Explosions rocked Atreum's forces. Elivra watched from afar, one hand on the hilt of Father's sword He had given to her - The Sword that Does Not Cut - and watched as hell was unleashed. They had thought they could sneak forces into the Four Realms. Send an assassin to slay Father. Why would the inverse not also be true? Only, she and her siblings were not so kind as to send only one infiltrator. They had crossed lines. Far, far too many lines. But this was not revenge. She would not let herself feel something as petty as revenge. It was protection. Defense.

  Morgan sat beside her, the Shadow watching with satisfaction as their forces initiated their attack. Aeriel's winds carried elemental bombs across vast distances in an instant, where they detonated in a vast array of scintillating colors, Morgan's shadow slipping explosives of negative energy past the defenses they had erected - and suns bloomed amongst the opposing forces.

  This was not a metaphor for explosions. True suns roared to life, searing away entire sections of the armies, only to then detonate in a super-nova. Elvira laid a hand over her stomach, feeling the life slowly growing within her, her child, and bit her lip as she watched the destruction. She hated having to do this. But do it she would.

  "For a god of war, he is awfully focused on the offensive actions of war," she noted quietly, having expected more capable defenses from such a martially-inclined god. Alexander's roar echoed through the One World's interior, a beam of golden flames burning through entire sections of the army.

  "He's been infected," Xing Wu said from behind. Elvira turned to see him, leaning heavily upon a cane, his chest still wrapped in bandages. The god of war's spear rest against his back, a trophy he seemed loathe to discard, especially after it was ensured to be clean of spores. "It's making him see in only three dimensions, instead of viewing the whole board. I felt it while we were fighting. He's still dangerous, but careless in some ways."

  "And are you alright?" Elvira asked pointedly. "You should be resting with Fu Hao. That was not a light wound."

  "I can move," Xing Wu said, expression grim as he watched Fang Xu and Celene sweep across the enemy forces, solar flares disguised as arrows slaughtering billions. The enemy gods scrambled in response, Atreum's roar of rage audible even over the roars of combat. Elvira shifted, raising a single hand, tense and ready for the call - either she and her Heavenly Host would ride out to protect the retreating assault forces, or join in on the attack. "They tried to infect me with the Rot, but Kei helped me burn it out. Insidious crap. Would have found it on my own, but this means I'll be able to get back in the fight sooner than later."

  Elvira tensed as Atreum and Alexander clashed, Dragon and God meeting with a ripple of power. Fang Xu and Celene did battle with a number of lesser gods, the husband and wife duo easily keeping pace with twelve of the opposing gods - but there were far more than twelve gods amongst their forces, even as Fang Xu slew one, and Celene another. Argent, the God of Metal, clashed with three gods himself, his nigh-indestructible body taking hits as he was nearly completely overwhelmed.

  "Morgan," she warned. Unlike the One World, they did not have lives to spare. The death of one god was far more impactful than the death of one of the One World's. Morgan bared its teeth.

  "Not yet," it hissed. "They are not there yet. The timing must be perfect."

  "When I ask, only give me information on how close they are," Elvira snapped. "I know what we need to do." That didn't make watching any less difficult, however. The sneak attack crew had known it was a dangerous, but important, mission; and the results spoke for themselves. The One World's army was in complete disarray, nearly crippled, especially with Atreum, the supreme commander, tied up in combat with Alexander. Divine blood flowed in rivers, and Elvira's jaw clenched as Argent took a blow - a harpoon piercing his metallic flesh, emerging from his back. The enemy divinities pounced upon him -

  Only for Kei to be there. The fox girl laughed, catching the three enemy gods' blows on her staff and flinging them away. She slung Argent over her shoulder and, with an insane cackle layered with illusion, to befuddle and confuse the enemies, she threw him straight back into the Four Realms. Blue foxfire danced along her limbs as she flew back into the fray, not killing, but taking extreme pleasure in burning and destroying siege machines and ships.

  Others were not quite so lucky. The Four Realms hardest hitters could not be everywhere, and save everyone. She was forced to watch as a god of the tides went down beneath a surge of enemy forces, detonating his divinity to take as many as he could with him. Her hand tightened around the hilt of the sword, feeling it vibrate. Not yet.

  Xing Wu stepped up beside her, leaning on his cane. Morgan bristled.

  Not yet.

  Alexander clashed again with Atreum, snapping his bloody sword with a single clash of his teeth, bashing him with his horns. Fang Xu protected Celene from an artillery shell fired at close range - Celene froze the entire device, including the beings who fired, in a mountain-sized block of ice while Fang Xu smoked and staggered, fire lashing out from him in waves.

  Angels died beneath hordes. Hordes were slaughtered before they could form. Blood flowed, and souls fell.

  All while their next play, the thing that could either make or break this assault and end the siege, slowly got into position. Distracted as they were, the One World did not notice. How could they, in the midst of all this chaos? But it was going too well. Elvira's eyes narrowed. The One World and the Rot still had cards left to play.

  She felt the danger before Morgan. She was certain she was the only one to have felt it, in fact. Adrenaline spiked through her system as she moved, a roar of "CHARGE!" tearing from her throat, white light pouring from her in searing rays as she crossed the distance between the Four Realms and the enemy army in a split second.

  She spotted the figure ascending from below halfway there, all tanned skin and muscle, red fungus growing on her skin. Her black hair was covered in mushrooms, fist cocked back in a strike as she aimed for Alexander, flying far faster than Elvira. Her brother snapped at Atreum, driving him off, but turned too late -

  Elvira was there, already swinging. She and Alala's fists met with a thunderous boom, her very bones shaking, skin splitting as a shockwave of pure force echoed out from the clash, tossing the One World's armies aside. Elvira was already moving, the Sword clearing its sheathe as she advanced upon Alala, the physical goddess ducking and dodging the sweeping strikes. For once, she and the Sword were in perfect harmony; cut Alala.

  "Elvira!" Alexander roared.

  "Stick to the plan!" She shouted back, channeling all the power of the Heaven Realm into her body. Lashes of powerful white energy struck against Alala, sliding off her skin like water yet still searing the flesh and rot. The woman endured it with dead eyes, focused entirely upon slaying that which lay before her.

  "Give back what is ours," Alala demanded, voice dead and devoid of life. Elvira did not engage in discourse, thrusting with the Sword, its blade vibrating with barely concealed excitement. Alala dodged and closed the distance with speed far outstripping Elvira's own, slamming a bare fist into her face.

  Elvira was sent tumbling, vision spinning, but righted herself in time to parry her follow-up with the sword. Her wings flared, raw fury surging through her, hot and cruel.

  Something like satisfaction rose on Alala's face as she pressed further, her fists covered in red slime - Elvira winced, feeling tendrils of something trying to reach into her head, as she ducked a wild haymaker, and slid past the follow-up knee-strike, whatever it was enflaming her emotions. She dodged beneath two more blows, blocked another with the sword, then rammed her own fist into Alala's gut, sending her stumbling back, the breath leaving her lungs with a whoof.

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  "You will give it back," Alala hissed, righting herself and surging forth once more. "And we will get what is ours,"

  "No," Elvira denied, unable to make space to address what Alala was trying to do to her. She didn't need space, however, to know what she was doing. Even as she ducked and dived and dodged, Alala flinging more of the rot upon her, she knew. Infection. And Alala's pressure upon her prevented her from taking action against it. She was going to overwhelm her with sheer quantity, rather than the subtlety she knew the Rot preferred.

  She could feel it worming its way into her thoughts, trying to touch her pride, her ideals - and ideals could be corrupted. Despite this, all she felt was calm.

  "You've made a mistake," Elvira spat, just before Alala punched her in the face again, sending her hurtling backward with a sonic boom. She righted herself, blood pouring from her nose, and twisted away from a strike meant for her abdomen, fear lancing through her. Then, anger returned once more. This time righteous, motherly, protective. This time, incorruptible. "I am Elvira, daughter of Statera Luotian," the Sword came down, rebounding off of Alala's arm - the goddess leapt backward, eyes widening as she stared where the Sword had struck.

  Her fate was yet too thick to cut in one swing. That was fine. She would hack away as long as it took. Will, Insurmountable.

  For the first time since the fight began, Elvira could breathe, Alala's expression cautious, a far cry different from the deadness of before. She made no move to wipe the rot from her, despite this. "I am the Goddess of Heaven and Divinity. Ideals can be corrupted, twisted, and turned against. But not me. Not mine. I am the Ideal. The Peak. I am the Incorruptible," her anger reached a peak, white light pouring of of her in visible waves. The Rot upon her screamed as she subjected it to her holy light, . "I am the daughter of the Heavens! And you, who fell to sedition and Shadow, do not know their height!"

  With her cry, the Heavenly Host surged past her, crashing into the scattered armies of the One World. With her cry, everything fell into place. The air cracked as their final play came to full fruition.

  And silver light shone on all creation.

  ***

  There was a way to resist the rot. Gilles had discovered that early on in his investigations. What made it dangerous was its subtlety; when you were first infected, you rarely ever realized it. Then, by the time you discovered it, it was already too late and had control of much of your thoughts and actions. That was likely why Yueya never revealed her infection to the rest of them, and the Matriarch - she hadn't known, and by the time she had, it controlled too much of her to tell the others. However, if you knew what you were looking for, it was much easier spot, to resist, and to remove. Unless the dosage was too high...but that was beside the point.

  The point was that, while he was getting their forces into position through the tunnels Morgan and its children had dug, the Dimensional Creators, while the army was distracted by the ambush, he had no fear when Elvira was splashed with rot slime. His stomach clenched uncomfortably every time she was struck, more than a little furious and afraid that she had chosen to not remain safe despite her pregnant state, but he had no fear of the Rot when it came to her. His wife was not weak enough to be affected like that.

  On the other hand, there seemed to be two absolute counters to the rot, one of which was from the Four Realms, and the other from the One World. Kei, whose freedom kept her from making attachments that the obsessive Rot could latch onto, and Astraea, whose freedom meant being free to make one's own choices - something the Rot denied by its very existence.

  Both those things could be weaponized by gods.

  And Keilan and Solana would help.

  "Ready?" he asked rhetorically. Astraea nodded, her hands folded together, a thousand formation pieces swirling about her, and guarded by not only hundreds of their strongest soldiers, but he, Solana, and Keilan himself. She was the centerpiece, but everyone else was there to strengthen and boost her powers. The star goddess nodded stiffly, clearly conflicted to raise her hands in violence against her own people, but braced herself regardless. Gilles said the word and holes in the hidden tunnel opened.

  Silver light spilled forth in a gentle wave across the entire interior of the One World, amplified by the formation, Gilles shadows carrying them through the darkness of the afterlife, Solana, in her fiery phoenix form, screeching and sending her flames out along with it. Keilan's strings guided it all. Gold and silver danced together as they raced out across the open spaces, washing over the Four Realms, piercing through the afterlife of the One World, and filling the entire space.

  People within the army screamed, a trillion-billion voices raised in agony. Atreum howled, the red-haired god catching fire as the rot within and on him writhed and burned - hundreds of other divinities equally effected, entire regiments of their own armies bursting into flame that did not burn flesh. Only disease. Solana screeched louder, her fire regrowing and rebirthing the pieces that were lost under Astraea's burning light, or annihilating that which remained. Keilan's strings spreading out, guiding the flames to their intended targets, seeking the connections that bound the Rot to other pieces of itself and severing those it found.

  Even Alala was not unaffected, though her reaction was far, far worse than Gilles could have anticipated. The once proud, strong woman screamed, her entire body lighting on fire, and struck out against Elvira so savagely Gilles felt the blow in his own bones.

  "No!" he cried, taking one step - but was stopped by Keilan, the God of Connections holding him back with a single karmic string.

  "Do not, or else the formation crumbles! Alexander will aid her!" he commanded, directing his gaze elsewhere; Alexander broke free from the god of war, the Spirit Dragon descending like a missile of white scale and righteous fury. Atreum hesitated, the god of war seeming to debate chasing - but one look at his armies had him fleeing elsewhere, to salvage his men.

  It would be too late. Many would get away, but the Celestial Empress, aided by gods and the Heavenly Host, was routing the fleeing, panicked army. Soon, the siege would be well and truly broken.

  Alala surged, striking Elvira's shoulder, breaking the bone. A whimper stuck in Gilles' throat.

  Alexander descended, and roared.

  Golden flames did not so much surge as blast, unlike anything Gilles had ever seen from the dragon. Reality bent and burned, the golden flames a rejection of everything Alala represented, a firm denial of everything she was, and was trying to accomplish. Alala screamed as a true Dragon's Breath burned her.

  Elvira struck the moment the flames ended, the Sword That Does Not Cut rebounding off of Alala's hard skin even as she writhed - Gilles focused his energies into the formation, empowering it further, the light of Astraea burning even brighter, knowing that was the only way he could help his wife as it stood.

  The pain of silver light only seemed to focus Alala, and she struck once, twice more, fists flying, batting Alexander away and knocking Elvira down, despite Elvira scoring a line across her face with the Sword -

  "I'm going to KILL YOU!" she screamed with unrestrained fury, pouncing upon Elvira, power, the full power of an origin deity, pooling in her fist. Even Keilan stiffened, sensing the danger, the intent, Gilles shouting out in panic, his feet wanting to move but knowing he wouldn't make it in time, locked into the formation as he was -

  She was going to obliterate Elvira in body and soul.

  But that was a sin the Heavens would not allow.

  I opened one lazy eye.

  Reality submitted to my will.

  Armies froze.

  Explosions ceased.

  People fell to their knees.

  And I spoke a single word.

  A

  L

  A

  L

  A

  Alala froze in place as all of Heaven looked upon her, all of reality trembling beneath my nascent fury. I was fully integrated. The Will of the Four Realms and the Will of the One World stood in complete agreement, for this was one of the lines I drew.

  The muscular, tanned woman looked up, eyes wide and wild, and, for one brief moment, lucidity returned. The Rot retreated in the face of annihilation.

  And Elvira moved. With one swing of the Sword it passed through Alala, her momentary distraction allowing the magics bound within the blade to work. Her connection to the Rot, and her own Fate, was severed. Alala Screamed - and Morgan and Alexander were both there, tackling her off of Elvira.

  I moved my hand, gently touching a ray of silver light, directing it to Alala's forehead as Morgan pinned her, eight spider limbs piercing into her flesh as she writhed, breaking bones and teeth from Morgan's maw. Alexander crashed waves of spirits into her, seeking to bind her. Atreum rallied the armies of the One World into a fighting retreat as the Four Realms' peoples surged forth, crashing into their retreating lines over and over again, slaughtering by the millions.

  My heart ached for the loss of life, taking no pleasure in what had to be done, but far greater was my rage, even as my eye began to close. Soon I would fully awaken, the curse that bound my body fading, the bit of Yueya's power Morgan had fed me burned clean of taint, and weakening the curse. How could it fight itself?

  Alala punched Morgan off, nearly knocking its jaw off, leaping to her feet - and Kei was behind her. Blue fox fire danced on her hands as she placed both hands on either side of the woman's head, burning her from within. Alala screamed again, but this time it was not one of pain, nor was it solely her own.

  Alexander descended. Keilan wrapped karmic strings around her. Elvira swung again, severing another bit of her Fate, the weight of it sticking to the sword nearly bringing her to her knees. Alala tore through it all in desperate haste, panting as she shot into the sky, one arm hanging limply as she retreated, not even stopping to help her armies.

  I settled, the danger to Elvira's soul gone for now, and the siege broken.

  And now the Rot knew something too. I was not asleep. I was here. It could not do as it wished.

  And I was coming for it.