Welp, here it is! After so long, the next chapter finally arrives~

So...yeah, it took a while, but I've finally recovered! Not fully, but good enough for me to sit down and type this chapter out. Was a bit of a pain, since I needed to reread the previous chapters to get an idea on what was going on, but other than that, all's good.

Really enjoyed writing [Arcane Armory] though. Not sure why it feels so nostalgic, but it does. Probably because it's similar to something I've watched before or something, but I don't know.

Anyways, this chapter's a bit shorter than usual, both because of my recovery and also because I deleted a number of scenes that I just feel didn't really...fit, I guess. I had this entire battle for Shirou, but then I decided not to and just kinda deleted it, changing it with the one where he dominates that poor giant Lahmu.

Well, that's enough from me for now. As usual, if you have anything you want to ask or share, do leave a review. Aside from that, enjoy the chapter!

"Trigger off! [Arcane Armory]!"

By my words, the sky bursts with light as thousands of arcane bullets form, enchanted by holy energy and glittering like distant stars. [Mystic Eyes of Myriad Perception] activate, the spoken logistics and rules of [Arcane Armory] begin their scripted lines, and a raging heat blooms within my veins as my magic circuits come to life.

"FIRE!"

At my command, they fire, each bullet twisting through the air as they rush towards the superior Lahmu. The monster screeches, and the wind its cry sends knocks most of the bullets off course.

Not that it'll do anything.

[Arcane Armory] isn't just an upgrade to my [Spinning Prana Bullet]. If the latter is a machine gun, then the former is an entire autonomous battalion. The latter needs my absolute concentration, while the former only needs to execute the rules and script I've set down for it.

So,

'Fire at the [Lahmu]'

'If miss, redirect attack until it hits'

'Apply every attack with [Morningstar]'

'Be as efficient as possible'

'Make use of [Mystic Eyes of Myriad Perception] and the [System] as additional information'

'If [Tsunaka Hanami] requests anything further, delegate immediately to her command'

Those are the six clauses I've given [Arcane Armory], and with my [Gamer System] and my mystic eyes helping it out, it's following the clauses with ruthless efficiency.

"AaaAaAAaAaAAaAaAA!" The Lahmu's screech rises as the holy bullets crash against it, tearing away at its corrupted body and burning it with holy light.

It isn't enough; far from it. It's [Iron Body] is already annoying enough, but paired up with [Child of Nature]'s natural regeneration boost turns the giant HP pool it has into something even more monstrous.

In seconds, the HP it lost is healed, and it immediately rushes towards me, folding its body into a thin sheet as it flies through the air.

[Arcane Armory] quickly reacts, creating thicker and sharper bullets before firing them at the speeding Lahmu. It easily avoids them, folding its body to narrowly slide past the attacks. The bullets turn and fly back, but they're far too slow.

But that's fine.

"[Stop]!" I shout, my prana-infused voice blowing through the air as [Morningstar activates]. One moment, the Lahmu is moving, then it suddenly finds itself stopped, its body crushed from all sides as it's pulled back by an invisible force. It cries out, unfolding in an attempt to free itself, but it soon screeches as hundreds of bullets crash down upon it.

I smirk. Stopping things by forcing them into a gravity well never gets old.

Well, that, and using my words to further punctuate the effect. It's somewhat similar to activating a [Noble Phantasm], except this one works to increase the effect of whatever I'm doing as long as my words and actions align. Not quite sure what skill this falls into; haven't gotten a notification that tells me otherwise, but it's a nice bonus to have!

Tried teaching this to Shirou a night ago, but it seems like it isn't something anyone can learn so easily.

Oh well.

The Lahmu screeches, breaking off a couple small blobs from its body and sending them flying, their shapes thinning to javelins as they fly towards me. [Arcane Armory] moves to intercept, catching the two javelins in a giant rectangular barrier before sending them flying elsewhere.

It screeches again, but its voice is quickly drowned out as a giant dragon of holy lightning slams down into it, exploding into a giant blast of light and sparks. Its mud-made body burns away from the intense heat, and even though [Hearth of Daedron] doesn't do well against [Divines], the Lahmu are [Demonic] enough for the Noble Phantasm's effect to come to play.

"AAaaAaaAaaaaa…" It's voice comes out weaker this time, before it's once again silenced as another dragon slams down into it, filling the sky with sparks and light again.

And-

[HP: 9,921,037/20,000,000]

Oh yeah, that's nice.

[HP: 10, 012, 221/20,000,000]

Oh, come on.

The damage [Arcane Armory]'s testing bullets did are negligible, so if we don't count that...Two [Hearth of Daedrons] caused about 5 million HP. One cast takes out 50,000 MP from my pool, leaving me with just above 300,000 MP. Then, added with the 100,000 in [Andromeda], I have enough for eight more dragon meteors, which should be enough.

It should be.

But this world doesn't operate on shoulds, does it? A plan never truly stays intact when it begins.

I still need some MP to operate [Morningstar], and I'll need more when I need to use [Reinforcement]. The superior Lahmu hasn't used its [Cursed Energy Manipulation] either, so that's another thing I'll need to watch out for.

"AAaaAaaAAAAA-!"

"No you don't! [Hearth of Daedron]!" Before it can do anything, I activate my Noble Phantasm again, and Daedron slams down onto the Lahmu, ripping a nice 2,5 million from it.

Now then-

"Gah!?" Suddenly, [Arcane Armory] activates and shoves me to the side, just in time to avoid a deadly claw strike from behind. I quickly turn, eyes swirling blue, only to stop when I see another superior Lahmu, floating there with that shit-eating grin it permanently has.

No, not just another.

"Oh...fuck off." I say, an uneasy grin slowly forming as I look all around me, cold sweat trailing down my neck as I take notice of the horde of superior Lahmu floating around me. There's...34 of them, each wearing that grin on their non-existent faces.

Curses.

But my grin becomes just a tad more confident as all the Lahmus are forced back by a hail of holy bullet storm, each bullet perfectly powered to chip off exactly 50,000 HP; a damage number still low enough to allow my MP to regenerate but big enough to at least slow down the Lahmus' stupidly powerful regeneration.

All courtesy of [Arcane Armory]'s wonderful calculations.

Path made, I quickly fly away, letting [Arcane Armory] continue firing on its own. The Lahmus screech and begin their flight towards me, folding and flipping through the air as they do their best to evade the eternally homing bullets.

Taking a deep breath, I split my mind in two using [Mental Partition], letting one control my flight and surface thought as I continue developing my current plan.

The main problem I'm currently facing is the Lahmus' stupidly powerful regeneration. They're control over their mud-made body is annoying, but something I can deal fairly well against, and the corruption can be healed using [Morningstar].

But how to deal against that? I can deal enough damage to overpower it, but that'll sap me dry, and I doubt I'll be able to deal with all the Lahmus chasing me if I go down that route.

I wince slightly as one of the Lahmus claw just barely nicks into my neck, but [Arcane Armory] quickly dispatches a blast of holy bullets to chase it away. It stays however, its grin growing wider as it stabs right in, its claw puncturing straight through my neck and out the other side.

[Critical hit!]

I could've-, would've died there had [Reinforcement] and [Natural Body] not been in my skill list. Still,

"Gah-!?" Pain strikes me, and I can feel myself growing cold as its corruption begins seeping into me.

I grit my teeth.

"[MEGIDO]!"

The Lahmu's grin falls as a giant ball of flaming plasma explodes from me, sending it and its brethren flying away, the holy light it carries burning away at their unholy bodies. They're pushed back even more as [Arcane Armory] bombards them with holy bullets.

Taking a quick breath, I apply a quick bandage around my neck as [Morningstar] works on clearing the taint. The application of it was rough and painful, but at least my HP stopped dropping from the bleeding it caused.

With another breath, I turn and continue my flight, pondering over what I can do as I fly, leading the Lahmus further from Uruk, both for their and her own safety.

As our aerial combat continues, I frown, staring at one of the Lahmu's status screen as I weave around the Lahmu's attacks, [Arcane Armory] working in the background to slowly chip away at the Lahmus' HP.

I read their skills over and over again, eyes scanning line after line as I frantically work my mind for a plan.

And then, and I begin reading through [Child of Nature] for the third time, I stop.

[Child of Nature Lv - Max]

Created and blessed by the world itself, you have become her children, her offspring, and her extension. Her life is yours, and yours are hers. Through this connection, you have become connected to Gaia.

Quadruples your [Natural] HP Regen.

Any skills related to [Nature] gains 300% increased Experience.

-If you are affected by any damaging [Status], the first effect of [Child of Nature] is cancelled-

The final line says that the skill can be stopped if I apply the Lahmu's with some kind of damaging status ailment.

But,

[Abnormal Status Resistance Lv 50 - 0%]

By gaining resistance to multiple different debilitating effects, your body has gained a resistance to these negative effects.

Provides immunity to all Negative Status Effects of Rank C+ or lower

The Lahmus have this as well, so I didn't think much of stopping [Child of Nature]. I mean, sure, I have [Poison Domiiorga] and all, but it's still Level 7. The poison it can apply is Rank E at best. That wouldn't have worked.

But.

That's only in the ideal, uninterrupted and normal circumstance, right? The ones I'm facing are Lahmus, powerful and enhanced forms, but Lahmus nonetheless.

And what traits might these Lahmus hold?

The answer's elementary after that, my dear Watson.

So I stop, twisting sharply as I turn to face them, eyes narrowed and magic circuits burning bright as I outstretch my hand out to them.

Seeing me stop, their perpetual grin grows wide as they rush towards me, folding their body into sharp javelins to stab right through me and to corrupt me.

Then, I grin.

"[Gravity Well]!"

[Morningstar] activates, and the space before me contorts as space-time sinks. Suddenly, the Lahmus find themself sucked in by some unseen force, sending them crashing together into one heap of mud-made madness.

Now-

[As per your intent, your unnamed skill has been renamed into [Gravity Well]!]

...Huh. Anyways,

Before they can fold themselves out of the gravity well, I send a giant pulse of magical energy from my palms, firing it towards the Lahmus' mouths and forcing them inside their bodies. Then, [Poison Domiiorga] activates.

And nothing happens. The Lahmus look at each other for a moment, trying to figure out what's happening, before they grin, slowly folding into one another to shoot out of the gravity well.

Then it happens.

Bright yellow cracks begin to spread across all the Lahmus bodies, burning away their bodies and sending hot steam into the sky. The Lahmus screech, the regenerative effects of [Child of Nature] halted.

They turn to me, and though they have no faces, I can tell they're confused and panicking.

My grin turns just a tad wider.

Honestly, for how smart I can be, I'm pretty dumb sometimes. It's true that my [Poison Domiiorga] won't do anything on its own, but I didn't think to combine it with [Morningstar], which...I honestly have no clue as to why I didn't think of that. I mean, the line of the skill states that I can imbue attacks with [Morningstar], so maybe I just didn't consider poison an 'attack'?

Whatever the case, [Poison Domiiorga]'s rank becomes significantly higher when paired with [Morningstar], and with the Lahmus' [Demonic] nature, the holy poison now coursing through their bodies sits at roughly B+ or A rank, definitely high enough to ignore their [Abnormal Status Resistance].

[[Poison Domiiorga] has leveled up!]

And now that they're hurting, they don't have quite enough power to escape from my gravity well.

My grin turns predatory.

I stare at the grouped Lahmus, my eyes glowing a bright blue adorned with flakes of gold,

And with a snap of my fingers, my hold on [Arcane Armory] ceases and the skill resumes firing holy bullets at the trapped Lahmus, chipping 50,000 HP with every bullet they receive.

400 of those bullets are fired at each Lahmu, knocking their impressive 20 million HP down to zero. The number isn't exact of course; the holy poison's done some of their own damage, but the number of bullets fired stays roughly the same.

With that, the battle ends.

[You have killed x34 [Primal Lahmus]. You have gained 850,000,000,000 Exp!]

[You have leveled up x3!]

[You have gained [Primal Cores] x34, [Vials of Tiamat's Blood] x34, [Lumps of Inactive Mud] x34, 8,500,000,000 ¥!]

...Cool. I'll read more about them later.

"Fuu…"

Welp. That was...fun, I suppose. That [Critical Hit] I took to the neck wasn't great, but other than that, everything went a'okay.

Now then, time to get back to Uruk!

["Oh god we're gonna die."] Romani's voice echoes from her comms, and Ritsuka lets out a weak laugh as she stares up at the towering wave of Lahmus, slowly crawling towards the walls of Uruk.

The many Dingirs stationed atop the walls are slowing it down, and the giant lightning dragon Hanami dropped onto it burnt away quite a good chunk of its body, but it isn't enough. The wave is too massive, and she can clearly see it slowly regenerating, recreating parts of the wave Hanami's Noble Phantasm had destroyed.

Hanami is missing as well, forced away by some flying creature she couldn't see.

Oh, and Gil's missing as well. Hanami did say that she's fine, but Ritsuka can't quite help but worry.

'Great.' She sighs. There's still a number of things they can do. Merlin and Gilgamesh's barrier will halt it when it gets too close, Mash has her shield ready when it's needed, and the new sword Hanami gave her is particularly effective against these mud-made creatures.

Will it be enough?

'Nothing's ever enough.' A voice whispers in the back of her head.

It's true. She doesn't have anywhere near enough magical energy to strike that thing down. Effective [Salem] might be against the Lahmus, it won't do anything without enough magic to power it.

But that's fine. She herself might not have enough magical energy, but the world sure did, and when [Salem] wants, it takes.

At her command, the [Salem] forms in her hands, its blood red edge glowing in the darkness. She takes a breath, feeling the blade's calming aura fill her, and she lets her eyes droop close.

Emptiness fills her, an aching need for something to be filled.

Then, a spark, and her insides burn. Her magic circuits light up, and she grits her teeth as she feels her insides boil. Her sword might be the one absorbing the magical energy in the atmosphere, but it does so through her. She is the conduit, and all the foreign energy passing through her isn't something her body was born to deal with.

So it lashes out, trying to push the invading energy away, but [Salem] persists, continuing to drag the mana through her body and into it.

Hence the pain.

It's fine however. She's dealt through worse. She'd felt her skin being burnt by Saber Alter's Noble Phantasm, had her muscles pierced and torn in France, bled buckets of blood in Septem, nearly drowned in Okeanos, had her lungs be destroyed by poisons in London, bruised and beaten down in America, and tortured within the castles of Camelot.

Her nerves had already been frayed by this damned grand order. Some more pain is nothing.

She takes another breath, sharper this time, and with the burning flame rising inside her chest, she shouts,

"[SALEM]!"

Her sword bursts with magical energy, and gritting her teeth, she slashes it down, sending a giant wave of sharp magical energy, one too fast and too tall to be seen using the human eye alone. It rushes forward, blinding the world in bright vermillion before it crashes straight into the giant wave of Lahmu.

And the beast shrieks as the light cuts through it, burning through its muddy body like paper in a fire. It'd tried to split itself, but the light was too fast; there wasn't much it could do.

Had the Lahmus simply rushed in as an army, they might've managed to survive such a strike without too many casualties.

...Well, no, not really. All Ritsuka would've needed to do was slash horizontally and the same effect would take place.

Truly a broken Noble Phantasm, in two ways.

"A-Ah…" Ritsuka smiles wryly as she collapses, the strength in her limbs drained completely. [Salem] flickers for a moment before it disappears, returning to the imaginary space within her mind.

"Senpai!"

In the end, the one limiting factor [Salem] had was Ritsuka herself. If Saber had been the one to hold it, then the world would've most likely split in two from the sheer threat such an idea brought, but Ritsuka, for how much she's changed, is still human.

Perhaps that's a good thing, perhaps not. Only time will tell.

"I-I'm fine." Ritsuka says, slowly standing back up. Her legs wobbled from the weight, but she pushed on.

She isn't fine. Not really. Her legs and arms feel like jelly. Her chest feels hot, as if it'll burst into flames at any moment. Her eyes ache. Her head is pounding. Her breaths are sharp and labored. The magic circuits under her skin burn from the stress she'd forced onto it.

She's tired.

But it's fine. She's always been tired.

"I'm fine." She says, steadier this time. She brings [Salem] out once more, ignoring Romani and Da Vinci's worried cries from her comms.

"Senpai…"

Ritsuka turns to the kind Shielder. Mash is frowning, she realizes, and her eyes look somewhat shiny. Is she crying? Ritsuka can't really tell. Her vision's blurring slightly.

Ritsuka takes another breath, fixing her grip on [Salem] as she flashes her with the brightest smile she can.

"I'll be fine."

She will be, when this is all over.

Understandably, no one is convinced, but Mash relents, turning her eyes back to the giant Lahmu. The monster writhes, its crawl stopped as it attempts to fix itself. It doesn't work, not completely at least. The lingering magic [Salem] left behind is halting the powerful regeneration it holds.

So instead, the Lahmu succumbs, splitting into two smaller, but still giant waves. They're both heavily injured, and several more slashes from [Salem] would probably do the deed.

But can she survive if she does so? Using [Salem] one brings her down by this much, and that wasn't even at its full power.

[Salem]'s calming apathy washes through her, and her lips set to a thin line. She'll survive. She'll stitch herself together if she needs to.

"Ah, by the way, how's Shirou doing?" She then asks. Mash blinks at the sudden question, before she turns her head back to see where he is.

And then she stops.

"...Mash?" She calls as a feeling of dread settles in her gut. Slowly, she turns around, and her jaw falls as she sees another giant Lahmu, shaped as a towering wave as it crawls towards Uruk. "Holy shit." She says evenly, tone carefully flat as she turns back to the twin Lahmus she'd attacked before. "Doctor, why didn't you tell me?"

["Shirou told me not to worry."] The doctor says casually. ["And I don't blame him. He's doing a good job on his own."]

"...really?" Ritsuka closes her eyes for a moment, grasping the link tying her to Shirou. There's no feeling of danger or worry there. He's calm, somewhat tired, slight hurt, but he's focused and calm.

She sighs and shakes her head. Shirou seems to be fine, and she still has two giant Lahmus to deal with anyways.

"Mash, just focus on defending. I'll start charging [Salem] again." She says. Mash looks at her, worried, before she slowly nods and fixes her grip on her large shield.

With that over,

Ritsuka takes a breath, and closing her eyes, she lets [Salem] take control once more. It glows a bright red, and the air around it begins to wobble.

Then, again, pain erupts through her veins as the mana in the air is absorbed, dragged through her skin and into her magic circuits, using it as a pathway towards [Salem]. Her circuits protest against the foreign substance, but Ritsuka holds herself steady, forcing the mana to continue on their path towards her Noble Phantasm.

[Salem]'s glow continues to grow brighter, and before long, the world around her is bathed in vermillion red.

Then,

"[SALEM]!"

Again, her sword is swung, and the night is filled with red.

It doesn't understand. It can't understand.

"[Shpaltn Himl]."

Again, that massive broadsword the human wields is swung, and the giant Lahmu screeches as the attack tears away at its massive body, breaking it away like branches from a tree.

How? How has this human reached such strength?

It doesn't understand. It can't.

Pained and frantic, it lashes out, sending a massive wave of accursed energy at the human. The dried earth breaks, the sparse plants growing around wilt, the air grows thick and dark, and the mana in the air becomes drenched in toxic curses.

Yet the human remains in place, a gentle golden light wafting around him, warding away any and all of its curses. His expression remain calm, unbending, unlike all the other humans mother had corrupted.

It should've been impossible. The accursed energy it has comes from mother. She is stronger than all, mightier than all. Her influence turns the very earth into her child.

It isn't enough.

Why isn't it enough?

"[Shpaltn Himl]."

Again, the human swings that massive silver sword of his, and another massive chunk of the Lahmu falls away, broken and torn by the energy his attack holds. It tried to dodge, but the human's attack was faster, wider. There isn't much it can do.

This is a losing battle.

But it's fine. It isn't here to win or lose. In time, mother will wake, and she will begin her rise, crawling from the oceans and onto the lands she'd been casted away from.

And when she does, all will be right.

"[Shpaltn Himl]."

So it is fine. Its body might break. It might perish. It might die. That is fine. Mother had already considered this. All she'll need to do is to find more material to recreate it, and together, they'll rule this world they were barred from.

All will be well!

"Is that so?"

The giant Lahmu halts, surprised, only to find itself screeching as something enters it, coursing through its entire body and eating away at the mud mother had used to create it. The foreign thing is disgustingly bright, bright enough to burn away mother's mud, and all the Lahmu can do is screech and cry out.

"How's that for a spell?" The voice speaks again, intrigued. "Looks kinda painful, although I'm not sure that even matters. I mean, can Lahmus even feel pain?"

It cries out, trying to move, or attack, or anything, but the damned energy parasite inside its body keeps attacking. It's stopped completely, unable to move.

It needs to inform mother about this-!

"Oh well, not that it matters."

Suddenly, a massive outburst of magical energy fills the skies, and though it has no eyes, the Lahmu can feel the weight in the air, the way the air seems to tremble, and all it can do is a silent whimper.

"Run archived instructions. Enemy set."

The roar of thunder comes from above.

"Trigger off. [Arcane Armory]."

And the Lahmu knows no more.

[You have killed [Tide Colossal Lahmu]. You have gained 10,000,000,000 Exp!]

[You have gained [Primal Cores] x2, [Vials of Tiamat's Blood] x2, [Lumps of Inactive Mud] x2, 100,000,000 ¥!]

...The hell? Why did it give so little Exp? Even one of the super-powered Lahmu I killed earlier gave me more.

Well, whatever.

With a sigh, I gently descend from the sky, landing right before Shirou. He smiles at me, dismissing the broadsword he'd been holding. Then, he suddenly moves forward, placing his hands on my neck, and I can't help but shiver slightly as his fingers run across the bloody bandage I'd applied around my injured neck.

"Stay still." He says, and I give him a small nod. He hums, and as his magic circuits light up, [Avalon]'s light appears, its gentle warmth filling me as he begins to heal my neck. Shots of pain come up here and there, but I remain unmoving.

Then, as quickly as it begins, it ends, and Shirou unwraps the bandage around to reveal my now uninjured neck.

[Due to [Avalon]'s blessing, the status [Heavy Bleeding (Bandaged)] has been cured!]

"Thanks!"

He nods, his lips curved to a small smile. "No problem. Just be more careful."

"Mhm. I will." I say, before adding, "Just make sure to follow your own advice, okay? You have [Avalon] and all, but it won't do anything if you're missing a head." He nods again, and I smile. "Alright! Let's go help Ritsuka with the other Lahmu, yeah? I mean, she'll probably be fine, but [Avalon] will help with her-"

I muSt WaKE uP.

"Ngh-!?" Suddenly, pain shoots through my head, and it nearly knocks me down. I grit my teeth as I try to get my bearings, but the pain continues to pulse, pounding against my mind.

Distantly, I hear Shirou's worried cries, but it's drowned by the growing static.

I muSt sEE heR.

Why the hell is this happening!? Shouldn't [Enlightenment of a Sacred Fig] protect me against mental attacks!? Why-

...Unless this isn't coming through my mind.

wAiT FOr me, mY CHilD.

And then, the voice fades, the static disappears, and I find myself on the ground, my breaths quick and heavy as sweat drips down from my face. I shut my eyes for a moment, using [Morningstar] to gently warm myself, before I open my eyes.

"Tiamat was speaking to me, but I'm fine." I say with a sigh, slowly pushing myself back up. Shirou looks at me in worry, clearly unconvinced. I try to smile, but a headache shoots through me, and I flinch. Shirou quickly grabs me by my shoulders, and I feel the familiar glow of [Avalon] surround me, but the ache in my mind stays.

"...better?" He asks softly.

I smile tiredly. "[Avalon] heals physical wounds well, but not so good on damages to the mind and soul." I say simply. Shirou frowns at my clear dismissal, but he nods. "So, what should we do?" He asks instead.

"The same as before. We help Ritsuka out."

He nods again. Then, he smiles. "Race you there?"

I can't help but grin at that. "Race you there." I say back, and with [Morningstar], I take off to the skies.

"It took you long enough to appear, mongrel." Gil says, her lips curled to a heavy frown as hundreds of golden portals ripple behind her, each readied with their own Noble Phantasms. Their golden glow fills the cavern, melding with the soft blue hues given out by the surrounding crystals.

Kingu stands just behind her, glaring at the one standing before them.

Amakusa silently stands there, an eerie smile plastered on his face.

"I was simply waiting for you." He calmly replies, and Kingu can't help but shiver slightly. His voice sounds...off, artificial, and he can't shake off the feeling that something is terribly wrong about this man before him.

"Hmph." Gil huffs, and suddenly, the Noble Phantasms from her gates are fired, turning into golden streaks as they crash upon Amakusa, exploding violently on impact.

The priest remains in place. Not a single speck of soot or dust lands on him, and the stone he stands upon remains undamaged, almost as if the weapons Gil had fired simply vanished.

"How rude." He says with that eerie smile of his.

"Rudeness means nothing to a corpse." Gil says simply. Amakusa laughs, and the sound comes out robotic. He settles down with a small sigh, before he smiles back.

Suddenly, he rushes forward.

Gil narrows her eyes, and a hundred portals shimmer to life behind her.

Kingu crouches, tapping into his connection with the earth.

And the cavern is filled with light.