Kain and C’thylla clashed against one another on the surface of the sea. In three of the four cardinal directions, the Teutonia Knightly Junta held land that was being buffeted by the winds and waves that surged from their blows, be it mainland or islands. Kain was beginning to realize just how much of parody this world was compared to Earth, with Teutonia controlling not only all of what would have been Denmark and Norway, but also parts of what would be Sweden and Finland.

True, Albion had once contained parts of what could have been fantasy versions of the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium, but Kain hadn’t really paid attention to that. Now, surrounded by the myriad islands that filled the sea between Not-Germany, Not-Denmark and Not-Scandinavia, Kain suddenly began to realize just how much different this world was compared to what he had dreamed.

The world he had dreamed lacked any analogue for Norway, Sweden Denmark and Finland, but in this new, altered version of the world, these places existed. It made Kain wonder just what kinds of other places happened to be brought into reality. Maybe a Not-Spain or a Not-America? Surely the Pseudo-Atlantic Ocean that had become real had something on the other end of it.

Aside from the realization that the world was quite a bit bigger than he originally thought, Kain was incredibly surprised by the capabilities of this ‘Pseudo-Hero’. The fact that its attacks did not trigger the same ‘bullet time’ as other threats did was a cause for alarm, as it meant that True Heroes likely would not trigger the effect either. Another cause for concern was the fact that C’thylla’s strikes had an uncanny ability to cause pain, something Kain was not used to dealing with. They also had a bad habit of slightly slowing his regenerative factor, so he would need to be extra careful around groups of Heroes, should he ever face them again.

The sparring match had gone on for several hours, and the force they directed towards each other had slowly been ramped up. If neither of them had the ability to recover from their wounds, it would have been anyone’s guess who would have won, but as Kain could heal faster and more completely he had the upper hand as the fight dragged on. While not a True Hero, this Pseudo Hero had certainly been engineered to perfection, even before she got an ‘upgrade’ into a non-human body. Not since Old Kain had fought in the Great War had their body been pushed this hard and they would be in for quite the fight if they fought without having to use the new ‘Two Minds, One Body’ technique.

However, with that one technique being activated the battle shifted irreversibly in Kain’s favor. Blows could now be dodged with far less effort and could be leveled upon C’thylla with near reckless impunity. Eventually the two stopped fighting, and Kain acknowledged C’thylla as a valued part of the Empire. To top things off and end with a bang, Kain allowed C’thylla to witness his current limit, knowing full well it would nearly obliterate her body, but leave her soul unscathed.

…

The sounds of thunder and explosions echoed through the storm as countless waves broke upon the beaches with ever greater size. Lighting danced on the horizon and from out at sea as islands were carved up by the shockwaves and impacts that the raging sea monster let loose. Most people had tried to wait out the tempest by hiding in their homes, but as the surf grew closer and higher and the winds howled with ever increasing intensity even the sturdiest of houses were ripped apart by the gale force winds and massive waves. Even those who were far inland on the islands were not safe as the raging and invisible monstrosity would slam into the isles and shattered them to pieces.

The storm went on for only a few short hours, but those hours were the longest that any of the survivors had ever experienced. When the rain settled down to a soft drizzle and the wind became a nice calming breeze, it was thought that the worst was over.

It was not.

The sounds of whips cracking rang out across the sea, before they stopped and started again. A small red comet could be seen falling from the sky; hurtling towards the waves at ungodly speeds. When the comet struck the surface, it made a thunderous booming noise as the force of whatever the comet was made of exploding upon impact with the water. But that was not the end of it, not by a long shot.

The water started to recede, going farther out than even the lowest of low tides. Some fools went out to marvel at the sight, but experienced seamen rushed as far inland as possible. As mainlanders toured to now exposed sand, they were caught unawares as the water rushed back in as a massive tidal wave. Coastlines all across Teutonia were ravaged by the massive surge, with even picturesque seaside resort towns being shredded by the oncoming sea like a collection of doll houses being fed into a woodchipper. Even Rusk was not spared the horrors of the sea monster’s rampage. While they had enough people to make the loss of 100% of their coastal populace be viewed as ‘a minor inconvenience’ the damage sustained to the infrastructure and loss of life was not a laughing matter.

No one along the coast or in any nation knew what exactly had transpired out at sea, only that something (or possibly multiple somethings) had thrown a temper tantrum and caused a great deal of damage to people and property. A few days after the true scale of the disaster became clear, Teutonia seriously considered not engaging in the annual ‘excursion’ into Rusk’s land for the goal of seizing loot and plunder. Rusk, on the other hand, merely sent more bodies to the coast to make up for the lack of living ones and secure a steady supply of fish. Even if there were no boats or docks for the fishermen to work at or on, they could just go out and swim until new ones were built by the new arrivals.

…

C’thylla awoke in her mother’s hands, ashamed that she had been so utterly overpowered.

“Worry not, my child. You did well. Lord Kain even offered his thanks for your participation and willingness to engage him. You have been out for a good few hours, slowly recuperating from that little impact. Truly, I did not expect him to slam you into the water from the moon. That you survived such a thing is astounding. If it were not for your inability to die unless your soul is shattered, I am sure you would have been obliterated utterly and totally.”

Zalga brought over a naginata that fit C’thylla’s webbed hand perfectly.

“This is a gift from Lord Kain to you for you service. He said to use it well.”

C’thylla looked over her new weapon and began to realize just how much wealth went in to making it. It was as much a work of art as a tool for killing, the silvery blade etched with intricate patterns and the azure handle made of countless blue stones that together looked like the scales on a snake’s skin. The pommel was a marvelous sapphire gem mana crystal, and the blade itself had shining yellow gems that crackled with magical electricity. In the center of the blade on both sides and in between the finer etchings was an engraving of Atlanti’lyeh’s national symbol, an octopus with snake heads for tentacle tips.

This was a gift? For her? Why? What had she done to be deserving of this priceless treasure? Her mother chuckled and bid the young Naga to follow her and the two moved towards a conference room in the palace. No one was there, but the orb in the center of the ceiling began to glow and generated a picture of a room far away and on the surface.

The planning stages of ‘Operation: Knightfall’ had finally begun.