Damien stepped out into the view of a flaming azure sky.

  The planetary shield was cracked, its blue white surface dimmed, and it looked only a touch away from completely shattering. The only thing that seemed to be holding it together was the strings of light gray that ran through its surface, like thin threads stretching across both sides of a torn fabric.

  And beyond that, beyond the cracked layer of protection provided by the World Spirit, were three more glowing suns, each just as bright and powerful as the original one.

  One was a pulsing blue ball of immense energy, glowing so bright it turned the sky into a sea of azure.

  The other was a mass of glowing purple, throbbing with mental pressure so massive that Damien felt his mental shield crack just from one pulse.

  The third was a giant orb of golden yellow, the largest of the three and the one radiating the most powerful aura of them all.

  The three suns were held together by a ring of swirling silver.

  The atmosphere was swept up in a heavy tang of ozone mixed with a sharp metallic taste, and Damien felt crushing pressure from the other side of the shield, held back only by the will of the world spirit.

  Thunder rattled the skies as thick forks of lightning flickered here and there, painting the sky a hauntingly beautiful tapestry of azure, crimson, and gold.

  A dense stream of water, so large Damien could see it clearly from his position on the ground, rose into a coil that pointed at the wave of approaching hungry darkness.

  From the approaching darkness crept innumerable numbers of appendages, twisting and unfurling like the many limbs of a deep-sea creature. A moment later, they revealed themselves in numbers upon numbers of long-fingered hands filled with rotten-looking, sharp claws similar to those of carrion eaters.

  Twilight enveloped a part of space as shadows moved to interpose between the approaching darkness and the three floating suns, only to be run over like it didn't exist.

  From another location, a shrill scream of intense agony echoed out and both the twins gasped.

  "Mother!"

  Crimson and emerald moved to interpose themselves but they were too late. The many grotesque hands curled around the three suns, ignoring the waves and waves of attacks sent at it, each strong enough that they sent pieces of the planetary shield falling down in motes of light.

  By the time Damien took his eyes away from the shards of destroyed protective essence, the hands had already dragged the suns into their embrace, swallowing them in their depthless maw.

  And a new wave of darkness swallowed the world.

  Damien's eyes, ears, and even his spiritual perception, went dark when a new wave of darkness descended onto the world. And for a second time that day, he felt it begin eating at his mind and soul, bit by bit.

  Surrounded by darkness, through the agony and pain, the fear of the unknown crept in.

  Damien slowly stepped back, gripping his spear tightly as his eyes widely flickered around in unabashed fright. He gritted his teeth and tried to force his agonized mind to monitor for any form of movement, but nothing came.

  The lack of movement, which should have made him feel relieved, only instilled a more primal fear in him. He poured energy into his body and pushed fruitlessly against the darkness, gritting his teeth more and more when his efforts continued to prove fruitless.

  Something snapped in Damien right there and a new feeling of indignation reared up. Why did he have to be this way? Why was he this weak? Who gave these... Ants the right, the gall, to put him at their mercy.

  Daimen smiled wickedly and turned his face upwards. It was time that people learned not to involve him in their petty, childish plays. He called the shots, not them.

  He left his spear to hover slowly behind him and then raised his right hand to the sky, palm opened.

  What he was about to do was something that had never been seen or even thought of. It bent and broke all the cosmic rules in existence and would instantly set off alarms in the minds of his enemies, but he didn't care. He was done hiding, biding his time until he was powerful enough.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  He was done letting children and lesser people dictate his every move. He was done shackling himself to appear normal. He was do—

  ~LIFE REIGN~ a voice cut through his inner monologue. ~RENEWAL~

  Golden light swept through the world, tearing apart the darkness and sending it reeling back.

  It didn't stop there, it pushed the darkness into the far corner of the system, where it became but a distant darkened hue to the normally dark expanse of space. When the golden light finally died down, it was to the sight of the planetary shield, back in place and healthy looking, like it had never been destroyed.

  Daimen curled his lips in disgust. If the ascendant aimed to impress, they'd failed woefully in doing that.

  "No matter," he said. "If you cannot properly banish a creature of the unreal, I'll have to teach you."

  Again, he stretched forth his hands, ignoring the many eyes, which unsurprisingly were directed at the battle going up outside the planet.

  His mouth opened, only to be interrupted again as a new being made an entrance.

  There was a shattering sound, no different from metallic shackles being broken, only these echoed all over the planet and even the system.

  The system shook as a faint tinge of crimson overlayed into it, pushing against the darkness like light against darkness.

  Narkyra's wall of darkness was snuffed out like a candle to a flame and the crimson gold glow of the sun dimmed further as it fought against the pressure from the new arrival.

  Only those of the Life ascendant as well as Attrevia Verrille stayed still, flickering a little and then stabilizing.

  His teeth came together in a grin when blood-red scales, each as large as a house, appeared in the skies, shifting through the skies in multiple waves.

  A giant snout appeared, topped with ridges that ran up its length until it landed on a thick, angular head topped with a massive, curled black horn.

  The body of the creature consisted of four heavy legs, each large enough to crush cities to dust, and a long tail that looked to span half the entire continent. It all balanced on a huge body with twin thick leathery curtains that spread across the sky, completely blocking the already dimmed rays of the sun.

  Pressure of such magnitude that even the Divine King went down on his knees descended onto the world, and a deeper wave of crimson swallowed the world.

  Daimen gritted his teeth against the pressure, his back bowed. But he stood.

  With a soul strength unheard off on any Spirit lord, Daimen raised his head to look up just as the World Spirit pushed against the aura of the new arrivals, leaving behind air to rush into the lungs of the many viewers.

  "At last, we are free!!" The dragon roared. "Now where is that mouse, Attrevia?"

  "We?" Somebody asked right before another chain shattered and a second dragon stepped out.

  It was no different from the first one. It had scales of sky blue that glittered like stars on a night sky, rippling with forks of blue lightning that continuously ran all over its body. It was just as tall as the first one, but slimmer in size, with a look that was mainly for speed and quick maneuvering in contrast to the heavy strength of its counterpart.

  That wasn't to say it wasn't powerful. No, lightning dragons could deliver attacks so powerful as to render continents to dust just by a single attack.

  "If she does not come out, we should take her home," the lightning dragon said, its glittering slits clearly visible from down on the planets as it narrowed down on them. "That should serve as a start for the payment owed to us."

  "Hmm," the crimson-scaled dragon slowly nodded, clearly savouring the terror that gripped the hearts of everyone on both planets. "Good suggestion, wife. We shall take from her until she comes crawling to us for mercy."

  "You should know better to threaten me, creature," a third voice said, and then the woman herself appeared. "I chained you both once. Do not make me do it again."

  Unlike the first time she'd appeared, there was a new look to the appearance of the Desolate Duchess. Her hair was dark as night, with lines of deep crimson running down its length. Her eyes still burned like the sun, a dense crimson power that cracked space and promised utter annihilation to all that beheld it.

  Daimen made sure to avoid looking straight at it, and it seemed even those gathered around him knew to do the same.

  Hovering just behind her head was a halo formed from crimson, rolling gently with ripples of blood red lightning flickering out of it as she calmly strolled forward with her walking stick as assistance.

  Behind her, the battle continued, with the Life Ascendant as well as the Sun spirit and Narkyra Verrille battling against the Hollow, a battle Daimen could read very well was going downhill.

  Glad, he liked that.

  The dragons sent a growl that made the land rumble. "I would like to see you try."

  "It's just bluffing, right?" A nobody said, fear evident in their tone. "The Duchess will prevail, right?"

  "Of course she will!" One of the Mistress of Madness's spawn boasted. "Grandmother is the most powerful Ascendant in the fringe! Nobody, not even a dragon, could come close."

  Daimen smiled in amusement. In full power Attrevia might have stood a chance against both dragons, considering she had grown a lot since their last battle and they had not. And while he doubted she had the capability to kill them, sending them packing wasn't out of the question.

  But the Attrevia Verrille that stood in front of both dragons, with a strengthened Hollow behind her, was not going to survive this encounter, and she knew it.

  Once the Duchess was dead, the rest of the mortal Ascendants would follow, and then the Sun spirits and both world spirits. Each would either fall into the maw of a dragon or a hollow, and Daimen didn't mind any.

  Daimen pulled back his hands, smiling as he watched and waited for what the woman would do now that she was surrounded on all sides.