The soil of New Eden, once a sanctuary of quartz and peace, became the stage for a geometric carnage. The impact of the Celestial Generals did not stop; it was a rain of deities stripped of their throne, falling like golden embers into an ocean of violet darkness. The sky was torn, and the sound of the Superior Realm shattering echoed like the broken glass of a civilization that believed itself eternal.
Yun Caos did not wait for the invaders to catch their breath. He knew that, even wounded and without the protection of their home plane's laws, a Celestial General was still a reality processor capable of vaporizing mortal armies.
"Horizon Guard, advance!" Yun's voice did not come through his mouth but expanded directly into his soldiers' minds via the Black Sun. "They came as judges, but they will die as syntax errors!"
Yun shot from the Jade Spire like a bolt of obsidian. Behind him, Meilin led the aerial vanguard, her plasma wings slicing through the cold air with a trail of purple destruction. Shara and Lyra remained at the center of the formation, providing the logistical support and ontological stability necessary so that the Void-Born would not be "resolved" by the residual divine Qi.
The Encounter in the Crater:
The first target was General Malphas, the Commander of the Seventh Ivory Legion. He was at the center of a three-kilometer wide crater, desperately trying to "sew" the space around him to create a golden safety zone. His four arms of light held spears that vibrated with the frequency of order.
"Entity 0..." Malphas growled, golden blood leaking from his cracked mask. "You dare hunt the architects of your own soul?"
"I don't hunt architects," Yun replied, landing in the center of the crater with an impact that silenced the ambient sound. "I erase mediocre manuscripts."
Malphas attacked. His spears fired beams of pure logic that should have disintegrated any organic being. However, Yun did not dodge. He simply extended his left hand, and the Negative White radiation from his body absorbed the attack. For Yun, divine Qi was now just outdated information.
With his right hand, he wielded the Original Pen. He did not cut the air; he struck Malphas's name from local reality.
"Revision: Deprivation of Authority," Yun whispered.
In the next instant, Malphas's ivory armor turned to dust. His spears transformed into useless glass rods. The Celestial General, an entity that had ruled star systems for eons, fell to his knees, feeling for the first time in his existence what it was to be "Mortal."
"Meilin!" Yun called, without looking away from the fallen General.
Meilin descended from the sky like a hawk of black fire. Her daggers pierced Malphas's chest, not just killing him, but draining his divine essence to feed New Eden. The General's golden light was devoured by Meilin's flames, making her even denser and more terrifying.
Around them, the battle spread. The soldiers of the Horizon Guard, with their obsidian skin and mirror eyes, moved with a coordination that the Celestial Generals could not predict. It was a systematic hunt. The Gods, used to fighting with the mathematics of the universe in their favor, were lost in a world where the mathematics belonged to a Sovereign who hated them.
"They are trying to regroup in the southern hills!" Lyra warned through the mental link. "Two Minor Architects are trying to raise a protection barrier. If they unite, they could create an anchoring point for the Superior Realm to stabilize again!"
"Not in this world," Yun declared. He looked at the horizon, where the golden glow tried to resist the violet darkness. "Shara, prepare the Erosion of Faith. If they want an altar, we will give them a tomb."
The battle of the ashes was just beginning. The soil of New Eden was being baptized with the blood of gods, and every drop that fell brought the Sovereign closer to his ultimate victory.