Over the remnants of a world, a cataclysmic battle was taking place. The sky bled a deep crimson as red lightnings of great power— mighty enough that they formed craters miles wide—devastated the land. Mountains crumbled at their mere passage while rivers were reduced entirely to bare rocks. In a few seconds, the land over a thousand miles in radius was destroyed and reshaped into an image barely reminiscent of its previous shape.

From the earth rose needles of equal power to the lightnings, whistling into the sky with the weight of a dozen mountains. Their effects on the world were such that the world warped as they passed by, gravity warping and folding into itself, with thick openings in space forming in their wake.

Damien watched in awe and fear as the armies of two divine Kings crashed into each other, tearing out explosions a shaking the world in their fury.

An earth, bulky warrior wielding a huge Warhammer crashed into another warrior, this one crimson and lithe, wielding twin blades with serrated edges. Crimson danced out of Earth's way in two quick strides, effortlessly like it could read its opponent's footsteps. And just when Damien began to think Earth was probably out of its depths, it proved the contrary.

Although it lacked the quick and easy mobility of its opponent, it proved it wasn't an easy opponent to take down, as shown when the twin blades tore into its sides, shockingly leaving only two light cuts despite their evident sharpness. Crimson was quick enough that it instantly withdrew, but by then, it was already too late.

Earth element grew over the blades, trapping their serrated edges just as the Warhammer came up out of nowhere, catching Crimson dead-eyed under the chin. The crimson warrior was lifted off its feet like a flunged doll, crashing into the midst of another fight. And that was all Damien could see before Nalon whisked the orb further upwards.

"Those things look smart," Keilan commented. "I thought they'd be... Simple."

"I don't know much about the realm of the Divine Kings," Vanis shrugged. "But I've seen enough to note that not all those warriors you see here are as smart as you think."

When Keilan and Damien both looked at him in confusion, he explained.

"From what I've seen and the little gossip they've let slip, the elemental armies of divine Kings are not all smart, or intelligent for that matter. Some are capable of independent thoughts, while others ..."

He pointed at a duo who were battling a mile or two away in the sky. At first, Damien didn't notice what the Verille lord was getting at, but then he saw it: the little lag in their battle, like they didn't know what else to do after the first slash and smash. An instant later, they continued again, as if nothing strange had just occured.

Damien knew how fast-paced Spirit Lords' battles could be. A mistake made in a second could be the eventual determiner of that battle. And he knew how easy it'd have been for him to wipe out an enemy if they'd lagged off like that.

"They're automated," Damien realized, which brought a proud smile to Gray's face. Strange. The grey being continued to stay quiet, leaving Vanis to continue.

"Yes," the Verille lord said, seemingly not noticing Gray. "Look up there."

He pointed at the domain proper, where Damien bore witness to the forms of three Spirit Kings, standing a step back behind the Verille Divine King. And although they took up subservient postures behind their creator, Damien had no delusions that those Spirit Kings were weak.

They radiated power superior to even Nalon, a second-domain Spirit King. Crimson pillars of light burned around each of them, mixing with crackling lightnings. Damien had to admit that they made for a truly intimidating sight. They all seemed to be doing nothing, except one, whose right palm—made of lightning —was pointed downwards.

"That," Vanis continued. "Is what I call a 'Controller'. I don't know the real term for them, and neither will Uncle tell me, so I simply termed them as controllers."

"And," Damien swallowed nervously, fearing the sheer enormity of what he was about to ask. "They control all this?" He waved at the crimson armies... Millions, as they fought.

Vanis shrugged, "I don't know." And then he rolled his eyes. "Not privy to the knowledge, to the extent even my warder won't tell me." He shot Nalon a glare, to which the man pretended not to see, pointedly looking anywhere but at Vanis.

Damien opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted as their orb shook, lifting some people off their feet. He looked around, steadying himself on the glassy surface.

"Uhh, what's happening?" He said, just as the orb shook for the second time.

[We're being attacked.] Gray answered. [It seems our would-be captor does not want us out of this dead rock.] He pointed, and Damien saw.

Down below, a few miles behind and flying towards them so fast Damien knew they'd catch up in no time, were two Spirit Kings. One was the Aveanii they'd crossed path with on their escape, the third domain. The second? Damien didn't recognize him, but Nalon grunted as he took in their approach.

"A third domain and a first domain," he muttered. "Not good."

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They sped past the two warring armies unchallenged, a trail of warped energy the only thing left in their wake.

"But it did nothing when we were leaving," Keilan said. "Why start now?"

It was Nalon who answered.

"The Aveanii's have a warped sense of familiar relationship," the man grunted, steering the orb just as a whistle passed by. "The reason our escape wasn't uncontested was so the Verille Divine Master would hold back."

"And now?" Damien asked.

"And now we're approaching his domain, where his will holds absolute sway. Which means once we enter, master Xirou can finally go all out."

"And the Aveanii Divine King doesn't want that?" Keilan murmured. "Aren't they equal in strength?"

For the first time since they met, Nalon laughed. A bellyful laughter which rang somewhat awkward in Damien's ears, seeing as the man had always taken on this brooding persona. Even Vanis smiled, and this time it wasn't hidden.

"This is an average Aveanii Divine King," Vanis explained. "Uncle Xi, on the other hand, is not. And the Aveanii Divine King knows it."

With a suddenness that saw their vision colored, a golden black light enveloped their orb, slowing their light-speed ascent into an instant crawl. Nalon spat out some brown stuff which instantly transformed into whisps, disappearing into thin air. He crashed down on his knees, his eyes bugging out like they were about to fall off.

"What's happening?!" Damien said, uncaring of how panicked his voice sounded.

[The Aveanii Divine King has decided to personally interfere,] Gray said grimly. [It's dragging us back.]

And truly, as Damien watched, the orb —while being slowly crushed—began falling back downwards, drawing closer to their pursuers.

"We'll have to fight," Nalon said grimly and Damien followed his gaze downwards at the pursuers who were rapidly approaching. "I'll handle the third domain," he said, and then looked up at the remaining sixteen or so Spirit lords gathered, most of which, Damien noticed, were peak tier. "Most of you won't survive this." And that was all he said before the orb shattered, plunging them into utter chaos.

As soon as Damien was bared to the world, without any form of protection, the first thing that assaulted him was the atmosphere. Energy burned in his senses, so powerful he felt it pressing both on his mind and body. A crackle just at the edge of his hearing. Heatwaves just shy of scalding. And the pressure...

Damien had to firm his will just to stand against the pressure, a weight which seemed like a mountain dropped onto his shoulders.

"Okay, before we go into the most dangerous battle of our lives," Vanis said, smiling grimly at the failed joke. He shared a look with Nalon, and something seemed to pass between them, and then he continued, leaving his warder to drift downwards to meet their pursuers.

"As many of you might know—or not," he said. "We do not have a Nature or life wielder with us, which means any injury incurred will not be healed until we're safely out of here. I'd advise you to be careful, but truthfully, careful is not what we need at the moment if we aim to survive this."

And out of nowhere, a weapon appeared in the right hand of the Verrille lord. A weapon brimming with crimson gold energy. On one end were twin blades, each a complete two-foot long, wickedly looking blade. And running down the golden handle were hundreds of tiny runes spiraling from the twin blades down towards another blade—single this time—jutting out at the other end.

A bident.

The man brimmed with crimson energy just as an Astral image manifested behind him, magnifying his power manifold, to the extent even Damien had to move back.

His shock only lasted a while before he summoned his own, not wanting to be outshone.

All around him, the air trembled as more than a dozen Spirit lords summoned their astral images. Damien couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine as he felt the atmosphere begin burning.

He turned just as he felt Keilan move forward. "No Kei, you can't join this."

His brother's face tightened, a grimace on his face. Thankfully, he recognized the risk he'd be putting everyone in, not only himself, if he partook in this battle.

"Stay with him," Damien said to Gray, to which the little figure simply smiled and nodded.

[Stay safe,] he said. [And don't push yourself more than you have to.]

Damien nodded, turning back to their group to catch Vanis looking at them with an inscrutable expression. The man nodded when he caught Damien's eyes, and then they both turned towards their approaching enemies.

Already, Nalon and the Third Domain King were battling. They flitted through the sky with such speed Damien instantly lost track of them, the only sign of their presence being the sound of a greater explosion ringing out in the distance.

Like an inevitable tide, the other Spirit King drew closer. What preceded it was its aura. Damien felt it in the back of his mind as the effects of the Spirit King's aura washed over him like a tsunami, crashing down onto him with a shivering effect.

Although he didn't feel the full effects, the other Spirit lords sure did. Damien sensed it as many of them visibly shivered, a few of them staggering as their knees wobbled, even though they were hovering in the air.

Then the aura itself came. Damien felt the air constrained — tighter than before — as the proximity to the Spirit King's presence shortened.

Like the flame behind a shockwave, reality warped and twisted as the Spirit King approached, and he watch as two Spirit Lords lost consciousness, falling back to the earth.

"Leave them," Vanis said, voice tight. "We have enough problems as it is. We don't have the capability to take care of those too mentally weak to fight for their survival."

Honestly, Damien hadn't even wanted to. A majority of his mental faculties had been set out to deal with the aggressive effects of the Spirit King's presence; he didn't have enough to spare for those who couldn't even make use of the entirety of theirs.

"I wonder what your warder must be thinking, sending a bunch of lessers against me, children, in fact," The Aveanii Spirit King said as it came within half a mile of them. "No matter, though. I imagine I shall be rewarded handsomely when I deliver the dismantled corpse of the Desolate Duchess' grandson back to her."

"You talk too much," was all Vanis said, and then he attacked.

Damien was behind him, so he was able to see clearly as almost a thousand bolts of Crimson lightning appeared over the other man, falling down on the Aveanii in a tide of destruction. This was an attack he knew well he had no chance of coming out unscathed.

And he was also in full view as the Aveanii, contemptuously, waved its hands. A low thrum, barely perceptible, rang out, and like an ocean, it swallowed the lightnings.

Damien didn't let his shock, or the fear that crept in, stop him. He came in next, stars blinking into existence above him, dozens of them. And then he rained them down on the Aveanii...

And his heart sank as, with visible ease, the Spirit King picked out one of the stars out of the air, erasing the rest without even looking.

"Destruction... but warped," it said as it brought the star closer to its beady brown eyes. "Hmm... The properties in this are worth a good study."

With a snap of its clawed fingers, Damien's technique was reduced to smoke.

Glancing at Damien, it said. "Fortunately for you, your corpse will need to be preserved, which means no dismantling for you."

And then it attacked.