The Pantheon Moves

by Michael Chatfield

  The angels took on a demonic appearance, covered in the blood of their enemies. They sliced through their larger opponents, not even sparing them a glance as they continued to throw themselves into fight after fight.

  Those on the ground cheered and celebrated while fear grew within the invaders and those watching.

  The angels didn’t look anything like the righteous warriors they were supposed to be. They were nothing more than brutal and bloodthirsty soldiers who had been rallied to a cause. They cared nothing of their enemy, thinking of them as beneath their concern and lower life-forms not worth living. That showed in their fighting: they brutally cut down the different creatures, staining the ground with blood as they turned the sky into a slaughter.

  This was the belief, the unwavering knowledge that the Lady of Light was their true goddess. She was the rightful leader of Emerilia; the rest of the Pantheon were nothing but pretenders. Whoever didn’t believe in that and went against what they believed in didn’t deserve to live in the paradise that their lady had created.

  Thousands died in minutes. The brutal slaughter showed no signs of slowing down as the angel generals left only broken bodies behind them, leading their legions forth.

  Nothing escaped Khanundra as she cut down legendary beasts and people from myth. Light was untouched. With a casual raise of her hand, she slaughtered tens of people.

  There was nothing holy about the scene: it was pure, unadulterated slaughter. The air above Markolm had become a warzone.

  Some of the people, seeing that Light had the upper hand, tried to flee. They were cut down before they were able to get more than a few hundred meters.

  More and more of the invaders started to panic.

  Light waved her sword; a beam of light cut through the platform. With a groan, the platform lost its strength, coming apart as it tumbled toward the ground.

  Seeing the platform smash into the ground seemed to trigger something within the minds of the invaders.

  Many of the survivors turned and shot out in different directions.

  “You want to leave? Who said you could leave?” Light demanded. She opened up her arms. From the heavens, pillars of light crashed down from the heavens, hitting Earth’s island and hitting the water that boiled away under the impact of the pillars. The water creatures that had come to Earth’s side and moved the island into position didn’t have time to react as the pillars of light cut through them.

  The legions of angels surged outward, hurling spears of light. They had no mercy as they hunted down those trying to flee.

  Here and there, battles broke out as the ones trying to flee fought with all they had, to try to get away from Light and her forces.

  Those on the ground cheered the victory of Light and her angels.

  Frank felt cold as those trying to escape were cut down. He closed his interface, his face pale, as a shiver ran down his spine. His hands clenched into fists as white-hot anger filled him.

  It didn’t take the Jukal doing much to get us to kill one another, as if we held nothing in common. He shook his head. It was something that he had seen all too often in the Earth simulation. Humanity was one big family; out of the entirety of the universe, they were the closest to one another. All it took was a good performance, the right words, and they would be willing to turn on those they were more alike in the entire known universe.

  It was a situation that the Jukal had created and made but there was no hiding the fact that these were the very people they hoped to save. They were so filled with bloodlust and anger, looking to kill others and gain more power; all of it was nothing but a lie, an illusion that they had tricked themselves into believing.

  ***

  The Dark Lord frowned as he looked at the viewing pools that showed him Light as her people cut down his own forces that were looking to flee.

  He sent a quick message to people he had waiting in Opheir. Seems that her forces were stronger than I had thought. Well, we’ve weakened her some—it doesn’t matter. With my power and the Alturarans under my control, I will be able to kill her off and make them my loyal followers of Emerilia. What use are the people of Emerilia if I constantly have to try to make them follow me?

  “How did her angels get so powerful? We need to retreat.” Earth stood up from his seat.

  A flash of light blinded both Earth and Dark.

  Dark grunted, highly affected by light as the dark smoke around him was burned away a bit.

  It went from a slight covering to a raging torrent, like a flame raging in the night, as it pushed back the light coming near.

  Light made a displeased sound as she looked down on Dark and Earth. Seems that they want to kill me. I’ll teach these useless creations who is the true god of Emerilia soon enough. Light descended from above.

  Around her there were the angel generals and Khanundra. All of the angels shot daggers at the two lords of the Pantheon who their lady had been in conflict with for hundreds of years.

  Dark remained seated in his throne of stone and metal and looked at Light.

  “Dear brothers, neither of you will be getting away today. Today, it seems that the Pantheon will become two people smaller.” Light’s smile showed the pleasure she took from their conflicted looks.

  Earth’s fists were balled together, fury on his face at losing all of the forces he had built up over the last few months.

  However, no one could see the sardonic smile on Dark’s face.

  “Don’t force me, sister,” Earth said.

  Dark looked at Earth in interest. He was regarded as the simplest person in the Pantheon; when he said that he would do something, then he would.

  “Oh, I won’t force you to do anything. All you need to do is hand over control of your divine wells and I will let you go.” Light’s voice was sweet but her eyes held killing intent.

  Even if they were to give up their divine wells, no one knew Light better than Dark and Earth. They had been fighting for much too long for them to know how other battles had gone between them. Light’s offer might be honorable up front, but the fact was that although she promised things, she would always find a loophole to allow her to do what she wanted without breaking the promise.

  It was something that the Dark Lord praised Light for.

  Earth didn’t say anything but the sound of stone grinding on stone as he flexed his fists could be clearly heard.

  Light looked over to Dark with a bored look in her eyes. “What? Not going to say anything, brother?” Light’s eyes flashed with happiness. Dark could practically see her thought process as she looked over Dark, as if she were already cutting him apart piece by piece.

  “Words are useless.” Dark waved his hand.

  “That they are. I have been wondering what is really under that robe of yours. I wonder how you would react if you were bathed in the holy flames of purification.” Light sounded interested as Dark didn’t do anything.

  A flash of confusion was quickly hidden as she unconsciously moved, ready to advance or retreat.

  “Why are you acting this way, sister dearest?” Dark floated out of his chair until he stood.

  “There is no way to escape. I have made it impossible for you to teleport away. Anything that you say is just an excuse to prolong your life,” Light said.

  A message appeared in Dark’s vision but he didn’t need to even read it as a stream of power filled his body. The shadows around him started to shake and fluctuate, growing stronger for a moment before dying down.

  “Trying to show off?” Light sneered, looking down on him.

  “Nothing of the sort, sister dearest.” Dark disappeared from where he was; a blade made from shadows appeared in his hands as sounds of pain filled the air.

  Light and her angels’ heads whipped over to see Dark as he stood behind Earth. A blade went through Earth’s back and out of his chest.

  Light’s eyes went wide, confusion clear as Dark pulled his blade from Earth’s body.

  “It was about time I
was rid of your useless talking and planning,” Dark said.

  Earth’s mouth moved as if he were trying to form words. The plants, dirt, vines, and the stone trapped in it all fell away, Earth’s power dissipating.

  There was a twenty-year-old man who had similar features as the rest of the Pantheon. He was thin and wiry instead of the thick and larger being that had stood in front of them just moments ago. There was a look of pain and loss on his face before he collapsed, dying just like any person of Emerilia might.

  “Kill him!” Light yelled.

  Her angels reacted instantaneously, unleashing their own attacks. A Mana barrier as dark as the abyss absorbed the hits from the generals and Khanundra without the slightest fluctuation.

  “Die!” Dark cast out a ray of darkness that landed on three of the generals and hit Khanundra. They screamed out in pain as the ray of darkness corroded their armor and their bodies.

  Khanundra looked half dead but she survived. Dark was a black streak as he reached Khanundra. She didn’t have the strength to escape. Even at her high level, she was unable to combat a member of the Pantheon’s power. Especially one who had just received a massive power boost as Dark had.

  She was pierced by Dark’s sword; from her wound, her body started to decompose.

  Dark looked from Khanundra on his sword to Light, who was in a state of shock having the odds turned on her.

  Dark raised a fist. Another ray of darkness appeared.

  “No!” Khanundra said. The ray shot out as Khanundra ignited all of her power, turning into a miniature sun.

  Not even Dark was able to shrug it off. His Mana shield took a massive impact as he felt slightly burned from it all.

  Light cried out in pain.

  Dark looked at Light, who was holding her face, golden light fighting the corrupting flames on her face. Half of her face looked melted and horrific. Her hair burned away. She had always taken great pride in her beauty. Now that it was being burned away in front of his eyes, Dark felt a deep sense of satisfaction. “Next time, I will take your life and mount your head on my walls to forever show off your disfigured face to all Emerilians!”

  Light unleashed attacks at him, firing blindly.

  Dark laughed. A few of the attacks hit the Mana barrier around him but fizzled into nothing. The portion of his mouth that was revealed was formed into an amused arc. Smoke crawled all up his body, making it impossible to see him within.

  It dissipated as one of Light’s bolts hit it, showing Dark had teleported away already.

  Dark appeared in his hall, pleased with himself. He waved to one of the undead in his hall. “Notify Boran-al. I want the Alturarans ready to move in two days,” Dark said lazily.

  He wanted to kill Light, but he knew how smart and conniving she was. Even if he killed her, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t be severely wounded or killed because of the direct confrontation.

  Chapter 16: Great Change

  Air and Fire were both looking at the interface that showed Dark killing Earth then ignoring Light’s attacks as if they were nothing more than a child’s temper tantrum. They looked to each other with troubled eyes.

  “He must have got some power from somewhere unknown,” Fire said.

  “I’ve had reports of him doing something that involved portals. Actually, a few people even said that they saw his most trusted champions moving items through the Alturaran portal in Opheir,” Air said.

  “Something from Alturara? What did they find?” Fire asked.

  “I’m not sure.” Air had a troubled look on her face. She didn’t like having unanswered questions.

  “I think they might be divine wells,” a powerful voice said from behind them.

  The people in the room glanced at the large character who had entered the command center. His face and features were covered by a hood and cloak but the outline of a wolf-like head and the tufts of fur that stuck out allowed Fire and Air to figure out that he was some kind of Beast Kin, probably a wolfkin.

  “Who are you?” Fire asked. Divine wells were not something that people in the general population knew about.

  “What—you don’t recognize your own dad?” The man lowered his hood; indeed, he was from the wolfkin race.

  Fire was about to say something back when she noticed his eyes. “Bob?”

  “Hah! I knew that the gnome wasn’t your only form!” Air said. “You owe me a gold coin!” Air pointed at Venfik.

  Bob shook his head at Air’s antics, a father who had given up on trying to shape her into a responsible adult. The corner of his lips slightly rose into a smile as his eyes softened.

  Dave opened up a private chat and invited them into it so that they wouldn’t have to worry about others overhearing what they had to say.

  Seeing how Dark, Light, and Earth were simply moving their forces about, Dave and Bob had spent the time working on increasing the strength of the Terra Alliance and working on the different projects of the Pandora’s Box Initiative.

  “So, why do you think that they’re divine wells?” Fire asked, a little shocked by Bob’s new appearance but quickly moving past it. After all, she and her children all changed their appearance in different ways. A bit of shape shifting was an hourly thing.

  “The power increase was at the same time that the wells came through. Also, with the new ono network, we’re able to get really good readings on everything that is happening across Emerilia. It’s not perfect but when something is out in the open, like the divine wells, it’s not too hard to get a few good readings.” Bob shrugged. “Dave knows more about it.”

  “We used the information we had to watch the carts. They moved from the portal to a remote location, where a teleportation scroll made from Dark Mana was used and the carts disappeared. All of the drivers were Dark Champions. The signatures from the divine wells weren’t that clear. However, we looked at how the Mana energy levels of the area reacted. The light was adversely affected in the area around the carts—the others limited while there was a slight rise in Dark Mana density,” Dave said.

  “So, he’s got new divine wells. Where the hell did he get them, or the power, from?” Fire asked.

  “Well, it’s probably one of Boran-al’s projects. He’s on Alturara right now. Looks like I finally know what he’s been up to. We were even thinking that he was dead, he’s been gone for so long. As for power—well, they could have made all kinds of different systems to charge up their divine wells. However, Dark isn’t the type to just quietly increase his power with charging and this is much more power than he can create with any of the tech on Emerilia.” Air let out a heavy breath, her brows pinched together in thought. She quickly glanced at Venfik before she looked to the others, a grave expression on her face. “I think that the Dark Lord has the support of the Alturarans.”

  Fire’s scalp tingled as silence descended.

  “It would make sense. They are inanimate creatures. They want to destroy all organics. With the Dark Lord, they are working with a master of their element and also someone who wants to destroy all life or rule it. It wouldn’t take him much to convince them to be on his side,” Venfik said.

  “We need to move forces to all Alturaran portals to make sure that they don’t break through. Even if we have to fight the angels and Light all by ourselves, we can’t have Alturarans marching all across Emerilia. Wherever they go, they’ll destroy life without care,” Dave said.

  “Agreed,” Bob said.

  “Even with this, I’m a bit more scared of Light,” Air said.

  Dave had a questioning look while the others showed signs of agreement.

  “Light is highly narcissistic. There were mage’s guilds on Markolm and she would do everything in her power to make their lives hell. The college and guild gained the support of the people, making it harder for Light to act, but we only sent some of our stronger people there for their own safety. This was when she didn’t even control the continent. She loves to be this giving person and adored by the masses
while in reality it’s all a fantasy that she has created in order to make it easier to control the people of Emerilia that she’s lying to,” Fire said.

  “And part of this fantasy she has created is about her holy image. How she is one of the most beautiful women in existence. She’s killed more than one lady who has been even faintly compared to her level of beauty from the shadows. Nothing was connected but there is a reason that people don’t compare ladies to the Lady of Light unless they want to have them killed. Doing so in some places is signing your own death warrant.

  “Dark’s Mana is a complete opposite from Light’s; it will make it hard to remove and he used a spell that not only harms but corrodes. Light will be fighting off the corroding and the effect of the spell. As Dark actually has more power than her, it will probably take her a lot of power and time in order to stop the spell from corroding her face and then even more time to heal it and cleanse her body of Dark Mana impurities,” Air said.

  Fire nodded while Dave’s face became a little paler, hearing about the personality behind Light’s actions.

  “Seems that things are going to be getting a little harder to deal with,” Bob said.

  “We need to have everything prepared. If we start to get a whole group of Alturarans coming through a portal, we’re going to need to close it off somehow. If we can’t hold the tide, then we’re going to have to use some tools from the Initiative,” Dave said.

  Fire looked at the others. They didn’t want to be forced into that position; however, these things had been made to be used. If their fears were realized, then they would be forced to advance their plans.

  “We are agreed,” Bob said, reading the room.

  “Then the Initiative is going to need every person we can wake or recruit to help us,” Dave said.

  The word had been passed out, but with this they were not only alerting people to what was going on around Emerilia—they were actively looking to pull people into the different projects and bases to teach, train, and ready them for what was to come. It would take units from the battlefield but it would make them units ready to fight on multiple planets, on starships and moonbases.