Chapter 2952: All or Nothing |
There was a thunderclap and a deafening roar. Cassie felt the Ebony Island shudder as two Supremes clashed on one of the heavenly chains. The forces unleashed by their harrowing battle were fearsome enough to make an entire realm quake.
The Chain Isles were all connected to each other. So, the tremors running through the Ebony Island spread through the seven celestial chains to the neighboring islands, and from them to all the rest. The battle between Mordret and Asterion could be felt not only here, but even all the way in the Sanctuary of Noctis.
All the flying isles were swaying up and down as the chain holding them up drew taut.
The Sky Below was full of violence, and blood was raining from the Sky Above. The six remaining siege armies were pushing their way across the abyss, and by now, it seemed that an invasion of the Ebony Island was inevitable.
On its shores, those of Mordret's vessels who were not sending annihilating volleys of projectiles into the sky were already preparing for a furious melee... it seemed like the King of Nothing was prepared to defend his stronghold to the last drop of blood. Cassie felt uneasy.
In fact, she felt desperate. But still, all she could do was pour her essence into the runic circle to control the defensive array of the Ebony Island, which was slowly failing... The cadence of the battle was growing more frenetic.
Far away, the Night Garden had changed course and was now moving directly toward the last stronghold of the King of Nothing. The Ivory Island, as well, was descending from the sky, moving through the mayhem of the terrifying aerial battle between the Echoes and Nightmare Creatures like a pristine white mountain.
It was aiming for its blackened facsimile, as well.
The seven Reflections had not been shattered yet, but they were surrounded on all sides, besieged by Transcendent champions and Ascended veterans alike.
The closest vessel to Cassie was a giant, eerily beautiful crystalline insect... but it could hear, as well. So, it made no difference if she talked to Mordret's original body or this grotesque creature.
The glass abomination turned its transparent head, its mandibles moving to produce a melodious ringing sound.
Cassie did not know what it meant.
Then, several more monsters of the Hive appeared from the mass of abominable vessels, drawing closer to the Ebony Tower. Most of those vessels that originated in the Glass Hell were moving away from the shores of the island, in fact.
‘What is he planning?’
No matter how Cassie looked at the battle, she did not see a way for the Mirror Domain to win. If Asterion himself could be removed from the battlefield, maybe... but if that was possible, there would have been no need to fight this battle at all.
She gritted her teeth and moved aside, evading a great arrow sent from one of the heavenly chains by a Transcendent hand. There was a flash, and the arrow shattered against the black of the Ebony Tower.
It seemed that Asterion harbored an obsessive desire to remove her from the board, still.
The bloody cuts left on Cassie's body by shrapnel ached.
The battle raged on, growing more and more ferocious with each minute...
Until, eventually, its balance was finally broken.
Mordret had managed to hold Asterion back — but by shifting his focus to the direct clash of Wills and a violent exchange of blows with the Dreamspawn, he allowed the Dreamspawn's thralls to push his countless vessels too far back.
Seishan was the first one to step on the black obsidian of the Ebony Island, her monstrous figure awash in blood... in fact, she had to advance across a carpet of ravaged corpses first before finally having a chance to put her foot on bloodied stone. And once the first of the assault forces reached the shore of the adversary's stronghold, it was as if a destructive chain reaction spread among its defenders.
The monstrous vessels that had been waiting on the island rushed forward to push the invaders back onto the heavenly chain — or into the black abyss below — but it was already too late.
Seishan's soldiers advanced along the edges of the Ebony Island, attacking the vessels defending the other heavenly chains from the rear.
Mordret's defenses crumbled.
Almost at the same time, the barrier of vessels protecting his stronghold from below was breached, as well. The forces of humanity sent into the Sky Below climbed to the surface of the Ebony Island, led by the warriors of the White Feather clan.
The Ivory Tower had already crossed the Tear by then, and a wave of invaders jumped from its shores to the black expanse of ancient obsidian.
The Night Garden was drawing near... Countless abominable vessels scattered across the wide expanse of Mordret's last stronghold rushed forward to meet the invaders with lethal fury, and the Ebony Island was suddenly drowned in chaos and slaughter.
Cassie felt nauseated, feeling too many of her marks being destroyed or suffering terrible wounds.
For now, the defenders were still keeping the adversary back from reaching the Ebony Tower... but how long would it last? Countless runes carved into the surface of the ancient obsidian were destroyed now, and the runic array lost its power. Cassie took a hesitant step forward, nervously grasping the hilt of her dagger.
“I wouldn't recommend that."
Mordret's hoarse voice made her flinch. Turning, she sensed his presence behind her — she could not see what he looked like at the moment, but the heavy smell of blood told its own story.
It seemed that Mordret had not escaped unscathed from the battle against Asterion. In fact, it was a miracle that he managed to escape at all... how had he slipped away from the Dreamspawn in the middle of a furious duel? And for what reason?
Now that no one was holding back Asterion, he would arrive at the shores of the Ebony Island before too long, as well.
"...Why is that?"
Cassie did not see a clear path to victory, but she knew that Rain and Smile of Heaven were behind her, in the Ebony Tower. So, she had to do everything in her power to prevent the enemy from reaching its gates. Why would Mordret prevent her from joining the fray?
He seemed to have smiled, then said in a raspy tone:
“It's just that... if I were you, Song of the Fallen, I would retreat inside the Ebony Tower as soon as I could. If I wanted to have a chance to survive, that is."
Cassie felt a cold shiver running down her spine, her intuition suddenly warning her to be wary of him — her one and only remaining ally.
“Why?"
Mordret remained silent for a few seconds, then laughed darkly.
“Because I am about to do something reckless. And I'll need to buy myself a bit of time before that."
She sensed him approaching, her nostrils assaulted by the stench of blood.
Then, he shoved her back, toward the gates of the Ebony Tower.
"Go. I still have a use for you, so I'm inclined to keep you alive... for now."
At that moment, she sensed something else. The Reflections appearing silently from the slaughter, moving toward the Ebony Tower as well.
Why would Mordret not only retreat himself, but also recall his Reflections? What was that madman trying to do?
She was suddenly thrown to the ground, the entire Ebony Island quaking — far more violently than ever before.
Several seconds in the past — or rather, in the present — Cassie turned and faced the direction where the masts of the Night Garden now obscured the sky.
The titanic ship collided with the Ebony Island, using its great mass to arrest its momentum. The next moment, countless Awakened poured from its decks onto the obsidian shore.
Cassie remained motionless for a few seconds, then took a step back and turned around.
She followed the Reflections toward the gates of the Ebony Tower.
And as she did, a swarm of crystalline abominations of the Glass Hell rushed forward from beneath the dark fabric that had been hiding them and scurried up the walls of the ancient tower, covering them like a layer of glass.
...Turning the entire Ebony Tower into a giant mirror.
What reflected in that mirror was not the harrowing sight of the cataclysmic battle, however.
It was an endless expanse of swirling white mist.
And as Mordret smiled darkly and stepped back, limping, the great mirror burst open, an unstoppable flood of nothingness escaping from its shattered depths.
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