[We made it to one million words!]
[Honestly, it's just achievements over achievements. I now hope to go beyond this in the future if my short life will make me get that far. Well then, enjoy today's chapter!]
The third day did not go as planned. That might be the simplest way to say it.
At dawn, hordes of Krepsunas were already in position around the outer barriers of the city. By the time the sun appeared, that number had tripled. By the time I finished calculating their formations, the count had exceeded two hundred thousand.
Layer upon layer of black exoskeletons, animalistic humanoids and blade-limbs surrounded the shimmering barrier of Dynasty Mintheris. The ground beneath them had already begun to rot from the sheer density of their infection.
And where were Veneri and Elyonari during the first wave of encirclement?
Changing in their room.
Had I not intervened, they would have slept through the initial formation entirely.
"The third day won't happen I guess."
Elyonari paused mid-motion, fastening the last clasp of her attire.
"That's a way to put it."
Veneri did not even turn around to face me.
"How bad?"
"Severe."
Elyonari reached the balcony and froze. Beyond the trees, the outer horizon was black.
"Well, vacation's over. Guess I'm not leaving anytime soon."
Veneri finally looked at the horizon and, to her visible annoyance, smiled.
"It's about time they showed up."
"What do you mean, it's about time?"
"On the first day of Etdramira, I killed about three thousand Sunderer Rank Krepsunas trying to ambush the city. Their behavior was off. I've been mapping their movements with Phaenora. We followed their trails backward. It was only a matter of time before they traced the energy spike here. I did not expect to happen in two days though"
"You're telling me you baited them?"
"I'm telling you they were already coming."
At that point, concealment was pointless. I stepped fully into visible form before Elyonari. The distortion around me crystallized into a physical form.
"There are approximately two hundred and seventeen thousand Krepsunas currently surrounding the barrier. They're scouting formations continue to expand outward. This is not a raid."
"Two hundred—"
"It appears Edarea Anivaris has committed fully."
"Who," Elyonari asked slowly, "is Edarea?"
"Greshina Emberforge."
Confusion crossed her face immediately.
"Greshina? As in—?"
"Yes."
She was still processing when Veneri pulled her toward him with his hand firm at her waist. A Flight Circle manifested on his back. In a second, they flew out through the window. I followed beside them.
The emerald barrier shimmered at the perimeter but beyond it, the Krepsunas stretched in endless ranks. Veneri spoke over the rushing air.
"Every important figure in Dynasties was assigned a preservation mandate by the Second Epoch Cycle to protect the people using their Dynasties."
"Yes," Elyonari replied. "We all know that."
"That doesn't mean chaos stops. It just means we have to actually fight to survive."
Below, elven citizens were beginning to gather in the streets. Anxiety spread faster than sound. Even non-Divines could feel the danger outside the city.
"The rulers of the Hidden Citadel must have declared open war on the Dynasties. Edarea wouldn't mobilize this scale otherwise. She wants the Elves dead." If she comes personally, they won't handle her."
"Gresh— Edarea isn't that strong," Elyonari argued.
"She's at the Sixth Enlightenment. She is that strong."
The air shuddered so violently that even I recalculated for a fraction of a second. A Divine Presence descended upon the outer gates like smoke.
Every elf below, Divine or not, staggered. Knees buckled. Hands trembled. Some clutched their chests as if an invisible blade had pierced through their lungs. Panic began to spread. Fourth Enlightenment Divines already exert overwhelming psychological pressure using their Divine Presence.
This Divine Pressure is definitely from a Sixth Enlightenment Divine. For the elves, the sensation translated as one singular instinct:
Death.
"She's here, Veneri. Edarea has arrived personally. Her Divine Pressure is destabilizing the city."
Without hesitation after hearing my words, Elyonari released her own Divine Presence. It expanded in a radiant surge that resonated against the barrier itself. The suffocating dread receded. Elves below looked upward instinctively as Elyonari's presence washed over them like cold water snapping them awake.
"This isn't good."
They accelerated toward the barrier.
At the perimeter, every Divine of Dynasty Mintheris had already assembled. Lines of radiant figures stood atop the crystalline ramparts with bows, arrows and staves pointing at the enemy. Even Veylonar and Celadille were present.
We landed beside them.
"Report," she demanded immediately.
A senior Divine stepped forward and began to give us information.
"Approximately two hundred Scavenger Rank Krepsunas are positioned at primary breach points. They are coordinating the outer swarms. We estimate total enemy count above two hundred thousand."
In the Krepsuna system, Scavenger Rank equated to Divine-tier entities and there are two hundred of them? Krepsunas are literally stronger than Spheraphasians due to their immense regeneration and there are two hundred of them?
The Krepsunas closest to the dome suddenly moved. They parted in two precise lines, carving a corridor through their own ranks. Every Krepsuna within proximity lowered itself and bowed. The corridor extended far back into the sea of black until a single figure emerged.
A woman walked slowly forward. Each step left a faint distortion in the earth beneath her.
Black energy bled from her form like black concentrated smoke. It curled around her limbs and dissolved into the air, staining the atmosphere itself. Even through the barrier, her presence struck fear among the Elves.
She stopped at the very edge of the dome. Her eyes turned to Veneri.
"It's been a while, Since I saw you, Vastarael."
She stepped forward and lifted her hand, placing her palm flat against the emerald barrier of Mintheris. The moment her skin made contact, the entire dome shook violently. Nature Energy surged outward in defense. The barrier rejected her with explosive force, causing an an emerald shockwave that would have obliterated most Divines on contact. Edarea didn't even flinch. Her hand remained intact. She withdrew her palm slowly, glancing at it as if mildly inconvenienced, then shook her hand once.
"Hm. That's some strong Nature Energy."
I activated Soul Vision and finally got the information I wanted. Her soul was wrong.
Souls have structure. Even corrupted ones follow predictable deviations. They exist in there colors; blue, golden and white. Black exists but only in fully corrupted entities.
Edarea's soul was both black and white.
According to the memories that came to me, she's a Hybridspawn and somehow fully Divine.
I have memories of her previous incarnation as Greshina Emberforge. I witnessed fragments of her past life as she dreamed about it. Don't ask me how I know because I don't either. I knew she would wage war against the Dynasties because I saw her in my memories declaring it with the other Reniatsus.
Edarea's gaze swept across the barrier, before it returned to Veneri.
"'I'll be generous. Let's negotiate. All you have to do is let the people… Elves, is it? Yes. Let them be consumed."
A murmur of disbelief surged through the Divines.
"My Krepsunas feed and evolve. Everyone wins. You can take your Dynasty and leave this realm unharmed. Or I can break this pretty barrier and kill all of you."
She shrugged.
"Simple, right?"
The audacity was suffocating. Veylonar stepped forward.
"That is not possible."
Edarea's head turned toward him slowly.
"Oh? And you are?"
"Me? Veylonar, Monarch of Mintheris."
Recognition flickered.
"Ah. Sixth Enlightenment as well. Impressive. I'm Edarea Anivaris, ruler of this realm you're in. You're strong but unfortunately, you are not as strong as your dear sister. The Split of Life, huh? What was your name? Elyonari?"
Edarea's eyes moved again and landed on Celadille.
"Oh? That's interesting."
Edarea's pupils narrowed slightly. Honestly, seeing that creeped me out.
"You're pregnant with triplets. And Divine embryos too? How rare."
Every Divine present froze.
"How delightful! You would make an exceptional meal for my pet! She would evolve to the Overlord Rank if she ate you!"
Shock detonated across the elven ranks. Even Veylonar's Divine Presence wavered for half a second. Edarea laughed quietly at their expressions.
"I'll give you one last chance. The Elves here are not your true population, correct? This is merely an extension realm. If your Dynasty dies here, your race collapses."
She wasn't exaggerating. There were exactly five hundred and seven Divines within Mintheris, including the Monarch, Monarchess and Elyonari. They are against two hundred Scavenger Rank Krepsunas—each Divine-tier in their own system—and over two hundred thousand Sunderer Krepsunas.
Behind them are eight hundred thousand Elves. They would be stretched thin within minutes and Edarea knew it.
Veneri stepped forward and placed his hand on the barrier.
Gasps erupted immediately. No one could touch the barrier from inside without severe backlash. Only Elyonari, as the Split of Life, had compatibility with its core Nature Divinity. Yet when Veneri's hand pressed flat against the emerald surface, nothing happened.
His Protection Divinity wrapped around his hand, harmonizing with the barrier's power. Veneri looked at Edarea through the shimmering dome.
"It won't be possible, dear Edarea."
Elyonari stepped beside him.
"We're going to fight."
Edarea closed her eyes briefly.
"I expected that."
She raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
The barrier shattered instantly.
The emerald dome exploded in a cataclysmic detonation of Nature Energy. Shockwaves ripped through the sky, tearing apart clouds and flattening the nearest sections of forest beyond the walls. The sound alone ruptured the eardrums of lower-ranked beings. Fragments of crystallized barrier rained down like glass.
The explosion blasted dozens of Divines backward.
Veylonar shielded Celadille just as a torrent of green energy tore through the ramparts, pulverizing stone and splintering ancient elven architecture in a heartbeat. Two hundred thousand black forms launched forward like a tidal wave. Screeches filled the air.
Sunderer Rank Krepsunas crashed into the Divine lines, using their bony limbs to slice through defensive constructs. A Seventh Circle Mage was torn in half before he could complete his incantation. Elyonari's Divine Presence formed a radiant field that shielded the nearest civilian districts.
Veneri vanished from the rampart and reappeared mid-charge, intercepting a Scavenger Rank Krepsuna with a single punch that detonated its upper torso in a burst of black blood.
The sky filled with Divine techniques like emerald arrows, elemental mystic attacks and the stench of the enemy. Edarea walked forward. The Krepsunas instinctively parted around her as she advanced into the breach. Her black-and-white aura expanded. Where it touched elves below, they collapsed.
Divines clashed with Scavenger leaders midair. Entire buildings collapsed as stray techniques missed their marks. Within minutes, the outskirts of Mintheris were in flames.
This isn't good...