Noise and chaos came together to Homewell, using violent friction to rub at pretty sounding ideals.

When the lines of two lines of soldiers hacked into each other, the ruddy brown of dust and blood became the dominant color palette of the edge of Homewell. The bells kept ringing, sounding the alarm and repeating the same reframe: those in the west, hold positions until reinforcements arrive.

The situation deteriorated, even with the roots, even with the boost from that mirage of a tree. An Aether Warrior pounced toward a stumbling Nether warrior, but the scaled monster whipped around and drop its hand into the Aether warrior’s chest. For several long seconds, a different Aether warrior screeched from a mortal wound, until the noise abruptly cut off. A hacking blade cut down and severed the arm of the Lizakh leader, only a few soldiers down from Moish.

The thorny roots continued to thin their attackers, but the Nether Warriors seemed infinite.

The Lizakh leader roared and whipped his saber around, burying up to the hilt in the neck of a feline with six legs that had wounded it. While those extra legs twitched and spasmed and it collapsed, another Nether warrior hurdled over the first and brought its hammer swinging down.

Standing quite stupidly with his weapon still raised, Moish watched as a new root ripped up out of the ground and grabbed at the hammer wielder’s leg. As the Nether Warrior stumbled, the Lizakh leader finally unstuck his weapon from the neck of the first foe and chopped through the waist of the second.

What… is happening? Moish looked down at the small plant in his arms, which now possessed several roots stretching from a crack in the pot into the ground. When he raised his gaze, more and more roots erupted out of the ground. Rather than striking down enemies, these thorny pillars formed impediments to the opposition’s attack, slowing down the charge.

Comparing the two forces, the Nether Warriors were both more powerful and more numerous. Although the lifeseal pressured the Nether Warriors, they were near enough to the edge of Homewell that the effect was small. And these were the dredges from the slum, those entrusted to patrol and watch, not the Aether warriors that had been drawn into the city itself to be trained. A tree shedding weirdly exhaustion-relieving shade wouldn’t be enough.

Yet despite the fact that every other part of their loose picket line was getting shredded except the middle, due to the plant, no one took a step back. They threw their wounded and tired bodies forward.

“Every second is a chance!” Moish bellowed. A ragged cheer went up down the line as two soldiers ganged up to cut down the first Nether Warrior that had been forcing them back, only to have the second and third arrive and reap limbs and lives within a second.

A few more roots spread out, buffing the fighting further away, but they were smaller and less. Moish set down the plant carefully, then began loping down to assist the Lizakh leader. But before he could take more than a few steps, a new, echoing roar pulled his attention around.

A veritable bowling ball of Nether obliterated the tallest and thickest root shot out of the ground. A minotaur Nether Beast raised its head and glared forward, the energy around its body so thick a murky mist seemed to seep out of his skin. Its eyes glowed with a promise of violence and Moish felt the minotaur fixate on the plant.

Moish spun around and hurried back as the minotaur slammed aside the first root that twisted and stabbed at it and grabbed the second one. With a mighty heave, the minotaur tore out the thorny plant attack and tossed it to the side. Then it stomped forward, followed by a new weave of Nether Warriors that concentrated on ripping out the defenses.

The feeble embers of hope Moish had felt at brief resistance of the line vanished, smothered by the truth. But still, none of the soldiers desperately fighting along the edges of the slum faltered. They had been in more airless chambers for most of their lives, fleeing one powerful monster or another.

The Lizakh leader dashed forward, bringing the saber around over his head and then hacking down to the Nether Warrior’s leg. With a sneer on its face, the minotaur kicked with such force it tore off the Lizakh leader’s jaw.

Blood dribbling down onto his chest, he staggered backward. Moish raised his weapon and loped forward at his turn to buy a single second.

*****

Randidly stood in the sky above the battlefield, watching the developments intently. He hadn’t felt the energy he left within the Homid’s body evolve to become a much more complex system, but he saw those effects now. In its shape, he saw the same ideas that birthed Thorn and Arbor, the first two Soulseeds he planted. The images and methods Randidly used had become much more intricate and powerful, but the core ideas hadn’t shifted.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

But what he hadn’t expected was to see the small seed invest itself into a plant and rapidly expend its energy. Even the stimulus package sent by the lifeseal to help slow the Nether advance had been blown. The sapling probably didn’t realize this, but its natural energy replenished itself at a slow rate; right now it burned right through its life in order to protect these relative strangers.

Obviously, Randidly had intended it to be so; he had gifted the Homid with power as a favor, to keep him alive in the face of the dangers of the war. However, it broke his heart for that power to have developed a nascent sort of sapience… then decided to give itself to save another anyway.

Old echoes of guilt stirred in his chest. He wondered whether the seed had a choice, or whether he had subconsciously made it this way.

The Aether defenders were rapidly pulped by the Nether charge; the difference in soldier quality was a decisive variable. Randidly’s eyes narrowed as he watched them spending their lives, simply slowing the Nether advance. And what the defenders here didn’t understand was that this offensive was part of a series of three made by the Nether forces. While the Southern gate held, the Northern entrance to the city had been broken open and now the Turtleline elites fought these stronger Nether warriors to a standstill, leveling wide blocks of the city. The lifeseal was stretched to the point of breaking and the Nether incursion here would likely pop it.

A wound on the lifeseal would mean its influence would be greatly decreased. Homewell would fall if nothing changed.

Charlotte’s question echoed in his mind. He wavered.

Almost admiring at the efficiency, Randidly raised his gaze and looked at the mass of Nether churning forward to steamroll the city. Rather than trying to use sophisticated Nether Rituals to attack the barrier, meeting Engraving on equal grounds, this new offensive relied on the area in which Nether could simply overwhelm Aether: Weight. History and significance had been shaped into a massive hammer, drilling forward with no subtlety at all.

Below, a Lizakh warrior had his chin kicked off by the stronger Nether Warrior. The minotaur wasn’t quite a Nether Gatekeeper in terms of energy density, but it was far beyond anyone manning the line. It would slaughter its way right into the city.

The Homid Randidly blessed surged forward, a swordspear clutched in his hand. The sapling’s mind had already dulled by giving so much of its energy in defense of the city, but it belatedly tried to urge its semi-autonomous growths into motion. They struck, but were swiftly overwhelmed.

Randidly pressed his eyes closed. In the darkness, a decision coalesced. …maybe I have lost a little bit of touch with what and how I should be doing things. The desperation, fighting with my life on the line, fighting in agony, because that is the only way to survive…

Heh, maybe you were right, Stillborn Phoenix. I did not reach this point by nursing my wounds. I shouldn’t have started now.

And in the end… I don’t want this.

The Fourth Authority: Animation Nova.

A blast of power surged out from Randidly’s body. Normally the lifeseal would have tried to restrict them, but at this point, it had bigger fish to fry. The minotaur raised a massive fist to smash Moish into a bloody pulp, but with the ambient energy rising more roots erupted out of the ground and tangled up the Nether Warrior.

However, several figures shot out of the Nether storm and headed directly for Randidly.

“You are the one called Nether King Hungry Eye? The pet Nether King of the Aetherlands,” Five figures stopped in the air, several meters above Randidly. The central figure sneered. “So it is true, then. You’ve sold you honor.”

Randidly barely even saw the figures, except to note that four of them stood clustered together, with the fourth off to the side. When his Nether senses traced lightly over them, he felt the cruelty inherent in the first four: they might not have created the bonds, but these were individuals raised to admire the shape of the ancient Maala bond. And the fifth individual, lower with her eyes lowered radiated the selflessness and dedication of Toosah.

The young generation of the old Nether guard looked at Randidly, practically begging for a fight.

Randidly clenched Sulfur. After a second of lurching nausea, the Stillborn Phoenix activated and condensed within the perfect hole in his left palm. The pain is manageable. And the edges of work I’ve done so far will be blunted… but I cannot baby this image. If it is impossible, it will need to thrive in more important situations than this.

Superposition... let's see how it works in practice.

“If you care to wager your life, I’ll teach you all I know about honor,” Randidly growled. His three images, for the first time in a week, moved together. The Stillborn Phoenix loosed an uncertain keen, but Randidly did not ease up due to discomfort. He lifted his chin, bullish on forcing his way through the issue with brute force.

Neveah would think this was foolish, but he couldn’t get rid of the wolfish smile on his face. Other foes might have forced him to think twice, but not these children, bullying weaklings.

And as soon as he made the decision, Randidly felt an undercurrent in his emotional sea settle before it could become problematic. He realized he wouldn't stop just here: as he pushed the Stillborn Phoenix toward its next evolution, he would completely dismantle the Nether offensive.

"Nether King Hungry Eye, you are outnumbered," Another of the central four observed. To the side, the Toosah woman looked up slowly, her eyes curiously pale.

Randidly grinned. "That's what makes it fun."