All over the city of Xeris, capital of the Solarian Empire, parties were being thrown everywhere as its population celebrated the victory of the empire. Houses, Taverns and Fields. Celebrations were going on everywhere as the people drank to the downfall of the Alliance. Camlen had fallen, its capital destroyed. Gandor was on the defensive, on the edge of surrendering, though that was unlikely given the unwavering resolve of their king. Danor, the renowned SwordLord, and ArchChancellor of the Blade Academy, was dead, killed by the Emperor himself. The head of the great family, Fyre, was dead, also killed by their Emperor. And if their happiness couldn't get any higher, the grey-eyed calamity was nowhere to be found. He was already assumed dead, or otherwise incapacitated. His brother, the Stormshredder, was likewise pronounced dead. They had already heard the tales, and the one thought they all shared was that: who could survive the Shadow Hall assassins?
Since the war hadn't officially ended yet, the empire overall was still in full on battle mode, predicting a desperate attempt at revenge from their already defeated enemies. The troop ships were already grounded, unable to do more than provide transportation for armies, so the empire made use of their other ships. StrikeShips were very much active, mostly outside all the Solarian Cities. They flew, eyes wary and watching for any threats. They roamed over the forests, employing some of their best scrying equipment to unveil any hiding entity.
Over the cities, themselves, hovered Command ships. Massive ships in unusual designs, mostly in the shapes of castles. They slowly roamed over the cities, confident In their nigh absolute defenses. After all, how many people could single-handedly bring down a Command ship?
Deep inside their halls were the commanders and admirals who coordinated the defense of the city in their constituency. Most, if not all, were newly ascended Spirit lords who'd been promoted politically alongside their realm.
Over the city of Xeris hovered five Command ships, which commanded a combined number of five hundred Strike ships that roamed outside the city in a hive manner. They provided a captivating view as they danced through the air, their flyers showcasing their skills for all to see, which made the whole celebration all the more interesting.
The sky was bright, with an unclouded sun shining down on the city. This was seen as a good omen, signifying the Sun Emperor, himself, showering his approval down on his people. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, that was soon answered as over the sky, people began noticing something different. At first, it was the Spirit lords, with their high perception who took notice, their eyes squinting at the dotted light that was soon becoming larger and larger. When it finally became large enough for their perception to take in fully, they discovered two things: first, the thing wasn't a dot, but a meteor, a meteor trailing a miles-long burning energy. Second, the thing hadn't been getting larger, it had been getting closer.
Immediately, a loud siren rang out from one of the command ships, signaling a probable danger, an alarm which was soon echoed a few seconds later by the other command ships and the city command center a second after that.
One command ship, a construct in the shape of a mountain. It had been modified with the capacity to hold up to two armies in its bowels, and on its body were the protruding forms of offensive and defensive constructs. They were all pointed at the approaching anomaly as the command ship moved to intercept. Now, a construct as massive as that with its multitude of defenses was certainly powerful enough to hold back any Spirit lord for at least an hour, so it was assumed that it should be able to swat out anything that hadn't originated from a Spirit King.
Everyone watched with a little bit of relief, waiting for the anomaly to either slow down or be swatted away like a fly. Seeing as it would be hard to accomplish the latter, they predicted the former.
Expecting the anomaly to either slow down or impact the command ship with a force that was likely to see it repelled; it instead sped up, increasing its speed.
The command ship hummed with power as all its defensive constructs were activated. A giant orb of energy appeared to surround it just as its offensive construct readjusted its aim, pointing towards the fast-approaching anomaly.
Seeing that it wasn't going to stop, they began firing. A thick beam of fire flashed out of a pole, burning through the air with such intensity that its fiery haze could be felt by even the Lowest essence wielder on the ground. An ice beam filled with the intent of stillness joined its fiery counterpart, leaving tendrils of ice in the air as the essence sought to freeze the atmosphere itself.
From the top of the mountain, two energy beams of esoteric essence fired. Space and Time. One sought to continuously increase the distance between the approaching anomaly and its destination, while the other was more subtle, influencing the concept of time to make sure the target never got to where they were going. Together, these two essences were enough to slow or even stop any Spirit lord on the planet, regardless of tier.
As they fired, more beams joined in, with more concepts added into the mix, all in a bid to halt a single entity. The world brightened up as those essences influenced the world in a colorful display.
Still, the anomaly was undaunted. It impacted the beams in a such colorful display that for a brief moment, the sky over the city was graced with the view of a second sun, a sun of rainbow colors, and out the other side came the anomaly, unshaken and still in full speed. However, it had lost a little bit of its luster, but that didn't matter; all the defenders could see that their attempt had failed, so the defense now fell to the command ship itself.
Like a mighty guardian standing before a great evil, the command ship rose intimidatingly to meet the anomaly. Its external shield extended outwards for miles around as it sought to block the anomaly should it change course, while the internal one contracted, becoming a thin layer around it.
What happened next would forever be a mystery to all who witnessed.
Undaunted, the anomaly simply passed through the shieldings, like they didn't exist. It didn't lose momentum at all, but like before, it lost a little bit of luster, becoming a little bit more transparent instead of the thick bar of energy it had been. Though no one could still see into its gray-silvery layer.
The command ship wasn't spared Its own share of defilement, drifting to the side and pouring out smoke as the anomaly passed through it from top to bottom, exiting in an explosion of rocks that soon got pulverized as they impacted the city-wide shield.
All eyes watched, scared and with bated breath as the anomaly approached the city dome. Those other command ships that had left the first line of defense to their comrade positioned themselves behind the dome, prepared to devote their best to protecting their capital. Already, the Strikeships under their command had already been recalled from wherever they were, assembling into a great host that chased behind the anomaly. They knew they weren't going to get there in time.
From the command ships themselves rose powerful auras as the spirit lords decided to come out instead of holding up inside their ships.
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One. Two. Four. Seven. Nine. Their numbers kept increasing as they announced their presence, finally settling at twelve. The majority of those twelve were the recently ascended, coupled with a few old timers who stood at the front. Together, they all projected a terrifying sight. Twelve Spirit lords, all coming together in a single endeavor. Cheers rang out from the city as the people roared their happiness. Their pillars would save
The anomaly impacted the dome, and another sun was born.
The light from the dome explosion alone was enough to see thousands blind, their visions darkening as the intensity of the explosion proved too much to handle.
And then the quakes hit.
A portion of the city exploded out in a mountain of fire and rocks as the formation providing energy for the dome overloaded. There were very few survivors. The rest of the city suffered severe quakes, but not enough to see a comparison to the residential district.
The explosion in the sky soon dispersed, fading away to reveal the form of someone they'd all thought dead.
His grey hair slicked down his back, undisturbed by the roiling atmosphere. His grey coat with silvery linings projected more power than the Spirit lords who stood against him. And his eyes... His grey eyes which had been expected to be full of rage; Instead, was simply impassive, calm, with not a single ounce of emotion within them.
But what truly made everyone run for the hills was the object in his hands. Many couldn't piece together what it was, but the power contained within that thing... That tiny orb, so small it wouldn't have been perceived as a threat if not for the danger it radiated, a danger that was felt by everyone.
And then the grey-eyed calamity flicked it down on the city.
And all was death.
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Since the start of the war, different levels of destruction had been wrought, from Sea Dragons drowning an entire city in so much water and blood that to this day, the city was still underwater. The City of Yarlen had suffered one of the worst casualties in the war; used as a scapegoat to pass a message to the enemies of Solaria. It had been leveled, suffering from both its formation overloading and the attack of a construct imbued by Solaris himself. The ruins had been turned into a feast gathering for all sorts of scavengers.
Then there was Cirin.
The capital of Camlen had been a city of massive proportions, holding up to seventy million residents, which had made it one of the largest cities on the planet; larger than Yarlen with its fifty million residents and far larger than Zirsts with its twenty million.
All had seen destruction so great that their lands were incapable of being built upon ever again, due to the risk of death spirits haunting the area.
Keilan's Ascended Art and the power manifestation of the Winter priestess was a close comparison to the level of destruction that fell on Xeris.
Xeris, with a population close to ninety million, watched in trepidation as the tiny glowing orb fell down onto the city with such leisure, that it was practically insulting to the reactions of the city defenders. The Spirit lords who had previously appeared to defend the city to their last breath scattered, their minds overcome with terror. And when the orb finally impacted the city center, the sky turned crimson, a deep angry red, like the heavens had been replaced with a sea of blood.
What came next would forever be etched into the minds of the Spirit Kings who saw.
In a natural atmosphere now forever replaced with crimson, a wave of silvery grey energy spread.
In a few seconds, it had engulfed over a third of the city, like a tsunami, and everywhere it passed, all was turned to ash. Men. Women. Children. Young. Old. Sick. Healthy. None were spared. Even the rivers which crossed the capital were suddenly no more, evaporated into thin air, including their pathways.
A minute later, over forty percent of the city was no more. One minute, there was chaos; everyone fleeing for their lives; the next? A huge swath of the city became deadly silent, so silent one could hear their own heartbeat. The ones who survived were too dumbfounded to even think of panicking.
And with a rage incomprehensible, another being responded.
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Salin stood to the side, head bowed, as he waited for Hidden Pillar Neskt to finish delivering her report.
"Gandor is in full retreat. They've pulled their forces from all around the continent, concentrating them in rings around their territories. Fenore has ordered the same."
The Emperor nodded, his emotionless eyes taking in the entire room, moving over Salin like he didn't even exist.
"Good. Send in two legions, I want them kept occupied as I move for Winterra."
Salin shivered as the emperor's eyes once more moved over his direction. Although the Emperor didn't acknowledge him, he wasn't blind to the fact that his presence, and that of everyone in the castle, was already noted. One didn't need to focus on a fly to know its whereabouts.
The disaster that had occurred with the Stormshredder had seen Salin taken from his post and into another. Apparently, the level of destruction the Empire had suffered from that single debacle — two Spirit lords, as well as the death of close to a million men, if the reports were true — had seen them take a step back for the first time. Having been reminded of the sheer power a Spirit could bring to bear, it had led to the creation of the defiled. Finding his usefulness wasted on such menial work as an essence battery, Salin had been shifted into another, a more dangerous one. Salin, with his infiltration skills, had been conscripted, along with other lord stage wielders, to infiltrate the cities of the little kingdoms in the alliance, taking out their first responders just as the defiled approached. Although the mission had seen a devastating casualty rate as some of the infiltrators had been discovered, it had still been a huge success.
"Father," King Talin moved forward from where he'd been standing beside The Bulwark. "If no one will say this, I will; we need to be cautious. Taking out the Fyre Head is one thing, since he came with the intent to battle, but Father, you can't just brazenly encroach on Teirye lands, you know that."
The entire room stilled at the words of the heir. Salin couldn't help but tentatively raise his head, confusion on his face. He wasn't a member of the Empire's elite, so he was lost on what was going on right now. Luckily for him, his head was still raised when the Emperor slowly turned towards his son, and although he didn't see how it happened, he nonetheless felt the instant heat that enveloped the room, and the subsequent shockwave that occurred as the heir was lifted off his feet and flung into a wall so fast he broke through it and out the other side. The Emperor hadn't even lifted a finger.
Calmly, the man turned back toward Hidden Pillar Neskt. "Continue."
The woman hurriedly bobbed her head, no doubt feeling the same heaviness as everyone else in the room.
"Queen Slera has requested for reinforcement on Aesland, citing the words 'We are barely holding on as it is, and that's with them dealing with the swarms of defiled while also contending with my forces and Muktit's. In all truthfulness, Should they turn their full attention down on us, I am very certain that we will lose.'"
The Emperor turned towards the Bulwark. "What do you think?"
"I think what she says is true. Aelar isn't one to be carelessly trifled with, and that's without the Heron Queen and the Mad king backing him up. I'm afraid that without you, we would have had a hard time contending with them." The man said with certainty. "Slera and Muktit do not have you."
A nod. "Prepare a legion for me; I will be heading to Winterra soon; hopefully, it shouldn't take long to bring the little kingdoms on that continent to heel. In the meantime, you and Talin will provide backup on Aesland."
The Bulwark nodded. "As you will, Emperor."
"Also," the man turned to Neskt. "Any report on the anomaly?"
Salin looked on in confusion. What was that?
"No, my lord. I've sent out gatherers, even some of the hidden pillars, but for some reason, they cannot approach the area."
"Why is that?"
"We don't know, my lord. I plan to go there as soon as I'm done here, but what I'm getting is that there is a metaphysical barrier that my hidden pillars can not cross, those that have done so are dead."
Finally, interest seemed to shine through the Emperor's eyes. "Dead?"
"Yes. If what I'm getting is correct, their souls were destroyed."
"How?"
"We don't know." The Emperor's knife bowed her head.
"Fix that. I wa–" Suddenly, the Emperor's head snapped upwards, a confused frown on his face. Salin's confusion grew as he looked around, finding the same expression mirrored on the faces of all the other Spirit lords, as well as some of the Monarchs in attendance. Anxiety had just began bubbling up when a cry rang out all over the city. 'That was the alarm.'
"Can anyone sense what that thing is?" The Emperor said.
"No yet, it hasn't gotten into range of my perception."
The Emperor's face was contemplative for a while, before he suddenly stood up, his eyes widening. "Get Ready for—" he stopped. "GET DOWN!" A crimson wave spread out from the man just as the world was ignited.
And Salin knew no more.