Army of death

After spending almost an entire day in the company of Razim, Seth returned to the Kingdom of Loss, walking out of a portal right at the corner of the Plains of Famine.

The previously deserted area was now filled with ascended, and a strong blood smell permeated the air.

Seth’s arrival didn’t go unnoticed, and it wasn’t long before Elise flew down from high in the air, landing right next to him.

“Everything is ready.” said Elise, the tone of her voice cold and emotionless.

“What about the girls?”

“They are waiting at the elevated stage I set up for your speech.”

“Take me there.” said Seth, and Elise enveloped him in a cloud of air energy, carrying them both across the ascended-filled plains towards a tall stage at the center.

Seth said a few words to the three girls already waiting there and the three destruction ascended of the Empire; he asked Lisa to teleport the destruction ascended down into the crowd before turning towards Elise.

“You can release them now. Also, make sure to propagate my voice to everyone.”

Elise nodded and used her Blood Sun to release her control over the thousands of ascended surrounding the stage and her air energy to propagate his voice to everyone.

The ascended started walking up one by one, confusion spreading amongst them as clarity returned to their previously muddled eyes. The tendrils of blood that once kept everyone’s mind a prisoner slowly sank back into the plains beneath.

“My people.”

Seth’s voice ended the whispers all around, and everyone turned towards the platform at the center, falling to their knees at having recognized who the voice belonged to.

Even with all the confusion they were left in, they still recognized the person who had brought them into the world of ascended, the one who gifted them a chance to power and eternal life. Emperor Seth.

Seth watched the waves created by the people kneeling before him and waited for them to finish before continuing: “A lot has happened while you were asleep, and I know many questions and doubts are riddling your minds.”

“I would like nothing more than to have the time to answer all of your questions, but time is what we now lack the most.”

“The entire world is facing a calamity like never before, and I alone do not have the strength to stop it.”

As the shushed murmurs returned from below, Seth ignored them and continued: “A being with power beyond your very comprehension stands against us, seeking to destroy everything we have built along with the world as we know it.”

“A being not that different from all of us, but which has reached the realm you all know as godhood.”

“Its power is beyond what any of us could ever hope to face, and we’ll all die in an instant if placed before that being.”

Seth let the people process his words with a small break, and just as a feeling of fear started spreading, he continued: “But I didn’t wake you all up to tell you of your imminent death. I woke you all up because there is still a chance for us to come on top, despite the odds stacked against us.”

“There is still a way for us, for this world, to pass through this trial. A way to fight back against the god seeking our demise. Your forced sleep in cultivation was all for this small chance to become a possibility, for you to gain the power to fight for your own fates.”

After another slight pause, Seth continued: “Our hope lies in the far north of the continent, deep inside the Kingdom of Death. There lays a weapon capable of killing even a God.”

“But there is someone else standing between us and this weapon. Someone who seeks the end of the world just as much as our main enemy, and that person is the King of Death, Thanatos.”

Asteria’s ascended had long learned about Thanatos and even knew a little about his strength, but this didn’t help calm their tense nerves. It just caused an eerie silence to spread among the crowds.

Seth smiled as he watched the hesitant ascended and said: “I don’t ask you to fight Thanatos. That’s a battle I will have to fight myself. I ask of you, my students and citizens, to wipe out the armies of ascended slaves under Thanatos and Soren’s control.”

“I might be stronger than all of you, and I know I can fight Thanatos, but I can’t fight both him and his armies simultaneously. For that, I need your help. I need you to help me save this Empire we have all built together.”

With his words finished, Seth surprised everyone by falling on his knees and lowering his head.

“I don’t ask you as your king, emperor, or ruler, but as a fellow ascended. Let’s save this world and strive toward the great future I know is still within our reach.”

Silence fell again as the people felt touched by Seth’s words and lowered their heads as well.

“For Endora.” A faint voice sounded from one ascended in the middle rows; one of the destruction ascended that stood up on the stage with Seth not long ago.

The other two destruction ascended, strategically placed in the large crowd, also added: “For the Emperor.”

“For the future.”

Like a pebble thrown into a peaceful lake, the ascended started following in their actions, repeating the words of the destruction ascended louder and louder.

“For Endora. For the Emperor. For the future.”

The ascended started rising to their feet one by one, yelling the three phrases at the top of their lungs, their energies beginning to revolve around their bodies to show their spirit.

While the morale of the sea of ascended under the stage was rising, Seth, Elise, Pearl, Meg, and Lisa remained silent, watching them from high above the stage, each with their own thoughts about it.

“Are you sure it is alright to lie to them?” asked Elise from the side in a hushed whisper.

“This is the most effective way.” Said Seth with a nod. “The truth would probably reduce our numbers by half. This way, we have the full strength of Endora at our disposal.”

Seth waited for the ascended to get more pumped up and raised his hands, having Elise once more deliver his words to everyone again.

“But before we can fight the Kingdom of Death on equal grounds, we must rid ourselves of its greatest pawn. We must attack the Kingdom of Life and claim High King Seren’s life.”

Everyone on the continent knew about the alliance between the two kings, so Seth’s words didn’t raise any suspicions with the ascended.

Seth slowly began explaining his plan of attack and gave everyone a day to prepare before Endora departed for war.

After thanking his loyal ascended again, he promised to march at the head of the army the following day and left the scene with the other girls.

After returning to the palace of Loss, Seth ignored the cold look he was receiving from Lisa and said to Elise: “Can you change the physical form of your body?”

Elise appeared confused at his words, but she quickly understood what he wanted and changed her body to look identical to his. “Is this good enough?”

“Can you do anything about your eyes?”

Elise shook her head: “I can’t.”

“I guess we’ll improvise something. You already know what to do, don’t you?” asked Seth.

“You want me to pose as you and lead the troops.” Said Elise with a sigh, returning to her original form.

“Not from the beginning, but only when the time is right. You know as much as I do that, even with all the strength the Empire has amassed, we stand no chance against Thanatos… He’s simply too strong for anyone under the level of a god to do anything against.”

Elise nodded and said: “I understand. The moment you give the word, I’ll take your spot and lead the troops in your stead.”

“What will happen to the troops after you decide to leave?” asked Lisa suddenly from the side.

Seth looked at her serious expression and noticed that Meg, Pearl, and even Elise were also staring intently at him, waiting for his answer.

Seth smiled briefly and didn’t directly answer Lisa, looking at Meg, who stood behind her and Pearl.

“Meg, can you please leave us for a moment?”

Meg didn’t understand why she had to leave when the rest could stay, but she still did as Seth told her, nodding softly before turning around and leaving the room.

With her gone, Seth finally looked at Lisa and asked: “What do you think the purpose of this war is, Lisa?”

“To rescue Caitlin.” replied Lisa shortly.

“True, but why must we rescue Caitlin?”

Lisa frowned and seemed to slowly understand what Seth was hinting at. Before she could voice her thoughts, Seth spoke instead.

“That’s right. Everything I have been doing is not to win this war but to go after Kronos and fix the timeline. Lisa, this is not a war in which I’m sacrificing all those people for nothing; this is a war in which all of us will die, one way or another.”

“You, me, Pearl, the ascended outside, and the rest of the world will all die. Either by the time paradox catching up to the present and removing the world as a whole or by me fixing the damage caused by Kronos, the us of here, now, will all be dead in the end.”

“This ends either in complete darkness or a new life.”

Lisa lowered her head, understanding at last what Seth was saying. “Is there really no other way? Do we have to march toward death like this? What makes us any less than the ones from the parallel timeline?”

Seth sighed and walked up to Lisa and Pearl, lifting his hand to touch their cheeks. Pearl closed her eyes with a sigh, allowing Seth’s warm hand to fall on her cheek, but Lisa recoiled back, looking at him with mixed feelings.

Seth didn’t force her to accept his touch and said: “Haven’t we already lost too much? All of us here?”

“Our memories might change, and we might not remember all of this, but isn’t our sacrifice worth it in the end. Pearl will not have to live with the burden of her family’s death; your father will still be with you and your mother, and my family will return to me.”

“We’ll save this world from its fate with this sacrifice, bringing it back from the brink of destruction.”

Pearl began crying, remembering her family’s faces, and even Lisa lowered her head. After a brief moment, Lisa grabbed Pearl’s hand and nodded, teleporting with her away from the room, leaving only Seth and Elise alone.

As Seth heaved a heavy sigh and started pulling his outstretched hands back, a pair of slim arms wrapped around his waist from the back, and Elise supported her head on his shoulder.

“I’ve been with you for so many years, watching you use the truth to cover your lies, that I can recognize it with a mere glance. What is it that you are hiding?”

Seth used his own hands to cover hers and sighed again.

“You have known me too well in this life.”