Blue, Phee and Elwin barrelled towards Al Dherjza atop the back of a giant metal wyrm. Elder Fairy Vulana had used her Gift for metal and dominance over the wyrms of the Shimmering Sea to construct a transparent cabin for the three of them, to protect them from the roaring sand that would blow past when the wyrm dug beneath the desert.

According to Blue’s calculations, it would take at least another hour before they arrived in the City. From there…

Well, Elwin thought, we have to get there first.

The elf had gotten used to wyrm’s rhythmic movements far sooner than he expected. In the air, it travelled relatively slowly, the sensation of weightlessness growing more and more. That was until it struck the grainy sand with a slight tremor to its shielded occupants. Underground, the wyrm sped up significantly, and the force of gravity beneath Elwin’s buttocks increased as the leviathan tunnelled and curved its way gradually upwards back to the surface, to the peak of its flight.

As they travelled above the surface, Blue played Phee and Elwin intercepted Incandestine communications so they could keep tabs on the ever-changing situation.

“Three minutes! Everyone needs to be out of zone gamma within three minutes!!” shouted a gruff male voice. Phee surmised that he must be some kind of commanding officer.

“Squadrons Heracles Three and Heracles Five, status report!”

“…We’re still surrounded! Where is our air support?!”

“Heading right yo-” said a transmission, cut abruptly short.

“Oh, Graces.” The transmission carried the sound of an explosion followed by the roar of a dragon in the background.

“Can you spare some armour? One tank?” We’re all going to die here for Catherine’s sake!!”

“I’m sorry, there’s just no time-” the transmission was cut off by Blue as their ride submerged itself beneath the dunes.

In the place of radio silence, the dull rustling and rumbling of earth flying past the transparent metal cabin could be heard. Elwin sat rather glumly together in the relative noiselessness. The Incandestine were the enemy, and yet Elwin could not bring himself to celebrate the anguish, terror and hopelessness in the voices he could hear. In the metal seat beside Elwin, Phee was expressionless, her bright orange eyes closed.

Then, their cabin breached the surface once more.

“-ming datastream validity Platoon Gamma. Your sacrifice will be remembered with the same reverence as Her Grace, Rex Catherine.”

“Goodbye.” a sombre voice replied.

The darkened, not-so-distant horizon was suddenly lit up brilliantly as an orbital strike from the Intercessor fell to smite Tenebria Coronum from the heavens. The fireball of the explosion was so large that Elwin could see it clearly from hundreds of kilometres away.

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As the light faded, Blue resumed her transmissions.

“It moved?! How did we miss?” A voice filled with disbelief and frustration.

“Command, we are confirming a hit on the target, looking a bit scorched, but still in one piece. Over.”

“This is Command, we have a direct visual on the Coronum in sector Marian. All units have ten minutes to evacuate. We cannot afford to miss again.” Said a hauntingly familiar voice. Lucina herself.

The order from the Empress was relayed countless times as the deployed Incandestine forces struggled to relocate themselves outside of the blast radius of the incoming orbital strike on Tenebria Coronum’s exposed position.

The wyrm dove beneath the sands once more.

When it next emerged, the four of them were greeted with a most unexpected sight. The Intercessor had been torn apart with a giant hole in its centre. Even as Blue watched with her telescopic eyes, large, canyon-like cracks spread along its surface.

Elwin bolted forward in his seat. “What happened?!”

Phee’s eyes flew open, but she could only stare in complete, wordless disbelief at the sight.

“Blue?” Elwin asked. “What do you hear?”

“Just… screaming,” Blue answered, choosing to transmit what she could hear over an arbitrary Incandestine channel.

As the priestess had said, they could only hear screaming. Breathless, relentless, harsh, implacable howling. Voices of pain and terror and disbelief. Not even a pack of wolves howling at the moon could compare to the chilling cacophony that filled the cabin.

“What the…?” Phee muttered anxiously. Her wide eyes were still unwaveringly glued to the distant heavens, almost afraid to blink in case the sight might inexplicably change back to an untouched Intercessor just as quickly as it had been broken.

Elwin could also hardly believe his eyes, unable to process the sight of the invincible Intercessor seemingly destroyed in one fell swoop. It had hung in the skies for so long, seemingly untouchable, a symbol of superiority out of reach for all of Apolaphia’s pitifully outmatched peoples.

But now…

“Look!” Elwin nearly screamed, overcome with sudden anxiety rising in his chest, all the way to his throat. “Aren’t they moving? The pieces I mean. Look! They’re falling!”

Indeed, as Blue watched, she could confirm that the wreckage of the Intercessor was slowly, slowly beginning to fall to Apolphia’s surface. Their movement was so slow that it was almost imperceptible. She would sooner believe that Elwin was seeing things with his overactive imagination. “You have a good eye, little one,” she said.

“What happens if the pieces fall to earth?” Phee asked.

“We all die,” Blue said simply.

“What?!” Elwin screamed. His tone was comparable to the voices of the soldiers that had seemingly lost their minds outside Al Dherjza.

The wyrm dove beneath the surface once more.

“What about Lucina, is she alive?” Phee asked.

“I believe so,” Blue replied. “She seems to have escaped to a hidden base in Al Dherjza’s vicinity.”

“Of course. Just our luck.” Phee spat with derision.

Meanwhile, Elwin was still blubbering about. “The end of the world… the end of the world!!”

Blue shook her head. “Relax, Elwin.” She said, resting her right hand on his forehead before administering a painful electric shock.

“OW!” Elwin yelped. “What was that for?!”

“Hush,” Blue said as the wyrm broke above the surface. “There.” She said, pointing at the skies above them.

Elwin squinted, seeing a familiar figure in the starry heavens above with his keen eyes. “…Vulana? She looks a lot bigger than she was before.”

“You are correct. And given the increased draconic features of her form, she must have absorbed several wyrms into herself. Do not worry about the world ending under the weight of a bloated carcass. ADAM would not allow such a boring thing.”

The six-winged Elder flew through the stratosphere and headed deep into space. A guardian angel to everyone on the planet below.

“Can she really stop the wreck of the Intercessor by herself?” Elwin asked anxiously.

“Her Gift is for metal, and she is an Elder. I would try to have more faith, Elwin.”

“…I just want to get back home as soon as possible,” Phee said.