I LEAP INTO THE AIR AS MY WINGS SPREAD WIDE.

I have a target. I can see the disc-like ship hovering above Thornthistle— unleashing its hordes of machinery down into the city. Thousands of En besiege the last remaining haven of Utana. Their explicit goal is to raze the populace to the ground. Break the people of the world before they can fight back.

That is why Idu has done everything he has so far. First with the Eternal Elementals, then with the Zombies, now with this.

He does not want there to be any resistance when he arrives. And I will not let that happen. I look towards the large invading ship, remembering how I brought down Galgom’s Hive. All it took was taking advantage of a single vulnerability, and the entire thing exploded.

While this ship itself is far larger than Galgom’s Hive, I know that it will not be anywhere near as difficult. After all, from what I can see, there are mostly En aboard that ship. The weakest of the mechanical soldiers. Perhaps there are some Esh aboard, too. I really would not be surprised if there are.

But what this ship lacks that Galgom’s Hive did not was… Galgom himself.

The hivemind creature had been there to impede me. To try and stop me from destroying his ship. And that is why it had been a difficult challenge. Right now, against only these En, I know it would not be difficult to get to the core of the ship assailing Thornthistle to destroy it.

However, I do not just head straight there, ignoring the dying citizens of the city. I spread my arms wide as I fly in a circle over Thornthistle. Needles begin to form around me— an entire swarm of them following after me. I create it out of thin air. The element being a natural one to manipulate back in my world.

And as I soar over the city, I unleash the deluge of attacks at the En. The sharp needles tear into the giant clunks of metal. The En collapse one after another as my assault targets their joints, breaking them apart before they can deal further damage to the city. A young boy running to his mother trips and falls as an En looms over him, but before he can even break out into tears, the machine is reduced to nothing but a pile of broken parts that Beihal would be ecstatic to investigate.

All around Thornthistle, the army of En falls. Hundreds of them collapses from my attacks— they are being shredded faster than their numbers are being replenished from above. But I know that they can be replenished for as long as necessary. So I do not focus on that. Instead, I search for someone who can organize the city to better defend themselves as I deal with the ship.

And that is how I find Bluerage.

The Bladewielder from the Frosty Mountains charges through the ranks of En in a frenzy. He does not have a sword. He wields only his fists— whatever weapon he had destroyed during the fall of Frozenpeak. His Aura coalesces into an Aspect that empowers his physical strikes. Somehow, he looks taller. Bulkier. Like he is wearing armor, even when he is not. And there is a glow coming from his hands as they pulse with energy.

The man smashes through a group of En, screaming a guttural war cry as he punches another apart. One of the En comes up at him from behind, firing its lasers at his back. He recoils in pain. But the blast bounces off his back. Bluerage spins around, eyes light with fury. He grabs the En by the head and tightens his fist. The metal head crumples like paper in his palm before he tosses the destroyed machine aside.

He roars, ready to charge into the fray once again. But I descend before the man, stopping him. My swarm of needles follows after me and takes down the nearby En. Bluerage blinks as he sees my descent.

“Tian? You’re… back…” He stares at me as I nod at him. “The others—”

“They are not here,” I cut him of. “It is just me.”

Bluerage curses. “Pishitim bleed on me. And I thought we were saved... it really is just one disaster after another.”

“I wish it weren’t this way, but something can be done about this. We do not have to keel over and die. I can stop this assault before it gets even worse.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” he asks, a dubious look on his face.

I point up to the ship above. “By destroying that.”

“That’s…” Bluerage stares at the ship in disbelief. For a moment, he says nothing, his jaw refusing to work. Finally, he shakes his head. “I don’t know how you’re going to do that. But I take it you’ll need my help?”

“I need you on the ground,” I say as gesture to the besieged city. “I need you to rally the defenders of Thornthistle— no, not just them. I need you to rally any able body to repel this invasion together.”

I cast my gaze around Thornthistle. The city is in chaos right now. There is no organization. Elementalists mostly line the walls, but the threat comes from everywhere. Dropships of En unload those metallic soldiers at the center of the city, ignoring the protective walls erected around the perimeter. And, unfortunately, there are not many Elementalists fighting in the streets, so the citizens of Thornthistle are forced to defend themselves.

Fortunately, they have weapons to fight back with. They have been trained to survive during Galgom’s reign, then during the Zombie attack. Not only that, but they have prepared themselves specifically for this invasion. Beihal and Seiled have mass produced the lightshooters they have— albeit weaker versions— and handed it out to as many households of the city that they can. So there are shootouts happening all across Thornthistle between the citizens and the machines.

“Someone needs to be a leader. Someone needs to step up and save all these lives.” I turn back to Bluerage and meet his gaze. “Can you do it?”

The man hesitates for a moment. The glow in his eyes flicker— his resolve wavering as he remembers all the tragedy he has been met with in his life. But beyond that, he remembers all he has lost. And he wishes not to lose any more.

So he nods. The man steps forward, standing tall with his chest puffed up.

“I can,” he says, not breaking away from my gaze.

“Good.” I return with a smile. Then I turn and point towards the edge of the city. “There is a group of powerful Elementalists fighting at that section of the wall. Their leader is called Vidraf. I suggest you recruit their help.”

“Right.” Bluerage starts in Vidraf’s direction, only to pause. He glances back at me as I am about to take flight once more, but he speaks up just loud enough for me to hear. “And… Tian?”

“Yes?” I ask, tilting my head.

He closes his eyes and says, “Don’t die.”

I nod back at him. “I will not.”

With that, I take off flying. I ascend to the sky as my swarm of needles follow after me. I pause as I get an aerial view of Thornthistle. And with a flick of my wrist, I unleash a rain of needles into the city. My last attempt at helping alleviate their burden. The needles fall on the city like raindrops, but they target only the En. Hundreds die in a moment, and the furious fighting cools for just a moment.

Then I clap my hands together, bellowing, “Lifeblood’s Call!”

A crimson pool of magic forms below me. A thin haze that coats over Thornthistle, giving them power. The fighting immediately surges— but not to the detriment of the defenders of the city. Rather, the tide begins to shift. More and more magical attacks are being flung around at the mechanical soldiers.

With that done, I nod to myself. It is time to do my part. I turn back towards the sky and charge straight for the hovering ship.

Its hexagonal doors close and open as hundreds of En pour out with each passing moment. Dropships descend, carrying dozens of En each, but I swipe my hand in their direction. A volley of fireballs strike them down mid-air, taking out a large chunk of the oncoming wave headed for the city.

A few of the falling En try to shoot me out of the air. But their attacks deflect off my clothes. I focus only on getting to the ship as I spin through the air. I reach its hexagonal doors right as they open, and a group of a hundred En prepares to drop as hundreds more wait behind them. I point at the small army before whispering.

“Ray of Esh.”

The attack sweeps over their numbers, searing through the back wall. The metal soldiers collapse like piles of junk, easily dismantled by my powerful Feat.

I land amongst their broken bits as the hexagonal door closes behind me. I look around the white room, not too surprised by what I see. It is as I expected. It is no different than the interiors of Galgom’s Hive. Now, I just have to find my way to the center of the ship, then I can destroy its core and blow up this invading army.

I step over the broken pieces of metal littered around my feet, heading for a large metal door at the end of the room. I know that there is a hallway at the other side— one that will lead me further into the ship. But before I can kick it open and continue on, I hear the sounds of heavy metal footsteps. Clank. Clank. Clank.

I pause. The door opens, sliding back to the ceiling. And from the other side, a dozen sleek metal figures is waiting for me. They are Esh. The stronger of the metallic soldiers.

“INTRUDER! INTRUDER! ELIMINATE THE INTRUDER!” they say in their tinny voice.

I take on a wide stance as they raise their hands at me, creating blades made of light.