Shadowbane

~Reimia POV~

Standing atop the Western gate, the first thing that catches my attention is all the sparks lighting up over the battlefield. Watching a few of the scattered fights going on, I see that the aggressors are six to eight feet tall Lizardmen. They also appear to be the reason for all the sparks going off across the field.

"Hmm, the blue Lizards are the six-feet tall ones, and they're all using what looks like a flat rounded sword wrapped in lightning. In their other hand is a shield made of water."

One of the Lizards raises his shield as a Guardian swings an enhanced greatsword down at it. The blow is caught by the shield, doing absolutely no damage as the sword bounces back harmlessly.

I assume that's a magic shield, but if it's from a physical item I'd love to get my hands on one of those.

Meanwhile, the green eight-feet tall Lizards are stabbing over their allies shoulders with long wooden-spears that are encased in ice around the tip. Any grazing blow leaves a frozen patch behind, leading to that extremity going limp soon after. The Guardians appear to be trained in the basics of elemental defense, heating up that part of their body to remove the ice, but this won't last forever.

So the blue Lizards shock the enemy who is then unable to respond in time to the ice attacks. The reason they are doing this is obvious from the couple of Guardians I see being dragged away towards the Eldritch far in the back.

"They're taking prisoners...?" Only faction-based Eldritch like the Kitsune would do such a thing. While this is a good sign, it doesn't necessarily mean they are up for negotiations. It could just mean that the Eldritch wants a bunch of mana-trained humans for a buffet later.

At first I wondered why the hell everyone is so spread out, but one look at the Templars situation and it becomes clear why battles are happening all over the place.

"Markus is completely pinned down..."

The Templars are huddled together, forming a barrier around themselves. They don't have a choice after all. There is a barrage of large water columns being fired at them from far in the back of the battlefield. They're being fired at an angle like arrows would be, falling down onto or near the Templars, ending in one hell of a loud explosion as they land. I'm even getting splashed way over here hundreds of meters away. The impact those things create upon landing isn't anything to scoff at, they'll blow through all their mana enhancing themselves just to survive a few shots.

I see a little black umbrella sticking up in the middle of the Templars, and while it's good to know Aresa is helping them out, it's still only a matter of time before they run out of mana. Hopefully that's something I can help them with. If it's a Satyr type of creature that can both fight and cast high-tier magic, then I won't be of much assistance, but more often than not casters are weak physically.

Off to the right side of the battlefield another wall of Lizardmen is forming now that the Ifrit Legion is nearly here. As the Legion is about one-hundred meters away, they begin firing what appears to be fire bullets at the Lizards.

Right away I realize that those are magical guns, not the ones generally used back on my home world. 'Why waste your own mana on bullets when physical bullets exist?' my Uncle used to say while arguing with my Father about the pros and cons of magical guns.

I was wondering why I haven't seen any guns yet despite my family selling thousands of them to Viseux ages ago. I see why now, they decided to go the magical gun route. Most people stick to learning magic or enhancing physical weapons instead of guns, because once you get close, the battle is over. However, their regiment appears to have at least one-hundred people, that's more than enough to keep up a steady barrage allowing nobody to approach unless the Lizards send most of their forces that way.

I can already see several of the blue Lizards dropping dead, unable to block enough of the shots with their shields, leading to their barriers draining all their mana while they try to protect themselves. Once their barriers are gone, they die almost instantly. The regiments are shifting around every thirty seconds, allowing each other a turn to quickly meditate and refill their mana. While this appears to be just what the Guardians need for support right now, it means nothing once the casters begin firing those cones of water at them instead.

Jumping off the gate, I dash forward the second I hit the ground. Weaving back and forth through the battlefield, avoiding fights and flares alike.

Those flares hurt like hell, thank god Hera spread them out over a large area, leaving me plenty of space to avoid them.

As I get past the last of the Lizardmen soldiers, I can finally see what the casters look like. Little blue Lizards, maybe five-feet tall, swirling staffs above their head as the spears of water form above them. They're still really far away, and while that is easily a distance I can cover in maybe two minutes, the problem is that they are very close to the Eldritch.

Halfway to the casters, I spot something else that looks completely out of place on this battlefield, especially so close to a bunch of Lizardmen. There is a human girl with bright orange hair wearing a tattered wedding dress, standing next to a seven-foot tall bipedal black crocodile with long black wings sprouting out of its back.

I don't know about the girl yet, but I know I can't beat that Crotia. I've only seen a few of them before, the humanoid crocodiles that were exiled from Urza. This one is fully armored and holding a spear that I already know is an artifact merely from glancing at it. The Eldritch being within one-hundred meters was a problem by itself, but now this damned Crotia is barely twenty yards away from the casters.

Half the casters of the pack swivel towards the right side of the battlefield, preparing a volley for the Legion.

No time to think on this, I need to stop that volley.

Dashing behind the Lizard at the end of the pack, I drop my aura and punch the back of the lizards head, leading to the same cranium explosion the dog experienced when I first revived here. As it slides forward through the mud, the eyes on the closest Lizard nearly burst out of its head in surprise. It cancels the spell and tries running away, but I was on top of it instantly, punching my right fist all the way through its chest.

As I'm pulling my hand out of the Lizard, I see the Crotia eyeing me up and down. The girl is looking back and forth between the Crotia and me, apparently waiting to see how he'll respond to my appearance.

Before he makes his move I need to kill as many of these casters as I can. Two down, eighteen to go.

Charging towards another caster with my arm pulled back, I hear a loud echoing roar from the Crotia right before my fist connects. What feels like a blast of sound smashes into me, but instead of blowing me away, I freeze up completely.

Is that his ability?! Shit, I can't move at all...!

The Crotia leaps at me with the spear drawn back.

With no other options, I put my aura back up hoping he'll think I warped. While it made the Crotias' eyes dart back and forth, it didn't deter him from stabbing where he last saw me. Thankfully, the artifact armor shot two spears out of my torso, stabbing the ground and pushing me backwards into the air right before he pierced me.

Regaining my movement shortly after, I flew about twenty yards backwards onto a rock, preventing him from seeing my feet splash down in the mud.

Now what though? I can't do anything about the casters like this. Fortunately, the group closest to me had stopped casting upon my arrival, but they look like they're gearing up for another barrage now that the Crotia is guarding them.

Off in the distance, I see a familiar head full of red hair being carried towards the Eldritch.

Even Hera got captured? I thought with her ability she'd be in the best position here. She probably ran out of mana though, and the Guardians are in no position to safely regen like the Legion currently are.

... Hmm, I have one idea, but I really hate losing that ability so soon. However, I don't think I have much of a choice in the matter.

Slowly sneaking around the Crotia towards the other end of the casters, I drop my aura and create two fleshy spheres in both of my hands. The Crotia sees me instantly, but I duck low behind the caster next to me who's currently cancelling his spell so he can run away from me.

Sadly for them, I only needed a few seconds.

As the spheres expand to the size I need, I throw one out near the other end of the pack, while lobbing the other to the group much closer.

Possibly out of reflex, or maybe pure stupidity, the one I lobbed was caught by a caster, who stared at the fleshy blob curiously. The Crotia grabbed two of the closest casters and leapt away as the bombs exploded, eviscerating most of those who remained, leaving the rest injured.

On my end, I was already invisible running off towards the Lizard carrying Hera. Halfway to the Lizard, I could feel the Eldritch probing my soul.

... I'm too close, it can sense me now.

Looking up, I see that the Eldritch only vaguely resembles a cobra. Its face is covered in pure black eyes, while its hood is made up of a myriad of different colored feathers. There is also no mouth on the being at all from what I can see.

As I was debating on whether to turn back, I see the Lizard carrying Hera walk through a swirling purple vortex at the base of the Eldritch.

Wait... Is that a portal? That's how they came here?! I don't think I've ever heard of an Eldritch launching an invasion through a portal before... I wonder if this would be another first for Markus? Seriously, what the hell is going on with Urza right now?

I stare at the portal, contemplating a rather bad idea.

... I think I'm going to jump through that portal. I killed as many casters as I could, so the Templars should be free to go on the offensive. I don't know if Godwin or Jasper are on the other end of this, but either way, they'd appreciate me saving Hera. I might even get Jasper to drop the fee for the artifact armor completely. Also, the Eldritch poking around at my soul is absolutely disgusting, I need to get out of here. Either forward or back, and I doubt it'll let me go back.

As I begin running towards the portal, the Eldritch makes no attempt to stop me.

Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. Good that it's not stopping me, bad that it thinks I won't be a problem on the other side.

Jumping through the portal, I land onto a marsh on the other side. There are branch-less trees all around me. No leaves whatsoever, as the tops of the trees turn into very large blue mushroom heads, the same ones I saw sprouting back in Thule. Most of the area here is water, while the small patches of land have small bright orange lights shining through the grass. While it appears to be night time, there is a bright star in the sky shining through the clouds, illuminating everything in sight.

The world itself is honestly beautiful, I can already tell that my soul realm is going to change to the view before me. That's just how much I love everything in front of my eyes. Of course, that is with the assumption I will survive this trip.

The star is also shining down on something I can't even begin to comprehend. A creature, hundreds to thousands of times larger than anything I've ever seen, that's so unbelievably tall it's blocking the light from the star behind it. If I were to guess, the top of its torso is at least five thousand meters tall.

Is that an old god...? Or perhaps an Eldritch so old that it is about to become one?

I believe the creature is called a 'Hydra'? It has hundreds of different heads, all branching off its enormous torso. Each one takes on the shape of a different animal or monster head. I only recognize a few, most of them are unknown to me.

There are also thousands of Lizardmen in front of me. Some of them are near the portal, armed and waiting for something. The others appear to be relaxing around campfires. Most are talking amongst themselves, while the rest are taking turns throwing a small ball against a wooden backdrop. After it stops rolling they lean down to look at it, and then begin divvying up bones from a pile before each Lizardman throws more bones down creating another pile.

Well, they're obviously gambling. It seems that no matter where you go, living beings with intelligence just can't help themselves. Even I used to gamble every now and then in Xelba.

Lastly, there are at least thirty Eldritch gods loitering around out in the distance. While they all look different, they are still reptilian in nature.

They could be Lords to the Hydra... Although at this point the classification means nothing. Regardless of what they are, there is no way Urza can beat even half of what I see here, and that's not even counting the Hydra. I assume they aren't currently supporting the invasion because the Cobra is the scouting party, and it would also explain why its so focused on spreading its domain. I didn't know they could speed it up like that, but it's probably burning through ether to do so. Judging from the scene in front of me, the reason it's doing so is obvious. The Cobra is preparing the area for more Lizardmen to move over to Urza.

Behind me a door slams shut.

Whirling around, I see what appears to be a temple.

That has to be where they take the prisoners, because I only see Lizardmen and Eldritch everywhere else. I'll grab whoever I can and get the hell out of here. Hopefully with the casters dead the other side is winning enough that they'll have leeway to retreat. The problem is that they'll have no time to prepare for a trek North. Who knows how far the winter weather goes, nor if they'll be able to scavenge for food while being pursued.

Circling around the temple, I find a window that leads into a storage room on the backside of the building. To my great surprise, they are sliding glass windows.

I haven't seen these since the home I grew up in... Urza is still using shutters. Did the Lizards who gamble in bones truly create these windows? I have a hard time believing that.

Pushing the window open, I jump inside and slide behind a large wooden crate. Peeking around, I find nothing noteworthy. No Lizards, only a bunch of crates filled with vegetables and fruits.

Walking over to the door, I push it open ever-so-slightly, seeing a plain hallway that splits at the end.

No Lizards again, but there are several annoying torches lit up.

Removing my aura, I dash to the fork ahead, reapplying the aura as I peek to both sides....

Still nothing, only a door waiting at the end of both sides. For now, I'll go left since the right will lead to the main hall. I can vaguely hear talking down that way.

Cracking the left door open I find what I'm looking for. The room is filled with cages housing all sorts of different races, while one cage holds the three people I happen to be looking for.

A Dragonkin looks back and forth in confusion as the door seems to open and close all on its own.

"Well done Father, we escaped Urza just like you always wanted. At least I assume that's what your plan was when you made us try to circle around the battlefield by ourselves." Jasper said.

"Fuck you and your sarcasm boy, someone had to kill those mages. If we got you two close enough it would have been easy as hell to kill those little peckers."

I walk up to Godwin's cage, removing my aura.

"I was following Hera, but I wasn't sure if you two would also be here."

Hera, who was laying down rubbing her eyes, sits up hastily. "Rei?!"

"Well shit... Looks like I don't get to die yet." Godwin sighed.

"Personally, I don't think they want to kill us. Still though, it is good to see you Rei. As you can see, we are currently trapped in these cages. I don't know what these bars are made out of, but they're draining our mana, so we're unable to use abilities to break out." Jasper said.

Looking around, I see one pair of keys are stuck in a cage housing a single gorilla-like creature, while there is another one hung up on the wall. Upon closer inspection, the 'gorilla' is armored in dark-grey armor that looks exactly like his fur.

"Why didn't any of you just have the gorilla here break you all out?"

"We tried... He couldn't get his fingers through the bars." The Dragonkin responded. The gorilla hung its head down in response.

Grabbing the keys off the wall, I go around unlocking all the cages, and turning the gorillas keys last. Surprisingly, only the Dragonkin and gorilla left their cages.

"You're all going to stay here?"

"As opposed to what? The portal to Aetheria is far away from here. We'll never make it..." An Elf said. His wife and daughter behind him also look like they've given up.

It's been so long since I heard the name of my homeworld... I'd love to ask them how things are going there, but there is no time for that. Actually... Isn't this a good opportunity?

"Do you know which direction the Aetheria portal is?"

"No? They carried us for hours, turning multiple times while walking through a forest."

... So much for that, I thought I found a quick way home. Although, if there is a portal there, does that mean these Lizards are also invading my world?

"Sorry Rei, looks like you're stuck with us for a bit longer." Jasper said, still stretching after escaping that cramped cage.

"Seems that way... Oh, I killed most of those mages, and the Ifrit Legion showed up, so things should be looking much better out there."

"Hell yes well done! Finally some good news for a change." Godwin said.

"What about you two? Our portal is directly outside of this temple, so obviously that is where we are heading."

"I shall accompany you, if that is allowed." The Dragonkin said.

The gorilla punched its chest once and nodded.

"Well alright then, the more the merrier! Let's kill as many of these fucking reptiles as we can on the way out of here!" Godwin yelled.

Isn't the Humanoid-Dragon there also a reptile? It appears he didn't mind though, since he's not reacting in any way whatsoever.

"Hang on Father, shouldn't we leave the way Rei came in? I assume it wasn't the front door, where I know you are planning to drag us to." Jasper said as his Father reached the door.

"Bah, what's the difference? She can't make us invisible so they're gonna see us either way."

"Let's at least find out how she got in here?" Hera said.

"It was through a window out back that led to a storage room. It's only one hallway away from here and I saw no Lizards on the way."

"That settles it, we're heading there." Jasper said, cutting his Father off who was undoubtedly about to suggest we take the front door anyways.

One by one we exit into the hallway with me at the head. Turning right at the fork, I head to the storage room, opening the door to reveal a still-empty room.

"The window right there, it's big enough for the gorilla to get out too." I said, walking over to the window and jumping out of it.

"Both ways around were devoid of Lizards when I came here, but I'm sure you remember how the other side is infested with them?"

"Hard to forget that, coupled with the multi-headed abomination in the background that is bigger than Viseux, our largest city." Godwin replied after he landed outside.

"Don't remind me... I'm already terrified thinking about how we'll have to run over one-hundred yards to the portal in full view of that thing." Jasper said.

The gorilla beat its chest then gives us a thumbs up.

That's his way of saying we'll be fine huh? I sure hope so...

After everyone was outside we walked to the side of the temple, peeking out slightly to make sure the coast was clear. From inside the temple we could hear a chorus of clapping followed by cheers.

"They having a fucking party?" Godwin said.

"Never mind that, I want to get this over with before my legs give out. Let's go, quickly." Jasper said, running towards the portal.

The rest of us took off after him. Everything was fine till we passed by the temple, leading to us being revealed to everything here. Immediately, every single head on the Hydra turned toward us, freezing all of us in our tracks.

I... I can't move at all. This is far worse than what the Crotia did to me. An unbelievably powerful soul is crushing ours right now, making every second feel like an eternity.

The Hydra watched us for awhile in silence. Eventually, I was forced to understand that all I have to do is go through with the ceremony, then I will be let go, whether I am chosen or not. So long as I swear to never interfere with the Lizardmens' prime directive to end all Demons and Xerath, then no harm will come to me. They will be colonizing this moon now that it has passed the corruption threshold, proving that the residents of the moon are incapable of protecting their own home.

Xerath... I wonder if he means the faceless ones?

Acknowledgement was the emotion relayed to me, as the Hydra is reading my thoughts.

Corruption... Xerath... The first thing that came to mind was Viktor and his pet faceless one.

Suddenly, much more attention was focused onto me. An explanation was demanded.

... There was an Elf named Viktor, fifty-five or sixty years ago he brought over the core of a face... Xerath. I don't know why, but the Demons are able to move him back and forth between the Xerath's realm with much less effort than would be required for anyone else. Also, the Xerath do not attack him. If anything... They seem to listen to him.

Alarm, confusion, shock, disgust, all sorts of emotions flared up throughout all the Eldritch listening to this exchange through the Hydra.

Only one thought was transmitted to me through all the beings here.

WHERE?

I don't know... I died trying to kill him forty-two years ago. He ended up fleeing through the portal connected to Aetheria, the Elven planet. Somehow I was revived here on Urza a few weeks ago. I want to track him down, but I'm not strong enough to do that yet.

Their combined conscious pulls away as they begun discussing something amongst themselves. Slowly, I could feel my senses returning.

"W-Well, on the bright side, it doesn't seem like they are going to kill us?" Jasper said, his legs shaking so much he's barely able to keep standing up.

"Don't be so certain young master. I doubt their plans to take over your homeworld will be as harmless as they claim." The Dragonkin said.

While I understand what he's saying, I'm personally feeling much better about this after being bombarded with emotions of utter disgust when I described Viktor to them. Anyone who sees him that way is someone I'm willing to try and be on friendly terms with. Also, I personally couldn't care less who 'owns' Urza.