"If I was to express my love..."

"How exactly would it be projected on those eyes?"

"..."

"Words aren't needed..."

"Wouldn't that be right, Winda?"

"..."

"Our embrace was enough proof."

"..."

"And as for you Natsuki..."

"Thank you for everything."

"..."

"I can finally let go."

"..."

"And what about you Yaldabaoth..."

"Would you continue to support me?"

"..."

"Hey, Yaldabaoth."

"..."

"Can you hear me?"

"Can you see me?"

"Can you speak to me?"

"..."

There was only light to be seen.

A field of green was all Issei saw as he finally opened his eyes. That is if we ignored the fact there was a notification in front of him.

Quest #4

Ruin & Demise

Condition: Defeat Sophia

Failure: None

Completed!

Reward: Trait (Fenghuang's Contractor)

(False God): User can recognize Biblical enemies. User is able to use attacks from the biblical factions. User will deal initial psychological damage to enemies based on the difference of power.

(Darkest Day): User triples the effectiveness of Traits, Skills and Items related to birds. Does not count drawbacks. Upon activating a skill related to birds, allows the user to activate E.G.O.

(Fenghuang's Contractor): Decreases cooldown of Wind related skills by 50%.

He ignored the screen, wondering how long had passed since he had lost consciousness. He noticed four figures in front of him, a heavily armored warrior in white, a girl holding a staff and two children.

If it weren't for the fact that the warrior wasn't bulky, he would have thought he was seeing Crystal again. And as for the other three, the girl was new to her, same for one of the kids, but the other kid had green hair, with a tint of orange, he only knew someone with that sort of hair color, and he knew she had to be Reeze's daughter or something along those lines.

"Where... am I?" Asked Issei, one of the kids dropped the flowers she was holding as she processed the fact that the person they gave tribute had finally awakened.

The armored man, however, said. "It is good to see you again Issei." He then approached Issei to help him stand up, with no complications, Issei stood on his feet while looking around.

He was at the broken Shrine of Mist Valley.

He then heard a heavy thump in the distance.

Issei didn't have time to look around as the man in armor gripped his wrist, the other three started to march towards one direction. "I'll explain everything later, we need to get out of here quickly." As the man finished his sentence, rumbling could be heard as an odd figure came out of the woods.

They all ran from the place being chased by the creature, but Issei kept looking back as he felt a sense of familiarity towards the entity chasing them. He looked forward again, looking at the ones who were running too. He didn't know who they were, they were new faces, but it seemed like the knight knew who he was, which gave him hope that not a lot of time had passed.

He noticed that they were going towards where the Naturia lived, a familiar creature could be seen at the entrance. It was Lord Leodrake, albeit he had changed from the last time he saw him, he had white and black on him.

What had happened while he wasn't awake? Has a new conflict started? What were they running from? He could just defeat this new threat, right?

Once they entered, the giant creature stopped chasing them, it turned around to then go back to its own territory. Now that things calmed down, Issei looked at the group that had brought him to the Naturia Tribe's territory. "Could anyone explain to me what is happening?" Asked Issei.

"I can." Said the warrior in white, now that Issei could look at him better, he noticed that he was wearing a gray and white armor with golden tints to it, but he also felt familiar. "You've finally woken up after more than 40 years now."

This surprised Issei. He's been unconscious that long? How much had he missed since then?

The man continued. "Honestly, I'm more surprised you don't recognize me." He chuckled. "It's me, Roach, been a long time uh?" Roach revealed, to which Issei widened his eyes in surprise.

"Oh! Uh... Sorry for not recognizing you... We didn't really interact much before..." Said Issei as he scratched the back of his head. "And... what about that giant creature that was following us?"

Roach's expression changed to a much more serious one based on his posture. "That was... Crystal, although... he's called Cairngorgon by everyone, he's not the Crystal everyone alive knew, so they didn't want to taint his heroic actions with what he has become now.." Said Roach as he realized he was getting off track. "He now wanders around the surroundings of the Shrine of Mist Valley... He never tried to attack you... it was as if it was trying to defend your body..."

The legacy that Crystal would have left as a hero was completely shattered, he died as a hero, and yet he lived long enough to become a villain. Issei looked saddened by the revelation, to see someone who had helped him so much turn into that creature, it didn't suit well with him.

And yet, the thought of his former friend protecting him warmed his heart, even in death, it seemed as if he was willing to stay by his side.

… Which he knew full well he should have done with Yaldabaoth. He needed to persuade the God of Humanity, perhaps that way he could have gotten more answers to what was going on before.

"Then... What about the Gusto and Gishki? Are they alright?" Asked Issei. "The Gishki are now called the Nekroz, Avance and Emilia created their small group alongside Exa, the small lizard that was always with Phlogis if you remember." Explained Roach. "Alongside them is the son of Avance and Emilia, Shurit, their current strategist."

Issei looked weirdly at Roach, but he wouldn't really make much of a deal from it, they weren't related, and whether it was taboo or not may be different in this world, if it were his past self, he knew he would have thought of it as hot.

"As for the Gusto... you saw three members right now." Pointed out Roach. Issei looked at the three who had been with him a few minutes ago, they were currently talking with the Naturia. "The two kids are Kamui's daughters. Wen is the one who has her eyes closed, she may not be blood related to Kamui, but Kamui took her in as his own daughter, while the other one is named Pilica, she is the biological daughter of both Kamui and Reeze."

"And what about the other one?" Said Issei, the girl that had accompanied them was around his age... or at least before he had gone into a coma, he was unsure how old he was now. He glanced at his hand, realizing that there were no wrinkles. "Uh, guess Yaldabaoth was right, I age slowly now."

"That would be Lara, she's a survivor who ended up becoming part of the new Gusto Tribe. Do note that the warriors of the tribe are called the Ritual Beast Tamers." Finished Roach, who had been talking while Issei was thinking.

As Issei looked back at them again, he could see the three of them talking happily. Moving to the next question, he then asked. "How are Lazuli and Rasalhaguen?"

"They don't call themselves by those names anymore, Lazuli is now called Sombre, while Rasalhaguen is now called Caduceus." Responded Roach. "Kerykeion was his name, but he had transformed yet again, finally controlling and consuming all the Evilswarm Infection that he had harnessed."

"And where are they now?" Asked Issei, this conversation felt like a kid asking various things to their parents. Roach felt a sweatdrop go down his forehead as he saw how clueless Issei was. But he didn't blame him, more than 40 years had already passed after all.

But this brought a serious response from Roach. "They went back to the Constellar's base after you had defeated Sophia... but now they have come back after they became suspicious of the activity within the Sacred Naturia Tree." Mentioned Roach. "They believe that Sophia may come back, and they are trying to make sure she doesn't"

Issei nodded in response, but he knew what was actually going on. Yaldabaoth was on the move. He had defeated Sophia, he was sure of that, and so, the only person left who could be able to manipulate this world would be its original owner, that being the God of Humanity, Yaldabaoth.

He knew what had happened after the defeat of the infected Ice Barrier Dragons, Ariel fell in battle, the lack of mention about her from Roach was proof of that, this saddened him quite a bit, as for Yaldabaoth, he knew that he was planning something, and so he would have to follow him...

But would that be the best course of action?

Yaldabaoth had told him that he was no longer needed, and yet, his voice told him otherwise, the false god was hurting, and Issei knew it, right now, whatever, the God of Humanity tried to do may or may not be the best decision, and he needed to be there to help him.

Issei would have to wait until he showed up, until then, he'd try to keep his friends alive, he wouldn't make the same mistake as before.

He was then brought back to reality as he noticed that Roach hadn't finished. "Sombre supposedly went outside of the boundaries of what we know of the land, according to her, the essence of Sophia had been scattered around after she used her powers, when the Nekroz and Ritual Beast Tamers came, Emilia confirmed that she had part of Sophia's essence as she had been brought back to life through the power of reincarnation. Additionally, it is possible for various of the fallen heroes to have it too." Mentioned Roach.

"Then do you mean tha-" Tried to say Issei, only to be cut by Roach. "Yes, everyone who died in the Great Marshlands could possibly be brought back."

Winda could be revived. Crystal could be revived. Ariel could be brought back.

All that was needed was to find their bodies and revive them...

But... 40 years was still a long time, their bodies might as well be lost to nature. Right now only Crystal seemed as the only possible revival, but given the fact that creature was going around, it would be difficult for them.

Roach then continued. "As for Caduceus, he has gone on a hunt for Cairngorgon. Given the fact that the creature was just here a few minutes ago, I think that Caduceus is hunting him down right now." Finished Roach.

Issei sighed, there were many events he had missed, he wished to see familiar faces, but he knew many of them would look vastly different. "Thanks for the information Roach."

In response Roach then said. "Don't worry much about it. Oh and also, I go by Exciton Knight now"

"Would it be possible to call them all so that we can catch up?" Requested Issei.

Lara then walked towards them after overhearing them talk. "Well, that shouldn't be an issue, I've already notified the Elder, so he should be coming here with the Great Sorcerer alongside his family." Said Lara.

Issei smiled at that response, he looked forward to seeing them soon.

In the meantime however, he decided to become acquaintanced with the three members of the Gusto Tribe. He currently saw near one of the trees as Lara then sat down next to him, Wen and Pilica could be seen running around as they were playing tag.

"So... how did Wen end up becoming Kamui's adoptive daughter?" He didn't know where to start, but that seemed like the most interesting question he could think of. Lara looked at him with a smile as she said. "Wen's parents ended up abandoning her near where the elder usually went for a stroll, apparently her parents and the people around her were frightened by her incredible spiritual powers."

Issei nodded at the response, it however did leave a bad taste in his mouth, thinking about someone leaving their daughter at such a young age didn't sit right with him, and rightfully so. He then proceeded to ask another question. "And what about you? How did you end up becoming a Ritual Beast Tamer?"

Lara hummed at the question, she thought a bit about it before saying. "At first, I thought it was because I had no other place to go, my parents died during Sophia's attack, however, as I continued to devote myself into the teachings of the elder, I ended up becoming quite enthralled by the magic that was used, it may have been fate truthfully, after all, stumbling into a new village after many years of traveling through the same forest seemed quite odd."

Pilica then came running at them, as she finally got close, she then asked them. "Hey! Can you play with us big sis Lara?" She innocently said as she awaited the answer of the Ritual Beast Tamer. Lara smiled at her silly question as she responded with delight. "Of course Pilica, I would be more than happy to play with you and your sister."

Pilica then looked at Issei. "And you too, mister! You can come play with us too!" Issei felt kind of hurt at being called mister.

Was he actually getting old?

Sure he was more than 58 years old now technically, but he missed 40 of those years of his life, so that didn't count... right?

Either way he said. "Of course, I'd also like to play."

"After many years, it seems like you've finally awakened." Were the words of Avance. He was incredibly old compared to the last time Issei had seen him, in contrast, Emilia was still as young, something related to being revived having effects was the culprit.

"I've missed quite a lot from the looks of it." Said Issei. Truthfully, it was good to see more familiar faces, he then looked at Kamui, only to comment. "And what about you Kamui? You've obtained your dream."

Kamui nodded. "Yes, I've become the chieftain of the Gusto Tribe, although I must say it wasn't by normal means..." Responded the leader of the Gusto Tribe.

Issei looked around, expecting to see Reeze too, but she was nowhere to be found. Kamui noticed this. "Ah, it seems you're looking for Reeze right?" He said. "Unfortunately, she passed away a few years ago."

Issei flinched. "I'm sorry for your loss..." He apologized. Kamui smiled. "Don't be, she died of natural causes, it pained me, but I've gotten over it thanks to those around me." He said as he then looked at his daughters.

He then saw the son of Avance and Emilia, Shurit, talking to Pilica and Wen. To which Kamui nudged at Avance, teasing him about his son being a player.

Looking at them, all he could think of is the fact that over 40 years have passed since he had defeated Sophia. And what about Yaldabaoth? His mind couldn't ignore the God of Humanity, four decades have already passed, and yet, the god had not made his move yet.

Understandably, it could be possible that those 40 years weren't much for him, and so, it would take even longer for him to finally take action.

And as for himself... He had a longer life span right? Issei also noticed that his hair hadn't grown more from before, it could be possible that the locals had cut his hair when needed, or perhaps it stopped growing when he entered the state of coma.

He was taken out of his thoughts as a white blur tackled him onto the ground. As he looked at who it was, he immediately recognized her.

"Hey Lazuli, or Sombre now, it has been awhile right?" Said Issei. Sombre hugged him as she squealed. "Oh Issei, it's good to see you're awake! I thought you'd never wake up again!" Admitted Sombre.

"Now, now, it's all right, I'm awake, so can you please stop crushing my ribs?" Responded Issei, albeit with a bit of difficulty as Sombre was starting to make the hug more intense. Once Sombre noticed that, she let go as she apologized for it.

In the sky, eight dragons could be seen descending towards them.

"Oh right, I should also explain who the creatures accompanying me are!" Quickly said Sombre. "They are the Yang Zing, powerful dragons that I've created by using the power of Sophia! Now that I've exhausted Sophia's essence there is no way she can come back to life!"

The dragons were of varying colors and structures, from long, to stubby, there was even a turtle, while another had traits of a lion.

Each one had a certain color code to them, additionally, it seemed like each one was in a sort of way, related to a Gem-Knight, as each one seemed to have something on their chest that looked like a gem.

Perhaps Sombre created them in memory of her late friends. Sombre then proceeded to explain how she did it. "Each one of the Yang Zings are basically using a system that Sophia had previously created, just like how the Sacred Naturia Tree had granted the power of destruction and creation to Caduceus and I, we were then able to grant the powers to Roach and Lord Leodrake. From there I then found out that, since the pyroxenes that we, the Gem-Knights had, were originally those of Tierra, I could then use that power to create something similar to the Sefirot system Sophia had created for the Qliphort that Leodrake talked about before."

This information was met with nods from those who were in the loop, in the case of Issei, he understood it thanks to his previous questions to Leodrake. But the information about this Qliphort was new to him.

"That being said, what I currently need is to gain control of the Sefirot System, as only then will we be able to truly know about what is going on, I simply need to use the dragons to finally gain access to it, but I still need time to do the finishing touches."

He then thought a bit about her words. Sefirot? He had a trait related to that right?

He remained silent as he was unsure if to talk about his traits, he had abstained from ever telling anyone about this, he was unsure who to truly trust this secret to, as he was doubtful of anyone believing him or taking it in a good way.

If he ended up admitting to having this system, he'd have to also admit to having a trait that allowed him to turn back in time upon dying, by doing so, it would plant the seeds of doubt in his allies, as they would become unsure of what to believe from him.

There were many ways this could go wrong, and he wished to only tell this to someone who had the utmost loyalty or faith in him.

Someone like Natsuki or Winda truthfully.

No, he knew the real reason why, he was still scared to open up to people, to let them know his woes, as he painfully anticipated that they would die later.

Well… No matter, he was the Unknown Sefirot, perhaps once Sombre cracked into this system, the trait would finally reveal itself.

Sombre still hadn't finished talking. "I was able to create another Yang Zing with my previous form when I converted with Virgo, the seven gems on Master Diamond's sword have also been used for the Yang Zings, ultimately I only needed one more dragon, as I could use myself as one of the needed requirements for the Sefirot System without trouble given the fact I was chosen by the tree."

Once she finished however, a loud explosion was heard all of the sudden. They all looked at where the sound came from, they realized that it was near the crumbled Shrine of Mist Valley. Slowly, but surely they saw as various creatures emerged from it, they all had purple tones on them alongside various strings attached to them.

The first course of action those present made was to inform those in their territories, Lara was sent alongside Wen and Pilica back to the tribe, specifically to move them closer to the Naturia Forest, as for Avance, he asked his son and wife to call Exa to come.

Even as most proceeded to do what they were asked for, the young daughter of Kamui objected. "But dad, I am able to fight too! You don't need to send me with Lara and Wen back!"

Kamui sighed. "Pilica, right now the Naturia is a front for the possible incoming battle, once this possible new threat changes its focus on those around the perimeter, the tribe will be in danger, I want to make sure you are exposed as little to the enemy as possible." Explained the elder. "Not only that, Pilica, unlike your sister and Lara, you have still to call upon a Ritual Beast, in no way are you able to battle along us."

Unlike her family, Pilica was unable to call upon a beast to aid her, she instead had to friend a creature from the Great Marshlands, although Kamui had been very against it since the beginning, Reeze was able to convince him to let her at least have some sort of protection.

To this day, he was glad that his wife had convinced him to do so, as he felt nostalgia each time he saw his daughter with her companion.

Another reason why he was sending Pilica with the other two Ritual Beast Tamers was because he believed that she would be safer with them, the panic of various Naturias in the current territory would be too much for him as he would continue to worry about his two daughters despite knowing they could defend themselves.

Wen called after Pilica to come with them. Kamui was glad that his adoptive daughter understood his intentions.

Pilica nodded albeit with a bit of hesitation, she went with Lara and her sister back to the tribe to get those who aren't able to protect themselves.

Once Kamui saw them all leave, he held his staff high, while doing so, he started to cast a spell, this spell called upon a spiritual being to his aid, similar to how the Gishki did. The creature that came to his aid was an avian that had various motifs of thunder.

The bird started to grow in size, once it stopped, Kamui got on top of it. It then started to ascend as it flew towards near the zone to see what was going on,

The first thought he got from seeing the incoming creatures was that of deja vu. It reminded him of the Evilswarm invasion, he could recognize a few of them coming towards them, creatures of the fallen tribes.

But then he saw a bird coming towards him, as it got closer, he noticed who it was.

Falco, the small bird was now purple as strings controlled its every move. Kamui widened his eyes seeing his past bird companion again, the initial surprise then turned into sadness as he realized that he would have to battle against him once again.

However, he wouldn't falter this time, he needed to push forwards, it has been over 40 years, right now he could deal with the memories.

He casted lightning towards the incoming flying creatures. The lightning struck against various of the enemies, but it didn't have any effect. Kamui saw as they continued to march towards the Naturia Tribe. He decided to fall back and tell the others about the enemy.

As he got back he saw as Cairngorgon's head laid there, unmoving. He assumed that Caduceus had defeated him, and yet he couldn't see him anywhere.

Once he got back to his allies he saw as Avance walked up towards him. "What are we dealing with, Kamui?" He asked.

"Enemies similar to the Evilswarm, I recognized various creatures that have come back to life." Responded Kamui. "Furthermore, Cairngorgon has been defeated, but Caduceus has gone MIA."

Caduceus was supposed to go back to report his findings about the corrupted Crystal, and yet, it seemed as if he had completely banished after he had defeated Cairngorgon. He hypothesized that Caduceus had been caught by the explosion.

Sombre then instructed. "I will lead the Yang Zing with me to battle against the incoming enemies, in the meantime, start casting a defensive barrier." Before any one of them could respond, she had already left them as she led the charge against the new threat.

Avance facepalmed at her rash decision. "Even after 40 years you're still rash." Avance said as he sighed in frustration.

Issei simply stood there, listening to their words, and hearing Kamui talk about past creatures coming back like the Evilswarms brought back a few bad memories, although he simply pushed them away.

He spread his wings as he went after the warrior of light.

"Seriously Caduceus..." Was the only thing that Sombre said while heading towards the enemy.

Something that she hadn't told anyone was the fact that Caduceus had been asking her to come help him. It was one of the reasons why she couldn't finish creating the last Yang Zing she needed.

There were supposed to be nine, nine sons if she were to be honest, she considered them her own flesh and blood. They were her creations after all, and so she was their mother. But she lacked enough power to make the last one, and now that Caduceus got trapped inside whatever caught him, it meant she had to wait a little longer to finally create the last son.

But either way, she was getting closer to the enemy, she could see them. She recognized a few of them, a beast from the Naturia, another from the Flamvells and even Kamui's old companion, Falco.

She unsheathed her light sword as she rushed towards them, upon making contact with the Naturia Beast, she noticed that there was no effect on it. "So you're not a creature of complete darkness uh?"

She dodged the razor sharp paw as she stepped back, the Yang Zing then came to aid her. Attacks of various elements were shot towards the enemy, wind, fire, water were the most prominent ones.

However, they did no damage against the enemy. As Sombre continued to look at the enemy, she noticed that the ones with their strings cut were the ones that stopped. She then cut the strings that were attached to one of the Flamvell Hedgehogs, only to see it plummet to the green field of the Great Marshlands.

Upon finding about the weakness of their enemy, she was ready to fall back to tell the others, however, she was uncertain of doing so, she didn't want to leave behind the Yang Zing, but fortunately she saw as Issei had followed her.

She then shouted "Hey Issei! Go back to the Naturia Tribe and tell them what I'm about to say!" Before she could start talking, Issei responded. "It would be better for you to go back if you wish to send a message to the others."

He then added. "If you're thinking about staying here holding everyone back then you're gonna have to do it with me, I am not letting you stay back just so you can sacrifice yourself." But deep inside his mind he knew why. "I don't wish for anyone I know to die again when I could have stopped it."

Sombre looked at him with a bit of indecisiveness, unsure as to refute his words or not. She then sighed. "Then I'll be going back towards the base to explain to them the situation, you take care of the enemies, go after the strings, that is the only way of defeating them. If you see that they're too much for you, fall back, you need to temporarily hold the enemy back." She then left the battlefield, trusting Issei to be able to hold back the enemy. As she flew back, there was a bit of doubt in her mind.

But right now, she needed to contact those she knew to help her against this new threat without having the tribes being caught in it."Everyone, be prepared to follow Chiwen's path, for you are going to come help me as your duty as the children of the Constellars..."

Issei proceeded to face the enemy, he then noticed that more of these puppet like creatures came towards them, he saw as the dragons continued to attack the enemy.

It seemed as without their Sombre, their formation was less than optimal. Issei proceeded to activate Phoenix Wing, scorching the strings attached to the many creatures as they fell from the great heights they were.

He held Blade Forged From Souls tightly as he swung the weapon. He decided not to activate Dusk, as it seemed like it was necessary for now.

As he continued to defend the front lines, he then saw as a few of the enemies had latched themselves towards one of the dragons, the dragon then turned from a light orange and yellow skin tone, to a dark monotone one. It then proceeded to attack the other dragons, it seemed as if it had switched sides.

He then saw as out of nowhere, copies of the dragons came after them, attacking their counterpart. He focused on the enemies that kept flooding towards him, as he proceeded to cut the strings while also dodging their tackles.

Then he saw a humanoid doll come towards him, as he looked at it, he saw as the blade of the weapon it held came down on him, he blocked the attack, watching as the guandao was barely touching him. He had thankfully stopped the blade with his own guandao.

It was a Xiao clone, although one with darker clothings. The enemy seems to have created copies of the dragons. But why was it a Xiao copy instead of him?

Was... Yaldabaoth the one creating these creatures? If so, what does he have to do in this situation?

It doesn't matter right now this copy was trying to kill him, and so he'd have to defeat it no matter what. Until he figured out what was going on, we would be on the side of his friends.

Yaldabaoth has been acting odd ever since he had become Pearl, and it seems like creating a second coming of the Evilswarm was his plan.

He did not agree with it, and so he needed to find a way to contact Yaldabaoth and ask him what he was planning or better yet, tell him to stop.

It was a battle of loyalty. Right now, Issei was more loyal to his friends, but at the same time, he wished to find a solution where neither side would fall.

Not when Yaldabaoth had yet to respond to his own heart.

The pain that Yaldabaoth must have had to endure for many years became more evident as Issei thought more about it, finding out that what you have been planning for years no longer has any use or reason of existing certainly would leave a mark on him, and he assumed Yaldabaoth wouldn't be any different.

If he could reach out a hand to Yaldabaoth, maybe this could finally be solved without bloodshed, the god loved humanity, there was no logic if the god attempted to destroy humanity in this world. He also hoped for him to reach out too, as only then will he finally let go of the sorrows of his past, just like he did.

Emotions were created to be expressed to the outside world, not to be bottled up inside oneself, that's what he learned through the death of Winda. And he knew that Yaldabaoth was the same as him, after all, the god also had emotions, and so, he wished to be the shoulder that Yaldabaoth could lean on.

He no longer saw Yaldabaoth as a god who he decided to follow, but rather a kindred soul who he needed to save from himself.

He snapped back to reality once he saw that he was losing the clash. He kicked the clone on the stomach, making it flinch back as it backed down from their attack. Issei followed up by activating Phoenix Wing once again, engulfing the front of him with flames.

The clone then did the same, blue flames manifested as they both came crashing at each other. The flames extinguished as Issei flew through the disappearing flames, with Harpie's Talon he threw a kick that hit the clone, stabbing the talon into its neck.

As it burrowed even deeper, Issei saw that it had no effect, he tried to pull out, only to realize that it was stuck, he stepped onto the clone's face, trying to get the talon out. Once it got out, he used the impulse to do a backflip.

Trait (Darkest Day) has activated

His hands turned back to the claws with gun holes in them again, his clothing turned to the ragged coat with bandages too. He began shooting at the clone as each single shot pierced its body. He then flew towards him as he proceeded to slash and stab the lookalike with the sharp claws he had.

The unrelenting assault continued as his opponent couldn't do anything, the consecutive hits continued to increase as each time the clone tried to block the attack it was met with a grappled, while each time it tried to dodge, it was met with a punch or slash.

For the last hit, Issei grabbed its head as he started to put force into his grip, the clone started to crumble as its face started to crack, with enough force it then exploded, leaving a headless clone to take a long journey to the ground below.

Once he saw he had defeated it for good, he deactivated the E.G.O, only to then activate Reasoning.

You have activated the Skill (Reasoning)

You have gained 50% of your Sanity back

"It seems Yaldabaoth doesn't know of my new abilities... Has he completely cut the mental link we had?" Thought Issei. He then looked at the Yang Zings around him, to then see that they were still struggling a bit with the enemy.

But then a ray of light, that of a comet made its way towards them, the blinding light that accompanied it made Issei close his eyes as he couldn't stand it.

When he finally opened them back, he saw that one of the Yang Zings had changed form, instead of the yellow and lion like mane it had, the dragon had obtained a white armor that covered its surface. It let out a mighty roar, attacking and destroying the threads attached to them.

Issei saw that this was the chance for them to back down, as it seemed like there was no end to the waves of enemies. This was later confirmed as he saw that there was a field surrounding the Naturia now. He then let the dragons know of the current situation as he convinced them to retreat.

As they fled, he realized that three of them had unfortunately fallen to the enemy, he wondered. "How do we know which one is the real and which isn't?" Copies of them already existed, yet at the same time, once one of them was controlled by the enemy, it was impossible to distinguish between the copy and the original.

He looked at the dragon that had obtained armor, it reminded him of the Vylon augmentations he saw before, he believed that it was something that Sombre had prepared in case it was needed, just like how the Constellars had created the Vylons as a means to fight the Steelswarm.

But unlike them, he knew that Sombre had no time for creating them, she must have been too busy creating the Yang Zings, he knew how it felt to create life, it was complicated, and trying to master it would take even more time.

He wondered, how long would it take him to master it? Yaldabaoth had commended him for being a fast learner, he had mastered poetry in just a few weeks after all, and he was getting close to finally mastering art, would it be the same for creating? If anything, he thought of it as making a statue, which was a form of art.

He ignored that thought process once he landed inside the Naturia Tribe, he noticed the increased number of people, they went from one side to another as they seemed to be working on creating various defense mechanisms.

He walked alongside the dragons, various of those that were in front of them stood apart as they let them walk forward.

He then saw Sombre alongside Avance and Kamui. "What's the current situation?" Asked Issei. The heads of those present turned towards him, Avance then responded. "Every single tribe is currently here, we have put various measures to block the incoming enemies."

"We're also thinking of going on the offensive, we've finally identified the main source of the threat." Added Kamui, Issei looked at the elder expectedly. "And who or what may that be?" Asked Issei. Sombre on the other hand started to grip the chair with more intensity. "That would be... my sister." Responded Sombre.

The place had had a serious atmosphere surrounding it before Issei came, but after he had asked that question, it became worse. Sombre proceeded to explain a bit more about the situation. "My sister died during Sophia's appearance, it seems as she also had the essence of Sophia inside her, and this threat has decided to use her as the one controlling the various dead bodies of the past tribes."

"It might not be the case." Replied Issei, they continued to look at him, despite the noise around them being incredibly loud, they were attentive to what he was saying. "When I fought against the enemy, I found out that they create copies of the various creatures, dead or alive. At the same time, the originals can also be turned into the enemy, it is impossible to know whether it is the original or a simple clone."

Kamui sighed in relief, truth be told, he was glad to know that the Falco he had seen may not be the original one. The fact that it was impossible to damage them assured them that they wouldn't be able to hurt them or even damage them.

Issei was unsure what the purpose of this was, but he wanted to believe that Yaldabaoth had at the very least taken a bit of mercy on them and made sure that they wouldn't see a late friend of theirs die again.

To try and change the topic, Issei decided to ask more about the Yang Zings to gain more knowledge of them. "Anyways, I'd like to ask a bit about the Yang Zings you've created, Sombre, and about the fact that three of them have been unable to escape the enemy."

He felt a bit of guilt about the last part, Sombre was possibly a much better leader to take care of the threat, but he had been stubborn about staying on the front lines to hold them back. Perhaps he was reminded of the situation with Musto, Ignis and Crystal back then, it haunted him for a few weeks after, and he never truly showed emotion about it. All because he wanted to become Yaldabaoth's perfect harbinger.

"I noticed, it seems as Suanni, Pulao and Taotie have unfortunately fallen against this new threat." Was the response of Sombre. "But sure, what do you want to know about them?"

"Mostly about the one who had fused together or obtained another one as armor." He said with curiosity. "That was mostly done without much thought behind it, Chiwen isn't a normal Yang Zing so to speak, instead he is a guide for the incoming reinforcements" Responded the heroine of light.

"Reinforcements?" Wondered Issei, only to see a bridge come down from the sky as a group of warriors clad in white armor came down towards them. Sombre then responded. "Yes, the descendants of the Constellars, however, only five of them are present for now, it seems as the path Chiwen created was only able to bring a few of them."

"But no matter."Sombre came up to them as they all kneeled to show respect, she then proceeded to say. "My children, it is good to see all of you have made it safe here. All of you have trained for this very moment, and we shall finally show our powers against the evil that attempts to take the life of this world!" She then extended her hand as she then said. "Prepare for battle, for we are going to defend this world no matter what!"

"Are we actually going back again to try and battle them?" Questioned Issei, he was met with the confident smile of Sombre. "I believe in my children, and I believe that I can save both Caduceus and my sister, you can come of course, now that the Satellarknights have come, we have an actual chance to take care of this enemy before it becomes a bigger threat."

Kamui and Avance looked at her with a bit of worry, to which Avance then said. "Sombre, we can aid you in this battle, please allow us t-" Before he could finish, Sombre interjected. "No need, I want all of you to stay in the Naturia Tribe's territory while the Satellars and Yang Zing take care of the enemy, all of you have people to take care of, and so do Issei and I, those being all of you."

Unlike the leaders of the tribe, Issei was of the Gusto Tribe, yet he wasn't truly a Ritual Beast Tamer, he was the guardian and defender of the tribe, and it was his duty to protect them, just like how he did back then against Sophia. As for her, she was going to battle leading her own group, the Satellars and the Yang Zing.

The fact that both of them didn't really have strong relations with the current members of the tribe aside from a few made it so that, if they ever ended up falling in battle, minimal mourning would be done for them.

"Let us call this new threat the Shaddolls, I recommend casting a strong barrier in case the enemy comes here." Advised the warrior of light, she went towards the Satellars as Issei went to follow her.

And so, they took flight towards the enemy.

Issei, Sombre, the Satellarknights and Yang Zing flew towards the enemy front lines once again, they observed as shadow versions of them alongside marionettes rushed towards them.

The shadows had no strings attached to them, in most cases they didn't have a true form and usually would take the form of a simple shadow, in a few special cases however, they could manifest and become carbon copies enhanced by negative effects, meanwhile the dolls were indestructible copies, or at least that was what Sombre said, which could easily be dealt with by cutting the strings.

However, the problem was how to do so, as many rushed at them at the same time, making it harder for them to be able to accurately cut them. Another problem they had to deal with was with the thought of the copies being the original, and them not knowing, as they planned to revive those who fell at the end of this whole war.

The five children of the Constellars present were Deneb, Altair, Vega, Alsahm and Unukalhai. Issei saw as out of all of them, only two had weapons, a sword and a bow. He assumed that the others were brawlers who went head on against the enemy, something that was not optional against this enemy.

And yet, his expectations were blown as they all were able to dodge the attacks while also deal hefty damage to the dolls, Unukalhai used his tail like armor to cut through the ropes, Altair grappled the dolls while throwing them around against each other, and Vega was a caster who sent out light attacks that repelled the shadows, Alsahm covered the blind points of the team while Deneb was the main member who neutralized the Shaddolls.

It was smooth sailing for the Satellarknights, after all, they were prepared for this moment, years of training under the care of Caduceus and Sombre lead to their unrivaled team work. The Yang Zing however had more trouble, but even so, they could hold their own, despite only being created recently, they have shown to be mighty creatures, able to deal with the incoming waves of enemies.

Issei did however, feel a sense of nostalgia, even though he was in a coma, he felt like he was getting old, at the very least mentally, so much had happened in the last few months before that event.

This current situation reminded him of the Steelswarm invasion... It reminded him of Winda, how both of them worked together during that period.

No matter, he needed to focus right now, he swung his guandao once again, cutting the threads of various enemies that came after him. Following suit, Sombre shot various holy attacks which defeated the shadow creatures that were behind the puppets.

"Do you truly think we can defeat the Shaddolls?" Asked Issei, Sombre, who had finished conjuring holy attacks, looked at him. "I believe we can, we just need to find out a way to get Caduceus back."

Issei proceeded to then attack another enemy. "And how do you intend that?" He asked. Sombre then used her sword to cut yet another foe. "Well, we first need to know where he is, then we have to cut the strings and bring him back to the base, once there, we can try to figure it out." Said the hero of light.

They then looked at the enemies, only to notice a giant figure weaving the strings of the enemies, Sombre instantly recognized her. "Sister... what happened to you?" She looked at the abomination that was the machine. The threads continued to move as a few sunk into the ground below, in a single move she raised her hands, pushing the terrain into the air.

The group proceeded to dodge the attacks as they were then rushed by more dolls and shadows. Issei activated Raging Storm, burning the trees thrown at him into ash. Sombre used her powers to shoot the debris, turning it into dust. Meanwhile, the Yang Zings and Satellarknights continued to either dodge or break the incoming obstacles.

Unukalhai however, as he continued to dodge the attacks of the Shaddolls felt a power coming from below, as he looked at the ground, he saw a shadow currently wielding Caduceus staff. He then proceeded to dash towards said shadow. Alsahm noticed this and yelled. "Hey! Unukalhai don't break formation!"

The other Satellarknights saw this, they went to chase after him, Unukalhai used his tail to move away anything that got in his way, once he finally landed onto the ground, he chased after the staff.

While running, he was then followed by shadows, which awaited to engulf him, he didn't care however. He then extended his hand to then grab onto the staff.

The staff of his father.

"I got you!" Yelled the Serpens Satellarknight. He then heard from within the shadow a very familiar voice.

"Unukalhai?" It was Caduceus, he saw as his son attempted to save him, to release him from this prison he had found himself in after he defeated Cairngorgon. The fallen Gem-Knight wasn't just a walking corpse of the hero of old, it was also a core of this evil that had risen up.

He had fallen into its trap, and by doing so, he had been captured, fortunately however, he hadn't lost consciousness, and yet, he knew that his powers were being suppressed within the head of Cairngorgon.

The shadows latched onto Unukalhai, as he tried to pull his father out of the shadows, he was also being brought into it. Caduceus saw this, he couldn't stop his son from trying to save him, he had taught him to give his life to those he loved, that had backfired back as he saw that he was giving his life up to try and save his life.

Caduceus decided on a plan. "Unukalhai, rip the dark lines that you see!" He instructed. Unukalhai saw the thousand of strings that looked like a veil, he pulled on it.

The sound of string breaking one by one could be heard, as he attempted to pull, he ended up completely breaking it, by doing so, he was sent back from the release of tension as he was then engulfed by the shadows.

The other Satellarknights saw this as they were too late to save their comrade. "Fuck!" Cursed Altair. Once they all landed, Altair and Alsahm tried to fend off the incoming shadows that tried to come after them.

Vega tried to look after Unukalhai, only to realize that he had become a Shaddoll himself, his corpse had completely been replaced with shadow as what was left was his armor, said armor looked like a lizard, they proceeded to exchange blows as one tried to fall back, while the other pushed.

Deneb however, noticed that the staff had been left on top of the part where the shadow had been left as she got closer, she heard a voice coming from it. "Deneb... It's me, Caduceus, please take the staff and use it to call upon the others." The voice was, yet again, Caduceus.

She nodded in understanding. She looked at the others, they were slowly getting cornered by the enemy. She looked at both Altair and Vega. "Both of you! We must create a path for the others! We must connect ourselves so that we can save the Unukalhai and bring the other here!" They looked at her, then looked at each other. They both nodded as Alsahm struggled to cover them. "Hey! Make this quick! I don't think I can hold them off any longer!" Said Alsahm.

Deneb threw the staff up in the air as she made a run for it towards the other two. Altair and Vega did the same, running towards her. They all then held hands as the staff twirled in the air, when it hit the ground, it stood upwards as the bottom pierce the earth. A great ray of light shot up in the sky as the three of them merged into one.

From the ray, a warrior holding a sword and shield could be seen forming as parts of each of the three started to attach themselves to it. When the ray finally stopped, said figure raised its sword, it then started to glow as from the sky various figures came down to earth.

They were the Satellarknights.

It then swung its sword onto the ground, creating a crater which made the shadows fall into it, Alsahm stood on the giant creature's shoulder as it continued to shoot at the enemy. Alsahm then said. "Hey! Way to go! So how should I call you now?"

"Call me Delteros." Said the giant warrior.

Little did they know, Unukalhai's body had scurried away.

Meanwhile the Yang Zings, Sombre and Issei saw as Delteros raised his sword, Sombre recognized the rays of lights falling from the sky. Sombre then heard the voice of Caduceus. "Sombre, we need to talk."

"Caduceus? Was it it?" She asked. She dodged an incoming attack of one of the Shaddolls as she then counterattacked. "Don't look for me, Unukalhai has sacrificed himself trying to save me, and as a result I have been able to free myself from the control of the enemy." Explained the hero of darkness.

"So what do you want me to do now?" Asked Sombre, she saw as Delteros then swung his sword, she saw as the sword split the terrain below him. "I want you to rally all the Satellarknights and use my staff to connect the stars of each of the Satellarknights, this way our forces will be strong enough to push back this threat." Caduceus explained.

"I understand." She finished. Just then, she saw as various of the Satellarknights came to her aid, however, she noticed that there were two still missing. She then took the lead as she then instructed them. "Capella! Break through the Shaddoll's defense! Rigel! Betelgeuse! Follow suit as you cut the strings of each one of them!"

Capella, who was half man, half chariot rushed through the enemies as he maneuvered with the ropes. Betelgeuse and Rigel followed suit as they slashed at the enemies that were hit by the chariot.

However, while doing so, they continued to bicker.

"The fuck did you say asshole!?" Yelled Betelgeuse.

"You heard me Beetlejuice! You're not even the brightest in the sky, that's me mother fucker! You're second to me bitch! And I know damn well you're not the brightest tool in the shed either! You're so dumb you confuse a dwarf star for an actual dwarf, better yet, why the fuck don't you give youself a big ass red nose like the clown you are uh!?" Responded Rigel.

"Says the little shit that's less than six foot tall! Your short ass uses a fucking long white rod as a weapon because you're overcompensating for that little stick you call dick! I'm going to sack more people than you Nigel!" Challenged Betelgeuse.

"Oh we'll see about that!" Refuted Rigel.

Sombre sighed upon seeing their rivalry, now wasn't the time. She then cleared her throat. "Sirius! Procyon! Scout around the Naturia Forest! We must make sure they don't attack from another section!"

"Roger that boss! Said Procyon. Sirius then summoned his claws as he cut the Shaddolls, allowing him and Procyon to dash back and scout the whole area.

The battle turned around as Delteros then came to aid them. The morale of the group was skyrocketing as they were starting to push back the enemy, however, Sombre still had a concern. It was Unukalhai, now that he had become a Shaddoll, there was a high chance that he could take advantage of his Satellarknight origins and end up infecting the other knights.

She didn't let her guard down as she continued to look at her children, they all continued with what they were doing, Sirius and Procyon came back as they reported that there was no other enemy in sight, they were only coming from the front. She nodded as she then ordered them to aid the other.

Unfortunately, while she had kept her eye on the descendants of the Constellars, she had committed the biggest blunder. She hadn't taken into account that the Yang Zing could have possibly been a target.

And they were, she saw as Bixi, the blue turtle like dragon had turned black as she noticed that Unukalhai's armor was on it. How couldn't she have thought about it? Just like how Chiwen was able to become the armor of Bian, Unukalhai could do the same too.

And so, one by one, the Yang Zing became infected, the battle against the Shaddoll had become a battle against the Shaddoll and Yang Zing. Sombre lamented her mistake as she saw that all of her children turned into dark creatures of shadow.

The Satellarknights then grouped up as to make sure none of them would be the next to be taken by the enemy. Things got worse as they saw the Shaddoll coming even closer to them.

Bixi had also fused with Taotie, which then created a powerful dragon, Delteros then became occupied with having to battle against such a creature. A Dragon that symbolized the evil of the Yang Zing against the symbol of love between the Satellarknights.

However, flames soared into the sky as things got worse, another Shaddoll, red colored as it burned with the anger of each single puppet rose up, having wings made out of the threads that connected each single Shaddoll, they glowed in the dark night sky just as bright as the stars.

It was now that Sombre knew that they had to flee back to the base, she noticed that this giant creature had the helmet of Gem-Knight Crystal, was this Cairngorgon? She saw as it also had ten orbs connected to it, then it dawned on her what was going on.

She looked back at Issei. "Issei! We need to go back to the base! The Shaddolls are targeting the Sacred Naturia Tree! It wants to reinstate the cycle of rebirth! And I'm pretty sure it wants to revive Sophia!"

Issei however, knew this wasn't correct, this creature didn't want to revive Sophia, but instead, it wanted to revive Tierra, this was the course of action Yaldabaoth was taking. He nodded in understanding as both of them alongside the Satellarknights retreated back.

Unfortunately for them, the attempt was short-lived as walls of ice started to appear in front of them. Sombre cut through them as she then said. "Issei! Quickly! We need to tell the others now!" She saw as Issei was looking back at the Shaddoll, confused, she called out. "Hey! Snap out of it! What are y-"

She saw Ariel riding a Gishki summon.

This was bad, she gripped harder on her sword as she said. "Everyone! Please help Issei here! I'll go tell the others about this. Once you're done, come back to the Naturia!" She trusted her children to come out victorious, not through defeating the enemy, but by fleeing the enemy without casualties.

The Satellarknight nodded in understanding, this was what they were meant to do after all, they were trained to protect this world, just like how their parents did back then.

Issei looked at Ariel, he saw as her hand controlled a few threads, making various puppets come towards him, he effortlessly cut the incoming enemies with Blade Forged From Souls. Ariel looked at him, with no emotion to be seen, and yet, a glint of melancholy could be found in her eyes.

He shook his head, he raised his guandao and took his time to take a deep breath. "Remember Issei, you need to do this, or else everyone else will end up dead." He then decided to rush towards Ariel, the blue haired girl summoned ice spears which were shot towards Issei, he dodged them as he maneuvered through them, even blocking some of them by using his weapon.

Once he got close he attempted to slash over her, expecting to see her fall to the ground due to her strings being cut, he was met with a water blast which knocked him back. He looked to see her again, he realized that she had no strings attached to her.

Issei thought a bit about the reason, having a certain idea he looked at the Shaddoll converted Crystal, he noticed that it didn't have strings attached to it, but rather it attached strings to others. He looked at Ariel again, she didn't have threads connected to her, but rather, she had the threads on her staff, which were controlling other creatures.

He was fighting with the real Ariel.

His heart sank as he was going up against the true Ariel. Issei took a deep breath again, he put the guandao onto his back as he dashed towards her at blinding speeds. He activated Harpy's Talons, he turned as he spun to then attempt to strike her with a kick, the reverse kick was met with a staff, blocking the attack, however this prompted Issei to activate Dusk.

With Dusk, he tried shooting at the mount that she was on top off, yet she blocked them by creating a ice barrier, the tough ice made the bullets ricochet off it, Issei followed by using the claw to slash the shield, he started speeding up his attack as he chipped little by little said shield.

Ariel looked calm, yet a sense of struggle could be noticed as she tried to hold up the ice shield as long as possible, she raised her staff which prompted Shaddolls to come to her aid. Issei used Phoenix Wing, spinning while doing a backhand punch behind him, incinerating the strings of the incoming enemies.

He proceeded to then break the ice, Ariel awaited him to come towards her on top of her mount, yet instead she saw him starting to punch the Gishki mount she was on. She attempted to raise ice spears from the scaled of her mount, yet Issei continued to dodge them as he proceeded to stab the fish with his claws.

He activated Harpy's Talons again, with which he used to pierce the tough scaled of the fish, he continued with his onslaught until he got the final tenth hit on it, this lead to the creature to start deteriorating until it turned into dust as Dusk proceeded to swallow the scaled that had broken of the Gishki mount's skin.

Ariel then started to fall again, falling towards the broken floor from the battles, yet Issei caught her mid air as his black wings continued to flap, he held her bridal style while he descended to the floor. Leaving her off as she finally touched the floor with her own feet.

He then deactivated his E.G.O.

Delteros came towards him as he raised his sword, ready to cut down Ariel, however, Issei clashed with the sword using his guandao, sparks flew as Delteros was blown back by the attack. "What are you doing Issei?!" Asked the Stellarknight.

Yet Issei didn't respond, he extended his hand, which covered Ariel as she stood back behind his hand. She still had that monotone look on her face, yet at the same time, her lips shook as she looked at Issei.

Your Sanity has been depleted, entering Panic state

Your Panic status is Shutdown

Delteros simply stood his ground as he raised his sword once again, this time however, he took much more precaution trying to approach Issei and Ariel. He rushed in once again, this time targeting Issei instead.

The Stellarknight swung his sword, Issei proceeded to use his weapon to block the attack, however, by doing so, he left himself open for a shield bash. Delteros took the chance and made him flinch back, this prompted him to proceed with another slash with the sword.

Issei however, used Harpy's Talons to parry the sword, leading to Delteros losing his grip on his weapon, said sword went flying as it landed on the ground, as the knight looked back, Issei rushed in to punch him on the chest.

Delteros quickly put his shield in front of him, the punch struck as it sent the Stellarknight back, enough distance for him to grab his sword again, as he leaned to grab the sword, Issei rushed once again to then use his leg to kick him on the head, Delteros however, put his shield up once again, this time, he stabbed his sword on the ground to reduce the recoil.

By successfully doing so, he then used the sword to throw dirt to Issei's face, as he flinched due to the dust on his face, Delteros using his shield to bash his head once again, this time making his face plummet to the ground.

Delteros then put his sword near Issei's throat as he then used his shield to make sure he would move. As Issei tried to struggle, the movement became much less erratic as he finally calmed down. "Have you snapped out of it?" Asked Delteros.

"Yeah... sorry about that." Responded Issei. He had forgotten about the fact he didn't have Reasoning prepared. "Just please... don't attack Ariel, she's not a copy, but the original." He requested. Ariel, however, got closer to him, with a staff in her hand, Delteros expected to have to clash against her, but instead she kneeled.

From the staff came a voice. "There won't be a need for that." It was Caduceus once again. The Stellarknight, surprised, looked at the staff. "Caduceus! Have you been able to do what you've planned!?"

"Indeed, I have finally been able to control a few certain key figures of the Shaddoll, all that is needed now is for you to hold on until I can finally control the copy of Lapis that is headed towards the Naturia." Explained Caduceus. "Know that only those with blue strings are the ones under my control, any other color and they are either controlled by Cairngorgon or Lapis."

"I understand sir." Responded Delteros, however, Caduceus was not done yet. "Use Ariel's staff to connect the stars once again, with this all of you should be able to retreat with less chance of any of you being caught by the Shaddolls."

He then directed his voice to Issei. "And as for you Issei, Ariel is but a dead hollow shell of herself, by the end of this, we should be able to bring her back to life, so please, don't worry yourself much alright?" He gently said as Issei finally got up. "I understand." He said while smiling.

"Then move on and gather the others." Ordered Caduceus. Delteros instructed Issei to go back to the Naturia Forest alongside the hollow body of Ariel, which had completely gone limp as she had her control taken from by Caduceus to make sure she wouldn't try anything again.

Delteros had Ariel's staff, which originally was the one Caduceus used in his Kerykeion form, it seemed as though the Shaddolls had attempted to copy it, which gave them another way to connect the stars.

Once Issei left, Delteros quickly went back to the front lines to meet up with his comrades, once he got there, he saw as all of them were still holding up against the waves of dolls coming towards them.

However, the Yang Zing creature that Delteros had fought before had finally recovered as it then went up against the remaining Satellarknights present, that is where they were struggling, both Procyon, Capella and Sirius continued to dodge and distract the dragon while the others continued to take out the enemies.

Unfortunately, once Delteros finally caught up to them, a shadow went after Sirius as he had dodged another attack of the Yang Zing, the shadows started to spread through his body as he attempted to get it off him.

Delteros saw this, which forced to yell at Procyon. "Procyon! Catch." He said as he threw the staff at him. Betelgeuse blocked the Shaddolls that attempted to rush towards Procyon, who was able to catch it in time. "Use it to connect the stars!" Instructed the Tellarknight.

Betelgeuse used his powers to rush towards Sirius, Rigel who saw this then exclaimed. "Oi what the fuck are you doing?!" Betelgeuse who was now holding Sirius' hand then yelled out while extending his hand. "Procyon, use it now!"

Said Satellarknight dashed towards them as he finally grabbed Betelgeuse's hand. While the shadows had been able to catch Sirius' armor, they weren't able to completely transform him, the shadow had taken control of the armor as it then attempted to attack Rigel. But it was met with the sword of another Tellarknight, the combination of Sirius, Betelgeuse and Procyon.

Rigel looked at the form his rival had taken and whispered. "You bastard... you really didn't like being second uh? I hope I find a way to one up you later."

"I am Triverr, allow me to lead all of you back to the base." He declared as he raised his sword, this then created a blizzard where sharp ice particles continued to cut through the strings of the Shaddolls, in the meantime, Delteros alongside the other Satellarknights took the lead back to the base.

Triverr followed suit as he protected them from the back.

They finally got back to the base as Sombre could be seen on the entrance of the territory, awaiting her children to come back safely.

It was now the time where they needed to prepare against the incoming Shaddolls, this time, with the help of the Ritual Beast Tamers and the Nekroz.

(A/N)

Unrelated, but quite funny, I just now realized that I've been listening to Xiao's Chinese VA sing Religion of Loneliness and only now did I realize that.

Right now, this is the chapter that took the most time from me to finally finish, this is mostly due to the fact I had no idea about how exactly certain missing characters were supposed to come in, the best example being Ariel's Shaddoll form, El Shaddoll Apkallone.

That being said, I was able to expand a bit on the personality and relationships between certain Satellarknights, the idea of Rigel and Betelgeuse having a rivalry is mostly based on the fact both are the brightest stars of the Orion constellation.

Vega and Altair are two characters I was unfortunately unable to give more personality, they were the Satellars that had transformed the quickest out of the bunch alongside Deneb, which was a shame, since their origin actually hinted to Altair and Vega being lovers, specifically because Satellarknight Skybridge is a reference to The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.

That being said I also dislike how I portrayed the Yang Zing, they did not have any sort of relevancy in this chapter, and they won't be having any from what I have planned. That being said, I do have plans for the rest of the characters that have yet to have an important role.

Anyways, Archetypes that debut in this chapter are quite a lot, I didn't mention Nekroz and Ritual Beast Tamers last chapter as they technically haven't debuted, but they had rather been mentioned. Aside from them, there are also Shaddolls, Tellarknights and Yang Zings.

Now, for scrapped content, there's a bit to talk about.

First of all, Yaldabaoth's segment was supposed to only be 300 words, but I ended up wanting to expand on it, as it didn't feel right. I decided to try and connect even more and explain a bit on how his character connects to various other series at the same time.

Issei's E.G.O was originally supposed to be some sort of aberration of Xiao's E.G.O called The Loong and the Fenghuang. Rather than having the 9 sons of the dragon, he would have the 4 auspicious beasts. But due to the fact that the Yang Zing exists, I decided to scrap it, and I ended up using Apocalypse Bird as a template instead, which, truthfully, works much better for the future of this fic, thought it does hurt for the next arc which I then had to change a bit of it.

And that is all for now, I'll see y'all, next update.