“How long?” Briggs asked fatalistically.
“Half hour?” Sama guessed, studying the wobbles in the sky, the way fractures of Light and Darkness split across the sky, and then healed up infinitesimally slower than they had before.
Briggs nodded once, looking down at the people gathered below.
The secret of the Broom Closet was out, as all of those below had gathered to fight, from all around the world. They had been shuffled into the Broom Closet, and then just as rapidly out of it through another Gate, but they’d all been able to see the vaulted sky, the layers of floating islands, and feel the impossible richness of the Mana in the air, replete with the Aura of High Emperors.
The fact Humans had access to a place like that had shaken the hearts of many of them, but as for the others, they simply bowed their heads and proceeded as their Rulers ordered.
For the Beasts were whelming for this fight, as well!
Emperors, Rulers, and Commanders from all over the world, hundreds of thousands and more mighty Beasts, some of whom had never been seen by living Human eyes, had joined the marching mages of Humanity in coming out of Portals and proceeding to here, here where the last battle of a united planet could be fought, would be fought.
Antarctica, the home of The Ice Emperor!
The Mana about everyone was thick and surreal, but the cold which could freeze a Human solid between one breath and the next was not hostile in the slightest. Indeed, it infused each and every single creature native to this world as they set foot upon the ice and stone of the most dangerous High Emperor’s domain, and made them all creatures of Ice for this battle.
The cold clarity flowed into every Element here, the Snowcaster Field set up by Fae basically treating every Element with a form of superconductivity here. In real terms, it was fifty below zero, and somehow that was making every Element purer, more crystalline in nature and feel.
More potent, to the tune of +4 Caster Levels, even without the Sublime Chord being here.
The tide of Beasts moved without protest or complaint across the snow, their discipline at least as great as any of the Human units there. Dozens, then hundreds, thousands of mages were ordered to mount certain of the Beasts, to fight with them and for them as if their lives were equal, adding Human versatility and magic to the strength and durability of the Beasts.
No pride was allowed today. Today they fought for time and the future of the world. If they didn’t fight long enough or hard enough, they would die. That was all there was to it.
Thousands of Servant and Warrior-class Beasts of all species had been dispersed quietly into the planted wilds of the multiple layers of the Broom Closet, especially the most sacred and honored Bloodlines. If the Broom Closet had to cut and run, that meant their elders were going to die, but their lineage might live on.
Pointedly, misting white Eternal Flames Burned coldly on claws and teeth, beaks and talons, tails and horns and fangs and spikes. More and more of them were igniting by the second as Typeless mages treated the natural weapons of the Beasts.
The spirits of Dark AND Light would not be coming back from this fight, although vivus was basically harmless to the agents of Light and Law otherwise.
The lesser creatures and mages were not here, as the vast majority of them would die merely to fallout damage if they were present.
The native defenders of the Earth lined up and waited in their formations, heads turned towards the sky, the cracks and ruptures that were lengthening, sometimes overlapping and blending now and again, otherplanar pressures spilling out and making the air twist and writhe about them.
The fight was coming here, because THIS was the ‘weak spot’ of the world, regardless of where the weak spot seemed to be. Actually, the Lords of Light were trying to break through in the Mexican desert, while the Netherlords were trying to do the same in Siberia.
It didn’t matter where they were trying to enter, they had ended up here, and a lot of their own energies, which should have been used to rupture the Veil open, were instead being used to thwart and diffuse the impact of their opposite numbers.
It was hilarious on the face of it, and had to be extremely frustrating.
A jagged crack lashed across the sky, bright and glowing with pride and anger. It was crossed a second later by a black one, dripping with hatred and contempt.
The ground rumbled in front of them, and the cracks seemed to drain down into the Land as the Towers of the Teeth rose silently from the frozen earth.
They were conical spires, hundreds of feet high, both utterly black and purest unwhite, arching and slightly curving within, looking like nothing less than miles of dripping fangs rising from the soil in a massive draconic jawline. They pulled down the leaking power from the conjunctions being forced above, centering them in what amounted to a long triangle in front of the waiting lines of Humans and native Beasts.
The True Emperors readied themselves, those of both the land and the sea who could fight here, with those limited to the waters forming the Healing and recovery area beyond. Queen Gichigumi formed the foundation of the line of hill-sized Tortoises and Turtles who were guarding that area.
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On the right, High Emperor Infinite Sands was deployed with all His fiery desert servants, while the Beasts of Africa sprawled out around and behind him, including Auric Tyrant and many, many Dinosaurs come out of Deepest, Darkest Africa.
On the left, the Sea Emperor waited with the Dragons and Sea Serpents of His Court, with all the Beasts of the Sea who could fight on the land once again arranged for a littoral fight... but this time as one, not as many. There were no unnecessary fliers around, as they had all been warned that a Stillflight Zone would be in effect between the Towers of the Teeth, and everything would be on the ground... a situation the many flying creatures of the other side were doubtless NOT going to be prepared for.
More cracks were splitting the skies, dark and light, descending upon the Towers of the Teeth, which were visibly growing in response, thrumming with power as they rose and grounded all the planes-shattering power being expended above them. Everyone was watching them rise into the distance, counting down as all the shattering skies descended on them, working towards culmination...
Feeling the Veil shatter like that, the skein of the whole world breaking, was not a sensation any of them were going to forget for the rest of their days. The sense of violation, of pure alien exultation intruding on them, the inhuman arrogance and uncaring powers beyond...
Beneath the Towers of the Teeth, the Veil of the planet Earth finally split open in protest and disgorged the powers of Light and Darkness, come here to engage in battle with the mortals of this pitiful world, subjugate it, and then play out their final battle.
Uncounted hordes of demons, enslaved spirits, phantoms, ghost, ghouls, skeletons, walking corpses and zombies, undead horrors and amalgamates, things wrought of meat and blood and bone, drawn from nightmares of pain, horror, and anguish, marched out into the mortal world in numbers no mortal army could possibly deal with. Darkness clawed at the sky, eyes refused to truly comprehend the horror and despair of the tormented dead returned to the land of the living in such unbelievable numbers and power, the Auras of multiple High Emperors spilling forth in exultation and triumph from all six of the Realms of the Netherworld.
Directly opposite them, harsh white Light flared and endless armies of beings clad in shimmering edged gold, cutting silver, and knife-like crystal radiance marched and paraded forth in perfect lockstep and formation. They were humanoid, except moreso, and Beasts more perfect than could exist in the Mortal Realm. They all had a razored glint and edge to them which pricked at the eye and forced mortal eyes away, telling them that they were not worthy to look on such wonder and perfection, they should only bow their heads and accept judgement.
They were here to sweep away any mortal resistance with their numbers and power, slaughtering all not worthy of becoming providers of souls to their own realms and forces, clearing the world of Beasts and leaving only the worthy chosen behind... worthy chosen whose numbers were going to be sadly few or absent now.
Except, there was a slight problem.
The mortals had their doomed defenders, and they were waiting right over there.
But directly across from them... were their enemies!
With a quiet hiss of drained energies, the Veil split behind the lines of Terra’s defenders, opening up in a third and very unintended Portal, completing the jaws of the Towers of the Teeth.
Flowing Silver Nine-Tailed Fox High Emperor, at His full size, was the first to step forth, leading His Clan and Vassals across the Veil and into the Mortal Realm. To His sides, the High Emperors of the Beast Realm who had once fought the invasion of the Netherworld followed suit. Shiningwing Storm Raptor, Ice Mountain Tiger, Goldenback Primal Ape, and Moltenheart Drake High Emperors all advanced into the spaces between the deployed forces of the Mortal Plane.
Beyond them... were many, many more High Emperors and their Clans and Vassals. Sun Phoenix High Emperor, Crimson Dream Fox High Emperor, Fire Mountain Titan High Emperor, and many, many others, come at the word of the Beast Lord to join the fight they had once missed, for this fight determined the fate of both Realms, and best to make the play now, at a moment of strength, than later.
And what was all the more impressive... was that every single one of those Beasts had Vivic Eternal Flames burning on their natural weapons, or was bearing them on their crude clubs and staves and the like, and they were all of one electrum hue.
Space seemed to bow, bend, and expand as the spaces of the other Realms rushed into one area, expanding and growing the area within. What might have been a narrow strip scarce the size of Delaware warped and grew with shocking speed as the denizens of three worlds arrived to do battle. Magical power swirled in the air, shocking in its strength and its power.
And then the land of the Ice Emperor took hold on all the intruders.
All the flying forces on both sides of the intruders, from false Angels to gibbering ghosts, plummeted from the sky. A continent’s worth of Ice Magic, hoarded and concentrated over tens of thousands of years, pressed down on the intruders with the weight of the Mortal World, and let them know they were still not welcome here, regardless of their Realm Lords!
The screaming fall of the flying hosts of both sides was all the incentive that was needed, and the flanks of the Mortal forces, led by Infinite Sands and The Sea Emperor, drove forward, their power already reaching out and Elemental energies laced with vivus blazed high as it reached for their enemies.
In the invasion of the Mortal Plane, it was still the mortals who chose to attack first!
Light and dark crashed and cracked overhead, and the sky blazed crimson with the conflict.
“TREMBLE.” The word echoed over the battlefield with a Thunder that cut through the impossible cacophony, the screams and shrieks and bellows of High Emperors, and was heard by all, backed by a ringing Note of a Titan’s hammer on an unbreakable forge.
“You came to us here, clad in disdain and in fear,
Cursed servants of the dead!
But, you are standing beneath the Towers of the Teeth
And the Sky... is blazing red!
Feel the Mortal World burning with the flame of Mortal yearning!
Feel the CHAOS come to head!
Today Heaven brings now War, balance now the final score,
And the Land, SHE NEEDS BE FED!
TREMBLE, WE COME!”
And that Song, backed with enough power to send souls cold and emotionless, apathetic and withered, shivering with something they’d not felt for a very long time, continued on as the battle to decide the fate of four Realms was joined.