“Ah, me? There were some…surprises to be sure, but fortunately it appears “doorways” are more flexible in definition than I initially anticipated. All in good fortune, but let us set that aside for a later date. Our little seed has requested for your help. I know your business with Libevich is not quite finished just yet, but I assure you that this prey will be just as satisfying.”

Satanael

———

Luxanne

Although Luxanne has never seen The Throne of Heaven in person, there is no doubt in her mind that the woman gracefully fluttering above her is Polus's beacon of hope in the flesh. Her presence is overwhelming, pressure pushing down on everyone within her gaze as the celestial light gleaming off her armor coats the surroundings in hues of blue and purple. Xeros always bemoaned of her prowess, but his tales pale in comparison now that she's before Luxanne's eyes. Ethereal, Transcendent, and radiating with heavenly might...can such a visage truly belong to a human? It's as if a Star has descended upon the world. It demands to be worshiped. It demands to be exalted.

Luxanne is starting to understand Libevich's anger now, for she can only look on in awe as the woman wreathed in starlight effortlessly lands on the charcoal pavement and strides over to Ceraphina.

"I have received your call," Lorelai says to her. "You have worked diligently for our cause, and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Ceraphina's face is frozen in shock, eyes wide and voice trembling, but even so she manages to retain her composure and greets Lorelai with a bow. "I-It's nothing. We both have a common enemy; I'm just doing what I can to free those I love from Xeros's reign."

She glances at Luxanne with one final look of plea, but it's no use. "Still, I didn't expect Satanael's benefactor to be a dead woman. Guess you've had it all planned out since the very beginning."

"Such is the nature of war. Nothing is more valued than the advantage which information brings, and so does victory go to the one who veils the truth in falsehoods and deceit."

"Funny, I wouldn't be surprised if those words came from Xeros's mouth."

Lorelai pauses for a moment and stares straight into Ceraphina's eyes. She squirms before her gaze and Luxanne attempts to lunge at Lorelai while she's distracted, but her body refuses to move even a step forward. Something's chaining her down and no matter how much she tries to struggle or scream, her figure remains completely still as if she's a hollow doll.

"Do you resent me?" Lorelai finally says, breaking the silence. "In your eyes, I suppose there isn't much difference between me and the man you so despise. I invaded your home, purposely sought you out and manipulated you for my own goals, and now...there can be no end to this conflict. Not unless this land is bathed in the blood of the greedy and the innocent. The corrupted, and the unwilling."

Ceraphina clenches her fist and, for a second, looks completely willing to order an attack on the strongest knight in Polus, but Lorelai suddenly drops onto her knees and cups Ceraphina's hands with her own.

"Even so, pray lend me your understanding," she says, words draped in a heavy air of repentance. "You do not need to forgive me. Loath me, abhor me, do whatever you wish if it may provide some comfort. I fully understand the weight of my actions, and for every life lost due to my command, the burden on my soul grows ever so stronger. But even so, I cannot stop here. For those I love, and for those who've entrusted their hopes and dreams onto me, I must do whatever I can to end this tiresome war for good. I fight not for conquest or power, but for freedom."

"Freedom..." Ceraphina mutters, slowly dropping down to her knee as well. "Heh, I have no right to judge you. I've also done things that I'm not proud of. I ran away, alone, from that wretched spire because I was too scared of taking responsibility for all the suffering my creations caused. I lied, I cheated, and I did everything I could to get to where I am now, hoping that all my efforts would absolve me of my wrongdoings and turn me into some kind of martyr...but I'm not. I'm just a selfish woman fooling herself into thinking that she's a hero."

"Ceraphina!" Luxanne finally manages to shout, slowly regaining control over her body.

Ceraphina only gives her a sad look and stands back up. "But you're right, I can't stop. For everyone following me, I must do what I can, and the same goes for you."

Lorelai stands up as well and the two exchange a resolute shake of the hand. "That I must, starting with you."

She turns around and points her blade at Luxanne. The warmness from before has turned cold, and with a furious roar, Luxanne breaks free from the influence holding her down and unsheathes her gunblade.

"Go," Lorelai commands. "I will not kill her."

"...Please don't hurt her much," Ceraphina whispers, leaving the area with the rest of her followers. "Anyone but her."

"I promise to do what I'm able."

"Thank you."

And with that, Ceraphina disappears leaving only the two of them to stand in silence. Luxanne wants to chase after her, to bring her close and find another way that doesn't involve the destruction of her mother's legacy, but the piercing glare from the Throne of Heaven states otherwise.

"Do you truly wish to continue?" Lorelai asks. "Even after knowing how she feels?"

"...I don't resent you either," Luxanne says. "But I have my own reasons for protecting this place, foul it may be. I'll make it up to her later."

"Then so be it."

Luxanne leaps back and shoots an incendiary bullet at Lorelai. She dodges to the side, but the bullet lands on the ground right next to her feet and explodes into a ravenous flame, filling the street with a murky-black smoke. Without a moment's hesitation, Luxanne turns around and sprints as fast as she can away from her.

She knows she can't win. She doesn't even try to entertain the thought. If Libevich of all people is helpless before her, then what can Luxanne do by herself? No, she needs to stall for as much time as she can. Protocol Omega is still charging: if she manages to last until it's finished, then she may just have a fighting chance. But for now, she must run away as far as she can.

Right as she reaches a corner, her instincts suddenly scream at her to jump away. A blade comes crashing down, narrowly slicing her arm off, and out walks Lorelai with nary a scratch and somehow in front of her. Luxanne raises her gunblade again and prepares to shoot, but Lorelai stomps the ground with her foot and topples her balance. With a horizontal slash, she manages to nick Luxanne's leg and she prepares to shoot again when a delayed explosion suddenly sends her flying back.

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Lorelai's power is different, although Luxanne should have expected as much when she showed up with that spatial armor instead of the usual amber she adorns. Her blade cuts through any and everything, and if Luxanne tries to clash with her, she knows that her blade will be severed in twain like a mere stick. All she has now is her bullets and instinct honed after decades of Xeros's brutal training.

Luxanne digs her blade into the ground and leaps up, avoiding Lorelai once again after she suddenly manifests behind her. The explosion sends her high into the air and she attempts to flee by firing an ooze-enchanted bullet at the winged woman chasing closely, but her blade erases the substance into nothingness. She grabs onto her leg and moves to slice it off. Luxanne squirms and fires a flashbang bullet that blinds Lorelai momentarily, allowing her to break free and firing a gravitational bullet which sends her tumbling back to the earth.

Five more minutes. She only needs to hold out for five more minutes.

With no time to waste, Luxanne runs back to the Archon layer by firing multiple bullets in front of her and creating a trail of stone footholds. Lorelai quickly recovers and resumes her chase, but Luxanne manages to buy enough time to reach the layer and escape into the alleyways. She dashes through every twist and corner she can find, all the whilst dimming her own aura so that her winged pursuer can't track her down.

It's almost time now. She just needs a little bit more, just a bit.

Her heart suddenly jolts and she jumps off the ground. A wave of celestial matter passes right beneath her and sends every single building in the area tumbling down, collapsing into a roaring pile and burying Luxanne in the rumble.

She climbs out, breath wheezing as the chalk and dust fills her throat with grime, and pokes her hand out of the debris when something grabs onto her arm and forcefully pulls her out. Lorelai stares at her for a moment before tossing her with a thud onto the hard pavement.

"If you surrender now, I won't harm you any further," she says while Luxanne coughs from the impact. "Otherwise, I shall be forced to render you unconscious, and with your aura currently in a frenzied state, there is a possibility it may cause harm to your mind."

Just a little bit more. "H-Hah, are there any other options?"

"Your limbs. At the very least, Nox technology appears advanced enough to provide you with mechanical replacements."

"...I'd rather keep my own flesh and blood, thanks."

Lorelai shakes her head and grabs Luxanne by the scruff of her neck. She struggles in vain, trying to gather even a second more of time.

"Then I wish you luck in maintaining your sanity," she says, preparing for one final strike to the head.

A loud screech interupts her. Wails of mechanical groans and shifting plates drown out everything within the city and four large towers of darkened steel rise up from the corners. A volatile, swirling mass of energy pulsates amidst each of their cores, and a large barrel attached to their top points directly above the center of the capital.

It's done. Finally, the time is now.

"What's this?" Lorelai murmurs, confusion and a hint of curiosity hidden in their tone.

"About time," Luxanne sighs. She raises her gunblade and shoots a singular shot into the air. It bursts into red sparkles and ribbons, then nothing.

Lorelai waits for a moment, expecting for something to happen, but nothing. Only the howling of metal remains.

"...Is-"

Blinding white beams of energy suddenly burst forth from the four towers and coalesce above the city, enshrouding everything below in a radiant, heavenly light. The energy trickles onto the side, slowly dripping down like a pearly rain of energy, until the entirety of Caligos Imperium is trapped in an ivory cage. A wave of pressure sends the two of them flying into the air, floating aimlessly for a moment while rays of light invade every corner of their bodies, until they're eventually lain back on the ground.

The hue of starlight on Lorelai's armor begins to fade, turning back into a gleaming coat of gold, and her blade of rending space dissipates until there's nothing left but the handle.

Her aura has been sealed. No, every single person trapped within the ivory cage now has their aura sealed, including Luxanne. Creation can no longer be used. Now, they can only rely on their own strength.

That should be the case, but then why are her wings not disappearing? Luxanne staggers herself up and stares at the still-winged woman examining her own features. That's impossible: the only ones unaffected by Protocol Omega should be the Rulers, and every other part of her appears to be drained of aura.

Lorelai lets out a small chuckle and puts the hilt of her blade back on her back. "Interesting. Fascinating. I have never born witness to such a sorcery before. No, I suppose it functions more as a product of machinery than sorcery. To forcibly isolate Creation's influence...how is such a feat possible? Humanity truly does never fail to surprise me with its innovations. Constantly evolving. Constantly advancing."

Luxanne freezes in place. Is the being before her truly Lorelai? It suddenly begins to speak with a voice devoid of what makes one human. It rings with a soft trill and flutter, shaking with an odd pitch belonging neither to man nor woman, and has an impossibly cavernous depth. Eternity: that is what this thing is. Eternity manifested into physical form.

"Hm?" She unclouds her eyes and looks directly into Luxanne's soul, voice returned back into its normal tone. "Ah, my mistake. It's not often I see such an impressive display of ingenuity. Let's continue Luxanne, but don't assume I'm now vulnerable just because you've shut out Creation."

"...Was it just my imagination?" Luxanne murmurs to herself. "Ah, whatever. I can't let myself be distracted here. Not now."

She draws her gunblade and readies her stance. Although the bullets are no longer enchanted, no other in the nation has more prowess in swordsmanship than she does. Lorelai doesn't even have a blade anymore: if Luxanne wants to finish this for good, she has to do it now.

Lorelai moves forward, her every step brimming with power, and suddenly closes the distance between them in an instant. Her fist flashes across Luxanne's eyes and narrowly strikes the temple of her head, but she manages to deflect it slightly with the tip of her blade and counters back with a thrust of her own. Lorelai disappears, leaving a trace remnant of her shadow striking the back of Luxanne's leg. She flinches, but manages to escape just in time before Lorelai can pound her skull into the ground.

The two continue their exchange, striking and deflecting faster than the eye can see, but Luxanne is slowly losing her ground. Every exchange she leaves with a bruise or a wound while Lorelai escapes her attacks effortlessly, as if she can see Luxanne's strike before it even begins. If she slashes, her legs are crushed beneath her heel. If she stabs, her waist is struck by a singular, powerful below before she can react. Going on the offensive isn't working. She has to look for an opening.

Luxanne switches to a defensive stance and tries to fend off Lorelai's assault, but there's nothing she can do. For every strike of her fist, she recovers her blind spots just as quickly and shifts into another attack like a flowing dance of aggression, and though her kicks leave more room for retaliation, acting upon it results in Luxanne heaving on the ground upon a swift counter to her gut.

The longer they clash, the more haggard Luxanne becomes. Her muscles are screaming from pain, her vision blurs until everything is smudged together, and sharp daggers pierce her throat everytime she attempts to breathe.

She knows Lorelai isn't using her full power against her.

She knows she's being treated like a child and every blow she receives is without the intent to cause lasting harm.

She knows that Lorelai could have finished the entire fight in her very first move if she wanted to.

Luxanne knows this full well, and even though her pride as a warrior has been shattered, she continues to stand back up and swing her blade, vain though it may be. The moment she gives up is the moment she has to accept that her nation has lost. So, until the very end, she'll continue to fight until all that meets her is darkness.

Until the very end.

"...You have a magnificent will, Luxanne," Lorelai says, facing the near-unconscious and bloodied body of Luxanne, still standing out of persistence. "I have no doubt you'll survive, so please: remain strong for those who love you so. When you wake up, everything will be over."

Luxanne collapses onto her knees. Lorelai says something to her, but she can no longer discern any other sound besides the ringing in her ears. The Ivory cage dissipitates, and the world becomes enveloped in endless twilight above her. As she gives one, final look towards the sky, she sees Xeros's figure completely engulfed in red lightning.