While the battlefield burned, the Endless Continent below was having its own crisis.
In the Light Empire's Imperial Palace, the emergency meeting had barely ended before Asher called another one.
Twenty-odd core ministers, all High Gods, all wearing the same expression, filed back into the room. The news from the battlefield had reached them. They got the details about the four war zones, with the Great Aetherium dominating in three of them and a hard stalemate in the remaining one.
"We're the next target." Someone said and nobody disputed it.
A week ago, the math had looked manageable. The Great Aetherium had one Supreme God and a few hundred true gods. The Light Empire had one Supreme God and hundreds of thousands of Gods of Truth, plus a mortal army in the hundreds of millions. Destroying the castle force before it became a problem would have been straightforward.
The only issue was the Spirit of the Endless Continent's Laws which had prevented exactly that. No native empire could attack a castle faction until the castle faction declared war first. So they were forced to watch.
And just in seven days, the Great Aetherium had grown to have four Supreme Gods and two hundred thousand True Gods, with a ruler whose combat power matched a peak Supreme God.
Haru alone was enough to sweep the Light Empire. They all knew it, but nobody said it out loud.
The 'Holy Lord' Asher rubbed his forehead, "What are our options?"
"Allies." A minister said, "It's the only path. We can't match them alone."
"Which empires would support us?"
"We can try with the Ice and Snow Kingdom first. They're a human faction, they have obligations. Another option could be the Dark Empire—"
"No." Asher's voice was flat, "The Dark Empire would agree on the surface, then sabotage us from the inside. Half this room would rather die fighting the Aetherium Empire than stand next to a Dark Empire's soldier. That discussion is closed."
It was the right call, though Asher didn't know just how right. The Dark Empire had already quietly aligned with the Great Aetherium, their envoys' visit still fresh. They most likely wouldn't be forming any alliance with the Light Empire.
"Beyond the human empires, the Dwarves, the Beastmen, the Dragons. Their empires should help. We can even try with the Dark Elf Empire in the underground world if they'll listen."
"The Elf Empire—"
"That's not possible." Another minister said, "The Nature Pantheon and the Aetherium Empire are allies. Elunara's relationship with Aurelyss makes them effectively allies."
Again, closer to the truth than they knew. The Elven Empress Aurelyss had visited Haru personally and concluded the alliance herself.
"The Lich pantheon and the Dark Pantheon." Asher said, "Neither participated in this battle directly. They may still be reachable."
The room considered this. Their masters, Zakaria and Mordra, were inside the sealed battlefield, but the bulk of both pantheons' forces had stayed out. If those two Supreme Gods escaped intact, their Pantheons might be willing to ally against the Great Aetherium for mutual protection.
"Move fast." Asher said, "We don't have much time."
The ministers filed out. Asher sat alone on the throne, his expressions cycling through dark and darker.
…
Location: Sealed Battlefield, Outer Space near the Endless Continent.
The second war zone reached its conclusion. Zakaria's Sea of Origin had been collapsing for some time under Yvonne's Thunder of Creation, but the end came quickly when it finally broke. Billions of thunderbolts buried him simultaneously.
His divine body, supposedly immortal, shattered and then rebuilt under the Lich Lord's recovery ability as a gray light swept through the cracks, sealing them over.
Then it shattered again before the reconstruction could finish. The recovery was real, but surface-level. The visible damage could be undone but the damage to his Law's source and origin couldn't.
What remained was a cloud of golden divine blood encasing his Godhead and soul.
As Yvonne came forward with her sword, Zakaria screamed.
"Don't kill me!"
This was the Lich Lord, ruler of the Lich pantheon, an Ancient Supreme God, participant in the Ancient Era's Divine War. He abandoned his dignity without hesitation when tens of millions of Gods were watching. He didn't care.
"I submit. I'll swear allegiance to the Lord of your Angel Race. Just don't kill me."
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