It was late afternoon on the sandy battlefields outside Al Dherjza. After just a day of fighting, the ground was already hard with dried blood, sweat and tears.

Sophia was mentally and emotionally exhausted, though her body was still in fighting condition owing to the steady stream of magical potions she had been drinking. The sun beat down as relentlessly as ever, having escaped the cover of the Intercessor above.

She understood one thing now better than she ever had.

The enemy was endless.

And not only that, but Lucina’s Generals knew how to best exploit their superior numbers and resources. The number of deployed troops Angels always seemed to be slowly increasing, just barely enough to be winning the fight. Just barely enough for Sophia and the other Al Dherjzan Generals to order the use of a powerful spell such as a flaming tornado that would wipe the entire Incandestine side out. Then, Lucina would start the cycle all over again, deploying more troops, crushing the Apolaphians’ morale with a seemingly endless stream of ships and soldiers, never letting her enemies win too much with any spell.

Al Dherjza was losing international support. Since learning about teleportation, it seemed that Lucina was aware of the value and scarcity of magical reagents. Word had spread that Incandestine forces were beginning to invade cities all across the world to freeze the flow of reagents to the Laajvarian capital.

Al Dherjza desperately needed magical reagents to stay on even footing with Lucina’s forces. Without magic, Apolaphia would have no hope of survival. Losing Sarigold’s logistical support was already a huge blow to Al Dherjza’s war effort; losing even one more major ally would mean the end. Supplies of crucial reagents were already running dangerously low, and the Alchemists’ Guild was struggling to work with the threat of bombardment from the skies above.

Once Lucina set her scientists and scholars on deciphering magic, it was only a matter of time before Al Dherjza fell to its own sword.

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To make it worse, Lucina had apparently arrived with her own Chimaeras.

To the militaristic Sophia, Chimaeras were unpredictable wildcards that could completely turn the tide of battle on their own. A fully-prepared Rolynd was probably equivalent to an entire army, if not more powerful, she surmised.

Though Effie and Rolynd reported that they had disarmed and captured an enemy Chimaera, there was still another one called the ‘Heartseeker’ at large, hiding somewhere within Al Dherjza. The description of the Heartseeker’s powers and style reminded Sophia strongly of Effie. And she knew what a pain Effie could be.

Charlie also reported an encounter with the Twins, Anya and Marie. Powerful teleporters that could cross great distances in fractions of a second and translate nearly anything anywhere, so long as target and destination were unprotected by Universal Law.

Sophia remembered the Twins from her time growing up in the Chimaera facility on Portum’s moon. They were a deeply unstable pair, aged even younger than Phee. They had been rarely seen outside their testing chamber. Rolynd had chosen not to include them in their escape four years ago as he could not guarantee their safety. Now, they were just another tool of the corrupt Incandestine Empire. Charlie had said that he had managed to injure them, just enough to complete his mission, but he hadn’t the heart to kill them. Sophia could only guess when and where they would next show themselves.

And all these concerns weren’t even accounting for any other Chimaeras that had yet to show themselves.

Even as Sophia continued to cut down the faceless enemy in droves, she could not push away the feeling that they were winning the battles but losing the war.

Because of the Heartseeker, Rolynd and Effie were paralysed within the city, trying to find them, rather than being able to be on the front lines with Sophia. She could only hope that they were coming up with some kind of plan, for as Sophia and most of the Al Dherjzan Generals saw it, the only way to decisively win was to destroy the Intercessor. But as it was, they had no means of accomplishing that inconceivable feat.

Well… that’s not the complete truth. Sophia thought.

There was one thing that could probably destroy the Intercessor. But Rolynd and the people of Al Dherjza were only fighting so hard to avoid taking that chance.

To avoid making that choice.

The choice between a known evil and an unknown one.