“Humanity is repugnant; abhorrent, revolting. But there was a time when mankind’s folly still blinded me with its deceit. I had just become instated as ambassador by Xeros when I was sent to the nation of Augurium to discuss a peace treaty. I was young. Naive. I still dedicated my life to the healing arts in those days, but my fate underwent a drastic change when my transport was attacked by Nox rebels.

I begged for them to stop—to preserve their precious life for those that would mourn their absence—but they lunged at me with deranged zealotry. I was forced to take their lives. Woe and grief enveloped my mind; however, melancholy soon became replaced with ecstasy. Raw, concentrated aura began to sprout out from their corpses—malformed and disfigured by lingering resentments.

Curious, I reached out, and it filled my mind with endless agony. I became subjected to the very worst Humanity had to offer: Disgust, greed, sloth, anger, despair; it all overwhelmed my mind in an instant. Yet, despite the torture, a feeling of bliss pierced through the haze of malice and struck true straight into my oblivious soul. At that moment, I became enlightened. Ascended. I spent my life from then on dedicated to researching its properties, and one day, I finally perfected the formula to transform the essence into a controllable vapor. I named it Niflheim.”

Nokron, Commander of Nox Caelum

———

Cain

“By Cosmos’s tits…” Cain murmurs, his order struggling to resist against the shockwave caused by the Shooting Star. “Just what’s going on with Deborah!? Is she trying to take us out alongside the Nox?”

“Yeah, um, Sarathiel’s definitely not going to be happy,” Surasha sighs. “On the bright side, the legionnaires look pretty shaken up. I would too if I just saw thousands of my friends…well, explode.”

“I doubt it; those soulless bastards probably don’t feel a thing what with how amped up they are on augments and drugs. Didn’t you see the exoskeleton Lorelai brought back before? They’re just mindless death machines at this point.”

“They’re still people Cain,” she murmurs. “Puppets used and discarded by Xeros without a second thought. No matter how delirious they may be, I’m sure that a small part of them still remains.”

“Even if that’s the case, does it matter? Our duty’s still the same: Leave no survivors.”

“Wow, ok. That doesn’t mean we should dehumanize them like this!”

“Why do you care!?” he shouts. “For all of the terrible things they’ve done to us, why should we care about how they feel when they—rightfully so—finally experience what it’s like to be terrorized for once!”

“This isn’t right Cain! I know you and your brother have experienced some terrible things because of them, trust me I did too, but the people aren’t to blame. Xeros and his officers are the ones we should be despising—not the citizens forced to obey their commands. Some of those soldiers out there right now are probably just like us, their homes pillaged and razed, only they weren’t lucky enough to escape capture like we did. If you get off to their fear, then you’re no better than The Grand General.”

“I…fuck. Dammit,” he groans. “Yeah yeah, I get it. You’re right. I just…I can’t forget those faces. Abel was able to get over it, but I’ll never forget the day they came and burned our homes down.”

“You know what really pisses me off? It’s their eyes. Hollow, cold, and devoid of any other emotion except for madness. The way they move about completely consumed by insanity—it disgusts me.”

“…Then what about Sarathiel?”

Cain freezes in place. Bile covers his throat as he attempts to speak out, but the sound is hushed. He doesn’t know what to say.

“I-I respect Sarathiel greatly,” he eventually musters. “He’s always been a major influence on me. The way he doesn’t take shit from anyone and does his best—despite how the others treat him—to be a role-model is inspiring, especially to a little runt who didn’t fit in back then.”

“But that isn’t all, is it? I know you’re still a bit scared of him, Cain. You were one of the few to survive that day amongst his division, and I get that seeing something like that would naturally leave you with some trauma, but you still care about him despite what happened. Those soldiers that raided your village, they aren’t really that different from Sarathiel with how they gain power.”

“No, it IS different. We were completely trapped, and if Sarathiel hadn’t sacrificed his sanity to Titanomachia, we would have all been wiped out by the previous Nox commander. It was a risk, and he lost control. But I don’t resent him, even after seeing him rip apart our former comrades with his bare hands, because I know he only became like that from his desire to protect us—despite how it turned out in the end. I know it still haunts him, as it does me, but he’s different. He did it to save us, not to destroy.”

“And the soldiers? Do you think they want to be in a constant state of frenzy? Think of what will happen to them if they don’t listen, especially considering how harsh the Nox are with disobedience. They’re just protecting their own family, Cain, no matter what it is they have to do.

“I won’t shy away from battle. I have my own loved ones I want to protect, although one of them I still haven’t forgiven, but I won’t take pleasure from it. I won’t let myself be consumed by anger or rage. I will, however, show respect and empathy towards them because they’re people just like us, all created from Cosmos’s love, and though we may belong to different nations and have different ideals, we’re all the same in the end—just struggling to survive in this war-torn world.”

“Haaaah…” Cain sighs. “Just when did you become so philosophical?”

“Since the moment you started spouting dumb crap,” she says, throwing a light punch at his arm. “Since when did you become so ornery?”

“Since the moment I was paired up with you.”

“Understandable.”

A sudden explosion in the distance startles them, causing the advancing force to halt as a cloud of gas suddenly bursts into view. Sarathiel can take a lot of punishment, but Cain knows that even he has a limit. Whatever that gas is, it doesn’t look good.

“Cain, Surasha, do you hear me?” Lorelai’s voice suddenly pops into his mind.

“Yeah. Is Sarathiel ok?” Cain asks. “I have a bad feeling about that gas.”

“I do not know. Something within is blocking our communication sorcery and Deborah is unable to provide supporting fire due to the gas’s obscurement. It is as if the aura inside is being twisted—nothing is able to get through.”

“Shit, ok. We’re not that far from making contact with the Nox, so Surasha and I will try to blaze through as quickly as we can. I’m not sure what we’ll do about the gas, but there has to be some way we can help.”

“No, you cannot Cain. Nokron is currently preoccupied so this is the perfect opportunity for you and Abel to siege the walls and invade the fortress from above.”

“But Lorelai, is Sarathiel really going to be ok?” Surasha asks nervously. “I know he’s strong, but having to face an enemy commander while they’re at full strength, especially after all he’s had to endure…I don’t think he’ll be able to withstand it without activating Titanomachia.”

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“I am worried too, but for the moment, there is nothing we can do as long as he’s trapped within the vapor. However, Ascalon has recovered so he is flying towards his position as quickly as he can. We must have faith in Sarathiel’s strength and move forward.”

“…Alright. Let’s continue marching ahead,” Cain relents. “You’re right Lorelai, gotta trust in his sturdiness. He’s faced a lot worse before, and I have no doubt that he’ll probably come charging out in a moment; that’s just who he is.”

“Heh, now that’s something I can agree with,” Surasha giggles. “He’ll get mad at us if we don’t pull our own weight after all he’s done. Can’t let that big oaf hog all the glory.”

“Be safe. I need to check on Abel and the others, so yell out my name if you ever require any assistance. In the meantime, wait for the Cherubim’s signal before you begin your assault.”

“Gotcha,” Cain says as the connection fades.

Although still a bit worried about Sarathiel, he banishes the worry away and readies himself as they get closer to the Nox—the mechanical army’s bronze exoskeletons’ now shining clearly amidst the light. Led on by an imposing legionnaire that rivals even Sarathiel’s size—although clad in much cruder forms of plating—they bunker down in place and silently wait for Cain to make the first advance.

“Whelp…you ready?” Surasha asks.

“More than I’ve ever been before.”

He unsheathes a massive war hammer and pavise from his back and raises the mighty weapon up high.

“Organize offensive ranks!” he roars to his order. “Third form of the Powers: Decretum!”

“Virtues parlay with the others!” Surasha follows. “Ready your panacea!”

The hulking mass of bodies quickly change form as the lance-wielding warriors of the Powers move to the front. Unlike the defensive stance utilized in the underground, their forms are dedicated entirely to charging through the Nox bulwark. Shields sheathed, weapons primed, muscles bulging; they shall trample all before them. Even if their bodies are pierced. Even if their flesh is torn asunder.

The remaining warriors of the Powers assemble into five-man squadrons alongside the Virtue knights. Although unconventional with their toxin-coated hatchets, the healers’ combat prowess are as deadly as any other order—perhaps even more so after Surasha became their captain. She’s a bubbly fountain of energy, but Cain cannot deny that she can be utterly terrifying at times. The sight of her unsheathing the urumi, its noxious liquid dripping ominously onto the ground and scorching the earth, doesn’t help her image either.

“Hold positions,” Cain signals with a clenched fist. “We shall advance on my mark.”

Suddenly, darkness begins to envelop the land—casting erratic shadows that flicker and dance upon the ground. The Nox look up at the sky in confusion only to bear witness to thousands of arrows raining down from above. The fortress attempts to shoot down the storm of steel, but their munitions have been all but used up against Polus’s advance and from attempting to stop the Shooting Star—just as Lorelai planned.

Cain is very, very thankful that she’s by their side for this invasion. Although Lorelai’s still a bit timid and less like her animated self from before, her foresight and commanding abilities haven’t rusted at all; heck, she’s actually improved if nothing else. In a nation where the top brass is occupied by muscle-heads like Sarathiel and Annalay—and himself—her cool-cut commands are desperately welcomed.

The arrows themselves are unable to cause much harm against the Nox legionnaires due to the large distance and their exoskeletons, but it does cause a slight wave of panic to spread throughout their ranks as they’re barraged by the steel torrent. That’s plenty enough.

Cain begins to chant an invocation, gathering concentrated sunlight onto his war hammer.

“O’ blazing rays of the sun above—burn bright, burn bright. Cast my foes into your divine inferno; fill me with your golden ambrosia, and let all that lurk within the darkness know your ever-radiant luster.”

He leaps into the air and manifests a pair of smoldering wings behind him—the feathers lit aflame with scarlet hue—as his weapon turns entirely golden from the sunlight. The imperial ensnarers attempt to pull him back to the earth, but the raw heat of the flame melts the chains before they’re able to reach his body.

The war hammer reaches its zenith—anvil shaking from the aura contained within—and the remaining gathered sunlight wraps around his armor, turning his visage into a dazzling, golden icon.

“Via Dolorosa,” he decrees, his transformation complete.

With a flap of his wings, he plunges directly into the middle of the Nox legion. Their leader jumps up in response to intercept him, but the force of the charge is too much to stop, and they both are sent colliding into a large group of soldiers as an explosion of light bursts forth and blinds all that are near.

The Polus lancers waste no time upon seeing their captain tear into the ranks. They surge forth, their footsteps trembling the earth below, and pierce through the barricade of soldiers as their skirmish finally begins in earnest.

Chaos ensues the land becomes enveloped in a frenzy haze of combat. Soldiers are impaled, knights are struck down, and the sounds of clashing steel drown out the world. The armored-exoskeletons the Nox bare prove difficult to penetrate, but the Virtue’s toxins prove an invaluable boon to the Polus assault for only a scratch of their blighted blades’ is needed to slay the augmented horde. Frothed mouths, glazed eyes, then death; the process merely taking a moment before delivering the end.

Conventional weapons on the other hand yield lesser results. The legionnaires are unable to feel pain due to their augments overloading their mind with excess aura and substances—transforming them into crazed berserkers with no regard for life. Only a swift pierce of the vitals, being crushed into pieces, or having their body bisected in twain is enough to stop their rampage. Non-lethal wounds won’t slow them down.

Meanwhile, Cain is busy with engaging the Nox captain. Every blow of his hammer evokes a delayed explosion of light, causing the legionary to have nary a moment of rest in-between the assault—constantly plagued by sudden and erratic fiery detonations. Despite their size, Cain swings the gold-clad weapon with ease and treating it as if it’s but a mere feather in the wind; his opponent is sturdy, armor much more dense than the regular foot soldier, but their inordinate size does nothing to dissuade his increasingly frenzied onslaught.

The crude, mechanical warrior erupts into an enraged cry and sends Cain tumbling back from the pressure. The weapon on their arm transforms into a spinning saw, releasing a grating screech as the tiny, serrated blades buzz and whir. They lunge at him and he intercepts with his pavise, but not even the sunlight’s aura is enough to fully protect against the monstrous saw. He quickly deflects the strike before it can pierce through the shield’s barrier and strikes the ground, causing an explosion that sends the two flying away from each other and creating some distance.

Surasha emerges from behind, promptly executing the Nox soldiers around her with a quick pierce to the throat, and rushes to his side as the legionary captain begins to rise back up.

“Need some help?” she yells out amidst the frantic sounds of battle.

“Yeah, this bastard just won’t stay down!” he thunders. “I’ve been constantly pummeling their body with explosions, but it doesn’t look like they’re that bothered by it. Armor’s too sturdy and I bet their augments are blocking out any senses of pain. I’m kind of stuck here.”

“I’ll deal with them then; probably a better match-up anyway. Just go and help the others with thinning the horde. You’re better suited for that kind of thing.”

“Alright. Be careful of that saw; you’re better off just avoiding it rather than trying to block or deflect.”

“Yeah yeah, I was going to do that anyway. Just get going.”

“If you say so.”

Cain runs off to support the other knights while Surasha faces off against the massive behemoth before her. The Nox captain observes cautiously for a moment before deciding to abandon their wariness and charge at her. She swiftly evades the attack and strikes them at the same time, gracefully dancing around the hulking figure as it becomes more and more frustrated at their futile assault. They attempt to grab onto the whip-like blade, but it’s always just out of reach and evades their grasp.

A tornado of whirling slashes and strikes barrage their body until eventually an opening is made to bypass their defenses. She penetrates the armor and digs the toxin-coated blade directly into their flesh. The legionary howls and cries from the pain, the corrosive substance eating away at their body, but they manage to remain standing—although the poison has greatly weakened them.

”I’m sorry…” she whispers. “The dosage on that is supposed to be enough to send you off quickly. Guess you’re too strong for that.”

“Y-you damn P-Polus rats,” they reply, shaking and wheezing from pain. “I-I can’t die here. I must return. I have to go home.”

“We all do.”

Surasha quickly strikes while they’re still paralyzed and aims for a gap beneath the exoskeleton to pierce through their heart. Quick, painless—her thrust is so sudden that the legionary is unable to feel the penetration before they crumble onto the floor, spared from an agonizingly slow death from the toxin.

She shakes her head solemnly and turns back to the corpse-laden battlefield. Cain has managed to cause much havoc during her fight, but a large number of Nox soldiers remain and they can’t assault the fortress until they’re all gone. It’s unfortunate, but she must complete her duty. For the sake of everyone’s future, they must leave no survivors.