ULTRAMagic Eon 2 - Chapter 22
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“Pardon the tardiness, Gratiana,” Leonard said as he touched down beside them, his mere presence electrifying the air. The Discordant God surveyed the battlefield for a second, seeing the utter mess things were between the unending torrent of shadow constructs and various soldiers, injured or not, going in and out of the city walls. “I had to run a few errands, get Benedictus and Yorath off their arses, and go fetch Gideon here…”
“Gideon, where have you been all these years?!” Gratiana said as he grasped his hand. She would have hugged him, but her form would have electrically shocked him and there was a war going on.
Lia seemed a bit confused as she tilted her head. “I figured you would have been a little more upset given what you’ve…”
“SHUSH,” she hissed, letting off a hum of electricity.
Gideon quietly chuckled. “My deepest apologies, dear sister, but I discovered an important duty in helping The Hydra of Old safeguard The Night Realm…”
“Pardon me, Sir Gideon,” The Hunger cut in. “How is the prison of… well, you know who…”
Gideon sighed, and it was in a way that did not bode well. “About that…”
“EXCUSE ME, ONE SIDE!” Barry’s voice could be heard as a surge of electricity rushed towards the group, surprising most of them as he haphazardly avoided soldiers and shadow constructs. “Gideon! Is everything alright back home?!”
“Indeed, Barry… I was just about to mention the elephant in the room, however.”
“Don’t tell me he’s escaped…” The Hunger said in a grave tone of voice.
“The Sepulcher God’s prison is holding, but it’s effectively useless at this point given how far he’s spread his influence.” Gideon felt a great deal of guilt when he saw the looks on the other’s faces. His helmet hid his expression and he had been told it was never his fault, but he still felt awful on account of the duties he had shirked in the past. “I wish I could have brought better news in a time like this…”
Leonard then patted him on the back, causing Gideon to stumble a little. “Stop beating yourself up, Kid. Sure, you’ve been a loose cannon since day one, but The Sepulcher God is that big of a nuisance. You know that as much as The Madman, The Hydra, and I.”
“Look, Gideon, I’m just glad you’re here-to know you’re alive and well,” Gratiana reassured him. “We’ll figure this out, don’t worry.”
Gideon smiled, as it was something else to hear a family member support him, something that he had not had for ages. “Thank you, sister. It’s good to know that the Arlotti family honor still courses through your veins…” There was a pause, followed by him remembering an unfortunate rumor he had become aware of. “...despite a certain, unfortunate stint as a lady of the night I’ve heard about…”
To be fair, Gratiana knew there was a chance he would bring that up, and she would have been immensely red in the face had she been in her normal form. The others were also surprised that it was brought up, but they also knew that Gratiana was probably just glad it was her brother and not their parents bringing it up. “Oh well, that’s ancient history at this point, dearest brother!” she tried to handwave. Thankfully a group of bastard beasts were stampeding towards them, so she prepared a spear of lightning that she threw as hard as she could. “That god-awful Gudrun went above and beyond with that infernal beast blood project,” she elaborated as the beasts were consumed in an explosive maelstrom of lightning.
“Of course that wretched lizard wouldn’t know when to leave well enough alone…” Gideon cursed with venom in his voice from an era long since past. “Hopefully with her defeat we can locate Teunis and Andelin…”
“Andelin’s over at the wall, my boy,” Leonard dryly noted.
Gideon tripped over his words, but was happy regardless. “Well then, one down, one to go…”
Gratiana groaned, knowing Gideon was unaware of what she knew. “Operation Phantasm is proving more complicated than it seems, brother…”
Maximus had been fending off any shadow constructs that dare approached while the group talked, but he noticed the false Tyrant God starting to act up again. “Uh guys?! I hate to interrupt the reunion, but…”
“Don’t worry, lad, I got it…” Leonard turned his hand into a cannon and shot a thunderous projectile that rocketed towards their foe and knocked it on its bottom.
Morrigan was utterly amazed by that display of power, having never seen anything like it before. “How did you do that?!”
“I'm a tenth dimensional, little lady. And I’d argue I’m the strongest Discordant God to date,” Leonard said with a slightly smug pride in his voice as he crossed his arms.
“Then perhaps we should stop talking and put that strength to good use,” Tressacht suggested. “Hunger, Schwarzes, Gideon, Waltheof? Stay with me at the wall. Waramunt, Lia, Gratiana, take to the skies. Morrigan, Ludwig, Maximus, Barry, head with Leonard to the front lines. Make your way to Ozymandias and Tereza and provide any help that you can…”
The army of The Iron City was starting to buckle under the relentless, unending assault of Karnage’s army, with casualties starting to grow in number despite the reinforcements. Their spirits and bodies were taking a hit, but their vigor returned to them when Leonard and Ozymandias began to unleash their full power. Leonard was excited to fight alongside Ozymandias, given that god’s past with The Eternal Order. He was eager to see what The Royal God could do and thus far he was not disappointed as destructive solar storms of golden light smited the shadow constructs from existence. This exercise of godly power allowed the soldiers and knights to rest, with Tereza bringing great rains that reinvigorated them and they sang praise to the ar’ton of water, cheering their mighty war cries with newfound strength.
Karnage quickly noticed that the tide of battle was starting to turn against him. Despite his arrogance, he knew Leonard, Ozymandias, and Tereza could easily cause him trouble, not to mention the other gods that were starting to finally show up. He was tempted to unleash the shadow titans then and there, but he wanted to wait for the right moment. Instead, he called on one of his allies, Audoin Dethbrand, and ordered him to send some of the vast, Audoan Imperial army his way. Audoin had recently imbued them with great, forbidden magic that would wreak untold havoc on any battlefield. And naturally Karnage promised Audoin a great reward if he obeyed his orders. The Audoan soldiers swarmed the battlefield in the millions, taking the Iron City army and their allies by surprise with strange spells that could have only come from a narcissistic madman such as Audoin Dethbrand.
Karnage looked incredibly smug as the Audoan forces went berserk on his enemies, but Volf was not impressed. “Not a wise idea, Karnage, especially if they give away what’s going on in Universe-231218…”
“Silence, whelp, daddy is working at the moment…” he shot back in a condescending tone.
“Insufferable…” he started to say as Karnage was hit by a high-powered beam of golden lava that sent him and the false Tyrant God tumbling to the ground, causing Volf to burst out laughing.
“YOU BLITHERING IDIOT!!!” Gurdun screamed as she landed on the ground with a thud while the false Tyrant God picked itself up. “UNDOING MY CURSES?! DO YOU NOT SEE THE REINFORCEMENTS POURING IN LEFT AND RIGHT!”
“You dare underestimate my power, wyrm?!” Karnage scolded as he hopped onto the hand of his foul ally, who then brought him back up to his shoulder. “They can bring in all the help they want, I will wipe them all out from the face of my Cosmos no matter what!”
Gudrun growled so loud that it could have turned into a roar. Karnage did not realize it, but he was screwing everything up and the plan was on the cusp of failing. “Volf, come with me! We have a mess to clean up…”
Volf nodded, as it was not the time for exchanging insults with Karnage. The two would have to get ready for their glorious leader’s inevitable demise. “Right, let’s get…” He stopped as he was about to get on Gudrun’s back, with Anne already there, when he noticed massive armies of well-armored knights and soldiers entering from the left and right of the battlefield. The armor of both, great and spectacular that invoked the ideas of long battles and impeccable strategy, were instantly recognizable to him. “IMBECILE, KARNAGE! YOU DAFT, UNTHINKING PILLOCK! Benedictus and Yorath are here, which means Nacht and Losian aren’t too far behind!”
Karnage was about to lose it on Volf and Gudrun, but instead he began laughing maniacally, like a crazy person about to lose his mind. “LET THEM COME TOO! I’LL WIPE THEM ALL OUT!” His fit of laughing continued, with Volf trying to hold himself back from strangling him on the spot.
“Let’s get moving, go!” Volf ordered Gudrun as he hopped on her back. Once they were off and free of The Unlight in the gaps of the Cosmos, he groaned. “So, Anne, you’re putting stake in this Sebastian bloke?”
Anne was speechless as a small amount of adrenaline coursed through her veins. “How… how did you know what I was planning?”
“Well first off, I’m a god. Secondly, you just told me.”
Gudrun dove to avoid a cloud of energy that would have led into a unique multiverse. “Karnage has a contingency plan, you know? Familiar with Grave Requiem Overkill?”
“I don’t play with children’s toys, Gudrun,” Anne snapped.
She groaned as she flew into a stream of energy that would take them to where they needed to be. “Well maybe you should. Either way, take note of the unreal god Ultinn-Lacksus… Of course this is assuming Karnage doesn’t find a way to also screw that up.”
“What should we do about his plan for Audoin?” Volf inquired. “Lord Anti and his crew will be on to us, no doubt about it… assuming they haven’t already found us out.”
“Forget them, we can still carry on even if Karnage and Audoin kick the bucket. Volf, is the fruit of the Lost Unrelenting God still in the Obsidian Hexecontahedron?”
“Don’t know why it wouldn’t be considering I left it alone…”
“Excellent, as I think it’s getting near time for an actual member of The Eternal Order to join us…”
Volf thought about that for a second, then realized the god she was referring to, given Valdemaras’ mission to his home universe and the help she had been giving to the rat. “Wait a second, you’re not referring to Decay, are you?”
“I just might be…” she answered with a chuckle.
Rubbing his hands together, Volf cackled to himself. “Well then, things are about to get really interesting…”
At the top of the second wall, above an entrance to The Iron City, Englehart and his court were watching the battlefield, accompanied by multiple Discordant Gods of Chaos. Englehart felt his heart ache and his fury rage inside of him, so much so that he was clenching his teeth and fists. Dunja stepped over to him and put her hand on his shoulder to calm him. “Dear, relax. Now’s not the time to get angry and all worked up.”
Englehart relented, letting out an exhale of duress. “I know, Dunja. I just can’t stand being here and not alongside my people. They’re giving their lives from home and crown and we’re just sitting here!”
“It’s bothering me too-trust me, I know how you feel. We can’t just rush out there into the fury of the battle… personal experience.”
Torunn laughed, having nostalgic memories of Shadowland from so long ago. “We all know, Dunja. Those were the days…” She then heard something climbing up the wall and looked over it. “Faolán!”
The purple, electric-furred beast man hoisted himself up into the air and landed on the floor with a thud. “Hey, cousin, sorry I took so long. Your majesty, The Beast is here with his army! And Barna, Weaver, and Gummi are heading out to the front lines. Also jeez, looks like things are really heating up over there…”
Englehart nodded as they watched Ozymandias and Leonard decimate their foes. “Indeed, lad…”
Wulfric slammed his fist on the parapet in frustration, causing a loud banging sound between his armor and the metal of the wall. “Blast it all, where are those blowhard war god brothers when you need them?”
Ealdhelm glanced at the battlefield, noticing two specific armies emerging onto the battlefield. “Brother…?”
Inhaling into a groan, Wulfric calmly turned to him. “Don’t tell me they’re walking up as we speak…”
“HA, I’m a blowhard?!” a proud, somewhat grizzled voice declared as two, tall men in great armor, one of a knight and one of a general, approached the group. “Well now, given that I’m speaking to a god of so much wind that he can’t tell the difference between autumn and a spring day!” This warranted some reluctant chuckles from the others.
“ARGH, that’s just dandy! Hello, Benedictus! It’s about time you showed up!”
“Greetings, Wulfric,” the other god replied. “King Englehart, your majesty, it is an honor to be here.” Notably he was a bit more soft spoken, but carried the same great aura as Benedictus.
“And greetings to you too, Yorath Zeelen,” Englehart said as he stepped away from the parapet. “My apologies for disrupting your great war game…”
“Oh no, it’s no bother at all…”
Wulfric groaned and made sure it was audible for the two gods. “Englehart, don’t apologize, as these two should have been here before Karnage got out of bed this morning…”
Bendictus scoffed. “Oh, so now we have to clean up after your messes?”
“EXCUSE ME? Where were you when Karnage was hoodwinking me four ways from chaos?! That would have been great to know back then!”
“Again, it’s your mess, kid! You were always like that, asking your father, Mar-Gargn, to clean up after you!”
“Bendeictus, Wulfric, please-let’s not get caught up on who’s to blame here…” Yorath tried to reason only to get ignored.
“POMPOUS SHIELD BASHER!” Wulfric barked.
“SPOILED WINDBAG!” Benedictus shot back.
As the two hurled petty insults and quips at each other, Deimos stepped over to Ealdhelm. “Goodness, do they always do this?”
He nodded. “You should see the Discordant God summits…”
“It never ends with those two,” Adelheid added as she also stepped over. “They’ll argue all the time at the table, but will be two peas in a pod when on the battlefield of the Great Chaos Mountains. Of course, the Tyrant War is a bit of an exception.”
Ulrich laughed. “What do you expect from two gods that, practically speaking, occupy the same domains? A rivalry was inevitable, especially given that they come from different parents. It’s not like him and Ealdhelm, that’s for sure.”
“I should have brought Lucanus, so he could break them up,” Rahela commented, slightly face palming.
As Wulfric and Benedictus gritted their teeth and growled at each other, the loud thumping of a staff could be heard as two more gods approached the gathering. “Gentlemen!!” an older voice with great authority called out. “Now’s not the time for your quarrels. You are both children in the eyes of the Cosmos. Focus that energy on Karnage, not each other.” The first god in question was incredibly tall and foreboding, covered in robes and armor of red and bright indigo. His appearance was terrible in an unknown way, as it was hard to tell if he was muscular or gaunt. What was for certain was that his glowing, orange eyes could see past any fear and uncertainty.
The other god was Losian, who tapped his own staff to gain everyone’s attention. “Our apologies, as Nacht and I had to make sure our realms were not at risk. We all know how brazen and foolish Karnage can get at times, no doubt Wulfric here can vouch for us…”
“Don’t remind me, elder goat…” Wulfric grunted as he crossed his arms.
Losian laughed, as the insult was endearing to one as old as he was. “You new generation of gods never cease to impress me with your tenacity, Windsy.”
“DON’T CALL ME THAT! NOT IN FRONT OF BENEDICTUS!” Wulfric was embarrassed to be treated like a child, and Benedictus and Yorath could not help but quietly laugh.
“Losian!” Rahela interrupted. “Did you bring Audamar?”
“Indeed I did, my dear,” Losian answered with a subtle pride.
The group then heard the buzz of insect wings and saw Audamar hovering above them, looking ready to fight. “Discordant Champion of Dusk reporting for duty!”
“Glad to hear it, lad!” Drazhan replied. “Lia is yonder, and no doubt she’ll need your help!”
“Already on it, General!” Audamar answered as he zipped off as fast as he could.
“Incredible,” Deimos commented. “If I may, Losian, what happened to your previous champion?”
“Oh, the Red-Eyed Hurricane moved onto greener pastures once the Epoch concluded. I don’t blame him as our time had long since ended. Besides, Audamar has made amazing progress since arriving in the Desert of Los. Now, Nacht, in regards to our current predicament?”
“ARGH, I can’t wait around here and talk!” Wulfric complained. “Ealdhelm, come on!” he said as he jumped off the wall.
Ealdhelm groaned, but also laughed. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt himself…” he promised as he also jumped off.
“You know, cousin?” Faolán said to Torunn. “It’s a relief to see that the gods have their own issues to deal with.”
“Agreed, coz,” she nodded as she watched the two brothers run into the heat of the battle with Waltheof accompanying them.
“Younger gods, if I may point out,” Nacht clarified.
Drazhan approached Nacht and bowed. “Discordant God of Terror?”
“My answer is still no, General, you may not become my champion. Your place is alongside your king, not tearing your mind asunder in the Deep Realm of Chaos.”
“Blast it all…” he groaned as he returned to the royal court to give out orders to the troops and knights.
Englehart chuckled and shook his head before bowing to Nacht. “Honorable Discordant God, I trust things are… I trust this is bigger than all of us if you’re here?”
“Indeed, King Englehart. This is a major turning point in the conflict with The Sepulcher God, with Lord Anti and the actual Tyrant God putting their all into making sure we win this day. Karnage is the seed of his own undoing and we need to make sure he falls right into place, where he is needed for his downfall to be complete. Although, even that won’t undo that incomprehensible damage he has done to the Cosmos…”
Deimos gave a nervous laugh, recalling his and Leif’s plans. “Pardon me speaking out of term, Lord Nacht, but I am incredibly scared given that it was Karnage that killed Blood, triggering our contingency plan…”
“A tragedy it is, Deimos, but you know just as well as I do that Blood-Wraith is on his way back as we speak. All we need to do is be patient. Now, where is Ermenrich and Drusa? I need to discuss the ‘curses’ Gudrun was employing…”
Next: Chapter 23
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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“Pardon the tardiness, Gratiana,” Leonard said as he touched down beside them, his mere presence electrifying the air. The Discordant God surveyed the battlefield for a second, seeing the utter mess things were between the unending torrent of shadow constructs and various soldiers, injured or not, going in and out of the city walls. “I had to run a few errands, get Benedictus and Yorath off their arses, and go fetch Gideon here…”
“Gideon, where have you been all these years?!” Gratiana said as he grasped his hand. She would have hugged him, but her form would have electrically shocked him and there was a war going on.
Lia seemed a bit confused as she tilted her head. “I figured you would have been a little more upset given what you’ve…”
“SHUSH,” she hissed, letting off a hum of electricity.
Gideon quietly chuckled. “My deepest apologies, dear sister, but I discovered an important duty in helping The Hydra of Old safeguard The Night Realm…”
“Pardon me, Sir Gideon,” The Hunger cut in. “How is the prison of… well, you know who…”
Gideon sighed, and it was in a way that did not bode well. “About that…”
“EXCUSE ME, ONE SIDE!” Barry’s voice could be heard as a surge of electricity rushed towards the group, surprising most of them as he haphazardly avoided soldiers and shadow constructs. “Gideon! Is everything alright back home?!”
“Indeed, Barry… I was just about to mention the elephant in the room, however.”
“Don’t tell me he’s escaped…” The Hunger said in a grave tone of voice.
“The Sepulcher God’s prison is holding, but it’s effectively useless at this point given how far he’s spread his influence.” Gideon felt a great deal of guilt when he saw the looks on the other’s faces. His helmet hid his expression and he had been told it was never his fault, but he still felt awful on account of the duties he had shirked in the past. “I wish I could have brought better news in a time like this…”
Leonard then patted him on the back, causing Gideon to stumble a little. “Stop beating yourself up, Kid. Sure, you’ve been a loose cannon since day one, but The Sepulcher God is that big of a nuisance. You know that as much as The Madman, The Hydra, and I.”
“Look, Gideon, I’m just glad you’re here-to know you’re alive and well,” Gratiana reassured him. “We’ll figure this out, don’t worry.”
Gideon smiled, as it was something else to hear a family member support him, something that he had not had for ages. “Thank you, sister. It’s good to know that the Arlotti family honor still courses through your veins…” There was a pause, followed by him remembering an unfortunate rumor he had become aware of. “...despite a certain, unfortunate stint as a lady of the night I’ve heard about…”
To be fair, Gratiana knew there was a chance he would bring that up, and she would have been immensely red in the face had she been in her normal form. The others were also surprised that it was brought up, but they also knew that Gratiana was probably just glad it was her brother and not their parents bringing it up. “Oh well, that’s ancient history at this point, dearest brother!” she tried to handwave. Thankfully a group of bastard beasts were stampeding towards them, so she prepared a spear of lightning that she threw as hard as she could. “That god-awful Gudrun went above and beyond with that infernal beast blood project,” she elaborated as the beasts were consumed in an explosive maelstrom of lightning.
“Of course that wretched lizard wouldn’t know when to leave well enough alone…” Gideon cursed with venom in his voice from an era long since past. “Hopefully with her defeat we can locate Teunis and Andelin…”
“Andelin’s over at the wall, my boy,” Leonard dryly noted.
Gideon tripped over his words, but was happy regardless. “Well then, one down, one to go…”
Gratiana groaned, knowing Gideon was unaware of what she knew. “Operation Phantasm is proving more complicated than it seems, brother…”
Maximus had been fending off any shadow constructs that dare approached while the group talked, but he noticed the false Tyrant God starting to act up again. “Uh guys?! I hate to interrupt the reunion, but…”
“Don’t worry, lad, I got it…” Leonard turned his hand into a cannon and shot a thunderous projectile that rocketed towards their foe and knocked it on its bottom.
Morrigan was utterly amazed by that display of power, having never seen anything like it before. “How did you do that?!”
“I'm a tenth dimensional, little lady. And I’d argue I’m the strongest Discordant God to date,” Leonard said with a slightly smug pride in his voice as he crossed his arms.
“Then perhaps we should stop talking and put that strength to good use,” Tressacht suggested. “Hunger, Schwarzes, Gideon, Waltheof? Stay with me at the wall. Waramunt, Lia, Gratiana, take to the skies. Morrigan, Ludwig, Maximus, Barry, head with Leonard to the front lines. Make your way to Ozymandias and Tereza and provide any help that you can…”
The army of The Iron City was starting to buckle under the relentless, unending assault of Karnage’s army, with casualties starting to grow in number despite the reinforcements. Their spirits and bodies were taking a hit, but their vigor returned to them when Leonard and Ozymandias began to unleash their full power. Leonard was excited to fight alongside Ozymandias, given that god’s past with The Eternal Order. He was eager to see what The Royal God could do and thus far he was not disappointed as destructive solar storms of golden light smited the shadow constructs from existence. This exercise of godly power allowed the soldiers and knights to rest, with Tereza bringing great rains that reinvigorated them and they sang praise to the ar’ton of water, cheering their mighty war cries with newfound strength.
Karnage quickly noticed that the tide of battle was starting to turn against him. Despite his arrogance, he knew Leonard, Ozymandias, and Tereza could easily cause him trouble, not to mention the other gods that were starting to finally show up. He was tempted to unleash the shadow titans then and there, but he wanted to wait for the right moment. Instead, he called on one of his allies, Audoin Dethbrand, and ordered him to send some of the vast, Audoan Imperial army his way. Audoin had recently imbued them with great, forbidden magic that would wreak untold havoc on any battlefield. And naturally Karnage promised Audoin a great reward if he obeyed his orders. The Audoan soldiers swarmed the battlefield in the millions, taking the Iron City army and their allies by surprise with strange spells that could have only come from a narcissistic madman such as Audoin Dethbrand.
Karnage looked incredibly smug as the Audoan forces went berserk on his enemies, but Volf was not impressed. “Not a wise idea, Karnage, especially if they give away what’s going on in Universe-231218…”
“Silence, whelp, daddy is working at the moment…” he shot back in a condescending tone.
“Insufferable…” he started to say as Karnage was hit by a high-powered beam of golden lava that sent him and the false Tyrant God tumbling to the ground, causing Volf to burst out laughing.
“YOU BLITHERING IDIOT!!!” Gurdun screamed as she landed on the ground with a thud while the false Tyrant God picked itself up. “UNDOING MY CURSES?! DO YOU NOT SEE THE REINFORCEMENTS POURING IN LEFT AND RIGHT!”
“You dare underestimate my power, wyrm?!” Karnage scolded as he hopped onto the hand of his foul ally, who then brought him back up to his shoulder. “They can bring in all the help they want, I will wipe them all out from the face of my Cosmos no matter what!”
Gudrun growled so loud that it could have turned into a roar. Karnage did not realize it, but he was screwing everything up and the plan was on the cusp of failing. “Volf, come with me! We have a mess to clean up…”
Volf nodded, as it was not the time for exchanging insults with Karnage. The two would have to get ready for their glorious leader’s inevitable demise. “Right, let’s get…” He stopped as he was about to get on Gudrun’s back, with Anne already there, when he noticed massive armies of well-armored knights and soldiers entering from the left and right of the battlefield. The armor of both, great and spectacular that invoked the ideas of long battles and impeccable strategy, were instantly recognizable to him. “IMBECILE, KARNAGE! YOU DAFT, UNTHINKING PILLOCK! Benedictus and Yorath are here, which means Nacht and Losian aren’t too far behind!”
Karnage was about to lose it on Volf and Gudrun, but instead he began laughing maniacally, like a crazy person about to lose his mind. “LET THEM COME TOO! I’LL WIPE THEM ALL OUT!” His fit of laughing continued, with Volf trying to hold himself back from strangling him on the spot.
“Let’s get moving, go!” Volf ordered Gudrun as he hopped on her back. Once they were off and free of The Unlight in the gaps of the Cosmos, he groaned. “So, Anne, you’re putting stake in this Sebastian bloke?”
Anne was speechless as a small amount of adrenaline coursed through her veins. “How… how did you know what I was planning?”
“Well first off, I’m a god. Secondly, you just told me.”
Gudrun dove to avoid a cloud of energy that would have led into a unique multiverse. “Karnage has a contingency plan, you know? Familiar with Grave Requiem Overkill?”
“I don’t play with children’s toys, Gudrun,” Anne snapped.
She groaned as she flew into a stream of energy that would take them to where they needed to be. “Well maybe you should. Either way, take note of the unreal god Ultinn-Lacksus… Of course this is assuming Karnage doesn’t find a way to also screw that up.”
“What should we do about his plan for Audoin?” Volf inquired. “Lord Anti and his crew will be on to us, no doubt about it… assuming they haven’t already found us out.”
“Forget them, we can still carry on even if Karnage and Audoin kick the bucket. Volf, is the fruit of the Lost Unrelenting God still in the Obsidian Hexecontahedron?”
“Don’t know why it wouldn’t be considering I left it alone…”
“Excellent, as I think it’s getting near time for an actual member of The Eternal Order to join us…”
Volf thought about that for a second, then realized the god she was referring to, given Valdemaras’ mission to his home universe and the help she had been giving to the rat. “Wait a second, you’re not referring to Decay, are you?”
“I just might be…” she answered with a chuckle.
Rubbing his hands together, Volf cackled to himself. “Well then, things are about to get really interesting…”
At the top of the second wall, above an entrance to The Iron City, Englehart and his court were watching the battlefield, accompanied by multiple Discordant Gods of Chaos. Englehart felt his heart ache and his fury rage inside of him, so much so that he was clenching his teeth and fists. Dunja stepped over to him and put her hand on his shoulder to calm him. “Dear, relax. Now’s not the time to get angry and all worked up.”
Englehart relented, letting out an exhale of duress. “I know, Dunja. I just can’t stand being here and not alongside my people. They’re giving their lives from home and crown and we’re just sitting here!”
“It’s bothering me too-trust me, I know how you feel. We can’t just rush out there into the fury of the battle… personal experience.”
Torunn laughed, having nostalgic memories of Shadowland from so long ago. “We all know, Dunja. Those were the days…” She then heard something climbing up the wall and looked over it. “Faolán!”
The purple, electric-furred beast man hoisted himself up into the air and landed on the floor with a thud. “Hey, cousin, sorry I took so long. Your majesty, The Beast is here with his army! And Barna, Weaver, and Gummi are heading out to the front lines. Also jeez, looks like things are really heating up over there…”
Englehart nodded as they watched Ozymandias and Leonard decimate their foes. “Indeed, lad…”
Wulfric slammed his fist on the parapet in frustration, causing a loud banging sound between his armor and the metal of the wall. “Blast it all, where are those blowhard war god brothers when you need them?”
Ealdhelm glanced at the battlefield, noticing two specific armies emerging onto the battlefield. “Brother…?”
Inhaling into a groan, Wulfric calmly turned to him. “Don’t tell me they’re walking up as we speak…”
“HA, I’m a blowhard?!” a proud, somewhat grizzled voice declared as two, tall men in great armor, one of a knight and one of a general, approached the group. “Well now, given that I’m speaking to a god of so much wind that he can’t tell the difference between autumn and a spring day!” This warranted some reluctant chuckles from the others.
“ARGH, that’s just dandy! Hello, Benedictus! It’s about time you showed up!”
“Greetings, Wulfric,” the other god replied. “King Englehart, your majesty, it is an honor to be here.” Notably he was a bit more soft spoken, but carried the same great aura as Benedictus.
“And greetings to you too, Yorath Zeelen,” Englehart said as he stepped away from the parapet. “My apologies for disrupting your great war game…”
“Oh no, it’s no bother at all…”
Wulfric groaned and made sure it was audible for the two gods. “Englehart, don’t apologize, as these two should have been here before Karnage got out of bed this morning…”
Bendictus scoffed. “Oh, so now we have to clean up after your messes?”
“EXCUSE ME? Where were you when Karnage was hoodwinking me four ways from chaos?! That would have been great to know back then!”
“Again, it’s your mess, kid! You were always like that, asking your father, Mar-Gargn, to clean up after you!”
“Bendeictus, Wulfric, please-let’s not get caught up on who’s to blame here…” Yorath tried to reason only to get ignored.
“POMPOUS SHIELD BASHER!” Wulfric barked.
“SPOILED WINDBAG!” Benedictus shot back.
As the two hurled petty insults and quips at each other, Deimos stepped over to Ealdhelm. “Goodness, do they always do this?”
He nodded. “You should see the Discordant God summits…”
“It never ends with those two,” Adelheid added as she also stepped over. “They’ll argue all the time at the table, but will be two peas in a pod when on the battlefield of the Great Chaos Mountains. Of course, the Tyrant War is a bit of an exception.”
Ulrich laughed. “What do you expect from two gods that, practically speaking, occupy the same domains? A rivalry was inevitable, especially given that they come from different parents. It’s not like him and Ealdhelm, that’s for sure.”
“I should have brought Lucanus, so he could break them up,” Rahela commented, slightly face palming.
As Wulfric and Benedictus gritted their teeth and growled at each other, the loud thumping of a staff could be heard as two more gods approached the gathering. “Gentlemen!!” an older voice with great authority called out. “Now’s not the time for your quarrels. You are both children in the eyes of the Cosmos. Focus that energy on Karnage, not each other.” The first god in question was incredibly tall and foreboding, covered in robes and armor of red and bright indigo. His appearance was terrible in an unknown way, as it was hard to tell if he was muscular or gaunt. What was for certain was that his glowing, orange eyes could see past any fear and uncertainty.
The other god was Losian, who tapped his own staff to gain everyone’s attention. “Our apologies, as Nacht and I had to make sure our realms were not at risk. We all know how brazen and foolish Karnage can get at times, no doubt Wulfric here can vouch for us…”
“Don’t remind me, elder goat…” Wulfric grunted as he crossed his arms.
Losian laughed, as the insult was endearing to one as old as he was. “You new generation of gods never cease to impress me with your tenacity, Windsy.”
“DON’T CALL ME THAT! NOT IN FRONT OF BENEDICTUS!” Wulfric was embarrassed to be treated like a child, and Benedictus and Yorath could not help but quietly laugh.
“Losian!” Rahela interrupted. “Did you bring Audamar?”
“Indeed I did, my dear,” Losian answered with a subtle pride.
The group then heard the buzz of insect wings and saw Audamar hovering above them, looking ready to fight. “Discordant Champion of Dusk reporting for duty!”
“Glad to hear it, lad!” Drazhan replied. “Lia is yonder, and no doubt she’ll need your help!”
“Already on it, General!” Audamar answered as he zipped off as fast as he could.
“Incredible,” Deimos commented. “If I may, Losian, what happened to your previous champion?”
“Oh, the Red-Eyed Hurricane moved onto greener pastures once the Epoch concluded. I don’t blame him as our time had long since ended. Besides, Audamar has made amazing progress since arriving in the Desert of Los. Now, Nacht, in regards to our current predicament?”
“ARGH, I can’t wait around here and talk!” Wulfric complained. “Ealdhelm, come on!” he said as he jumped off the wall.
Ealdhelm groaned, but also laughed. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt himself…” he promised as he also jumped off.
“You know, cousin?” Faolán said to Torunn. “It’s a relief to see that the gods have their own issues to deal with.”
“Agreed, coz,” she nodded as she watched the two brothers run into the heat of the battle with Waltheof accompanying them.
“Younger gods, if I may point out,” Nacht clarified.
Drazhan approached Nacht and bowed. “Discordant God of Terror?”
“My answer is still no, General, you may not become my champion. Your place is alongside your king, not tearing your mind asunder in the Deep Realm of Chaos.”
“Blast it all…” he groaned as he returned to the royal court to give out orders to the troops and knights.
Englehart chuckled and shook his head before bowing to Nacht. “Honorable Discordant God, I trust things are… I trust this is bigger than all of us if you’re here?”
“Indeed, King Englehart. This is a major turning point in the conflict with The Sepulcher God, with Lord Anti and the actual Tyrant God putting their all into making sure we win this day. Karnage is the seed of his own undoing and we need to make sure he falls right into place, where he is needed for his downfall to be complete. Although, even that won’t undo that incomprehensible damage he has done to the Cosmos…”
Deimos gave a nervous laugh, recalling his and Leif’s plans. “Pardon me speaking out of term, Lord Nacht, but I am incredibly scared given that it was Karnage that killed Blood, triggering our contingency plan…”
“A tragedy it is, Deimos, but you know just as well as I do that Blood-Wraith is on his way back as we speak. All we need to do is be patient. Now, where is Ermenrich and Drusa? I need to discuss the ‘curses’ Gudrun was employing…”
Next: Chapter 23
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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