Act 3, Scene 5
22nd of the 4th Cycle
The Sun was rising over the Byakko Plain.
Shogunate troops were waking up to another quiet morning, breaking their fast over open fires. Birds were chirping, a light breeze drifted through the camp. The Shogun had ordered them to set up camp on the City perimeter, and intercept any outlanders trying to enter the city. Strange, but who were they to question the Shogun?
On the vast Byakko Plain, the peaceful morning was interrupted by an overwhelming onrush of Void. Reality screamed as it was torn open, and from the aperture revealed a white-haired woman, her face was childish, her demeanour anything but. Six wings of stars extended from her back, her form dressed in regality. Golden eyes burned with rage, a curtain of hair flowed as if she were underwater.
She was hard to miss, and Aether realised with startling clarity how much she resembled the Unknown God. Yet, he could not come to a conclusion, as they had different auras. Aether has always known how shifty Paimon was, and that he was very likely merely a pawn in whatever game she was playing. Aether resolved to question her later.
Nonetheless, he could see the ashigaru rush into formations, while yoriki and hatamoto screamed orders. Men hastily put on their armour, palisades were manned with arquebusiers and spearmen.
The Lord of Void stared down at them as if they were insects, and snapped her fingers. Grass withered and died, flowers curled on themselves, trees began to rot and fall. Behind her regal form, hundreds of portals opened up, and cursed beasts of Void crawled out.
Some looked humanoid, some looked like animals, some flew, some walked. They fell out of the sky, their strange metal carapaces glinting in the Sun. Aether could see the Void fueling them, purple lines ran up and down their white metal sheen like veins, or wires. They converged in specific locations, most notably the eyes.
The pristine green grass of the Byakko Plain was churned into mud on the onslaught of the tide of Void Beasts. Arquebuses roared, spitting fire and smoke, their bullets ricocheting off the Beasts' metal carapaces. Some were luckier, managing to hit the violet convergence that the Beast's had, causing sparks and explosions, they fell to the ground lifelessly.
But it was hopeless, the endless tide continued to fall from the portals in the sky. They smashed into the palisades, punching through it as if it were paper, and ripped into the bodies behind it.
Aether spurred his horse, "Time to go."
He and Mona raced through one of the gaps in the palisade, dodging Ashigaru and Void Beasts alike as they battled in the Plain. Bodies flew and blood-soaked the soil, Void Beasts tore indiscriminately, fueled by their mistress' rage.
But they miscalculated how fast the Void Beasts were, soon enough some of the Beasts had already broken through Shogunate lines and were charging into Hanamizaka. Fires began to spread as they knocked down lamps and torches, flames licked the thatch roofs and spread unchecked.
One Void Beasts impaled a small girl on its lance-like arm and tossed her broken form into a burning house. To the civilians, this was an unimaginable nightmare, to the Void Beasts, this was fun and games.
They made it through the lower levels of the City and entered the upper levels of Hanamizaka. People were desperately trying to stop the flames from spreading.
"DAD, HURRY UP!" Aether spotted a young blonde-haired girl screaming for her father. He could see him too, hurrying out of their house, but tripped over the threshold. The girl ran to help her father.
The fires were spreading faster now, eating everything in their way like a hungry beast. With his keen eyes, he could see some strange objects in boxes on the house's porch. He narrowed his eyes.
Those were fireworks. The house was set to blow.
Aether cursed, and against his better judgement, he turned his horse to save the girl. Mona shouted at him, he shouted back.
"I'll catch up!"
She swore at him but listened.
Just as the flames reached the house, he swooped down and snatched the girl from the ground, plopping her on the back of his horse.
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
"Saving your life."
Not a moment later, the house, Naganohara Fireworks, he could see inked on a sign, blew up in flames. The explosion rocked Hanamizaka, ash and embers carried by the wind flew and started more fires.
He was charging through a forest of flames now, everyone was fleeing, trying to get to the District of Tenryou, where buildings were built out of stone. Behind them, Void Beasts continued to tear into everything and everyone around them.
The soldiers on the Byakko Plain must've been all killed now.
Racing up the stairs, he entered Tenryou and dropped off the girl in front of the Adventurer's Guild. She fell to the ground, kneeling and sobbing into her hands.
"Daaad….."
Mona came up to him, "This the girl you wanted to save?"
"Yeah."
Mona regarded her weeping form for a second, before turning back to him, "There's a problem, the houses in Tenryou are built of stone, but their roofs are still wooden."
That wasn't good. Aether looked around him, Doushin and Adventurers were giving aid to the survivors of Hanamizaka, and helping others evacuate to the higher levels of the City. From up here, Aether had a good view of the lower city, and it was hell.
Flames reached into the sky, the air was black with smoke and ash, and Void Beasts caused rampant carnage wherever they went.
He told Mona, "Stay here and help stop the fires, I'll go up alone."
Mona knew better than to argue with him now, what he said made sense, anyway. Unlike him, Mona didn't really have a chance against the Shogun, and would likely be deadweight inside Tenshukaku. Besides, she would be of more help out here, with her Hydro Vision. She sharply nodded at him.
He added on, "Take care of the girl, yeah?"
Without waiting for a reply, he spurred his horse and continued riding. Behind him, he could hear Mona talking to the girl.
"Hey, what's your name?"
The girl sniffled, rubbing tears from her eyes.
"Na-Naganohara… Yoimiya"
Act 3, Scene 6
22nd of the 4th Cycle
"Stop right there!" Okuzumeshuu shouted at him as he galloped across the bridge leading to Tenshukau.
He didn't have the time for this. Letting go of the reins, he formed a ball of starlight in his hands.
"Cast. Burn. Pierce!" He pushed his hands out in front of him, and a massive lance of light shot out. It crashed into the gatehouse, and incinerated everything in its way, leaving a gaping hole where the gatehouse once stood.
His horse stomped over the ashes of the Okuzumeshuu as he charged through the ruins. His star-forged blade formed in his golden hand, and he elongated it with starlight. As he raced up the stairs, he cut down all in his way, celestial sword slicing through armour and flesh like paper.
Soon enough, he was at the main entrance to the Shogun's seat of power, Inchiki Castle - the beating heart of Inazuma. He turned around and saw the City, smoke was rising high into the air, every city and town on Narukami Island must have noticed by now.
He raised his sword and burned its edges, and began cutting into the gates. After a minute, he felt the heavy wooden doors give before him, and realised he must've cut through the horizontal wooden log they used as a lock.
The wooden doors gave way as he pushed, and he entered the main chamber. It was empty. At the far end was the Electro Mitsudomoe imprinted on the dividing wall, the personal kamon of the Raiden Shogun. And below it sat the Shogun herself, kneeling on a tatami mat.
Aether's golden eyes burned straight through the disguise, no Authority, no Godhead, only Belief. This was a fake, a mere puppet. Aether leapt, charging forward. The Shogun reacted with lightning speed, worthy of her Element, pulling out a glowing sword from the Void and cleaving downwards.
Where the sword cut, reality split, opening a portal of Void. Aether didn't change his course, and charged into it.
His feet crunched into the gravel, stone torii gates rose around him. In the distance was a corrupted moon, releasing tendrils of black and red miasma which infected the Sky. In the centre, a meditating woman, kneeling on the gravel, eyes closed.
He stalked forwards, and she woke up. Despite sitting on the gravel, her loose yukata was unblemished. Eyes, brimming with power, opened.
Scenes of despair, eternal darkness, landmasses cleaved apart, a burning empire, rebellion against the Sun. Mighty armies and grand navies, powerful storms to sweep the world. Endless war with the Dark Sea, a nation born of strife and blood. The death of a sister.
Beelzebub's face remained as placid as it were when she struck, moving so fast even he could not comprehend. A moment later, he was on the ground, bleeding from his chest, if it weren't for his bloodline, he'd be dead. And yet, the Lord of Storms was still metres away, standing still in the centre of the plane. She had cut through space itself.
Aether gasped, blood pooled in his mouth. He spat it out. Reaching into the deepest confines of his mind, he found the string of Void and tugged at it.
The God of Eternity struck again. Aether backstepped desperately, but this time a portal of void opened in front of him, and a linked portal appeared behind the purple-haired god. Somehow, the Lord of Storms blocked her own blow. Her face showed no emotion still.
The plane shuddered, as if someone was hammering on it from the outside, and cracks began to form in the black sky. A pane of shattered glass fell in front of him, and the Lord of Void descended to meet the usurper.
Aether backtracked until he hit a torii gate, he crouched behind it, and began to heal his wound. Keeping an ear out, he listened.
"You upstart dog!"
Subspace lances materialised and flew at Beelzebub, only for her to brandish her naginata and swing it, cutting all of the lances before they could even get close to her.
Armour crystalised on the Lord of Storms. Old, ancient armour. Dried blood caked her breastplate, once gleaming Celestial Bronze covered by blood and dirt. A testament, to millennia of constant war, the proud and savage history of Inazuma manifested in bronze and steel.
She tapped the butt of her naginata against the gravel ground.
"Come, Lord of Void."
Paimon gladly acquiesced, and thousands of subspace lances formed in the air. Beelzebub breathed out slowly, and took a stance.
Aether hunkered down for a long fight.