Nadir (Open) [Chapter XX]

[Eos]

Utopia had sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

In an effort to prevent Eos from purifying the realms, the ruler of the bastard realm had removed her own world from the Downward Spiral and thrown it as far away as she could from the Arashi’s reach. She dared to deprive all of existence from the exalted glory of the LORD in sacrilege, dared to defy the wrath of the Arashi even when all prophecies had been fulfilled and the end of all things was now all but inevitable. Now Eos was surrounded cold and darkness, standing at the nadir of the abyss. Instead of allowing the final cleansing to take place, the witch had merely ensured that Genesis would be the first of many to be beatified on this day.

It was night over Jherra.

The final cry of Amoura Ethelia had resonated across Genesis like thunder; it had traveled the battlefields of the Netherrealm and woken every sleeping soul that stood upon its soil. It echoed in their minds long after the sound had died out, leaving the world in a disquieting stillness. Its significance was lost on most, however the anguish it carried was irrefutable. All knew – somehow – that something even more terrible than the legions of hell had arrived. They feared, and yet the events of the past months had forged the inhabitants of Jherra into something far more than simple humans; they crawled out of their bed and looked out into the night. In spite of borders and wars. In spite of their loss and their mortality. They walked outside and gazed out to the dark and cruel horizon.

The sky had turned a brilliant white beyond the far reaches of the sea as if heaven descended on this one place far beyond the clutches of man. The water moved as though disturbed by a great beast slumbering beneath its liquid veil. It stirred, it boiled… and then it rose. Waves crashed upon the shores of the continent as the sea slowly reached to the sky like a great waterfall. That’s when the inhabitants of Jherra realized heaven was not falling upon the deep, but that it ascended from it: The origin of the light floated at the centre of the cascade, blinding even though encased by miles of the suspended ocean. The opalescent cocoon expanded. And there the world gasped in unison at the vision, for they remembered. They remembered how Aircano once saw the birth of Emmanuel. They remembered how Isafaro saw the resurrection of the cycles of day and night. Now all of Jherra would remember the day they saw the sun rising in the west and the horrible truth it revealed.

The final Arashi had come.

[Lamia]

Beneath the black desert sands which the Third had landed upon after rising up from the sea, and inside a golden temple dedicated to Utopia's Queen Lamia was in the middle of a blood bath from within the privacy of her chambers. Running the blood of her victims across the arm which carried the mark of the Enchantress forever etched into her skin as a part of her oath to the goddess. The screams of the Night Angel reaching her ears, interrupting her relaxing bath just as the lips of a male servant brushed off her neck in his attempts to please her. A hand regrettably pushing the male to the side allowing her to stand up, the blood dripping down her naked body as she stepped out of the bath. More male servants coming to her side and drying her off before putting her clothes back on her.

"My apologies. But I'm afraid this evening is going to have to be cut short. Duty calls."

After the men finished dressing her she left her room and called on one of her fellow witches as she walked down the corridor.

"Prepare my chariot and tell the sisters to meet me on the surface. I sense a strong presence on the desert above."

"Yes, My Lady."

The witch bowed and went off to prepare her wide as Lamia lifted up her hood over her head and prayed to Maricul for guidance.

---

Meanwhile the first thing Eos would see to stand before her was a group of nine women all clad in black robes with their hoods up and a staff in their right hand. They raised up their staffs and caused the water the enemy has chosen to encase herself in to rebel against her. Coming down upon the Third Aspect threatening to crush her flat as the nine cried out, "Oblido!" Crush.

[Eos]

‘‘…and there was light.’’ She whispered.

There was a fluctuation among the streams that circled Eos: Their flow became jagged and uneven, violent and chaotic. The mesmerizing beauty of the ocean floating in the sky was replaced by a storm threatening to swallow the coast whole. The power of the coven was one feared across Genesis, and there everyone saw why; amidst the destruction of Utopia – the realm of their own goddess – followers of the Enchantress fought the Arashi with the ancient might of the arcane.

The ocean in the sky became smaller in the distance. The waters pressurized around the stone-like figure of the End, crushed her with the impunity of an entire clan. They chanted in a chorus that shook the sea and bent it to their will: Waves no longer crashed on the shores, but on Eos. The shell in the sky thinned, until nothing remained in the distance but a glittering star, minuscule and insignificant against the immensity of the cosmos. In this moment, the followers of Maricul didn’t execute simple magic. It was retribution.

‘‘God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.’’ the voice boomed in their ears louder than the rumble thunder. They looked to their enemy; the chanting had stopped now. Even after they had poured their effort into this spell – squeezed the Arashi until nothing should have remained but sand – her star still shined bright as ever. ‘‘God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.’’ She continued with prophetic tenor. She floated in the havens above them all, and she gazed at every single one. There was a long pause among the mass, like the world itself was drawing breath to speak through the mouth of the blessed sentinel. “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” She spoke softly before closing her eyes, at peace. She wore the ocean like a second skin, almost indiscernibly from the energy that swirled around her. There was a moment, like a mute tremor, and finally in one cataclysmic display the water exploded outward and into the sky.

It rained in the desert.

The nearest droplets diverted from the earth and plunged towards Eos. They evaporated into a fine silver mist and added themselves to the holy membrane floating behind the Arashi like silk made of light. Eos was liberated, her wings spreading behind her like those of an angel, shinning a crystalline white for the entire world to behold, and they fell to the earth, growing with each spec of water that were swallowed into them.

The ocean filled up once more, and the coven stood on the beaches of their nation. The sea had returned, but it was still – unmoving like a mirror where one could see their reflection perfectly within its shade of gem-like turquoise. The wings of energy caressed it like the falling leaves of autumn, not even so much as causing a ripple across the surface even as they carried Eos down from the sky. She approached the level of the coven, her feet almost touching the water now. Slowly, she descended to their level… and finally her toes dipped themselves in the world. There were no ripples – no movement – only the hypnotic view of that surreal image.

The sea had crystallized.

And she began to walk…

[Sincara]

The mere presence of The End was a phenomenon that could not go ignored no matter how hard one may try to do so as the sky was engulfed by light even though it was still night in Jherra. Her eyes turning to long range scanners designed to detect paranormal energy readings as soon as they appear on the continent. Watching it increase rapidly until it was finally shattered and the monitor blew sparks out of it upon its destruction. White Queen moved to satellite images of what was happening in the ocean by the Jherrazad desert. Seeing the orb of water that risen from the ocean and the appearance of the Maricul cultists standing on the sand with their staffs in the air through still images.

The Arashi prophecy was not something that flew over the heads of the Kari government. On the contrary, it was something of great interest to the AI as the damage left behind by the previous beings under the title of Arashi was ever apparent on the world and only possible to ignore by the ignorant and the stubborn. It looks that prophecy has been fulfilled and if that was truly the case then the AI knew the Third's designation would be the colossal tower that resided in their country. She turned to the nearby window and looked out to the blinding light of the heavens as even a being of unprecedented intelligence was brought to silence at the display of absolute power and threat the Third brought to Genesis and all other realms that existed.

The White Queen was in awe.

But now was no time for hesitation.

"Mr. Kain, it appears the intel we have received from the Arashi prophecy are true and has finally been fulfilled. Your orders?"

...

"As you wish."

The tank hanger in the city opened up and from within came a full force of unmanned tanks all operated by the White Queen.


The M1A1


The Goliath


The MotoTank


The Inferno


The Hovertank


The Rhino


The Rattler


The M2 Hydra


The FLP-E


The Hornets


And the Marksman.

They rolled out in the dozens, leaving their home of Kari and going down the road that led to the Jherrazad desert.

The road to The End.

[Kara]

Kara was inside the dungeons of the temple where she was being held to be sacrificed to Maricul of all things. Naturally the ex-god wasn't content with just sitting there twiddling her own thumbs until her number came up and was trying to find a means to escape the dungeon and get to her original designation of Aircano. That was until she heard a earth shattering scream shake the walls of the temple and everything else it reached as a terrifying chill shot up the woman's spine, her skin began to crawl and she knew right then something was wrong as she recognized the woman who screamed. It sounded like the Night Angel Amoura who she had encountered that one day in Hallowton.

"No. No it can't be. Guard!"

It was all beginning to make sense. Seeing the mental image of Tajna Rasha back in that cave before being captured. It was The End. The End was marching down Genesis soil and she was trapped here left even more helpless than she was now. Kara ran up to the bars with her arms slipping through between them as her other hand banged against the prison bars.

"Guard, you have to get me out of here! Guard! Guard!"

[Kira Yamato]

Jaden blinked and looked in the direction he felt the presence of the Arashi. It was a hard thing not to feel, and he still hadn't forgotten his promise to Miracle. Miracle herself would notice something that had been with her all along started to glow, as the card in her possession started to shine before it vanished, when it reappeared it was in Jaden's hand. The duel disk on his arm began to glow as a smile appeared on his face as Honest and Yubel appeared on either side of him. “So you guys are ready too? Then what are we still doing waiting around here?” he asked them. He wasn't really expecting an answer.

He placed the card back into his deck before Yubel stopped him. ”You might need these.” she said handing him six cards. Jaden blinked as he looked them over, ”These are...” he started to say before being cut off by Yubel. ”Yes, you may find you need them.” she finished. Jaden placed the cards in his decks before turning back. ”Alright, whenever you're ready.” he said as the three suddenly disappeared reappearing on the desert sands much closer to Eos. ”Oh, man. Did you guys go and start the party without me? Well I hope you don't mind if I join anyway.” he said as his eyes glow softly, one red the other green.

______________________________________________________








Tag: Person to post next

Song: ”Wake Up Your Heart” by KENN with The NaBs

Key: Thoughts, “Jaden’s Dialouge”, "The Supreme King's Dialouge", “Honest’s Dialouge, ”Yubel’s Dialouge”, ”Professor Banner’s Dialouge”, “Neos’ Dialouge”, “Winged Kuriboh” (Note: Anyone beside Jaden can only be seen if that person can see Duel Spirits or ghosts.)

[Red Queen]

White Queen wasn't the only one observing energy readings from the most recent Jherra invader. Every computer from within the Vulture's core was running and observing the battle that has broken out in the desert thanks to the footage acquired by the Novalith Cannon up above. The Red Queen was looking at each monitor, watching a part of the ocean be crystallized in the wake of the Third Aspect's emerging from the water and finally touching down on land before she began appearing on monitors throughout the Core delivering her orders accordingly.

“Venom craft, prepare for liftoff. Eliminate The End.”

Vulture's Venom Patrol Crafts powered up and took off into the air preparing their auto-cannons for when they got within range of the Third as the crafts activated their cloaking devices and vanished in the middle of the sky as they made way for the Jherrazad's desert.

“Vertigo bombers, prepare for liftoff. Eliminate The End.”

The Vertigos turned on and took off, moving above the Venom Patrols and preparing their groundpounder bombs for the assigned target awaiting them in the desert as they too disappeared through their cloaking devices in the night's sky.

“All Vulture infantry aboard the ISS Carryall, prepare for landing. Eliminate The End.”

From the sky descended the Carryall, dropping down several APC ground units and Predator tanks against the black sands of the desert. The APC units drove down the sand and then opened up unveiling the PLAGUE undead unit as they charged in first like pawns on a chess board. Behind them was the PLAGUE Shock Troops alongside the Rocket Militants and behind them the snipers with their railguns in hand. But before any of these infantries could get within range Red Queen planned to have the Third already under attack as her face appeared before Vulture's eye in the sky.

“Captain of the ISS space platform the Novalith Cannon. Eliminate The End... by any means necessary.”

Those close enough to see would find a little red dot upon the mask of the enemy that now stood before them. The only warning signal issued to the other warriors who charged against Eos before the space platform's massive railgun charged up and fired a single warhead to the planet below. Raining down against The End with thunderous might and little mercy for any others who did not heed the warning that came before it. Looking to obliterate the Arashi and leave nothing left. But if that was not enough Eos would hear the sound of a chainsaw roaring to life, the blade sharp enough to cut through virtually anything it came into contact with slicing down the center of the mask looking to drive apart the face of god as the inhuman eyes of the super soldier, the first of thirteen, bore fearlessly into the fierce eyes of eternity.

[Ayen]

Laughter echoed throughout the walls of the Core's main control room where Red Queen was giving her orders as General Vulture stood at the center watching all the destruction on his monitors at the same time his units were being sent onto the field of battle. Pure madness seen in his eyes as a cigar hung from his lips dripping out smoke from the burnt end.

“Prepare the zeppelin. I wish to look upon the face of The End with my own two eyes. The face of God...”

At those words the General only burst out laughing even more.

“Let the truth alas be known! Gods are the descendants of mortal men, for it was man who ascended into the first gods and ruled over these accursed continents. You are not the face of God, Arashi. YOU ARE THE FACE OF MORTAL BEINGS AND ALWAYS HAVE BEEN!”

[Walter C. Dornez]

Waiting. How agonizing it was. When you wanted nothing more than to spring into action and cut through your enemy, to experience the thrill that being so close to death can bring you. Waiting can be the worse thing you'd ever have to do. The APC units rode the Carryall as it descended down to the ground below. Walter looked up to the soldier sitting across from him with a pack of smokes in his hand. A single eye glowing through the dark as a grin appeared on the young child's face masked in darkness.

"Oi.

"Can I have a fag?"

Walter wouldn't wait for an answer as his wires grabbed the cigarette in his mouth and the pack and pulled them away from the soldier's hand and into his own.

He put the cigarette in his mouth and looked over the pack before raising his head, a puff of smoke breezing pass from the tip.

"Here we are with special treatment and you can't even afford the good stuff."

The soldier glared at Walter with hateful eyes but those soon turned to one of caution as he saw the wires wrapping around the boy's body as he continued to speak while enjoying his smoke.

"I suppose in this life, you have to take what you can get."

"The sky is falling."

Walter and the rest of the soldiers could feel the APC connect with the ground and as soon as it did the walls fell down and the soldiers headed out one by one. Breaking pass them was the Angel of Death himself, grin as wide as ever and the cigarette still found in his mouth as he pulled apart his hands and brandished his wires as he joined the other Vulture's troops on the ground heading for the Third Aspect.

"I am the Angel of Death. We are Vulture. Beware, Vulture's enemies. I will defeat you!"

[Lamia]

Mother Nature herself rebelled against The End just as her toes touched down on the solid crystal ground she had made in the ocean. All nine witches holding up their staffs and directing the wind as it blew violently against the Arashi looking to slow down her walk towards the desert sand. The crystal before her feet rising up like a great wall to block her path as their magic manipulated the crystal and she could see her own terrifying, and beautiful reflection... And the red dot upon her face before retribution came down from the heavens and shattered the glass. Even now the nine could sense the armies of Kari and Isafaro closing in on this position as they held their ground. Paying no attention to Jaden as their minds were focused on the task at hand.

Meanwhile Lamia was on her way atop her chariot arms folded and becoming one with Genesis as she saw the warhead raining down from the sky and forced the chariot to a stop as she observed the blast overhead. Her eyes then looking over to the Isafaro infantry now passing her by without so much as a second glance. Blue eyes seeing them off before she kicked her donkeys into gear and continued with the rest of her coven following close behind her ready for war.

[Kara]

"You have to let me out of here. I beg you!"

"That's enough!"

One of the witches left to guard her came over, only to be grabbed by Kara and slammed into the bars when she wasn't expecting it, it knocked her out and Kara took a small pen from her robes and used it to pick the lock of the cell, opening it and then making her way out of the dungeons quietly, to sneak by the others left to guard the temple and reach the source of the disturbance. She wasn't sure what she was going to do once she got there, she just knew she had to do something.

[Roy Atenwood]

"It's night...but it's bright out."

Something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones. Every pore of his body was drawn towards this place. It had been exactly four days since he had come to this world. Had the Sons all killed each other? Had the final son come for him? He was the smallest and weakest of the shards. He was doomed, but he would fight. Fight for this existence he had already come to love.

But as he flew towards the place he felt the power eminating from, he knew it was not Kaden's power. It felt different from his memories. As a shard of Kaden, he would be one to truly recognize his power. He saw armies amassing. He actually had a clue what was going on now. Someone or something had angered a godlike being, and it was pissed as hell.

He had to do something.

He couldn't claim anywhere as his home, but if a power like this trashed one plane, who was to say it wouldn't trash the next. And the next. And the next.

There was no telling how far this thing would go. Who, or what, it was was a mystery to Roy. But as he looked down from his flight, he saw the crystallized ocean. He landed about three hundred yards off of The End. In its path. That was what he had decided to call it. Because that was what it was.

Such power was naught but an end of all. Power rivaling Kaden's. He had to put a stop to it, even if it meant his death.

Then again, Kaden snapped his fingers and time itself exploded. Roy was a poor judge of power.

He could almost feel them getting here, all the other armies, all the others who would stand before The End. He felt power gathering here, more than just The End. That was good. Both technological and arcane might would be needed this day.

As he brought the brunt of his powers to bear, both fire and lightning swirled in great gouts around him. He would hover ever so slightly above the ground, doing nothing but bringing all the power he could outward in a show of force. His voice boomed as he spoke, thunder crashing somewhere in the sky as the elements raged around him.

"KNOW THIS..."

His voice seemed to echo, shake the very ground he hovered above.

"I AM LIVING PROOF A GOD CAN BE BROKEN! THE WORLD UNITES AGAINST YOU! WHATEVER YOU ARE..."

Lightning and fire would scream out from Roy, the elements taking on the appearance of dragons as they screamed through the air towards The End.

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

[Eos]

To the east…

Eos walked on the surface of the diamond sea. There was a bright luminescence beneath her feet with every step as though the glass responded to the presence of the angelic figure. It came alive, resonating with the thousand fires of a soul while she stood above it, and shattered as she moved passed it. The light did not diminish however, though the crystal anchoring it to the world shattered before being pulled towards the one who had given it life – it was threaded down as it approached her, broken into pieces before melting into its wings as an addition to the energy that already resided there.

The End looked to Jherra, seeing the clan of witches mustering another spell – they rose the sea – creating a crystalline barrier all around her, using the very glass left in her wake in an effort to halt her. She would honour them as they honoured her, and so she stopped. She onward, seeing herself reflected a million times across the mirror of the ocean. She listened, hearing the armies of man rolling out onto the sand of the black desert. She heard the tires grinding into the earth, the soldiers’ calculated march in her direction and preparing themselves for battle. The assault regiment of Kari readied itself for a siege. The aerial battalion of Isafaro positioned itself for a bombardment. Every cannon was pointed in her direction, and she looked at the faces of the heroes of each individual nations. She saw them, their names and history and looked into their souls. Lamia. Jaden. Walter. Roy. Her gaze was like a cold wind washing away on the shores of Jherrazad and it chilled those dared to look back to their bone. In face of the combined power of greatest nations of the continent, the expression given by the stone mask was nothing but calm. She opened her arms as if she sought to embrace the world and looked to the sky…

She stared directly back into the eyes of the Red Queen aboard the Novalith.

The tremor reverberated across the battlefield. The space around Eos detonated; glass shattered, and the Arashi vanished underneath a cloak of flames. Diamond dust was levelled from the frozen sea, veiling the result of what had happened from everyone. As time went on, the mist began to dissipate, revealing strands of moon-lit wings floating above the ground like a silver fog. Finally the silhouette of the woman could be seen at the centre of the crater, surrounded by a sea of light, in the very same position she had been – praying to the heavens – eyes closed in blissful content.

‘‘Forgive them.’’ Was all she said in a serene whisper before a white-hot pillar shot into the atmosphere with the violence of an erupting volcano. Jherrazad shook, and Eos opened her eyes. The Novalith became the brightest star in the sky for a moment before the stabilizers holding it in orbit gave way under the full force of the final Arashi and it fell through the atmosphere, burning into countless crimson comets against the dark pitch of the night.

Eos brought her gaze back down to the men and women before her. The same opalescent flames animated her eyes as those that had torn the Novalith asunder. Her body glistened under their glow – revealing every crack in her marble skin and every intricate symbols of her divine kingdom, the transparent silk cloth covering her flowing as water, so thin it seemed it would tear under the strain of touch. And it remained unscathed even after Isafaro had rained hell upon its mistress.

She continued to walk.

The first of the Thirteen didn’t wait; he charged at the beast across the surface of the ocean – his chainsaw roaring to life – ready to cleave her terrible face in two. ‘‘They know not what they do.’’ The Arashi did not even allow him a glance before the glowing tendrils wrapped themselves around his limbs and tore him apart without breaking a stride. The blood fell as silver tears before the carcass consumed itself. Its radiance quickly joined with the End who merely looked onward to those who would dare stop her.

Her attention diverted to Roy. The energy coursing through him was palpable; a god amongst men in his own right. Of all those present, she believed he would understand her ordained duty as an Arashi and yet even he stood against her – a deity – and attacked.

Sacriledge.

A spark travelled across the energy projected by Roy, like it had encountered an unseen barrier around Eos. The elements charged on with the power of the gods, yet Eos continued to walk. They diverted their flow around her, and towards her back, where they became part of her. A shift occurred in her face – she no longer seemed at peace.

‘‘Cursed be he who does the Lords work remissly, cursed he who holds back his sword from blood.’’ She was furious.

She stepped onto the beach, and the wings sprung to life: They spread into the air like the branches of a great tree, and into the earth like great worms. Everything they touched was set ablaze. The black sand turned to white crystal, and the frontline soldiers were glassed instantly – frozen in their last moments of terror. And she continued to walk. To the east, and towards Roy.

[Ayen]

Crimson eyes pierced through the dust of the desert sand to the east far behind Roy's position. The remnants of the fallen Empire stood proudly before the land that remained on this soil despite it being crystallized. Showing the true length of one's defiance. To her left was the armored General of Jherrazad's East Division, Alexander. And to her right, the 6'8 undead Black Knight Kaso. Before them was several dozen Jherrazad soldiers clad from head to toe in black armor with swords and tower shields at the ready. The Crimson Devil drew Kasul, the demon blade that contained the essence of deities, raised it up and then lowered it signaling for the soldiers to attack. Running past Roy and continuing onward with their blades raised towards Eos, each one willing to give their lives as they knew nothing would remain if The End reached her assigned designation. After their charge Ranko began to walk forward with Kaso and Alexander remaining at her side till the bitter end.

Also among the ground troops of Isafaro was the cybernetic warrior ZX-200 who accompanied the Angel of Death on his charge towards Eos. Spotting the being up ahead ZX opened its chest and released a series of missiles towards the target while it was focused on Roy.

‘‘Cursed be he who does the Lords work remissly, cursed he who holds back his sword from blood.’’

“You have to kill?”

Said the Paradox as she looked up to the ceiling of the water now buried beneath pure crystal where she floated on her throne underwater. All that remained of the once proud realm of Utopia and yet she didn't seem at all concerned by that or by the Arashi who walked on Genesis soil. She seemed at peace as the fishes and other sea creatures swam through the water. A crab dropping down on her lap and being stroked by the gentle touch of the Paradox as she closed her eyes and leaned back against her throne.

“I suppose you do... You have to appease the god who enjoys burning flesh. The god who condones rape, slavery and demands his subjects drench their hands in blood in his name. The god who's word contradicts itself and with a habitual liar for a son. If you truly believe the words that come out of your mouth...

You are completely pathetic.”

[Walter C. Dornez]

Walter continued on his charge even as the ground beneath their feet was glassed. He sent a wave of wires towards the crystal, slicing it through and impaling shards of the damage inflicted upon the earth by the bringer of destruction, an angel of death in her own right. Lifting it up and hurling it towards Eos like small projectiles with perfect precision. Never being slowed even in the face of overwhelming power. Walter saw the soldiers in their ranks be glassed and only grinned widely like a mad man in response.

"Even in death we serve."

Walter's wires impaled the crystallized soldiers that stood on the field like statues. Taking them off of the ground and tearing them apart, sending more sharpened crystal shards towards the stone body of the Third Aspect.

"Even if our light fades away. We will serve."