-Sunset, north of Imbushko-
Sernatacus and his Ferals let out a nasty roar. It was time for their next encounter to commence. This time, the battle was taking place where Imbushko and Yarno connected.
"Are you finally there?" Hazen communicated with Ether.
"Bring them down," he ordered.
On command, the rain and thunder clouded the area above the cliffs. These were the special powers of Voltaic Weavers and Jakery.
They, along with several Sky Beasts, descended from the skies at high speeds. Expecting an easy fight, no one bothered to properly prepare for a heated encounter. Especially when they weren't part of the actual fighting group.
Which was a grave mistake.
Upon reaching line of sight, beast masters ordered their Cemtrin to fire volleys of explosives up at them. While Pyroatic Weavers ascended to fight back.
Rain disappeared as they rose up from their underground resting place. Flames lit up the skies as blue descended to combat the red.
All ground forces watched in awe. The true might of fire clashed with the undoubtable wrath of thunder.
"They are busy with that. Tinzor, prepare to let out a volley. I'll run in there with Sernatacus' Ferals," Ether ordered.
Everyone heard the commands. Causing archers to form straight lines, Ferals to rally beside Sernatacus, and the rest to shield themselves.
"GO, GO, GO!" Ether's fiery tongue cried out.
In an instant, everyone carried out commands.
Ferals charged forward, overshadowed by the incoming arrows. It was Infinus' display of strength, one every Variant will remember.
Once the walls got close enough, Ether stopped running. He came down to a fast walk, but his mind entered that focused stage once more.
Jakery hovered between a Voltaic and Pyroatic Weaver. The two beasts danced around him as they battled. Making him look like some kind of high deity.
Lightning sparked through his entire body, coming to an end in his fist. After storing up enough energy, Jakery rapidly fell from the skies.
Warriors ran away from the impact zone, making Jakery's attack seem almost useless. Until they saw the real reason behind it. The goal wasn't to kill; it was to open the outpost.
Brick crumbled, allowing Ferals to flood inside. Upon entering, they were welcomed with heavy resistance.
Warriors bashed their shields over the heads of the Ferals, stunning or knocking them out. Letting their spears and pikes get easy hits on them.
Jakery leapt back up to the skies. Despite seeing his Legion being under heavy punishment, he had to follow orders. It was a promise he made to Ether.
Through all the explosions and heat waves, several Mountain Ascent Sky Beasts pierced the overhead world. They took aim on a random Cemtras, then accelerated their dive.
Like giant flakes of snow, the beasts and their riders descended onto their targets. Some beasts caught their Cemtras about to launch another explosive, causing it to detonate right there.
Painting the area around them in a display of gore. Both Variant and Cemtrin.
"AUGH, DAMMIT!" Sernatacus howled in anger. "THAT DEFENSE IS TOO MUCH!"
He lowered his head, preparing to pounce on an unaware victim. He took two steps forward, building momentum before being stopped by a calm Zesher.
Ether stopped right in front of him. Tellendor fell to his side, as if they were both bored. Something that was further reinforced by the low sigh coming from Ether's mouth.
"Sernatacus," Ether looked over his shoulder. "Work on causing a bigger hole in the wall. Let's allow Enoptes through."
The Feral ran back to the Thawed, his plan was to get them to bust the outpost even wider than before. Leaving Ether out there with the other fighting Ferals.
Just before he entered the battle, he felt Tellendor roar to life. Causing something to awake inside him.
An organ, one he didn't know he had, began functioning. That organ being the heater, something coming from his Yonie side.
It worked well, maybe a little too well. He erupted into a bright display of radiant red light, with his skeleton somehow being visible from the outside.
He charged inside the outpost with a fiery trial following close behind. The second he stepped through, the full extent of his power became unlocked.
Instead of pushing through the barrier of Ferals and defenders, Ether turned to ash. Then found himself behind them. Now it was their turn to bite back.
Tellendor's wide side struck the side of a warrior's knee. They lost balance for a second, then quickly recovered. But that was enough time to allow their opponent to overpower them.
A Feral wrapped its jaws around the warrior's neck as she leapt over the line of shields. She snapped their neck as she safely landed on Ether's side.
She brought down her claws inside another warrior's eyes. Then she kicked their stomach, sending them stumbling back. Eventually, causing the Feral to rip the helmet off the defender.
A well-placed axe strike landed on Ether's back while he was watching the Feral. But it didn't phase him, because the axe melted away in an instant.
He slowly turned around, then he screamed a disturbing cry. Tellendor slammed down onto their shoulder, digging deep into them. Then Ether retreated his weapon and brought it down to the other shoulder.
The cuts connected right below the neck, effectively decapitating the attacker.
Right behind that defender, several others pointed their weapons towards the flaming devil. But none of them seemed to phase Ether, because all he saw were puppets.
Three warriors confronted him. A sword wielder, a pike wielder, and a hammer wielder.
Ether caught the tip of the pike in his hand. He struck their head, breaking their focus. Then tore the weapon from out of their grasp, before he changed his target, he pushed them back with the other end of the pike.
The sword wielding warrior swiped down using his weapon. Both metals clashed as Ether guided the blade down the pike enough to let him poke the warrior. Once he did, he turned it around and stabbed the sharp end into their chest.
Before they could collapse, Ether quickly grabbed their sword. He threw it like a spear, cutting into the previous defender's head.
While he was busy with that, the last warrior struck the back of his knee. Bringing Ether to the ground. They quickly got over his head and struck the cranium.
Ether turned to embers after the blow. They slowly floated away, making it seem like he was killed and finally gone for good. But the warrior wouldn't let down his guard.
That's when the embers formed themselves into Ether once more, except with a two single claws where the hands originally were. He brought them into the warrior's eyes, killing them instantly.
More embers fell from the battles overhead. The faint orange glow paused, decorating the area around Ether.
Now with more Infinus forces overrunning the outpost, it was futile to continue fighting. Especially since one of their forces became a living nightmare.
Light Legion warriors fought to evacuate before suffering a dramatic defeat. The gates leading west rested on the floor, damaged and charred.
"Those cowards are running!" Enoptes lifted a fist. "Do not let them get away."
Ether heard that order. The embers shot up, lighting up the dusk. Before raining down on the fleeing warriors.
Anything those embers touched burned until it couldn't anymore. It was impossible for basic embers to do such damage, but these were special. Because they reflected the Seventh Rule's power.
Small dwindling embers scorched entire beasts, warriors, and armors. Careless of what or who they harmed; yet careful on how they did it.
Jakery watched from above, he stopping fighting the Pyroatic Weavers. His attention completely hooked to the melting terrain below.
"Hey, hey!" Hazen's voice cut through his focus. "What are you doing? And why do you look so weird?"
"Tellendor, for some reason it has been acting up lately. Earlier it was the whole situation with explosives now it's..."
"Not enough..." a whisper interrupted him.
Hazen pitched an image of herself inside Ether's mind. "Oh, so now I'm not enough, eh? Don't forget I can expose your dirty little mind any time I want."
"What? No, no, I didn't say that. And stop looking into that part of my mind, you don't need to see what I imagine," Ether sharply replied.
"Okay, but just know it's entertaining to see these kinds of thoughts. I'm addicted to a degree. Anyway, I'm sending the fleet home. Good luck out there!" Hazen concluded.
Sernatacus stepped beside Ether. He reintroduced himself to the former version of his ally. No longer was Ether an orange glow with a skeleton moving. It was him in his original state.
"I suggest we rest. My Ferals need it and the other warriors do too," his raspy voice said.
Ether continued to watch the gate. He was unphased by the introduction of new powers. But without them, he felt empty and confused.
He didn't know why Tellendor gave these to him, let alone if it even was Tellendor that did it. But one thing remained true. This wasn't because of his physical self.
"Good idea," Ether's shaken voice replied. "Help the rest settle in. We are going to have one hell of a night."