Somnus was left with many questions on his mind as the deathly quiet settled in on what was once a plain, and now a blasted wasteland.He failed to recover the Gateway or the spell formation that summons it. As far as the efficiency of his army was concerned, it was adequate until Aurora showed up.
Aurora…
Her death filled his very human heart with regret and his mind with thorns. Why? All things considered, Aurora was his enemy in this life and in his previous one. So why? Why did her death feel so wrong and fill him with regret?
He knew at least one part of the reason. Once more, this world has robbed him of his enemy. It toyed with her, enslaved her; It tortured her, forcing her to go against her very core principles. This hateful world…
Somnus looked towards the sky as all these thoughts raced through his mind simultaneously.
Somewhere up there, in the s.p.a.ce between all the molecules, exists a Will—a Mechanism—that holds a finger to the pulse of destiny. Was he a tool as well, or did his anomalous existence grant him true freedom? After all, wasn"t Aurora"s existence also an anomaly in this world?
Still, despite everything that Somnus learned so far, he still lacked the knowledge to answer questions which might reveal the nature of this world, and Somnus"s presence in it.
And whom was it that Aurora was waiting for? Somnus felt like he was missing a large piece of the puzzle. His confidence in seeing the bigger picture shattered in that instant. If the enemy could be trusted, wasn"t he making a huge mistake? Was Aurora even the enemy, or was she forced to fight him against her will?
Aurora—Kaguya Mei—has never been a liar. Created in the 22nd century amidst the Food Shortage Crisis, to lead Humanity into the stars and cultivate the solar system into an Empire, she never lost sight of her goal. It was because of war and selfishness that things turned out the way they did. She even opposed the creation of Autonomous Machine a.r.s.enals and opposed the continuation of the Inner Solar War. She even gave up her life to stop Somnus.
Somnus laughed out loud, causing the approaching Peron to blink and hesitate.
"Aeon, do you remember Project Aurora?" Somnus asked, seemingly no one in particular. Those around him had been noticing that sometimes their leader talked to the air. Or himself.
[Affirmative. Project Aurora: Quantum Bomb launched against Echo November Two One. No further data.]
Somnus found it ironic—poetic even—that Kaguya Mei would take the name of the abominable weapon that killed him in the first place. As if it was her destiny to repeat that event. "Let the candlelight flicker we saw then be captured one last time: the Aurora." Those are the words she spoke back then. No wonder Somnus feared that weapon. It was the very thing that killed him last time.
"My Liege…" Peron began, but Somnus ignored him.
So why did Aurora not finish the task? What enemy did she consider a greater threat than Somnus, to the point of defying them and giving up her entire existence for it? Aurora did not just die—The Wheel discarded her. Aurora would never be reborn again.
"My Liege... I have news…" Peron said again, voice carefully measured and even.
"What is it, Duke?" Somnus asked, looking towards the man.
"The elves… they… opened a Gateway to us. An Army is approaching…" Peron pointed towards the northeast where Somnus could indeed see the ma.s.sive arch of a silver, glowing structure. It was kilometers away, and Somnus could not even see the base of the Gateway due to the terrain and the curvature of the planet—that is how far and ma.s.sive it was.
"How do you know they"re elves?" Somnus asked.
Peron tapped his temple. "Can you not hear them speak into your mind, my Liege? They say they came to negotiate."
Somnus narrowed his eyes. "Peron, why would the Wheel abandon someone and not allow them reincarnation?"
"My Liege? Why?" Peron asked, blinking away his confusion. His expression said it all: Why are we talking about this? There"s an army approaching!
"Just answer the question," Somnus said coldly.
"Well, uhh, I don"t know. Why do you ask?"
"Aurora. Did you not see what happened to her?" Somnus asked, glancing to Peron.
Peron tilted his head. "… Who?"
"The woman who destroyed Silversh.o.r.e and the Empire"s army," Somnus said, annoyed.
"What army?" Peron asked. "Is the Empire also coming?"
A cold shock ran through Somnus"s system. His nerves buzzed with something between fear and excitement; It was deathly cold. Was this the Fate of those who defied the Heavens? To be erased and forgotten?
Somnus gnashed his teeth together, hatred unlike any he felt before filling his heart. The hateful carbon did this. The G.o.ds these mortals wors.h.i.+pped were nothing more than high level adventurers. Somnus was one of them; He now knew this.
Somnus chuckled, alarming Peron further.
"My Liege? Is everything all right?" the man asked.
"Everything is as it should be, Duke," Somnus said.
"What about the elves? Should we go to them to negotiate or wait for them here?"
"Negotiate?" Somnus asked. "No negotiations. No mercy. Those who wors.h.i.+p the false G.o.ds will all be cleansed from this world."
Peron stared at Somnus and then tried to reason with him. "But, my Liege, they have powerful warriors and mages. Their G.o.ds also take active roles in their wars, unlike ours."
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"Even better, Peron," Somnus said coldly. "That means I won"t have to look too hard for them."
Peron swallowed. "You will fight the G.o.ds... directly, my Liege?"
"Isn"t that what we set out to do?"
"Yes, but…"
"Enough," Somnus said. "Watch, Peron. Come with me and witness first-hand how I will shape the future."
"I shall pray for your success, my Liege," Peron said and inclined his head respectfully.
Just at that moment, golden light descended from the sky, illuminating the night with a daylight brilliance.
A female voice boomed. "You would dare challenge my people, pitiful creature?"
The wind picked up, carrying dead leaves across the field.
"Show yourself, worm," Somnus said, reaching into the air before him as multiple spell formations lit up the area. "Let the flicker I saw then be captured once more. [Aurora]."
After Somnus spoke those words, the spell formations collapsed into a sword that was similar to Aurora"s, but vastly different. He used the same kind of energies that he used against the fight with Aeon—the Void itself—and the principles behind the [Greater Beam Weapon] spell.
"Can you not see me, when I stand before you?" the booming voice asked, trilling laughter fading away with her words.
The dead leaves caught green fire and swarmed around Somnus.
"Without the protection of the Witch, there is nothing I am not allowed to do to you. Beg me for mercy, and I may yet let you live," the voice boomed once more, from somewhere above.
"Request denied," Somnus said.
[Engaging Apotheosis Engine.]
[Commencing Information Dimension jamming.]
[Coordinates locked.]
Mana dust blew off Somnus"s back, banis.h.i.+ng the burning leaves. A blue light enveloped Somnus, and then it turned into a dark red glow. A pure black halo appeared above Somnus"s head, phasing into reality as if it had always been there.
[Disrupting coordinate.]
Reality warped in front of Somnus, twisting and flowing into itself in a circular pattern until he could clearly see a woman seemingly standing behind the rift itself. She had golden hair and golden eyes, wearing a pristine white dress. Somnus could not see her expression clearly, but he could tell that she was surprised.
Somnus launched himself forward with such force that the ground cracked beneath his feet, upturning the top layer of earth and knocking down the nearby Duke.
Somnus implemented what he had learned from his Lieutenants and copied Hadron"s [Acceleration] formation. The spell circle appeared before him and Somnus crashed through it, sending pieces of solid Mana Engrams flying through the air, as he hurtled towards the reality rift like a bullet. It had been a hundred meters away, and Somnus reached it within less than a second.
The rift dissolved as he reached it, and his sword ran the golden-haired woman through the chest, pinning her into the ground. Her expression, now clearly visible, went from surprised to shocked and confused.
Somnus smiled cruelly down at the woman. "If you beg for your life, I may yet let you live," he said, as he released the sword and reached out with his hand towards a nearby abandoned Deathbringer"s rifle.
The rifle flew into his hand, and Somnus chambered a bullet from the magazine, infusing it with his mana. He pointed the rifle at the G.o.ddess"s face.
[Mana output: 200%]
[Danger: Maximum output reached.]
"You will die for thi—"
The echo of the rifle"s report silenced her.