I HAVE FAILED.

My feet gently touches the grass on the ground as I land right before the giant hole on the earth. I look down that deep, gaping pit, only to see a sea of red at the bottom. A layer of Lifeblood waits there— barrier that managed to hold up against the crimson beam fired into Utana.

I look up to see the damage that has been done. I stare into a gulf in the sky, just as wide as the one burrowed into the ground. And beyond that gulf, within the void, is a giant metallic sphere.

Idu’s world itself is slowly descending into Utana. It still has a lot of distance to cross, but it is on its way. And I know that there is nothing else I can do to stop it. I cannot close the hole in the sky any longer. There will be no more delays. All that is left to do is to fight.

I shake my head, readying to fly to Kalmat and the others to prepare for the upcoming battle. But just as I conjure up my Aspect, turning my Aura into wings, I pause. I hear a low groan. A droning sound that sends reverberations through the air.

I narrow my eyes and look up once again. There, above the clouds, in the hole that has been torn into the sky, the descending metal sphere shifts and moves. Large chunks of the metal surface recedes back like a sliding doorway, revealing various large chambers hidden within. Waiting in these chambers are odd slightly oval-shaped objects. Like discs. And I recognize them. They look just like Galgom’s Hive. Except—

There are dozens of them. And some of them are far larger than Galgom’s Hive itself.

Three of these ships detach from Idu’s world. One of them nearly ten times larger than Galgom’s Hive. The other two are slightly smaller variants. But they fly ahead of the descending metal sphere, heading straight for the hole in the sky.

I can hear the working of their machinery. It is like a low groan. A constant deep buzzing noise. And it only grows louder as it gets closer. I do not understand how I can hear it, despite the fact that it is still in the void. But I also do not understand how those objects are even able to move through the void, either.

But there is no reason for me to understand it. It is all technology that does not exist in my world. It is something so advanced I cannot comprehend even the basics of it. Maybe if I get Seiled or Beihal to investigate those ships… but no.

There is no time for any of that. I watch as the three ships cross into Utana itself. They hover in the sky with no wings. No magic. Just technology. And they wait there for just a moment. I narrow my eyes, unsure of what they are doing.

Then an odd sensation overcomes me. One that sends a prickle down my spine. My skin crawls like insects are nibling on my arms and legs. I back up, hiding behind a tree as I frown. My eyes glimmer as I expend both Indigo Essence and Blue Essence.

The Schools of Divination and Enchantment, respectively.

With them, I grant myself both enhanced vision and protection from any attempts at scrying me. I do not know what the ships are doing, but it feels eerily like a weak attempt at divining my location. No— not just my location. But to get the lay of the land itself.

Some kind of… scanning.

I can see it too, with my enhanced vision thanks to the School of Divination. An invisible red light is being cast over Utana like a cone, slowly taking in everything. The foliage. The fauna. The people.

I frown as I notice the red light focusing in on three different locations. The ships hover there, continuing with their scan. Then the red lights dissipate. The three ships break away from each other. The two smaller ones head away from the Flourishing Flatlands, while the third— the largest of the three— flies straight towards the center of the domain.

I watch as they fly on. I wait until they are completely gone before emerging from behind the thicket of trees. Spreading my wings wide, I look up to see where the ships have gone. The two smaller ships have broken off, heading in different directions as they speed up. But the last one seems to slow down, zoning in on its target.

That is when I finally realize the last ship— the largest ship— has a clear target in mind. I fly into the air, looking on with wide eyes as the little hexagonal doors at its sides begin to open up. Machines built just like the En emerge and leapt down, beginning an assault on Thornthistle.

“Oh no,” I whisper as I see the siege of the last remaining city of Utana begin.

***

Hundreds of En pour out from the giant ship. The disc-like ship lets them out by the dozens. They befall Thornthistle in numbers that have never been seen since Galgom’s invasion. It is a siege that descends on the city from the sky. One that seems like it will not stop until the ship itself is taken down.

Elementalists line the walls of the city, unleashing their magic to fend off the siege. Ordinary people hide in their homes, hoping that the rain of projectiles falling from the sky will stop. But it does not even falter. The attack continues on relentlessly.

This is Thornthistle. The city of the Flourishing Flatlands. The home of the Keepers of the Grove. And the last surviving settlement in all of Utana.

It is their bastion of hope. After all, not only has Thornthistle fought off one of the largest invasion forces Galgom could muster. But it is the place where heroes were born. Where Kalmat was raised. Where Nindran played. Where Beihal learned curiosity.

And it is the first city I found when I woke up in this world. It cannot fall. I will not let it fall.

The walls of the city are barely holding up. The En themselves are descending from the sky, using thrusters that shoot weak flames from its back to slow their falls. There are smaller ships, too. Ones that emerge from the larger disc-like ship that are designed to carry a dozen or so of the En down into the city.

One of these smaller ships land on the battlements of the city. It unloads ten of the mechanical robots. These En are a little more bulky than the ones that are under Galgom’s control. But they are still dangerous. They raise their lightshooters and aim at the defenders of Thornthistle.

A group of Elementalists face them, readying their magic as the clusters of Lifeblood pool around their hands. But just before either side can open fire on each other, I come crashing down from the sky. I rip through the dropship, charging straight at the cluster of En. With a swift flurry of blows, I dismantle the machines, knocking them off the walls.

The Elementalists pause when they see me. They stare, blinking for a moment, not processing what just happened. I kick aside one of the broken heads of the En, turning to the group. My eyes flicker with recognition of one of them.

“You,” I say as I step forward. “You are Vidraf, correct?”

I point at the man standing in the middle of the group of Elementalists. I recognize him from when Zombies were sieging Thornthistle. I nod at him, glad to see he is still alive.

He steps forward, returning the nod. “It is good to see you here, Tian. We really need your help. At this rate, the city is going to fall…” he trails off as his gaze darkens.

I glance back towards the rest of Thornthistle. “Have Kalmat and the others returned?”

“That’s… no.” Vidraf shakes his head. “I thought he was with you.”

“I see.” I do not comment beyond that. But that means I know where one of the two ships that left the Flourishing Flatlands is headed.

In my heart, I wish I can leave to find my friends. To ensure that they are safe. But I also know that they could protect themselves if anything happened. Meanwhile, Thornthistle is mostly defenseless.

What Elementalists they have left after losing so much to Galgom’s tyranny cannot fend off this invasion. Even if their numbers have replenished slightly with the refugees that came in from the Frosty Mountains. They need me here. But even with my help, it may not be possible to fully succeed in chasing away the

Vidraf himself realizes this. He looks at me hesitantly. “What do we do, Tian? How do we stop this? How do we… save Thornthistle?”

I grit my teeth, glancing down towards the city as fighting breaks out in almost every street. As the constant descent of En does not slow. Then I look up towards the shift— one designed just like Galgom’s Hive. With the same army, same protections… and the same vulnerabilities.

I look back down to Vidraf, giving him a reassuring look.

“Worry not,” I say as I take in a deep breath. “I will destroy this invasion at the source.”

And I leap into the air a moment later.