A dark wind howled through the city as the storm advanced. The once vibrant skyline, a perfect harmony of light and dark, was swallowed by rolling black clouds streaked with crimson lightning.
Mary, Lela, and Loosie stood atop the spire, their eyes locked onto the approaching force. The whisper they had heard was no illusion—the old gods would not allow this balance to exist.
They had come to erase it.
The first figures emerged from the storm.
Towering silhouettes, their forms shifting between monstrous and divine, stepped through the haze. Some bore radiant golden armor, wings of celestial light unfurling from their backs. Others were wreathed in shadow, their forms indistinct, their very presence distorting the space around them.
And leading them…
A figure clad in crimson and silver, wielding a spear that pulsed with the very essence of destruction. His face was shrouded beneath a hood of molten gold, and his voice boomed through the air like thunder.
"Children of defiance. You stand upon an abomination."
His gaze locked onto Mary, Lela, and Loosie. Even from this distance, his presence pressed upon them like the weight of the heavens themselves.
"You are not meant to exist. This 'balance' is an insult to the divine order. Stand aside, and we shall grant you mercy."
Mary's grip on Saber of Mist tightened. The moment had come.
She took a step forward, her voice unwavering. "We will not stand aside. This world belongs to us now."
Lela twirled Gáe Bolg, the spear humming with latent energy. "If you want to take it, you'll have to go through us."
Loosie, standing between them, grinned. "Let's see if these so-called gods are as powerful as they think."
The hooded figure sighed. "So be it."
He raised his spear and pointed it toward them. The storm erupted.
A legion of celestial warriors and infernal monstrosities surged forward, their battle cries shaking the heavens. The city beneath trembled as the armies of the old gods descended.
The battle for the new world had begun.
The First Clash
Mary leaped from the spire, her body vanishing into a blur of mist. She reappeared on the battlefield below, cutting through the first wave of celestial knights with swift, precise strikes.
Her blade sang, arcs of mist slicing through divine armor. Each slash was relentless, her movements a dance of speed and power.
One knight swung a golden halberd at her—she sidestepped, twisted her blade, and bisected him in a single motion.
Lela landed beside her, Gáe Bolg crackling with energy. She thrust forward, and the spear extended unnaturally, piercing through three shadowy entities before retracting.
Her eyes flashed with determination. "Keep up, Mary."
Mary smirked. "I should be telling you that."
Above them, Loosie had taken to the skies, his body wreathed in black flames. He weaved through the celestial forces, tearing apart winged warriors with precise, explosive bursts of energy.
He was a blur of motion, striking like a comet of shadow.
But the old gods were far from finished.
A deep, earth-shaking growl rumbled from the heavens.
A colossal figure descended from the storm, landing amidst the battlefield with enough force to crack the very foundation of the city.
It stood over fifty feet tall, its body sculpted from molten gold, its face an expressionless mask.
"This world will burn," it intoned, raising a fist.
The air warped, heat distorting the space around its body.
Then it struck.
A shockwave of fire and divine energy exploded outward, incinerating dozens of fighters in an instant. Buildings trembled, entire sections of the battlefield turned to molten slag.
Mary barely had time to react before the blast reached her—she raised Saber of Mist, channeling her power into an arc of defensive mist. The blast collided, dispersing around her like water against stone.
Lela was already moving.
"GÁE BOLG—ANGEL BOLT!"
Her spear transformed into pure lightning, launching from her hands like a divine judgment.
It struck the colossus in the chest, causing a massive explosion of golden light. The creature staggered, molten cracks forming across its body.
Mary took the chance. She vanished in a swirl of mist, reappearing atop the colossus's shoulder. With a single precise strike, she drove her blade through its neck.
The giant froze.
Then, with a deafening roar, it crumbled into dust.
The battlefield fell silent for a moment—but only for a moment.
The hooded figure still stood, unmoved.
He lifted his spear, pointing it skyward. The air grew heavy, and the storm above shifted.
A massive, celestial gate opened in the sky.
From within, a hundred more warriors emerged, each one radiating power beyond anything they had faced before.
Mary's breath steadied. They would not back down.
Lela cracked her knuckles. "We keep fighting."
Loosie grinned. "Obviously."
Mary raised Saber of Mist, her aura flaring. If this was the will of the old gods… then they would break that will.
And with that, the next battle began.
The Battle's Turning Point
Hours passed. The battlefield was drenched in divine and infernal energy, the once-thriving city now a shattered war zone.
Mary, Lela, and Loosie fought relentlessly, but the endless waves of warriors threatened to overwhelm them.
And then—
A new presence descended upon the battlefield.
A figure cloaked in twilight energy, neither light nor dark, materialized at the center of the carnage.
The warriors of the old gods hesitated.
The hooded figure turned, his voice laced with disbelief. "Impossible… You were banished."
Mary's eyes narrowed. "Who…?"
The newcomer's voice was calm, yet powerful. "I am the Arbitrator of the Forgotten Path. And I will not allow this world to fall."
With a wave of his hand, the battlefield shifted. The very fabric of reality twisted, dragging the old gods' warriors into a void between worlds.
The hooded figure snarled. "You dare interfere?!"
The Arbitrator's gaze was cold. "This war ends today."
Mary, Lela, and Loosie exchanged glances. Their battle wasn't over yet.
But for the first time since the war began…
They had a chance to win.