The Harvester

Chapter 441: The Star of Hope

Astraea gasped as she dodged one of the stray slashes Bhumi was firing off at whoever dared to approach. She gritted her teeth, trying to catch her breath; she was quickly running out of power.

Summoning Odin had barely left her with anything. Nothing that could contend against someone like Bhumi. And Ranka could not afford to help her either. At this rate, she would burn through her Records, essentially the equivalent of life energy on an Egregore scale.

She sighed and clutched her stuff, infusing mana into it. At the tip of her magic instrument, a seed began to grow. "{I will retreat momentarily to recover some strength. I won't be able to provide support.}"

Her message was transmitted to everyone, but the main recipient was Tarasque, who had been receiving most of her buffs until now.

"{It's fine. We will finish this now,}" the large beast responded and leaped, casting a shadow that stretched to Bhumi. Dark purple light seeped through his fangs and sparked around his horns.

He roared with all his might, shooting a sphere of concentrated gravity. However, it did not fly to its target like a projectile and sought the spot right above Bhumi. It grew a halo around itself and the undead god's knees buckled as an unrelenting weight pressed down on him.

"[Mondgefängnis,]" Soma intoned as he appeared in a flash of moonlight. Clouds of silver dust descended from the sky and congregated into columns of silver-colored stone. They fell through Ranka's flames and formed a crude encirclement around Bhumi.

The undead god immediately tried to swing his sword but Soma acted first. He split his bow and rushed forward, parrying the large weapon with a freshly conjured pair of short swords. Lunar energy danced around the blades after their creation.

"[Eklipsenmegalith.]" 

In the blink of an eye, all light disappeared. Or, to be exact, darkness enveloped the planet for the span of a second; the Earth itself became an eclipse.

Ramsa grimaced as her power momentarily weakened due to it. But, thanks to that, by the time it was over, Soma's twin swords had been stabbed into Bhumi's shoulders down to the hilt.

The undead seemed almost in a daze, the moonstone pillars around glowing faintly alongside the blades stuck into him. Now that his arms had been immobilized, Soma's hand surged with light and tore into Bhumi's right arm. He wrenched the elbow off with clinical violence.

Bhumi's eyes abruptly seemed to lose the intellect they had displayed a moment prior and were finally replaced by the madness of an undead. The reason was simple as Soma retreated with the amputated arm. The sword was still in the ownerless hand; the meager amount of awareness the Fallen God had managed to achieve was nothing more than his swordsmanship itself. 

Zikserth and Ramsa simultaneously conjured a magic circle, merging them until it let out slithery crimson and orange flames licking the air. Their mana boiled from inside their body and heat up the atmosphere.

""[Blood Sun.]"" They chanted at the same time and the flames began to spin around the magic circle. They became faster and faster until it practically became a cyclone. It expanded in size at a dangerously fast pace, dwarfing its casters by a thousand-fold.

And finally, it grew enough to spin on itself. It whirled and turned into a sphere. And like that, an orange sun bleeding crimson formed in the sky and slowly descended toward the undead god as the air became unbearably dry.

Bhumi let out an intelligible roar and fought against Tarasque's gravity, the restraining power of the monoliths, and the swords planted inside him. Spiritual Intent flooded his being; if he didn't have a sword, then his body would do.

"My turn…" Astraea whispered and yanked the seed from her staff. Without hesitation, she put it in her mouth and swallowed it. A rare type of spell that involved cultivating energy externally to recover; a terribly difficult ability to master. But to an Egregore Entity, it was a child's play.

The goddess lifted her staff as her aura surged once again. She pointed it at Bhumi and breathed in deeply. Using green magic with her surroundings wouldn't work at this point since the planet had fully died and was currently being endlessly cleansed by the Lunisolar Blaze.

So, she had no choice but to bring out something from within. "[Ô Children of God,]" she chanted softly and her wings grew larger. Blue tendrils of light escaped her staff. "[Hear My Plea. Hear My Choice. Hear My Judgment. Seeking Gold In Iron, You Have Decayed.]"

She manifested her legend. Something more primal than divinity. The story of an immortal who fled humanity's wickedness despite her benevolence.

"[I Will Abscond From Fate. Forgive My Weakness,]" she intoned quietly and a huge apparition of an angel appeared right behind Bhumi who was frozen in place. "[I Shall Rob Your Sins And Hang Them In The Night Sky.]"

The angelic apparition wrapped her arms around the undead god whose struggles had suddenly stopped. His eyes were clouded and empty.

Astraea closed her eyes. "[Lypiméni Prosefchí.]"

The name of her spell also signed its end. And by that time, the Blood Sun swallowed Bhumi who didn't let out as much as a groan in the process. The power of the crimson and orange star never exceeded its boundaries. There was no destruction to be seen; delimited within its confines.

Soma solemnly watched the sun. It was calm. Enough so that one could delude themselves into thinking the battle was over. However, that hope was dashed by a resounding roar that shouldn't be coming out of a human creature.

The Blood Sun was assailed with an omnidirectional and unsharpened wave of Intent. It carried neither Sword nor Fist. This Spiritual Intent was being released without restraint; it was Flesh.

Burning flesh on the verge of giving out. Like a final cry, it tore apart the Blood Sun.

Everyone covered their eyes as the heat dispersed. The sun's flames spilled across the Earth but were helplessly overpowered by the Lunisolar Blaze. 

What was left behind was a smoldering husk. It was a harrowing sight, with flesh stuck to bones and calcined organs. Soma's swords slipped out after losing whatever grip they had. Despite all that, one eye, just one eye that had survived, was still open and filled with vigor.

"It's over," the Moon God declared, looking directly into Bhumi's gaze. "[Resurrection.]"

Those who reached the realm of Heavenly Gods and above all knew this simple word. It was not to be used on others; it was a command directed at oneself. The realization of one's power given form; the Soul Manifestation.

The activation was instantaneous. It began with Soma's complete disappearance. He vanished as if he never was real in the first place. Then, the light in the sky dimmed slightly and all the moons began to shine stronger than ever instead.

But it didn't stop at the ones close to Earth. Far, far away. Every moon in the galaxy responded to the call. Amidst the stars, silver lights began to emerge. 

If you combined the number of stars and planets in the world, it still might not reach the number of moons. The latter has and will always be one of the most prominent celestial bodies.

"[Sintflut Im Schwebenden Mondhimmel.]"

Soma's disembodied echoed and a beam of moonlight descended from the depths of space, from distances untold. It was as thin as a needle and went through Bhumi's body, penetrating his back and exiting from his abdomen.

Then, a second one flashed into existence. Followed by a third, fourth, fifth… And with each one, the process only accelerated. Again, and again. By the time three seconds had passed, it could be said that more than ten thousand of them had ensnared Bhumi.

These countless strings were turning the sky into a massive web, and they only kept increasing in number as time passed. As their count surpassed the six figures, aside from above, where the strings could still be somewhat perceived with the naked eye, it became hard to pick them apart from Bhumi, who looked as if he was suspended in pure light.

"Now!" Soma shouted to the demons channeling the formation. They had been ready to unleash it for a while now, but what he had given them was no regular spell. It was specifically created to be used in this situation.

Faruth, who was at the core of the formation, immediately triggered it. An intricate circle with a silver crest in it formed in front of him. It then cascaded to two adjacent demons and snowballed until the last one of them.

Soon enough, the entire area was fenced by these magic circles. And they showed their purpose without wasting time. They began to rotate and weave the strings in the air, tightening them and creating thicker threads.

As that went on, Ramsa, Zikserth, and Astraea quietly observed. Tarasque was not dispelling his gravity sphere and the rest were tense and ready to act at any sign of danger.

Bhumi, on the other hand, had long snapped out of Astraea's spell. He was consuming Tarnished Death's miasma to heal, but due to Ranka's presence, this method had run out. He could still heal, but the speed had decreased drastically.

The Fallen God's attempts to snap the strings failed. The Blood Sun had left his Spiritual Intent exhausted. And ultimately, the sealing reached the point of no return. 

The last step continued unimpeded. The formation became autonomous and left its casters. The circles moved closer to Bhumi and began to loop around him in seemingly random directions. It was as if they were wrapping the undead in a spider's cocoon.

Hundreds of thousands of threads wrapped around Bhumi and cut off his snarls. In the end, it ended disturbingly easily. The magic circles stopped once they were done and receded, letting go of the leftover strings, which immediately coalesced to reform Soma's body.

"Aah…" The Moon God sighed and opened his eyes to look at the result. An orb fashioned in the image of the moon. It was as wide as Bhumi had been tall, giving no hint as to the force of nature it currently contained.

"…we did it," Zikserth whispered emotionally. They had just defeated and sealed the very reason they had gone to war for… it was almost comically ironic.

Astraea lowered her staff and exhaled through her nose. She glanced to the side where she could see some demons cry at their victory and then looked at Ranka, who did not even bother to look toward them even after their triumph.

No. In fact, the doppelganger had a completely distinct reaction.

With her eyes fixed on the inflamed planet, "Tch," she clicked her tongue.

* * *

Tarnished Death's eyes flickered beneath his helmet, sensing the defeat of his pawn. He snorted and didn't give it any more attention. He swiftly raised his arm and caught one of Lilith's swords with his bare hand.

Green flames engulfed his body but he ignored it, unaffected by them. He then tilted his head and narrowly dodged the blade of Sonata crackling with dimensional energy.

"[Veritable Sky,]" he spoke calmly and his body fizzled out, creating an afterimage. As fast as he was gone, he reappeared above Rakna and slashed at him with his scythe. "[Clear Veil.]"

The werewolf blocked the weapon with his arm covered in black crystal, but it wasn't enough to stop it from nearly severing it. Not to mention, as soon as the blade cut into his flesh, despite the star energy it was made of, the Fiend's aura managed to kill all feeling he had in it.

Rakna narrowed his eyes and poured more mana into his Voyaging Star. He forcefully lifted his 'dead' arm through Ki manipulation and exchanged more than a hundred blows with Tarnished Death within a few seconds.

"Hm… what are you trying to do?" The Fiend asked as he leaned back to dodge a claw, which he countered instantly with a kick. But it was blocked by a cube of interwoven hexagons.

"[Helix III,]" Rakna uttered as the cube absorbed the impact. He then grabbed the Assembly with his hand and crushed it. The kinetic energy inside was released as a shockwave.

Tarnished Death scowled at the reversal of his own attack and swiped his hand, killing it before it could reach him. At the same time, he rapidly turned around and fired a concentrated wave of death energy from his hand, clashing against the Agni of Lilith. "It's useless—"

"[Spades, Flush,]" Rakna's voice echoed with unexpected words.

The instincts lingering inside the gladiator's body caused it to shudder. He instinctively flapped his wings as hard as he could and distanced himself from the werewolf without even identifying the cause of this feeling.

But when he looked back, he spotted cards in Rakna's hand burning with soul flames. Then, from the smoke they released, a translucent figure emerged. It was an imposing man with oddly vague facial features, laurels and royal garments, a crown, and a ceremonial sword in his hand.

Without a word, his eyes flashed and he unsheathed his weapon. For a moment, Tarnished Death felt like he was in the presence of a being greater than himself at his peak. He barely had the time to react before the King of Spades hacked at him.

The Fiend hastily coalesced his aura into a single point and tried to stop it with his 'Death', but the outcome was utterly hopeless. The ethereal sword cut through his power like it was nothing and mercilessly struck his armored chest.

In the next instant, Tarnished Death was flung through the sky with a resonant rumble. His body skipped on the ground like a pebble on water and came to a stop on the shore of the Soul Sea.

He dug at the sand with his fingers and looked down in silent fright. There was a clear dent in his armor, nearly half a centimeter deep. For some, it would sound like nothing, but to him, it was a ludicrous occurrence.

"As expected, even that couldn't breach your defense."

Tarnished Death raised his head to glare at the werewolf above him.

Rakna flipped his wrist and the Philosopher's Sleeve appeared in his palm. For just that attack, he had consumed most of the skill's Point Capacity. He could quickly replenish it with the unique stat of his Obsidian Star, but considering the result it had had, it wasn't worth it.

"[Queen of Hearts,]" he uttered and two copies of the same card were drawn. They floated and combusted instantly, replicating the same phenomenon for a regal woman wearing a crown and holding a scepter.

While using this skill, Rakna quickly realized something. Each suit seemed to synergize with one specific leader. The Spades worked best with the King. Hearts; Queen. Clubs; Jack. And Diamonds with the Ace.

The Queen of Hearts hovered in the sky and raised her scepter. Promptly, Lilith and Rakna began to feel power flow back into their bodies, healing and restoring their endurance.

Lilith saw many small injuries on her body fade almost entirely. She blinked at her own body and clenched her fists tentatively. Then, the Queen vanished once her duty was over.

"…" Tarnished Death was atypically silent. Instead, his gaze wandered somewhere else, toward a crystal mountain shining in the middle of the sea. '…I know you,' he thought. The Sage was an odd entity. He didn't know much, but he knew one thing; Timaiyin-Munti once met him.

He was removed from time, enigmatic to all, and he accepted any guest as long as their wish was pure. The fact that the Archfiend sought him out once is proof of his power and influence.

Tarnished Death stared at Rakna. 'What is his connection with him?'

"Thinking of that guy?" The werewolf raised his voice.

"…"

"Well, regardless, I'm done prodding you," Rakna added and landed on the ground. The outline of his pupils shone brightly and the Beast Remnants across his soul began to approach.

Tarnished Death glanced at the animals that had been keeping their distance until now. None of them were threatening on their own, but the intensity of their gaze was immense. 'How should I describe it…' He wondered. 'Like a horde who suffered great pain together… and learned from it.'

Lilith silently unleashed her Agni Ring, hovering above Rakna with unwavering determination.

"Hm, have you made your final strategy?" Tarnished Death said and stood up. "I suppose you can't use those cards often, can you? What else are you going to try?" He inquired with a tilt of his head. "Time is ticking even as we speak. You don't have much left."

"It's plenty," Rakna retorted and his Stellar Aura returned in full, ending the buff it was giving to his soul power. "[Imperial Crown,]" he intoned and the beasts lunged at him. They transformed into light midway and merged with his body, granting him hundreds of attributes and traits. 

"In this moment, Tarnished, your countdown has begun."

The Fiend grinned under his helm and whirled his double scythe. His miasmic aura spilled out of his body in an even greater volume and golden waves fluctuated around his body.

"Is that so?" He snorted and looked up at the sky where one of the moons was flickering in and out of view. "This Marble won't last long either, you know? You have two ultimatums. Only one is enough for me to win," he declared, and with an eruption of dark mana, a literal fortress of magic circles spawned around him.

"Shut up," Rakna extended his arm and clenched his fist, crushing the circles and rejecting them from his World. Though, he knew that it merely managed to widen Tarnished Death's grin.

"With that, you took one more step toward defeat."

"And I've heard enough," Lilith's voice echoed and her sabers descended on the Fiend with wings of Agni adorning the blades. She was parried in the blink of an eye, but thunder roared on impact and blew away Tarnished Death, even if it didn't manage to injure him.

"Aah… we are back to this, I see," the gladiator commented and adjusted his momentum with a wag of his wings. He conjured another spell and unsurprisingly, it was negated as soon as it tried to manifest into reality. But the landscape seemed to tremble for a moment.

Lilith hounded after him, swinging her twin weapons with flares of Agni. Each attack carried the power to raze small mountains and Tarnished Death deflected them with a scoff. He glided away and effortlessly halted a punch from one of the Agni Arms with his palm.

"[Veritable Sky,]" he voiced and his fingers dug into it with sparks of gold. "[Impel Goliath,]" he lashed out as if he was slapping away a fly and the Agni imploded.

Lilith coughed blood and widened her eyes, feeling as if her body had slammed into a wall at full speed. Her vision inverted and she found herself carving a new crater.

"Ugh--!" She punched the ground to push herself up right in time to dodge a large object; a scythe blade made of bones. It tore through the soil and killed all flowers on contact. She spun in the air, lime green energy swirling around her, and swung her sabers. She shot three distinct slashes of Agni: lightning, plasma, and fire.

They traveled the distance to their target with a rumble and merged. Tarnished Death raised his hand to stop it, but it exploded before he could even try. "…!" He trembled in surprise as the Agni opened a fissure in space. He quickly realized it wasn't an actual spatial breach. It was far closer to a summoning spell.

From the fissure, dark green fog gushed out, and with it came a haunting red mask with a crown of fire. Its eyes flashed blue and its mouth opened with the noise of crackling wood.

"[Dīpebhyaḥ Prārthayatu,]" a reverberant voice, sounding like it originated right down from the underworld, superimposed with Lilith's. Hundreds of hazy, ghost lamps formed around.

"[Pāritrāṇa Anuṣṭhānam.]"

Before Tarnished Death could react, the mask burst into a tide of unrelenting Agni, concentrating its three properties at once. Then, the lamps burned one after another in a chain reaction. In less than a second, a part of the Soul Sea and kilometers of land were shrouded in flames, haloed by plasma, and impaled with lightning.

But Lilith was not finished. She shuffled her arms in a symmetrical pattern and made the tips of her thumbs and middle fingers touch. "[Dhūmrita Prithvī.]"

The mayhem of Agni thundered once again, but instead of aggravating, it collapsed on itself and suddenly released all the power it contained outward in a literal tsunami of flames. It swept over the sea, over herself, Fray's island, and even more to the horizon.

Naturally, the Agni dispersed faster after spreading and Tarnished Death reemerged unscathed, as expected. But, somehow, he seemed apprehensive. 

"…what are you doing?" He questioned.

Her spell was formidable, and although it couldn't harm him, he had been ready to praise the attempt. However, her decision to 'dilute' the attack, so to speak, was suspicious. She could have easily raised its power by doing the opposite instead.

Lilith only smiled in response, and on cue, the lights went out. Literally so. 

Even Tarnished Death couldn't help but feel some dismay when the Soul Marble turned darker than night. It was too sudden, unexpected, and disorienting. Most importantly, one of the three pieces of his soul, 'Prasminta', was screaming out.

He hastily looked at the sky and stiffened. 

The ten moons. They hadn't changed… but they were also all that he could see. The three stars that had been brightening this small world and, ominously, but peacefully radiating their power, were gone. Just like that.

There was no transition to speak of. 

Faster than he could think about it; the light had disappeared as fast as itself. And the pitch-black expanse of darkness beyond the moons was akin to heresy. Forget the Mystic Stars; there were no distant stars at all.

The scintillating lighthouses that have guided life for eons were non-existent.

This was not a Sky.

Then, a new source of light was born and the Fiend snapped toward it. Rakna stood surrounded by tendrils of light. Like algae in water, they wriggled around him.

'No, that is not 'light',' Tarnished Death thought. 'It's pushing away the darkness… not illuminating it. It does not have color, substance, or potency. This is a pure… banisher of darkness.'

Rakna opened his eyes from deep concentration and his pupils swayed with the 'light'.

"[Nān…] (I Am…)."

"[Nambikaiyin Nakshatram] (The Star of Hope)."