Out of the six planned Supreme Gods, five were present. The Titan Lord Varkath was holding back, waiting for the critical moment to reveal himself. The three Evil Supreme Gods weren't pleased about it, but the Titan Pantheon's strength made complaint inadvisable. Moreover, they also knew that the tribute they'd offered wasn't enough to buy Varkath's full commitment upfront.
The Evil Pantheon's goal wasn't only Maddox's soul. The Great Aetherium had grown too fast, killed thousands of their Gods, and its continued existence was a threat they wanted eliminated.
More than that, destroying the empire was the opening move in a larger campaign to pressure the Nature Pantheon and cut off Elunara's strongest ally before she could break through to the peak.
That strategic logic had drawn in Mordra and Zakaria, Gods of different pantheons who had no personal grudge with Haru. None of them cared about the collateral damage. The Endless Continent wasn't their home anymore. It ran on 'Truth' now. They were just here to compete for the God King's Throne. The lives of native creatures didn't factor in for them.
"Since everyone is here." Malakar said, "We move to the Endless Continent. We visit the Aetherium Empire and force that emperor to hand over Maddox's soul."
"And if he simply surrenders?" Mordra asked.
"He dies anyway." Malakar's expression didn't change, "We assembled six Supreme Gods and a million Evil Gods. We didn't come for a walk."
Malakar's hatred of the Aetherium Empire ran deeper than strategy. Kaelix, the God of Destruction, had been his subordinate. He was killed by Celestia while secretly plotting against their empire. Then Malakar had come to sanction them personally, and left empty-handed.
Twice. He'd lost face twice. The insult to his dignity as a Supreme God had compounded with every failed attempt, and Celestia's Natal Artifact was something he'd wanted his hands on from the moment he'd seen it. He had reasons. He had plenty of reasons.
Mordra nodded. She wouldn't reveal her promotion to the Supreme God Tier to escort a soul transfer. She was here to clip the Natural Pantheon's wings.
Zakaria also nodded, "A mere Castle Lord managing to compel this many Supreme Gods to appear in person, even in destruction, the Aetherium Empire has earned some distinction."
"Indeed." Skarion agreed.
Micteya said nothing. Maddox was her brother. Before the Great Aetherium killed him, he'd been a peak High God, just one step from the Supreme God Tier, everything ahead of him. Now his soul was sealed in enemy hands, his body gone, and whatever path lay ahead, reborn, or starting over as an undead, it led nowhere near where he'd been. Thousands of years of hard work was erased in a single day. She wanted Haru dead. The soul retrieval was almost secondary.
Malakar and Skarion exchanged a look. The order went out.
A million Gods turned toward the Endless Continent.
…
Location: The main square in the Core Area of Angel City.
Haru stood alone, looking up at the stars. He'd felt it coming. A Supreme God's perception was hard to fool, and whatever was moving through outer space was moving with enormous weight.
Caelith, the Angel of Fate, appeared beside him, "My Lord. I've foreseen it. The Evil Pantheon has assembled six Supreme Gods and a million Evil Gods. They're approaching quickly."
"Finally."
Haru's mouth curved. He sent the assembly order.
The Imperial Gods poured out of their retreats and filled the square, two hundred thousand strong, fifty High Gods among them. And standing in that crowd, alive and present, were some figures that would shake the incoming Gods—Kaelix, Zarek, and Maddox. The same Gods who were killed by the Great Aetherium's Gods.
When Micteya would see her brother standing there, breathing, intact, the expression on her face was going to be something. And the secret of Haru's ability to resurrect fallen Gods would be out. He had accepted that. It couldn't stay hidden much longer anyway.
Yvonne returned from the Void and took her place at Haru's side. Nova suspended the reincarnation pool construction and joined the formation. Three Supreme Gods on the Great Aetherium's side.
The only one absent was Celestia. Her breakthrough wasn't over. But the Divine Aura radiating from her had been building steadily, Haru could read it. She wouldn't miss this battle.
"Move out." He said, "To outer space."
Two hundred thousand Gods rose from the square and streamed skyward, trading the light of the imperial capital for the cold dark between the stars. The dim starry outer space would be the battlefield for this battle.
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