"Something weird just happened, but I can't put my finger on it." Kyto was holding his head in pain, confused. "It was like... everything just stopped? What the hell was that?" Turning around, he looked for any possessed soldiers that might creep up on him, but they were all gone.
Back in Loreanzus village, Lorence, the young child, was on his hands and knees catching his breath.
"We did it... we won!"
Everyone in the village was shocked, some were killed, and others were relieved it was over.
"What the Muspelheim happened?? Those weren't Vrunemir's men! They were something else!" Shouted a villager holding a wooden axe.
"Mom... mom please, wake up!" A young girl was crouching over her mom, shaking her shoulders as she bled out.
"Papa, no!" Another young child, a boy, wailed over his father's corpse.
Such was the aftermath of war.
"Is there nothing we can do?" Elizabeth glanced at the aftermath with saddened eyes.
"I don't think so, Liz..." Muttered Jean, dispirited.
"I shall be of assistance." All of a sudden, Obsidia emerged from the tavern with Zarutha on her shoulder, who had finally woken up.
"By the Elohim, what the Muspelheim happened here?!" Yelled the delivery owl.
"It was a war." Said Fhiron, crossing his arms. "Vrunemir's men were corrupted by the Idea of Evil and had become forces of darkness."
Zarutha was utterly baffled, flapping off the maid's shoulder.
"People who have died can still be saved." Said Obsidia.
"Really?" Elizabeth widened her eyes with hope. "How can we save them?"
Obsidia, without answering, approached a dying man, towering above his corpse. Her engine was currently running on magical power, back to its former glory.
"Authority of Baldur, initiated."
She lifted her hand as a divine magic circle, inscribed with countless Norse runes, manifested into being.
"Success Rate of Resurrection: 100%!"
All of a sudden, a burst of light shot from Obsidia's blueprint, engulfing the entire village of Loreanzus in a warm, peaceful radiance.
Flowers began to bloom, dead trees returned to life, and people had their souls brought back into their bodies.
It was a mass resurrection that spanned hundreds of kilometers from the Grace of Baldur's light.
"Oh wowww!"
Elizabeth would naturally nullify something so massive on accident, so she got rid of her anti-aura, staring at the display with wide eyes.
"W-Was that an authority she used?!" Yelled Zarutha, bewildered.
Women, men, and children were brought back to life with their wounds conceptually healed, and the village bloomed with vigor.
Children cried in their parents' arms while the mothers and fathers thanked the heavens in shock.
Obsidia turned to face everyone who stared at her with smiles, and some with expressions of awe.
"…Uhm, how do your powers work exactly?" Asked Jean.
"It comes from my Platonic Engine, created by my master, Grimhild. I am able to manipulate the authorities of the Elohim, and enforce them into reality on whim."
"P-Platonic Engine?" Repeated Zarutha, confused.
"Elohim?" Muttered Jean, bewildered.
"Yes."
Nodded the Golem of Sanctity.
"The Elohim are beings who govern over the laws of our world, and manipulate the perfect forms of our reality."
"Come again?" Said Elizabeth, confused.
"You've never heard of the theory of forms?" Obsidia asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Not really…" Said the Kaizamei, nervously chuckling.
"Everything in our world is imperfect. For example, the triangle that you draw in the Nie'mada is imperfect and incomplete, but the actual "form" of the triangle is the perfect, abstract idea of a triangle. It will be flawless and eternal. The triangle's perfect form does not exist in spacetime, but in the realm of forms; the perfect intelligible reality, known as Asgard."
All Elohim were perfect—they had to be for the world to function properly. If they weren't perfect, then the world would perish and reality would crumble. That's why they manipulated perfect forms in their realms.
"I see… I've heard of this philosophy before, just never knew of its name." Said Zarutha, landing atop Jean's shoulder.
"The philosophy is real and originates from the Elohim themselves, but Plato was the first man to discover this, that's why the philosophy is named after him." Said Obsidia.
"…So Grimhild created a platonic engine that can use the perfect laws of the Elohim?" Asked Jean.
"Indeed." Said Obsidia. "My master created me with the purpose of protecting this world."
"I can see that." Said Fhiron chuckling.
All of a sudden, over the skies of Loreanzus, a thunderous boom rolled across the clouds like a drumbeat from the heavens.
Everyone in the village looked up, believing the war wasn't done yet, but they were far from wrong.
Jean instinctively reached for his dagger.
Fhiron's eyes narrowed.
Obsidia tilted her head calmly as her internal sensors began to warn her.
A deep, mechanical roar began to echo across the landscape, followed by the appearance of massive engines igniting the sky with fire and wind.
Elizabeth squinted her eyes, while the rest used Mana Control to see from afar.
"What is that?"
From beyond the mountain range, shadows emerged; monolithic walking titans of engineered might stomping across the horizon.
Gears whirred, plasma coils hissed, and cannons were shown mounted.
Dozens of mechanical constructs, towering warframes taller than castles, marched in formation through the lands.
Airships soared overhead in perfect triangle formations, each one emitting loud noises with mana-reactor propulsion.
Crimson banners even adorned them as they flapped behind.
At the front of the aerial fleet, standing atop the lead vessel with his arms crossed and blade at his back, stood a figure clad in radiant crimson armor as an internal core was embedded into his mechanical suit.
"Sir Gawain…" Obsidia murmured.
Zarutha nearly fell off Jean's shoulder.
"THE Sir Gawain?! Southern Empire?! Land of Technology?! The one who gains power from the sun?!"
"And not just him." Said Fhiron.
From the west, a tremor rolled across the fields.
Soldiers, by the millions, marched in synchronized rhythm as their swords shone in unison.
The sky above them emanated heat, as the very sound of their blades singing together echoed like a hymn of war.
Sir Tristan rode at their front, cloaked, silent, and watching from atop his steed.
A radiant sunbeam then split the darkened clouds, and from it descended what could only be described as a host of angels.
Paladins dressed in white and gold flew through the sky in divine formation, with ethereal wings spread wide and hymns echoing across the land.
At their head floated a man in robes of light, cradling Longinus as if it were scripture.
Sir Percival.
High Paladin.
The Shield of the East.
"…The Legendary Heroes?" Elizabeth whispered, awestruck.
The villagers began to panic out of overwhelming reverence.
The names they had heard only in songs, myths, and carved runestones, were now descending like gods upon their shattered land.
Kyto clutched his head again away from the group, trying to make sense of the divine chaos.
"Okay. No. I'm definitely not dreaming. That's actually Sir Gawain! Something must've happened if the Legendary Heroes arrived!"
"They're gathering." Muttered Obsidia.
Zarutha blinked.
"Gathering for what?"
Obsidia's purple eyes shimmered, reflecting the armies as they aligned across the mountain ranges.
"…For a council." She said, analyzing them all. "A reckoning. The fate of the world hangs in the balance."
As the golden light of Percival's army swept over the village and mingled with the crimson shadows of Gawain's fleet and the swordstorm of Tristan's march, all eyes turned to the skies.
"I knew something was off if the other Legendary Heroes had come." Said Fhiron before his army of Alfheim all gathered behind him, whilst some circled the village.
"What could it be?" Jean asked, glancing at the Elf King.
"I'm unsure… my mind is fuzzy right now. It was as if I died, and I lost my memories."
"I feel that way too…" Said Elizabeth, a bit creeped out.
"It's likely Grimhild's doing." Said Zarutha, gaining everyone's attention.
"Grimhild?" Questioned Jean.
"Let's all go and find out for ourselves." Said Fhiron, now facing his army. "Elves of Alfheim, I leave this village in your protection. Wait for the return of your king."
The elves gave a crisp salute in unison with their silver and emerald armor glinting in the light of the descending fleets.
In that moment, Loreanzus Village had become a sanctuary shielded by the might of Alfheim.
Fhiron turned on his heel and marched onwards without wasting any time.
"Come."
He said simply, and the group began moving; Elizabeth, Jean, Obsidia, Zarutha, all headed east, toward the convergence point of something far larger than themselves.
As they ascended a narrow hill overlooking the expanse, the skies opened wider, revealing the full scale of what had arrived.
Above them, like titanic sentinels, the constructs of the Southern Empire hovered with burning thrusters.
Gears the size of carriages rotated slowly, and visible data streams were shown through the air between their cores coded language only machines could understand.
From afar, Kyto's appearance was noticed by Elizabeth.
"Hey, that's Kyto."
She stepped ahead of the group and jumped up, waving her hand.
"Hey, Kyto!! Over here!"
Kyto was currently staring at the army of heroes but could hear Elizabeth behind him.
Widening his eyes, he turned around.
"Huh? Liz!"