The Second Archon War, Carmen Dei 6 (Patreon)

Beta’d and edited by Dr_Feelgood, The Grand Cogitator, Yae Miko, and Philosophysics

The grass rippled in the wind, and Naomi closed her eyes, listening to the wind blowing through the branches of the trees nearby. No, she wasn’t listening to the wind. She could feel it now, calling to her. At her side, she felt her Vision pulse with power and life, the winds within it echoing in her soul. Smiling, she opened her eyes and gazed out at the world around her.

Hirschwald National Park was a place of natural beauty, where wildflowers swayed in the breeze. To her left laid the small hamlet of Hohenburg, just now waking in the early morning light. To her left the forest extended for miles and miles up into the low hills. Around here were the worn ruins of an ancient castle. She didn’t know much about it, but she was curious. She’d liked studying history, especially when she’d been in school.

Capri was leaning on the ruins, sipping coffee from a thermos and looking up at the sky, where wisps of clouds stretched endlessly. They had come out here early enough that there were no hikers or tourists visible. The trees were all changing color, and Naomi shivered slightly in the chill breeze. It was more reflex than anything else: she felt as though her vision was protecting her from the elements.

Above her, Venti plucked away at his harp from atop the ruins. He probably shouldn’t climb atop them. But then again, since he was a god, did the rules really apply to him? Naomi wasn’t sure. She used to be rather bound by rules, but these days she tended to ignore them, even if she felt a pang when she did so. Too many of them were designed by evil men to bind people instead of help them.

“It’s a nice view,” Capri said, glancing up at Venti. “But why are we here again?”

“Why, training! Not for you though, sorry. This is mostly for Naomi. This is a place of the Winds, a place that is full of Anemo Energy. Can’t you feel it?” Venti said, still playing softly, though his tune began to pick up, becoming more stirring and energetic.

“I can,” Naomi admitted, closing her eyes again and lifting her hands above her head while going On Pointe. She was wearing hiking boots, not dancing slippers, but the winds wrapped themselves about her, and she slowly dipped, drawing the winds to herself with her hands. She giggled and opened her eyes. “It feels incredible!

“Good! I can see that dancing has a deep connection to your soul. Try dancing with the wind, and drawing it within you. See what you can command the winds to do,” Venti urged.

Naomi nodded but frowned slightly. “I don’t know that I can command the wind to do anything. Ask it, maybe, or guide it…but commanding it seems wrong.”

“Ah ha! Well, we can skip ahead to the advanced lessons if you’ve already figured that out!” Venti laughed, playing a merry tune on his harp.

Closing her eyes once more, Naomi began to dance once more. She drew the winds about her, and they seemed to crystalize. When she opened her eyes, she found that a swirling barrier of green blew about her, slightly obscuring her vision. She gasped, and the barrier blew away, but Venti nodded.

“Good! You can call the winds to protect you. A shield is one of the most basic uses of a Vision,” Venti coached.

“That’s pretty cool,” Capri said, nodding. “Can I do that? I think I’ve seen capes with an Electro Vision pull the same thing.”

Venti had explained that Visions came in seven flavors, and had been interested to learn that neither Capri nor Naomi had the slightest idea about that. He hadn’t told them what the other kinds were, saying they were a “surprise for later.” But he’d been firm that Capri had an Electro Vision, and not the cape powers that people like Itul or Alexandria had.

“More or less. There are a few basic forms that every vision holder can use,” Venti said, hopping down and putting his harp into its case, then setting it aside. He raised a hand, and the winds formed a barrier about him, much thicker than Naomi’s. She didn’t get the sense he was showing off, just that the wind delighted to hear his call.

“A shield to protect you is the one I think most people should learn first. You can make barriers for yourself and others, and it’s instinctive. The kinds of barriers change; Anemo shields tend to focus on redirection, while electro barriers harm those that strike them.”

The shield around Venti vanished, and he held up his hands, a glowing green breeze swirling around them. “Any Vision can be used to heal. Anemo tends to soothe and bind together wounds, and is one of the elements most suited to healing, hydro being the easiest. But Electro can knit wounds and reshape flesh, it just tends to hurt, so be careful!”

Next Venti picked up a stick and then assumed a fencing stance, one hand in the air, the stick held out before him. He jabbed a few times, and the wind wrapped around the stick, sending out gusts as he struck. “The second is to infuse objects, usually weapons, but not always. I infuse a little Anemo into my instruments so that they can carry further. A natural…what do you call it? An amp?  Yes, that! Anemo infusion can do a lot of useful things, and Anemo interacts with five of the six other elements to cause a reaction called Swirl, so be careful. It will react with natural sources of elemental energy as well.”

“Really? We can use our Visions together?” Naomi asked curiously.

“What other natural sources?” Capri demanded, narrowing her eyes at Venti.

“Ah! You’ll have to learn that for yourselves! It will be fun!” Venti laughed. “But yes, you can Swirl Electro. It spreads Electro and the Anemo gains the properties of it as you guide the winds.”

Dropping the stick, Venti cupped his hands together, holding them down at his waist. A green ball of wind formed there, and a moment later, Venti let it loose. It slammed into the ruins, sending up some chips of mortar and stone. “You can also fire projectiles of Anemo! It helps to have a catalyst when you do it, some sort of focusing tool. I’ll make you both one, though we have to figure out what sort of weapon you’d both like to use.”

“I, ah, I took fencing lessons,” Naomi admitted.

Capri snorted. “Of course you did.”

“It was just for a little while! Mostly to help with my balance and speed,” Naomi said defensively.

“Hmm. I have something around here, somewhere,” Venti muttered. He patted himself down for a moment, then shook out the sleeves of his green jacket. Then he reached one hand into his left sleeve, and drew out a sword like it was a magic trick.

Naomi grinned and clapped, while Capri blinked in shock. “Wait, you had that the entire time!?”

“I just forgot about it!” Venti said with a shrug and a grin. He flourished the sword, holding it up in a salute.

It didn’t look like any sword that Naomi had ever seen before, more like tinker tech than a historical blade. The hilt and guard were made of a coppery metal, though Naomi didn’t think it was actually copper, as the color was slightly off. From the pommel extended short wings of glowing bluish-green metal, and the blade was made of the same, some 70cm long. The blade tapered to a point and had an Anemo crest at the base of the blade. Venti held it out to her, and Naomi took it, holding the blade in her hand.

As she ran her hand along the blade, she gasped. She could feel the winds within the blade, and when she reached out to it, could feel the winds around her even more strongly. It hummed with power and yearned for freedom. It even began to glow in her hands.

“It’s…alive?” Naomi asked, looking up at Venti.

“Hmm, to a degree, I suppose. That is the Skyward Blade, crafted from the blood of a friend of mine, Dvalin.”

“The dragon?” Capri asked, her eyebrows shooting up.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I thought…I thought you saved Dvalin!” Naomi gasped, feeling horror touch her heart.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to give the wrong impression! Yes, last I saw him, Dvalin was fine! But his blood contained power, and this is one of the five weapons I forged with it, to help keep Mondstadt safe. I was going to give it to Lumine, but she was really attached to that Dull Blade of hers for some reason.”

“I’ll treasure it forever,” Naomi promised and swung the sword experimentally. The winds answered her call, rushing about her.

“Alright, you said five. The bow is yours I guess, so what’s for me?” Capri demanded.

“Pushy, pushy!” Venti laughed.

“Hey, she got a sword, I want a sword. We’re knights, right? Knights have swords,” Capri said, folding her arms over her chest.

“True, true! Well, I do have another sword, but…”

“No butts. Lemme see it,” Capri demanded.

“Capri…he is an angel,” Naomi chided. She had decided that Venti wasn’t the Lord, and also wasn’t a God. An angel, however, was perfectly acceptable. And Venti could be nice or terrifying, just like a messenger from Heaven.

“It’s fine, it’s fine! I do warn you though, this one is a bit bigger.” Venti stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth and bit it. He reached behind himself and staggered slightly. A moment later, he drew out a massive two-handed sword that was so comically oversized that both Naomi and Capri gaped. This blade was well over a meter long, and wider than Naomi’s hand. It too had a guard that looked like a wing and was made of the same glowing metal.

“Oh,” Capri breathed as Venti slammed the sword into the ground. He stepped back and motioned to it, and Capri took a step forward. She put a hand on the hilt, and grunted as she tried to draw it out. “It’s stuck!”

“It can only be wielded by one of Vision. Call upon yours,” Venti advised.

Seizing the sword with both hands, Capri gritted her teeth and yanked, hard, as her vision glowed. The blade crackled with Electro, and she jerked it free, holding it aloft with one hand.

“I HAVE THE POWER!” Capri thundered, and a lightning bolt actually came down out of the blue and slammed into her. She was unharmed, though obviously shocked, her hair standing slightly on end.

Naomi giggled and leaned in to kiss Capri. “You are such a dork.”

“I-I am not!” Capri blustered, jerking away and looking sideways.

“Sure. Prince Adam,” Naomi teased.

“Oh. Uh, you saw that one too, huh?”

“I can’t help but feel I’m missing some context here,” Venti mused.

Capri flipped him off, then pulled Naomi into a kiss. That one lasted substantially longer, and Naomi felt her heart racing. She had never felt more alive than she did now, with her sword in one hand, and her lover in her other arm, their Visions pulsing at their sides like second hearts.

When they broke apart, Venti gave them some vague basic pointers on swordplay, but then had them use the weapons as focuses. Naomi called the winds, and Capri the lightning, both of them feeling their power through their weapons.

“Good, good. Focus. Let it build in you. A swirling vortex of power. A little to the right. No, more right. There. Now. Channel all your power, all your ambitions, all your anger at those damn nazi bastards and let it loose!” Venti commanded.

With a cry, Naomi and Capri both let their power build, then set it loose. To Naomi’s horror, a tornado formed, glowing with green and purple power, then setting off towards a valley below them. She saw with horror a camp with several log cabins in the storm's path, a few people suddenly turning towards them in the distance.

“Venti! Venti, what do we do!? How do we stop it!?” Capri demanded frantically.

“Stop it? Why ever would we do that?” Venti asked innocently, batting his eyelashes in a very inappropriate fashion.

“Those poor people!” Naomi cried, pointing as the tornado raged towards the camp, uprooting small trees and blasting the ground with lightning. “We have to help them!”

“Do we?” Venti asked, shading his eyes and blinking. “That’s funny. Can you see the flag in the middle of their camp?”

“Why do we…” Naomi trailed off. The flag was red. She squinted her eyes, and to her surprise, the winds formed a sort of lens before her. The flag jumped into sharp focus, and her blood boiled with realization.

“You insane little maniac, stop it!” Capri shouted, shaking Venti.

“No,” Naomi said coldly. “Actually, could we make it stronger?”

Capri paused, then turned back to her, though she didn’t let go of Venti. “What?”

“That’s a Nazi flag,” Naomi growled. “I can see the swastika.”

“It’s the Gesellschaft Executive Retreat,” Venti said innocently. “I heard them talking about it.”

“You did? How?” Naomi asked, baffled. “When?”

“Oh, they’re in Bavaria. I can hear the winds throughout most of the province now. My range is still more limited than I’m used to, but it gets wider every day,” Venti said with a shrug. “I heard them making plans to ‘Finish the Final Solution.’”

“Well, fuck those guys,” Capri growled. She grinned. “I guess we did, didn’t we?”

“Yep! Though we should leave. There are some…not vision holders…capes? Yes. There’s some capes down there, and it’s really too early for a fight. One of them is named Allfather. Ever heard of him?”

Naomi and Capri exchanged horrified glances. They gripped their weapons, then grabbed Venti and started running.

“He’s one of the Gesellschaft’s most powerful capes!” Capri said as they sprinted. “He can make swords, hundreds of them at once, and throw them at people! What is he even doing here?! He’s supposed to be in North America!”

“Yeah, we are so not ready to fight him,” Naomi agreed as they ran back down the trail. She dropped her sword, and swore, only to blink. It vanished, turning to green mist before her eyes.

“They’re designed for Vision holders, they’ll vanish into your Visions until you call them,” Venti explained.

Capri tossed down her sword, and it too vanished as they hurried back to their van.

Naomi just hoped they hadn’t drawn the wrath of the Gesellschaft before they were ready. And also that they’d torn down that stupid Nazi flag.

Sitting on the back of an ambulance, Richard grunted as the EMT finished swathing his arm in bandages. He had a splinter the size of his thumb embedded there, and he was one of the luckier ones. There were many injuries, but somehow, no deaths as the storm had ripped through the camp. Richard had been in bed, and had only had time to throw himself over his grandson and hide under the bed as the cabin was ripped apart around them.

He looked over at Theo, who was being checked now that the severe injuries had been dealt with. The boy was fine, thankfully. It would have been far too much if he’d had to call Max and Heith and tell them their son was killed in the old country.

The medical tech nodded to Richard. “You’re done, sir.”

“My thanks,” Richard said in his best German, then went over to comfort the still traumatized Theo. The little boy cried for a bit, and Richard tried not to feel disappointed. He’d seen death this day and was frightened and still very young. He patted Theo on the head and told him it would be alright. This had been supposed to be a relaxing and fun vacation in the Old Country, not a training experience.

After Theo was calmed and sleeping curled up on the bench next to Richard, the seat creaked, and he turned to see a man with a bandage wrapped around his head. His brown hair was fading to grey, and his topee was missing, showing his bald pate. Despite his middle age, Walter von Solf was still a powerfully built man with broad shoulders and large hands. And despite it all, he was wearing a rumpled gray suit. Known as Red Lotus, he was the head of the Gesellschaft, and Richard waited quietly for his Führer to speak.

“It was the Jews. I am certain of it,” Walter growled, forming a fist with one of his hands.

Richard nodded. “Of course. A tornado? In Bavaria? One that spits lightning? It was either them or the homosexuals.”

“All the more reason to finish the Final Solution,” Walter declared. “We will seek out this menace. I apologize: Our brothers in America are our honored guests. And here you have seen our weakness.”

“There is yet time to see your strength,” Richard said, rolling his own shoulders. “The time to peel back the veil and seize power from these soft-hearted fools and their pet dogs in the Meisters is nigh.”

Walter nodded. “I will find whoever did this, and put their heads on a platter.” He smiled down at Theo. “It is for pure-blooded Aryan stock such as your grandson that we must build this future together, Richard.”

Walter stood, then walked over and picked up the proud flag of the Reich from the mud where it had been, and held it up. “These colors do not run!”

Nodding, Richard stood and applauded, then spoke. “I will send my grandson back to his parents. I shall remain in the fatherland until the fools who dared harm him are destroyed utterly.”

“Perhaps I can help with that, gentlemen.”

They both turned to see a young woman picking her way through the rubble of the camp. She was dressed in a rather stylish outfit that Richard vaguely recognized as some sort of military uniform. He glanced at Walter, but the other man showed no signs of recognition.

“And who are you?” Walter demanded.

The woman came to a halt and saluted, holding her arm up. “Heil Hitler!”

Richard rolled his eyes. Walter grimaced. “Hitler was an inferior man who failed. I will not. Give your message, girl.”

The young woman looked wounded, lowering her arm, but she spoke. “I am known as Stuka. Two days ago, I battled against a den of untermensch capes. One of them showed the same powers that vilely ambushed you here.”

Walter’s eyebrows rose. “Oh? What was their name.”

“Venti Luft.”

A slow grin spread over Richard’s face. “Well. Then the Allfather has heard the name of one to send his valkyries after.”

This Venti thought he could attack the Master Race, the Gesellschaft, with impunity? Richard would kill the fool himself.

Then give his head to his grandson as a Christmas present.

Taking a long drag on his cigarette, Nikos watched the front of the hotel. Beside him, Angela sat patiently in the driver’s seat, waiting for his orders like the obedient servant she was. He leaned his hand out of the window and tapped the cigarette, watching around him behind his shades. There was quite a crowd here, and a number of rather attractive women. Some of them were even dressed up as his target. But he didn’t reach out to claim them. He was here for just one prize.

“Any sign of movement?” he drawled lazily, taking another drag.

“No,” Cleo said from the back seat, peering out with her binoculars. She was Angela’s daughter. Sixteen, and very pretty. He’d had them both together more than once. That was spicy at first, but it lost its luster. He wanted a real prize now. Making mortal women beg for him was one thing.

But what about one that called herself a god?

Nikos sighed again and leaned back, closing his eyes. He was taking a bit of a risk, coming out in the open like this, but they were outside the security cordon, and far from the only people who had come out to see an Endslayer. And, well, the star of several popular new television series. Nikos wasn’t normally a fan of such things, but when he’d seen Raiden, well. He knew what the prize of his collection would be.

He went through two more cigarettes before his phone buzzed. He checked it, a text from Monica on the inside.

She’s coming.

He smiled and opened the car door, standing up and leaning on it. Cleo and Angela got out of the car as well, and Cleo passed Nikos her binoculars. He couldn’t use his power through them, it only counted if he could lay eyes on someone directly, but he took them anyway.

A few minutes later, the Japanese delegation started to leave the hotel. It was painfully obvious who they were in their ridiculous pajama outfits. Japan had once been a civilized nation, and now they’d gone back to being a bunch of monkeys. The security were even carrying swords of all things. Oh well. That just made Nikos’ job easier.

Then, then prize. In those same purple pajamas she always wore. Nikos focused on her, and grinned. She was a hundred meters away, but he could still use his powers. He focused, and began to tug on her emotions. She would be-

Her eyes snapped to his own, and he smiled. That was easy. She was already his. Soon, he’d have her bring him and his harem to Japan, and assume his role as the new-

There was a crash of thunder, and a purple eye appeared before Nikos. He only had time to swear before a portal opened and Raiden darted through. That was fine. He would just tug on her emotions and-

The sword cleaved through Nikos’ head, and he wet himself. He thought he was dead for sure as a stone faced avenging goddess roared out of the portal, sword first. He crashed to the ground as Cleo and Angela screamed, falling to the ground and clutching at their heads.

For a moment, Nikos just sat there on his ass, frozen. He was certain his head had been chopped off. There was pain, and he could feel something had been torn. But once he didn’t suddenly die, he slowly reached up, touching his face, then feeling around his head. Had she missed? Pulled her blow at the last second? He must have seized control. He turned to look up at Raiden, who was sheathing her sword and looking down at him with contempt.

“So. You are the one they call ‘Heartbreaker.’ The Shuumatsuban warned me of you,” Raiden said, her tone icy and wooden.

Grimacing, Nikos stood. “That’s right. But you can call me ‘Master’ now.” He reached out with his powers, and then gasped in pain.

They were gone. That connection he’d had, that sense of others feelings, and his ability to tug on them, to manipulate them, to claim women as his rightful prize was-

“YOU BASTARD!” Angela roared, and punched Nikos in the jaw. He spun about and hit the ground again, hard. He tasted blood, and grunted in pain.

“What are you doing?!” he spat. “How dare you strike your master!”

Something caught him in the jaw, and his head jerked back. He saw stars, and then looked up to see Cleo, tears streaming down her face.

“You…you RAPED me! You made me- with my MOM!” she turned and vomited, but Angela was reaching under her jacket. Nikos’ eyes went wide.

“You bastard!” Angela snarled, and drew the pistol Nikos had given her.

“Don’t!” Nikos gasped, and tried to manipulate her emotions again. Nothing.

The gun barked once, and Nikos screamed in pain. His belly was on fire, and he looked down in horror. He’d been shot in the left abdomen! Angela, Angela had actually SHOT him!? But she was his!

“It’s OK, it’s OK sweetie, I’m sorry. Mommy’s going to make it right,” Angela said, tears streaming down her face. She put the gun to her own head. Good. The bitch.

There was another flash of lightning, and the gun parted in half. Angela jerked, and Raiden stepped forward. “Do not take your own life. To do so is to abandon the precepts of Eternity. This dog manipulated you, and shall face justice. But do not take your own life.”

“But…but I…” Angela broke down weeping, and Cleo came over, clinging to her mother. Both women were helpless, useless.

Nikos began to crawl away, bloody hands scrabbling on the asphalt. He could rebuild. Get away like he always did. His children, his wives, they would save him. Boots crunched, and he saw the pant legs of a police officer. His blood ran cold, until he looked up. It was Rebecca! She was his! Had been for years! She wasn’t the prettiest, but as a police sergeant in Ottawa, she was an invaluable resource.

“Help me,” he panted, looking up into Rebecca’s eyes. But he saw nothing but rage there.

“You made me betray my oaths. My husband. I bore your child, Edward. And then you killed Eddy,” Rebbeca said, her tone dull, lifeless, cold. She drew her weapon, and Nikos’ eyes went wide.

“Burn in hell, you son of a bitch.”

Nikos tried to scream. The last thing he saw was the muzzle flash.

It was over far faster than he deserved.

Bursting out of the bathroom, Alexandria flew right through a window, then homed in on the scene where things were already boiling out of control. There was blood on the ground, and crying women, and Canadian capes surging forward. Mushu was bellowing in anger, already ten feet tall and breathing lightning as he shouted. Canadian police and officials clashed with the Japanese delegation, and all was chaos.

At the center of it all stood a serene woman, standing protectively over a weeping police woman, a gun on the ground. There was the body of a man there, his brains splattered on the sidewalk. Alexandria decided on her target, and made to land.

“FUCKU OFF!” Mushu roared, growing increasingly inhuman and ever larger as he bared his fangs at Alexandria. His English was broken, but his intent was clear.

“Listen to me! I have to know what happened! Who’s the casualty!?” Alexandria demanded. She had just been here as an observer, as Rebecca Costa-Brown, PRT Director. This had all gone to shit when Raiden had teleported across the street and shots rang out. She needed to know what had happened.

“HE ATTACKU MY MISTRESSO,” Mushu rumbled, his clothes shredding as he began to hover up into the air. “HE DIE. FUCKU HIM.”

Diving past the snapping jaws of the dragon, Alexandra landed, then flipped the man over. Her breath caught. She knew this man.  She held up a hand to the dragon. “Peace. It’s fine. It’s good he’s dead.”

Holy shit. That was Nikos Vasil. Heartbreaker. One of the most dangerous and wanted Masters in North America. Maybe the world. He’d been here? Oh hell. If he’d been after Raiden...

Desperately, Alexandria turned to Raiden, who was standing there, calmly, apparently unperturbed by the firestorm she’d unleashed. “Did he get you?”

It was a stupid question to ask. Vasil’s puppets never broke, no matter what, unless there was a powerful Trump and several psychologists working on them.

“This fool attempted to attack my spirit. I destroyed his Parasite and cleansed its influence from these women,” Raiden answered, her tone ice cold. Lightning flashed in her eyes, and Alexandria saw the same fury she had seen that day only two years before.

Only…no. There was something…off. Something wrong. But now wasn’t the time.

“I’ll handle this,” Alexandria said, and took off. She found a Guild cape hovering above them, Grumman, and hastily explained the situation to the young cape.

“Holy shit, Heartbreaker!? He put the whammy on Raiden?”

“He tried, she stopped it, took him out,” Alexandria explained hastily. “Get everyone to stand down.”

“Right, sure. Fuck me. Heartbreaker? This is a fucking mess.”

The Canadians backed off, and the Japanese consolidated around Raiden. Alexandria took a deep breath, feeling a bit of calm. This was not the sort of International Incident they needed. Raiden was a maniac and a menace, but her putting down Heartbreaker was some good, at least. She was about to land, when a gasp went up from the crowd.

“What now!?” Alexandria growled, turning. She heard the sonic boom, and her heart sank.

A golden figure appeared, hovering above her, above the battlefield. People relaxed at seeing Scion’s arrival, thinking their hero was here to save them. Dread filled Alexandria’s heart. Why? Why was he here? What was going on?

“SENTEI! TO ARMS!” Raiden bellowed, and drew her sword from..her boobs? That was new.

Mushu exploded into a thunderstorm, growing from fifteen meters long to well over a hundred. Storm clouds gathered around him as the dragon roared in anger, coiling himself about Raiden protectively. Japanese capes drew their weapons, despite having them sheathed before, looking confused and half panicked. Raiden jumped into the air, zipping up to Alexandria’s altitude in a moment.

“Stand down, mortal. This is a matter for gods,” Raiden said, and then once more put herself between Alexandria and Scion, blade in hand.

The golden god regarded Raiden, nonplused. There was no one else around, the Canadian capes were backing off at Grumman’s urging, and Mushu was hovering over the Japanese capes and officials like a protective mother hen.

“Sustainer! Your Parasite has violated the peace, and attempted to seize control of this vessel,” Raiden called. “My mother did not violate your truce and leave her lands. Why then send your creatures to assault me?”

Scion, of course, did not respond. He just eyed Raiden for a long moment. Alexandria’s heart pounded in her chest. What was going on?

Then, to Alexandria’s horror and amazement, Scion spoke. His voice was raspy and raw, like a rusty hinge that never saw use. “Do not attempt to interfere with the Cycle again.”

“Attack me not, and I shall not. But if your Parasites assail me, I shall defend myself and my people,” Raiden declared.

Scion looked down on Raiden blankly for a moment. Then nodded once. He turned, and was gone in another sonic boom.

Raiden nodded, and sheathed her sword. In her breasts. How did that even work? She turned to Alexandria. “Speak not of this, mortal. The matters of gods are not for your ears.”

Then, she knew. Alexandria knew what was different. Before she could stop herself, she blurted, “You’re not her. You’re not Raiden.”

The cold lips frowned. And Alexandria knew fear once more.