brothers and his parents with some of his godlike energies, turning them into immortal deities... but with a clear difference: he had not forced Seth to wear a collar. Killer respected his father too much to ever even think about it, and that was the ultimate proof of how good a father Seth had been. The king had, out of his own accord, started wearing two heavy bracelets of dark steel, decorated with golden, roaring lion heads holding up large, sturdy rings with their fangs. They were beautiful and regal, but at the same time an evident sign of subservience to his son, balancing the absence of a collar. More important was the fact that Killer governed the empire in strict adherence to the ideals that Seth had passed on. Even now that his power was absolute and unquestionable, Killer acted as the ultimate guardian of the freedom to make choices, rather than as a tyrant. Riaku sincerely believed that it couldn't get much better than that: had he possessed Killer's obscene, unfair power, he was not at all sure he would have been able to resist the countless temptations it implied. Gods, Killer's power... he could only imagine a tiny iota of it, and already he could not imagine a single thing it could not accomplish. Heaven, Hell, all kind of mortal worlds, all powerless before his apocalyptic strength. The simple truth of the matter was that they all had no choice, no chance, no meaning, no importance, because Killer could make of them whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. They had to be very grateful to Seth for all virtues he had been able to build into Killer's mind and soul. Seth shouldered his massive sword and held up his other strong arm in welcome, his handsome voice exclaiming: "Welcome to you! I'm glad to have you here!" He squeezed Gaia's hand, then Diana's, smiling at both goddesses, truly relieved, and he leaned down a bit to whisper: "It is reassuring to have you here. Despite our best efforts, we wouldn't stand a chance against gods attacking us." Seth didn't want his words hear by the soldiers and officers in the nearby camp and in the headquarters, because it was an incredibly depressing and terrifying truth to accept. Everyone knew it, but nobody talked openly about it. They were the best soldiers in the entire world, but they were still only mortals.

Riaku stepped up next, swallowing a bit and tracing his eyes over Kaya first, admiring her slender but exceptionally toned and sculpted form as it gleamed a little with the sheen of sweat covering her. She shouldered her long sword and frowned at him a little, neither smiling nor glaring. The coldness in her gaze still sent a shiver down his spine, though, as it was clear that the princess had not forgotten nor pardoned the events of the war. He tentatively smiled at her, bowing his head a bit to signal that he was sorry, but Kaya only looked at the collar around his neck, finally closing her eyes in reluctant acceptance. Without a word, she pushed her foot forwards slightly and flexed her long, muscular leg, knowing all too well that his eyes would be drawn down by the bulging of her mighty quads, and sure enough he found himself staring at a large, elaborate KO tattoo that made clear her position. Riaku wasn't sure how felt about it: part of him regretted "losing" Kaya as well, because she was beautiful, sexy, and fantastic to stare at, filling him with almost painful heat whenever he tried to imagine her undressing and welcoming him... and another part of him was overjoyed at the sight of the same tattoo, all but demanding that he had the same mark applied to his own body. He felt his cheeks heating up at that thought, and he hurriedly whispered Kaya's name to salute her, before turning towards the king.

Seth, of course, had been Riaku's father as well... Diana was a Forbidden Female, a part of the king's harem, and only Seth should have had access to her chambers, so she had always insisted, for years, that Riaku was his son. Seth had played along, like he did with many others, even though he knew the truth all too well. He visited relatively often, considering the number of concubines he had, and Riaku had fond memories of him. For years he had believed that Seth was his father and he had been proud and happy of it, because the king was kind and every time he visited he had some little attention to give, and great stories to tell that made the heart of the small black-furred boy race with excitement. Stories of war, or heroism, of courage in front of the most terrible of odds. It was also because of those memories that Riaku now felt horribly ashamed and guilty as he followed Gaia and got closer to the old king. The scars on Seth's body seemed to glow in the dark, pointing at him like an accusing finger, reminding him of the monstrous things he had done... but Seth, amazingly, only smiled warmly as he recognized him. "Riaku... it is so good to have you as friend and ally once more." Seth gently said, offering his powerful arm to the black-furred male, who hesitatingly reached forwards, only for the king to grip into his bicep, squeezing firmly and welcomingly. Riaku did the same, their arms crossed in the salute that was traditional for the Northlands, and he reciprocated the squeeze with a bit more energy, feeling more at ease. Seth had the amazing ability to always keep his cool and to irradiate his serenity on others, something that Killer had not inherited but that had resurfaced in full in Anubis, Killer's and Alexis's son. Clearly, Seth had not forgotten the pain and the misery he had been trough, not the devastation of the war, yet there was no shadow in his eyes, no sign of discomfort, no hint that he might be forcing the smile on his face. Seth spotted the collar around Riaku's neck and smirked a little, tilting his head to the side in entertainment, noting: "Well, it seems things between you and your father have finally been fixed for good. And I take it that the collar means you are... far stronger than before." The king simply commented, and Riaku nodded, not finding any word to offer in return, feeling a bit embarrassed still at the thought of that mark of ownership solidly clamped shut on his throat. "That's good, we'll need your strength too." Seth commented, dragging him forwards and hugging him a bit to his chest, as best he could while he balanced his enormous sword on his shoulder with the other arm. Gaia and Diana looked at the scene with matching little smiles, and then the goddess of Nature asked: "Anything weird to report?"

"Until now, no." Seth calmly replied, letting go of Riaku and guiding them towards the nearby headquarters, where they looked over the heads of the high officers to survey the large screens with the radar picture and the log of messages coming from all outposts. "As far as we know, our position is still uncompromised. Suspect RA satellites fly over the North Pole almost every hour, but they do not seem to be able to see us. And yet, I am worried." Seth paused, sighing a bit and looking at the trio of divinities sent to his assistance, and he quietly added: "And I take it that Killer shares my suspects."

"He sent us here because he is convinced that an attack on the Ice Eden is a certainty." Gaia confirmed, her eyes somewhat sad as she looked at the enormous bas-relief depicting the gods in front of the forest. Now Elelyon's era was well and truly over, Taranis was finished, Lemuel's light was almost invisible behind Killer's own incredible force. And the snow leopardess smirked, finding that it was exactly as it should be. She looked at the depiction of Death and made a grimace: that was the only mistake left to correct. Thanathos had to be crushed for daring to oppose Killer.

Seth made a bit of a grimace, nodding. He had expected the answer, but that didn't make it any more pleasant. "What scenario should we expect?"

"The worst one." Diana replied, while rapidly reading the messages on the screen. "The RA could come here with advanced technology and otherworldly weaponry... but the real danger is that we end up attacked by hostile gods." The king only nodded at that, taking it as confirmation of his worst suspects, before he turned to the side as Kaya picked up a towel and dried away the sweat from her abs, not bulky but well chiseled. "You did well, but we have still some work to do on how you counter heavy attacks." The male gently said. He really wanted to tell her to leave, to go back home, to stay safe... but he didn't even try to, because he knew she would not listen. The experience of total war had changed Kaya a good bit, and awakened in her new determination. Like all members of the royal family she was trained in the military and was a good fighter, but she now wanted to become a true warrior, one who could fight and defeat every kind of enemy, including the supernatural, divine beings of the Swarm. She was a quick learner and she had gained immense powers by giving herself to Killer, but there was much she still had to learn. She was loving every moment of her training, however, and she couldn't help but ask herself why she had waited so long before following the example set by her parents and brothers. Earlier, her role in the military had been pretty limited, and she had been a honorary leader more than a battlefield one, but during the war she had taken the real lead of the "Princess's Own Royal Division", the formation dedicated to her, and had fought along with her soldiers in defence of the capital, beating back RA troops and demons alike. Now, elements of her division were deployed around the Ice Eden and Seth knew that she was never, never going to abandon them. He was proud of her for it, but the idea of the battle that was probably right ahead of them all filled him with fears. Kaya smiled at him knowingly, and shook her head slowly, looking amused. He rolled his eyes a little, but smiled.

"We'll deal with things as they come." Kaya simply stated, putting an end to the argument before it could even start. She gazed at Riaku again, studying him for a few moments, and her expression softened a bit as she smirked at the sight of the collar and, most likely, of the submission in his eyes as his attention kept wandering down to her KO tattoo. "Have you ever seen the Eden? Do you know what we are protecting?" Kaya softly asked, and Riaku shook his head slowly. Diana also had never been inside the temple, while Gaia had been inside, but only many centuries earlier, so she replied: "I wouldn't mind seeing if it still looks as beautiful as I remember it."

"I'll take care of things up here. Lead them on a little tour." Kaya said, looking at her father with a smile, and Seth nodded and guided the group towards the great, monumental archway to the right. It led them onto a vast, glorious staircase, chiseled bit by bit in ice. The parapet alone was an elaborate succession of little statues, of powerful bodies tangled together in scenes of battle, and slender, beautiful columns rose up at regular intervals, supporting tall gothic archways facing on an immense circular space, a dark well that had been dug open around what was unmistakably an immense, divine, impossible tree trunk, with its ancient bark overgrown with moss and ivy and vines. It radiated a pleasant, soothing warmth, causing the ice to sweat and forming a soft, cool mist, brightened by dancing blue flames that were clearly magic in nature. The staircase descended slowly, circling around the titanic tree-trunk, and looking out in the distance past the tree, Riaku saw another staircase coming from the opposite side. He walked up to the parapet and looked down with a gape of awe, unable to see how far down the well ventured, because the lower levels lost themselves in darkness. What became clear, however, was that the two staircases never touched, their curves harmoniously forming a double helix around the well, replicating the structure of DNA. The place was absolutely majestic, and when he looked upwards, expecting to see the branches of the immense tree, he actually ended up staring at a quietly rippling layer of soft, blue darkness, halfway between a night sky and a deep ocean. Faint lights glinted in the indescribable distance, like stars, while huge white wound in reality scarred that beautiful picture.

"The branches used to be visible, but could not be reached or touched. Where you see that ghastly white wound, once you would have seen the trunk rising for uncountable miles into a sky that was not ours. Not the sky of earth. Above us there is only ice, but we could... see right through to another world." Seth quietly explained, pulling up near Riaku and following his gaze up to that otherworldly, ethereal ceiling.

"It was a glimpse of Heaven." Gaia explained, leaning on the parapet with a sigh, her eyes fixed on the wide scar, her features hardening and filling with sadness as she looked straight into that emptiness, which had once been the luscious, wonderful jungle of the Fourth Sky. Diana looked up in silence, knowing what she meant, but Riaku and even Seth looked at her in shock, and the snow leopardess frowned for a moment before realizing that, of course, they didn't know the story. She sighed, then explained: "This is part of the Divine Tree, which has its roots in Hell and used to have its vast, beautiful branches in Heaven, with the trunk going through the mortal world." Gaia said, before pointing at the stars visible in the ethereal ceiling. "The point of view is obviously completely different from earth's one, but I'm sure that any astronomer would be able to quickly recognize those stars... and even Earth itself might be visible somewhere there. The Divine Tree still pushes into a sort of permanent portal that looks out of Heaven."

After the Cataclysm, Heaven had ceased to be a supernatural, dimension wrapped around earth but on an independent plane of reality. Instead, it had become a planet that was clearly visible from earth.

"That explains quite a few things..." Seth whispered, looking amazed by the sudden discovery of the truth. Over the centuries, many hypotheses had been made and many studies carried out about that incredible window across reality, but it had been impossible to demonstrate anything. Scientists of all ages had been left speechless. Priests, of course, had tried to say they had been granted a vision of Heaven, and now it turned out to be true. Seth was under little doubt, however, that it was out of coincidence and luck on their part, not out of proper enlightenment. The king had always believed in the gods and in the supernatural, and even more so after witnessing what had happened on the day of Killer's birth, but he had always had a deep dislike of priests at the same time. He had known and befriended a few true men and women of spirit and faith, but he had also witnessed and punished endless corruption and even more shameless exploitation of the gullibility of the people. He could still remember the endless flood of gifts that used to fill up the altar chamber now occupied by the headquarters and encampment: from food to gold and jewels, all the way to sacrifices of life. The priests had gorged on all that until his predecessors had put a brake to their power, and when they had gone overboard again he had chased them all out of the Ice Eden and had sealed the temple. He had seen too many families had fallen into misery in order to make some priests rich. And terrible things had happened in the past when kings had fallen prey to the words of priests, starting "holy wars" over places such as the Ice Temple or even over "relics" whose actual value was questionable at best.

"The reason it is now a white wound is... well, it is my fault." Gaia finally murmured, making a grimace when Diana stepped in and corrected: "Gaia was possessed back at the time, by an ancient and terrible being, that not even God had been able to destroy."

Seth and Riaku looked at the two goddesses with soft, somewhat uncertain smiles, supportive but also confused, and Gaia couldn't help but smile a little, stepping away from the parapet and leading them further down the great staircase as she admitted: "It is a long and complex story. There was indeed a parasite within me back then... a beast that had stolen my body from me, shutting me out of my own mind. But if I am honest, I must admit that I wanted the Divine Tree destroyed. I had always been banned from touching it, from exploring it, from feeling its energies and helping it blossom... and even the forest growing around it has nothing to do with me. It always enraged me. I'm Nature, I'm Life. I want to control and shape every last flower. So, I didn't resist as much as I should have."

They walked down to the first level of the temple, which was the most ancient, the heart of the whole Eden. Branches pushing out of the immense trunk of the divine tree had blocked a large formation of ice which had been sculpted into a smooth, beautiful floor, decorated with an immense map of the Northlands. Nature, spreading endlessly from the warm trunk of the Divine Tree, had done the rest, and the impossible: grass and flowers grew out of the solid ice, and the artists that had created the temple had put order and geometry in their growth, so that now short, perfect grass grew over the continents drawn in the floor, while small sapphire flowers formed a blue carpet over the seas. Flowers and plants of other shapes and colors helped in depicting mountain ranges and deserts, creating such a stunning visualization of the world that Riaku felt sorry about stepping upon. The temperature in the temple was warm and pleasant, and there seemed to be a soft breeze blowing between the multitude of wonderful, unique trees and plants crowded over and around the massive tree trunk. The worshippers and artists that had shaped the temple had built a multitude of statues, chiseling massive blocks of ice in the middle of the shady, beautiful forest, choosing poses and expressions that suggested pleasure and wonder, as their eyes looked up at the roof of branches and leaves. Riaku spotted the statue of a beautiful tigress caught in the act of ducking under a massive branch, and he froze in place for a moment, amazed by how real and alive it looked... before he spotted other statues, of bulky males in heavy armour, with shields and spears, grouped around the imposing figure of the one who clearly was the king. He did not recognize the features of the king, no matter how perfectly chiseled they were, and when he tried reading the inscriptions in the basements of the statues and in a series of obelisks lined on either side of a long, gentle staircase leading to an altar, he found himself unable to make sense of the symbols.

He moved his gaze back to the statues, studying the shape of their armor, and finally swallowed in wonderment as he walked up to Seth and quietly asked: "How... how ancient is this place?"

"The estimate is more than two thousand years." Seth quietly replied, stepping in front of his predecessor and bowing his head in sign of respect. "We are not even sure about how to translate the symbols they used as language back then. I'm not even sure how this king was called... but he might be the one who began our bloodline." The king said, laughing quietly as he saw the surprise on Riaku's face while the black-furred male looked all around himself, taking in the magnificence of the temple. "This place is truly special. The story of the Northlands lives inside this temple. The story of our family, in particular. Even before the war, I used to come here every now and then, just to... sit down and meditate. I swear, at times is like I can truly hear my predecessors speak."

"Amazing..." Riaku said, before they walked along a narrow path countered by splendid flowers, until they reached the parapet that ran all around the circular temple-floor. Gaia arrived from another path, her arms spread so that her fingers lazily stroked over the colorful flowers and the intricate vines, putting a soft smile on her features. Diana followed her, looking amazed, and Seth led them to the archway that led into the staircase descending to the following level. "The deeper you go, the more recent the temple." Seth reminded. For generations, and with few, if any, exception, the kings of the Huxley bloodline had inaugurated their reign by digging a new level into the Ice Temple, always with the terror of reaching the roots of the great tree, or, worse still, to find a point in which the ice was too hard, too cold, too hostile for any plant to grow. It would have been seen as a terrible omen and a sign of hostility of the gods against the king... but the Divine Tree's supernatural warmth was endless, and no king had failed to see a new forest spring into being. As they descended, Gaia briefly told Seth and Riaku about the Divine Tree in Heaven, and recalled the battle that had resulted in the Cataclysm. She told them of how Killer had saved her, carefully leaving out the details about the savage sex but somehow feeling like Seth could read all about it directly through her eyes. Thankfully, despite a smirk she was sure to have spotted on his lips, he made no comments about it. Seth and Riaku listened in a mix of awe and horror as she told them about how the Divine Tree had been destroyed, instantaneously annihilating the Fourth Sky of Heaven and forcing Killer to absorb an incredible amount of energy to prevent the whole of Paradise from becoming nothing but a memory. He had kept the fabric of reality whole and had forced Heaven's dimension to turn into a solid planet rather that tear apart into ruins.

Seth was visibly proud of his son's accomplishments, but he was also very evidently aware that Gaia wasn't telling him everything. He knew Killer enough to figure out by himself that his heroic actions were not without their dark sides. Gaia made sure not to tell him much about the Seraphims having their wings turned black, their very minds partially rebuilt... and she made no mention of Killer's darkness raping Hell into submission, nor of his hypervirile, brutal essence reshaping Heaven itself. It was not something that could be easily explained with mere words: some of what Killer had created was simply indescribable, and needed to be seen. She didn't mention the Insatiables, either, and she left for later the full explanations about the new order of Heaven. She had been tempted to explain how the bas-relief depicting the gods in the entrance hall of the Eden was no longer up to date, but she had decided that it was not the right time, place and occasion. Seth had not yet learned of how Killer had effectively brushed Elelyon and Lemuel out of his way, leaving them no option: the difference in power by now was so obscene that Elelyon and Lemuel combined wouldn't have been able to wrestle Killer's little toe. Killer had not been violent, not even rude, but in a way that only made it worse, because both gods had suddenly lost their thrones, without a word, without a fight, without even being told off. Killer's power had completely eclipsed them, in one instant. The new God had offered them a role as advisors to Vesta, and they had, of course, accepted. Lemuel also tended to the horses and to the weapons. They were both treated with respect, but the truth was that they had no options: they were no longer gods, no longer lords, but mere servants. Their temples were gone, their glory already all but forgotten as all three planes of existence put all of their devotion and energies into worshipping and serving Killer. They were finished, whether they liked it or not. They stood absolutely no chance against Killer, and had effectively been defeated without the liger needing to lift a hand. They were left to live in a universe in which Killer had claimed and taken everything else. Theirs was an exile, borrowed time in a golden cage, spent with the mind filled by the painful awareness that everything they touched, the air they breathed, even their own bodies... Killer owned it all and could claim it at any time he wanted. Basically, Killer had "generously" allowed them to slink off and make themselves small and almost invisible. They would have made pitiful additions to Killer's strength at that point, and would have been even more miserable as opponents. They hid in their own insignificance and served the new God with the best smiles they could put up... Fortunately for them, their smiles were often sincere, because they were both humble at heart and didn't suffer too much for their fate, however sudden and without appeal. In the rare occasions in which they were taken over by rage and regret and envy, they could only force themselves to smile even wider, because they knew there was no way to challenge Killer or stand against him. Even running away was not an option, because Killer's power was rapidly spreading through the universe as more and more gods fell in combat against him. If Killer could wipe out the Swarm, then no corner of Creation was going to be safe.

Seth was certainly going to disapprove the sidelining of God and of the divinity of Light, especially since they had never been enemies, so Gaia preferred to leave the argument for later. Seth was one of probably two persons in the entire universe who had both the guts to lecture Killer and enough of his respect and affection to not be squished because of it. The other was Anubis, Killer's son. Ultimately, though, Killer's decision was the only thing that mattered, and Seth and Anubis were fully aware of it.

They descended a few more levels, visiting other temples: each had its own style, allowing them to see how the people of Kesteven lived thousands of years before their births. The various levels displayed varying degrees of magnificence in the sculptures and decorations, depending on how much the king of the day had believed in the Ice Eden's holiness. Some altars were simply spectacular, coming with great canopies chiseled in ice, with slender columns and great armies of statues both large and small. The faint illumination was always provided by dancing blue flames that caused the ice all around to gleam in wondrous shades of sapphire, and what was common to all levels was the luscious greatness of the forest, with huge trees flourishing out of cold, unforgiving ice. It was amazing to see the roots going deep into the ice, and experience the warmth coming from the immense, moss-covered trunk of the Divine Tree somehow pushing back the arctic's freezing temperatures. And somehow the temperature was also low and stable enough that the thin, frail and beautiful columns of ice and the bold archways only "sweated" but never melted. The statues were still perfect, unchanged from when the last hammer blow had finished shaping them, and they depicted all the kings of the Huxley bloodline, often along with their families, which frequently amounted to a small army of queens and a vast armada of sons and daughters.

It was no wonder that the whole place was considered a miracle worthy of worship, and that Seth's eyes sparkled with amazement and affection as he wandered through that incredible time capsule, walking between the rows of princes and princesses, studying their features, almost able to read into their souls with how incredibly alive their eyes were. The very best artists of every age of the Northlands' history had worked to chisel those statues, those altars, those columns, and the beauty of their masterpieces was enough to make any northerner proud.

The temple had more than 50 levels, so the number of steps to be descended was truly astonishing. The wonderful double-helix staircase was a wonder in itself, but they were all relieved when Seth led them to what looked like a little, beautiful octagonal tower jutting out of the edge of the circular temple-floor, facing on the abyss. This too was entirely carved into solid ice, its slender structure topped by a bold dome, the columns all ending in statues of heavily armed Seraphims and Arkangels, but what was most impressive was the complex system of chains built inside: even the chain links were made of ice. The floor of the tower was actually an elevator that reached all the way down to the deepest levels of the immense, glorious place. The massive chains, that were literally feet thick, slid rapidly up and down, running in small furrows in the walls on either side, making almost no noise at all thanks to the water that quietly, endlessly cascaded down the narrow guides, without ever freezing.

"So, the very last temple down below is yours...?" Riaku curiously asked when the lift began to rapidly descend, and Seth nodded with a smile. "Following the tradition, I inaugurated a new level of the temple soon after taking the throne. The work still isn't finished, but that's normal. These temples took many, many years to be built: some remain incomplete because the king who ordered them built died and was replaced well before the conclusion of the opera." Seth easily explained, shrugging off with a smile the prospect of such an event. Despite his nonchalance about it, it was no mystery that his reign could have been one of the short ones, had Killer decided to take the throne instead of leaving Kesteven in favor of enjoying his almost literal godhood in the south of the world. Fortunately for Seth, Killer had left him on the throne of Kesteven even after the seven years of voluntary exile, and even after returning to beat back Riaku's invasion force. Riaku was tempted to ask Seth how he felt about being so completely reliant on Killer's benevolence to even just preserve his life, but in the end he did not formulate any question. He was scared that his voice would betray his guilty excitement, the desire he felt whenever he thought about Killer. Voices in his head laughed of him. His own, Vera's, Alexis's... his mother's... and they all sentenced: y_ou are a little liar. You say you desire to be him, like him. Fool! We see the truth: you desire_ HIM_._

Riaku felt embarrassed by his own thoughts, but nonetheless he found himself groveling once more on the deck of the Ark Royal, kissing Killer's toes while he towered above him, smiling and handsome, muscular and utterly perfect and invincible.

He shook his head a bit, shoving against that image, trying to force it to dissolve, and he looked out at the abyss outside of the elevator-tower until he spotted a tangle of cables that was very much out of place. "What's that...?" He immediately asked, eager to distract himself somehow. Seth gazed over his shoulder and immediately realized what they were talking about.

"Wires bringing electricity down to the bottom level. I've allowed the workers and the artists to bring down modern tools. There's no point in making the job harder than it already is. And there is also an antenna for radio signals, so we can communicate with the headquarter up in the hall. Otherwise, no signal at all could reach us down here." The king calmly explained, tapping the small headphone set he was wearing. "It's only temporary." He reassured, smiling before falling silent again, and Riaku shifted nervously on his feet, fearing the silence, feeling his thoughts drifting again towards his father's awesome power.

Mere moments later, however, Seth frowned and they all heard, albeit faintly, Kaya's voice coming from the headphone as she urged: "Come up right away. We are trouble."

"There we go." Gaia muttered, her strong body tensing as she looked back up the immense shaft of the Ice Eden. "Sooner than expected."

Seth had already reached for the commands of the elevator, causing it to grind to a loud, violent stop before it began to move upwards, but he muttered something under his breath at how slow the lift suddenly felt. "You know how to fly?" He urgently asked, looking straight into Riaku's eyes. The black-furred male frowned for an instant, as if about to ask whether the king had gone insane, but then he remembered that, mere hours before, he had been made into a god. As absurd as it seemed, certainly he was also able to fly. "I have no idea, I've literally never tried before!" Riaku replied, and Seth grunted a bit, making a grimace and admitting: "I've had little time for practice too. But it's a lot faster than using the elevator."

"If it can help, know that your father mastered his wings as soon as he was told he had them." Diana said, turning to look at Riaku with a soft smile while her own angelic wings exploded into being in a flash of fire, unfurling rapidly and majestically framing her figure. Riaku hesitatingly smiled back, unsure about whether that hearted him or just added more pressure. He was amused when he heard Seth cursing under his breath and muttering: "Of course, he had to ace that too."

Diana and Gaia easily jackknifed the parapet and floated near the elevator, ready to intervene if something went the wrong way, and Seth closed his eyes and straightened his back, his massive musculature flexing visibly before four great, dark wings pushed out of his shoulder blades, flapping once. "Are you ready, son...?" The king asked, rolling his shoulders slowly and looking at Riaku, who stared at him in wonder... before nodding and closing his eyes, focusing. Riaku felt terribly stupid and had no real clue about what he was supposed to be doing, but he wished for his own wings to come into light... and to his surprise, they did. He looked back at them, smiling widely as he saw them readily reacting to his thoughts, to the easiest flex of his muscles, and he laughed a bit, shaking his head in entertainment. He had the wings of an Arkangel: two pairs, massive and powerful, with long feathers that became ethereal, deadly blades of energy at their extremity; and they were completely black, as dark as a starless night. He was not surprised: even before considering Killer's own darkness, he had a long list of sins of his own.

Seth's wings were very similar, but they were not as dark: they didn't shine with holy, angelic light but they were only tarnished, not completely blackened, and that kept Riaku staring for a moment as the king easily jumped up on the parapet and extended a hand towards him, playfully remarking: "It's just a few miles of fall from here. No pressure."

Riaku leapt up onto the parapet and made the mistake of looking down, grimacing at the apparently endless darkness beneath, but before thinking too much about it he decided to just jump. He closed his eyes, immediately regretting his decision and thinking intensely about flapping his mighty wings... and although he flailed his arms awkwardly at first, his enormous pairs of dark wings majestically beat the air, seeming to almost slap it into submission as his ruinous fall halted and he began to soar skywards instead.

He opened his eyes with a wide grin at that incredible, unique sensation of freedom, at the exhilarating feel of the air rushing past at incredible speed, and he winced as he realized just how fast he was going, and that he was already getting close to the ceiling, with its almost portal-like "window" on Heaven.

Instinctively, he spread out his wings to brake, and began to slow down, before Seth pulled up at his side, gave him a smile and pointed to a wide archway, using his hands to show him how to move his wings. Riaku nodded and followed the suggestion, banking and shooting under the great arch before wrapping his wings tightly against his sides and flipping in midair, landing in a crouch. It was a good bit more violent than intended and he nearly rolled over, but he was simply delighted nonetheless, springing to his feet with a huge smile. Diana and Gaia landed nearby, looking amused, and Seth squeezed his shoulder in a silent congratulation as he walked past, heading for the last ramp of staircase that led straight into the hall.

Kaya poked her head out and her expression made clear how relieved she was to have them all back quickly. "There is something huge and incredibly fast heading this way. It has been picked up by the radars back home." She urgently announced, and they all rushed towards the screen in the headquarters.

"What is it, a ballistic missile...?" Seth asked, but when he got to the screen he had his answer: the trajectory was flat and the altitude very low. But the object was way too large; far more than any known cruise missile. The radar signal came directly from Kesteven through data link: the target was still too far away from them to be seen directly by their own sensors out on the pack, but it flew at such speed that its arrival was nonetheless imminent.

"It flies low. The radars will lose contact in seconds as the contact moves over Seahall. The mountains will shield it from sight." The air defence officer of the watch pointed at the screen with a pen, showing the track they had managed to build: the incredibly powerful anti-ballistic missile radars based in Kesteven had first picked up the target when it pulled up over the top of the mountains in north-western Ire. Then they had lost it again in the clutter as it dived, and had been able to pick it up again while it flew across the Western Seas. The contact had flown across the sea in mere instants. "There, we lost it." The officer announced, as the small dot on the screen became invisible after flying over land again. The peninsula of Seahall, to the west of Kesteven, was little more than a radioactive desert after Ire's bombardments and waves of demons had overrun and destroyed the kingdoms there. The contact, whatever it was, would not encounter any resistance, and the fighter jets on alert in Kesteven, which had no doubt already been scrambled, were simply not fast enough to catch up with it, unless it turned eastward towards the kingdom.

"It is coming here." Seth quietly said, his heart thrumming in his chest as instinct told him that trouble was heading straight their way.

"We'll pick it up again in seconds if it does not change course." Kaya noted, and the officers of the air defence force nodded in confirmation. Seahall's peninsula was relatively narrow, at least for something as incredibly fast as the unknown contact, and in moments the mountains would no longer be in the way. The narrow Syrane Channel, with its icy waters, was all what separated Seahall's northern shore from the arctic pack.

"Urgent transmission from the Admiralty!" An officer shouted from the communications desks, and the commanders of the garrison rushed in that direction as the watchkeeper read the text out aloud. "It's a brief report from the NES Audacious. They are reporting some kind of anomalous underwater launch. Not ballistic, I repeat, not ballistic. From an unknown underwater contact right in the middle of the RA's fleet formation. The message comes from a timed buoy. The launch took place just about ten minutes ago."

"Now we know where the damn thing comes from." Seth muttered, getting no comfort at all from that knowledge. "Good god, how fast is it...? Ten minutes to get here from the frigging southern ocean! There is no known weapon anywhere near as fast. Not even a ballistic missile could get here that quickly."

"The contact does not transmit." The air defence officer noted, swallowing thickly as he bent over its computer. "It's electromagnetically dead. No radar, not even for navigation or altimeter function."

The watchstander ordered all thermal cameras on, but before he could order to turn on one of the radars, Seth intervened, holding up one hand and urging: "No radar. Let's not give away any clue as to our position."

"We got it again. Flying over Syrane's channel. Straight at us." The radar officer announced, evidently nervous as the track began to rapidly update on the screen, cutting through the narrow sea at fantastic speed. The computer couldn't quite update the chart quickly enough to keep up.

Seth turned around, giving his back to the large screens, and he traded a worried gaze with Gaia, who gave a tiny nod back at him. "It is no missile, or bomber." The king stated, keeping his voice low to only be heard by the small group, before he turned his gaze onto Kaya as he added: "It is going to be nasty. The missiles are not going to stop this, and the rifles even less so. Bring them home, Kaya. Open portals and bring your soldiers home. There's no point getting them killed in a fight they cannot possibly win."

The princess made a grimace at that, opening her mouth to counter, to say that they didn't even know for sure what they were dealing with... but as she gazed past her father and saw the small radar blip on the screen get past the edge of the Arctic's pack, she realized that there was no time to argue and pretend it wasn't true. "I'll be back right away, okay? Don't think you can get rid of me." She urgently replied, and Seth smiled warmly and hugged her tightly, albeit for just a short moment, as he said: "I never want you to be far away, Kaya. I just want you to be safe... and all of them, too."

"Should we order the missile batteries in position?" The air defence commander asked, and Seth and Kaya traded a look before the princess stepped forwards and shook her head firmly: "It wouldn't achieve anything." She flicked her wrist and opened a large portal, startling several men that still had never experienced that prodigy from up close, and she ordered: "Evacuate the headquarter. Get through the portal and activate Alternative 1." The secondary HQ was a tented, well-hidden command post already fully assembled but dormant, located several miles away. There was only a token presence there: guards and a detachment of signalers with radio re-broadcasting equipment, but it could be quickly brought up to speed to replace Main, the HQ in which they were standing. In a battle against a god, neither Main nor Alternative were going to achieve much, but she didn't want to humiliate her soldiers more than was strictly necessary.

They all knew the hard truth, and stood up from their chairs without protesting, even though nobody was happy about leaving the battlefield. The nearby encampment and the kitchen rapidly emptied as well as the soldiers formed orderly lines and walked through the portal, while the air defence officers maintained their positions at the screens, keeping track of the radar contact.

"We have it on camera!" One of them suddenly announced, and he switched the feed from one of the thermal sensors to the largest screen. They only saw a long, massive shape red deformed and glazed over by a layer of plasma and almost literally solid heat due to the incredible speed it flew at, but in mere seconds the mysterious object had come close enough to be recognized.

"Sikanjal..." Gaia muttered, and Kaya urged the last few officers: "Go! You've done your duty here, get the Alternative running!" They left rapidly, sneaking gazes full of amazement and concern at the image on the screen as it rapidly became clearer, revealing a reptilian goddess that somehow was at once beautiful and terrible, her eyed glowing a cruel crimson, her features covered by a skull-like mask of dark metal and her body bulging with muscles, her arms bulky and almighty, her abs bulging with power and her legs looking simply deadly. Her musculature had expanded enormously since last time, and energy crackled violently around her form with how ferocious her new strength was. Yellow prison-crystals containing withered, agonizing gods were encapsulated inside her muscles and flesh, sticking out grossly out of large, ugly wounds that bubbled with corruptive, ever-evolving darkness. Some of her body appeared to be rotting away, but somehow even that made her look stronger and more dangerous, because each pulsing, open wound dripped with thick fluids full of terrible, negative energy and was overgrown with sharp crystals formed of the same energy-charged golden material that could imprison and drain even the gods. It was obvious that she had made good use of the time in which she had been gone, hidden who knew where: she had gone through a whole new series of experiments and artificial enhancements, using the same technologies and approaches that had been used by Satan and Typhon. Her back was massive and powerful, armored by great ridges of adamantine crystal and tentacle-like growths of mutant, corrupt flesh, as well as great, twisted spikes and blades of dark metal where her armor had been captured by her evolving body and crushed, bent out of shape and made into new forms and purposes. Massive, skeletal wings pushed out of her shoulder blades, with ethereal black flames burning between the sharp bones, her tail was simply titanic, stretching through the sky behind her, making her look like an apocalyptic serpent. She had put to good use the massive chunk of Satan's unholy body that she had stolen during the battle down in Hell, making it part of her own form, merging it with her own tail. It must had been a complex operation, and probably Satan's essence in the enormous "tail" had resisted, because there were horrendous scars and pulsing, open wounds visible around the crude joint, and the corruption of the High King of Hell had clearly poisoned her, causing some of her metallic scales to lose color and become pale all over her form. And yet, even that had only made her stronger, as golden crystals had grown out of the wounds and formed a heavy ridge down the length of her serpent form, sticking out in deadly spikes and blades. Agonizing husks of alien gods were visible through the crystal and even into the open wounds, their mouths gaping sinisterly in eternal shrieks of anguish while pus and tumors and mutant corruption bubbled and swelled up all around them, somehow evolving her, making her stronger. It was hideous, and yet glorious. She was solid, powerful, unfathomable. Her features, even with the body mask, still retained the perfect, alluring beauty of an incarnation of Lust, as Sikanjal originally was. Her breasts were huge and firm and splendid, and her abs strong and perfectly chiseled, somehow only made more beautiful by the scars and even by the open wounds.

"How bad is it...?" Seth asked, although his expression and voice made clear that he already suspected the answer. Diana grimaced in horror at the sight of the cobra's modified and dramatically enhanced body and finally muttered: "About as bad as it can get. Sikanjal is a fearsome opponent... and she seems to have upgraded herself in a multitude of ways."

"Order the soldiers to stay hidden. They can't do a thing against her." Gaia urged, and Kaya rushed over to a communications terminal to send exactly that order. She intended to reach her soldiers as quickly as possible to portal them away from the immediate danger, but she hoped that by staying hidden they would have been safe from the worst of the massacre... and then there was a sudden flash of crimson coming from the screens and the princess instinctively looked up to see Sikanjal's jaws opening wide, a terrible dark red energy focusing in a sphere in her throat before exploding out in a massive beam. Immediately, the great hall was rattled violently as the great ray of malignant force struck the surface of the pack, cutting deep though the eternal ice like it was butter, before a terrifying explosion rumbled above their heads and most of the screens filled with static as sensors and cameras and outposts were vaporized.

"Incoming!" Gaia shouted as the heat inside the room suddenly became ferocious and the noise deafening, before the wall of ice ahead of them began to glow crimson, the great beam of fire showing clearly through as it rushed towards them.

"Come here, move!" Seth urged, extending his hand towards Kaya and dragging her closer as Gaia and Diana shoved their hands forwards and formed a protective barrier around them, before the whole room seemed to simply disintegrate as the crimson beam cut right through the wall and rushed against them. Crimson light and incredible, terrible heat enveloped them as the vast hall dissolved, the entire headquarters and the encampment vanishing without leaving any hint of having ever existed at all, and Riaku winced as his skin sizzled and covered in bubbles, his blood boiling in his veins and a cry of agony escaping his throat as he felt like he would melt right there and then. Gaia stumbled backwards with a snarl, her body smoldering and her hands trembling as she pushed back against the terrible beam, and Seth stepped forwards with a growl and aided her with all the force he could muster, his arms crackling with energy. "It's... overwhelming...!" Diana cried out, as she skidded backwards despite her efforts to resist, to shove back, and the spherical barrier around them pulsed violently inwards, shrinking smaller and threatening to burst into fragments as they were deafened by the colossal explosion. Gaia closed her eyes as the ice around them dissolved, mountains-worth of eternal ice melting in one instant and causing enormous waves of freezing water to crash down on them even as much of the liquid instantaneously evaporated to form a thick fog... and she snarled as the pulled the water over the barrier just as magma exploded out of her body and slammed into the inside of the wall of energy.

Immediately, the protective sphere became a thick bunker of flowing magma and hard, glass-like obsidian forming from the sudden drop in temperature. The enormous black walls all around them cracked and trembled, but somehow resisted, leaving Riaku staring up at the incandescent, glowing magma flowing through the fissures, cooling and morphing rapidly into new obsidian, giving their shield a self-healing capability... but before he could comment in any way, an enormous force smashed violently against their protective sphere and smashed it backwards, sending them flying across it to crash into the far wall. Seth spun in midair and slammed his feet into the wall, somehow drawing his sword out in the same graceful movement, and Riaku stared at him in awe for a brief instant, realizing just how much he didn't know or had forgotten about the old king, but before he could say anything, the wall ahead of them exploded and a multitude of sharp fragments of stone were hurled against them.

Riaku grunted and scrambled up to his feet as quickly as he could, and his eyes widened in surprise at his own incredible speed, before he noticed that the incoming obsidian daggers seemed to move on slow motion. Only in that moment he began to realize what being a god truly meant, and his hand shot up to grab the handle of Toryu, swinging it out and effortlessly slapping a large spear of stone out of the way before it could shot through his chest.

Sikanjal effortlessly tore through the wall of stone and caused the entire sphere to explode in pieces, her muscles bulging with power as she violently slashed two great sabers against them. Seth charged forwards and swung his great sword up, grunting as the clash against one of the sabers smacked him backwards, his arms spasming as he wrestled back against her tremendous strength, forcing her blade to miss its target and go wide. Riaku instinctively held Toryu up, pushing his free hand into the broad flat side of the blade as the great saber slammed into the weapon, causing sparkles and bolts of electricity to fly in every direction. He snarled and pushed back against her with all of his strength, muscles bulging explosively as he lunged forwards and then spun sideways to force her weapon out of position. Kaya immediately exploited the window of opportunity and stabbed her own great blade towards the demonic goddess's chest, but Sikanjal laughed darkly and arched her back with a flex, muscles swelling and thick veins thrumming with power as a multitude of fleshy tentacles and tendrils pushed out of the deep wounds in her abdomen, leaking out dark corruption and golden, molten crystal essence as they whip-lashed against Kaya, wrapping around her sword and yanking hard on it, hefting the princess off her feet.

"You are in trouble, vermin!" Sikanjal mocked, dragging the princess towards her chest as the thick black "ribs" wrapping over her huge breasts suddenly cracked open and reached hungrily for Kaya, before a huge scar going down from her chest to the groin suddenly split open with a spurt of blood, and Kaya winced in horror and shock as it opened wide, like a mouth ready to swallow her whole. Sikanjal's guts and inner organs twisted and made space for her, before several ropes of intestine pushed out against Kaya and erupted thick, nasty loads of golden pus, or resin, or whatever the gooey substance was. Kaya swung her body upwards and slammed her boots violently into the cobra's huge breasts, kicking herself backwards and yanking hard on the trapped sword, but the demonic goddess only laughed and coated the princess in the thick, dense fluid, while her tentacles twisted around Kaya's blade and effortlessly crunched it out of shape until it shattered like it was made of glass.

Diana fired a sphere of focused energy straight into Sikanjal's open chest, but her guts greedily wrapped around it and dragged it inside, crushing on it until it imploded harmlessly, and the cobra's eyes flashed with intense satisfaction as lunged towards the black-furred tigress. Riaku stepped in the way and slammed the flat of Toryu across her breasts, knocking her back with a grunt, but her gigantic serpent body twisted and slid forwards, her legs leaving the ground as she slithered like a naga, laughing in cruel amusement as she slashed both of her swords against the much smaller goddess. Diana backstepped and drew out her agile swords, one of which immediately glowed as eternal, holy flames erupted from the blade, her eyes flashing in their unique ruby color as she threw herself to the side, avoiding the first immense sabre, before catching the second between her swords, her arms spasming and spine bending painfully as Sikanjal leaned forwards and pushed down to crush her, to cut her in half from head to toe... but Riaku charged in and smashed Toryu down on Sikanjal's arm with all of his force, muscles bulging as the blade cut in the metallic scales of the goddess... but only just. Sikanjal turned around with a vicious grin and slapped him away like an insect, ignoring the little cut in her muscular forearm as it immediately healed, and she opened her deadly jaws instead, spitting out a focused blade of crimson force after him.

Riaku crashed violently into a massive wall of half-molten ice, smashing deep through it even though it was harder than stone, and he grunted in pain before his eyes widened as he saw the incoming crimson light and yanked Toryu free to defend himself. Gaia floated upwards over a column of roaring water, her eyes glowing sapphire as she slashed out one arm and sent a huge wave of water smashing into the crimson beam, extinguishing its indomitable heat in a cloud of mist. It emerged on the other side reduced to a dagger of lucid but frail obsidian, and Riaku smashed it into a hailstorm of fragments with a powerful swing of Toryu. Gaia made a shoving gesture and sent an enormous vortex of roaring water shooting from her palms, tearing through the air like a laser and striking Sikanjal in the chest, tearing apart her exposed guts until her body closed, leaking out that thick golden resin. The cobra goddess moved through the tremendous vortex of water with a dark laugh, ignoring the jets of water that exploded past her hips and shoulders and tore through the rock-hard ice, cutting the pack apart. Her black, armored scales seemed invulnerable and she closed the distance before slashing one great sabre against Gaia, forcing the snow leopardess to retreat with a grunt of shock, before flames erupted out of her body, exploding against the cobra. Sikanjal just rammed straight through the wall of fire, unfazed by the tremendous heat, and she smashed Gaia back into the wall of solid ice at the edge of the vast crater formed by the explosion.

"Did Killer think you'd suffice to protect this Anchor...? If he thought you bunch of maggots could stop me, he is a lot more stupid than I though." Sikanjal mocked, leaning forwards and using her massive forearm to crush Gaia deeper into the hard ice, while the wounds in her flesh pulsed and bubbles of the golden resin swelled out as the thick fluid leaked over Gaia's chest, seeming to greedily crawl over the front of her body like it had a mind of its own. Gaia looked at the stuff with horror, her eyes darting up to the solid crystals of the same color that jutted out of the cobra's back, filled with the husks of drained gods, and then moving sideways towards Kaya, who was desperately trying to scratch away the same substance from her arms. It was already solidifying and glowing greedily as it drank energies out of her.

"Nice, huh...?" Sikanjal mocked, grinning viciously and spitting some of the incandescent stuff right on the snow leopardess's face. "This stuff eats away at everything, almost as hungrily as Unworld residue does. But instead of destroying what it eats, it stores it all away. It can contain an immense amount of power... as I'm sure you already know." Sikanjal pulled up her sabre and grinned as she pushed the crimson blade against Gaia's throat, adding: "My staff of little helpers managed to create a liquid variant of this crystal... and now my body produces it constantly. So I can turn nice little toys like you into batteries. Aren't you eager to become a part of me...? Together we'll be invincible..."

Gaia clawed into the huge arm that pinned her down, and her other hand seized the blade as it began to push into her throat, blood spurting out over it while that hideous yellow gunk began to leak into the wound instead. The goddess of Nature gargled in pain and focused on turning Sikanjal's arm into stone, but only the outer layer of armored scales was affected, turning hard and brittle and falling apart when she squeezed, but only to reveal mutant flesh beneath, and chords of powerful muscle that flexed and seemed to push out wholly new, rapidly developing scales that were harder, stronger, better in every way.

Sikanjal laughed and licked her lips slowly, her tongue thick and forked, and Gaia's eyes bulged as the sword bit deep into her neck... before the ice behind her suddenly, instantaneously melted into water and exploded forth with tremendous force, blasting the enormous demonic goddess backwards.

Kaya hissed in agony as she used a large, cruel bayonet to tear the rapidly solidifying crystal off from her arm, cutting off skin and even flesh, trying to rapidly and crudely clean up the wound before looking up with a snarl of fury as the raging ocean of freezing water washed Sikanjal away. The princess immediately leapt up onto the immense tail of the demonic goddess, drawing out a large dagger from a holster strapped to her thigh and stabbing both blades into what looked like a weak spot in the armor of the monstrous divinity. Both blades tore through a large, hideous wound from which a glowing eye stared malignantly up at her, and Kaya snarled and tore the bayonet right through it, causing it to explode into a splatter of pulp before her eyes burned with savage power and sent a blade of telekinetic force smacking into the deep cut, tearing through adamantine chords of muscle and mutant, dark flesh.

Sikanjal snarled in fury more than pain, unfurling her skeletal wings and stopping her ruinous flight across the crater before shoving both of her sabres into the immense, focused blast of water, gritting her fangs as she wrestled it back, her eyes glowing crimson as she glared at Gaia and then leaned forwards with a roar, cutting through the wave and sending two crescent-shaped flashes of dark red energy exploding out of her swords. Gaia winched in pain and shock, recoiling as the ocean split in half, the waters refusing to listen to her and drawing back to the opposite sides, seeming to run away from the terrible force of the cobra, and then she saw the two great red blades coming and spun sideways to ram her back into the flat of one while punching hard into the other, sending them wide off target and watching as they cut into the solid arctic ice, running for miles and miles and leaving behind surgically precise wounds that set countless square miles of floating ice into motion.

Sikanjal glared down at her own endless serpent body, twisting it until she spotted Kaya, and she swung her tail violently into the wall of ice to her right, smashing Kaya into it and dragging her for countless meters, grinding her into the sharp, cruel formations of rock-hard ice. "You cannot stop me, maggots! You have nowhere near enough strength to give me a work-out!" Sikanjal gloated, grinning as she looked down at Kaya and blasted an explosion of telekinetic force in her direction, disintegrating the wall of ice into a multitude of small fragments as a gigantic fracture split the entire arctic pack in half. Kaya instinctively curled up as she was crushed back through millions of tons of ice, her body feeling like it would burst apart into nothing but pulp, before she crashed out through a wall and into an open space... and her eyes opened in horror as she recognized the comforting warmth that suddenly surrounded her. She spun around and slammed her boots into a finely chiseled column of clear ice, grunting in pain and spitting out a gout of vomit and blood as her whole body spasmed in pain, but she nonetheless sprung right back into the fight, pulling up her cruel knives as Sikanjal bulldozed her way through the vast breach in the wall of ice and leapt forth with a wide, terrible grin.

One sabre swung out with savage force, and Kaya grunted and pulled her legs up over the sharp edge, slamming her hands into the flat of the blade and hand-springing forwards to stomp both feet straight on the cobra's muzzle. Sikanjal effortlessly tore through four columns with her vicious swing, then grunted in annoyance as the princess landed on her snout, forcing her jaws closed just as she prepared to blast out a beam of crimson force. Flames and steam burst out of her nostrils as she swallowed angrily and wildly shook her head from side to side, throwing Kaya off balance, but the princess stubbornly resisted, landing right back on her nose and throwing the bayonet straight into her eye.

The dagger glowed with the young goddess's energy, but it still bounced uselessly against the transparent layer of armor protecting Sikanjal's eye, and the cobra viciously lunged forwards, smacking her armored skull into the roof of ice to squish the far smaller female.

Kaya jackknifed past her horns at the last second, sliding down her ridged back and then slamming her feet into a spike of golden crystal, turning around to stab her dagger into the back of the cobra's head, her muscles bulging as she threw all of her weight on the blade to sink it down to the hilt.

Sikanjal snorted in irritation, as if she had been bitten by a mosquito, and swung her twin swords viciously down through the first temple instead, cutting down dozens of trees and disintegrating many more of the great statues, before breaking the very floor into three sections that collapsed down the shaft, falling like meteors onto the floor beneath, sending up a huge cloud of freezing mist and fragments of wood as the entire forest was annihilated by that avalanche of thousands of tons of rock-solid ice.

Kaya pumped her energies through her dagger, gritting her fangs as the wound in the cobra's head pulsed and bubbled disgustingly, spurting out thick blasts of golden resin, and she focused on morphing the shape of the blade, lengthening it, thickening it, dragging it upwards as best she could... but even though she had enough strength to bench press planets, she couldn't tear through that mutant, adamantine rotting flesh, the dagger moving sluggishly, barely progressing at all... And then rough, claw-like hands grabbed at her neck from behind and Kaya turned around with a hiss, eyes widening as she saw one of the undead, scrawny alien gods lean halfway out of a golden crystal that now rippled, semi-liquid, as the mindless ghoul dragged the beautiful princess hard towards it. Tentacles of stinking, rotting flesh exploded out of the wound and clamped over the dagger, swallowing it whole inside Sikanjal's form, consuming it away in a mere instant before they reared up and spurted their golden resin against Kaya.

The princess made a grimace of horror and distaste and leapt backwards, away from that terrible sludge, allowing the undead god to drag her up before she elegantly pulled both legs up and flipped, wrapping them around the monster's skull. In a smooth, graceful and powerful movement she was up on top of him, clutching his head between her mighty quads, and she grunted as she twisted sideways until she heard a sick, satisfying crack from his spine, followed by a crunch as the skull imploded like a rotten fluid, splattering her majestic thighs with an ugly pulp of gore.

The tentacles lengthened and shot towards her but she kicked off the headless corpse, which flopped forwards miserably and was rapidly reabsorbed fully inside the crystal, before Kaya tossed a small sphere of dense, focused energy into the black, rotten tendrils, watching as they were ripped apart in a massive explosion. "Keep her away from the Divine Tree!" Gaia urged, and Kaya spun in midair, away from the cobra, looking up to see immense mutant vines and trees bursting out of the ice all around, forming titanic tangles of thorny, deadly plants that whip-lashed down on Sikanjal, smacking violently into her back, wrapping around her neck, coiling around her limbs, strangling her immense serpent body as Gaia's body glowed with fury and energy, her sizes increased, her great musculature bulging powerfully as she slowly crossed her arms in a dragging gesture. The immense green tentacles reacted promptly, tensing and pulling in all the different directions, dragging Sikanjal backwards and forcing her limbs open wide, making her grunt in surprise, before a multitude of smaller but vicious vines and roots swarmed over her head, coiled her muzzle shut and invaded her mouth, her nostrils, pumping poison into her as their terrible thorns scratched and ripped even her armoured scales.

Sikanjal angrily trashed, her long serpent tail flopping down the endless shaft of the Ice Eden and smashing into the delicate, wonderful staircases, turning entire ramps and great columns into nothing but hail and mist, while her skeletal wings flapped powerfully and their ethereal flames tore through even the hardest and thickest of tangles of roots.

"Now!" Seth urged, looking towards Riaku, and the two males leapt into the air, shooting through the mist and the cascades of icy water filtering in through the cracks in the walls of the crater. Riaku followed one of the largest green tentacles, using it to approach the goddess unseen, but the husks of the drained gods stuck in the crystal ridges on her body all seemed to be glaring at him, their empty eye sockets filling with sinister crimson flames as their heads turned around... and suddenly a number of them leaned out through the golden crystal and shot beams of energy against him. Riaku threw himself to the side as the first barrage rushed forth at incredible speed, striking the roots behind him and severing them in an explosion of unnatural, terrible fire. Incandescent crimson energy splattered his back and made him wince in pain even as he ducked under a snapping thorny root, narrowly avoiding a gigantic spike that leaked thick poison. He spun around the falling tangle of vines just in time to use it as a shield as several more beams of force shot up against him, and he barreled right through the explosion before pulling up towards the cobra's huge hand, bound by a thick forest of tangled green tentacles.

Sikanjal spotted him and turned her head in his direction, several of the vines violently snapping as her eyes glowed crimson, burning with power... and Riaku grunted, blood bursting out of his nostrils as his mind felt like it was being cruelly squeezed. He nearly crashed into her muscular arm, his eyes filling with images of her, beautiful and plentiful and wonderful, her body ready, hungry for him... of him and her locked in a tangle of sweaty bodies... of him following her orders, happily...

Riaku shook the images out of his mind and pulled Toryu back with a roar, aiming for her fingers as she yanked her arm forwards and attempted to swing her sword against him, countless of the green tentacles snapping and tearing apart as Gaia stumbled hard forwards, letting out a cry of surprise and pain... And Sikanjal's fist rushed forwards with a vengeance, but Riaku held his position and smacked his great cleaver sword down on her knuckles. She hissed in pain as the blade bit deep into her fingers, but Riaku's arms spasmed painfully and he recoiled abruptly, thrown back by the violence of the impact against her metallic, adamantine body. Her fist rammed into him as she snarled in fury, but he clung to it with a grunt and jackknifed on top of her saber's hilt, ramming his shoulder into it with all his strength and bodyweight... while Seth, sensing the opportunity, dived straight for her bleeding fingers and swung down his own heavy cleaver, chopping two of them neatly off. Sikanjal screamed in pain and outrage, flexing her mighty, enormous body and ripping free of her constraints as dark flames exploded out of her form and incinerated the great tangles of roots. Gaia was yanked forwards with a grunt of shock and surprise, flying across the crater to crash-land in the ruins of one of the temple-floors, but Riaku used well his chance and ran up the flat of her cruel sword, roaring as he hefted Toryu high above his head and then hammered it down with such force that blood exploded out of her devastated hand as her fingers broke and the handle tore through them. The saber spun wildly in the air and Seth gritted his fangs and hurled a sphere of focused energy into it, disintegrating it in a massive explosion. Sikanjal turned towards him with a yell of rage, swinging her other saber out with such terrifying strength that when he slashed his sword against it in defence, he was sent flying across the crater to crash into the solid ice a mile away, while his blade snapped in half like a cheap toy. "You are not your son, you old fart!" Sikanjal callously teased, before breathing her terrible crimson fire over the wall of ice, cutting it apart in a massive explosion of energy, before turning her attention back to her mutilated hand as Riaku leapt onto its back and stabbed Toryu hard down into it, dragging it forwards as he ran up towards her wrist, slicing her arm open... only for her to laugh darkly as a multitude of mutant tendrils of rotting meat and semi-liquid metal sprung out of the wound and whip-lashed towards the black-furred male. "And you are not your father, little traitor. Maybe sticking with the RA would have given you a better ending."

Riaku felt the twisting, slick, disgusting mass of flesh surging all around him, and then heard hisses as several of the tentacles literally morphed into poisonous serpents that leaked golden resin from their maws and spat thick jets of the stuff from their deadly fangs. He glared over his shoulder for a brief moment and tossed a series of spheres of energy against the twisting tangle of muscular tendrils, but the snakes avoided them with rapid movements. A few found their mark against the other tendrils, ripping them into shreds in a massive explosion, but golden resin splattered in every direction, and Riaku snarled in pain as several cruel jaws snapped closed on his legs and then on his arms and back, pumping acid, incandescent thick stuff inside his body and ripping off large chunks of flesh, making him stumble with a hiss of agony even as he slashed Toryu upwards and backwards, chopping several of the tendrils. The beasts yanked hard back on him, making him grunt as his feet lost contact with her terrible, armoured scales, and he was hefted high up into the air, just in front of a number of undead gods who leaned out of their prisons of crystal and blasted beams of fire, ice and focused magic in his direction while Sikanjal laughed and aimed straight for the Divine Tree, wrapping her colossal, endless serpent body around it and beginning to crush several levels of the temple into nothing but ruins and cold mist.

Riaku struggled against the large tentacles, grunting breathlessly as a pair of tendrils clamped down on his throat and yanked him backwards, forcing his back to bend painfully, while a multitude of cruel mouths snapped closed on his arm, the coils of a mass of serpents wrapping around his wrist and pulling back, making it harder and harder for him to slash Toryu into the shifting mass of dark flesh. His eyes widened as he saw the great deluge of fire and ice coming for him, and he gritted his fangs, trashing wildly, thinking that he was going to be burnt out of existence... but when he closed his eyes and threw himself to the side, he was surprised by his own power, ripping several of the serpents off Sikanjal's body and shredding a multitude of tentacles as he turned around and dragged the thick tangle of black flesh in between himself and the beams of supernatural force. The flames smashed into the tentacles and incinerated them, while the ice spread rapidly over the other tendrils and snakes, turning them into brittle statues that disintegrated with the first flex of Riaku's great muscles.

The black-furred male fell down onto Sikanjal's wrist, landing in a crouch and looking at his hand with something like wonder... before realizing that he could do more, that he was a god now, and telling himself that he had to think differently. An undead husk burst out of the rapidly healing cut in her scales and lunged against him, his fingers sharpened into cruel talons, his whole emaciated form dripping with golden resin, but Riaku only gritted his teeth and tried to bat it away with his powers rather than with his fists. At first it didn't seem to work, but when he was about to bring Toryu up, the husk simply exploded, crushed by the violent force of his psychic rage. Sikanjal, meanwhile, savagely slashed her remaining saber against the Divine Tree, snarling as she clawed at the ethereal, hot wall of holy energy that now glowed visibly all around the massive tree trunk. An enormous, bus-sized chunk of eternal ice shot through the air and smashed into her snout, but she barely noticed the violent impact against her armored mask, before she snarled as Seth flew in the way with the speed of a lightning bolt and turned around to slash both arms against the titanic sword. Energy glowed with amazing force around his forearms and hands and Riaku saw that holy force take the shape of two large, crescent blades that smashed into the cobra's saber hard enough to tear chunks of the blade right off.

Seth's muscles bulged explosively as he planted his feet against the Divine Tree's barrier and shoved back against Sikanjal with all of his strength, letting out a roar of rage and exertion as his spine painfully bent, his knees smacked against the barrier and his arms spasmed violently.

"I was told you were wise, old man... but I see you are not." Sikanjal snarled, tightening her coils around the divine tree and leaning forwards with a snarl, grabbing the back of her saber and pushing it forwards while undead husks of alien gods emerged from the wounds and crystals in her body to spit and vomit jets of golden resin over the king of Kesteven. "You don't look like you are worth much, but any addition is always positive..." The cobra taunted, leaning forwards with a savage grin and deliberately letting her acid drool leak onto Seth as the king let out a cry of intense pain but somehow resisted, flexing and forcing himself back up to his feet, punching Sikanjal's blade backwards, making her snarl in outrage even as his skin sizzled and smoldered, consumed by her acid, while the resin caked over his feet and in splatters over his body, rapidly solidifying. "You'll be a part of me very soon. Where should I wear you...? Do you have suggestions?" The cobra taunted, using her powerful serpent body to crush the Divine Tree's barrier, sending cracks spreading through the white, holy light while the splendid temples stacked all around the trunk collapsed into pieces and fell down into the abyss. Riaku rushed towards the edge of the wound he had managed to rip open earlier and that now was already closing and healing as countless dark tendrils tangled together and morphed into new, adamantine chords of muscle. He slammed Toryu down into the wound and pumped his energies through the blade, closing his eyes as he focused on hurting her, on destroying her, in every way, in any way... and his godly energies burst into her flesh like a mix of fire and electricity, sending a painful jolt up her arm, making her spasm before an enormous explosion inside her arm caused the wound to split wide open, enough to reveal the dark, metallic bones inside.

Sikanjal let out a howl of pain and fury and smacked her saber savagely forwards before turning around to face Riaku. Seth had barely enough time to realize what was happening and he allowed himself to fall into a slide while simultaneously shoving hard back against the tremendous blade, causing it to tilt over. It still crashed into him, but with its flat side rather than with the cutting edge, so that he was crushed back against the Divine Tree's barrier, hard enough that it audibly cracked, energy exploding violently into his body and burning his nerves as electricity caused all of his muscles to spasm. Seth howled in agony, feeling his organs compressed and crushed against his own bones, but suddenly the Divine Tree's seemed to recognize him somehow, and the barrier rippled and let him squeeze through.

He fell ruinously down the shaft of the Eden, leaving behind a trail of blood as he coughed violently and nearly lost his senses, trembling in shock... but then he crashed into a little island of ice precariously sticking out between two damaged columns, and he rolled to a painful stop in the middle of the poor, sad remains of one of the wonderful temples that he had so adored, and always protected. He winced in pain, hugging himself, his wounded and devastated body beginning to heal and regenerate as he rolled over in a thick layer of pulverized ice, and then he pushed up, coughing out blood. "Ancestors, forgive me... I have failed..." Seth murmured, looking at the devastation around him, at the open abyss where a luscious, splendid forest had been, and the piles of blocks of ice where the statues and altars had proudly stood. It hurt him more than his wounds, more even than the golden resin that pierced through his skin and hardened over his skin, burning like fire and draining energy out of him at a terrible rate. He pulled up one hand, looking as his energies formed an ethereal, incandescent blade extending past his fingers, and he gritted his fangs as he began to cut the stuff and the corrupted flesh away from his body, while his eyes remained fixed on the flashes of light coming from the barrier as it suffered, and cracked, and dented as Sikanjal used her body to crush it. The prisoner gods inserted into her serpent body pushed out of their crystal tombs and blasted their own rays of destruction against the holy energy protecting the tree, and the cobra's own eyes glowed crimson outside the ethereal wall as she leaned down to seek him... and when she spotted him, a terrible grin spread upon her features before a ripple of her power shot right across the barrier and sailed past Seth, smacking into his chest hard enough to blow him back several feet.

He turned around in horror, looking towards the great holy tree to see if it had been damaged, but the thick bark was way too solid to sustain any kind of damage. For a moment, he wondered whether her attack had failed, but then one of the great statues sticking out of the ruins, depicting an ancient king that was now headless and without an arm, stirred and suddenly moved a step forwards, swinging a heavy, colossal sword of ice. There were other loud creaks as other statues, damaged and not, suddenly came to life and began to advance against him: one soldier all but dragged himself forth with his arms, crawling on the abs because both legs were gone. Other bulky tigers, armed with huge shields and spears, charged rapidly forwards and encircled him, and Seth had to sidestep the thrust of a great halberd before slashing his ethereal blades into a large shield, knocking it out of the way to follow up with a lunge, his fist smashing up into the chest of the great statue, shattering it into a hailstorm of fragments, before he reached backwards to grab the neck of a spear, growling as he yanked it sideways before it could stab into his back and drove it forth through the head of another statue.

While Seth battled against the colossal ice warriors, Sikanjal's devastated arm morphed under Riaku's feet, pulsing and rippling as the goddess hissed in pleasure-pain and swung her arm up to slam her huge fist into the barrier, denting it and causing it to sizzle and smolder. "You cannot stop me, bugs, no matter how many things you try out. This wound...? It'll only make me stronger!"

Riaku nearly fell over as the huge, armored scales on her arm suddenly exploded outwards like shrapnel, before he was blasted off his feet and sent spinning wildly in midair as the huge chunks of dark, adamantine metal crashed into him like meteors. He shielded himself as best he could by crossing his arms ahead of his chest and face, his eyes widening as his great sword, Toryu, was blasted out of the wound and rapidly, utterly consumed by the golden resin. He saw the blade rotting away, then the handle shattering in tiny pieces, and a sudden, terrible sadness filled him even as he did his best to somersault and slam his feet down into one of the large scales, regaining his balance and then immediately spreading his great wings to fly away from that tempest of incandescent steel. Sikanjal's arm literally split open, the damaged muscles peeling off the bone and breaking down into a multitude of fibers that began to move of their own accord, turning into a endless, confused mass of vicious tentacles and tendrils that jutted with spikes and blades of crystal, many with a husk of god trapped inside. Her damaged hand became a terrible harpoon-blade of bone, and she stabbed this into the Divine Tree's barrier with vicious force, snarling as its sharp tip forced through and she worked to saw open a wound in the ethereal shield. The twisting masses of dark flesh whip-lashed outwards, opening like an immense, grotesque mouth and chasing after Riaku as he flew upwards at the greatest speed he was capable of, while focusing as much energy as he could between the palms of his hands, concentrating it inside a sphere that became larger and larger... before he spun around and aimed straight at Sikanjal's face, blasting it all out in a colossal beam of roaring golden force that was, very evidently, a mix of his essence and of his father's glorious strength.

Sikanjal winced at this, eyes opening wide in surprise as her serpent body slithered rapidly around the Divine Tree as she slid away from the huge ray, and Riaku trembled but turned slowly around to follow her, sweat rolling into his eyes and down his cheeks as he tried, with immense fatigue, to guide the beam of force after her. It began to curve around, but it felt so slow, and the curve was so wide, that he was sure he would miss, his arms beginning to tremble violently in a mix of exhaustion and despair at his failure... Before Gaia emerged from the ice, enormous and glorious, muscles bulging as she floated forwards, at least as big as Sikanjal and maybe even more as she grabbed the cobra's shoulders and yanked her back in the open, forcing her head to come out from behind the Divine Tree. "Stay put, you whore!" Gaia snarled, wrapping one arm around the demonic goddess's neck and locking her in a full nelson even as Sikanjal trashed violently and deliberately slammed back against the snow leopardess's chest, trying to impale her on the terrible ridges and spikes running down her spine. "Let go, vermin! Don't think this can change anything; you are but annoyances to me!"

Gaia hissed as the mountain of sharp crystal edges rammed into her, but she flexed her great musculature and yanked Sikanjal back all the harder, ignoring the bolts of angry energy exploding out of the friction between her armor and the golden crystal. She snarled as she furiously smacked her palm into the back of the cobra's head, sending her face crashing violently against the Divine Tree's barrier as her neck bent in a painful, noisy way, before the snow leopardess's body burst into fire, magma bubbling out of the glowing cracks in her rocky armor and leaking all over the demonic goddess's body as she snarled: "Annoyances, huh...? You have no fuckin' clue!"

Gaia arched her back and dragged Sikanjal back even further, and Riaku grunted as he aimed his palms straight at the monster's face, sending the enormous beam of force exploding over her features, knocking her head hard backwards and making her shriek in agony and fury as even her adamantine mask began to melt away like butter. "I'll rip you apart, you insolent gnat!" Sikanjal snarled, trashing violently in Gaia's arms and tearing her arm free to swing her gigantic saber against the black furred male. Riaku saw the huge blade coming and moved backwards to avoid the impact, but he winced as he realized that he was sluggish, that he couldn't move fast while pumping all of his energies against her face... Whatever you do now, Riaku, don't let go. He told himself, gritting his fangs as a transparent shield of energy tentatively took shape around him... but he couldn't still control his powers well enough, and he was sure it was not going to be enough. He adjusted his aim with a grunt, deliberately blasting the hurricane of golden flames over Sikanjal's eyes, but the goddess only let out a howl of rage and kicked back against Gaia to slash her sword down with even greater force. Riaku shut his eyes and did his best to beef up his shield, then heard a colossal, ferocious impact and looked up to see Kaya pushing back against the saber, her arms wrapped in glowing gauntlets and vambraces of fiery golden energy, her eyes burning sapphire, her lean but strong muscles bulging out in full definition. Diana flew straight for the blade as well, slamming her swords hard up into it and knocking it skywards, before flapping her six mighty wings to get on top of the enormous weapon, her flaming blade exploding in a flash of light and holy fire that illuminated the whole crater as she stabbed it hard into the side of the cobra's sword. She yanked hard downwards, using all her strength and body weight, and the holy fire began to melt the metal of Sikanjal's saber, ripping open a deep gouge... until Diana roared and swung her body around the sharp edge, dragging her sword down and snapping the titanic weapon neatly in half.

Sikanjal recoiled in confusion as the sword suddenly broke, the raging fire washing over her face making her temporarily blind, but her other senses were still sharp enough that she hurled the gigantic handle of her saber straight against Diana, forcing her to evade with a quick bank to the side... before a group of husks pushed out of the crystal spikes on the cobra's shoulder and pointed their accusing fingers at Diana and Riaku. "No matter what you do... you are still going to lose. You are nothing compared to me... nothing." Sikanjal hissed, while the undead divinities mouthed silent words and caused time to become dense and motionless. Riaku felt it, and saw the world around him grinding to an impossible stop, the drops of water from the melting ice absurdly floating all around him. Diana froze absurdly in midair as well, her eyes open wide and full of horror as she uselessly fought against the bounds of time, her wings barely stirring at all despite her mind screaming for them to flap, to beat and carry her through the sky... He thought about a thousand movements, but his body barely began to make one, and in slow motion, and he realized with horror that even the flames of golden energy erupting out of him were now doing so at an unbearably slow pace.

The beam of fire dissolved, and Sikanjal's face emerged from the inferno, the mask dripping molten metal but otherwise undamaged as she grinned and savagely slammed the bottom half of her sword into Diana, slapping her out of the air like a gnat and sending her crashing violently against the barrier of the Divine Tree. Riaku screamed in denial, but the sound remained trapped in his mind, his mouth not even opening, his head unable to turn around to follow her ruinous fall, even as he desperately looked to the side, his eye almost hurting with how hard he tried to make it turn more than it possibly could. Sikanjal stabbed the broken blade hard down after Diana, and Riaku heard a colossal, terrifying impact as the half-sword smashed into the divine tree's barrier. He howled in denial, his mind filling with images of his mother squished into pulp between incandescent metal and solid energy... before he heard the barrier itself cracking and shattering, the broken saber piercing through it and heading straight for the trunk of the holy tree. Kaya flew upwards and spun around, turning the half blade in her hands so that the tip faced Sikanjal, and she hurled it down with a roar, muscles bulging as she sent it straight towards the cobra's chest... but Sikanjal's eyes flashed, and an explosion of psychic force battered the broken sword far away, sending it sticking into a distant wall of ice. Kaya charged forwards and shot right up to the cobra's snout, striking it with a punch that crumpled her thick armored mask and sent the monster's head recoiling violently backwards... but several prisoner gods rose with silent snarls from Sikanjal's forehead and froze the time around the princess, stopping her in midair and then striking her with three great beams of dark fire that smashed her back against the holy barrier and made her howl in agony as she used her gauntlets to shield herself. Riaku stared in horror at the scene, trashing uselessly against his own prison, trying to break free to go and help her... but Sikanjal yanked hard forwards, then smacked her skull back into Gaia's chin, gaining enough freedom of maneuver to lunge sideways and reach over for him. He could only stare, in complete horror, as those huge fingers, ending in cruel talons, rushed against him. Instinctively, he summoned his energies to form a protective sphere around himself, and winced as it immediately cracked when she clamped her fist shut, squeezing violently, clearly determined to squish him out of existence.

The barrier threatened to implode, rapidly becoming smaller and smaller, but then he heard Gaia snarl and Sikanjal hiss in pain. He couldn't know, but the goddess of Nature had reached around and grabbed the cobra's lower jaw, yanking it brutally open and sending a multitude of poisonous, thorny roots and plants spreading into her mouth and down her throat, chocking the demonic goddess and trying to destroy her from the inside.

The cobra trashed violently at that, even as crimson fire erupting from her mouth rapidly incinerated the trees, and she angrily tossed Riaku away like he was nothing but a pebble, while also coating his shield in golden resin that greedily consumed the energy of the barrier, finally splattering all over him. The pain was horrendous, and his eyes widened as he saw the stuff crawling over his body, rapidly spreading to cover more and more of his skin, until he crashed violently against the barrier of the Divine Tree... and went through it as it rippled and split open to let him pass.

The wound in the shield immediately closed up, and somehow time returned to its normal flow, allowing him to flip over and slam his feet into a cracked floor of ice, skidding backwards until he managed to stop in a crouch, surrounded by the ruins of a once wonderful temple. He panted and coughed hard, vomiting blood and poisonous ichors while he wildly clawed and scratched at the growing yellow crystal, ripping it off his flesh even though it brought away large chunks of him, his blood splattering thickly onto the snow and painting it dark crimson. He immediately looked around himself, then down the abyss below, then upwards, searching for a sign of Seth and of Diana, hoping that they had somehow survived. "Where are you, mom... the barrier must have opened for you too... it must... it must!" As he gazed upwards, Riaku absently realized that sunlight now shone upon the battlefield as the broken pack floated away, immense islands of ice moving slowly away from the Divine Tree, as the entire arctic was shattered by the violence of the fight, and the Eden fully uncovered for the first time in literally forever. It was an epic and terrifying sight, but his mind barely registered it because he was fully focused on finding the others. On finding Diana, first of all... Outside, Gaia snarled as she wrestled Sikanjal as best she could, even as the cobra's long serpent body snapped off from around the tree only to coil around her instead, crushing down with terrifying force. The husks of divinities on Sikanjal's back blasted her with beams of magic and dark fire, and golden resin leaked onto her armor, turning the stone into crystal, trapping the magma inside the large cracks, poisoning the water that flowed endlessly to make the joints, and Sikanjal cackled as she yanked back the broken half of sword still in her hand, stabbing it viciously down against the Divine Tree, leaving deep scars in the wall of holy energy, ripping fissures in it as she hissed: "You cannot stop me, bugs..."

Riaku couldn't help but shiver at the monster's words, realizing that it was true: he knew too little about his new powers and his new skills to be truly effective in the fight, and in front of Sikanjal he felt like nothing but a petulant child. They had to weaken her in some way, perhaps by ripping every last husk of alien god out of her body... but he did not thought it was going to be possible at all. Even Gaia couldn't quite match Sikanjal, and she was the most powerful of divinities other than Killer and Alexis. Besides, they also had to protect the Tree from her assaults... and Riaku looked up with a snarl of horror as Sikanjal punched and clawed into the barrier, smacking her broken sword through the holy energy and shoving the half-blade hard towards the bark, all but scratching it, sending huge chunks of stone-like bark falling down the abyss, along with large chunks of white energy that rapidly dissolved into motes.

He ran forwards and unfurled his huge wings, shooting skywards to repeal the broken blade, but he soon realized that someone was already doing exactly that, and he was amazed and relieved at once to see Seth's powerful body bulging with muscles as the king wrestled back the blade before it could touch the tree again. He rushed towards him to help, but right in that moment Sikanjal let out a roar and yanked her blade back, and Seth slumped, coughing up blood and allowing himself to fall down onto a large branch several meters beneath, landing on it in a crouch, his eyes fixed on the gigantic cobra monstrosity outside. "Coming towards your side, son!" Seth warned, and Riaku frowned a bit, unsure of how he could be so sure about it because Sikanjal was only pulling back to prepare for another stab... but when her broken sword viciously came down, it was indeed right by Riaku's side, and the black furred male only needed a small leap to shove his hands into the barrier, pumping his own energies into it just as the colossal blade struck with a thunderous impact and an explosion of great bolts of energy.

"Riaku winced as the barrier dented inwards and crackled, sending electricity up his arms, and he bent his legs to slam his feet into the trunk of the titanic tree, gritting his fangs as he pushed back with all of his strength, his spine creaking audibly when Sikanjal began to violently twist the blade in place.

"Don't let go, Riaku!" A voice urged, and Riaku's eyes widened before he turned around to gaze over his shoulder, beginning to pant as his heart raced and his whole chest filled up with relief at the sight of his mother standing tall, one hand glowing with warm white energy as she helped heal some of the wounds on Seth's body. Her own armor was broken in places and she was bloodied and sore, but she gave him a reassuring smile, and that was enough. For several long moments that had felt like entire days, he had feared for her fate... and now he closed his eyes in relief and shoved all the harder against the huge blade, before suddenly drawing back one hand, balling it into a fist and lashing it forwards. His instinct did the rest, covering his arm and knuckles with wonderful, smooth plates of ethereal metal formed by his own godlike energies, so that when he struck he did so with enough strength to send Sikanjal stumble backwards with a snarl of shock.

The cobra immediately lashed out again and again against the tree, snarling as she stabbed into the barrier with all her terrifying strength, and Gaia struggled unsuccessfully to hold her back. Riaku and Seth desperately tried to plug the breaches, flying in the way of each vicious assault and forcing her blade back, while Diana did her best to heal their wounds. Suddenly, Riaku heard a movement behind him and he spun around to defend himself, eyes widening as he saw an enormous tiger warrior chiseled in ice lunging against him with a huge halberd. "What the fuck are you...?" Riaku muttered, catching the tip of the huge blade in his gauntleted hand and yanking the halberd out of the beast's hands, before Kaya shot past him with a roar and cut the statue in two with a powerful swing of a great sword of golden, blinding light. The two halves of the statue still moved, trying to get to Riaku even as he rapidly spun the captured halberd, turning it against them and slapping the torso out of the way, while Kaya grabbed the legs by one ankle and spun rapidly on the spot, hurling them down against another great sculpture as it jumped towards her. The two statues collided and exploded into fragments that rained down upon a large group of other massive statues, the muscular tigers forming orderly ranks and hefting up their heavy, large shields to march right through the storm, before several warriors stepped forwards and hurled enormous, heavy spears against Riaku and Kaya. The princess twisted her body sideways to let the first two spears go off target before she neatly chopped a third in half, rapidly going into two roundhouse kicks in such rapid succession that she sent either half of the spear shooting down like missiles, pinning two of the statues to the ground as the poles impaled them through the chests. Riaku punched a spear into freezing mist before it could strike him, and caught a second in his hand, spinning it around his waist to mow down two large ice-soldiers charging at his back, before he snarled as he charged the heavy block of ice with his energies and hurled it down into the ranks of statues, disintegrating a whole group in a huge explosion.

"There's a whole army of them coming up...!" Kaya warned while she punched a great shield into fragments and then lunged into the breach, her luminous blade all but melting the statues closer to her as she drove her sword up into the crotch of another, biting all the way up to its sternum and hefting the creature clear off the ground, hurling it violently against its comrades. Riaku looked down through the shattered floor of the temple at the abyss beneath and he winced as he saw just how right the princess was: the statues from the lower levels, where some of the temples were still mostly intact, were climbing up along the Divine Tree's trunk, leaping from one level to another, resembling a swarm for how many they were.

"With hindsight, I regret designing a temple with so many statues." Seth exclaimed, smirking a bit as he tried to sound upbeat about their disastrous situation. "It will be very awkward to have to destroy statues of myself, my wife, my sons, my daughter, my concubines, my most valiant knights and soldiers..."

In truth, the thought was more than just awkward. Seth could hardly believe what was happening, and seeing the Ice Eden in ruins filled his chest with shock and sadness. He couldn't believe that the incredible, wonderful place he had so loved was now just a pile of ruins and a diabolic trap that a supernatural power was activating against him.

Outside, Sikanjal let out a howl of rage and frustration and smacked her broken saber through the barrier with such force that the half-blade finally shattered, sending large fragments tearing into the Divine Tree as she stabbed as deep as she could, feeling the resistance on the other side and gritting her fangs as she channeled pure, terrible force through the handle of the weapon until it exploded in a massive flash of dark fire. Enormous cracks spread through the white barrier and Sikanjal grinned and clawed into the fissure, hissing as the holy essence burned her flesh into sludge but nonetheless yanking hard on the sharp edge, ripping off large chunks of the barrier. Black tentacles jutting with great blades of golden crystal erupted from her wrist and from her palm, shooting forwards and smacking violently into the damaged barrier, knocking even more fragments loose as she laughed and swung her powerful arm out, whip-lashing the terrible appendages against the tree trunk, tearing a large swath through the protective barrier and disintegrating a wide area of bark before Seth and Riaku could repeal the great tendrils. "Your pathetic resistance ends here!" The cobra cackled, but Gaia grunted and smashed her fist into her side, once, twice, thrice, striking with all of her tremendous strength, snarling as the shockwave traveled across the cobra's body and exploded out across the entire crater, slamming into the distant wall of ice and sending cracks spreading through the whole continent-sized island of ice while a freezing mist and clouds of pulverized ice obscured the sky. The snow leopardess then reached for the black tentacles, snagging them in her hand, clad in a spectacular gauntlet of semi-solid magma and diamond-hard ice fused together. She yanked hard on the tendrils, dragging them out of the breaches in the barrier and then instantaneously freezing them until they became so brittle that a little twist was all what was needed to shatter them in a million fragments. "Do make me laugh too." The snow leopardess growled, grinning viciously as she slammed both knees into Sikanjal's spine, sending her crashing face-first into the barrier of the Divine Tree while she seized her skull by the horns and yanked back with brutal force. The cobra hissed in pain at that, her spine creaking sinisterly, but her ridged back suddenly morphed, jutting with a multitude of terrible, curved spikes that slammed into Gaia's armor hard enough to knock the goddess backwards with a cry of pain, the glowing, sharp tips tearing through her protections and deep into her flesh.

"My talent is in causing tears, I'm afraid..." Sikanjal taunted, grinning viciously as the undead gods trapped in her body all emerged out of her back, between the rows of spikes, and Gaia had only a second to grit her fangs and brace before she bombarded by a multitude of beams of terrible force, as psychic energy tore viciously into her mind and her body ceased to respond as time around her was brutally ground to an unnatural, impossible stop. Sikanjal gritted her fangs and flexed, huge muscles bulging with terrible power as she reached backwards and clawed into Gaia, her terrible talons piercing through Nature's armor like it wasn't even there. "Let me give you a demonstration!" Sikanjal cackled, yanking Gaia forwards and smashing her violently into the barrier of the Divine Tree, grabbing her by the back of the skull and slamming her face in again and again and again, blood exploding out of Gaia's muzzle as the wall of holy energy crumbled away, pieces falling down into the deep abyss. The cobra laughed, then grabbed Gaia's shoulder and turned her around, driving one knee straight up in her face and smashing the leopardess's skull through the barrier with such violence that it finally shattered. Gaia screamed in helpless silence, flashes of agony obfuscating her vision as her skull creaked with the violence of the impact, before Sikanjal grinned widely and slammed her fists together. Gaia struggled desperately against her restraints, but before she could achieve anything the first punch smashed into her cheek with the violence of a planet somehow smashing into another. Her whole body recoiled backwards, tearing further through the barrier and smashing directly against the Divine Tree. Her spine creaked audibly and the immense trunk itself was rattled violently, almost shoved out of position as more of its ancient bark fell away. Sikanjal laughed cruelly and landed another ferocious punch, then another, and another, covering herself in Gaia's blood and, finally, also in blood-like resin coming from inside the Divine Tree as the trunk cracked and splintered, branches snapping into slivers and falling down into the darkness.

Riaku looked upwards in horror as an immense branch fell like a meteor towards him, and he lashed out his fist into the group of statues wrestling him, sending them stumbling backwards just in time to be squished beneath the monstrous chunk of not-wood. Kaya slid forwards with her usual, incredible grace as she sliced the legs off from under a bulky warrior-sculpture, her other hand balling into a fist and catching the falling torso right in the middle, disintegrating it in a cloud of fragments before she looked up at Gaia and the rapidly shattering tree, urging: "We need to get to her; we have to help her...!"

In truth, she didn't know what, if anything, they could do at that point against the seemingly invulnerable demonic goddess, and Riaku couldn't return any suggestion either. They tore through the ranks of ice titans, smashing the animated statues into dust and even climbing on top of their towering bodies to move upwards, closer to Gaia, but more and more of the statues kept coming up from the lover levels. Riaku was horrified to see what was very recognizably a young, herculean and imposing Killer, with his mane still only half-length, kept messy and uncombed exactly like Riaku remembered from their early years... and there was a William too, in full battle armor, and a Siegfried... but then a shockwave of solid heat ran into him as a huge explosion dissolved those great titans and a multitude of other statues.

Seth hovered above them, his mighty wings spread wide and his arm extended as he formed a second large sphere of energy, and Riaku was left to once more admire the old king for his prowess, instinct and raw strength. Seth, however, looked towards Kaya and urged: "Kaya, get away now, while you can! Reach the survivors, teleport them away before the whole arctic melts!"

"I can't leave you alone in this!" Kaya shouted back, slicing an ice statue in half and turning to look up at her father with eyes wide open in denial and shock, tears swelling in their corners. "We can do it, all together!"

"I don't think we can, Kaya." Seth calmly replied, matter of factly, but then smiled softly down at her. It was just an instant before he was assaulted by a horde of enemies and had to avoid their assault and begin to take them down, one by one, with movements that were rapid, powerful, elegant... perfect. And his voice was clear and calm, almost impossibly relaxed, even in the middle of the battle as he added: "I'm not asking you to flee. I know that would be useless. But we have responsibilities. Our soldiers are out there. Your soldiers, especially. Out on the melting ice that drifts away over the ocean. Go, Kaya... give them a chance! Bring them away!"

"We'll hold Sikanjal back." Riaku promised, even though he knew it was impossible. Kaya looked towards him between the mass of tangled, moving bodies in the battle, and it was clear that she knew it was a lie... but that she appreciated it all the same. "Go. We'll be right here when you come back." Riaku added, and Diana swept in and swung her flaming sword through a group of ice-golems, destroying them in a cloud of mist and slivers of ice as she promised: "I will keep the statues back myself. I'll let the boys get the big prize!" Kaya forced a smile on her lips at that, albeit a trembling one. She hated the idea of leaving them, but she knew that every moment that passed meant the death of many of her soldiers out there on the disintegrating cap of ice of the North Pole. She was also painfully aware that they were ordering her away to protect her... and she couldn't help but look at her father with a soft, loving smile while she opened a portal and stepped though it, knowing that hesitating and waiting was only ever going to make things worse. "I love you, dad..." She whispered on the way out, even as she balled her hands into fists and shut her eyes with a little sound that became a growl of frustration. She hated the idea that others had to fight her battles. She hated the awareness that they were risking their lives to protect hers. She regretted not training earlier in her life, not building up her strength and skills enough to be truly useful. She felt guilty, because she was older than Riaku... and not much younger than Diana, if Diana's centuries in Heaven were left out of the count... and yet she was the one that needed protection. She bitterly regretted not being stronger, more useful, and decisive. And in that very moment, as she rushed through the portal and swiftly closed it behind her back as several ice titans tried to get through and follow her, she promised to herself that she was going to train harder and harder until she managed to become a true, formidable warrior.

Seth was relieved to see her go. He knew she was soon going to return, but he suspected that their desperate battle was going to be over before then. "What did you say will happen when she shatters the tree...?" He shouted while ramming his shoulder into a statue of himself, smashing it backwards before wincing as a huge, arrogantly smirking, life-sized teen Killer advanced against him, the statue replicating every detail of the young prince's godlike body, including the gloriously monstrous flaccid cock and the fat moons of his balls. "Tradition, tradition... I wish I had not stuck to tradition." Seth muttered under his breath, regretting the inclusion of naked images in the temple. As virility and fertility were just as important as strength in defining the value of the Northlands's kings, of course great statues depicting the sovereigns' full bodies were always present.

The Killer made of ice easily spread one great arm and gripped a large column of ice, snapping it off the ground like it was nothing but a twig and effortlessly swinging it up like a bat before sprinting forwards with sudden, terrifying speed and force. Seth braced himself, studying his movements and then stepping to the side with a grunt as the enormous pillar swung down, smacking the ground where he had stood until half a second before, cracking the ice in every direction and forming a large crater. The ice Killer snickered and spun on the spot, easily hefting the giant column up again and slashing it out at head level, forcing Seth to smack his armoured fists into it, disintegrating the top section... and the living sculpture of his son snorted before easily hefting the rest of the column up like it was a javelin, leaning back to throw forwards with terrifying force. "Diana, watch out!" Seth urged, and the Seraphim threw herself to the side just in time to avoid the massive tower of ice, which crashed into a thick group of ice-soldiers instead, tearing through the ranks like a missile and disintegrating their bodies in a cloud of fragments.

Diana landed in a crouch and immediately pushed back up to her feet, slashing out her flaming sword as three statues of Predators holding up their heavy bullet-proof shields advanced against her. Another sculpture, depicting a warrior from a far more ancient era stepped up behind her and swung down a colossal warhammer, but she went into a slide and shot right between his legs, avoiding the assault and stabbing her sword upwards through his crotch.

"When she destroys the Anchor, an immense energy will be unleashed, and the entire planet will rapidly collapse. Hell, the entire solar system might implode within minutes!" Gaia shouted in Seth's direction just as the king tried to get past the fake Killer, who swung out a huge fist that missed his head by mere inches as he ducked, and tore through a thick, elaborate column of ice instead, turning it into nothing but fine powder. Seth went into a roll to get away from the great statue as Killer pulled up one foot and stomped down hard, again only barely missing. His tremendous force caused the already damaged floor of meters-thick ice to crack in a thousand pieces, disintegrating into countless large meteors that fell down towards the inferior levels of the Eden. Seth tossed a large sphere of focused energy against the fake Killer, but the colossus seemed to posses some of the monstrous force of the real Killer because it slapped it away like it was a fly, before flexing and effortlessly hefting up a gigantic chunk of ice to hurl it against the king.

It flew upwards like a missile, and Seth was forced to turn around, bracing for impact, thrusting both hands out and flexing his fingers before he grabbed the titanic boulder and roared as he allowed the terrible momentum to spin him sideways only to he could throw the great block of ice against Sikanjal.

It struck her under her chin, but the demonic goddess only snarled in contempt and glared downwards, finally spotting Seth and lashing out a turning kick with one of her long, beautiful, muscular legs while she used her colossal serpent tail to stand, coiled around the Divine Tree.

Seth saw her armoured boot coming and gritted his fangs, quickly running through his options and ideas, his eyes darting down to see that the naked Killer statue had leapt up past the collapsing parts of the temple and was lunging straight against him. "Did Sikanjal get the memo?" Seth shouted, making a grimace at the thought of the destruction that was going to follow the maiming of the Divine Tree. He leapt off the great trunk of the tree, spreading his arms wide, and he smirked at the sudden surprise on the ice-Killer's features before grabbing its massive, herculean form, slamming a punch in its face hard enough to leave it dazzled as he jackknifed around its waist and shoved it violently towards Sikanjal's foot. The ice statue let out a roar of denial and fear, but it was short lived as the goddess's armoured boot smashed into it and disintegrated it into dust, while Seth fell down through the air like a stone.

Riaku looked up at that in confusion, gritting his teeth at the thought that Seth had probably been wounded, or worse... but when he leapt up and flapped his wings to climb to him, Seth's body glowed with golden fire and suddenly began to grow, expanding rapidly as the king opened his eyes and they burned with a luminous sapphire fire. Seth caught Sikanjal's boot in both of his hands, grunting as her tremendous strength pushed him violently backwards, but he resisted and snarled, muscles bulging as he yanked on her leg until it bent at a sick angle, a loud crack resounding across the crater as Sikanjal snarled in fury and shoved Gaia out of her way to open her jaws and vomit a huge deluge of crimson fire against the king.

He pulled up his gauntleted hands, and energy spread from his armor to create a larger shield, just in time for the beam of energy to crash into it in a massive explosion that sent fire washing past him on either side, the force of the blast causing him to skid backwards despite his best efforts to resist... but Gaia, even bloodied as she was, stirred and smacked the palm of one hand up into the cobra's chin, sending Sikanjal stumbling backwards with a cry of pain while the deluge of crimson flames abruptly ended.

"Retreat, Gaia, I've got this." Seth urged, seizing the snow leopardess by the shoulder and shoving her out of the way just as Sikanjal hissed in fury and lunged forwards, a huge blade of golden crystal ripping out of her wrist. Gaia threw herself out of the way as best she could, her eyes glazed over by her own blood as she coughed hard and wheezed breathlessly, her legs buckling even as her wounds began to rapidly heal. "Diana, help her!" Seth commanded, and Riaku immediately rushed to the help of his mother, trading a gaze with her and beating back the ice titans that kept climbing up from the lower levels.

Sikanjal grinned cruelly at that, slithering forwards on her serpent body and rearing up to tower over them all, lunging towards Gaia to deliver the killing blow... but Seth stubbornly stepped in the way and slammed his armoured fist into her form, sending blood spurting out of her jaws before he grappled the thick serpent form and wrestled her back.

"Ah, valiant old man! Your glory days are over!" Sikanjal taunted, snickering as she savagely swung out her golden blade, and Seth snarled as he shoved backwards as hard as he could, while focusing his energies to morph one gauntlet into a long, deadly blade that he stabbed into her huge body once, twice, thrice... but she seemed to have little to no blood, only ever leaking more of that terrible yellow resin that clung to his flesh and consumed him worse than any poison or acid. Her long blade narrowly missed Gaia as she stumbled back, but she only laughed as she cut deep through the stone-like bark of the Divine Tree, cutting off a huge chunk of the not-wood, enough to reveal the core of black stone deep within.

Sikanjal slashed her harpoon-like mutant talon into his chest, sending blood spraying up high as she effortlessly hefted him clear off the ground and threw him back against the damaged tree... and Seth gargled in breathless agony but somehow found the strength to leap back to his feet as she stabbed her blade forwards. He caught it in his hands and forced it wide off target, lunging forwards to stab his own blade right up through her throat... only for a multitude of black-fleshed tendrils to burst out of the wound to whip-lash against him, ripping deep gouges in his flesh.

Seth stumbled backwards with a hiss of agony, the golden resin filling his wounds and rapidly hardening, and Sikanjal wrapped her long coils around the Divine Tree, crushing it with such force that the bark creaked desperately, seeming to groan like an alive thing before exploding into slivers and dust in large areas. But again Seth found enough strength to stab both wrist-blades into her flesh, tearing through even her armored, adamantine scales as he forcefully yanked her off the tree and hefted her huge body up, muscles bulging explosively, veins throbbing as he roared in rage and exertion, before hurling her against the wall of ice at the end of the ever widening cauldron in the middle of the Arctic.

The goddess crashed back into the cliff of ice with a grunt of pain and shock, staring at him with wide open eyes that burned with fury and outrage... before Seth shoved both palms forwards and began to blast her with a multitude of spheres of focused energy. Gaia straightened and wiped the blood off her lips with the back of one fist before adding her own might to the bombardment, and Riaku smashed a couple of ice titans flying away in pieces before flying skywards to add his own energy to the assault. He flew right up by Seth's muzzle as they concentrated their energies and blasted them against the monstrous goddess, gritting their teeth as the immense explosions hid Sikanjal from sight, while the entire arctic shattered into a multitude of icebergs that fell down into a angry, tormented ocean whose level had grown by dozens of meters with all the pack that had melted.

"How did you do that, old man...? That was awesome!" Riaku asked, incredulously and full of admiration for the old king, who only smiled quietly, gazing sideways at him for a brief instant, before easily replying: "You should already know, Riaku... Never underestimate an old man in a profession where men usually die young." Riaku snorted in entertainment at that and nodded, spreading his legs a bit and focusing even more energy into his hands, blasting a large sphere right into the inferno of explosions ahead, watching as the thunderous blast produced a solid shockwave of impossible, devastating heat... and he tried to grow his own body to match Seth; he tried to gain awareness of new and better abilities in his new, godly self... and his body did indeed grow larger, muscles bulging with formidable power. But not on Seth's level. He had trouble using his energies still, even though they were there, enormous and eager. His mind couldn't quite think in godlike terms; his awareness of his own abilities was still embryonic at best, and so his growth was relatively slow, going through barriers that he had to more or less consciously shove open wide...

But as he did that, an enormous mass of black fleshed tentacles and tendrils shout out of the mist and smoke and dust ahead, even as dozens of them were shredded into gore by the explosions, and that tangled mass of trashing, powerful meat surged forwards, seeming to fill the sky ahead, while many more tentacles slithered low, coiling around their feet and smashing into the Divine Tree behind, hammering it, knocking large chunks of his trunk flying away in fragments. The obelisk of dark and yet luminous stone that was hidden at the very core of the Tree rapidly became visible, and Sikanjal laughed cruelly as she moved forwards through the smoke, ignoring the explosions even as they tore large chunks of meat and scales off her form. Every wound immediately filled with the hideous masses of black tendrils and with equally disgusting, goopy golden resin, and the infernal tentacles all lunged forwards against the defenders of the tree. Gaia swung her arms upwards and caused a wall of icy water to explode upwards from the abyss beneath, cutting through the tendrils like a guillotine, but the hideous tentacles only trashed in silent agony for a brief instant before tearing through that barrier as Sikanjal herself swung her muscular arms through the wall and cut the ocean in half like it was a curtain of silk. A second wall, this time of fire and magma, erupted against her, but the tentacles whip-lashed through this even as the flesh melted away in a thick, poisonous dark sludge that left behind flexible spines made of sharp-edged vertebrae of golden crystal. They shot forwards at terrible speed, and Gaia shoved her hands forwards to scatter them with a rush of cold, violent winds, but even more of the deadly appendages wrapped around her legs and yanked hard on them, tearing deep wounds into her muscular thighs and forcing her to crash on her knees, her eyes shutting for a moment in a grimace of agony as the terrible whips tore through her armor and deep through her flesh, scratching into the very bone as many more swung directly against the Divine Tree, smacking into it with terrifying force and disintegrating the bark until most of the trunk seemed to simply crumble away. Seth turned around and caught the whipping tentacles in his gauntleted hands, yanking them away from the exposed Anchor even as they cut through his armor like knives into butter, blood leaking out of his devastated hands. He grabbed several of the moving spines and held the tangle in one hand while forcing a long, sturdy blade out of his other wrist, swinging it down with a roar and chopping the tentacles... but the long halves that fell away seemed to have a life of their own and rapidly coiled around the dark obelisk, crushing into it with monstrous strength.

Gaia's back rippled and a multitude of green, thorny roots emerged from it, each green tentacle grabbing one or more whips and wrestling them back as she pushed up to her feet even as her legs were torn apart, her blood painting them crimson. "Help me!" The goddess of Nature urged, and Seth immediately ducked and began to cut apart the chains that tormented her legs while the snow leopardess braced for Sikanjal's coming, moving forwards as her huge hybrid spear appeared in her hands, stabbing forwards and erupting the monstrous power of the oceans straight against the cobra's chest.

Sikanjal's eyes glowed as she smacked Gaia backwards with a huge blast of psychic force, before freezing time around the vortex of cold waters, holding it absurdly motionless in midair and easily sidestepping it to savagely slash her wrist-blade directly against Nature, forcing Gaia to pull up the pole of her spear to parry the assault.

Diana turned around with a growl and slashed her flaming blade out at neck level, but Sikanjal's shoulder split open and large spikes of golden crystal erupted up in the way, sparkles and bolts of energy flying from the clash before the husks of gods on the cobra's back all turned their terrible magic against the queen of Healers. Riaku charged forwards despite how immense Sikanjal was, towering on him like a true titan, and he roared as he snagged two of the largest husks in his hands, crushing them with all his strength until they burst apart... but then Sikanjal's tail coiled up and slapped him and Diana away like they were nothing but toys. Riaku caught himself in a crouch and Diana skidded to a halt nearby, but as they looked up they saw Sikanjal knocking Gaia out of position with a violent swing and exploiting the opening to stab her blade right into the Anchor, sending cracks spreading through the long and thin dark obelisk. Energy began to pulse out of the Anchor, and it was so great and threatening that Riaku couldn't help but swallow thickly, his hair standing up on end even as he straightened for a new assault. The cobra only laughed of their efforts and landed another vicious slash on the obelisk, cutting deep into one side of it and grinning even as dark energy crackled violently up her arm and made the husks of divinities on her back trash in visible agony. He had no idea how to take her down, and the obelisk was already starting to crumble. He tossed a sphere of force in her direction, but the multitude of dark tendrils and spine-whips of golden crystal spiraled upwards and slapped his attack out of existence with an ease that mortified him. He tried to get through that infernal whirlwind of blades and spikes to attack her, but the vertebrae of crystal only tore deep gashes into his chest and sent him stumbling backwards, bloodied and exhausted... before his eyes widened as Seth, once more, surprised them all and managed to cut a whole line of tentacles into pieces, lunging into the breach and roaring as he slammed his fist against her blade, knocking it back before it could chop into the obelisk. Gaia tried to get through the same breach, using her vines and roots and tentacles to force it wide open, but more and more whips of golden vertebrae spun wildly around Sikanjal and Seth, forming a cage as the cobra glared at him with a snarl.

"Stop it!" Seth urged, even as his wrist-blades and the long sword of Sikanjal clanged violently in midair and the spinning tentacles around them became overgrown with a tangle of roots and vines that desperately tried to get to Sikanjal but were maimed and withered away long before getting anywhere near her. "Are you aware of what will happen if you break the obelisk?"

"Ah, you old idiot! Of course I am aware, and in far greater detail than you!" Sikanjal easily countered, leaning forwards as their blades smashed together once more. Her eyes flashed in dark amusement, and Seth swung his hand out just in time to stab his wrist-blade violently into the massive coil of serpent body that had swung up to close around him. Sikanjal hissed in pain and surprise at that, glaring at him as the king suddenly forced her sword out of the way and rammed his shoulder into her, knocking her onto her back while he kept his blade down inside her serpent tail, so that it sliced her underbelly open for a huge length, sending dark blood and golden resin and black tendrils spilling out in a wave.

"How can you do this, if you know? What use is winning a battle if the planet is destroyed in it...?" Seth incredulously asked, but the cobra snorted in contempt and swung her legs up to kick him hard in the face... only for the king to backstep with surprising agility, seize her ankles in one hand and yank her forwards so he could punch-stab her right in the middle of the chest. Blood exploded out of hew maws as her spine bent with an audible crack, but immediately afterwards she cackled and her torso split open like a grotesque mouth, trying to devour him whole and forcing Seth to retreat rapidly.

"You poor fools, how frustrating it must be to live in a world where nothing makes sense to your little minds!" Sikanjal taunted, rolling over and slithering rapidly against him, slashing her sword at head level... and when Seth dodged, the blade still struck the obelisk, chopping off a large chunk of dark stone and causing another violent explosion of energy that blasted Seth almost clear off his feet, sending him crashing down with a grunt of pain, all air leaving his lungs in a whoosh. "But it makes perfect sense to me, old man... you have no clue what you are a part of. But I know exactly what I'm doing!" Sikanjal roared, flexing her huge muscles before landing another violent blow on the obelisk, nearly cutting it in half from tip to base...and Seth gritted his fangs and leapt back up, charging at her and smashing his fist into the side of her head, piercing her skull with his wristblade.

Riaku, Gaia and Diana, still battling to get inside the vortex of blades and tentacles, froze in place in awe and confusion and expectation... and then Sikanjal gargled, coughing up blood but all the same turning around, gripping Seth's wrist and shattering it like a twig, her huge bicep bulging as she hefted him clear off the ground and swung him hard into the obelisk.

"No!" Riaku shouted, somehow summoning a barrier of energy in front of himself and ramming his shoulder directly into the vortex of tentacles, tearing through it and getting into the cage just as Sikanjal stabbed her long blade forwards. It was as if he had been frozen in time again: all he attempted was useless, and too slow. Riaku tossed a sphere of energy and lunged forwards, but before his projectile could hit her, she had already driven her blade through Seth's chest, out of his back and all the way across the obelisk. "No!" Riaku screamed again, eyes fixed on Seth's own as they opened wide, in surprise more than pain... before an enormous ripple of pure power exploded out of the broken obelisk as it shattered into powder and fragments. Riaku, Gaia and Diana were blasted backwards as the cage was melted out of existence and Sikanjal herself flew across the crater to crash violently back into a wall of melting ice.

The cobra opened her eyes to stare at the obelisk as it completely disintegrated and reality trembled and warped before splitting apart, releasing another ferocious ripple of incredible, terrifying energy that rattled the whole world. She laughed loudly, eyes flashing in glee, and she turned her attention towards Gaia, slithering towards her and preparing her bloodied blade, sending rivers of golden resin flowing down the edges. "I regret not taking the old fart for myself... he was much stronger than I thought. But you... you, I really want."

"Come, then." Gaia venomously replied, bracing for a new assault, spitting blood out of her mouth, her muscles flexing and bulging as she called on all her strength to resist, while keeping the corner of one eye fixed on the expanding wound in reality where the obelisk had stood. I can't believe I've failed again, and allowed another Divine Tree to be destroyed... Sinister, ghastly yet terribly intense light came out of the wound, making it impossible to see Seth's corpse, and she bit her lower lip, fearing that the king's body had been completely destroyed in the first explosion, or that it had been sucked away into the wound in the fabric of reality. Diana ducked and crawled forwards against the terrible winds of energy bursting out of the expanding cut in Reality, and Gaia stepped forwards to protect her, to hide her as she tried to retrieve the king's body, her hands trembling around the pole of the spear. Seth dead... how am I going to tell Killer...? Killer... forgive me...

Sikanjal grinned and moved forwards with terrible speed, slashing her blade in a rising cut that Gaia barely managed to deflect, and the cobra followed up with another slash, forcing the snow leopardess on the defensive and then moving her arms back to reverse the cut, aiming down at Nature's hip.

"Daddy!" A voice screamed, in terrible anguish, and a ripple of pure power exploded across the crater, slamming into Sikanjal hard enough to send her stumble backwards with a cry of pain, blood exploding out of her nostrils and ears, and Gaia took the chance to evade the assault and retreat a couple of steps, her eyes darting sideways to see Kaya floating in midair, surrounded by enormous golden flames of energy, her eyes burning sapphire in a mix of complete fury and shocked despair. Then she gazed in the opposite direction as a second, terrible ripple of power exploded out of Kaya, rivaling with the force coming out of the expanding black hole in the center of the crater, almost hiding it with the intensity of the light coming from the princess... and right there, Seth's corpse suddenly became visible. It was floating in the air, and two ghastly reapers became visible above him, one holding him by the wrists, the other pulling back his terrible scythe to reap his soul.

"Daddy!" Kaya howled again, charging forwards with such ferocity that even Sikanjal hesitated for a second... and then the black hole pulsed and another terrifying explosion of power rammed into all of them with such monstrous force that the islands of ice around them finally dissolved entirely. Sikanjal crashed violently into the raging sea, and when her head poked out of the enormous waves, she looked at the rapidly expanding black hole and at the enormous column of dark energy rising to the sky. She hesitated for a moment, then floated upwards and flew away as quickly as she could, aiming southwards, going back from where she had come. She had what she truly needed, and risking to be destroyed by the wound in reality went well beyond what was prudent and reasonable.

"Kill the reapers!" Gaia urged, charging in and stabbing her spear straight forwards as the scythe swung down to reap Seth's soul. The two weapons clanged together, much to the surprise of the Reaper, but even without piercing into the flesh of the king the blade glowed and vibrated violently, and Seth's soul was forcefully ripped out of the corpse. They saw it clearly, an ethereal image of the king, moving of its own accord, uselessly trying to hold on to the lifeless body even as it was sucked upwards into the scythe... and the most amazing part was that Seth's expression betrayed no fear at all, even as the king literally stared into the reaper's eyes.

"Don't you dare touching my daddy!" Kaya roared, swinging in with a snarl of utter fury, seizing the reaper by the skull and flexing as she ripped off his head and much of the spine along with it, tossing the rest of the skeletal body aside like it was a mere toy, before she crushed the skull into dust with a flex of her powerful arm.

Riaku grappled the other Reaper around the waist and tackled him away from Seth, before tearing him in half with a roar of rage, throwing the two halves in the opposite directions. Diana caught Seth's corpse as it slumped away, and Kaya hugged his soul as best she could, tears running down her cheeks as she hesitatingly asked: "D-Daddy...? Can... can you hear me?"

"Yes, darling." Seth replied, even though his voice seemed to come from a whole different Era, coming to them as a weak echo. "But we should really go, while we still can." Seth urged, turning to stare at the pulsing and expanding black hole. Its attraction was growing more and more terrible by the second, and they struggled to put any distance between it and them... but then there was another violent pulse from its core, and they were blasted a great distance away. As painful as it was, it proved to be a blessing, and before the following pulse could drag them back towards the destructive dark core, they unfurled their great wings and flew southwards without daring to look back. Beneath them, the oceans were swallowing islands and entire coastal regions, cancelling entire tows and submerging the empty docks of the Empire's own navy, as entire valleys filled up with dark, cold water and the land cracked and tore apart, the entire planet trembling so violently that they could see the vibrations from high above the ground. Riaku stared at the devastation with a heavy heart and a lump in his throat, clenching his fists at the sight of the cold, unforgiving sea rushing up the valleys of Kesteven and Seahall, covering forests and villages, while magma erupted in violent explosions from several huge cracks that spread for miles and miles in every direction while the dark core of the wound in reality expanded and deformed the planet like it was made of foam.

Diana cradled Seth's bloodied, broken body against her chest, instinctively leaning her head against his as she gazed down at the suffering world, eyes reddened and filled with tears, while Kaya awkwardly hugged Seth's soul, even through her arms moved through his immaterial shape whenever he shifted, his eyes open wide as he looked at his kingdom, flooded and devastated, and at the cracks that threatened to split the planet apart like a log. Kaya kept scanning the sky around them, worried that more Reapers would come for the king's soul and knowing that, if they did, they weren't going to get any early warning: they could sneak up on them completely undetected, and that made all her muscles tense up, energy crackling nervously around her. She couldn't believe that Seth, wise and loving and infinite as he had always looked to her eyes, was... dead. But at least he wasn't gone, and she was determined to ensure the Reapers couldn't get him. Killer had warned them about the Reapers, telling them that they had betrayed their mission and had sided with the enemy in the war. It meant that they could expect no rest after death, and no safe transition to the afterlife, regardless of whether it meant Hell or Heaven. She shivered in horror at the thought of what would have happened to Seth had the Reapers managed to drag his soul away...

"Someone is trying to control the flood of energy from the broken anchor." Gaia observed after a few moments, her voice almost impersonal, her eyes fixed on the horizon, tears glinting on her cheeks even as she did her best to form huge "dams" of stone in the valleys beneath, trying to hold back the ocean that kept growing as the arctic entirely melted away, unleashing billions of tons of water.

Riaku didn't reply, but even in his ignorance he could tell that she was right: the column of energy rising from the center of the cataclysm was bent towards south-east in an absurd, astonishing way, and a black serpent of force could be seen staining the sky for thousands of miles, attracted to something... to someone... down in Alfaya.

It was the only reason why they were still alive; the only reason why the planet hadn't yet crumbled away. And yet it most likely wasn't good news at all.

Ira gritted her fangs as she rammed her shoulder through the brittle, frozen mass of the alien divinity that had dared stepping in her path, and it disintegrated in a cloud of fragments that pelted two more creatures behind it, most likely his disciples. They stumbled backwards with cries of pain but kept yanking on the triggers of their large guns, blasting her with a multitude of bullets that she simply ignored as they crumpled uselessly against her adamantine scales. She snorted contemptuously as she stabbed her two long, agile katanas through their bellies, driving the blades right through and hefting them clear off the ground like they were ragdolls, and one of them was frozen stiff by Arctica, while the other squealed weakly as Vampira sucked his energies away, draining his body into a skeletal husk before Ira slashed her swords out in the opposite directions and flung them away, sending them crashing into other beasts all around. Ira flicked her wrist towards a charging bug-like creature with a huge curved horn and an armored exoskeleton, and the chains wrapped around her muscular arm shot forwards, lengthening as they flew across the battlefield and wrapped rapidly around its thick, stumpy neck, cutting deep through its armored body and drawing blood as they strangled him. The High Queen of Hell yanked hard backwards, and the hook-like blades at the end of the Chain of Discipline and of the Lace of Lust both tore deep into the alien's flesh, making him gurgle breathlessly as he stumbled forwards and collapsed on his knees.

"How the hell did you get here?" Ira snarled, crossing her Katanas so that the neck of the alien god was trapped between the two blades. The huge creature snarled and muttered something in a language that Ira had never heard before, and then swung one hand up to thrust a sphere of dark fire against her abs... only for the muscular cobra to smash her knee into his face, shattering his armored outer-skull and cracking even the large horn as he crashed backwards, sliding painfully between the two Katanas which nearly decapitated him, digging horrendous wounds on either side of his neck. "Answer me." Ira said, with terrible, icy calm that made her words all the more dangerous.

The alien whimpered pathetically, reaching up with his four hands to plug the deep wounds as his eyes kept darting from side to side, seeking help... but when his disciples tried to get to him, a massive zebra with a living cobra in place of a tail charged into them and swung up a gigantic twin-headed war axe that smashed into the chest of the first god in line and tore through him instantaneously, hefting his whole body off the ground and then hammering it down on top of another beast as Kimera roared and flexed her huge muscles, shouting: "Hell welcomes you all, fools!"

More great beasts surged forth with the violence of a typhoon, trying to get to their master, but Kimera pushed into their way and stood tall and unmovable as a mountain, grinning as she single-handedly tore her gigantic axe free of the pair of maimed corpses and watching the bulkiest bug-god in the group lunging against her with a huge horn that glowed with sinister magic. The zebra's mighty fist smashed into his skull hard enough to dent it violently inwards before she seized the root of his great, proud horn and snapped it off like a twig, spinning it around to stab it tip-down through the beast's head, sending the gargling corpse rocketing into the dirt while she swung up the pole of her weapon and struck a second monster in the chest, blood exploding from its crumbled torso as he shrieked and crashed back into his comrades. A third ducked under her axe and swung a sword against her shoulder blades, but her great serpent-tail reared up and sprayed acid venom in the alien's face, making him shriek in agony as his eyes smoldered and melted away, while the serpent bit his wrist and tore his hand off, sending the blade clanging uselessly on the ground. Other aliens divinities and disciples charged out of pulsing wounds in reality that somehow had gone right past the multitude of barriers and protective spells that prevented such an intrusion into Hell, and Ira looked at those glowing, rippling breaches with a snarl of fury, unable to believe that the kingdom that Killer had entrusted her with, was being violated. The center of Hell was a gigantic vortex of death, destruction and fighting as aliens coming from distant worlds charged up the spiraling, fortified road that climbed the endless miles of height of the Central Spire, the unassailable fortress topped by the Dark Throne. The invaders had somehow entirely avoided the defences of the underworld and had completely bypassed the Seven Circles, the provinces of hell, assaulting directly the Spire. Unannounced, but not completely unexpected, they viciously swarmed the lower levels of the immense castle and now they were fighting against Ira's Hell Guard and the legions of Insatiables that defended the Spire.

Ira glared at the sky once more, as she had done every few seconds from the very beginning of the battle. Once more, she could spot nothing wrong with the gigantic roots that formed a dome that covered the whole of Hell with a unique, otherworldly "sky". There, exactly in the center, above the Spire, an immense tangle of colossal, miles-thick roots hid an Anchor, the true heart of Hell, the keystone that literally kept the whole dimension whole and intact. She fully expected the enemy to somehow assault the Anchor. There could be no doubt about it being their true target, yet all their attention appeared focused on the Spire. A part of her wanted to believe that they didn't know where to seek the Anchor, but deep within she knew it was just an empty hope. What was worse was that she could not defend the Spire and the Anchor at once, and the more enemies swarmed all over the castle, the more worried she was of a new series of portals opening right next to the roots of the Divine Tree. When that happened, because she was certain that it would, she would abandon her castle, her throne, and her troops, to soar up and defend the Anchor. She didn't like it one bit, but she couldn't do both things at once and the one thing she truly couldn't afford to lose was the obelisk. She knew that there were not going to be reinforcements on the way: before the assault had begun, she had been pacing nervously the terrace of the throne room at the top of the Spire while doing her best to listen to the thoughts of the other Disciples, and knew of the battle in Alfaya, of how ferocious it was and of how Killer and Alexis were isolated. She had not heard anything from him, and that awareness tormented her... as did knowing that the Ice Eden on Earth was also under attack. Every last member of the family was already locked into battle, so nobody could offer help.

"How did you get here? I won't ask again."

The alien trembled in evident panic, even though his eyes darted to the side as massive explosions rattled the entire spire as literal meteors rained down from a number of portals opened by spellcasters hidden in the rear of the invasion force. The impacts rattled the ground under Ira's feet as bastions and towers collapsed and disintegrated into hailstorms of fragments of stone, while fire and magma rained down on the spiraling street, flooding through some of the uncountable gates on the way to the throne far above, but the god gargled as Arctica cut into his flesh and caused half of his body to freeze over, becoming stiff and brittle, and he shouted something incomprehensible before barking: "Skyfall! Lord Skyfall! Opened... portals. Said... we'd be the vanguard of victory. Said... we'd get great power if we destroy Hell..."

Ira grimaced in distaste and rage at that, receiving two confirmations: that her worst expectations were becoming reality, and that there was nothing more she could learn from the invaders. Gods or not, they were only grunts who stupidly charged into battle following the promises of a warlord that amazed them with his knowledge, with his always being right. A warlord that they did not know, that they had never seen in person, that they didn't love at all but that they followed. In the hope of being able to use his knowledge against him, sure... but still doing exactly what he wanted.

"Idiots!" Ira snarled, leaning down and smashing her mighty fist through the frozen half of his body, making him howl in agony and terror as half of his body crumbled away into a cold cloud of powder, leaving the other half to suffer and trash in agony on the ground as guts and inner organs spilled out of the terrible wound. The queen of Hell stormed past with a snort of contempt, swinging up her powerful arm and snarling as her chain-whips ripped free of the agonizing monster to rear high up into the sky, glowing with energy before she slashed them savagely down into the crowd of beasts squeezing past the destroyed gates ahead, sending great sprays of blood and gore into the air as bodies were ripped to shreds and other divinities were slammed into the air like toys, before both chains tore into the ground and caused electricity and fire to explode upwards, destroying everyone in a range of a hundred feet on either side.

A breach opened in the sky above her and a gigantic meteor rushed out of it, but Ira snapped her chains back upwards and sent them swinging high above the great asteroid. They spun around it and wrapped it in their coils, acting as if they had minds of their own, and Ira gritted her fangs, flexing her huge muscles as she dragged the meteor through the sky and hammered it down onto the invading armada, squishing dozens of creatures under its mass and spreading a thick crimson mist over the battlefield. "I'm Ira Huxley, queen of Hell, and I will show no mercy for any of you maggots!" The cobra roared, and the monsters trembled in fear in front of her formidable strength... especially as a sharkess just as muscular and imposing charged forwards handling a sort of massive spear with a multitude of intersecting blades at the tip, which also acted like a terrible, titanic mace. Boadicea slammed her terrible weapon, Satan's Bane, into the ranks of aliens ahead of her and squished a couple of bug-gods into nothing but pulp, before loosely aiming her open palm at the crowd ahead, flinging a sphere of energy into the packed ranks and grinning as its explosion dissolved the torso of an heavily armoured titan in the first row while sending several others sprawling like pins as she shot into their ranks like a missile, swinging her huge weapon up and smacking one of the flying beasts right in the back, snapping his spine like a twig and sending him shooting like a meteor past the walls of the Spire and into the abyss beyond, where he bonelessly plunged to crash into the ground, miles below.

The sharkess snarled as a massive sort of cyber-bull carrying a large cannon on top of a metal-plated hunch on his back blasted her with a dense beam of focused energy, and she swung up her boot in a turning kick that caught him in the cheekbone, snapping his head violently to the side and sending his whole body lurching to the side just as two more large cannons built in his hands hissed and glowed with accumulating energy. Ira saw it coming and tackled the massive beast in her powerful arms, hefting him clear off the ground with a snarl and beginning to spin in place so that the beams of energy from his cannons tore swathes through the packed ranks of aliens, sending a dozen half-melted corpses splashing onto the ground while other creatures howled in agony as their limbs were liquefied and cut off their bodies. The enormous bull-like creature swung his heavy, armoured hands down towards Ira's skull, but before he could strike she roared and flung him violently back towards Boadicea, who grinned and turned around, stabbing Satan's Bane upwards and skewering him like a morsel of meat, before carrying on with her smooth, powerful movement to thrown him hard into another charging god, knocking both flying with a terrifying impact. Boadicea smirked cruelly as their tangled bodies crashed down into the crowd with the violence of an asteroid, squishing several smaller creatures into sprays of blood before bouncing back up with howls of misery, and she ran forwards, raking smaller gods out of her way with her toes and crushing others under the cruel soles and heels of her boots before pulling up behind the two creatures as they struggled to break free of each other. She caught them in her arms and unfurled her huge wings, slapping two other beasts away and slashing a third in half like he was made of butter before she shot skywards in an explosion of sapphire fire that incinerated every monster in a range of hundreds of feet. Within moments she was high in the sky, above the swarming mass of divinities and disciples that had torn down the gates at the base of the Spire, and she flapped her powerful wings to move over the large siege cannons that had been pushed out of one of the breaches in reality. They were colossal, probably taken straight off some of the space battleships of the Swarm, and their firepower was rattling and crushing the bastions of the Spire. The two gods in her arms struggled and kicked and trashed to break free, but her claws tore deep into their armored bodies as she suddenly went into a violent dive, folding her wings to shoot down like a meteor... and then she roared and shoved the two creatures hard downwards, while she arched her back and unfurled her great wings, shooting skywards again. She spun gracefully around an infernal barrage of bolts, arrows, bullets and beams of energy coming from below as the invaders took aim at her, and she grinned as the comet of trashing gods tore through the sky and slammed into one of the great siege cannons with enough force to break the titanic barrel in half and disintegrate the enormous tracked carriage.

Flying aliens dove against her while others made the mistake of soaring up from the ground to assault her, exposing themselves in full to the fire coming from the countless towers and bastions of the Central Spire as the Insatiables trailed huge rail guns and massive ballista, hurling darts that tire even through the gods, blasting them out of the sky and sending them crashing down to earth like comets with long crimson tails. Many would regenerate and get back up to attack again, but Boadicea was glad for the help nonetheless, even as she smashed Satan's Bane against a great holy warhammer swung by a dragon-like creature in golden armor, bolts of energy exploding from the violent impact, before a second dragon swept low and slashed a sword against her side, forcing her to twist out of the way. Boadicea swung up one knee and struck him in the face, grinning at the sick, loud crunch as the golden helmet crumpled inwards with an explosion of blood while the body lifelessly continued to shoot past. She seized him by the long, thin double tail and yanked him back up in the air, smashing him against his comrade and sending both spinning wildly backwards, where she struck them with a swing of her mace-like spear, cutting and crushing at once, turning their bodies into clouds of loose scales, metal wreckage and gore. She spun the massive weapon back, as another dragon vomited a beam of dark blue fire towards her face, cutting through it with the great silvery mace-spear while driving the long, dagger-like blade at the other extremity of the pole back through the throat of a large bug-like alien that was diving towards her exposed back, her muscles bulging explosively as she flexed and glared at the horde of aliens with eyes that burned with sapphire light as she roared defiantly: "Come at me, maggots! Come and taste the wrath of Hell!"

On the ground, Ira's chains tore vast swathes of destruction through the ranks of gods lined before her, and as she charged into their lines, smacking divinities flying away like ragdolls and cutting others into pieces with rapid slashes of her Katanas, the invasion force began to retreat towards the ruins of the great entrances that it had conquered in the early moments of the assault, even as other great cannons opened fire, pummeling the immense tower and rattling it violently, sending great chunks of stone and steel falling down from the colossal bastions as Insatiables were dissolved in the great explosions and blood seemed to rain all over the battlefield. Ira grinned as she cornered a large, fully armoured lizard-like god who towered over most other invaders and which had quite literally smashed down the first great gate with his bare hands, his metallic talon-fingers flexing and burning with terrible energy. He hissed something in a language that meant nothing to Ira's ears, and then he reared up with a roar, flexing his massive form and stomping forwards as violet flames erupted into being all around his arms, his talons glowing with heat and pure force as he slashed them viciously against the queen. Ira swung Arctica and Vampira up and knocked his assaults back, grinning as metal clanged against metal before she roared and used her blades to force his arms open wide, lunging forwards between them and swinging her swords up to chop both limbs cleanly off, making him howl in agony before she smashed her fists into his abs and chest, her biceps flexing and bulging as his metallic armor crumpled like paper and blood exploded out of every deep wound as she maimed him. The creature shrieked in anguish and shock, staring down at the huge, terrible holes she ripped into his body like he was made of putty, and even as a multitude of tentacles stretched out of his back and swung around to whip-lash against her, Ira easily leapt up onto his knee, stomping it into crumbles and climbing up onto his shoulders, catching his head between her legs and effortlessly twisted sideways to snap his spine, nearly decapitating him entirely.

She easily landed on her feet past him, walking forwards and grinning as the giant corpse flopped to the ground, before Lilith barreled past, cackling as her powerful fists dripped with the blood and gore of destroyed divinities, her huge frame thrumming with terrifying physical power as her muscles bulged and thick veins pumped. The multitude of slavery marks carved in her scale glowed like magma was flowing inside the scars, and her eyes burned solid crimson as she caught two armored dragon beasts in her hands and hefted them up like puppets, crushing both of their heads into splatters of red, annihilating them almost without noticing it as she ignored the spells bouncing off her adamantine scales and swung the two corpses violently down in the crowd of warriors ahead of her, squashing gods into the ground like they were bugs as weapons and pieces of armor flew messily all around her, body parts and gore splattering in a wide radius until she was left swinging little more than two broken spines with some shreds of meat still attached. The massive thrall smirked devilishly at the sight, then tossed the cracked bones away, and lashed out with her muscular arms, slapping gods flying bonelessly in every direction like they were toys, before she caught one in midair on a whim and squeezed him in her hand, grinning as he shrieked in agony and trashed uselessly, firing beams of energy from his hands only for them to crash uselessly into her muzzle as she snorted in derision and finally clenched her fist, squishing him into pulp. An alien clad in a heavy set of armor smashed a huge warhammer into her exposed ankle, but the thrall only turned slowly around, grinning viciously down at him before she flattened him with a fist, turning him into a stain at the bottom of a deep crater in the stone floor. Satan, scrawny and weak and miserable, covered in his own blood and other fluids, squealed pitifully and howled for help from inside the sole of her cruel boot, yanking uselessly at the thick metal bars that formed a cage between her high heel and the underside of the boot. One of the alien gods was visibly distracted by the screaming and looked down to see the miserable, stinking creature stained in his own piss and impotent, watery cum, and Lilith laughed darkly before kicking the alien viciously in the chest, crumpling his exoskeleton inwards in an explosion of blood and pulped gore as she beast crashed back into his comrades and collapsed, gargling weakly and staring as the muscular goddess pulled up her foot, trembling as he read "good riddance" in bloodied letters carved in the cruel, spiked steel sole as it rushed down towards his head.

Her stomp squished his skull and upper body into a crimson paste, burying his remains deep down at the bottom of a large crater that exploded into being as her foot sunk deep through the stone, sending cracks spreading ahead of her as magma and dark spikes of obsidian burst up, tearing through the aliens standing before her and ripping their bodies into pieces. "My power is Master's power... my glory is for his greater Glory... and you are the dirt that dares cling to his toes! You unworthy maggots, how dare you getting Master dirty with your existence...?" Lilith roared, and her demonic tongue lolled out, heavy with ladder piercings that glowed with heat, the metal white and incandescent as she breathed out black, toxic smoke and corruption, sending the divinities around her retreating with screams of agony as their hides began to sizzle and smolder, their eyes burning and melting away as they collapsed to their knees, chocking on that solid gas that seemed to actively thrust down their throats, stuffing them with savage force... and their eyes became pits of soulless light as their brains burned and melted out of their ears, their independent thought replaced by a vicious, undeniable chant that ordered: "Serve! Serve! Serve!"

They roared in fury as they slowly pushed up to their feet, drooling like feral beasts and arching their backs with matching snarls as their bodies rippled and thrummed with new, terrible power as they began to rapidly mutate, growing larger and stronger, muscles bulging explosively and ripping through their own skins or scales as they turned around and lunged against their comrades, tearing into them with claws that became terrible metallic talons, their bodies seeming to crack and break apart yet only ever growing stronger as mutant flesh filled the wounds, spilling out in the form of tentacles and other growths. Their flesh began to rot and decay, turning black and disgusting, yet filling with strength as it all transformed into new chords of steel-like muscle, while their exoskeletons and armor sets were devoured by their expanding bodies and bent out of shape, their broken edges jutting out of them like deadly blades and spikes.

"Bow down to the king of kings!" Lilith roared, spreading her muscular arms and slashing out her heavy, enormous tail, smashing gods into the ground and impaling them upon the forest of metallic spikes pushing out of the back of it, before the four great talons at the end of it opened wide like a sort of terrible mouth and lashed down over a spellcaster as she sent a multitude of glowing chains whip-lashing against the thrall. Lilith leaned into the tangle of incandescent metal with a smirk, swinging her arm up into the chains and allowing them to wrap around her muscles, hissing in pleasure more than pain even as they greedily squeezed into her flesh, burning through her scales. "Delicious pain..." The Thrall hungrily whispered, smirking as she flexed and yanked back violently, snapping the chains apart like they were made of biscuit, while the spellcaster shrieked in panic as the massive, heavy tail swung down over her. She had just enough time to admire the glowing scars that proudly glorified Killer: "Master Triumphs", "Master Rules", "Master Limitless", and many others, one phrase etched deep into her hard scales under each segment of her tail. The alien goddess fell onto her ass as she blasted a wave of magic power up into the metallic spikes, shrieking as they tore right through it and then slammed into the ground all around her, making her tremble in terror and instinctively curl up as they missed her by mere inches... before howling in anguish as they snapped closed upon her, tearing deep into her back, her abs, her sides, causing her guts to burst out of her devastated form before Lilith's tail reared up and hefted her clear off the ground, raining blood all over the other alien warriors as it swung from one side to the other, before the spellcaster's body broke in two and her legs crashed down over the crowd while a breathless shriek came from the unhappy creature trapped between the four deadly spikes. "You weak maggots... how dare you oppose my Master... the Master of All!" Lilith roared, and a solid wave of pure power exploded out of her massive, titanic form and blasted the aliens off their feet, sending them crashing like meteors into the thick walls of the Spire, bursting apart in thick splatters of gore before her tail twitched and flexed, crushing the remains of the spellcaster into a pulp that was rapidly swallowed by a large, circular maw at the base of the great spikes. "Pitiful..." Lilith muttered as her body devoured the alien goddess, and a shiver went through the army of aliens as her already massive form grew even larger, towering over them as she effortlessly picked up a massive chunk of dark lodestone from one of the shattered bastions and drove it down into their ranks, squishing a whole group of gods and burying their poor remains under the great monolith, leaving it there like a titanic tombstone. "Too weak to even be food for Master... you deserve only destruction." Lilith hungrily hissed, grinning sharkishly as she reached down to squeeze lightly at the base of her monstrous black cock, the great, heavy shaft jutting ponderously out from her groin and curving slightly downwards, dragged down by its own terrifying weight as the equine head flared to full, monstrous extension. The alien divinities stared at the colossal member with a mix of awe and horror as she laughed and began to stroke it rapidly, hungrily, savagely, bumping her hand into the massive medial ring at the end of each stroke as it pulsed and throbbed with power. She dug her claws into it, but even as they tore into her flesh she only threw her head back with a snarling grin, beginning to thrust leisurely with her hips, pumping herself in her own hand as the huge cock-maw at the tip of the goliath member gaped open wide.

Crimson, glowing letters formed the message "Master is Bigger" down either side of the monstrous shaft, and for the aliens caught in the shadow of the immense member it was hard to believe that something even larger and more powerful could exist... especially when tar-thick, dense, sperm-rich precum flooded out of the great cockmaw in a rolling deluge, forming a massive globe that swelled larger and larger as it dangled down towards the earth, becoming a great, solid rope of hypervirile batter. And then Lilith snarled in delight as an even greater tidal wave of black precum surged up her vast member and exploded out of her in a huge volley that fired across the battlefield, splashing heavily over alien gods of all races and shapes, drenching them in incandescent, thick slime that was crammed full with enormous, vicious sperms. They were not Lilith's, but Killer's: his tremendous corruption and hypervirility filled her body and churned inside the massive, ponderous, moon-like balls that hang heavily in front of her black-fleshed vagina. The aliens could feel the heat of those goliath, godlike balls from far away, powerful enough to make them sweat as they retreated in terror. She smelled of Him, of a male superior to them in every way, of a god greater than they could dream, and she grinned widely as she spread her muscular legs and seized her titanic shaft in both hands, laughing as she stroked her member with hunger, blasting out enormous, endless ropes of black essence filled with sperms so enormous and strong that they literally clawed their ways through armor and flesh, their spiked tails slashing like whips that left behind deep, smoldering wounds as the gods drenched in the acid, incandescent black fluid howled in agony and shock and uselessly attempted to fight back, slapping sperms away only to be swarmed over by even larger ones, in even greater groups. And Killer's essence immediately began to rot their old bodies, destroying their weaknesses and replacing them with monstrous, mutating strength that was horribly alive, and ever evolving. The alien gods cried out as they grew larger, muscular, hideous and powerful, far more than they had been, while their bodies were violated by the gigantic, brutal sperms... and in a moment bellies began to swell as monstrous feral ligers rapidly developed inside. "Be baptized by our God, our Master, our Owner! I live for him, I serve him... you'll serve him too... everyone will serve him!" Lilith roared, grinning in savage pleasure, as the marks of slavery on her body glowed with Killer's tremendous energies and the scars on her enormous testicles pulsed, glowing out their messages: "factory of whores" and "factory of slaves". Gods crowded around her shins, slamming axes and warhammers into her powerful legs, but the weapons shattered against her adamantine scales and even when they began to draw some blood it only served to arouse her further, making her growl-groan in masochistic delight before she simply kicked them into pieces or stomped them into ugly stains on the ground.

"I am my Master's weapon; I am my Master's will; I am my Master's instrument, harbinger of his triumph!" Lilith announced as more and more corrupted, rotting yet glorious god-monsters rose up from the smoldering rivers and lakes of black precum, turning against their comrades and ripping them to shreds, devouring them alive, crushing them against the ruins of the great gate. In a moment, the first few mutant bellies split open like terrible, ungodly mouths and they spat out groups of savage, feral, monstrous ligers that lunged against everything that moved, slaughtering and killing and eating, maiming bodies and ripping off limbs. The whole invasion force stuttered and almost visibly trembled in front of the combined power of Ira, Kimera, Boadicea, Lilith and the monstrosities that the thrall had created, and the aliens began to retreat disorderly down the spiraling road, covering their moves with barrages of gigantic hypersonic darts fired from the great cannons disembarked from the space battleships. Ira pursued them, growing in size and running all over their ranks as she tore through the army that had dared challenging her kingdom, leaving nothing but gore and flames and melting ice in her wake, and the legions of Insatiables gained ground, following her and getting rid of whoever somehow survived her fury. The High Queen, for a moment, believed that complete victory was within reach, but it was a short-lived dream. Suddenly, her eyes went wide as she heard the screams of anguish of Kaya and Diana and Gaia and Riaku, and she stumbled almost to a stop as her mind filled with the image of Sikanjal driving a sword through Seth's chest and through the Anchor behind him. She cursed under her breath and instinctively turned to look up at the dome-sky above Hell, and in that very same instant a terrifying ripple of power coming from the mortal plane tore through the entire Underworld with enough force to bring the battle to an awkward stop for a few moments as literally everyone looked up while the ground trembled with terrible violence under their feet. The Spire visibly rattled, but it was nothing in comparison to the rain of boulders and rubble and dust coming down from the sky as the roots of the Divine Tree visibly flexed, tensed, contracted in a spasm of agony, ripping out of the stone they had been part of for millennia. The tangle of roots in the centre of the sky curled up tightly, producing a sinister noise that horribly resembled the cry of pain of a person being tortured, and then another blast of force, even stronger than the first, exploded downwards through Hell, with such force that many buildings exploded into dust and slivers while Insatiables, demons and aliens were blown off their feet and tossed around like dolls. Ira skidded backwards with a grunt of pain and shock, shielding her face with her arms as best she could and peeking out of the space between them, gaping in horror as the gigantic roots parted, spreading wide to reveal the Anchor, shaped like an upside-down obelisk aimed at the Dark Throne.

The gigantic cannons of the invading army were immediately trailed higher to target the anchor, and their first barrage rattled the ground with the force of the recoil that sent the titanic tracked platforms skidding backwards with an infernal metallic ruckus, and Ira closed her eyes and focused, teleporting away and reappearing straight in front of the obelisk, eyes glowing as she spread her powerful arms and blasted out a shockwave of solid force that smashed the incoming darts out of the sky, sending them rocketing back to earth, slamming into the crowd of warriors and going off in massive explosions that vaporized hundreds of aliens and even two of the cannons themselves. Ira smirked in dark pleasure at this, slashing her chains down towards another huge piece of artillery, slicing its colossal barrel in half just as the dart was being loaded, causing a tremendous explosion that tore the back of the machine completely apart, tossing the gunners away like toy soldiers, before she swung the Chain of Discipline through the aliens' ranks and laughed as sapphire bolts of electricity exploded out of the links and propagated from armor plate to armor plate, illuminating the entire battlefield as dozens of gods were turned into torches by sudden explosions of high voltage force. Darts and spells and bullets poured up towards her, the tracers coming up so thickly that they drew almost uninterrupted streaks of light across the sky, bullets smacking loudly against her armor and her adamantine black and red scales only for her to snap the Lace of Lust down against a group of spellcasters, cutting two of them in half and causing an explosion of supernatural fire and magma that enveloped the rest of the group, sending three more divinities falling to their knees with shrieks of agony as the fire consumed them, while the others curled up under the tidal wave of magma, pushing their hands skywards and forming barriers and shields to protect themselves as the queen of Hell dragged her chain around, tearing a deep, incandescent gouge in the ground as the hook-like blade at the end of the Lace cut deep into everything it touched. The chain slammed into the side of another of the huge cannons and wrapped several times around the colossal barrel, making Ira grin darkly as her bicep flexed and bulged in reply to the sudden tension of the lace, before she roared as she yanked hard backwards and dragged the titanic cannon forwards, the train-sized tracks clanging loudly as they treaded over whoever failed to get out of the way quickly enough, leaving behind deep, ugly gouges in the ground that were crimson with blood. The immense barrel, hundreds of feet in diameter and thousands of tons in mass, crumpled as the coils of the chain tightened and tore through the dark metal, and it finally tore loose from the massive carriage, slamming into the ground and squishing gods like they were bugs, becoming a sort of titanic steamroller that Ira dragged viciously around the battlefield, grinning savagely as she began to slowly spin around, sending up a terrible cloud of blood that obscured the battlefield before some of the alien gods managed to freeze the damaged barrel in time, leaving it floating absurdly in midair, where it was hit by a multitude of spells in rapid succession, turning first into brittle ice and then disintegrating.

"Fun killers..." Ira muttered, pulling back her arm so that her chains reared high up into the air, ready to strike once more... but her attention turned to the solid sky of stone above her as cracks loudly opened in the fabric of reality before exploding in pieces, opening large breaches that let out a new horde of invaders that crawled forwards on a multitude of metallic, long spider legs, moving upside down on the roof. The High Queen made a grimace of distaste at the sight of their hideous, bug-like bodies, covered in ridged plating of bone and metal that were pushed out of place on the back and along the sides by huge, ugly sacks of rotting flesh that bulged outwards and rippled horribly with the movements of whatever was growing inside. There were thousands of the monstrosities, and more and more kept coming, swarming all over the roots of the Divine Tree and opening fire with what looked like a sort of cyber-organic cannons, made of flesh and with tangles of tube-like veins feeding them with energy that was accumulated for a few seconds before exploding out through long metallic barrels mounted on an hydraulic cradle on the back of the beasts. "What the hell are you...?" Ira muttered, making a grimace as she spun around and instinctively slashed her chain-whips into the line of rapidly advancing beasts, tearing legs and bodies apart in a splatter of ugly yellowish pulp, while countless other bugs were swept off the roof and sent falling down to earth... before their short, stubby tails reared up and split open at the end, firing out thick ropes of sticky, electrified goo that stuck to the stone and to the Divine Tree's roots, halting their fall and allowing them to haul themselves rapidly back upwards.

Ira's eyes widened in surprise and disgust at the sight, just as she did her best to form a large shield of energy floating in front of herself, angling it this way and that to intercept the endless deluge of blasts of focused energy, her muscles flexing as she was blown backwards slowly but steadily by the thunderous succession of violent explosions that caused cracks to spread in the shield.

She gritted her fangs and pushed forth with her tremendous physical might as well as her powers, and a pulse of force exploded out of the shield and scattered the deluge of energetic projectiles in every direction, giving her a moment of respite even as the spiders continued to rapidly scamper forwards, producing a hideous, horrible metallic sounds as their uncountable legs clawed into the sky of Hell. She panted, trying to fill her lungs with some air, getting energy out of it, out of the rich scent that Killer had left in it, permanently marking Hell as his own... but then gritted her fangs as she saw a multitude of smaller, metallic bugs swarming forwards, running on six short legs and carrying an oversized, round abdomen that made them look grotesquely disproportionate. The creatures were tearing out of the wounds her chain had ripped into the larger spiders, and each fleshy sack that burst apart in an explosion of pus released even more of those dog-sized spiderlings.

She looked upwards and saw an uncountable swarm of those ugly little monsters moving rapidly towards the Anchor, walking upside down above her head, and she grunted as she shoved her shield of energy upwards to seal the passage, the solid barrier squishing dozens of the spiderlings into splatters of yellow gore and shutting many more outside, but they immediately began to swarm all over the shield itself, running around its edges. Dozens more of the disgusting creatures let themselves fall down from the stone sky and landed on her head, shoulders, arms, biting and clawing with surprising, terrible force... before they exploded with fearsome violence, their fat bodies like bombs that tore deep wounds in the front of Ira's body and sent her falling through the sky like a meteor, her shield shattering.

The cobra cried out in agony, hugging herself instinctively but immediately regretting it as she felt countless over creatures moving and swarming all over her, biting into her wounds. She shut her jaws as hard as she could and closed her eyes, shaking her head wildly to toss the spiderlings away, and she focused her energies until they burst out of her in the form of flames, incinerating dozens and dozens of the little, suicidal monsters.

She spun in midair, steadying herself, and looked upwards in horror as the horde of bug-like monstrosities bombarded the obelisk and began to swarm all over it, and she swung her chain-whips upwards, flying towards the Anchor to defend it, only for another ripple of violent force to explode through the roots of the Divine Tree and propagate across Hell, slamming her backwards like a toy.

The spiders were all blown back as well, but they shot their sticky webs and almost instantaneously formed an immense net that connected directly to the Anchor. Ira savagely slashed her weapons through this, cutting vast swathes off it, and Kimera and Boadicea both flew like missiles past her and over the crowd of spiders, smashing their axe and spear-mace down into the living sea of monsters and squishing an immense number of them, blasting other into vapor and liquid in great explosions... but the beasts seemed to never end, and every great spider that was ripped apart unleashed a new wave of little, fast suicide bombers.

"Spiders. Why the fuck had it to be spiders...?" Kimera muttered as she pulled up near Ira, her axe dripping with the yellowish pus that seemed to fill the exoskeletons of those hideous creatures, and she thrust her palm out instead, sending a deluge of fire washing down the sides of the great obelisk, consuming the spiderlings that were swarming up it, and Ira did the same to try and dissolve the horde. Striking with other weapons only caused more and more spiderlings to pour out of the broken fleshy sacks of the greater spiders... but even the fire never consumed them entirely, and many of the beasts still exploded, knocking chunks off the obelisk and causing large cracks to spread all along it.

Ira and the others watched in horror as unrestrained, tremendous force began to leak out of the damaged obelisk, the Anchor beginning to vibrate, more and more violently, and the spiders seemed all but attracted by the movement as they charged forwards all the faster, moving like a huge wave of bodies. "Incinerate them!" Boadicea howled, using her psychic force to blast hundreds of the beasts flying back, away from the Anchor, as the roof of Hell turned black with the multitude of creatures swarming over it. The larger spiders surged forwards, using their metallic bodies as living shields to cover the smaller suicide bombers, and the goddesses stared in disbelief as a literal wave of squirming, hissing bodies rose up as the bugs walked all over each other to get to the obelisk, and explode against it.

The Anchor finally cracked apart, from the base to the tip, and the tremendous force that it had suppressed and restrained for Eons now exploded out through the cracks, disintegrating the whole obelisk in a terrifying pulse of darkness that dissolved the whole horde of spiders and hurled the goddesses violently across the sky, reality as a whole seeming to contract, deforming visibly and then expanding violently as reality tore apart where the Anchor used to stand.

The aliens on the ground quickly withdrew from the battlefield, using portals to get away as a terrifying pulse of power rattled the whole of Hell and caused the Spire to wobble, before a second, even stronger one caused entire town to crumble away to dust across the provinces as an impossible, devastating wind scraped the ground clean of trees, rocks, hills, constructions, blowing everything into oblivion while Ira crashed into the floor of the throne room, grunting in agony as she arched her back and hugged herself for a moment, before opening her eyes to stare upwards at the expanding hole in the sky, as an absurd, impossible white light replaced the familiar sight of the roots of the Divine Tree and the roof of stone and spiraling crimson that had always covered Hell. The dome split open, and reality bent horrendously as the walls of Hell's dimension peeled open, bending outwards while Ira's ears filled with a deafening, indescribable noise... and then, all of a sudden, the pulses of force ceased, and the deluge of energy was somehow dragged away from Hell.

Ira grunted, her muscles finally relaxing as she was freed from the unbearable weight that was crushing her into the floor and that was making even the Spire wobble terribly... and her eyes opened wide as some of the blinding light faded out of existence. The cobra grunted and coughed, hard, vomiting blood as she rolled slowly over and covered her eyes with her hands, groaning as the white seemed to have burnt right through them, printing itself indelibly in her brain... and she panted hard, trembling at the thought of failure, at the thought of Hell falling apart and at the image of her eyes burned out and useless, leaving her blind forever. "No... please, no..." She whimpered, spreading her fingers and trying to force her eyes open, but all she could see was white, and all she could feel was pain, and an unbearable heat that was making her adamantine scales sizzle like she was being cooked alive.

Then, in all that white, she began to see a shadow, then another, and after a moment she recognized her fingers, feeling tears of relief rolling down her cheeks even as she looked up at the sky... and, for the first time ever, it was a true sky. She spotted distant stars, barely recognizable against a background still mostly only white... before she tilted her head slightly sideways and gaped at the sight of Earth, huge and beautiful, looking incredibly, dangerously close, almost like she could touch it just by stretching up her arm... and further away she could see Heaven, orbiting in apparent peace. It was a shocking, yet somewhat soothing appearance. She didn't immediately realize in full the implications of what she was seeing... but as the images became clearer as she gradually recovered her eyesight, she realized that something was missing on Earth. She gaped in shock as she realized that the white cap of the Arctic was gone, replaced by an impossible, horrendous black hole that was deforming the planet and the very fabric of reality. And, horribly, she also realized that the profile of the coastlines was dramatically different: entire countries had been swallowed by the oceans, and new seas pushed deep inside the continents where valleys and plains had been flooded.

And there, in the peninsula that included the country of Alfaya, now much slimmer with how much the sea had risen on either side, she could a see a titanic, majestic figure struggling against two dark serpents of immense, indescribable force. One came from the destroyed Arctic. One came from the vast hole in Hell's sky.

Ira trembled, in terror and awe, sitting up as best she could... and even as Kimera and Boadicea crawled forwards, bloodied and exhausted, no word came to her trembling lips. They all sat there, frozen, staring at that new and far more terrible cataclysm.

On the Audacious, the minutes passed in silent, professional yet undeniable tension. Sandy had a lump in his throat as he silently admired Galen and his excellently trained crew. Galen had done a fantastic job with them, turning every last man into a consummate professional. It was clear that every ear was perked, waiting for an active sonar to hammer their hull with pulses; every body was tense and full of fear, yet everyone continued to work at his post with unfailing concentration. Not a sound, not a protest, not a hesitation. He was proud to serve with them. He wondered how such dedication and professionalism could ever be adequately rewarded.

Galen was once more back at the Conn, directing the submarine so to always hide under the hull of the large enemy cruiser that they had chosen as unwilling, unsuspecting ally. Sandy was still in the sonar cubicle, sitting by Sebastian's side as the wizard of the sonar worked his magic, trying to get a reading over their mysterious, masked underwater contact.

They all counted the minutes, however, expecting all hell to break loose at any moment. Their communication buoy had started transmitting, and nobody seriously expected the whole RA fleet to not pick up the electronic noise. Sandy nervously toyed with a pen, biting at his lower lip even as he kept his eyes on the sonar screen. He had the headphones on, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't quite make sense of the tiny variations in the echo and noise coming from behind what they imagined being a line of underwater vehicles actively cancelling and "over-writing" the noise signature of the hidden RA super-submarine, nicknamed "Sentence" and so indicated on their plotting tables. Not that they had a clear enough idea of its shape and whereabouts to actually fire a torpedo at it, but they were doing their best to get a track.

The minutes passed, and amazingly, the RA fleet didn't seem to pick up on the little buoy. The massive warships continued to maneuver towards the vast bay, offering somewhat calmer waters, where they could begin launching the assault forces against Lunis. The weather above was still atrocious, and Sandy silently thanked Killer again and again for it, because it was probably the only reason why they were still undetected and alive. Had the RA's vast fleet of helicopters and aircraft been able to operate unhindered, their chances would have been very close to zero.

Sandy listened to the monotonous double-echo effect in the headphones, trying to pick up anything weird or suspect, but the time lapse between the first, true echo and the "fake" one generated by the enemy active sound cancellation system was too small for him to understand anything. The sonar officers themselves were struggling a lot with that unique sound effect, which they had never encountered before. Only Sebastian looked almost pleased with the situation: for him, and for his exceptional ears, it was a new and welcome challenge.

Inevitably, Sandy ended up focusing his attention on the noise coming from the countless surface ships of the RA fleet. Those were noises he recognized and understood and in other occasions he would have been delighted to be listening at them, because it meant having plenty of targets to sink. Now, of course, the odds were so utterly stacked against them that the idea of opening the torpedo tubes to attack was nothing short of insanity. He heard the swift, agile frigates in the distance, even though their propellers made very little noise. The escorts were going around on search patterns, making sure that there were no submarines waiting in ambush closer to the shore, while another group of warships, widely spaced out, moved just behind the frigates, getting into position to bombard Lunis's defences. Defences that were surprisingly silent... or better, unsurprisingly. The island-fortress was faced by such an overwhelming force that opening fire meant attracting counter battery barrages almost instantaneously... and the Judge's enormous cannons were going to simply annihilate any and every bunker, no matter how hard and deeply buried. The defenders of Lunis knew it and were probably deliberately biding their time to fire all they had at the transports of the invasion force itself, knowing that they were going to have a single chance. It was essentially a suicide mission.

"Do you think they will surrender?" One sonar officer asked, and Sandy made a bit of a grimace as he admitted: "They probably should. There is nothing they can do other than go down in a blaze of useless glory. But surrender is not in Lunis's style..."

"I think they fear Lord Killer far more than the RA, too." Sebastian easily reminded, his eyes staying locked on the sonar screen, his fingers pushing the headphones against his ears. "Maybe they expect him to come and save them. Maybe they just know that he will come and wipe out the RA, one moment or another... and they fear his rage if they just surrender and offer themselves as base for the enemy."

"True." Sandy admitted, but he failed to add anything else, feeling a lump in his throat that was almost painful as he wondered: will he come in time to save us, too...?

Almost in the same moment, the gloomy reverberation of a cannon shot rippled through the water, coming from the lead ship of the bombardment flotilla in front of Lunis, and before it was even over it was echoed by a multitude of others as all the other ships opened fire. Boom. Brief seconds of almost silence as the mechanical system inside the turrets opened the breach and shoved in a new shell. Boom. Repeat.

The bombardment of Lunis had begun, and a part of the old admiral craved to bring the submarine up at periscope level to take a look at what was happening and to put a torpedo in the flank of those warships. But that was not an option, and he could only imagine that hurricane of fire raining down on the known defensive positions at the entrance of Lunis's immense port. For the following several minutes the bombardment was constant, and then a second bombardment group moved westward from the main body of the fleet and began to pour shells on the top of the rocky mountain ridge that surrounded the urbanized core of Lunis. The defenders still didn't reply. Not a single shot came from the island, and Sandy silently congratulated them for their cunning and self-restraint, because it was clear that the RA's bombardment was primarily meant to bait Lunis into returning fire, revealing which fortresses and artillery batteries were still operational and manned and which ones were little more than relics of the past, left broken and useless by the attacks of demons and monsters during the earlier phases of the war.

"The Judge's guns are moving." A sonar officer nervously announced, but Sandy could hear it for himself: they were close enough to the monstrous battleship to hear the working titanic machinery inside her hull as her main artillery towers turned slightly and the colossal rail gun barrels, literally bigger, by far, than the whole Audacious, trailed into firing position. A moment later, the monstrous guns of the Judge opened fire, and they were all forced to hurriedly tune down the volume in their headphones as the intensity of the noise threatened to blow their skulls into pieces. The thunder-like crackle of electricity down the barrels, followed by an even louder roar as the train car-sized darts exploded out at hypersonic speed, hammered into the Audacious even through the water, echoing inside the submarine's three levels, causing worried eyes to instinctively look up from the screens, before the submarine was literally buffeted sideways by the ripple that propagated for literally miles through the sea around the goliath super-battleship. And almost in the very same instant, the titanic darts struck Lunis with such force that Sandy expected the island to break in two and sink. Two darts struck the mountains running all around the edge of the island and annihilated the cliff and the bunkers and fortresses, ancient castles and modern missile batteries alike, causing miles of millenary cliff to crumble into the sea, forever changing the profile of the island.

Sebastian cursed under his breath at the terrible ruckus caused by millions of tons of stone and debris sliding down into the depths and causing a literal tsunami wave that propagated across the ocean. In a moment the wave struck TG03, the cruiser under which they were hiding, and they heard the vast hull groan as the ship was lifted up over twenty meters, riding the top of the wave before its bow slapped down again on the other side... and the Audacious was struck as well, sending them crashing back into the wall behind them and causing everything that wasn't properly bolted in place to fly wildly through the cubicle while the whole submarine tilted back as the bow was shoved upwards by the wave.

"Dive, dive, dive!" Galen ordered even as he barely managed not to be thrown out of the command chair, while cups of coffee, both empty and not, flew wildly across the control room, and the officers braced as best they could, grabbing whatever was in reach.

"Casualty, casualty, casualty!" Came the alarm from a compartment further aft, and the ship's medic rushed out of his little infirmary, accompanied by a couple of sailors.

All hell seemed to have broken loose at once, but the officers at the boat controls managed to reach the controls and open the floodgates to let water rush into the tanks, bringing the Audacious down to a greater depth. The nightmare that filled the minds of everyone on board was the same: the gigantic RA cruiser above coming heavily down as the wave moved past, its hull and spinning, 7-meters propellers crashing right into the Audacious, ripping its hull apart while the submarine was violently pushed up towards "the roof". The emergency dive was not quite fast enough to eliminate the risk, but they had to put as much distance as possible between them and their unaware cover. It was going to be noisy, as well, but the ocean around them was filled with nothing but noise, so they hoped to still escape detection somehow.

The third dart fired from the Judge hit a moment later, this time right in the middle of the island-state, in the center of the immense metropolis, and the impact disintegrated several of the tall, incredible towers and skyscrapers that were the symbol of Lunis, erasing entire streets in a cloud of dust and plasma generated by the extreme heat. The impact reverberated through the entire island and into the sea around it, leaving behind a deep, ungodly crater that smoldered and glowed as the ground almost literally burned and melted because of the absurd heat, while rubble fell down from the buildings all around in a range of miles. The Judge did not fire again, making it clear that it had been just a demonstration as well as an act of pure terrorism... but on the Audacious all the attention was fixed on keeping the boat on a safe course, and only the sonar operators noticed that detail.

"The stern is going down, level her out!" Galen ordered as the Audacious, tilted over by the freak wave, sunk rapidly on its tail, taking on an angle that forced everyone on board to hang on to something as the floors became steep slipways. There was a clear risk that panic would spread across the crew as further alarms of casualties flooded to the control room, but Galen grabbed the railing near the command chair and stood up tall, flexing his legs to counter the inclination and speaking with calm, powerful voice as he instructed the watchstanders on using the bow tanks to rebalance the sub. His example and the apparent lack of any fear in him helped everyone else in the room keep a cool and focused mind, at least as much as was possible in such conditions, and within moments the inclination of the boat began to ease as the horizontal planes recovered authority and forced the Audacious back in a more appropriate stance, even as the follow-on waves still slammed into the boat with terrifying force. Immediately, Galen asked for a sitrep (situation report) from all compartments, to make sure they had not sustained any major damage. Reports of three casualties, one of them pretty serious, came back to him but all the major systems were operational.

TG03, the RA cruiser above them, smashed down into the waves, filling the sonar with noise of cavitation and groaning metal, but thankfully without crashing into the conning tower of the Audacious. Galen's hands trembled despite his best attempts to keep them steady, but as the boat recovered its normal attitude he nonchalantly put them behind his back, standing tall at the conn and instructing the officers of the watch to interrupt the dive and maneuver back into position.

"We have lost alignment with TG03, but they still seem oblivious to our presence." A sonar officer announced, while Sebastian hunched forwards over the console and closed his eyes, his lips twitching a bit in irritation as he did his best to shut out all the "useless" noise while he focused on the right sounds. The cacophony of noise was still reverberating across the seabed, generating a variety of confused echoes that the enemy's active cancellation system was struggling to deal with.

And as Sebastian played with the controls, the computer itself finally understood what to look for and began to pick up patterns, finally gathering data that began to resemble a target track.

"Whatever the fuck that thing is, it is immense." Sebastian finally said, and the long lines on the screen confirmed it. The variety of echoes pointed to something that stretched at least one kilometer in length and several hundred meters in beam. They listened to try and isolate a specific noise pattern, to determine whether the unknown target was a submarine or an organic / synthetic being: the latter option would have not figured in their list in a non distant past, but the war against the demons had taught them that there was much more out at sea than just machinery. They listened for the monotonous, predictable pattern of noise typical of propellers and machinery, but no sound ever lasted long enough or was picked up for a long enough time to betray a pattern... and they couldn't hear anything sounding like a heart, or a breathing cycle. "Immense, yet incredibly silent." Sebastian muttered in frustration after a while, and he turned towards Sandy with a bit of a grimace as he added: "You know what, skipper...? Even without active noise cancellation system I'd say they'd still be stealthier than us. And that's saying something, because the Audacious is one of the best tubs in the world."

"Their size probably helps somewhat in hiding the machinery deep inside, trapping the noise and vibrations inside the hull." Sandy wisely observed, and Sebastian grunted in agreement, looking thoughtful and sketching something in his notebook, before adding: "They also use some kind of advanced propulsion, though. No propellers, not even a pump jet like ours. Something else. I think they might have buried even the propellers deep inside the hull... or hulls, most likely. It'll have more than one hull, big as it is... Multiple pressurized and non pressurized hulls, I bet. To be survivable; to be able to dive deep down where nobody else can go..."

The pressurized hull of a submarine is the one that contains the crew spaces. The outer hull, non-pressurized, deforms to a degree when diving deep and coming back up. The space between the two is taken up by the ballast tanks, bottles of pressurized air used to force the water out of the tanks when it is time to resurface from max depth. Whenever possible, the submarine climbs back to the surface using the horizontal planes, as the quantity of air in the bottles is finite and invaluable in case the sub has an emergency onboard and needs to rush to the roof pronto. Sandy nodded quietly, reflecting on Sebastian's words and finding it very hard to disagree. A monster of those proportions probably had at least two pressurized hulls for increased survivability, and he remembered reading of studies about super-silent propulsion systems with propellers buried deep inside tunnels within outer hulls. Unpractical in any normal-sized submarine, it could well have been adopted on something as huge as their mysterious sonar contact. "Without the Judge pinging away like crazy with her big-ass sonar, and now this goddamn ruckus generating all sorts of echoes, we would have never found them." Sebastian noted, whispering the words almost with hesitation, shaking his head slowly. "Pretty damn scary. But thankfully, it seems like they can't hear us, either. This girl still has fight in her." The officer said, smiling as he reached up to pat the bulkhead of the sonar compartment with evident affection. The Audacious was a boat loved and appreciated by every last member of the crew, even though some of the high tech machinery on board could be temperamental at times.

"Noise from the Judge... they are opening the gates of the well dock." The sonar operator sitting on the other side of admiral Hawkwood. The same noise then came from the other, large amphibious assault vessels in the RA's battlegroup. Sandy could hear the water of the sea flooding the well docks, allowing the boats and landing craft parked inside to float. Within minutes, a multitude of diesel engines and gas turbines were started as the fleet of assault crafts began to maneuver out of the docks. Most, if not all of them were hovercraft, extremely loud but also very fast and agile.

"The invasion of Lunis is now well and truly underway." Sandy muttered, trying to tell the noise signatures apart to count how many crafts were exiting the Judge's immense dock: it was an endless procession of hovercrafts rushing towards the island at speed upwards of forty knots. They rapidly spread out, forming in assault echelons, and some of the fast crafts moved out on the flanks, suggesting that they were armed platforms meant to protect and support the troop carriers. He expected Lunis to open fire at any moment now, but sudden, loud cavitation sounds nearby perked his interest and sent a shiver down his spine as TG03 picked up speed and rushed away from them.

"Conn, sonar!" Sebastian urgently called, before announcing: "TG03 is sprinting away from us. Hatches opening. Torpedo launch imminent."

"They found us." Galen muttered. What had they screwed up? Was it the communications buoy? Had they generated enough noise to be heard on the sonar? Had their sonar tail, or perhaps a rudder, broken out of the water and in plain sight when the tsunami had slammed them up and down and around...? He didn't know for sure, and he had no time to think much about it. He immediately turned towards the control officers instead, ordering to put the seaplanes on a sharp descent angle. "Bring her deep, under the layer! And pull the tail back in, we'll have quite some dancing to do!"

The hull-mounted sonar of the cruiser above them switched mode and began to pummel the Audacious with a barrage of "pings", and they all heard them through the hull of the submarine, tensing in their chairs.

"Hatches opening on the Judge." Sebastian announced, using the hull sonar arrays to keep track of what happened outside, while a powerful winch inside the stern of the submarine dragged the long towed array back inside. The risk was to have the enemies snagging it somehow during the manoeuvres ahead, which would most likely rip it off for good. Among the many reasons why that would prove to be a disastrous outcome was the fact that the enemy would then have a chance to recover the array and reverse-engineer its technology. For the Audacious, admittedly, that long-term consequence would have meant little compared to the short-term problems to be faced, but Galen had to think of everything. That was the commander's job. The "tail" was Sebastian's best sensor, but he knew he had to give up on it for the moment: they couldn't risk having the mile-long line caught up in a propeller or worse. The lieutenant switched to the large flank arrays, listening intently to pick up again all the contacts he had been following, before nervously adding: "Cavitation north and north west. Three frigates, they are making a sharp turn to starboard. Coming for us, skipper."

"Decoys at the ready!" Galen ordered, and the warfare officers prepared to defend the submarine from attack. "Torpedoes, false-target ready for launch?"

"Aye aye, skipper." Came the reply from the torpedo room. The Audacious had a specially modified torpedo carrying noise generators already loaded in one of its six tubes. It could be used to create a moving, "ghost" Audacious to confuse enemy sonar operators. Sandy rapidly thought back to what was in the other five tubes: an encapsulated anti-ship missile, which would surface and shoot into the air on launch, and four torpedoes. He stood up from the chair, dropping the headphones that another sonar operator immediately picked up, getting into position. The old admiral rushed out of the cubicle and straight up to the conn, grabbing the cold metal railing and trading a look with Galen, who forced a smile on his lips despite the evident tension in his features and attempted to sound playful as he observed: "Now would be a really splendid moment for my father to appear out of thin air and Deus ex Machina us and Lunis out of this steaming pile of manure!".

"Galen; language!" Sandy replied, trying to sound just as relaxed, even amused. They couldn't afford to show fear or hesitation. The minutes ahead were going to be extremely busy and dangerous and over 100 souls on board the submarine would look at them for solutions and leadership. They were the ones supposed to always keep cool heads.

The Audacious dived rapidly, taking a steep forward inclination as water was rushed into some of the ballast tanks to speed up their evasion. Getting under the thermocline was their first, indispensable move. But it was going to take time, and time was a luxury they could not afford.

They waited for the explosions to rattle the Audacious, and they arrived as soon as TG03 went into a starboard turn, gaining an angle for its anti-submarine rocket launchers to fire at the suspected position of the underwater contact. Dozens of unguided, barrel-like explosive charges rocketed off the cruiser and flew a short arch in the air before splashing into the angry, cold waters, before the charges began to explode at various depths.

Galen and Sandy tightened their grips on the railing as the Audacious began to rattle violently, the lights in the control room flickering in and out as the gloomy thundering of the massive bombs exploding above them pierced through the hull and filled their ears. The officers in their chairs couldn't help but gaze at the roof, trembling as they felt the vibrations growing more and more violent as the depth charges exploded closer and closer to the Audacious's tower, and every sailor on board waited in terrified silence, clawing desperately into whatever support was available while the bulkheads trembled and whatever was not solidly tied down was thrown around the narrow, semi-dark passageways. The charges were fuzed to explode at increasing depths, so the explosions constantly drew closer, and they all expected one to strike the top of the submarine, blow a hole in the casing and flood it with the unforgiving waters of the southern ocean... the Audacious dived as quickly as it could, getting out of the way, and after an interminable succession of violent blasts, the barrage ended... and they all stared at the intact ceiling, breathing again for the first time in what felt like hours.

The rocket-launchers were meant to hit submarines close to periscope depth, and they now were too deep to be bothered by that kind of weapon, but that was only the beginning of their nightmare.

"Torpedoes in the water!" Sebastian announced, and the warfare officers nervously reached for the button that would release the decoys, waiting for an order and at the same time listening as the sonar team reported: "3 torpedoes from TG03, 0-4-5, 3 miles out. 35 knots and accelerating fast. They are heading on a 2-2-5 course. 40 knots now. Time to impact less than 2 minutes!"

Galen checked the depth as the Audacious continued to dive, moving well under the thermal layer. "Keep diving, and turn to port for 2-7-0." The young captain then turned towards the experienced admiral and whispered: "Suggestions?"

"2-7-0 will bring us right under the Judge, and close to the Sentence. It's bold. But it's the right call right now: we have to hope they will hesitate to fire torpedoes in the direction of their capital ships", Sandy noted as they turned around to face the plotting table, where the navigator and plotting hand were busy keeping all tracks updated. The incoming torpedoes had already been marked on the chart, and Galen pulled out his chronometer, checking against the two minutes.

"I don't think they will hesitate. They'll fire everything they have. But the Judge and that damn thing beneath her are so huge that they might end up taking a few hits on our behalf." Galen admitted, swallowing thickly before booming: "Decoy in the water!"

The warfare officers immediately complied, and a sealed capsule built in the outer casing of the Audacious popped open and fired out a projectile that sailed a short distance away from the sub and then began to generate noise and a multitude of bubbles to simulate cavitation around a propeller.

"Decoy active, skipper."

Galen waited a couple of seconds, clearing his voice and then ordering: "Make full speed!"

The Audacious accelerated rapidly, but so did the torpedoes. Within moments they were making 30 knots on a divergent route, but the torpedoes had built up speed to nearly sixty knots. Between them and the Audacious now stood a little, barrel-like object surrounded by a cloud of bubbles and making noises that resembled those of the submarine's machinery.

"Torpedoes pinging!" Sebastian announced as the three incoming "fishes" turned on their active sonar homing heads and scanned the target area in search of their objective. Barrages of rapidly-repeated, high frequency sound pulses reached the Audacious, strong enough to be audible, and everyone on board tried to find comfort in the noise coming from the machinery locals in the stern as they built up speed, breaking past the forty knots mark and rushing away in the opposite direction.

"Still heading for 2-2-5, skipper." Sebastian announced, and Galen let out a tiny sigh of relief. The torpedoes had not picked them up, and were heading in the wrong direction. "They seem to have homed in on the decoy... but I hear missile launches from the Judge, and from the frigates."

"Torpedo in the water! Splashdown aft, to starboard... 0-4-5! Two... no, four... I have five torpedoes astern of our position." The other sonar operator announced, and Sebastian mapped out several other splashes, several of them right ahead of the Audacious.

Sandy and Galen knew that the torpedoes had been launched from the vertical missile silos of the Judge and of the other warships, flying as many as dozens of kilometers in a matter of moments and then dropping away the rocket boosters to fall into the sea and begin looking for their target.

Looking at the dots appearing on the plotting table it was clear that the enemy was firing torpedoes all around the area, trying to block any and all ways out. They did not have a clear track yet, but knew the general area where the Audacious was.

A multitude of sonars were now pinging, and the sound waves whip-lashed against the Audacious's hull, reaching their ears and sending shivers of terror down their backs. The torpedoes began circling around on a search pattern, initially in passive mode, listening... and Galen immediately ordered to slow down. "20 knots and deep. Let's get out of here and our maximum silent speed."

The Audacious was incredibly hard to detect when making 20 knots, and they could only hope that it would make them stealthy enough to avoid destruction. The submarine could be even more silent at lower speeds, but they wanted to put as much distance as possible between them and the charging group of ASW frigates. The Audacious could also go much faster, but beyond 20 knots it became louder and louder. They chose a compromise.

The sudden swarm of torpedoes in the water caused the RA's own submarines to spring into motion. Unlike radar-guided missiles, which can interrogate a target and ask for an identification signal that tells them whether they are targeting a friend or a foe, torpedoes have little to no way to recognize a friend from an enemy. Passive sonar can sometimes recognize the unique sound signature of machinery and recognize it from a database in the computer, but in general it is only smart enough to recognize noise compatible with a submarine and head in that direction. Active sonar homing, based on the echo generated by the big, metallic body of the sub, is even more "faction blind". Collaboration between surface ships and submarines can be incredibly tricky because of it, so much so that in many occasions an admiral will assign a single submarine to a specific "box" of sea and order his surface ships and his other subs to stay out of it, and patrol the nearby boxes. The risk of friendly fire is more than real.

"Submarine, 2 miles ahead of us, on a 0-1-5 heading. Faint, but getting louder. He seems to be getting in position on the side of the Sentence." Sebastian announced, before coming up in the headphones again after a short moment to add that a second RA submarine was on the move right ahead, also taking escort position near their mystery contact... and several other submarines revealed themselves in the following moments as at least three more accelerated to get out of the zone filled with torpedoes.

Suddenly, a number of torpedoes switched to active sonar and began to pump out pings, locking onto one of the submarines and aiming straight for it, accelerating rapidly. "Heading for 1-3-5... they will pass by our stern, three miles away." Sebastian announced, trying to keep his voice controlled even as he said: "TG11 is trying to evade. It has fired decoys right now... one torpedo changed course, now aiming for the decoy. Two are staying locked on them."

It was an enemy submarine that he was talking about, yet everybody on board the Audacious listened in horrified silence, praying for the submarine to somehow evade and survive. There is solidarity between sailors, always at war with a sea that is nobody's friend and that never takes prisoners, and that bond is even more pronounced between submariners, who challenge the ocean in even more dangerous ways. They listened to the final moments of that struggle with a heavy heart, full of disbelief at the thought that the RA was so recklessly risking his own submarines, his own men. Unless their boats are all filled up with drones, robots and brainwashed slaves...

They heard the distant, terrible rumble of the explosion, and Sebastian and the other sonar operators closed their eyes as their headphones filled with a second blast as another torpedo struck, before they began to hear the horrendous cacophony of groaning metal, of shattering glass, of banging debris... they could swear they had even heard some short-lived scream as the water rushed into the devastated boat and dragged it down to the bottom. It was quick and brutal. Nobody ever had a chance to get out. "TG11 is gone." Sebastian confirmed, before swallowing thickly as he rubbed nervously at his eyes, realizing for the first time just how tired he was, and how sweaty, and how uncomfortable the chair suddenly felt.

There was no further word on the matter, but there were little doubts about where the thoughts of everyone on board, or at least those in and near the control room, the only ones who had a relatively clear idea of what was happening outside, were. Sandy almost whispered a prayer for those onboard the enemy submarine, but then remembered that Killer was god... and doubted that he'd be willing to be particularly merciful with his enemies. Sandy, instead, urged the king and god to come to their help, because their situation remained desperate, as a huge number of torpedoes continued to circle angrily in the area, seeking them out.

"Skipper, I have multiple GERTRUDE noises on the sonar." Sebastian announced, and Sandy and Galen traded a look and a grimace. The GERTRUDE underwater "telephone" was a short range acoustic communications system that allowed submarines and ships to exchange messages. Clearly, the RA crews were trying to put some order in the messy chase and establish who was who.

"Flood the torpedo tubes, and be ready for a snap launch." Galen commanded, and the order was quickly relayed to the launch room in the bow of the submarine, where the sailors that in theory should have been resting were assisting their comrades and were nervously waiting for the command. Their greatest worry was the fact that most of the mechanical racks in the magazine were empty: they only had another four torpedoes in addition to those already in the tubes, plus a second false target and a couple of encapsulated anti-ship missiles.

Suddenly, a terrible low-frequency sound thwacked hard against the Audacious, and they all knew what had just happened, even before Sebastian came on the phones again and announced: "Submarine to port, 1 mile ahead, 1 and half mile to port. It's close, skipper, awfully close. Switched its sonar on active."

The RA submarine was not in the best position to open fire against them, but there could be no doubt about it having found them. Their sonar echo was out there for everyone else to hear, and a new barrage of rocket-propelled torpedoes were fired from the Judge and the warships all around, while the frigates converged on their position at over 30 knots.

"Tube 1, torpedo. Tube 2, false target." Galen said, and the warfare officers prepared. "Open the tubes. Manoeuvre, bring her to 2-6-0."

The Audacious immediately veered to port, putting the pinging submarine in its crosshairs while the outer hatches covering the torpedo tubes were opened. The tubes themselves had already been flooded through valves, ensuring that the water equalized the pressure outside with the pressure inside.

"Tube 1, launch!" Galen ordered, and there was a barely distinguishable shudder going through the submarine as compressed air was used to activate a piston in a special water tank. Seawater from the tank was blasted inside the tube and pushed the heavy torpedo out. Using the compressed air directly would have worked just as well, and it was regularly done in earlier ages of submarine warfare, but air meant bubbles; bubbles meant cavitation noise. The torpedo rushed out of the tube, shooting several meters ahead of the submarine and slightly sideways, then its engine turned on and it rapidly swam towards its target. Sandy activated his chronometer, checking the seconds to impact, while Galen ordered: "Cut cable and dive. Bring us down to 600 meters! Reload Tube 1 with torpedo!"

Torpedoes are wire-guided. It is impossible to transmit radio signals through water, so the guidance information travels along physical wires, fiber optics that extend for miles behind the traveling torpedo. The warfare officers on board the Audacious could steer the torpedo thanks to the wires, but that put big limitations to the manoeuvres that the submarine could perform, and they could not afford to sit still.

"Two decoys out!" Galen urged, and two noise generators were expelled just as the Audacious dived deeper, rushing towards the bottom and discarding the optic fiber cable. The torpedo, receiving no more information from the Audacious, picked up the noise of its target and homed on it, rushing forwards...

"Multiple torpedoes in the water!" Came the warning from the sonar room, almost immediately followed by the addition: "Switched to active homing!"

Galen counted the seconds and ran through his ever thinner options, looking at the plotting table. "Fire two more decoys!" He ordered in the meanwhile, forming another cloud of bubbles and noise between the Audacious and the "fishes" raining down on them. The young captain traded a look with his Teacher then tapped his finger on the track of the "Sentence". Sandy nodded, immediately understanding what the idea was... and then he stopped his chronometer, exactly in time with a distant, gloomy explosion.

"Our torpedo found its mark." Sebastian confirmed, and once more he listened, in a mix of horror and sick fascination, to the horrendous music of death of a submarine breaking apart and sinking rapidly into unforgiving darkness. His true attention, however, was fixed on the enemy torpedoes rushing down towards them. Once more, the decoys worked: the torpedoes rushed towards the first cloud of bubbles and went right through it, finding nothing... and when their sonar pinged to find the target that had to be there, they found the second couple of decoys and rushed into this.

An explosion followed as one of the torpedoes slammed right into the decoy round itself, and a second torpedo was caught in the blast and went off as well, sending a shockwave that slammed right into the Audacious's stern, rattling the whole submarine.

"Crazy Ivan!" A sonar operator announced, and Galen and Sandy braced. They had expected nothing less, since they were running straight towards the second submarine in the line of "escorts" that protected the Sentence's flank. The RA submarine could not miss them: they were running straight up against its flank sonar arrays. It rapidly veered to starboard to face them, and Sebastian warned: "It is opening the torpedo tubes!"

"All speed ahead!" Sandy ordered, and the manoeuvre officer turned around with a shocked look, asking for confirmation: "Sir...?"

"All speed ahead!" Galen roared, and the Audacious accelerated violently, heading straight against the enemy submarine. Meanwhile, a new barrage of torpedoes splashed into the waters above them and began to ping furiously in their direction, running on their tail.

"Torpedo, torpedo, torpedo! They got us!" Sebastian warned as all three torpedoes established contact and switched to tracking mode, accelerating against them.

"Give me all speed!" Sandy urged, and it was like the submarine itself was listening, because it picked up speed, lurching forwards with such violence that Sebastian cautioned: "Skipper, we are cavitating."

"Doesn't matter." Galen replied, looking at his chronometer and calculating speeds, distance and times in his mind as their bow and that of the enemy submarine rushed against each other at more than a combined 46 knots, while three torpedoes gained constantly on them, following at more than 60 knots.

"Torpedo in the water!" Sebastian warned, and his voice betrayed pure fear for the first time as the massive submarine ahead of them fired one, then a second huge "fish" that rushed straight on for impact.

"Everyone, brace, brace, brace for steep dive!" Galen boomed, and Sandy followed up with the command: "Planes 45° degrees down!"

The manoeuvre officers this time didn't hesitate, no matter how insane the order sounded. The voice of the admiral and captain made clear that time was essential, and the watchstanders could only incline the control surfaces, then flood the tanks as the command came, while their hands grabbed the edge of their consoles, which were solidly bolted on to the bulkhead.

The Audacious's hull groaned as the submarine's bow dropped like a stone, and Galen and Sandy leaned onto the railing as the floor tilted forwards, becoming a slide, sinking heavily towards the bottom. In a moment, they began hearing the noise of the incoming torpedoes, literally able to distinguish their propellers as the pumped water in their wake, and for the first time there were confused cries of fear from several sailors and officers. The sonar pounding the hull was a nightmare, but that was the sound of death itself, coming fast to reap them all away.

Galen felt pearls of sweat running down his cheeks and neck, his light shirt becoming one with the wet skin on his muscular back as he closed his eyes and tried to keep his breathing under control, counting the seconds... and Sandy did much the same, squeezing into the metallic rail hard enough to turn his fingers pale for loss of circulation. And then the torpedoes hit, slamming into the top of the submarine, one probably against the conning tower, the other further back towards the stern. The impact sent a violent shudder through the whole Audacious and filled it with the echoing thwack of metal hitting metal... but there was no explosion, and the initial slam was followed by several seconds of grinding noise as the torpedoes, with their fuzes still in safety mode, slid along the hull of the Audacious... and then lost themselves in its wake while the submarine slipped deeper and moved rapidly away in the opposite direction. "They... they weren't armed yet." Sebastian incredulously murmured, realizing, like many others on board, the kind of foolish genius that had just saved their lives. The enemy torpedoes had run for such a short distance that their fuzes were still locked in safe mode, as any explosion at that range would have harmed the submarine that had fired them.

"Damage report from all compartments!" Sandy immediately ordered, and the watchstanders in the various areas of the submarine began to check for faults or, worse, for leaks. The impact had been terribly violent, and they could not exclude the possibility, however remote, that their hull had been perforated.

The reports swiftly began to come in, and fortunately they were overall encouraging. There was no water getting into the resistant hull and no loss of pressurization, at least.

"Sonar, here Conn. Let's leave the obvious comments for later. Tell me where the enemy submarine is. I want to brush it, but a collision would really ruin my day." Galen ordered, trying to sound imperturbable as if he hadn't, not even for a moment, contemplated the possibility of complete and definitive failure. His hands were shaking, but he made sure to grip the railing hard to make it impossible to notice.

"Gods, how I wish we still had rear-facing torpedo tubes. Just this once." Galen murmured, and Sandy snorted in amused agreement, even though he could hardly keep his own hands steady. Early age submersibles had torpedo tubes in the stern as well as the bow, but they normally were more of a hindrance than a bonus, so they had been abandoned as technology was refined. But in that moment, with frigates and submarines following their trail, the ability to fire back, and rapidly deploy a false target, felt very alluring.

Sebastian blushed a little as he was reprimanded, however kindly, and he cursed under his breath for sounding like he had fallen down from the clouds. With all his experience, he should have done better.

He turned on the upwards-looking anti-ice sonar, which was normally used to map the ice cap where navigating in the darkness under the arctic pack, and shivered as the returning echoes painted almost a photography of the RA submarine's underbelly as they slipped beneath it at what was, for submarines at least, a whizzing speed of over 40 knots, with mere meters to spare between the top of the turret and the enemy's keel. "We are good, skipper. Less than 8 meters beneath them." Sebastian replied, trying to keep his voice from trembling as Galen immediately ordered the Audacious stabilized and brought back to its normal stance. The enemy lagged for a moment in its response, no doubt confused and astonished by what had just happened, but the torpedoes still followed them at high speed... and when the enemy skipper finally understood what was happening, he ordered an emergency halt and dive.

Sebastian's eyes widened as he heard the revs on the enemy sub's propeller abruptly coming to a stop, the whir of machinery dying down, while water began flooding the tanks, and the gigantic monstrosity of steel began to sink rapidly, rushing down against them. "They are diving, sir, and trying to crush us down!"

"Bad call on their part." Sandy calmly replied, and indeed it was: the enemy submarine continued drifting forwards, while the Audacious made full speed in the opposite direction, so that the sonar operators, as well as the technicians in the stern, could listen with gaping mouths at the cavitation and metallic sounds coming from the massive enemy sub sinking down just behind the Audacious, missing by mere meters...

And then they all heard one, two, three explosions in rapid succession as the torpedoes found their mark, once more on the wrong submarine. The blasts rattled the whole Audacious, punishing it with their great shockwaves, but it was nothing compared to the inferno on the RA boat as it disintegrated, breaking in three large sections that sunk down in a cloud of debris. They were so close that everyone could hear the cacophony, or at least most of it, and for a moment the whole submarine was silent, intent on listening in horror at those otherworldly, terrible sounds that seemed to come directly from hell.

Galen thought for a moment that it could have been them. That at any moment it could still be them... and he swallowed thickly before clearing his voice to figuratively tug lightly at Sebastian's jacket. "Sonar, stay focused. We need you to get out of this. Give me an estimate of external damage."

Sebastian and his colleagues traded a look at that, painfully aware of how important they were, and once more ashamed at what felt like a failure on their part... even though their handling of the whole engagement had actually been perfect. Galen and Sandy had nothing but praise and admiration for them... but twice now they had had to call on them to do things that, every sonar officer now felt, they should have already been doing without need for reminders.

Sebastian immediately focused on the noise coming into his headphones, focusing on the close and very close sounds, those that came from the Audacious itself... and there definitely was noise that should not have been there. Missing anechoic tiles, and other rubber parts flapping, half-disconnected from the damaged hull, and there was cavitation and anomalous flow of water over the steel casing where it had been torn apart by the heavy torpedoes smashing into it. The conning tower seemed to have taken a particularly harsh hammering, and the noise coming from it made Sebastian fear that they might have lost the periscope or some of the other masts that folded down inside it. Their ability to communicate and look outside could be in jeopardy, and there was no way to know for sure other than go to periscope depth and try to deploy the various masts. It definitely wasn't a workable option, for the moment.

"We have sustained substantial damage to the conning tower, sir. Lost a good lot of anechoic tiles and have pieces of metal and rubber flapping in the water flow. At this speed it makes us a hell of a lot noisier... but there is no big groaning or anything. We can hold the depth, skipper. Maybe even go further down."

"Good. We got away with it..." Galen whispered, and Sandy nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on the plotting table. The Judge had speeded up and was getting away from them, while the frigates and destroyers escorting her were converging on them from every side. On the other hand, the echoing noises from the destroyed RA submarine were giving them excellent, albeit temporary cover, and the other enemy boats in the area were repositioning, putting some distance between themselves and the area of the sinking.

"It's their second blue on blue. They are completely crazy." Galen commented, shaking his head in disbelief even as he ordered a change of course, leading the Audacious on a 3-1-5 course towards the north-west, to slip between two RA subs that were steering well clear of each other. The mysterious contact they had officially baptized as "Sentence" was still ahead of them, and she too was turning on a north-western course. "GERTRUDE communications between the Sentence and the Judge, skipper." Sebastian announced after a moment. They are definitely talking. It's pretty faint and I can't make out a single word, but there's no doubt on the transmission's heading."

"I'd pay to know what the fuck they are saying." Sandy muttered, before listening to the other sonar operators as they mapped out the movements of the frigates hunting them from the surface, and of the RA submarines that were maneuvering around them. With the outer casing so badly damaged they were no longer as stealthy as they used to be and the only reason why they were getting a break was that they were literally hiding in the ruckus of a sinking submarine. The enemy might even think that they had been destroyed along with the RA submarine above them.

Galen and Sandy thought about slowing down in the hope of finding a speed at which the holes in the casing would not cause so much noise, but in the end they decided that it was more important to move quickly out of the area.

A lot of noise came from the surface as well: Lunis had finally opened fire against the invading force, and even while the whole island trembled under the vicious return fire, the defenders were landing several blows. A few rail guns were still operational, firing out of well hidden slits in the volcanic cliffs of dark stone, and the defenders had allowed the hovercraft to come close to the breakwaters of the port before opening fire: four landing craft were disintegrated instantaneously, and before the RA could react another two were sunk in deep water in front of the main port's entrance.

The RA's small and agile hovercraft "corvettes" bristling with guns and armed with a quick-firing cannon on the bow and a rotary, multi-barrel mortar on the stern, immediately reacted by scouting close to the shore, seeking out the well hidden Lunis defenders. The mortars vomited a deluge of fire onto the cliffs, laying down high explosive mixed with smoke grenade shells, forming huge curtains of cool gas that obscured the line of sight of the defenders. Some of Lunis's guns fell silent again as they had no way to see their target, but at least one of them, not properly suppressed, waited for a corvette to cross its line of sight and broke it in half with a well aimed hypersonic dart.

The heavier guns of the RA bombardment fleet thundered into action, and the explosions rattled the cliff and generated landslides, tearing apart the road running on top of the high coast and throwing large chunks of asphalt into the air, while other cannons pummeled the observation bunkers on top of the hills, smashing them into gravel and dust. Lunis's defenders still did not surrender: the rail guns were buried deep inside the mountain and fired out through small fissures in the dark stone, so the bombardment couldn't easily put them out of action. Hypersonic darts were fired against the bombardment fleet, turning a destroyer into a burning wreck, and when the hovercraft corvettes wandered even closer to the shore to locate the firing point, well hidden pairs of courageous fighters used shoulder-fired anti-tank missiles to pummel the armoured hulls into burning wrecks.

They destroyed two and set a third on fire, but every team was slaughtered on the cliff as the rotary-mortars vomited down a fearsome tempest of fire and shrapnel that literally plowed the flank of the mountain, leaving behind a smoldering wasteland of blackened craters.

Lunis's defenders paid the ultimate price, as the rail guns were silenced, one by one, and more hovercraft pulled up by the port's breakwater barriers, opening their ramps and vomiting out entire troops of massive, heavily armed Unmanned Combat Walkers which made short work of the Lunis tanks and soldiers hiding between the ruins and the piles of abandoned containers in the storage areas. The gigantic robots, mass-produced variants of the prototypes that Killer and Alexis had taken down in what now felt like a whole different life, marched up to the docks and jetties, blasting battle tanks into smithereens with their massive cannons and clearing out every bunker and trench with deluges of roaring fire from fearsome flamethrowers. Their armor was far too thick for small arms to have any effect, and each robot carried small self-protection laser turrets on the shoulders, with radars and electro-optic sensors tracking incoming missiles and shells and shooting them out of the sky before they could hit.

The Audacious had only a letterbox slit view of what was happening, despite the best efforts of Sebastian: explosions kept echoing through the waters, reaching all the way up to the Audacious, but it was hard to tell the noises apart and paint an accurate tactical picture.

Then, suddenly, a multitude of hatches clanged open on the Judge as she maneuvered north-west, and the cruisers surrounding her also opened their cells and began to fire missile after missile. The great whooshing sounds came one after the other at intervals that were mere fractions of a second. The surface-to-air missiles shot high up into the sky before turning towards Lunis, racing to intercept an incoming barrage of anti-ship weapons fired by well hidden launchers popping out of bunkerized garages in the island's tall, rocky cliffs. A multitude of decoy rounds exploded in midair a moment later as all the RA warships fired up clouds of chaff and flares to lure the missiles away from them, and Sebastian listened in awe to the great horde of warships maneuvering to hide behind the clouds of false radar echoes and incandescent Infra-Red decoys. Sandy followed the exchange with a special kind of nervousness: even though the missiles weren't targeting them, for him it was like being on the Ark Royal all over again, staring at the radar screen as it filled with "vampires", the conventional name for incoming anti-ship missiles. Again and again he had stood by his Anti-Air Warfare officer, looking at those infernal little Vs on screen, each one representing an Irenic missile, while other Vs, fired from his own ships, raced towards them in a suicidal run.

The sky filled with balls of dirty flames and dark smoke as the missiles began to hit each other, and the number of Vampires sharply went down... but several inexorably leaked through, and Sandy shivered as he remembered clearly the thundering of the main guns of the cruisers around the Ark Royal, and then the endless growl of the Close-In Weapon Systems, radar-guided multi-barrel guns that spewed thousands of armor-piercing rounds per minute, filling the sky with tracers and finally taking down the leakers.

But still, some of the fast, sea-skimming, merciless missiles still made it through, and explosions illuminated the darkness around the Ark Royal as frigates and destroyers were struck and set on fire, or even broken like toys and sent to the bottom.

The RA's ships went through exactly the same nightmare. Many of Lunis's missiles were tricked by the clouds of chaff, which looked like massive, juicy targets to their radar-homing heads, and they rushed straight into the sea, exploding uselessly into the cold waters. Others flew through the clouds of chaff but, once on the other side, re-acquired their target and rushed towards it. The close-in guns growled, and missiles exploded in midair, sometimes so close to their target to shower it in wreckage and burning rocket fuel, and then one of the frigates of the bombardment fleet was struck by two weapons in rapid succession and seemed to entirely disappear in a huge ball of dirty orange flames and dark smoke. One of the destroyers was struck right in the bridge, its commanding officers killed in the explosion and the tail mainmast covered in radars torn off the superstructure and sent crashing down into the sea.

The bombardment fleet was badly battered, but the Lunis launchers were destroyed within seconds, annihilated by the vicious return fire from the RA vessels. Anti-ship missiles found their mark on one of the large amphibious assault ships, turning it in a burning inferno that rapidly listed and began to sink, but the weapons that were fired against the fearsome Judge were all wasted, because the laser turrets and the literal hundreds of close-in weapon systems on her castle-like superstructure put up an almost literal wall of bullets and fire, disintegrating all incoming missiles. And the super-battleship once more trained her monstrous, colossal rail guns and fired another barrage of darts, disintegrating the cliffs for a length of several miles, reshaping half of the island into a smoldering crater.

The Audacious exploited the noise and confusion to slip away as quickly as possible, but the damaged casing produced enough noise that the RA was able to keep chasing them. Frigates and submarines crept up on them from all sides, and whenever they had a half-decent idea of where the Audacious was, they fired some of their rocket-boosted torpedoes, forcing them to manoeuvre to evade, producing even more noise. It was only a matter of time before they were nailed in place and destroyed, and everyone on board was painfully aware of it.

Sandy and Galen looked at the plotting table with increasing concern. The net was tightening on them: it was clear that the RA was actually throwing some of its torpedoes literally at random in their general direction to prod them and force them into making a mistake... and there was a group of frigates racing up on them, pinging away with their hull sonars.

The Sentence, meanwhile, was moving westward of the Judge, putting the gigantic battleship between itself and Lunis, and apparently aiming for the deeper, oceanic waters further away from the continent.

Sandy and Galen were doing their best to follow the Sentence, but it was hard due to just how silent their mysterious contact was: in any moment they could lose it for good if they allowed the distance to build up. The RA knew it, and was deliberately trying to drive up a formation of frigates and submarines between the Audacious and the Sentence.

"Why is Killer not coming...?" Galen impatiently muttered as he stared at the map of the known contacts. "We have found the target for him. We are tracking at the best of our possibilities. But we'll get sunk if we keep going like this."

Sandy didn't have an answer to that question, that kept coming up in his mind as well. He tried hard to silence it and the bitterness, the rage mixed with fear that filled him up in front of that potentially lethal delay. Killer was many things but certainly not a coward: if he hadn't come yet it had to be for a very good reason. But holy crap, can he not at least spare one of his goddesses...?

"We have to maintain the contact. If we lose the Sentence, we might never be able to pick her up again." Sandy quietly remarked, before studying the map of the seabed to try and think of where the titanic super-submarine might and might not go. In deep waters her freedom of manoeuvre was almost as unrestricted as that of the Audacious... and there was no doubt about the Sentence being actually able to dive much deeper down without being crushed by the pressure, so their ability to pursue her was definitely time limited. Please Killer, my lord and master. Come. Come and bring deliverance.

There were a few places where the Audacious could hide, but diving into a trench or cresting underwater mountains would make it impossible to hear the Sentence, so he was forced to discard all options, cursing under his breath... before his eyes widened as an insane, yet genial idea dawned on him.

"We have only one way out of this mess, Galen." He finally whispered, and the captain of the Audacious looked at him curiously for a moment, then at the plotting table as the admiral added: "Active Sound Cancellation."

"Hide right under the Sentence...?" Galen asked, incredulously, shaking his head slowly. "She'll put a torpedo right through us as we try to sneak up on her."

"It's not like we have many options, though." Sandy quietly remarked, without even trying to contest Galen's perfectly valid assertion. He forced a smile on his lips as he playfully asked: "Do you think she has rear-facing torpedo tubes...?"

"It's the RA, remember...? Their stuff looks like it is designed by a seven year old drawing robots made of rifles, shooting rifles that explode and generate force-fields." Galen replied, snorting in bitter entertainment. "I'll actually be surprised if she doesn't have side-looking torpedo tubes too."

"Whatever they have up their arses, we need to get inside their noise-cancellation bubble and become truly invisible." Sandy said, rising the tone of his voice to be heard by the officers in the control room, who all had their ears perked, understandably, despite how utterly focused on their tasks they looked. Galen nodded in agreement, doing his best to ignore the part of him that screamed in anguish at the thought of just how dangerous and crazy that whole idea was. He knew they had no alternatives. He put up his brave face and took the helm, moving back to the command chair and grabbing the railing, rapidly checking his chronometer before looking up with a grin, trying to transmit nothing but confidence to the members of his crew while he announced: "We won't get them off our tail by hiding. Prepare for Crazy Ivan! And sonar, be ready to give me a short sweep with the active sonar, please. No point in hiding passively at this point." Galen savored the implications of his announcement, and there was true satisfaction in him at the idea of going on the offensive, finally. "Prepare the false target for launch. Is tube 1 ready to go again?"

"Reloaded with warshot, skipper." Came the answer from the launch room. The Audacious had once more 4 torpedoes ready for launch, plus one anti-ship missile, and Galen and Sandy were determined to use them all, quickly and mercilessly. The sailors in the launch room were proud of their hard work: they were among the fastest weapons handlers in the entire fleet and could always be trusted to deliver.

"Planes 25 degrees on the up. Bring us up to periscope depth. Time to give those frigates a scare." Galen ordered, and the Audacious soon began to silently creep up towards the surface. It was dangerous, it was insane, but it was their only chance to gain some breathing space by force and guile combined. It was also a chance to put the periscope and masts to use, and discover what was broken and what was not.

"Crazy Ivan!" He ordered once he was satisfied with the depth, and the machineries were stopped, sending the Audacious drifting without propulsion as it began to sharply turn to starboard to "look over its shoulder".

"Up ESM!" Galen commanded, while deploying the periscope at half-length, to take a scan just beneath the surface, checking for hulls, obstacles and other potential hazards. Thankfully, both masts slid upwards without trouble. Predictably, the ESM antenna was immediately bombarded by a multitude of radar signals coming from every direction at once as the frigates mercilessly hounded them, but none of the transmissions were strong enough to generate a clear echo. Hopefully, at least. We are not sure how good they radars are...

"Up Satcoms!" Galen ordered while pushing the periscope up all the way. He wanted to exploit the brief stint up "at the roof" to transmit a report and check whether they had any message waiting for them.

"Satcom mast damaged, skipper. It does not respond."

Galen cursed under his breath. Evidently the enemy torpedo had struck the conning tower about in the middle, where the communication masts were concentrated, and had bent some them out of shape. On one hand he was happy because the periscope still worked, but on the other he was horrified because their ability to communicate was almost completely curtailed.

He scanned the horizon in seconds, and ordered all the masts down. The images immediately appeared on the large display, showing a group of four frigates well spaced out, racing towards them, bristling with guns and missiles and pinging away with their sonars. Thankfully, the atrocious weather prevented them from launching their helicopters, at least.

"ASM for the frigate on the port flank. One torpedo for each of the others." Galen commanded, and Sandy worked with the warfare officers to refine the firing solutions. Nobody was surprised by Galen holding back one torpedo: he wanted to preserve a snap response capability in case an enemy submarine popped out of the dark when they revealed their position. Reloading torpedoes, even with a crew as experienced as his, always required a fair amount of time. It was not like reloading a rifle.

"Open torpedo tubes." Galen ordered, while pushing up the periscope again, taking another quick look to confirm the behavior of the targets and use the optics and laser on them to confirm the distance. "10 miles. ASM... out!"

The Audacious shuddered lightly as the encapsulated anti-ship missile was shoved out of the tube by a flood of seawater. Having positive buoyancy, the torpedo-shaped capsule quickly climbed up to the surface, breaking out of the water and splitting open to release the missile, while the rocket booster ignited and thrust the large, heavy weapon hundreds of meters into the air in the space of seconds. Then the exhausted booster fell off, splashing into the sea and leaving the missile free to fly on with its own turbojet engine. The frigates immediately picked it up on the radar and deployed their decoys, firing a couple of interceptor missiles against it... but missing as the ASM dived back down and skimmed the top of the waves, making itself as hard to detect as possible. More SAMs were hurled against it while the frigates frantically maneuvered to get into position behind their decoys, but the distance was too little, and there simply wasn't time for adequate repositioning. The lead frigate fired a bunch of rocket-boosted torpedoes in the direction from which the ASM had suddenly appeared, but then was punished by the missile slamming just above the waterline, roughly at the height of the large gun turret that dominated the focsle of the warship. The explosion was enormous, and burning pieces of metal tore all the way through the hull, bursting out of the opposite side as the entire frigate shuddered and seemed to come to an abrupt stop. Fire spread through the devastated bow, and if luck assisted the Audacious, as it was supposed to do, the flames would soon invade the gun's ammunition depot.

Meanwhile, the Audacious had fired its torpedoes and immediately dived back under the thermal layer, launching a number of decoys and rushing on a north-western course to evade the incoming fire.

There was jubilation in the control room as the lead enemy frigate was hit and set on fire, but Galen grumbled because he knew that the torpedoes he had launched were not going to all have the same luck. He had again been forced to cut the guidance wires early, and leave the "fishes" to hunt on their own.

They forced the frigates to evade, splitting courses and turning around to bring their towed false targets ahead, and that was good enough, because it allowed the Audacious to go deep again and get out of the area with a dash at max speed. They all expected a RA submarine to nail them with a torpedo, and they went through tense minutes while the weapon handlers worked to reload the tubes. Whenever the team announced that a tube was ready, there was a sigh of relief in the control room.

After a few minutes they heard a first explosion behind them, but Sebastian soon confirmed that one of their torpedoes had been tricked by a towed decoy and had exploded harmlessly in the wake of a frigate. A moment later, however, there was a second explosion, and this time Sebastian exclaimed: "Right under the keel! We broke her back, skipper! She's going down like a stone!"

One frigate broke in half like a twig, a colossal water column erupting right amidships, seeming to incarnate the fury of the ocean itself, and the two broken, deformed chunks of metal rapidly flooded and vanished under the surface. The other two torpedoes, unfortunately for the Audacious, were lured out of position by decoys and ended up lost in open waters. They automatically began to circle around, seeking for targets, but eventually used up all of their fuel and ended up sinking, much to Galen's irritation.

The RA submarines did not manage to react quickly enough, and the two torpedoes they fired were easily evaded, but they were still out there, between them and them and the Sentence, so Galen and Sandy devised a plan to trick them out of position. The Audacious purposefully made noise, accelerating to max speed on a western heading as if it broken and run away from the battle... and several submarines went on pursuit, determined to finish it.

"Rig ship for ultra quiet, prepare for all gear stop and Crazy Ivan. All tubes ready. We are going to launch the false target first." Galen announced, trading an actual smile with Sandy. They were inflicting a harsh lesson to the RA fleet, and that admittedly filled them with exhilaration as well as unhealthy amounts of adrenaline. They were all exhausted, yet unable to stop. It was only a matter of time before some of them committed a terrible mistake and killed everyone on board... but they were convinced it was not yet that time. "Come to 3-2-6. Let's make them think we are heading home."

"3-2-6, skipper, thirty five knots."

"Open tube 5. Prepare false target for launch."

"False target ready and tube flooded."

"Launch, launch, launch!"

The false target, a modified torpedo without warhead but with larger fuel tanks and a suite of noise generators specifically meant to replicate the Audacious's signature, was expelled ahead of the submarine and began to follow the course programmed into its computer. When it began to generate the right amount of noise, Galen ordered to gradually reduce the speed of the submarine, then to go "ultra-quiet". Only whispers were uttered on board and the speed was reduced until they were doing little more than drifting under control. The two noise sources separated, and while the real Audacious vanished, the false one continued to happily make its course.

"Will they bite the bait...?" Galen quietly wondered, and Sandy made a bit of a grimace but dared saying nothing. They better.

"Load the last false target, I want to have it at the ready." Galen said, before commanding the Crazy Ivan manoeuvre, but at ultra-quiet, which meant turning around very, very slowly and silently. Not a true "crazy", in other words. The last torpedoes were all in the tubes, ready for launch, and Galen and Sandy wanted to use them to take out the enemy submarines around them.

"I want to know who's out there, and where." Galen finally announced once they had turned around to face the enemies that were following them. Sebastian could hear at least a couple, moving up on the tail of the false target, but for sure there were several others that they could not hear... and those were the true danger. Unfortunately, they almost certainly outnumbered the Audacious's torpedoes.

Please, Killer... if you are God, give us torpedoes at least. Fill us up with warshots. Please. Please. Please.

"Conn, here launch control." Came the call in the headphones, and Galen and Sandy traded a worried look at the startled tone of the officer, who sounded like he had just seen a ghost. "Launch, speak up. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, sir! A... a miracle, that's what it is! A whole bunch of new torpedoes... like. Appeared out of... like. Thin air. The racks were empty, skipper, empty, and now they are all full! I... I can't believe it...!"

"Holy crap." Galen exclaimed, and the officers all around looked up in awe as well... before breaking in a spontaneous roar of joy, relief and approval.

"Holy shit, he truly is god." Galen murmured, before closing his eyes to think very intensely: we have been damaged. Can you give us a hand for that too? "I can't believe I just prayed, literally prayed, for torpedoes and got them just... appearing. Load all tubes with warshot, we have work to do! Pull out the false target as well, but hold it at the ready. Be swift with the reloading process, men! You don't think you can, like... regenerate our torpedoes in five of the tubes as soon as they leave...? Please?

"Conn, we... we have been blessed again." Sebastian babbled on the network, sounding astounded. "The outer casing, sir... the damage, the holes, all the noise... all gone!"

"Why doesn't he come to end this battle, then...? Spare us all this mess!" Galen couldn't help but wonder, looking at Sandy in confusion, but the old admiral shrugged a bit and shook his head slowly. He couldn't know the answer... but clearly there was something keeping Killer busy and preventing him from directly intervening into the battle. "We should be grateful for the miracles we just got, and wait for him. Clearly, God truly is on our side!"

"He is." Galen admitted, and finally gave the order: "Sonar, switch to active and give me a picture."

"Active, engaging." Sebastian confirmed, and pressed the button to change the sonar mode. The massive spherical array of hydrophones in the bow of the Audacious immediately responded by sending out a powerful, low-frequency signal that traveled across the ocean for countless miles... and then the echoes returned, and the screens filled with enemy submarines. Three were protecting the Sentence's flank, moving slowly and silently and ready to sink the Audacious if it dared getting any closer, and four more were creeping up on the opposite side, while three were chasing after the false target.

The warfare officers and Sandy rapidly put together firing solutions for the 6 submarines closer to the Audacious, and Galen ordered the torpedoes out, one after the other. The submarine shuddered under the force of the consecutive firings, and when the tubes were sealed and the water was pumped out, the weapons team opened the inner hatches only to discover that brand new torpedoes were already in place. "God is on our side, skipper! God brings torpedoes!"

Galen and Sandy were jubilant, and the warfare officers grinned widely as they calculated the trajectories for another series of targets. Within moments, in a timeframe that no "normal" submarine could even dream of imitating, another 6 torpedoes were in the water. The RA submarines scattered and accelerated to try and get away, but Sebastian sent out another "ping" from the submarine's powerful active sonar and "painted" them once more, sending guidance corrections down the wires.

Galen could barely restrain his vengeful, righteous satisfaction as enemy submarines exploded one after the other. Within moments, 12 RA submarines were disintegrated, and when the frigates from earlier rushed on the scene they were both torpedoed as well. It was incredible. Fearsome, and fantastic at the same time. Monstrous yet glorious.

Within moments, the sea around the Audacious was empty for miles, save for the Sentence, which continued to race on a north-west course, into the open ocean.

The Judge and several of her escort ships fired a huge barrage of rocket-boosted torpedoes against the Audacious, but Sebastian heard their launch and Sandy and Galen ordered the closure of the torpedo tubes and raced the Audacious away from the area, going deep under the thermal layer, becoming virtually invisible. A few well laid decoys did the rest, luring the torpedoes away from the submarine.

"Skipper, I have a sudden spike in noise from the Sentence. It's hard to tell what it is, but... I think... yes, they are turning around to face us." Sebastian announced, and Galen bit his lower lip, trading a look with Sandy and considering their options. They had gained time and new torpedoes, but new ships and new submarines were moving northwards from the main body of the RA task force and would soon be within range. If they wanted to survive and carry on with their mission, they still needed to hide right beneath the Sentence herself.

"Keep going. We'll deal with them, whatever it is that they have in mind." Galen ordered, and the miracles he had just witnessed gave him total, irrational conviction that things were going to work in their favor, no matter what the monstrous submarine had to throw against them. It was the same for everyone on board: what they had just seen could not possibly go unnoticed. God was on their side, there was no doubt on it. How could they hesitate?

Sebastian was confident as well, and he listened to the mysterious, short noises filtering through, trying to interpret them. None of the sounds that came from the Sentence were easily recognizable because they were always only tiny fractions of noise that mixed with the countless voices of the ocean... but he was the best at his job, and was determined to prove it to his commander, his admiral, his comrades and his god. God! Whatever doubt he had had before, now was well and truly gone.

But then, something broke through the virtual "wall of silence" created by the Active Noise Cancellation system surrounding the Sentence, and he frowned for a moment in shock before his eyes widened as he practically screamed: "Torpedo! Torpedo, torpedo! They are enormous, skipper! They are producing a lot of cavitation..." And then he paused, gaping in shock as he heard the barrage of super-torpedoes covering the miles at a speed that was simply absurd, unlike any other torpedo. And he understood why they were so noisy: they were super-cavitating torpedoes, more akin to rockets than to traditional torpedoes. They achieved spectacular speeds by generating a bubble of air around them, literally pushing the water back to avoid its attrition. Whereas normal torpedoes make 50 to 80 knots per hour, the Sentence's terrible weapons raced against the Audacious at a fearsome 400 knots and some. 10 times faster than the Audacious. "They are flying at 400, maybe 450 knots, skipper! They'll hit us in 35 seconds!"

"Launch decoys!" Galen desperately ordered, and Sandy ordered the launch of another false target as well, but in truth, the super-cavitating torpedoes probably weren't even guided at all: they were so fast compared to their targets that, fired from a suitable distance, literally only needed to race straight to hit home. Especially the Sentence's ones, since they were apparently larger than a truck and were coming in group: a phalanx of evenly spaced fingers of death. There was no way to avoid them.

God, if you can erase those torpedoes from existence with a thought, please, do it now...

"Twelve seconds to impact! Ten, nine... they passed the decoys... five seconds...!"

Galen closed his eyes. Probably every single soul on board the Audacious did the same thing. The miracle, this time, had not taken place. Sebastian fell silent as well, staring at the screen and throwing away the headphones, knowing he would be deafened for sure by the explosion. There was a sick kind of irony in his worrying about his ears even when what he was facing was really death and annihilation, with his corpse crushed out of existence by the ocean's pressure at that depth.

A terrifying rumble traveled through the Audacious and knocked the boat flying upwards, nearly turning upside down and tossing Galen and Sandy flying across the control room, slamming Sebastian into the sonar console and then sending him crashing up into the ceiling while bodies and objects flew wildly from one end of the submarine to the other. They all felt the shockwave, a ripple of power tearing through their bodies with enough force to crack bones, squeeze all air out of their lungs, nearly stop the heart, and push their guts up into their throats.

The Audacious drifted wildly, carried away by a shockwave of indescribable, monstrous proportions, and all lights flicked out, leaving Galen floating, half-conscious, in a broken head on top of one of the plotting tables, his head pounding painfully from the impact against the computers and screens bolted to the bulkhead behind him. He groaned in agony, hissing at the pain that exploded in his body when he tried to move, and then his eyes snapped wide open as he realized that he was still alive. That there was no water flooding into the Audacious. That the torpedoes had missed.

He coughed, hard, spitting out blood and vomit as he slowly, miserably sat up on the edge of the damaged plotting table, and he looked around the control room, tilted sideways on an absurd, unhealthy angle as the hull groaned audibly because of rapidly growing external pressure. He was confused and terrified, but at the same time jubilant, because somehow they had survived. Bodies were piled up in broken heaps all around him, having slammed into the bulkhead at the end of the room, and several of those bodies were moving, and many known voices groaned and cried out in pain, shock and confusion. But no matter how much it hurt, they were alive! That was what mattered.

"Everyone who can, stand right up!" Galen urged, and Sandy pushed up at his side, pale and bloodied, wounded by the impact against the screens and boxes and tubes bolted to the bulkhead, but alive. The other officers pushed up as best they could, and they all tried double hard when Galen, with impressive awareness of their situation, warned: "If we don't get this boat right under control again, we'll go down like a stone until the sea crushes us like an empty tin can!"

Galen and Sandy personally rushed up to the command stations of the planes, grabbing the joysticks and fighting against the pressure that blocked the planes, and consequently the levers themselves, in an absurd and suicidal position. It was a struggle, but they managed to straighten the submarine and put it on a rising course, moving closer to the surface. When Galen looked at the blinking indicator of the depth, he gulped in shock and horror: they were well beyond the "crush depth" indicated on the Audacious's technical drawings and "manual". Submarines are always built to a resistance that goes beyond the declared not-to-exceed depth, and he knew that... but they were out by more than three hundred feet, and the fact that the hull hadn't yet imploded was nothing short of awe inspiring. He felt sweat roll down his cheeks and forehead while he stared at the number as it decreased, and he sighed in relief when it got back into safe territory. "How the fuck did we get so deep, so fast...? What the hell was that?"

Nobody had the answer, but the groaning, wheezing, bleeding officers rushed back to their positions, sitting heavily in their chairs and trying to take back command. A moment later, the lights flicked back on, and the engineers reported from the machinery room. "We had an automatic emergency lock down on the reactor and a temporary power loss, but we are restoring all services."

"Conn, here sonar." Came Sebastian's voice, betraying all the pain and shock for what had just happened, and sounding like the tiger had the mouth full of blood. "It's... a mess. The outside parameters are all changed: water temperature first suddenly dropped like a stone, and now is rising fast to ungodly levels. It's like the ocean wants to boil. One moment ago it tried to freeze over."

"The hell is going on...?" Galen muttered.

"The depth changed. It's like several hundred meters of sea rolled in over us and crushed us down. It's... I never saw anything like this before. We have been moved south perhaps twenty miles, skipper... and even the Sentence had been moved out of position. I hear a lot of noise south-east: ships sinking, other vessels apparently... stuck together. I think a bunch of frigates have collided together, and there seem to be several ships piled up against the Judge's side. I swear, I can't tell the noise apart, it's a mess. I'm guessing, skipper. Just guessing."

The Audacious groaned again as another pulse of force slammed into them. It was not as powerful and as violent, but still an enormous shockwave that was uncountable times stronger than the blast from a nuclear explosion. It was something titanic and unfathomable, and the temperature of the sea rocketed even higher, the waters around them turning boiling hot. The torpedoes that had nearly hit them were nowhere to be found: they had undoubtedly been slammed to kingdom come by the violent... wave, or ripple, or shockwave, or whatever it had been. They tried not to think too much about it. Sandy worked with the navigator to craft a route that would bring them right to the Sentence, and they maneuvered the Audacious accordingly, beginning their risky race straight against the enemy, fearing that another torpedo launch would at any moment target them.

"What the hell was that...?" Galen again wondered, while watching as the Audacious's medic did his best to bandage wounds and immobilize broken bones, despite having a broken arm himself from landing very hard on it after being thrown forty feet down the central hallway that ran from one end of the submarine to the other. The officers were all wounded, but they courageously hid their pain and urged the medic to move over "to those who are really hurt". They all deserved a medal, Galen thought. Indeed, they deserved far more than just a little piece of silver, or gold.

Sandy thought about the terrible immensity of what they had just witnessed, and squeezed the railing hard in his hands as yet another ripple of power rattled the world and set the ocean into vicious, noisy motion. It was not something that mortals could understand or fathom at all. It was something that went far beyond "normal" tsunamis, "normal" natural cataclysms. And if the ocean had grown by hundreds of feet, he didn't dare imagining what had happened to the coasts as they knew them. The face of the world had undoubtedly changed dramatically. Geography had changed in ways that he tried not to think about. The rest of the crew either had not realized that fact, or like him did its best to ignore the fact and its horrendous consequences. Their home port had certainly ceased to exist. Hell, all ports must have ceased to exist. Hills had certainly turned into beaches. He shuddered at the thought. How many millions of souls had perished, in a world that had already had most of its life forms wiped out of existence...?

He really did not look forwards to deploying the periscope to take a look at the coast.

"I don't know what that was..." The old admiral finally breathed, looking exhausted. "But believe me. That's what keeps Killer from coming here. He clearly is dealing with far, far bigger problems than ours."