When Tsubaki and Dana arrived at the research facility, they were greeted by Chel, who was currently the lone occupant of the lab. At least, the lab that existed on Deckan. “I’ll take you to where we’re working now.” She said with a smile, guiding the two inside and towards a silver door.

As the door opened, the two of them saw a far larger lab, seemingly cut off from the world. As powerful beings in their own right, they were able to sense the faint fluctuations in the air, and how they were different on either side of the door. This was particularly so for Dana, who ‘owned’ all of the darkness in this world. According to her senses, there should have been nothing behind the door but an empty wall.

Yet, they were able to walk through it. There, they saw the rest of James’s research team gathered around a large table, staring at a blueprint. “We can’t really make something like this, can we?” The elven researcher asked, her eyes wide in disbelief.

“The researcher seems to believe that it is possible.” The golem spoke, though it was unclear if his confidence was in their abilities, or simply in their boss’s judgement.

“What are they talking about?” Dana asked, moving over to take a look. What she saw was a design for some sort of satellite dish, though it was hard to tell exactly what purpose it held.

“That…” Chel grinned, walking up to the table and leaning against it. “Is the core of Project Heartbreaker. We’re going to need six of them in total, so he’s working on assembly lines right now.”

“Okay… so what does it do?” The little elven spirit clearly wasn’t able to see whatever the research team could see from the blueprint. The schematics she typically dealt with were of the magical variety.

Chel let out a chuckle at the question, gazing around at the lab they were in. “Project Heartbreaker was a theory that he came up with a long, long time ago. An ultimate defense, one that would break the heart of anyone trying to siege a planet.”

“The principle is quite simple, but implementing it is anything but. Essentially, we create a barrier around the entire planet, and then force everything in that barrier to be just slightly out of phase with the rest of the world. A foot in the door of the void, as it were, isolating it from any attacks that would come our way.”

Tsubaki furrowed her brow as she thought about that. “An attack launched from outside the barrier would pass through the world as if it were a simple illusion?”

Chel snapped her fingers, pointing to Tsubaki. “Right! But this isn’t just an illusion. If it were, there are way easier ways to do it. Creating an illusion of a planet isn’t that difficult with the right know-how. Turning a planet into an illusion… trickier, but still doable.”

“The reason that this was only ever a theory for James was because it requires void-folding on a massive scale, and we didn’t have a power source capable of sustaining something like that for more than a few seconds. Unfortunately… while we didn’t have the power source, you guys are lacking a lot of the essential components to make this work. Meaning that we’ll need to substitute magic for the missing pieces.”

Tapping her fingers on the table, a holographic projection appeared, hovering over it and displaying what the satellite would look like when it was completed. “I’ll provide you with a list of components that we need to have replaced, and what their functions are. Your job will be to create magical versions of the parts we need. If you want to use geometric, runic, or even card magic, it’s fine as long as the end result achieves our goal.”

“According to the strategy, we’ll need to power these satellites for at least two hours. Each one will require at least four of your orbs to keep up with the consumption needed.” Chel nodded towards Tsubaki as she said that, only to be cut off by her elven co-worker.

“Wait wait wait.” The elven researcher shook her head in confusion. “If we encapsulate the planet in this… void shield, and take it out of phase with this world… that’s going to do a lot more than just make us invulnerable to attacks, you know? Deckan’s gravity won’t have a hold on the moon anymore at that point, causing it to escape orbit. And even our planet could potentially drift out of its orbit if we are forced to hold this shield long enough.”

Chel nodded in complete agreement with those assumptions. “I mean, you’re not wrong. Heartbreaker was never meant for long-term usage, and is simply a last resort to stall for time until reinforcements arrive, or for a large-scale weapon to finish charging.”

“If the enemy is so strong that we have to resort to this defense…” Tsubaki looked at the hologram as she spoke. “Would the Metong be able to reinforce us against them?” Of the races under the Keeper’s care, the Metong were by far the most advanced when it came to stellar combat, yet this was a foe that required them to essentially flee the universe to avoid.

“Oh, no, the Metong aren’t our reinforcements.” Chel shook her head with a small grin. “That’s where you come in.” Tsubaki blinked, pointing at herself in confusion, prompting a nod from the shorter kitsune. “That’s right. The barrier is just going to be there long enough for you to charge up an attack capable of crippling their fleet. You and our other combat oriented gods.”

“Once you all give the signal, we will lower the barrier, bringing us back to the physical plane.” After she said that, Chel pushed off from the table, grinning as she turned to face the group. “They created this fleet to kill gods. But you… you guys are just little fledgeling gods, barely able to stop one lousy meteor when you work together. It’s time someone taught you what a god can do when they unleash their potential.”

A year had passed now since Tsubaki left the office of the President of Demacry. Now, a new president sat in the office, fresh into his term. On a crystal display in front of his desk, a dwarven face was shown. “Have you managed to improve the new schematic with the information provided by the Keeper?” He asked in an eager tone.

Ever since the fourth-tier array knowledge was provided for them, the path of research had opened up. Not only were they able to complete their lacking knowledge of the third tier, but they were able to go a step further. This was of paramount importance because only fourth-tier magic could truly provide the level of power necessary for these ships.

While they had been managing using the third tier with some systems, those were by far the minority. Simple things such as the atmospheric shielding or elevators between floors. Now, they had the option for so much more.

The expression on the dwarven face was tired, clearly showing a lack of sleep. “Aye, sir. We’ve gotten a fair bit’a progress made. Our workers’ve mostly gotten the navigation system taken care of, and are working on making the hull now.”

“Excellent.” The president nodded his head. “Be sure to keep me apprised of any further developments.” At the rate they were moving now, it would no doubt be his term when the ships were finally completed. The first almost fully magical spacecraft in the history of the alliance…

“What do you think she meant by ‘what a god can really do’?” Bihena asked as I stood from the couch, moving towards the kitchen. While I did not have the need to eat or drink in the Admin Room, that didn’t mean that the pleasures of good food were lost on me.

“If I had to guess, it’s about the scale of their power.” I called back, opening up the microwave. Although I hadn’t put anything in it, I was able to retrieve a steaming bowl of noodles, smiling slightly as I walked back. “Up until now, everyone’s been fighting on a more local scale. But there should be more to divine power than that.”

“You mean like moving planets with our might?” She asked in an amused tone, glancing at my bowl of noodles before letting out a sigh and getting up to go to the kitchen herself.

“I mean like destroying planets.” I corrected with a grin. “I went into deep space once to test my abilities… I’m pretty sure that if I went all out for a little while, I would be able to destroy a planet the size of Deckan on my own. If I saved up power for a big attack, I might even be able to do it in one blast, with a more destructive domain.”

“I suppose…” Bihena said softly, soon returning with a large steak, accompanied by baked potatoes and a side salad. “But that fleet has the same kind of power, too. And they built it to battle gods. Don’t you think they’d be prepared for attacks like that?”

As the two of us were speaking, a new voice spoke up behind us, one that was rather familiar. “Well, obviously. That’s why they’re not going to be learning how to do bigger attacks, but smaller ones.” When I turned my head, I was able to see Chel standing behind us with a grin, nibbling on the end of a french fry.

“I’m surprised to see you out of your room.” I spoke honestly, knowing that she rarely left it while her avatar was awake. And even then, she preferred to stay there, watching James.

“I figured you could do with a bit of an explanation. After all, Tsubaki’s going to be borrowing some of your power for a little while to train.” As she said that, she walked over to a nearby chair and dropped herself into it.

I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that. “I thought you said that they were going to be learning to do smaller attacks?” When she heard that, Chel rolled her eyes playfully, the gesture actually managing to look somewhat cute on her.

“Oh, they will. But… you could call them large small attacks. For instance!” She held up a french fry, pointing it towards Bihena. “Last I checked, you were… Battle, Peace, and Oceans, right?”

Bihena nodded her head, too busy chewing her food to answer verbally. Still, Chel carried on her explanation. “Domains are really tricky things. Sometimes, you have to really stretch to find an ability that works. Other times, the answer is right there in front of you. In a way, you are a Goddess of Death.”

Bihena raised an eyebrow at that, causing me to chuckle. “Irena might like a word with you at that.” Chel snorted at my response, shaking her head.

“Not literally death as a domain. But think about it… a watery grave, the end of a battle, and an everlasting peace. If you connect the domains this way, you can create a new ability. The waves crashing around you, monsters lurking within the depths. With a single strike, you declare an end to the battle. An end to every battle that your opponent would ever face. You grant them eternal peace.”

After saying that, she pointed towards me with the same french fry. “You… well, I won’t bother going over yours, because Keeper. You can use any domain you want, as long as they aren’t strictly a monster. So let’s pick a new one… Keliope. She prides herself on being the goddess with the greatest tanking power. Her domains are… Strength, Fortitude, and Defense, right?”

After I nodded, Chel smirked. “If she wanted to, she could create a plague. A disease that saps the physical power of its targets, and removes their body’s natural ability to resist it. The strongest defender becoming a harbinger of a global pandemic. It fits in line with all three of her domains.”

“Okay… so what about Tsubaki? You said she’ll need to borrow power from me to train, right?” Chel nodded her head at my question, popping the french fry into her mouth.

“Yup! She’s a real treat. As you could guess by my comparison with your bear girl, domains can also work by depriving something. You see, light is made of these really, unbelievably tiny elementary particles called photons. Thus, the domain which controls light also controls photons.”

“Now… atoms are held in place relative to one another by a constant electromagnetic bond. Photons are the quantum for an electromagnetic field. So… when two electrons get close to one another, they repel while exchanging a virtual photon. If these virtual photons are prevented from forming, the electromagnetic field between atoms collapses, creating a cascading effect that basically…” She held up another french fry, which slowly seemed to evaporate into nothing. “Poof. The absolute smallest attack that can break down any physical structure.”