Calga's eyes fluttered open as he regained consciousness. He looked at the clouds suspended in the yellow rays of the sun and grunted. "Alive. I see," he muttered and rolled his body, flexing his muscles to push himself off the ground.
The old tiger staggered and once he assessed his surroundings, he was taken aback. Though he was far too tired to be flustered about it, the damage his battle with Higure had caused was gone.
"You're awake?"
The beast frowned and looked down. "You."
"Me," Rakna smiled. "If you're wondering, I was the one who fixed the Plateau for you."
"I see," Calga was rather unimpressed. "You are more than a power battery, after all."
"Was that the impression you had of me...?"
"What did you do to me?" The tiger brushed him off.
The therian raised an eyebrow. "I saved your life. I used quite a special 'medicine'. And a pretty generous dose, so you might have even gained a few years of life. Though it's certainly not going to fix the long-lasting damage you did to yourself today."
"..."
"I could do a 'full conversion' though, if you want. Not only will you regain your strength, but you could live practically forever. Well... as long as you survive the procedure, withstand the horrible pain, and genetically adapt to it."
"Spare me your rabble," Calga snarled in annoyance and the therian chuckled.
"He's not lying you know," Higure chimed in, walking toward them as she fixed her hair. "You can get stronger and challenge me again with that. Look; I have no scratch. Since you passed out, are you sure your last attack hit the mark? You'd need a rematch."
The old tiger harrumphed. "Dream on. I know very well that I won. Your mate is most likely the reason you are unscathed," he said and narrowed his eyes at her. "And he already retrieved the powers he gave you... I will lose interest by the time you reach that level on your own."
"If you say so, buddy," the lioness smirked.
Despite the teasing, Calga didn't seem to possess a single angry bone in him. He calmly looked at her and spoke up, "I was already content before you came. This battle was a commemorative gift at best. Get off my fur and focus on yourself."
She tilted her head inquisitively.
"You haven't reached it, have you?" He snorted. "The Eighth Layer."
"Obviously…" Higure rolled her eyes. "I would have used it against you if I had."
"Then reach it for the both of us. I've run out of motivation to do so."
"What are you, a cat throwing a lazy tantrum?"
"Have you ever looked into a mirror?"
"Excuse me," Ceresta interrupted their comeback routine, suddenly standing behind Rakna as if she was always there. Calga silently glanced at her, giving her the respect she deserved based on what he sensed from her.
"When you say the Eighth Layer, are you referring to the last layer of Enthymio?"
"Yeah," Higure nodded. "Proela, The Root of Origin. Honestly, I think my devourer has massively better chances to reach it than me," she added. "His absurd talent aside, he is suited for it."
"Why is that?" Rakna asked in confusion.
"Well, that's a bit hard to explain," she scratched her head. "Proela is a special layer in the sense that it does not have a property of its own, but an intimate connection with something called the Idea Dimension."
"I know of it," Ceresta poked her lips in thought. "Spells that make use of it are not unheard of. It is a collection of information similar to the Collective Unconscious, is it not?"
"Right," Higure nodded. "It's not even a dimension that one can enter in. It simply exists, not as a parallel to the real world, but a part of it. It archives the state of the World like a big computer. In theory, if one can access it, modify it, and then apply the modifications retroactively, it would be possible to do absolutely anything imaginable."
The more she spoke, the more Rakna's expression looked like he was having an epiphany.
"Proela is a physical space tied to the Idea Dimension that can actualize the information with just thoughts. Assuming I reach it, my physique would allow me to change myself as I wish," she said and pointed at Calga. "And he would be able to do the same, but with his surroundings instead."
The lioness looked at Rakna. "And since, you know, the whole idea of altering one state of matter to another is your thing, I thought it…" She paused. "...why are you making that face?" She asked warily.
The therian made several grimaces in a row, battling with his reasoning. With a groan, he tapped his forehead with the side of his fist. "So, that was the missing piece..." He grumbled. "The fucking answer was right in front of me this whole time. Why did I not read that description?"
"Uuh... Rakna?" Higure called hesitantly.
"Of course, the Reverse Side has a fundamental lack of communication with the World. There is only a direct equivalence of 'stable constants'; non-sentient and non-regressive. Magic especially is lost in translation when cast on either side. It also explains why the Reverse Side cannot alter biology, since it has no inherent information on it. This is not only necessary to expand its scope of operation but also considerably reduce limitations and costs..."
It didn't sound like he would be stopped anytime soon. Even as Ceresta cutely waved her hand in front of him, he remained stuck in his reflection.
"...we lost him," Higure lamented. "Neither Hans nor Kaelith are here; we're doomed... he's been working with Evelyn too much."
Calga looked on in disbelief. He almost made a disgusted face at his old rival. "You picked a weird one for your mate," he remarked and began to walk away. "Though I suppose it's a good match."
"Rude," she puffed. "You're going to be jealous when I introduce you to our kids, I tell you!"
"Shut up and follow me," the tiger blankly retorted. "While your man is malfunctioning here, I'll uphold our agreement," he stated and leaped toward the sky.
He conjured a large platform of light to land on and channeled the power of his second Ultimate Skill. Unhesitatingly, he roared from the top of his lungs. The sound spread mercilessly, shaking every tree as far as the eye could see.
Calga only stopped after three seconds, snarling to himself because of his sore and aching throat. Coupled with his earlier fight, he hadn't raised his voice this much in at least a hundred years.
Regardless, his call showed results. Every adult Dawn Tiger on the mountain instantly conceded to his summons. While he held no such position as chief or king, he was the oldest and mightiest of them; they would do themselves a disservice by refusing to listen to him.
All of them landed on the platform Calga had created in advance, standing in front him.
A certain tiger with stripes of yellow on his fur stepped forward. He was visibly younger but just as statuesque as the old tiger was. "Why have you called us? Is it about that Forefront?" He asked curtly. "I thought you did not care."
"And that has not changed," Calga uttered and scanned the group. His eyes locked onto a specific feline in back. "You. Come forward," he demanded, and without waiting for a response, he bound the tiger in question with his light magic and pulled them.
Even after his contest with Higure, he had ample strength to overpower most of his brethren. He dragged the young tiger at supersonic speeds and callously stomped on their neck.
"Ka...gh...?!" The beast could only choke, its eyes open in shock and fear.
"Calga!" A female tiger roared angrily. "What are you--!"
She stopped when Higure quietly landed on the platform as well. Furthermore, Calga ignored her protest, staring at the lioness instead. "This is the brat. How do you want it? Should I cripple or kill him?"
The other Dawn Tigers looked stunned at what he was saying, while some of the older ones took a look at Higure and, though she was in human form, her aura jolted their memories.
"The Shadow of Ruin..." One tigress even blurted out one of her old titles.
Higure sighed as she looked at the young tiger currently trembling in fear under Calga. Even if he could try and succeed in extricating himself, he didn't dare, lest he wanted to risk his life.
"Don't kill him," the lioness sighed. "But I'll otherwise leave the punishment to you."
Calga sneered and looked down.
"W-wait...!" The accused tentatively raised his voice. "What did I...?!"
"Silence," Calga spoke with a lazy, less-than-authoritative tone.
Yet, the youngster immediately clicked his jaw shut. And he wasn't alone. All of those who heard the command reflexively made their highest effort to be as silent as possible, despite not being involved. That was how deep their fear of Calga was rooted.
"Let it be known; you have acted like a coward and killed a Dusk Lion out of pettiness instead of honor," the old tiger proclaimed and formless power began to coalesce around him.
"[Sever All Journeys, Synekeia.]"
The power of Enthymio surged out of Calga and drilled into the tiger, causing it to roar in agony and terror. The ripples of dimensional energy made the spectators shiver right until the moment it was over.
By the time the old tiger lifted his leg, the target of his judgement had long lost consciousness.
"Done. I took roughly half of his lifespan," Calga said and flung the young tiger back to the spot he had taken him from. He exchanged one final look with Higure. "Now, take your mate and leave. I don't want a rabblerouser like the Beast Emperor to stay around any longer."
The lioness blinked in surprise, realizing he had known who Rakna was from the start. Though, if one considers the fame Rakna accumulated, and his very recognizable traits, even a hermit like Calga would find it hard to be ignorant.
Then, without even saying goodbye, the old tiger disappeared in a flash of light. Higure chuckled to herself and jumped down from the platform as it faded away.
* * *
Half an hour earlier, as the clash between Higure and Calga was at its zenith, a tremor was sent across Plateaus. One of them was Shattered Paradise, the fifth Main Plateau, where only some of the greatest resided.
The 750th Plateau was as beautiful as it was disjointed.
Suspended over an endless sky, to which no land existed as parallel, an inexplicable aggregation of polished stone debris floated together in the shape of a rising spiral. When gazing from afar, one would presume that there once stood a tower built in an attempt to reach Heaven, before it was demolished into millions of pieces.
On each island of stone, ancient engravings could still be found depicting what was once a great edifice connecting Realities together. Over time, these vestiges substituted the land on which the Plateau's residents could live on.
Streets, farmlands, and houses were built. They were populated with thousands of Fallen Angels, hundreds of Host factions, and also happened to be where the headquarters of all main religions of the System were located. Notably, the Christian Church and Basilica of Eternal Night.
In this place, on one of the isles near the top, a cathedral stood as the tallest. But the building was not a place of communion, but a home, in its entirety, for a singular person.
The repercussions of the battle in the 755th Plateau were minimal; something you would notice by coincidence. But Shattered Paradise had no regular mortals for which this could apply. Nearly every resident took note but did not think much of it. High-level conflicts were not rare enough to be senselessly worried over.
However, a lone figure inside that cathedral looked up while she was praying in the hall.
It was a fair and attractive woman clad in nothing but dark robes, with a white cross around her neck and an individual earring piece on her right. Her hair was long and black, not much darker than her pupils that bore a resemblance to moving shadows.
Yet, contrasting her colors more than anything was the pair of pure white wings on her back. At their full span, they were several times longer than she was tall and majestically encompassing.
Only one angel in the System was this resplendent.
"Soon..." Nelchael's enchanting voice echoed for no one but herself.