"It begins," Ikaris, with Dina at her side were the last to emerge next to Sol staring at Xie's mana clasping anc collapsing on itself. "We are tasked with ensuring that none of Buche's minions or followers escape this place," She turned to Dr'ul and the others baring a frown of resolution. "Nothing beyond this point lives!"
At Ikaris's command, Dr'ul's hair lit up in flames and the goddess let out a mighty roar, taking off in a large arc while the others did the same forming a grid as more and more figures appeared from the gate Sol had created.
The small trickle of warriors fighting for his sake rapidly became a great wave of individuals enough to encompass an entire star easily.
"I never imagined I would see this one day..." Jun stood inside of the ship staring at Sol, Dina and Ikaris's backs. "People capable of speaking and breathing in the Void."
"Mana makes all possible, the beings before you are far removed from the reality you are used to, some of them are plain humans who have surpassed the limiters placed upon them by evolution, others like Master are beings of endless potential growing ever more powerful with every breath they take and the others like milady were born great ever-growing still."
"They are all individuals easily capable of destroying the old Atla with ease, brought together by the will and resolve of a single great man bound by his word to end that which has oppressed them for eons." Alpha answered her.
"What about you?" Jun looked at her for a brief moment.
"I am not a fighter, though I hold just as much power as Master does, maybe more considering my reach, I am of an order that has yet to raise their hand in conflict, though some day I will raise my hand in combat, now is not the time." Alpha made light mention of the Emissaries; beings which even the likes of Buche had no clue existed.
"So it starts," Arla walked up to the dashboard, standing next to Jun and staring at the scenes before her and smiling sadly. "It is truly a solemn sight knowing that there lies a vast dimension of lives beneath that star readily snuffed out by lord Xie."
"Milady, Alpha inclined her head towards Arla and smiled. "I was not expecting your appearance."
"Indeed," Arla chuckled. "I did not want to miss this though, even as I am with child, I want to witness Master's every victory with my eyes placed firmly upon his figure as I know he will never allow me to partake and risk our baby's life."
Jun watched this almost glowing woman smile and rest her hand over her womb with a chuckle, tapping her belly and then waving across the screen when Sol turned to look at her.
"You must be the Arla that Ikaris mentioned before," Jun stared at her, conflicted in how she should react.
"I am, I also remember your face from Master's memories of Atla in his past," Arla stared at her unblinking while reaching and taking her hand. "It seems I missed quite the story if you are here alive and breathing, Jun."
***
Observing from an ethereal plain where he could see the vitals and lifeforce of his henchmen and army rapidly fade as they tried resisting Sol's forces, Buche ground his teeth in frustration.
The death of his seven wives by the hands of a single goddess of crimson and fire, his strongest warriors bested by Eloén Cecelia the Silver-haired Vatui who betrayed the Emporium, everything had gone to shit almost as soon as it all started.
Where had he gone wrong?
Sol's promise was the total annihilation of the Emporium wherever it lay, meaning even if he had not approached him first there was still the chance that he would have been found and targeted, all he did was quicken the process by getting on this madman's bad side.
Even if he wanted to think beyond that, it was impossible, Xie's mana was like an impenetrable field crushing everything that tried to surpass it, it reminded him of the Second General, notoriously known as the Emperor's attack dog who would relentlessly hunt his prey until they were exhausted and then end their lives with a creepy smile on his face.
"What do I do?" He paced in the warping space that was the fourth. "I am unable to run, his power has trapped me here, and I am not his opponent, I would try to bargain but I know that once I am before Sol Vestic I lose no matter what-"
"Mayhaps, we strike a bargain with the hunting dog on the approach, he may be persuaded through some means or another."
"I doubt it, when a being achieves that level of power, they become unreasonable, if he is alligned with the Godslayer then he has chosen death over dishonour!"
"Then we kill him!" Buche's alter spoke. "Will we just lay here and await capture and eventual death!?"
"It is not that simple!" Buche snapped. "I am cut off, I can no longer connect to anyone, hell knows if the beacon was intercepted somewhere and cancelled, or if anyone will come to my aide in time regardless!"
"There has to be a way, a loophole we can exploit somehow!"
"I don't know what to do, I could try running to the fifth plane of reality, but I have never even attempted such a thing, I have no idea the repercussions of that unknown."
"It is a plan at the very least!" His alter snapped at him. "How can we just lay here and die, do it!"
"But-"
"Do it!" Another voice alternatively spoke and then a third, a fourth, his tentacles shook horridly and his flesh trembled every time he though of Xie's approach, but his already fragmented mind only kept multiplying making it harder to decide as they all began arguing amongst themselves, trapping him in a cycle of indecision.
"Buche, we must flee!"
"I don't-"
"Just look!" His alters took an ethereal for before him, an even more grotesque version of himself with more tentacles, more fissures and lesions in his skin, every version massively more disgusting to look at than the last until they started looking like nothing but mounds of flesh with hundreds of thin wiggling protrusions coming from them.
"A reflection of your true self, I assume!" Xie, in his three-dimensional body broke the veil of the fourth clasping his fist and punching it with a roar. "The more of you I see, the more appalled I am!" He grabbed at one of the mounds of flesh but shuddered when his hand passed right through it. "Ah?"
"I am of the fourth you simpleton, did you believe a vulgar being of the third could so simply lay its germ-laden mitts upon my glorious form?" The pile of flesh bragged after Xie's failed attempt but gasped and screamed in horror when Xie's hand became transparent with an outline of mana defining his form and the gravity began bending around him.
"This would not be my first encounter with a parasite of this small dimension," Xie grabbed the alter and clasped his fist causing it to burst and dissolve into crimson mana that was then absorbed by his body reinforcing his form. "I would assume that the least disgusting one among you millions is the true body that must be brought to the Sovereign." He scarted scanning the crowds until his eyes settled on the original Buche causing the rest to jolt in shock.
"Hurry, travel to the higher plane!" His alters shouted at him while they began crowding towards Xie.
"Higher plane?" Xie paused and grabbed an alter by the face. "You are insane, only one being resides there and intruding will lead to your immediate death, even at the heel of Sovereign Vestic, you would be better off." He explained, thinking of Giza. "There is a place where only the strongest reside."
"Do not believe the lies of our enemy, we still have a chance!"
"Do not anger me, pleb, you already have the wrath of my Master to face, I was only told to bring you alive and capable of thought, if you cross me I will make you beg for death a thousand times before you ever lay eyes on Sovereign Vestic!" Xie snapped his fingers causing the simultaneous incineration of every alter in sight, only to watch more appear in their place.
"Hurry!" The Alters continued to urge the original, but through their shouts of haste and screams of horror as they were erased and reborn Buche lost his ability to focus and was unable to regain his composure long enough to do as he was told, resulting in a blindsided punch to the side of his head when Xie finally caught up to him.
"Now the real fun begins," Xie grabbed him by his leg, spinning and throwing him through the breach across dimensions that he had entered through.
"He's out." Sol who had yet to move a finger watched Buche spin and lash out at his aggressor in a last attempt to fight back before Xie began a merciless beating of their enemy, displaying just how far removed he was from everyone else with the effortless schooling of pure physical violence, leaving Dr'ul and the others who had yet to see him in action stunned into motionless awe.
"Should we order a withdrawal now that everything on our side is resolved?" Dina asked, turning to Sol and then looking back at Arla.
"No, we have more fights in the coming future, sooner than later too, I'll have Alpha change the ship to accommodate everyone.
"There's millions of us though..." Ikaris looked at Sol with her brow raised. "Is there another General on the horizon?" She asked.
"Exactly so, with their teleporters destroyed, they should be arriving within the next few days rather than hours, so we will wait here for them while dealing with Buche." Sol answered, taking a deep breath and staring at the multitudes returning while the ship behind them began growing exponentially.
"From here on out, we're going to regularly engage Emporium forces sent after us." Sol added.
"Indeed," Yu agreed, sheathing her sword and showing her respects to Ikaris while she approached them. "From today onwards we will fight as we intended to from the start, it is finally upon us."