The gods did not announce their invasion.
They descended.
Six pillars of divine authority tore through dimensional layers and struck the edge of the Carnival of Collapse.
The sky of swirling auroras flickered.
Mirrors shattered.
Floating stages trembled.
On his inverted throne, Lorien sighed.
No RSVP. Rude.
Velkarion's voice thundered across the realm.
Erase this aberration.
War manifested first.
Maevros descended in armor forged from collapsing stars, his spear tearing through the Carnival sky. Each strike stabilized reality wherever it passed.
Vorun followed, projecting grids of rigid geometry, attempting to overwrite the Carnival's flexible laws.
Solmire's radiance burned through the violet clouds.
Ithariel released threads of fate to bind possible futures.
Nytheris spread a wave of silence meant to mute performance itself.
Lorien stood slowly.
The bells rang once.
The invasion army of angels poured in behind the gods thousands clad in silver light.
Lorien clapped.
The arena expanded infinitely.
Red curtains burst upward from the ground.
Spotlights snapped on.
You came to destroy my stage
He spread his arms.
Then entertain me.
The angels charged.
And the Carnival answered.
From mirrors stepped distorted reflections of the angels themselves grinning, theatrical versions wielding exaggerated weapons.
War met parody.
Order met chaos.
Light met color.
Maevros hurled his spear toward Lorien
It turned into a bouquet mid-flight.
Vorun rewrote terrain
The ground became a dance floor.
Nytheris smothered sound
The silence began applauding.
But then
Velkarion himself entered.
Dominion flooded the realm.
The Carnival trembled.
This wasn't playful anymore.
The Sovereign of Dominion raised his hand.
By divine decree cease.
For the first time
Lorien's movements slowed.
The decree held weight.
Reality began overwriting the Carnival.
Lorien smiled faintly.
Oh… you brought the big stamp.
And then
A golden beam pierced the battlefield.