Lowanna felt a thrill run through her stomach as her Nether splashed playfully within her body. The ripples did not tug on the strings of life any longer. The interactions and currents of energy she hosted were beautiful. She hated the Prophet for his words, but it wasn’t wrong that after so long, wielding her Nether was immensely pleasurable.

She wanted to open her arms and unleash lovely black winds into the sky. She wanted the world to witness the depth and character of her people. She wanted to remind them how irreplaceable each life was.

But for now, she had more practical concerns.

With a twist of the wrist, she withdrew the significance that had punched a hole in the Prophet’s ribcage; because the Phaea feeding her energy had vanished, she wanted to conserve as much Nether as possible. The wounded Prophet took several small steps backward, still too stunned to understand his situation. Lowanna raised her hand and chopped. A blade of Nether descended from the sky to finish the job-

A wave of light spread out from the Prophet to defend against her attack. With a twist, she adjusted the angle of her blade of Nether and cracked open the shield. But with that small delay, the Prophet leaped backward. He pressed a hand to his stomach, trying to keep his blood from pumping out onto the dirt. His one single eye reddened as he examined Lowanna. “What has changed? Another flaw in the foretold path? Is it that damnable Hungry Eye, isn’t it? He has perverted existence. Look at this unholy sky that he has painted over existence. At the same time, the lie of this place has been laid bare. No, definitely… my hypothesis is correct…”

Finish him before any more of his image can manifest. A flower of inky death blossomed around Lowanna. Curls of significance softened the air around her like petals of dusk. She almost didn’t know how to utilize all the Nether that seethed through her body. Had it not been for her little spars with Hungry Eye, she might have been frozen by the scope of the energy she could contain. As it was, she simply did one of the actions she had in their duels and added some extra oomph to each motion.

She struck with simple patterns and the depths of significance she possessed made it overwhelming.

New ideas for patterns of attack came for her, but she could sharpen her control later. Now, she gathered all the significance she could contain and hammered down at the Prophet.

However, again her unfamiliarity with her power provided time for the Prophet to take a breath. By the time Lowanna’s follow-up ripped toward him, he raised a blood-covered arm. Strange symbols burned their way into his skin. In a split second, a new wave of light burst out from his body, even more intense than the previous effort. His image forced back all other energies in the area. Lowanna frowned and smashed it three times very quickly with Nether, but that persistent light barely managed to endure.

A crazed look had seized the Prophet. “If this is a false universe… if the Prophecy had been subverted… so long as I draw the gaze of the great El-Kedec to the site of the transgression… Profane though this action may be, there is no other way to eradicate the deviation. And this timeline as well will fall under the light’s grace.”

The eye quivered and shifted to Lowanna. The skin of his arm began to shred and bubble, unable to withstand the energies he produced— Lowanna couldn’t even believe the power she felt. It rivaled the energies clashing above, where Hungry Eye continued his strange ritual. “Underneath the overwhelming power of my god, even you are minuscule. Whatever resistance you might mount will be annihilated. Prepare to cease.”

Lowanna’s significance began to churn and flow along new pathways. She didn’t waste time while this idiot ranted. She saw larger patterns, more overwhelming forces, still while keeping her efficiency high. Little tendrils of light wiggled out from the Prophet’s arm as his beacon began to gather momentum. Powerful though it may be, Lowanna believed she could snuff it out before the light became too bright.

However-

“Huh?” The Prophet, for the second time, seemed completely stunned by a development. His eye quivered as it looked at his severed wrist. The light of the beacon died. The energy dissipated. His hand plopped onto the ground.

“What have you done?!” The Prophet shouted. Honestly, Lowanna empathized. She had a hard time understanding why the allies would turn against each other.

The Scythe, that creature of shadow, shook his head sadly at the disturbed cry. “Tch, did we not discuss the dangers of blaspheming, Prophet? I had thought you had quelled your doubts. Yet now I see that you consider the Prophecy to be but a guideline. Your vanity has inflated you to the point you would transgress even the wisdom of the highest power. As such… I had a duty to silence you before your unworthy self drew the attention of El-Kedec.”

“Can you not see how blind-” The Scythe swung its brutal weapon again and the Prophet jerked his head backward in order to avoid being decapitated. “You spineless cretin! After serving together for so long, you would truly just kill me without even listening to my words?”

“To be honest, how long I was forced to witness your incompetence just means I’m that much more excited to kill you,” The Scythe giggled and stalked forward. Between the two of them, thin strands of Nether slithered around, creating a ritual in their area.

Each moment she could sit and breathe, Lowanna’s mastery of her newly usable power deepened.

But before the Scythe could strike again or Lowanna could decide how to intervene in this situation, the sky cracked open.

It started with the noise of a mountain collapsing. Then came the blast of energy, driven by a howling wind. The ground shook. Fissures snaked up from the confrontation above, hammering flaws into the barrier that surrounded their area. And a pale pearl of annihilation manifested above their heads.

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Nether King Hungry Eye, you crazy bastard, Lowanna curse inwardly, even as her Nether swirled together in a counterstrike against this new threat. Lowanna started to feel it then, as she gathered more and more power to her will and the total amount held within her barely shifted. She was powerful enough to drown this light before it could harm her people.

She didn’t need to. A giant claw simply crushed the light before it could evolve into a dangerous form. A new storm of energy discharge and spatial cracks skittered out across the horizon. Even the former Nether Arbiter shivered at the potency manifested for a moment. The attack by Nether King Hungry Eye hinted at an even more horrifying potential lurking within his body.

If he kept growing at this rate…

Like the choppiest and stormiest sea raging, tides of force tore the sky apart. Because of Hungry Eye’s capability in crushing the first attack, Lowanna didn’t react as much when the next destructive force appeared and blasted out all the surrounding clouds. She ignored her hair being blown back across her eyes. Instead, she dashed forward, because the Prophet had begun to flee.

“Don’t threaten my prey,” Just like that, Scythe wheeled around and glared at Lowanna, even as the Prophet hobbled away. Nether Warriors were approaching him, but another pulse of life animated his body, even as he seemed on the cusp of death.

Lowanna pressed her lips together as she eyed this vicious thug. “Enmya?”

For a split second, there was no response and the small tear in Lowanna’s heart grew larger. But then his vigil stretched across the area and Enmya stalked forward. Scythe seemed gleeful— that horrid monster instantly rushed at Enmya. And Enmya looked at Lowanna, his gaze confused.

Why? He asked. He resented her for casting him aside and running away. He loved her, more than anyone else, understood more deeply than any how much she had sacrificed for her people.

I trust you, Lowanna replied, doing her best to keep the doubts from her eyes. Because of all the Nether beings she protected, he would always be the one who she could not bare to see hurt.

A part of her worried she was incorrect about him. But he had never disappointed her in the past.

Scythe sank in Enmya’s body, just as he had a few minutes ago. His shoulders trembled. But then he straightened and the Vigil fell away. Enmya walked confidently forward, flashing a smile as a small bolt of shadow zipped sideways and vanished into the mass of soldiers around them. “...heh, this pathetic thing is not the only one who learns about his opponents. No longer will he be a threat to me. And Nether Arbiter-”

“No longer am I the Nether Arbiter,” Lowanna replied. Infinitely fine threads of Nether tugged at her senses from the net she had woven. But she did not need to real in her catch immediately. “Just call me my name.”

“Lowanna,” Enmya’s voice was rough. “I… I did not mean- I attacked you, but-”

“We are not perfect. Both of us have failed in various ways. But we survive. So long as we grow, the past transgressions can be forgiven. And for now, we should not discuss it further. Because enemies remain.”

The Prophet had managed to gather another strange brand of light on his body. Lowanna raised her hand to thrust a spike of pure Nether through the Prophet’s head, but then another heavy blow fell from above. The world shook. A new sort of annihilation reared its head, so powerful that it seemed that it could tear through existence by simply being. Thankfully, Hungry Eye moved for the third time, extinguishing the seed of destruction before it could grow.

Yet this victory came with fallout a different sort of fallout; the even pendulum of the forces was obliterated. The floating island exploded, sending bits of molten debris in every direction. The weakened barrier collapsed entirely, huge temporal distortions ripping up the ground. The powerful energies that Hungry Eye wielded began to fade. Remnant pieces of his architecture cracked and fell down, crashing into the ground.

This particular clash might have been much weaker than the previous ones, but no longer did the consequences mostly stay up above.

Powerful Nether Warriors barked out orders and the army began to form up, pushing back the sortie from Homewell. Aftershock blasts rattled the ground and threw up huge clouds of dust. Through all that, Lowanna attempted to follow the Prophet, but-

“Worry not, Nether Arbiter, I would not allow this one to run free.”

Lowanna pivoted and saw Neveah, her eyes transformed into a murderous reptilian’s with vertical pupils. Her right hand squeezed the back of the Prophet’s neck, as he squirmed and his lifeblood continued to pump out of his body. In addition, a dense halo of Engravings floated around his unsevered arm, where a new burning brand of light had started to develop.

“Arbiter no longer. Deganawidah took that weight from me,” Lowanna replied. She pressed her lips together as she observed Neveah. She could feel the monstrous dragon residing within the woman, as well as the sweaty fear of the Prophet that she turned against him and bound him. “Based on your grip… you intend to keep the Prophet alive? Why?”

“We will discuss the details later, but it relates to what we have discussed before. The world you know is a reflection of a deeper world, which Hungry Eye and I are from. And this strange brand… well, enemies will be waiting for us when we return to our version of the Nexus. This… can probably threaten even them.”

“Allowing this snake to exist is a constant danger,” Enmya interjected.

Neveah’s smile seemed apologetic. “You are correct. And considering how fraught the next ten minutes is likely to be, it is possible he will escape. So if you insist, if you want justice for what was done to Wyndaos… I will turn him over to you, to be handled as you see fit.”

Lowanna closed her eyes. The past few months had been so chaotic it was entirely possible to consciously ignore her time in Wyndaos. That foreknowledge of the Cult of the Savior’s attack, that had weighed against her heart for years. How every warm smile from an aspiring Nether Warrior had sunk a needle into her heart until she felt numbed and hollow. How she had sent as many as she could away, but still walked away from her people.

On the one hand, she wanted vengeance. She would feel catharsis to have the Prophet die by her hand. On the other…

Perhaps I don’t yet deserve it. Lowanna sighed. She waved a hand and Neveah bowed. When the other woman remained, still dragging the feeble Prophet, Lowanna raised an eyebrow. “Ah, of course. We approach… the end of this ‘reflection’, yes?”

“Indeed. We need to secure one more piece, but it is now time for you to discuss the hopes you have for the Nether People with Hungry Eye.”

Lowanna smirked and put a hand on her hip. “Just the Nether People?”

“No. To create a miracle, Lowanna… Hungry Eye would like to borrow that power you now freely wield.”