Stars were once the basis for measuring the passage of time. That was why the Stars Purview, which had a little to do with its namesake but was primarily about manipulating time, was named as such. That was the official story, anyways, but Kabuto wasn't overly interested in etymology so he only briefly mused over the factoid as he messed with the concoction he and Lord Orochimaru had prepared together.
Some lotus eaten by some hedonistic greeks, a bit of Rip Van Winkle's clothing once gifted to a Yankee Scion, and, most importantly, some volcanic ash from Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl (for how could the others compete with good Aztlanti material?), all mixed together according to a diagram created by studying the Stars Purview and the technical theories behind how it worked. If he activated it at just the right time, when the populace was too distracted to immediately react to a supernatural attack or able to locate its source, like when a Titan Lord appeared in the middle of a major event, then it should get most of the population to sleep. Enough for Orochimaru to get his goals accomplished, if not to ensure the success of the invasion overall. If what he was hearing in the arena outside was any indication, then that right time was just about…now.
--
"Magic Purview: Fate Prison," Orochimaru intoned once he learned from his puppet that it was time and he quickly found his old Guide's Fate Strand. More than enough preparation had gone into ensuring that that thing would be taken care of.
While it was borderline impossible under normal circumstances to ensure that that spell would work on someone who wasn't in the caster's immediate sight and was being bound to a place that was different from their current location, Orochimaru wasn't one to be bound by such petty ideas as what others thought to be impossible. He knew the area, he knew his Guide, his Guide was already likely to come here once things went down, and thus Fate played according to his whims rather than its own for a bit. That was just who he was.
--
The small army of Mummies and the various freaks from Sacrifice that were interspersed among them were both somewhat shocked by how easy this turned out to be. With the festivities, security should have been tight. With the Village Hidden in Legends' long list of enemies, security should have been tight at all times, but especially now. Even with many of them using Amulets of Cloudwalking to hide in the sky, well, Scions knew that those existed and should be prepared for them. Mummies were hardly the only potential enemy that could sort-of fly, after all.
Still, it looked like they would be able to infiltrate the Village more than easily enough, and while nothing would make the actual battle simple, that they would get this far was impressive enough to restore a little bit of their vanishing faith in the Hem-Netjer-Tepi and Lord Orochimaru. Many of the subordinates didn't agree with their leader's theories that the Rank Exams would be the perfect time to attack, but they were subordinates, their words didn't matter, and it actually looked like their leaders might have been right.
When the volcanic ash started falling, when several of the weaker Scions started to fall asleep, when the roar that somehow managed to sound like an earthquake erupted from the arena, they moved in.
--
Sakura felt…something pull at her head. Or rather, her mind. She felt it lulling her, making her want to go to sleep, which wasn't right, as Sasuke was in the fight of his life and there was a giant monster that looked like what she imagined a Titan Lord would be and…maybe after this nap she could think about it…no, that wasn't right, she needed to pay attention…"Health Purview: Assess Health," she screamed, only to learn that something was affecting her on a supernatural level.
Well, great, that was new and exciting information, she thought she was just falling asleep in the middle of a Titan attack because she was bored. Thanks, Purview revelations, very helpful.
She stabbed herself to stay awake, which did seem to help fight off whatever was messing with her system, at least enough that her own willpower could take care of the rest. She apparently had more willpower than she realized, as she looked around and saw that all of the mortals and several of the Scions surrounding her had in fact conked out. Naruto was among them.
Before she had time to think on this, a small fire popped into existence in front of her, so small that she normally would have ignored it, but then it created way too much smoke for the size of what it was burning and then she found herself unable to see. Within that smoke, she heard the sound of fighting. Yes, this was going to be a pleasant day.
--
Kakashi was proud to see Sakura snap out of it by herself. He didn't have much time to get to them before a group of Mummies appeared out of nowhere and slashed at him with what looked like oversized hooks. He dodged out of the way easily enough, striking back at them with his knives when their frustration at being unable to hit him left their guards open, and then turned back to dodging.
They were Mummies, so just killing them with his knives wouldn't be enough; he needed to be sure that the Ka and Ba separated from the body, or else they would simply resurrect themselves. There were a lot of ways to do that, but some Scion who also managed to stay awake had the foresight to shout "Death Purview: Haunted Mists" and spray out a white mist that would trap any souls separated from their body within it.
While thankful that whoever it was saved him some effort, he found himself even more thankful for his training in both mundane skills and Dexterity Knacks when a Mummy managed to get a hit in on that Scion with a sword covered in some kind of powder and shout "Alchemy Hekau: Dust to Dust," which resulted in the poor user of the Death Purview turning to dirt where he was hit. The man's screams of pain let Kakashi know that such transfiguration was far from pleasant.
--
Tsumire had no idea what she was supposed to be doing right now. She happened to be in the pleasant position of being the only mortal (as far as anyone else knew) to not fall under Kabuto's ritual. This was obviously suspicious to anyone who had the time to notice.
While the shock invasion meant that no one really did have time to notice, it also meant that she had to decide what she was going to do when someone eventually did. Should she play ignorance? Pretend to side with the Scions, and risk getting killed by her own side? Expose who she was, and risk getting killed by the Scions?
Thinking over it quickly, she also realized that if she was exposed here then the Village Hidden in Sacrifice, which had already proven itself more than willing to offer her up as one of its namesakes, would have no more use for her, which probably meant getting killed by her own side anyways. Maybe with Hekau being their enemies, Legends would be more willing to take in an Akhmat? She thought, but then shook herself out of that brief delusion when she noticed Apophis smash through the walls of the arena, hunting down Sasuke's rapidly fleeing form.
That was her job right now, turning Sasuke to her side, and the only way out of her current stupor seemed to be trying to do it. So, in the most sane and safe decision of her life, she moved toward the enormous yet still growing seven-headed snake that even Gods feared.
--
Hiruzen "Shennong" Sarutobi considered himself a reasonable man. He was one to, when the situation allowed it, sit back and think on matters, not jump in half-blind and ready to get himself killed.
First, the Gatekeeper in the arena beneath him seemed to lose control over the Titan Lord within. Second, the Marshall collapsed, as did the entire mortal population and most of the Supernatural, with the notable exception of the Mummies, who immediately started attacking everyone who was still awake. Third, the Hem-Netjer-Tepi collapsed, not from the same source as the others but from the intentional severing of his own soul from his body. The leader of the Village Hidden in Hekau had apparently decided that now was a good time to take a jaunt in the Underworld, which meant he couldn't explain the meaning of all this. Finally, he felt something pull on his Fate.
Hiruzen only started studying the basic theory behind the Magic Purview recently, and still couldn't cast a single spell, but he knew enough about it to recognize that someone was messing with his Fate and that it was someone that he couldn't simply respond to by channeling his Ichor and dismissing the spell. Maybe an Upper Demigod who specialized in the Magic Purview to the exclusion of all others could have done that, but with the general discrepancy between the Ichor of a normal Scion and even a Minor God, in addition to what Jiraiya had told him about the potential new relationship between the Hem-Netjer-Tepi and Orochimaru…he didn't normally like going into things without thinking them over, but he still followed the compulsion to face his former student and resolve things that should have been resolved a long time ago.
--
Sasuke was vaguely aware of the events surrounding him. He also felt, quite understandably, that they were less important than the enormous seven-headed snake that just appeared in front of him and launched a fang-filled mouth at his body. He managed to leap out of the way just in time for it to crash into the wall of the arena and leave a massive, gaping hole.
Realizing that the circumstances meant that leaving the arena would be significantly less frowned upon than normal, and that facing this creature directly would be a stupid idea, Sasuke ran through the impromptu entranceway and made for where he could use the trees as cover.
--
The fact that so much of the mortal population was in the arena when the attack started meant that the multiple tornadoes the Mummies sent tearing through the Village didn't create nearly as many casualties as their level of destruction would have implied, but that didn't make it any easier for those who couldn't do anything about to sit back and watch as building after building fell to their tearing winds. Their only comfort came from those who could do something about it.
"Taiyi Purview: Five-Cycle Augmentation" Choza "Xiwangmu" Tian Tiang Zhi Fu Yuan intoned as he laid his hands upon his good friend Inoichi "Thor" Aesir. "Sky Purview: Tornado Tamer," said good friend intoned with said enhancement, summoning a miniature tornado that expanded in size as the augmentation reached into its essence until it matched up with the nearest of the Mummies', spinning in the opposite direction and dispersing them both. "Do you think you have enough Ichor to keep doing that?" Choza asked. "I don't know," Inoichi admitted, winded and panting, "but I have to try. For the Village."
To Inoichi's knowledge, no one else currently in the Village knew this specific Boon, though Asuma had been trying, so it was up to him. "You might not have to," a Mummy spoke up with Shikaku "Legba" Loa's voice. "I think I've found the casters. We can target them to make the weather effects disperse." --
Gai managed to take out some being he couldn't identify before it ripped into some poor mortal woman's flesh. It certainly wasn't a Mummy, though he had already realized it was Hekau that was attacking, as even without it looking different, he had also noticed that the Mummies weren't attacking mortals, and most of them were leaving sleeping Scions alone (though several were breaking the legs of any they found and a few were slicing their throats, even those seemed like they were just being practical, not malicious), while this thing seemed to just be exploiting the chaos to have its way with the general population.
When he first beat it back from its meal, it shouted "Vicissitude Discipline: Horrid Form" at him, and then started twisting and shifting around in some manner he couldn't identify and didn't really want to, for the use of the term 'Discipline' was enough for him to determine that it was a Vampire and then tear a piece of wood from the railings and kick said piece straight into its heart. Having the literal strength of a God and the subtle manipulation of Fate to ensure that he didn't destroy his own chosen weapons with it was valuable.
Of course, the loud thump that the Vampire made as it fell to the ground attracted the attention of some nearby Mummies who stared at their fallen ally in undisguised disgust before surrounding Gai. "Why are you doing this? Hekau and Legends are allies, aren't they? The Pesedjet favor us both, after all." There was a brief look of reflection and regret on their faces, but if faded into resolve as several of them downed some form of elixir and charged him. Realizing that this was going to be a long day, Gai quietly intoned "Industry Purview: Work Harder," and engaged them.
--
After Neji's defeat, there was no one from his Clan left in the Exams, so Hiashi had chosen to return to the clan compound and watch through an enchanted mirror between bouts of work; he might not have been inclined to even do that, but the Naruto boy had interested him, and he also wanted some news of the last Amatsukami clansman.
Thus, he was nowhere near the arena when the attack began and found himself defending his own house from the forces of Sacrifice and Hekau. What a foolish mistake on their part.
Completely unperturbed by the Supernatural Men surrounding him, he channeled his Manipulation Knacks, held his hand against his heart, and informed them, "I swear by my heart that if you move an inch further toward this building, then all of you will die."
They didn't seem to have the strength of mind to resist the supernatural influence making his words more believable, but even so he barely murmured beneath his breath, "Presence Arete," then stood strong and let his facial expression and posture do the work. The weakest of them tossed their weapons and fled. Those only slightly stronger glanced to one another before doing the same. The strongest of the attackers stood his ground, charging forward in spite of Hiashi's threats, only to have a sword rammed through his chest for his efforts. Noting that his opponent was a Mummy, Hiashi didn't even wait for the corpse to fall to the ground before calling on the nearest son of Hades he knew to take care of its Ka and Ba.
--
'Awaken, you imbecile.' Naruto was having the strangest dream. In it, he somehow managed to fall asleep right in the middle of Sasuke's big fight against the Gatekeeper from Hekau. That was obviously absurd; there was no way Naruto wasn't going to stand by and watch his friend, especially not if it meant seeing ways that he could show off how much better he was then the Clan boy later.
Of course, now he was stuck wondering when the dream actually started. Did his defeat of Neji really happen? 'Awaken, you imbecile.' Oh man, did he really dream about fighting Neji and still get that close to defeat, even in his imagination? And why was Mikaboshi so concerned about him being awake? "WAKE UP, YOU IDIOT!"
The searing pain that erupted in his arm was not from a dream. He was pretty sure of that. "What in the Underworld, Sakura!" He finally managed to shout as he got his eyes open only to see blood pouring down his arm and one of Sakura's daggers stabbing into him. "Someone's attacking Legends, and they put everyone to sleep, including you. You're welcome, by the way."
Gaping in his bandmate's direction, only to immediately realize that he could barely make her out through the smoke surrounding them, he could only get out a "wha-" before Sakura intoned "Health Purview: Restore Wounds," got rid of the injury she just caused, and then grabbed him by the wrist and pulled both of them out of there. It turned out to be just in time, as some sort of weapon came swinging down to right where Naruto's head used to be.
Since Naruto had learned to use Night Eyes, he had somewhat forgotten what it was actually like to not be able to see. It was…disconcerting, to say the least, especially with the sounds of violence echoing from beyond his smoke-limited range of vision. He couldn't even see who just attacked him. As the two fumbled their way away from their attackers, trying to find their way out of the smoke, they barely managed to evade another strike with a blade that Naruto responded to by ramming a knife in the general direction of its source.
--
Barely managing to make out the sounds of fighting from within the smoke where he knew his students were, Kakashi realized that he probably shouldn't just leave them to their fate. He hated Fate. Unfortunately, neither the Mummies nor the strange being with a headband from the Village Hidden in Sacrifice surrounding him were making getting over to them easy.
"Path of Earth: Muddy!" Said being, who was starting to sound like an Angel, intoned before the ground beneath Kakashi's feet became slippery and unwieldy. A mortal, or really any being without an enhanced sense of balance, would have struggled to move, and Kakashi didn't trust himself even while paired with Dexterity Knacks to his level to be able to keep dodging this many enemies while handicapped so. Something needed to be done quickly, but fortunately the non-Mummy in the crowd gave him an idea.
. "Chaos Purview: Instant Riot!" Kakashi intoned, then shouted the sentence that came to him. "When he rejects the One True God, he really rejects Osiris!" Kakashi didn't trust the Boon enough to expend the Ichor getting a bunch of Mummies who worked and trained together all their Third Lives in order to share and exchange values to fight one another, but this mixed group just might…"I knew it you blasphemer!"
That was the only warning the apparent Angel from Sacrifice got before a Mummy swung at him. While he wasn't actually expecting to get that many under the power's influence, it turned out that the distrust between the two Villages was enough that he could get them at each other's throats with only a little bit of Ichor and influence over the tides of chaos. The Angel, to his credit, actually did manage to resist the effect, but it ultimately didn't matter as enough Mummies were caught up in it and, just like a mundane riot, the effect on the mob was contagious as the group surrounding him turned to brawling with one another, shouting incoherent phrases about how they shouldn't have trusted those Sacrifice bastards and that it was the Hem-Netjer-Tepi's orders and all sorts of other things as Kakashi slipped away.
"Chaos Purview: Eye of the Storm," he whispered, calling on his ability to manipulate the randomness of the universe to ensure that, so long as they were just targeting any Scion they saw and not him specifically, and so long as he did not engage with the events surrounding him, he would be protected by coincidence.
He picked up a moderate pace, letting his Boon protect him from flying weapons and whatever Purview Boons and Hekau Spells were going off around him. It would have been a bizarre experience if he hadn't gone through it before; there was nothing to visually indicate that he was safe. First learning the Chaos Purview had been a frustrating experience for that very reason, looking back on it, but he had no time to reminisce.
--
Naruto had managed to jam a knife into a Mummy's arm, and Sakura was thus able to use that as a guide to strike her spear into their opponent's torso. She had no idea whether it was a lethal strike or not, but the slumping body implied that the immediate threat was taken care of. Naruto's knife turned out to be a good guide.
Speaking of Guides, theirs showed up, right on the edge of the smoke where they could see out of it, walking at a shockingly casual pace Was he really being like this now? Sakura might have shouted in frustration, but he interrupted them by throwing his knife right above her head, where it thunked into the Mummy who had turned out to not have been dealt a lethal blow, nor a particularly incapacitating one.
"Well, I suppose I've interfered now," Kakashi muttered before dropping all sense of casualness and taking on the tone and body language she would have expected from the situation. As he leapt above their heads, grappled the man from Hekau, and wrestled the enemy to the ground, he shouted at the two, "Sasuke ran through that massive hole in the wall of the arena. The giant snake who might be Apophis went after him. I am a little busy helping out here, so I'm going to need you two to go get him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid like actually try to fight a Titan Lord by himself. Don't do anything stupid either; just go and get him out of there."
--
There was so much the Great God-on-Earth thought he could do as he looked down on the Village he was supposed to be protecting. On one hand, he felt despair. The buildings being destroyed were the ones he had invested so much into building. The Scions dying in front of his eyes were the ones he had been charged with cultivating. On the other hand, he felt pride. Pride that those who were still awake were not faltering. Pride that, even with so many put to rest, with the attack coming on so suddenly and unexpectedly, the men and women under his command were not hesitating, nor were they panicking.
They were giving it all they could, and, in many corners, were even winning with so much stacked against them. It might have brought a tear to his eye, if there was time for that. Instead, he called on his ox, a direct descendant of the first to pull a plough, and sought no other help as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he landed where Fate, manipulated by Orochimaru's spell, was pulling him.
As expected, it was not long before Orochimaru "Quetzalcoatl" Aztlanti appeared, standing before Hiruzen "Shennong" Sarutobi, as he done once all those years ago, when, in spite of seeing the evidence of the Aztlanti's crimes for himself, the outworn Tian Tiang Zhi Fu Yuan still couldn't bring himself to kill his student.
That was then. Time had hardened his resolve. The Great God-on-Earth would not repeat his mistakes from that day. There was an enemy of the Village to be judged. He would judge wisely.