The Godsfall Chronicles

Two Supremes slowly alighted upon the Source mountain's smooth peak. They did nothing to hide their whereabouts or presence. No less than two minutes later a host of human defenders closed in on all sides. Among them were Selene, Belial, Phain and Janus.

Selene stared at the two gods with deep suspicion. Her voice was low and challenging. "There must be a reason for them to so brazenly appear here. Take a closer look."

"Right away." Janus broke apart into a host of shadows that vanished into the air. Several other Elysian fighters also fell back.

The remaining defenders were Selene, Belial, Phain, Master Anan, Siegebreaker, Eurtropius and a few elite soldiers. Against two gods, this small group should be enough.

The intruders regarded their angry receivers without an ounce of emotion. Eventually their attention fixed upon Belial. "Ah, the demon artisan. Indeed these trinkets bear your style."

Belial could hear the contempt in their 'voice.' He might be the greatest artisan of his kin, but that meant little to the gods. Humanity's mighty defenses were more thanks to the power they stole from the gods than anything this amateur craftsman had made.

"Attack!"

Selene wasn't going to waste time talking. She drew her sword and immediately released a beam of light at her foes. It struck, but the result was not what she expected. Her target vanished the instant it took damage.

Not invisibility. It was spatial power. The god's form evaporated like dew before the morning sun.

Belial understood right away. "It's a relic that lets it take quantum form. That's how they passed through the barriers."

What a unique power. Dissolving into a quantum state meant they existed beyond the normal plane of reality. It wasn't strictly correct to call it spatial power, nor was it defensive or evasive. For so long as the relic was active, the god did not exist in their dimension. It was neither alive nor dead, somewhere between existing and not.

Of course none of their attacks could hit it in such a state. It was a perfect escape, making the god impervious to almost anything.

"The gods power is quantum transformation. It and everything it holds can separate into quantum fragments. In such a form it can teleport over small distances. That's how it appeared here, and definitely with the help of Chaos."

Belial's voice was thick with fear.

The only way these gods were here was if Chaos brought them through. But hadn't Cloudhawk stopped the monster?

Suddenly the mountain beneath their feet began to change? Souls began to seep from the glassy surface as though drawn out by a vacuum. They writhed grotesquely as they rose into the air before being swallowed up by dark clouds overhead.

Chaos! It was here!

This was a catastrophe, precisely the thing they were worried about. Source had many souls locked inside which Chaos could steal. With every one devoured it grew stronger, and if allowed to feast it would have the strength to obliterate Southern Capital and all its defenses.

"We have to stop them!" Belial's voice cracked. But the gods were prepared.

One moved to attack. Source beneath its feet cracked and became gravel. It extended a hand forward and a beam of cutting light was released toward the humans.

Selene brandished her weapon and cut the beam apart. Crystal shards hung in the air where it passed, filling the air. The gods hovered among them as more rose from beneath its feet.

Belial spoke a warning. "This one's power is probably refining. It can transform energy into any weapon it wishes."

Before he even finished the shards had gathered together and formed a number of statues. Were one to take a closer look, they would see that they looked exactly like the humans before them. Their crystalline bodies shimmered with light and a menacing glow flickered from within.

The god waved its hand and the statues lurched forward.

Gods were perfect, and those that rose to the level of Supreme were among their best. Such beings could not be underestimated. The fight was going to be a difficult one.

**

Elsewhere the fight had reached a fever pitch.

Chaos launched itself at the boundary, fists in the air, but when it came crashing down the barrier held firm. It was a one-way shield, allowing the people from within to fire out at Chaos but not allowing the beast to fight back.

The first to fire back were a handful of Gods Spear Elysian ships. A rain of energy blasts came tearing through the sky, streaking passed the barrier and striking Chaos. A blast like this would blow a Master Demonhunter to pieces. Against this monster it only carved a few holes.

Clouds of dark energy poured out of the wounds in place of blood. Against a creature as resilient as this the injuries were hardly worth a second thought. How were they supposed to find the core in a monster like this?

Cloudhawk didn't have an answer. Suddenly he stumbled and his face turned dark. "Fuck! Something made its way to the Source mountain."

"What?" Shock and fear filled the others when they heard.

Cloudhawk thought back to everything that happened. Then it dawned on him. Back when they first confronted Chaos it was trying to jump through space. Bruno had interrupted the process and seemed to keep it in place.

Actually, only a piece of Chaos had remained behind. Maybe a tenth of its total form, while two other gods had slipped by without him noticing. While Cloudhawk's attention had been focused here the remaining gods and their part of Chaos had continued to move through Greenland.

Time was up.

Chaos was not an intelligent beast, but despite its strength it had come to realize it could not break through the barrier. So it began to change again, returning to a quantum state which would allow it to pass through the obstacle.

Once it crossed to the other side, these annoying insects would be crushed!