A brief jaunt through the portal Prometheus had made, and the group was right back where they started. Ashton shook his head, trying to dispel the vertigo that plagued his senses. It went away after a few moments, though some of the others were not so lucky. Particularly, Shez and Cyril looked as if they were about to vomit, and Catherine used the wall to brace herself. Arawn, Seiros, and Flayn appeared to be fine for the most part.
"By the Goddess…" Catherine breathed out. "I never thought I'd take a portal through dimensions. What in the seven hells happened to Fódlan while I wasn't looking?"
"It became much more complicated, clearly," Arawn replied, "farther out of your pay grade than all of this already was. I will admit, however, that this is complete and utter madness."
"Madness?" Shez repeated. "Yeah, it's mad alright. And nobody is asking about what happened to Arval."
Seiros' arms were crossed. "It's quite clear that they attempted to attack this 'Prometheus' and paid the price for it."
"Yeah, and nobody is gonna talk about what's gonna happen to us when we try to attack him?" Shez asked pointedly. "I… yeah."
"We only need to destroy its vessel," Ashton said. "Once that's done, hopefully we won't have anything else to worry about. And if we can't destroy it here, we can hopefully lead it to Garreg Mach where the rest of the army is staying."
"So more people can die, right?" Shez muttered.
"That is not going to happen," Flayn said resolutely. "We will be fine so long as we stick together. I am sure of it."
"I just hope we don't gotta go through no more portals, yeah?" Cyril said, coughing into his fist. "Two was enough for me, and it feels like my insides are all scrambled like eggs."
"You might not have to, but there is no guarantee for some of us," Arawn stated, his brows furrowed as he looked down the ruined metal hallway. "In any event, we have wasted enough time palavering. The longer we stay here- no, actually, I do not think it matters. The machine god is waiting for us. We just need to be ready to destroy it when we arrive."
"Ominous," Ashton commented.
"I see the truth in his words. Zahras was a test, it seems," Seiros said, sighing and rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Think about it. It could have seemingly destroyed us as easily as it did Epimenides, and yet, not only did it not, but it allowed us to return? It is toying with us. I hate it."
"Test or no, let's see this done," Catherine growled. "I'm sick of this place."
It was at the deepest levels of Shambhala that Prometheus was to be found, it seemed. Every room the group checked, every 'division' marked by characters Ashton, at least, could not discern the meaning, was completely empty. There was the occasional blood splatter, but no bodies could be found. On the whole, however, Shambhala was completely ransacked, with the walls seeming as if they were crumbling and broken tapestries and scientific instruments strewn about.
One tapestry in particular that they passed by seemed to at one point show the Agarthans bowing down before an armored figure with a sword. Said tapestry had been slashed with reckless abandon, as if in a frenzy.
The farther into Shambhala they went, the more uncomfortable Ashton felt, which was a feat unto itself; he didn't even know he could feel any more uncomfortable than he already was. It was as if the closer they got to the deepest pits of Shambhala, the more an intense pressure settled around him and the others.
It is like we are traveling into the depths of hell.
After what felt like days of walking through the desolate Agarthan base, the pressure grew so intense that Ashton almost felt like running away and never looking back. Judging by the expressions on everyone else's faces, he could tell he was not the only one.
In the darkness, two beady, glowing blood red eyes stared back at him.
WELCOME, OUTLANDERS.
The voice was still projected in his head, but Ashton wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be coming from the colossal metal structure in front of him. Even with it cloaked in darkness, Ashton could see a majority of the thing in front of him. From the two burning embers for eyes, the entirety of the Vessel's face was like that of a human skull, though it was pointed in a way that was frankly impossible for a normal human, almost resembling a bird as its jaw tapered to a point. Metal plating instead of skin covered a majority of its body, with a glowing red, circle shaped hole within its chest. The feature that made Ashton the most confused, however, was that below the waist, there was nothing; the creature had no legs. It had arms, however, long, windy things with hands at the end and metal claws at the tips of its fingers.
Overall, it looked like something out of Ashton's nightmares, which was about what he expected.
"What the…" Catherine murmured. "How are we supposed to kill that thing?"
AN EXCELLENT QUESTION, THUNDERSTRIKE CASSANDRA.
Ashton hefted his warhammer, waiting for something, anything to happen. Still, the Vessel did not move. It only stared at the group unblinkingly.
THERE IS A WAY TO DESTROY THIS VESSEL IN PARTICULAR. A SPOT THE AGARTHANS COULD NOT COMPLETELY COVER BEFORE THEY WERE… SHUFFLED OFF OF THE MORTAL COIL. IT IS RATHER OBVIOUS, NO?
"This is too easy," Ashton mumbled. "What is your game? Why tell us all of this? Why bother even sending us back?"
DO I DETECT A HINT OF FRUSTRATION IN YOUR TONE, ASHTON? SHOULD YOU NOT BE HAPPY THAT I HAVE SUCH A HARD TIME KEEPING QUIET?
"Not when it's clear you're doing it on purpose!" Ashton shouted.
A BLIND, DEAF, COMATOSE LOBOTOMY PATIENT COULD TELL I AM DOING THIS ON PURPOSE. CONGRATULATIONS.
Ashton wasn't prepared to watch the thing move. It wasn't dissimilar to Epimenides, like a puppet being moved by strings. It tapped the center of its chest with one clawed finger, the massive chains keeping the entire Vessel aloft were visibly straining with the motion.
A LARGE ENOUGH FORCE TO THIS AREA RIGHT HERE SHOULD DO THE TRICK. OF COURSE, NOW THAT YOU ARE HERE, I CAN DROP ALL PRETENSES. THE TIME IS NOW. IF YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME, THEN THIS WORLD IS FORFEIT. IN THAT EVENT, THE ONLY HOPE YOU HAVE IS TO ESCAPE.
Ashton and his allies were never given the chance to even get close to the Vessel before the world itself rent apart. It happened so fast that Ashton barely had enough time to get out of the way as the hallway they had walked down before split in two. He looked up just in time to see Prometheus' Vessel become enveloped in red, unearthly flames. It opened its massive, pointed jaws and the mechanical screech rang through the stale air of Shambhala.
Falling to the floor and trying to block out the ungodly noise, Ashton watched as Arawn attempted to charge forward, only for his entire form to be wreathed in flames and blown backward, as if he tried to fly towards the sun. He smashed into the wall a moment later.
Ashton watched as the machine moved upward-
If one were to be within the area of Ordelia territory - perhaps they were a refugee from when the strange flying creatures attacked, or maybe their small village was spared of such a fate - they would have become cognizant of a slight rumbling. If so, maybe they would have passed it off as a small quake; in those mountainous territories, such things were not uncommon. But the quakes would not subside, and only grew in intensity until anyone in the area was overwhelmed and forced to press themselves against the ground to avoid being jostled around like potatoes inside of a sack.
If one was close to what used to be the entrance into Shambhala, they would have noticed something akin to Ailell erupting in fire and brimstone. Dust would choke the air and nobody would be able to see a thing. But if they could peer through the clouds and debris, they would have seen a red, metallic hand burst from the ground before unfurling and pressing itself against the ground for leverage, before another explosion resulted in the entire Vessel of Prometheus uprooting itself from the ground like a giant plant.
The sky immediately became darker as the full body of the Vessel burst from the ground, the sun shining upon it for the first time. The sound of metal grinding against rock filled the air as it sent one arm forward and grasped at the earth, pulling itself forward as its unfinished bottom half drew a path in the ground.
It was heading straight toward Garreg Mach.
Ashton coughed as he fanned the dust away from his face. Once Prometheus' Vessel had left, he got back to his feet and looked for the others. If Shambhala looked decrepit and ruinous before, then it had become nothing more than a pile of rubble beneath a mountain after Prometheus was done with it.
Eventually, he found Arawn.
Ashton's breath hitched in his throat as he looked at his wounded son. Burns covered his arms and his legs, though thankfully his face and torso seemed to only be slightly smudged with ash in comparison. His breath came out in ragged gasps that caused Ashton to kneel beside him, trying desperately to heal him. His healing magic was nothing compared to Flayn's, but he tried his best. Some of the burns receded, but a majority of them merely scarred and marked Arawn's arms.
"Ashton? By the goddess!"
Seiros was there, as always, right by his side as he knelt by Arawn. He looked up, pleadingly.
"We need to get out of here. Now."
Seiros pressed her lips into a thin line. "If I transform once more…"
Ashton placed a hand on her shoulder. "You can control yourself. I believe in you. No matter what happens, I'll be there for you. But we need to get ourselves and the others out of her and into daylight. Find Prometheus and warn those at Garreg Mach."
Seiros held Ashton's hand for a moment, closed her eyes, and nodded. "I love you. I will not let any of us die here."
"I know you won't. C'mon."
It was short work finding the others and allowing Seiros to transform for the third time that day. Despite a few short and curt comments, she seemed to mostly be in her right mind, and before long, they were out of the ruins of Shambhala, following in Prometheus' path. Dark, sundered rock trailed their path, running down in small rivulets of quickly cooling lava. It was like they were ascending from hell, complete with fire and brimstone.
Once they were out, Ashton could still tell something was wrong.
The sky had become a dark purple, and Ashton could already see the stars. It wasn't the natural dark purple of twilight, however. It was a deep, rotten purple that made the sky seem as if it was bloodied and broken. When Seiros landed briefly on the cusp of Prometheus' bore hole, they put Arawn down; if they had two dragons, perhaps Prometheus could be prevented from reaching Garreg Mach, or they could go faster than it on account of having wings. And judging by the drag marks through the ground, Prometheus was not going anywhere quickly.
Flayn was by his side, and with Seiros keeping lookout, they both poured their magic into healing the half-Nabatean. Though Ashton tried his best, Flayn did most of the heavy-lifting. Just as well, as it would likely take hours for Ashton to completely heal Arawn, and they did not have that kind of time.
After a while, Arawn was fully conscious and pacing about, a hand on his chin. Burn scars still covered his arms, but at least he was moving around.
"It does not make sense," Arawn whispered, mostly to himself. "Why did it not just kill us then and there? Why play around? Why did it dig its way out of Shambhala only when we discovered its Vessel?"
"I feel as if you are asking the wrong questions, cousin," Flayn said, her hands folded in front of her. "Trying to understand this Agarthan god… it is not within our domain."
"Then what is in its domain?" Arawn asked pointedly. "I should have known. Clearly the Agarthans did not - I have come across its minions before, I should have known!"
"Know what?" Ashton asked suddenly, stepping forward. "It's a giant skeletal machine! It is basically a god in all but name! How can we claim to know it?"
"Father, it is toying with us," Arawn replied, "and if it's confident enough to toy with us, then our chances are rather slim, don't you agree?"
"It's also confident enough to tell us where its weakpoint is," Seiros said, her draconian gaze upon Arawn. "If we can destroy that-"
"Do you not understand? Do none of you understand?" Arawn nearly shouted. "Think, for just a moment! Even if we destroy this Vessel, do you really think that will destroy the intelligence behind it? This is another test. It must be!"
"Then we'll pass it, Arawn!" Ashton yelled. "If we just stay here and argue, then it'll plow through Garreg Mach, and destroy everyone we know! I don't even want to think about what it's trying to do there."
"This is just a prelude, you know," Arawn murmured, turning away with his lips set in a deep frown. "This isn't over. When we destroy its Vessel, what will it do? What will the leaders of the continent do? Not but a few weeks ago they were in an open war that lasted five years-!"
"Get a hold of yourself."
It was Shez, coming up behind Arawn. She placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's focus on one thing at a time, yeah?" she said. "Sitting here and worrying about it won't stop it from destroying the world, you know. I mean, just look at the sky."
As if in instinct, Ashton did as Shez told, even though the comment wasn't directed at him. It was just as strange as he had last seen it, and it unnerved him to no end. Ashton turned back to Arawn.
"Do you think you can transform?" Ashton asked quietly. "I hate to ask it of you considering what happened below, but-"
Arawn held up a hand to stop Ashton as he took a deep breath. "Say no more, father. I apologize. My head was stuck in the clouds for a moment, there. Fine. I can transform, yes. I admit, the chance to fly alongside my mother in the skies is… would you believe me if I said I would have relished the chance, once upon a time?"
Ashton shook his head. "It wouldn't. Better late than never, huh?"
"Not really, no," Arawn replied, fists clenched.
Ashton had almost forgotten what Arawn's dragon form looked like, so seeing it up close for the first time in months was a shock. Then again, Seiros' dragon form wasn't much different. In fact, seeing them side by side really put it into perspective just how similar the two were in appearance, with the biggest difference being coloration.
And just like that, they were off, soaring through the air atop two massive dragons. Ashton was on Seiros, alongside Flayn and Catherine, while the others were on Arawn. Unlike the time he rode upon Seiros in Zahras, Ashton could feel the wind on his face and going through his hair, and despite everything that had happened, even the disturbing thoughts involving Prometheus, he smiled. At least, for a brief moment.
And then they caught up with the Vessel.
In the light available, it looked even worse than it did in the depths of Shambhala. Everything within a small radius of the creature burst into flame. And then, it looked up at them, glowing red eyes in the darkness, following their every move. Even though the Vessel was only half-finished, Ashton had no doubt at that moment that it would take everything they had to destroy it.
Ashton saw light gather in the Vessel's opened mouth, and he shouted.
"Move!"
A beam of red energy surged forward. Seiros barely moved to the right just in time as the beam trailed off into the night sky, followed by another one shortly after. Every time the Vessel began charging, the flames grew in intensity until it looked like it was about to melt the metal it was made of. Ashton held on for dear life as Seiros did her best to keep moving, despite the onslaught.
Ashton watched as the metal around the vessel began to morph and slough off, like dried skin. It fell to the ground in chunks, twitching upon the ground before sharp limbs and beaked heads roared to life. The same creatures that they had faced in Ailell and Derdriu.
By the goddess-!
They soared into the air like wyverns ready to pursue a pegasus. He could hear the metallic screeches in the air as Seiros fought back, and Ashton kept a vice grip on her back as Seiros banked to the left, narrowly avoiding the bladed wings of one of the creatures. Ashton watched as Arawn came upon it, his claws shearing through the red metal, thankfully not as hard as the metal plates that covered much of the Vessel's body. The remains fell to the earth in a heap.
Of course, there were several, and Ashton could feel the power growing in Seiros as a beam of pure energy surged from her mouth, cutting into one of the creatures but missing one, and she could not move out of the way in time.
Ashton felt his heart drop into his chest as he heard the sound of metal plunging into flesh, and Seiros' screams echoed in his head as he saw a flash of green blood neary his location. It had struck her across the chest, cutting into her scales, though judging by how she did not falter or plummet out of the sky, it was a mostly superficial wound. That did not mean she would last much longer, but luckily, Arawn was there, tearing the monstrosity apart and sending it toward the earth.
The small aerial fight lasted less than a few minutes, but by the end of it, Ashton felt as if he was about to die. And judging by his companions, who were all a stark white, he knew he was not alone in that sentiment.
Prometheus' voice rang through Ashton's skull, and he nearly fell off trying to block it out. Seiros still beat her wings, but he could tell she was exhausted, and the machine god's intrusion was not welcome.
IT SHALL BE A RACE, THEN! PREPARE!
Ashton didn't look over Seiros' side, as he could hear the sound of grinding metal even from the high altitude they were at.
If you could laugh, you would be, wouldn't you?
Ashton understood why they did not transform into dragons and fly to Shambhala the first time. There were too many unknowns - while Seiros and Arawn's dragon forms were powerful, they were not invulnerable, and if the Agarthans had something set up around their base to counter it-
The point was, they were within sight of Garreg Mach within a day or so, a far cry from the weeks they spent traveling. Then again, if Prometheus was merely waiting for them to arrive before beginning his assault, perhaps they had given their allies all the time they needed to prepare for its arrival. At least, that is what Ashton hoped was the case. If not, then they had wasted weeks of potential time when the threat could have been subdued long before, had they been willing to take risks.
Seiros, despite the wounds she'd received, was able to fly all the way to the training grounds, at least. There were a few people within, but when they looked above, their eyes widened and they skittered out of the way as fast as possible. Seiros landed in a heap, barely able to keep herself upright. Green blood splattered on the ground below as Ashton jumped off of her, rounding around her body until he was right in front of her face.
"How bad!?" Ashton asked, panic etched in his voice as he placed his hands on the side of her muzzle. "Seiros, talk to me!"
"I… I will live. I cannot stay like this… stand back."
Ashton was weary of leaving her, but he did as he was told and took several steps back as the others disembarked. Flayn was on standby as Ashton saw several people flood into the training grounds. In a brief flash of light, the Immaculate One was gone, and Seiros remained, clutching at her side while on her hands and knees.
Surging forward, Ashton practically covered her as a dozen onlookers walked into the training grounds. He didn't know where Arawn landed, but he knew that he had not been wounded as Seiros had, and so he did not care at that moment. All that mattered was getting Seiros to a healer.
Ashton tapped his thighs as he sat next to Seiros in the infirmary of Garreg Mach.
She laid upon the nicest bed in the room, covered by a thick blanket as she slept. Ashton held her hand, even then, knowing that she could not even feel him. He kept looking toward the doorway, as if expecting someone to drop by at any moment. Despite the amount of people that had watched her arrive, however, none decided to disturb them. Their section of the infirmary was completely barren.
At least, until Byleth arrived, in full regalia.
The former professor looked the part of a high priest, Ashton would give him that. Whether or not he was actually cut out for the job was anyone's guess, though. He walked in silently, hands clenched before taking a seat on the opposite side of Seiros' bed. Ashton pressed his lips together tightly into a fine line before Byleth even spoke.
"So," Byleth began, folding his hands together in front of him. "This machine god. Prometheus. It is heading this way. I could not get a good answer out of the others, so I am hoping you will be able to tell me how much time we have."
Ashton's mouth felt dry as he spoke. "A few days, at the most. It can't move very well, but it's large enough that it can go long distances. It took us almost two days to get here. I can't imagine we have more than a week. Maybe even far less than that. Don't worry, Byleth, you will know when it is coming."
"Because it sets fire to everything around it?" Byleth asked, raising a brow.
"No," Ashton replied, patting himself on the side of the head. "Because you'll start to hear it inside your skull, just like when it made its appearance at Fort Merceus. It's been a while since we last saw each other; how are the troops? Are they ready for the battle of their lives?"
Byleth's eyes narrowed. "Yes. Garreg Mach is an extremely defensible position. Although, I doubt it was built to withstand a giant monster the size of a castle attacking it."
"Well, then," Ashton grunted, "I suppose there will be plenty of time to test its defenses out in this coming battle, yes? What better way to test something's durability than to slam it into the ground as hard as you can?"
"A valid statement, but considering the circumstances, a lot of people could die," Byleth replied, "that is, if we live through this at all."
"Are you becoming pessimistic on me, Byleth?" Ashton asked. "It could be worse."
"In what way?"
Ashton shrugged. "I don't know, but it could be worse."
"What concerns me the most is that it simply let you go," Byleth said. "Why did it allow you to escape? Why did it wait until you found it? It could have crushed you the moment you entered its chambers, and yet it ignored you until you tried moving toward Garreg Mach. This isn't an entity fighting for some higher purpose, this is a massive child playing a game."
"Either way seems like a nightmare, but a nightmare we're living, huh?"
Byleth turned, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Now, now, kid," Ashton said, snorting. "Let's not forget what you are. Power of the goddess herself, right? God against god. I just hope that sword of yours feels as painful as it did when it nearly cut me in half."
"Tell me when she awakens," Byleth said, turning his head to look down at Seiros. "The others arrived safely, by the way, though grandfather says he is exhausted. It must be age catching up to him."
"Or nearly being burned alive, you never know," Ashton shrugged. "Oh, and don't look at me like that. I had half a mind to just start whacking at the Vessel as soon as it did that to him, but two burned people might've been too much for even Flayn to bear. She was doing a lot as is."
"Fair enough. I will leave you to it, then," Byleth said before walking away.
Ashton sighed, looking down at Seiros' sleeping face, and closed his eyes.
Not much longer now, I don't think. But I doubt destroying the Vessel will be the end, either…
I don't feel great about this chapter, but hey, at least it's almost done, right?