In the aftermath of the first blow in the grand war, it was like a stretched rubber had just been let loose. Where the world had been quiet, awaiting the first person to make a move; now that the rubber had been let loose, an inferno was ignited.

Fleets of SkyShips lifted off of their ports, Strike ships at the rims, and Troop carriers in the center. Command ships led the formations, giving commands and housing for reserve armies. Pillars of portals opened above the borderlands, spewing out hundreds of ships as they headed for the Empire's border cities.

From said cities, city domes were brought online, rising to enshroud their entire domains in transparent, solidified energy. An array of different defensive and offensive constructs were awakened, turning their nozzles up towards the distant approaching enemy.

Strike ships rose from the cities' military ports, heading on an intercourse to intercept enemy ships before they got within range.

Monarch Merene dodged, not turning to check what had been fired at her. In a situation like this, a single distraction could lead to a swift death. Alongside her, other Monarch realm essence wielders moved, employing one evasive technique or another to protect themselves from the Solarian Monarch defenders.

The once thick and green patch of forest located in the borderlands was now thrashed and leaking black smoke as hundreds of Monarchs clashed.

She slowed, wary of the enemy Monarch blocking her path. A dozen daggers flashed out in blinding speed toward her, leaving silvery trails. Matching their speed, her short sword flicked out, knocking them out of the air one after the other. But her enemy wasn't deterred, dousing the darkened forest in more shadows. She slowed, this was going to take some time.

With the sea of shadows now shrouding the area in a second layer, she slowly and cautiously approached, drawing out her second sword.

"What Kingdom do you hail from, Camlen, Gandor, or one of the other inconsequentials?" The man mocked, his black eyes following her movements.

Merene didn't reply, her perception primed and wary of any tricks.

Seeing her non-responsiveness, the man shrugged. "Nothing? No problem, then, not like I care. I just wanted to know my next opponent before I put them in the grave. But since you aren't going to be forthcoming, I'll just have to sleep with not knowing your name."

"You talk too much."

"Oh, oh, she finally speaks," the man manifested a sword out of shadow. "Let's see how long you hold on, shall we?"

Like a whirlwind of metal and shadow, they clash. Immediately their blades met, Merene immediately recognized her opponent's mastery of the sword. His footwork was accurate and meticulously timed, never taking more steps than was necessary. His blade attacked in a slow calm motion, always there to intercept her blades whenever she attacked. And while he moved calmly, she was a whirlwind of blades and flame. Her flame techniques lit up in his face and exploded in blinding fire, which soon put him on the back foot as he tried to avoid being blinded or burned. Eventually, her opponent gave up on close combat, hopping backward into the heart of his conjured shadows.

"You want to play with fire? Let's see how you fare against shadow."

From the sea of shadows fired dozens of daggers, gleaming silver as they headed towards her. Merene could have dodged, but every escape route had been covered, and unless she wanted to butt into another Monarch's fight and leave her back open, she opted to stand her ground.

The roots below her feet turned to ash as a wall of fire rose, blocking the incoming daggers. They dimmed considerably as some of them melted back into shadows on impact. The remaining ones managed to pass through the wall of fire, but they had already lost their power, so they only impacted her body armor with a thud.

Reshaping, she folded the wall of fire, squeezing it into a whip that she lashed out, stopping her opponent as he tried to attack while her vision had been blocked. He jumped back, a hand made of shadow manifesting behind him to catch the flaming whip. Merene wasn't deterred; from the whip flew dozens of tiny needles that aimed for the exposed parts of his body, an attack which he dodged.

"Phew," her opponent said, miming wiping sweat from his brow. "You're good, I admit. Who trained you, I've got to know?"

Merene's only response was a dead stare and another flurry of needles.

"No answer?" He said while a shadow hand swatted her attack. "Fine then, keep your secrets."

The shadows writhed and folded, drinking in the light as a black serpent manifested behind him, its crimson slits staring predatorily at her. "I'll peel the secret out of your corpse."

Despite it being a conjured construct, Merene was wary of such thing being deadly close to her while she battled its master, so she replied in kind.

"Two can play at that game," behind her, her flame also contorted, twisting into a red snake matching its Shadow counterpart in size.

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"Oh, oh, Nice!"

The shadow serpent opened its mouth, wide, drinking in any form of light and magically darkening the area. In response, her fire serpent glowed blindingly, generating more light than the shadow could consume immediately as it soon turned crimson-white.

She attacked, sliding and aiming at cutting off the knees of her opponent. He jumped, a thin circle of cutting shadows scything for her middle area. She wiped it out with a wave of fire.

A few feet from them, their constructs clashed with a loud Thud, coiling around each other and crushing down tress into splinters. Her fire serpent bit into the body of the shadow snake just as the Shadow snake did the same, eliciting a deadly hiss and crackle as both essences interacted in an unfriendly manner.

Merene swiped, cut, and stabbed at her opponent, missing him by inches and eliciting mocking remarks at her accuracy. She didn't mind, concentrating fully on the battle. She was perceptive enough to recognize the extreme threat of her opponent, so she knew that a single lapse in concentration could lead to a series of mistakes that could swiftly end her. Already, she had dozens of cuts on her body–both the exposed and covered parts–from her opponent's deadly cuts, but with both a crazed ferocity in her strikes and a series of exploding lights directed at blinding her opponent's vision, she was able to slowly move him where she wanted.

And as soon as she was comfortable with his position, she stopped, retreating a few feet.

"What, already tired?" The man questioned, a smirk on his face. "Please don't tell me you're already tired, or the small recognition you've earned from me will soon vanish like the wind."

For the first time since this fight, Merene smiled, shrugging. "What do I care? You're already dead." And like that, she snapped her fingers, engulfing the area in a conflagration of crimson and black.

Merene dived to the ground as the earth rocked, throwing up dirt and rocks and shattered trees. A thick cocoon of flame covered her as she layered dozens of protective techniques on her body, trusting her armor enchantments to cover the rest.

When the explosion finally settled, she stood up, battle-ready, as she scanned the area for any threats. She looked at where her opponent had been standing, seeing nothing but smoke and ash. His remains didn't even survive the explosion.

"Whoa! What was that?" Another Monarch approached from the side, his wide eyes taking in the destruction. "That was bordering on Spirit lord's level of power there. What did you do?"

Merene turned toward the man. "Fire and shadow should never mix."

"Uh, I don't know what that means, but if what you just said had anything to do with this," he waved his hands at the destruction. "Consider me warned."

Changing the topic, Merene asked. "Done with your opponent?"

"Would I be here if it wasn't settled?"

"Alright then, let's move on, time isn't on our side."

Together, they continued, fighting through any enemy soldiers who tried to block their paths.

Eventually, they got to the other side of the forest, sunlight striking in through the opened tree curtains as they approached.

Merene pulled out a glowing orb from a pouch on her waist as she closed in on the edge of the forest. From a runic enchantment drawn on the collar of her armored jacket, she spoke in.

"Monarch Merene in position. Anyone else?"

"Copy. Monarch Zect in position...."

"Monarch Kerg in position....."

From her communication, multiple replies came in as other Monarchs arrived at their position.

"Alright then. Begin."

She channeled power into the orb on her palm, watching as the purple-black energy swirled with speed as her energy mixed in. Gently, she set it down on the tree line, watching as the other Monarch did the same a few meters away from her.

Together, they stepped back a few feet, watching as purple-black lights flashed. A pillar of purple lights rose to the sky, widening as it grew higher. Along the tree lines, other purple pillars also rose in a mixture of purple and black, and then they began interacting, mixing into each other until Merene couldn't tell where her's began and where the others joined.

Finally, the portal settled after reaching a few hundred feet. By now it already looked like a curtain of purple lights with black tendrils swirling inside it as it stretched for more than five miles, widening as it went.

The earth shook as from the filmy curtains, thousands of soldiers crossed the portals, marching in formation as they chanted war chants.

Merene could see the banners of three nations rising over the heads of the army: A Silver bird over a black field signifying the Kingdom of Camlen. The Silver-black armored soldiers chanted war songs as they marched forward, proudly waving the nation's flag.

To the left of the Camlen's army marched another: A banner of a flaming hammer representing the Kingdom of Gondor, whose armor of Red with white seam shone brightly under the sun's rays. They also chanted their war songs, beating loud drums and marching so hard that their combined footsteps cracked the ground and shifted large rocks.

The last army was one she already knew about but was still surprised to see marching alongside another Kingdom that wasn't part of the ilks: The Empire of Nuraea, led by the great family Fyre. Their blue silver armor matched the Lightning element which the entire ruling family specialized in, as shown a moment later when the sky darkened, with loud rumblings of thunder alongside lightning flashing in-between. Together, the alliance of three hundred thousand men posed an intimidating sight. But despite their intimidating posture, Merene knew that they weren't going to be enough, not for the enemy they were about to face.

Above the crossing armies, the portal light parted as three humongous ships came through: One, a silver, metallic, rectangular construct moved above the armies, bringing a presence of confusion and fear mixed in-between. A Lightning bolt sigil was pasted on the sides, glowing bright alongside the lightning flashes.

Another command ship sailed alongside the Fyre's. A flaming island aided by large, visible propulsion constructs. The island looked ordinary, except for its strange flaming features as the entire island looked to be on fire. From her position, Merene could see a few figures standing at the edge of the island, Monarchs of extreme importance from the Kingdom of Gandor. But it wasn't them that drew her eyes. Standing in front of them with a commanding posture was a man in matte black armor whose gaze emitted great power as he stared at the far distance. A Spirit Lord.

Leading the Camlen's fleet was another ship made from Emerald crystals and constructed in the shape of a large crescent, pulsing with green energy as it drifted calmly alongside the others, a deathly pressure radiating from it as it cruised by.

And behind those three command ships flew more than a hundred StrikeShips and Troop ships, holding more soldiers as they prepared to light up the enemy till the sky bled smoke and ash.

Merene continued waiting, watching as more soldiers crossed the portals.

And in the distance opposite them, another Portal opened, a portal of crimson red...

And from it came the Empire's response force.