Suddenly, a clear image of the demonic portal shimmered on the wall of the command center.
Three demonic portals, actually. August had never seen a portal split apart like this.
A visual feed of the portals was projected onto the stone wall at the far end of the room.
A couple dozen administrative staff monitored terminals powered by the binding stone's magic. Uniformed soldiers stood guard nearby.
In the center of the room glowed a three-dimensional projection of the fortress.
Innumerable blips of light dotted the hologram and marked life signs.
Many gold chevrons moved about within the projection, and these indicated Champions.
August looked back at the portals. They looked like tears in the fabric of the world itself.
Black and white scars that stood dozens of meters high and flickered strangely.
Staring at them brought stars to August's eyes and a sharp pain in the back of his head.
The pain was muted because August was staring at an image of the portals, rather than the real thing.
August imagined how painful it must be to be outside. Normally, a projected image only caused mild discomfort.
August's growing migraine proved this portal was different. This might even be the worst portal he had encountered in over a decade of fighting demons.
Not that he needed any reminding of that fact. Beneath the portal was a heaving, seething mass of demons.
Thousands. No.
Tens of thousands.
August didn't know how many demons there were. The monitoring devices still didn't work, so he couldn't get an accurate estimate.
His scouts estimate had been so enormous that August had refused to share it with anybody else.
The wasteland surrounding the portal was vast and ringed by steep cliffs. Demons covered every inch of the bare volcanic rock.
And every single one of them pushed their way forward, toward the valley that led to the fortress.
Explosions rippled through the mass of monsters occasionally.
They were the work of long-range siege weapons that took out entire formations in conventional battles. Here they appeared completely ineffectual.
By the time the dust cleared, the demons had already filled the gap created by the dead. An endless tide of animalistic demons poured forth from the portals.
Fortunately, the monitoring crystals didn't capture sound.
August knew from experience how awful the sounds were. How terrifying it would be to be a Champion on the front line.
Vala…
The visual feed cut out. The fortress shook and dust fell from the ceiling. Screams echoed. Hands grabbed at August's arms.
"August!" Ciana shouted.
"We're fine," August said, shaking her off. The other hand didn't let go.
"Ifrit… Ifrit says we should retreat," a young woman said. She didn't have any gems inset into her collarbone, but she emanated magical power.
One hand clasped August's arm, and the other wrapped itself tight around her stomach.
August frowned, feeling troubled by the words. "We'll be fine, Sen. I have you here."
He ruffled her white hair. Despite looking just shy of twenty, she was the same age, if not older, than August. In exchange for her immense magical power, she had stopped aging.
"But… Okay, August," Sen said. She tried to look brave, but the innervoice of Ifrit was clearly troubling her.
"She's right," another woman said. A single onyx was buried in her upper chest. "This reminds me of when I saw the demons invade Aleich and bring down the Anfang Empire.
The demons appeared to be endless. Just like now."
Ciana looked away, her face pained. The Empire was her homeland, and she had during the fall of Aleich, when the Empire had been destroyed over a decade ago.
The fortress shook again, but nobody screamed.
"Vala, status report," August asked aloud. He spoke into a device embedded in the command terminal.
"And Choe, this isn't the fall of the Anfang Empire. None of you need to worry about that."
"Don't call me Choe in front of everybody. I'm Sunstorm," Sunstorm muttered, twisting in place.
"Vala?" August repeated, speaking into the communication device again.
"Little busy! We're holding the outer wall and—"
Every light flickered at once. A bolt of lightning ran through August's veins, and he slumped to his knees.
His breath came ragged and frantic. For a long moment, he couldn't feel his body. His limbs felt like they were made of lead.
The fortress rumbled. Echoes of some massive noise blasted through the halls and into the command center. The floor vibrated.
August looked up. Ciana, Sunstorm, and Sen surrounded him, saying things he couldn't hear. All he could hear was ringing.
Their arms reached for him, but he couldn't feel their touch.
A gargantuan magical attack had hit the fortress hard. Harder than he had imagined possible.
He had gone toe-to-toe with Messengers before. He knew the depths of their strength, and how hard they could strike his defenses.
Nothing had ever hit him like this. It felt as if his opponent had somehow struck his mind and body directly, ignoring the countless layers of stone and magical barriers between him and any attacker.
August dove into the mental world of his binding stone. He saw cracks spreading from within it, and many of the tethers he had to other binding stones had been severed.
Hurriedly, he repaired what connections he could and slapped together some hasty mental fortifications.
For several long moments, he stared at a part of his mental world he had built but never thought he would use.
Years ago, he had devised a secret weapon. It had only one purpose and was to be used in only scenario. The worst possible scenario.
He activated the weapon but kept it separate from the rest of his mental world.
That weakened it, but he was concerned about another possibility.
This Messenger might be able to attack him through the binding stones. He came back to reality to find his Champions pulling him to his feet.
"August!" Ciana shouted in his ear. "We need to get you to a healer."
"Stop," August growled. "I'm fine. Just a little shaken."
They gave him an odd look. Before one of them could say anything, somebody shouted.
"I just got my connection back. We've lost the outer wall! And... and the inner wall? This can't be right," the man said.
August stared at the chaos surrounding him. Most of the terminals in the command center had gone down.
They were slowly lighting back up, but the results were bad. Communications were still down.
The command terminal wasn't working, and August couldn't rely on the holographic projection to monitor the battle.
There was another way. August reached out for his Champions through the binding stone. A wave of relief washed over him as he sensed those who were alive.
Then guilt.
Vala and Narime were alive.
But most of his Champions weren't.
He should value all of them equally, and yet... How many had already fallen?
"Vala and Narime are still up," he said. "Jafeila will lead her reinforcements to pull them back.
The fortress itself is the most heavily warded defensive line. I always intended the walls as an extra layer of defense."
As if to punctuate his point in the worst possible way, the fortress shook again, and the terminals winked out.
Silence fell. August closed his eyes.
He should go out there and fight. Years ago, he would have done exactly that. But things were different now.