NOVEL NEXT 768. Assiah – The Beginning of Action
The four crimson wings appeared like auroras in the skies. A scarlet glow clashed with the supermoon’s pale-blue light. They were like scars etched onto the face of the all-encompassing moon.
The ‘X’ shaped red star could be seen from as far away as the Nex Megalopolis.
An apocalyptic scenery engulfed Grandis as a foul light illuminated the world like it was still daytime. The shimmering stars and the dark backdrop of space were the only reason why it still felt like nighttime.
The western border of Grandis, which was shared with the Grand Wetlands, saw Lizardmen, Anids, and all manners of Insectids that called the Wetlands home flee at the sight of the evil star. A deadly premonition overcame them as herds moved inland at the hundreds of thousands. First it was a black blanket of birds. Next came the swarm of insects that devoured the plant life along the way.
Then, a stampede of marsh-dwelling creatures followed.
An event larger than they could comprehend had begun, and their instincts ordered them to run as far away as they could. As for the civilians of the Bellum Empire – Gerina’s men were responsible for leading them to safety.
The Palace roared with the sound of an Augurist’ trumpet. 6 consecutive trumpets rang out signaling the advent of an Apocalypse. Following it was the voice of the Princess herself who issued a verbal warning. Her voice was amplified by all Major and Minor Towers alongside a set of instructions and directions.
Her loyal forces were bound to begin the evacuation process for these people. They had time before the Sins would arrive from Mount Saris, but nowhere near as much for the ones that sprouted deep beneath the Bellum Empire.
The further away one was from the Capital, the more of the coagulated Angels there were. Additionally, crimson clouds filled the skies like a wuthering storm, showering blood across the Empire. They transformed into great monoliths carrying the inscriptions and teachings of Uriel.
But if one could read the words then they would find that it was a scornful message of how she despised the impurity of their blood. Although, if someone could read even a fraction of the crimson text, then they would have been granted partial impunity.
The Impuritas welcomed the sight with warm arms. Residue Impuritas from the Complex Hearts hidden nearby the Major Towers walked with confidence into the bloody rains. The Crimson Hunger rejoiced, the Sect of Gears used the blood as lubricant, the Memento Mori bathed in it, and Blood Festival drank it in a golden chalice.
However, this was where things took a turn for the worst.
* * *
The Impuritas relied on the Towers to amplify the effects of the Major Luminescences scattered across the west. To do this, the Maestros of Flesh also needed to conduct a symphony.
That way, the Sins would not be able to kill them. It was one of the keystone plans that needed to succeed if they wished to see the fruition of their plan. But they were not yet aware of two crucial things which led to the immediate massacre of the Impuritas who surrounded the Towers.
The first was that the Towers were not under their control any longer.
And secondly, the main Tower was commanded by Gerina rather than the other princesses.
The pre-war sabotage resulted in cutting off a massive portion of the Impuritas forces. Not only that, but they served as a distraction for the Sins who targeted them first by proximity before they could move on to civilians.
With each Vexed Consanguinity classed as a Monsoon-Leveled risk, there was nothing that ordinary Impuritas could do. The droplets of blood seared their skin and left pores that dug down to their bones.
The shallow pools of blood swallowed their ankles like an acid. Where a Vexed Consanguinity emerged, crystalized rods made from blood would hail upon swaths of Impuritas, nailing them across the earth with unending hatred.
The Crimson Hunger – who were eternally bound to contemporary wrath – could not compare to beings born from primordial Wrath.
Tens of thousands of screams tore through the air only to be silenced by the crack of red lightning. It all occurred around the four northern Major Arcane Towers where the Exalted were situated.
Abadona watched over the carnage with a gaze of indifference. He was mostly made out of rock and therefore could not produce an expression, so his gaze was only figurative. Still, he could not help but to feel like it was some form of divine retribution.
That thought came to an end as he stood at the peak of the Tower. He spotted something emerge from the distant forest that was being swallowed by roaming Sins.
“So they’ve sent Monarchs and a swarm to reclaim the tower.”
He spoke through the CognitO Transmitter. The voices of his fellow Exalted repeated similar phrases.
“Clockwork Spindleworms and a Clockwork Prophet want to contest Lunaria’s Tower. Lunaria will not lose on Perigean Night.”
Lunaria proclaimed in her usual 3rd person manner.
“A familiar face has revealed themselves to me. I will bring this one back to Beholder Umbra alive.”
Devoid said.
And finally –
“It grins as they weep. It laughs when they grieve. It entertains when a life is lost. Grinz. Beholder Carpalis may want a living specimen of a traitor. She’s not vengeful… but I know there are people close to her who will enact judgement for her sake.”
– Teardrop uttered as the Exalted prepared to defend their Towers from the Impuritas.
As Devoid observed the massacre of the Impuritas, he could not help but wonder if there was something else that had gone terribly awry on the enemy’s side.
“The Lesser Luminescence did not activate yet. A symphony should be playing now. But why are they still silent? They could not have forgotten. If they’re diligent enough to evade us for so long, then how have they come so unprepared?”
A thousand scenarios ran through his mind. Eventually, it ultimately came down to one thing.
“There is a human variable, I imagine.”
* * *
Running in parallel was the war in the Capital City of Frontier.
The signs of the end of the world were no more than the backdrop of the exchange of blades, arrows and bullets. Librarians mimicking the paged versions of the Bellum Empire’s knights swarmed the massive complex surrounding the Palace.
They assailed from the south, in the direction of the sea. Egg-like structures paraded the lanes and streets of the Palace’s complex like siege machines. They burst open like the egg sacks of a spider, releasing a brood of newly formed Pages of armored knights.
45,000 marched forwards, with another 12,000 mimicking Adventurers of ranks ranging from as low as Gold (Level 60 – 80 average) to Diamond and above (Level 100 – 120+). It was a dream army composition for any Kingdom worth their mark in Elysia. Possessing even a thousand Gold-Ranked Adventurers fighting on one’s side was a testament of a Kingdom’s influence, as Adventurers would rarely fight for them unless it was an order given directly by the Guild. Adventurers, to begin with, were not people who were normally bound to a nation without benefits.
Not only that, but the Librarians possessed very few Radiant-Ranked Adventurers who were the crème of the crop and just beneath the strength of the Colors.
* * *
For reference, a single Radiant Ranked Adventurer (Level 120 – 139) could stand toe to toe with a Wayfarer and extremely high-ranking Atelier personnel. They were of course governed and monitored strongly by the Guilds, who often housed, founded or had connections to the 13 Associations of Elysia.
The Clara Association was mostly responsible for governing them, with the Cognomentum Association being the body that gave them unique names and identifiers. They were also the ones who gave the Colors their name or appointed a Radiant Ranked Adventurer of great merit as a Color – which was a process unneeded for Frost for obvious reasons.
