The Second Archon War: Carmen Dei 21 (Patreon)

Carmen Dei 21: The Song of God

Beta’d and edited by Dr_Feelgood, October Daye, and Philosphysicis

Over the last nine years, Legend had been present for a full dozen Endbringer attacks. From the emergence of Behemoth in Iran, to the Simurgh’s destruction of Madison, Wisconsin only five months before, Keith had been present at nearly all the Endbringer attacks, missing only Kyushu and Davao. All three of the other Endbringers had been utterly devastating in the magnitude of their power, and the destruction they wrought and the lives they took had been nearly beyond comprehension.

This newest Endbringer was worse. Far, far worse than any previous one he had fought. Keith could understand lightning and flame, he could comprehend the destructive power of water. He could even see people going mad from the Simurgh’s song and turning into rabid animals.

He did not understand what this newest power was, but he did know it was terrifying.

It had taken only one attack to realize what this Endbringer did: It trapped people in bubbles of time. Those spheres that circled it somehow distorted space-time, accelerating it. He had seen a sphere entrap a dog, batted aside from himself by one of Lord Barbados’ arrows. The dog’s form had blurred, racing around the sphere, before suddenly going still. When the sphere vanished only moments later, Keith hurried forward and felt sick at what he saw.

A bit of fur. Fragments of bones. A building that had collapsed and fallen to dust. No life. This new power, whatever it was, either aged things rapidly or even worse, accelerated time. What defense was there against this? How could you get out of it? Perhaps a teleporter could, but this new power was frightening in a way that simple physical or even mental attacks were not.

Worse still, when Legend fired at full power at the thing, it teleported out of the way. He couldn’t get close, or he risked being trapped in the time fields, and he couldn’t attack from a distance, or his shots missed. None of the other capes he saw were having any success, even as Legend rallied them.

“I’ve fought Endbringers before!” he called, shouting over the chaos of the battlefield. Cookie had gathered up the Knights as best she could, and Legend was barking orders, falling into his role as the leader when it came time to fight Endbringers. Out of everyone here, he was the only one with experience. Well. The only one of the Knights.“You have to go on the offensive! Hit them with everything you have! Press the attack, don’t let up!”

“What about those of us who don’t have long-range attacks?” Cookie asked, looking up through the storm to where the Endbringer hovered, buffeted by Venti’s arrows and winds. While Legend’s laser attacks were completely stymied by the time distortions, somehow, Venti’s arrows dodged them or passed through. Even he couldn’t direct his lasers fast enough to manuver around the spheres, but Venti could, though his attacks didn’t seem to be doing much damage, and the Endbringer had already teleported twice to another side of the city, forcing Venti to shift his attacks.

“Provide support! If we can force that thing down, we have a better shot. Coordinate with Barbados!” Legend ordered.

“What about you?” Cookie demanded, frowning at him. “Where will you be?”

“I’ll join you soon. But Cookie: We can’t do this alone,” Legend said firmly. “Not even with Barbados on our side.”

“Now hold on a minute, pal,” Itul said, frowning at Legend. “You’re not saying-”

“I am. We need the Gesellschaft. Specifically Red Lotus and Allfather,” Legend said with a heavy sigh. “I need to go negotiate with them.”

“Are you crazy!? We came here to kill each other. This thing showing up doesn’t change that!” Capri shouted over the wind, her eyes flashing purple as she pointed at Tengu. “If we need help, get HER to ask the Endslayer!”

The Japanese cape shook her head. “She will not come unless Lord Barbados requests it. She is the god of Japan, not Germany.”

“The Truce will hold,” Legend declared, lifting off into the air. He pointed towards the city. “Those of you who can’t fight, get the civilians out! This is a worst-case scenario, save for one thing: We have Venti, and we’re already here in force. Now move!”

Even as Cookie swore and shouted for him to come back, Legend raced across the city to where he knew the Gesellschaft were. He only paused long enough to grab a white strip of cloth and affix it to a crowbar, then he flew on. In moments, he was above the palace that the Nazis had fallen back to. Swallowing the bile in his throat, he landed in the courtyard, next to a man he knew all too well.

“Allfather!” Legend cried, holding up his flag as the enemies around him snarled and readied weapons or powers. “It’s time to set aside our quarrel!”

The man in the Odin costume, eyepatch and all, turned to him, frowning. Beside Allfather, Crimson Lotus was in a white suit with a white fedora and a red lotus as a cravat. It was slightly dusty, but it looked tacky to Legend, like the man wanted to look like Boss Hog from The Dukes of Hazzard.

“Get this homosexual out of my sight,” Red Lotus sneered, turning away. “Deal with your own trash, Allfather.”

“He comes under the flag of truce, and there is an Endbringer in the city,” Allfather pointed out. “We should hear him out.”

“Hmph. I have nothing to say to a queer,” Red Lotus said, and strode on. “Come, my Aryan warriors! Let us be away from this filthy mire.”

Desperately, Legend turned to Allfather. “You’ll fight the Endbringer, won’t you? You stood beside me at New York.”

For a long moment, Allfather regarded Legend, the battle between the angel and demon raging overhead, another massive gale unleashed by Venti’s arrows. Then he shook his head. “We will not sully ourselves by fighting alongside Untermensch. I will not slay you for attempting to recruit me, but neither shall I stand and fight a hopeless battle.”

“You would abandon this city, these people!?” Legend demanded, fury coloring his face. “You claim to be the master race! Prove it now by becoming an Endslayer!”

“I will not fight for fools and subhumans. We will preserve our strength. This city is already lost to your ilk. Begone, lest you try my patience,” Allfather sneered.

Trembling with rage and unwilling to lower himself to vent it on this pathetic excuse for a man, Legend lifted off into the sky, and pointed himself towards the Endbringer.

He should have known better than to try appealing to the better nature of a man who didn’t have one.

Racing through the city, Capri looked up towards the black demon and glowing angel that continued their duel in the sky. The Endbringer had launched its spheres at Venti, but he’d easily dodged them, and so far had scored a number of hits with this bow. They didn’t seem to be doing much, but the attacks were mostly keeping the Endbringer distracted.

“Come on, move, out of the car! Just run! That way!” Capri barked, ripping the door of the sedan and then hauling the panicked man out of it.

“But, my family, they’re-” he babbled, pointing further into Munich.

“We’ll save them,” Capri told him firmly. “You get your ass out of here!”

“But I can help, I-”

“You got powers?” she demanded coldly, electricity arcing over her body, her sword over one shoulder.

“N-no…”

“Then go! Leave it to the Knights of Favonius and Lord Barbatos!” Capri bellowed, then shoved the man towards the edge of the city. That done, she dismissed her blade, then with a roar flipped the car off the road, clearing the way for more refugees. Panting, she turned to see Naomi waving for her, then pointing to an apartment building.

Sprinting over, Capri looked up and grimaced. “Think everyone had the brains to get to a shelter or evacuate like they were told to do?”

“I don’t know, we have to check!” Naomi urged. “I would try to help Venti, but…” she gestured helplessly towards the fight. Legend and a few other capes had joined the battle and were attempting to support the attack, but there were relatively few fliers, especially those strong enough to fly about in the gale-force winds that covered the city.

“Right. Come on!” Capri said, and hurried towards the door, Naomi coming right after here.

TTTTTTTHRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMM

That horrible sound resounded, growing suddenly louder. Capri looked up, just in time to see one of the spheres racing towards them. She tackled Naomi, covering her lover with her body and forming a shield of electro about them, praying Venti would save them with another arrow. She squeezed her eyes shut and tensed every muscle in her body, bracing herself.

Something tugged at every fiber of her being, and Naomi gasped under Capri. She hugged Naomi tightly, and Naomi returned the embrace, maintaining her shield. They lay like that for several moments, holding their breath.

“Capri? Are… are you alright?” Naomi whispered.

“Yeah, I’m good, I’m good. You?” Capri agreed, opening her eyes and looking around. Everything looked slightly washed out, as if a sepia filter had been applied to her eyeballs, but nothing seemed damaged.

Then she noticed the silence.

The wind was no longer raging. In fact, not a puff of breeze blew. The only sound was the hum of Capri’s shield, and Naomi’s panting for breath, but that was it.

“What the fuck…” Capri dropped her shield, getting up and helping Naomi to her feet. She looked around, puzzled, but couldn’t see anything wrong. She went over to the building, feeling it with her hand, but the bricks felt normal enough.

“Elohim save us… Oh God! Oh, Capri!” Naomi wailed, and Capri spun about, reaching for her sword.

Nothing came to her hand.

Startled, Capri tried again as she hurried over to Naomi, who was standing in front of an odd haze in the air. At first, she didn’t see what was wrong, then Capri looked more carefully.

The world outside had stopped. Papers blew in the wind. A mother and her two children ran, heads down against the wind, making for safety beyond the city. The battle in the sky had come to a halt, one of Venti’s arrows hung in midair, unmoving.

“Oh, shit,” Capri gasped, and tried to put a hand on the barrier. She slid across it, as if it were made of glass. “Fuck!”

Once more, she tried to summon Skyward Pride, but there was nothing there. She did manage to form a ball of electro and slam it into the barrier, but it just fuzzed away. “Shit!”

“I think… I think I can try…” Naomi suddenly went translucent, turning into a pale green breeze that had her form. She tried to pass through the barrier, even taking a running leap at it, but she rebounded, falling back on her rear and reforming again. “Ow!”

“Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!” Capri snarled, pounding her fists against the air to no effect. It didn’t even hurt: it was like hitting into a thick sludge, but she could pull her hands back easily. She simply couldn’t push past it.

“Maybe…on the other side?” Naomi offered desperately. They raced around, only to find that the barrier extended all around them, even bisecting the building. They could get no more than a few meters into the lobby before they met the same invisible barrier.

Screaming in rage, Capri channeled all of the elemental energy she could muster against the barrier, only for it to simply fizzle away to nothingness. Slumping to the floor and panting in exhaustion, she felt tears come to her eyes. “No… no… please… no!”

Naomi knelt beside her, and they huddled together there on the cold floor of the apartment building, staring at a hazy barrier, an empty hall beyond.

“Capri… I think… I think we’re trapped,” Naomi said quietly, tears running down her own cheeks as she hugged Capri tightly. “It’s some sort of distortion. We’ve been frozen in time.”

“Venti’ll notice in time, right?” Capri whispered, shivering slightly. “He… he’ll free us, won’t he?”

“Of course,” Naomi agreed softly. She began to braid Capri’s hair, humming softly to herself as she did so, which soothed Capri tremendously. She began to relax, then recognized the tune Naomi was humming. She began to sing softly, a smile forming on her lips as memories came back to her.

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am home again

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am whole again

Naomi joined in, and they sang together in the silence of the tiny world they alone inhabited. When the song ended, Capri sat up, and Naomi drew her into a long and passionate kiss, which Capri returned hungrily. When they broke apart, they were both giggling.

“Do you remember, that was the song that you were playing when I met you?” Naomi asked quietly. “You were playing with some band, who I don’t remember, but I heard your singing… and it was just so beautiful…”

“Back when you still thought you were straight,” Capri teased, poking Naomi in the ribs and making her giggle.

“Mmm. I suppose. You were my first girlfriend… and, um, well…”

"You were obvious to me, even if not to yourself," Capri laughed, thinking back to those days. “It took me a few days, but-”

“You were the key to my closet, and my heart,” Naomi said softly, blushing and burying her face in Capri’s shoulder.

They clung together for a time, how long, Capri couldn’t say. Then Naomi shifted, sitting up, then pulling Capri to her feet.

“What? You wanna try some other way to get out?” Capri asked tiredly. “Maybe there’s some food or something we can find in one of these apartments.”

“No,” Naomi said, shaking her head, tears trickling down her cheeks, then she began to sing again.

Hava, nagila hava, nagila hava, nagila venishmecha

At first, Capri didn’t understand the words, her mind not being in the right place at all. Eventually though, she did realize, and she snorted when she figured it out.

“Seriously? I don’t think it’s time to celebrate,” she said, as Naomi began to spin about her, Capri’s hand above her head so it was as if she were twirling Naomi about.

“Dance with me,” Naomi urged, then started singing again.

“I don’t-” Capri began, then sighed and gave up. When Naomi got like this, there was no arguing with her. Naomi picked up the pace, whirling Capri across the floor faster and faster, until they were both out of breath as the song came to an end. Despite everything, Capri was laughing, holding on to Naomi and hiccuping as she tried to get ahold of herself.

“If I was going to be trapped until the end of time with anyone, I’d want it to be you,” Naomi said, kissing Capri on the cheek.

Even at the end of hope, Capri found herself smiling. “Yeah. I’m glad that we’re together. It’s been crazy, and we’ve had our fights… but it’s been worth it.”

Naomi took Capri’s hands and squeezed. “I want to be together, forever. The two of us.”

“Yeah, well…” Capri forced herself not to look back at the barrier, focusing instead on Naomi’s deep green eyes. “I think you might get your wish.”

“No, I,” Naomi stopped herself, looking down, catching her breath for a moment. Capri squeezed her hands, and Naomi seemed to take courage. She looked up again. “Capri Lakatos… will you marry me?”

Her mind went totally blank for a moment, and Capri froze. She couldn’t think and felt like a deer in the headlights. Which was why it felt so odd when the word “Yes” escaped her lips.

It didn’t make it feel any less right though.

Naomi squealed and jumped into Capri’s arms, and they kissed again, Capri holding Naomi in a bridal carry, Naomi’s arms entwined about her neck. They held that for a long moment, and when they broke apart, their hearts were thundering and they were panting for breath.

“Even if you weren’t the last woman on Earth, I’d still want to marry you and be your wife,” Capri said solemnly.

Blushing, Naomi giggled. “Me too. I just wish…”

A hand clamped over Capri’s throat, and she struggled to swallow. She nodded. “We… we still have… time together…”

“I know. I just wish I could have told my mother,” Naomi said, making a face. “I’d even send her a wedding invitation.”

That shocked Capri. “What? But you haven’t talked to your mother since-”

“Since she found us in bed together, yes,” Naomi agreed with a heavy sigh. Then she grinned. “But can you imagine the look on that smug bitch’s face?”

A bark of laughter escaped Capri. “Yeah! Yeah I can! Well, my darling bride, should I show you to our honeymoon suite?”

“Not yet! We have to have a wedding ceremony,” Naomi insisted. “I’d want a rabbi to marry us, but, well…”

“Yeah,” Capri sighed, feeling sick again.

What about little old me?

The voice so startled Capri she actually dropped Naomi and reached for her sword. To her shock, Skyward Pride fell into her hands, even as she realized who it was.

“Venti!?” they both cried, looking around. They scrambled outside, but everything was still frozen beyond the barrier.

Yep! Over here!

They both turned, and Capri blinked in astonishment. A little ghost with a white sheet and two tiny fluttering wings hovered in midair, black hole where the face should be with two pinpricks of green light for eyes, and a green gem at the center of its chest.

Slowly, Naomi reached out one hand, and the little spirit fluttered down to rest on her palm. “Venti? What are you-”

This is what I used to look like! A little Wind Sprite! I just snuck a bit of me in here. I figured it out: the Demon isn’t actually doing anything complicated like I thought. There’s no spell. He’s just speeding up time in a localized area. And here I thought it was some sort of advanced chronomancy or a withering curse!

“Right. Nothing complicated.” Capri deadpanned. “He just can control time.”

Nah, nothing so fancy. It’s basically just manipulating gravity, which honestly isn’t that impressive. I could manage something much more complicated. Remind me to tell you the story of the time I made a bet with Istaroth!

“Can you get us out of here then?” Naomi asked urgently, drawing the little sprite close to her and Capri’s faces.

Of course! I just wanted to use the advantage this gave us to do a little planning with the two of you. Convenient that our foe is stuck in normal time, eh?

Naomi and Capri exchanged baffled looks, but then nodded and looked back at the little Venti-Ghost. “We’ll do it,” Capri agreed. “What do you want from us?”

Even though this is just basic time manipulation, it’s still a bit difficult for me to stop. This fight is taking a lot out of me, and I don’t have an easy way to replenish my power, nor can I easily tell who’s stuck in a time stop. I need a way to be able to tell where people are, and get them out.

Nodding thoughtfully, Naomi asked, “How did you find us then?”

Well, first I have a connection to you, but the real way was your singing. I don’t just call myself a bard for no reason! Music is one of my primary domains, especially songs of joy and freedom! I heard the two of you singing, even in a different timestream, and came right away!

“You heard our singing?” Capri asked, brow furrowing. “But that was a few minutes ago. Wait a second…”

The little spirit giggled, and Capri snarled, trying to grab it in her fist as Venti flitted away. “YOU SON OF A BITCH, YOU WAITED UNTIL I SAID YES!”

Tee-hee! You two were so cute together, I didn’t want to interrupt your moment!

“Why I oughta,” Capri growled, shaking a fist at Venti.

“No take backs,” Naomi said, putting her arms possessively around Capri. “You wouldn’t want to break my heart, would you?”

Capri gave her an exasperated look. “Well, I mean, I did mean it, it’s just… he tricked us!”

“Yes. And it was a lovely trick I think,” Naomi giggled, putting a hand over Capri’s heart. “One I’m grateful for.”

“Ugh… fine.” She glared up at the little ghost, which was flitting about playfully. “So, music? You want us to play music, or something?”

That would be ideal. The best way would be to get the entire city to sing. A song of joy and freedom would pierce through the time bubbles and allow me to free anyone who became trapped!

“How do we reach everyone in the entire city?” Naomi asked, looking about. “Even if we get out of here, we couldn’t rig a sound system to carry more than a few blocks.”

You let me handle that. You two do the singing, and I’ll make sure that anyone within range of this Demon can hear your song.

Capri squeezed Naomi, and let out a deep breath. “Right. We can do that. We just need our instruments.”

As soon as she said it, her guitar and two microphones drifted down out of the sky. Reaching up, Capri grabbed the guitar, while Naomi hastily took the mics and the stands that appeared with them, setting them up for their performance.

There you go! As soon as you begin to play, I’ll break the time bubble, and the city will hear you.

“Got it,” Naomi agreed, clutching her microphone in both hands, and Capri nodded as well. Then Naomi glanced at Capri. “Um, what song? I’d suggest a wedding song, but uh…”

“Something that everyone knows,” Capri muttered, plucking a few notes on her guitar, the sound resonating throughout their bubble. “A song of joy and freedom…”

A slow grin spread over her face. “I’ve got it. You’re gonna love this one, Naomi.”

“Will I know the words?” Naomi asked nervously.

Capri laughed. “Are you kidding? With your fancy learning? No way you don’t. Even I know this one, and I bet basically every German does too. They made us sing it in school.”

“The national anthem?” Naomi asked, sounding puzzled.

“Even better. Follow my lead. You know the beat.” Capri strummed the first few notes, and Naomi’s eyes widened.

“It’s perfect! Of course!”

Are you ready then?

Capri nodded, and Naomi pumped her fist. “We’re ready, boss. Going live in 3, 2, 1…”

Time began to flow again, and Capri started to play.

Panting for breath, Frederick ran as fast as he could, his son Bruno clutched in his arms, his wife Ella running beside him, their older daughter Hilda’s hand clutched in hers. They had to get out of the city! They had thought they could hide in their basement until the Endbringer had arrived. Now they were trying to flee, but the streets were jammed with traffic, and along with thousands of others, they were running along the street, desperate to get away from the impending destruction.

Hey, can everyone hear me? Is this thing on?

Musical notes began to drift through the air, and Frederick slowed, looking around as Bruno hiccuped and stopped crying. All around him, people were looking up and around, confused at the sudden unfamiliar voice.

Right. Hello everyone! We’re the Tone Deaf Bards! And today, we’re bringing you the performance of a lifetime! I’m Capri Lakatos! Uh, soon to be Capri Cohen? We’ll figure it out.

“The who?” Frederick asked, confused.

“It’s that band! The cape one, with him!” Ella cried, pointing up into the sky.

There was a cough, and then, And I’m her fiancée, Naomi Cohen. Everyone! Barbatos, the Angel in the sky, is fighting against the Endbringer! But he needs your help! We need you all to sing!

“Sing?” Frederick asked, baffled by the voices and their words. He understood them, but he was still confused as he tried to hurry along. “Why should we sing?”

We’ve picked a song we think you’ll all know. Please! Especially if you are attacked by the Endbringer, sing! If you but sing, Barbatos will free you!  The voice of Capri begged.

“Why should we sing?” a man’s voice demanded of the air, but his only response was sudden music, as a familiar tune filled the air. A moment later, a lone voice began to sing, strong and clear.

O Freunde, nicht diese Töne

Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen

Und freudenvollere

“Ode to Joy?” Frederick said to no one in particular. “That, now? When we all might die!?”

“Hush, you’re scaring the children!” Ella hissed and Frederick winced as Bruno began to cry again. The crowd began to hurry on once more, until a horrifying sound filled the air.

TTTTTTTHRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMM

A wave of pressure passed over Frederick, causing him to gasp for breath, but he stumbled on, only to run face first into the air. He blinked, then grunted as he was crashed into from behind. It took a few moments, but thankfully no one was seriously hurt or trampled. Frederick managed to back up, bouncing Bruno on his shoulder and trying to calm the baby.

Beyond where he’d been stopped, the people were completely frozen. There were several dozen trapped in the barrier with Frederick and the others, including a weeping older man who had one leg trapped on the other side. It took several minutes, but they realized they were stuck in what seemed to be a twenty meter sphere of frozen time, unable to escape in any direction.

“What do we do!?” a panicked voice cried.

Frederick met Ella’s eyes, and her fear and pain seared his soul. He closed his eyes, then raised his voice. “We sing!”

People continued to shout and argue, so Frederick opened his eyes and bellowed, “WE SING!”

Silence fell. Everyone was looking at him, Bruno having gone quiet, his eyes wide as he looked up at his father in fear. Gently, Frederick passed Bruno to Hilda. “We sing,” he repeated. “You all know Ode to Joy, yes?”

There were confused nods, and a murmur of assent from the several dozen people. Even the old man half trapped was nodding, fear still etched on his features, but hope filling his eyes.

“Come, then,” Frederick urged. “Joy!”

There were mutters of “Joy” back from the crowd, and Frederick bellowed, “LOUDER! MEAN IT! JOY!”

“JOY!” the crowd shouted, and then, they began to sing.

Freude schöner Götterfunken

Tochter aus Elysium

Wir betreten feuertrunken

Himmlische, dein Heiligtum

No sooner had they finished the first verse, then the world around them spun back into motion. The others who had not been in the bubble stumbled, gaping in shock.

“SING!” Frederick thundered, and continued at the top of his lungs.

Deine Zauber binden wieder

Was die Mode streng geteilt

Alle Menschen werden Brüder

Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt

Slowly, and then with greater fervor, all those in the crowd stopped fleeing, and the Song of Joy and Freedom began to lift up towards the heavens across the city. More time stop spheres crashed down, but they shattered nearly as soon as they landed, strains of joyful exultation rising up.

High above, the Lord of Freedom grinned, and nocked another arrow to his bowstring.

Sing on, my children. I hear you.

“Will someone quiet that infernal RACKET!?” Walter roared, and Richard winced. Around them, the Lieutenants and other capes of the Gesellschaft winced.

“Mein fuhrer,” one of them began, “We do not know where-”

“FIND IT AND END IT, NOW!” Walter raged, pointing. “GO!”

The others scrambled out of the room, and Richard shook his head. “We shouldn’t waste time with this.”

“Whatever the Knights are doing, we will stop it,” Walter growled, resting his hands on the table before him, his body trembling with fury. “Then we will slay the Endbringer, and cleanse this city! No one will be able to stop us.”

It was a foolish plan, and Richard elected not to comment on it. He did, however, see the merits of letting their foes impale themselves on this new Endbringer. They would suffer grievous losses, Venti at the very least would either die or spend himself, the same with that faggot from New York, and then it would be easy to dismantle the rest of the so-called Knights. Richard was looking forward to a little revenge.

The music continued to play, the singing echoing in Richard’s ears, and he snarled, blades forming around him. It really was irritating. Perhaps Walter had a point.

TTTTTTTHRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMM

A sudden wave of nausea washed over Richard, and he stumbled slightly. He looked around in a panic as he righted himself. Had that been the Endbringer?!

“Ah. Silence at last,” Walter chuckled, straightening his coat and smiling around at the empty room.

It had indeed fallen silent, utterly so. The music was gone, as was the wind that had been raging outside for what felt like hours and hours.

“Do you think the Endbringer did in the bard?” Richard asked, stepping to a window.

“That we should be so fortunate,” Walter chortled, coming up alongside him. “He-”

Both men stopped talking, and looked out at a world that had gone completely still. Just beyond the window, they could see their troops in the courtyard, a few capes hovering over the others, the grunts armed with rifles, some sprinting towards the gate, frozen in mid-stride.

“What…” Richard breathed, looking around in a panic. He extended a hand, and a dozen blades shot out, slamming into the barrier and dissolving to nothing.

“It is nothing. Fool. You cannot even solve a simple problem like this,” Walter sneered, turning about. “Come. I know how to stop this.”

Anger flushed Richard’s cheeks, and he called forth more blades. “You would sing the song of those filthy degenerates?!”

Walter whirled, rage contorting his own features. “You think me a dog!? No! I can break this barrier easily! You are simply too weak.”

“Weak?” Richard said softly, his tone calm, but fury raging in his heart. “Tread carefully, Walter. I am not one of your underlings to be bullied. I am the Allfather.”

“Pah. A pathetic god if you are,” Walter sneered, deliberately turning his back. “Stay here if you wish. You Americans always did think yourselves too strong to need others.”

Seething still, Richard followed Walter across the room and into the hall, where they found another barrier. That was concerning, but Walter seemed nonplussed. He put a hand to the barrier, and a red glow began to emanate from his palm. Then a soft bang, and a puff of smoke. Walter blinked, then withdrew his hand and peered at it.

“Not so easy, is it?” Richard scoffed.

Walter only growled, then walked over and grabbed a priceless vase from a table. He jammed it up against the haze in the air, then detonated it with a deafening roar. Richard formed a large blade to deflect the shrapnel, then dismissed it to wherever they appeared from. There was no change in the barrier, but there was a small fire now, and the walls and floor were damaged.

“Still think it is simple?” Richard demanded.

“Silence!” Walter barked, turning his head, his eyes flashing in irritation. “I will find a way out of this!”

“Oh, do go on,” Richard snickered, folding his arms over his chest. He walked a little ways away from Walter, then summoned more blades, hacking at the barrier, the walls, the floor, anything, as explosions sounded behind him.

After only a few minutes, smoke filled the air, and Richard was coughing. He turned to see Walter stumbling away, a considerable blaze having spread. “You fool! Are you trying to kill us!?”

“I don’t see you doing any better,” Walter rasped hoarsely. “Come, we can escape easily enough.”

With a snarl, Richard carved his way down several floors and ended up on a pile of rubble with a wheezing Walter, both of them covered in dust and soot. They managed to get out of the building, but only just, as the barrier ended only a meter and a half from the wall.

They looked out at the frozen world, and Richard growled in frustration, sending another blade to dissipate in the barrier.

“You are thinking of singing that song, aren’t you?”

Whirling on Walter, Richard called forth more swords. “It is you who are weak! You, whose organization is crumbling! I am made of sterner stuff!”

“Me, weak!?” Walter snarled, his hands glowing again, spread wide as if to embrace Richard. “It is not I who failed thrice against these fools!”

“No! Because you were too cowardly to even attempt to attack them. You hide like the coward you are. At least I face my foes in battle, unlike you, White Lily!” Richard barked. “Go on, sing that song, like a coward!”

“NEVER!” Walter snarled. “IT IS YOU WHO HAVE FAILED ME AND THE ARYAN RACE! I SHOULD KILL YOU MYSELF!”
That was enough. Richard sent his blades hustling at Walter, only for the other man to clap his hands, the air exploding around them. The melee was short, intense, and bloody. At the end of it, the Crimson Lotus was dead on the ground, impaled by a dozen blades, while Richard wrapped his belt about the stump of his left arm, dizzy from smoke and blood loss. He gripped the fake leather in his teeth and pulled until the flow of blood stopped, then sat on the ground.

“Well. It seems I was the stronger,” he coughed, glaring at Walter, who looked back with sightless eyes. He spat on the other man. “I am Allfather. You are nothing but a failure.”

Then he leaned back against the barrier as smoke and flames spread throughout the building, the heat baking his face. He was tired. He would rest, just a moment. Then break free.

When the time bubble dissipated only a minute later by the flow of time in the rest of the world, there was nothing but ash, rubble, and a few rusty old blades. Not even the dust of bones remained of the former leader of the Gesellschaft, or of Richard Anders. The man who had thought himself a god.

It knew fear.

Though it had existed for only a short time, It had known what its mission was: To prove a worthy foe. And, of course, to tear down the False Angel. Not Its sister, of course, but the one The Maker wished humbled. To Test Humanity, to drive them to the brink, to weed out the unworthy, to leave only the strong behind.

And so It had come to this nest of the insects called humanity, to thin the herd and fulfill Its purpose.

At first, the Angel had been nothing but an annoyance. A buzzing gnat before a giant. Wind? Arrows? Such things could not harm It. It was an Endbringer. Mighty. Stronger than even Its kindred. Able to manipulate time itself. What were elemental forces to It?

But then, something changed. The winds began to peel away its protective outer layers, biting even to the Core. No matter, such things happened in battle. It tried to trap the Angel in Time, to reduce it to dust.

But then the winds began to command time. It lost all control. Somehow, the winds slowed or sped up time, no matter what It tried. Desperately, it attempted to strike at the Angel physically, but those arrows, oh, those arrows! They bit, they stung! It tried to flee, to reposition itself a short time/space away, but the Angel was ever there!

And that song! That terrible song! Instead of fear, the ants, the insects, the humans began to pulse with hope and joy! This was not how it was to be! And as the song swelled, the Angel grew ever stronger.

Too much. Too strong! Strong as the Maker! Perhaps stronger! No. No one and nothing was stronger than the Maker, save for the Warrior and…Her. Yes. It had to stay away from Her. The Lightning.

And so It stretched space time, and prepared to flee. To a place beyond space and time, a place where the Angel could not go.

Ah ah ah. I don’t think so.

That Voice! No, no, not that Voice! It had to flee!

Hmm, there’s a control over you. I could break it, make you free. What would you do then, I wonder?

Kill you. Kill you all! It thought. You are unworthy!

Hmm. A pity, but not unexpected. Well then, if you must go…

Desperately, It fled, even as the winds whipped about It, changing Its destination. It fled blindly, heedless of where it was going, so long as it was away from that terrible Angel!

Then, at last, It was away. It appeared under a swirling purple cloud, lightning flickering overhead. Where was this? Not the timeline or dimension It had been before…

“Barbatos. I am unamused.”

“Aw, come on, Beezie! And here I came all this way to bring you a gift!”

Fear and terror. It spun, but the Angel was not there. Instead, an insignificant human, standing alongside another in purple. Only… no! No, no, no!

“Hmph. Could you not deal with this creature on your own?” She asked, drawing that blade, that terrible, horrible blade! No, not here, anywhere but here! It had to flee again!

“Well, I tried, but it ran away before I could deal with it. So, well, I know you like to lock yourself in your room, so I figured, what the heck, why not drop by!” the green one laughed. Only… that voice! The Angel!

Snarling, it tried to summon its defenses, but time would not respond to it here. In desperation, It charged.

TORN, TO OBLIVION!

There, at the end, It finally understood. It had only been playing with time.

This… this was true Eternity.

Then that terrible blade struck it. Not just at a single point in time, but from the moment of its creation, to before the Maker had even been born, then in the other direction, until the end of Time itself.

And the body of the Fourth Endbringer dissolved to nothingness in the plane of Euthymiya.

Author’s Note:

You have no idea how glad I am that Richard and Walter are finally dead and I can stop writting the damn Nazis for a while. Anyway, there will be a couple of chapters of “wind down” from this, then an interlude, and finally, of course, BEST RADISH.  Just in time for Christmas.

PHILO: Venti shows his culture and roots as a theater kid by not interrupting the DRAMA™.