Aether stood at the peak of a tall coral mound, observing the battle that raged below. There was a slight frown on his face, but his eyes were calm.
The Dreamer Army was besieged from two sides. One horde of abominations was slowly devouring its front line, while another had descended on them from above, stalled for now by the vast net of sharp iron wires.
…It was like a scene from a fever nightmare.
Every second, humans were dying, torn apart by the claws and fangs of the harrowing horde of monsters. Their cries and screams fused with the roaring wails of the Nightmare Creatures into a deafening wave of dissonant noise.
Turning away from the bloodsoaked visage of the battlefield, Aether glanced at Nephis.
Changing Star was sitting on the ground. Her face was calm, and her eyes were closed. On her forehead, the gem of the Dawn Shard burned with furious white light, feeding hundreds upon hundreds of Memories with raw power. She appeared to be in the depths of profound meditation, seemingly not affected by the horrible decimation that was happening below them at all.
Cassie was standing beside her, looking at the ground. Her hand rested on the hilt of the Quiet Dancer. The other two Echoes of the blind girl had been with the first line of the army during the initial charge; by now, they were already destroyed.
There was Sunny too. Watching the war that was raging down with a grim expression on his face.
"Aether.. may I ask how did you get these exactly?"
It was the blind oracle who spoke up. Even if she could not see, she was aware of the presence of the bag next to Aether.
"Are you familiar with these, Lady Cassia?"
"Very familiar. They almost costed our sanity's." Sunny chimed in. His voice shook a little. "So, how exactly did you get your hands on these fruits?"
Sunny pointed at the bag that was full of golden fruits.
"Lets say that tree was indebted to me. So I took these as a way to erase his debt. But it seems he is indebted to you three too." Aether offered a smile. "If I ever see him again, I will definitely make sure he pays."
Sunless did not look like he wanted to question Aether further, which was what Aether wanted.
Aether had traveled back to the Ashen Barrow to visit the soul-devouring tree when the throne war was over. He had collected these fruits not to eat them, but for another purpose.
Seeing that no one continued to question him, he turned his gaze towards the crimson spire.
His gaze lingered on it for a few moments, then slid back to the terrible sight of the slaughter. Straining his eyes, he tried to distinguish the figures of his followers.
'..Don't die yet.'
***
Veynar
Down below, surrounded by those warriors of the first line that still stubbornly clung to life, Veynar had long forgotten about anything else but bloodshed and strife. The scope of the world had narrowed to the suffocating confines of the furious battle, consuming both the past and the future.
The was only the present, and the present consisted of nothing but violence and death.
…And killing, of course.
With a deep frown on his bloodied face, he faced one abomination after another, slashing, breaking, and cutting them apart. All that mattered was to kill as many Nightmare Creatures as possible, to obliterate as many of the hateful monsters as he could. Their corpses piled up, carpeting the crimson coral with an uninterrupted bleeding mass of broken flesh.
Veynar did not need to worry about his footing much, as he had an attribute that made him almost unable to slip on accident. That was why he could do unreal moves while still staying on his feet.
Despite that, the number of abominations showed no sign of growing smaller. It was as though the horde was endless and boundless. But he wasn't scared…
Dodging a serrated claw, he stabbed the dagger into the ribcage of the monster and then slashed it twice across it to shatter its muscles and ribs. Placing his foot on the torso he immediately launched himself backward to dodge a pincer that headed his way.
By now he had defeated so many enemies that his ascended memory was giving him a huge boost in speed. Veynar had turned into a whirlwind of ghostly steel, eviscerating any creature that dared to approach him. His movements were so fast that his enemies' blood could not even fall to the ground. As the result, Veynar was constantly surrounded by a cloud of red mist.
Veynar was now surrounded by several abominations, he had put his katana into the scabbard for a while now. He decided that it was not moment to unsheathe it.
One hand gripped the handle of the green katana, while the other gripped the scabbard. Veynar unsheathe the katana so fast that his arms could not even be seen. The kinetic energy that was unleashed by the sword was so strong that it skewered the enemies all around him, wounding some and killing many.
…And yet, humans were dying. One after another, they fell, leaving less and warriors to hold back the gluttonous horde.
Veynar exhaled as he stood there for a second, but just that second caused a shiver run down his spine.
His body was getting heavy.
Veynar was growing tired.
***
Seraphine
Seraphine had lost count of how many monsters she had killed. Seraphine could not keep using her aspect forever, as the use of it could cause lightheadedness.
However the third line needed her to use her aspect, alongside Night, she was the one who was dealing the most of the damage, to both aerial and the monsters on the ground.
She felt something hot trickle down her nose. Her blood undoubtedly, her senses picked up on the stench.
Blood, blood, blood. No matter where she looked, she saw nothing but blood. Due to her sharp senses, the disgusting stench of everything filled her nostrils, wanting to make her puke.
She was so sick of it.
Gritting her teeth, Seraphine drew her bow again, and sent an arrow flying that dismissed itself into five smaller ones.
[You have slain an awakened…]
They were running out of arrows.
The siege engines were running out of lances, too.
And the damn Messengers were still circling high above, not even trying to descend.
"Come down, motherfuckers!" Seraphine shouted at the top of her lungs, making Night glance at her as if she had cursed his whole bloodline, however turned to the battlefield once again.
Those messengers were waiting for them to get tired so they can attack then!
Looking down, Seraphine tried to catch her breath.
"Ugh!" She grumbled as she kicked an empty quiver away. Why was it so dark though?
Looking up again, Seraphine realized that the entire net was now covered with corpses. There were so many dead Nightmare Creatures that they formed a macabre carpet that veiled the battlefield from the sun.
There wasn't a lot of daylight seeping through the net now, and it was growing darker and darker with each second.
Her eyes widened.
Not because of the deep darkness, but because Seraphine suddenly heard the iron wires groaning under all that weight. Almost as if strained too much and on the verge of tearing apart.
The protective net was going to break soon.
Her face paled.
'Oh shit!'
***
On the tall mound of crimson coral, Changing Star suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the others near her.
"It's time."
***
Things were turning from dire to desperate for the Dreamer Army. The first line was almost gone, and the second was now completely engulfed by the horde of Nightmare Creatures. Seishan and Theola were still standing theirs grounds, but just barely.
The golden threads were everywhere, some sharp, to cut the abominations to pieces before they could even know what was happening, some dull just to restrict enemies for the others to save themselves or to have some attacks in.
The archers under Kai's command were doing their best to eviscerate as many monsters as they could, but with their attention split between those on the ground and those diving at the iron net from above, the results weren't as devastating as they had been during the initial stage of the battle.
They were running out of arrows and ammunition, too. The siege engines were slowly disintegrating under the pressure of so many consecutive shots. The people were tired.
…And the iron net itself looked as though it was going to break soon. It was covered with a carpet of dead Nightmare Creatures, submerging the battlefield into dim twilight. With every minute, that twilight was turning darker and darker.
The human formation seemed to be balancing on the very edge of collapse.
It was at that moment that Nephis, who had been calmly meditating through all of that, suddenly opened her eyes.
In them, two blinding white flames were burning. Her pale face became illuminated by this radiance, like that of a merciless celestial creature.
Turning to Sunny and Aether, she remained silent for a moment, and then said:
"It's time."
Indeed, it was time for the three of them to enter the fray and play their roles. Aether could have joined some while back, but he wanted to make sure his plan went on smoothly.
Together, the trio walked over to the edge of the coral mound and jumped down, leaving the blind girl standing alone on its top.
Softly landing on the ground, Sunny waved at them and said in an even tone:
"I'll go first. Good luck."
"Good luck, friend." Aether waved back.
Next was Nephis. "Make sure your plan works."
The darkness in front of him was suddenly annihilated by a blinding explosion of light. The noise of the battle changed, somehow growing even more intense. The howling of the nightmare horde grew louder, but also became slightly muffled, almost… anxious.
Changing Star had finally joined the fight.
A moment later, hundreds of human voices rose in a deafening battle cry, their spirit lifted, their crumbling resolve restored. With Nephis arriving on the battlefield, the balance of the whole battle shifted. The Nightmare Creatures surged to destroy the radiant figure, only to be obliterated by it. They almost seem to melt under the furious assault of the incandescent blade, turning into cinder and ash.
Neph's arrival brought a moment of relief to the exhausted warriors of the Dreamer Army. Instead of using it to catch their breaths and regroup, however, they chose to use this opportunity to launch into a ferocious attack, making the horde shudder and recoil.
Aether did not waste time either. He activated both his contradiction and aspect abilities. Searching for his victims.
In the bag, Aether had a total of thirty golden fruits. It was all he could have gathered, either the tree hid the rest, or simply it did not have that many. Through his time experimenting with his mind attacks, Aether realized that if he wanted to enthrall nightmare creatures, he needed to pay them with something.
And that something was going to be these golden fruits.
Focusing his mind on thirty figures was more than exhausting, it was excruciating. Aether's hands shook violently, his teeth gritted so tightly that his jaw ached, blood streaking down from his nose and painting his lower face and neck in a vivid smear of crimson. His vision flickered with green light as he forced the minds to bend, to obey, to obey, to obey!
Within the mind link, Aether activated the mind attack fully, offering the golden fruits as sacrifice.
Immediately, a scream tore from his throat, a raw, primal sound of agony and strain, and he fell to his knees. His body trembled violently as though the sheer effort of controlling thirty minds had become a physical weight pressing him into the coral. His mind felt like it was on fire, veins throbbing, neurons sparking, threatening to explode.
Through the haze of agony, he glimpsed Zheshi on the battlefield, a beacon of focus. Drawing on that sight, Aether unleashed the Deer of Abundance. The green flames blossomed into form: antlers branching like lightning, hooves striking sparks into the coral beneath, eyes like molten emeralds.
The soldiers and Sleepers nearby froze, caught between awe and fear. Many could not believe such a creature could exist, and some feared a terror had manifested to crush them. But the Deer moved with intent, hurling a single Awakened Devil off the bridge with a flick of its glowing antlers. Its allies hesitated, confused. Understanding rippled through the soldiers, they recognized the Deer as an echo, an ally.
They had an Awakened Terror on their side!
Aether, still kneeling, felt a small, almost imperceptible shift. He could feel the weight of the thirty Devils lessen. With trembling fingers, he reached deep into the mind link and carefully transferred control to the Deer of Abundance. Immediately, the tension in his skull eased, the scorching pressure that had threatened to split him in two softened.
Controlled now by the Deer, thirty Awakened Devils, their fury was directed outward. In a synchronized, horrifying frenzy, they turned on their own allies, tearing, clawing, and decimating the Nightmare Creatures that surrounded them.
And the battlefield itself responded to the shift. Screams of Nightmare Creatures rose as chaos erupted from within their ranks. Sleepers on the first and second lines who had been buckling under pressure now glanced at the green flames with new hope, seeing the impossible creature turn the tide. For a brief, shining moment, the balance of the war had shifted.
***
Which POV did you like the most for the last three chapters?
1. Aether
2. Seraphine
3. Veynar