Celestials are beings older than the universe itself. They are more than common gods. They are above everything. How can they achieve that state of power? It is just in their nature to know things and to explore and to research the unknown.
Jemiah the Analyzer was tasked with the mission to research the anomaly that is called the gate. He was very interested because last time he checked the connected mind of him and all the other Celestials in the other universes, this portal mostly appears in the human country Japan and not in the domain of the Celestials. As such, the Celestial Host tasked him to analyze this phenomenon.
With a lift of his hands, he teleported all the specimens that entered the gate to Cryo chambers to research their DNA and make a copy of it. Celestials keep the DNA of all life forms so that when they go extinct, it is in their decision if they can start living again. But Jemiah let some specimens escape because he had no use for them. He turned to the Eternals, and they turned to him, waiting for his orders.
Jemiah the Analyzer: "The Celestial Host has decided to let me analyze the gate structure. Your task is to secure the other side so that it may not be destroyed. This will be your task for now. I will inform you with further instructions when necessary."
Without hesitating, the Eternals obeyed their eternal masters.
Ikaris: "I, Ikaris will lead our force through the gate as their leader, if you allow me Jemiah."
Jemiah: "Your request has been accepted, Ikaris."
With the words of Jemiah, he had the command over the others for now. But he was not chosen just of goodwill. No. Jemiah calculated that he was the best suited to lead the team because of his expertise in warfare that the others were lacking. Of course, they all had their strengths and weaknesses. But with one negating the weakness of the other, they are almost unstoppable.
Jemiah: "Now proceed to accomplish this task I have given you."
After that, he disappeared the same way he came, through a portal. Him being a Celestial, he had other matters to attend to.
The squad proceeded to go near the gate with each step still being cautious that something could come out of it.
Eros: "It seems like a portal to me. Only that it is permanent and fueled by something unknown."
Gilgamesh: "Let the thinking to the Celestials. We are here to fulfill our task, nothing more, nothing less."
"You are right. Whatever awaits us on the other side, it might be a powerful enemy. So I want everyone to be cautious."
Ikaris stepped first through the portal, showing that he is in charge, and he fears not the darkness of the door to the other side. Shortly after, the others followed his lead to the unknown. They arrived at a hill surrounded by yet another imperial army that has come as reinforcement to stop the invaders and push them back into the gate. That was easier said than done. Because their foe was not men nor women. They were Eternals.
Eros: "It seems we were expected."
Ikaris: "It doesn't matter. They are weak. We can kill them easily."
Ajak: "Indeed, they can't stop us. But we should show respect to the weak that oppose the strong."
Gilgamesh: "Well, let's get the party started."
From the point of view of the imperials, these five were a joke, and couldn't believe that they would oppose a whole army. But from that moment they thought that they were dead wrong.
Gilgamesh and Thena destroyed the troops at the front without sweating because it would need something really powerful for them to do that. Ikaris and Eros made quick work of the Wyvern Riders with their cosmic abilities. The Wyverns couldn't even react to the speed of these two, let alone dodge their attacks. It was more of a one-sided battle for the Eternals. For the Empire, it was a completely different story. The killing of these soldiers wasn't really to the liking of the Eternals, but they had to follow the orders of the Celestials to protect the gate, so they can inevitably investigate this world.
Soldier 1: "What is this magic! How are we gonna fight this? They can fly, fucking fly!"
Flying was rare in Falmart and only the strongest, of the strongest mages, could float in the air. And floating in the air is something very weak compared to high-speed flying like Ikaris and Eros can do. So it would be obvious to be scared when facing such a powerful enemy.
Mage 1: "Impossible! The Commander of the First Legion warned us about this, and we didn't believe him as we chained him and sent him to the Capital for treason."
Commander of the Second Legion: "We have to fight until we don't draw breath. Or we will end as the one Commander you mentioned. If these, beings start invading our world, we will be doomed."
This wasn't shocking for all the soldiers that heard the words leaving the Commander's mouth. They weren't blind. They weren't deaf. They knew perfectly well that this was a battle they couldn't win. They could only watch as they were the next to be killed by them.
In mere minutes, the battle was already decided. The army was scattered and many fled from the battlefield, leaving only the brave to die.
Pantheon of the Gods:
Three gods from this world had gathered to watch the battle and measure the enemy's power. But they didn't expect this outcome. Beings that could easily rival the power of an apostle and possibly go beyond it came out of the gate to fight the Imperial Army.
Flare, God of Sun: "Who could believe that the gate would bring such powerful individuals to our domain."
Zufmuut, God of Order: "Indeed, my friend. These are beings that look human but are certainly not even related to humans. They look like a perfect copy of a perfect human. Like they were made and not birthed."
Palapon, God of Revenge: "How could we let Hardy open the gate, we should have stopped her and stripped her of her powers!"
Flare: "You know, it is very difficult to strip the power of a god. We would need all the other gods to combine our strength, and then we will be able to send her back to the mortal realm."
Zufmuut: "We all know that. But more importantly, the order has been broken with the appearance of these beings in our world. If we don't act, we will fall to the powers of the other gods."
Palapon: "What did you say! Don't you have any pride as a god, Zufmuut? We will take revenge on them for entering our domain. We won't lose to mere outsider gods!"
Flare: "You are right, Palapon. With the power of the 12 gods, we will strike them down!"
Like any mythological gods, these were no exception. Their pride was bigger than the world itself. Because they lost the feeling of being powerless since they became gods. They don't know this feeling anymore, because there was no one to challenge them.
Imperial Capital City, Senate, 1 week later:
Marquis Cadel: "It was an embarrassment, your Majesty. We lost 60% of our military personnel. What would you like us to do?"
Emperor Mort: "You are correct, Marquis Cadel. It is not good that we lost our military advantage over the enemy. As you know, the Commander of the Scout Legion that should have conquered the land beyond the gate has committed treason against the empire. He fled from battle to ensure his safety above my command. For I have already called him to the Senate and he should be brought here in a moment. Guards! Bring in the traitor!"
Two guards brought a man before the Senate and threw him to the ground. He was covered in wounds. His face was that of a broken man. He was stripped of his armor and was given simple prisoner robes. He had short brown hair with brown eyes. And his build was that of a normal soldier. Some could say he was the perfect soldier. But somehow he failed.
Emperor Molt: "Legatus Benevus! You have committed one of the highest crimes in the empire! Retreating like a coward! You didn't only risk the lives of your subordinates, but stained the honor of the Saderan Empire with your embarrassment! For that, you will be executed, and you will be remembered as a dishonorable man. But I appreciate your efforts to inform us about our enemies beyond the gate. As you have seen what lies there, you should have quite the information that could be useful."
Legatus Benevus: "Please your Majesty! I thought of the empire before myself that I want to make clear before I die. What I have seen would be worth a legion of over 100 soldiers. If the empire wouldn't be informed, we would be blind on our next attack, not expecting the enemy to have such great powers."
Emperor Molt: "These are words of a heretic. One that has laid his beliefs in his eyes before his gods! For now, try to explain to the whole Senate what you have seen, Benevus."
Benevus: "Yes, your Majesty! As we entered the gate we expected anything but not what we saw. The sky was black, with what seemed to be stars everywhere. The surrounding was very odd. The ground was black with golden lines forming a symbol. The walls also were of unknown material. They had the same color. Black and gold were everywhere. And there also was strange furniture. I couldn't see any resemblance to ours. But where we landed wasn't even the real ground. We were on a platform that was if I saw right some hundred meters above it. It was frightenin…"
Senator 1: "How can you tell such lies before the Senate, you lia…"
Emperor Molt: "Please be quiet. I wish to hear what he has to say for himself."
Benevus: "Th-Thank you, your Majesty. Now comes the part where I started to see the world break before me. Five figures were flying towards us." The whole Senate entered a state of shock at hearing those words, but when the Emperor raised his hand, the room went silent. "First, we believed them to have lost their mind facing our force. But how wrong we were when they decimated us to almost 50 men." Another shock wave began in the rows of the Senate, the Emperor had to raise his hand again, which annoyed him if he had to do it once more. "They had magic, not even my mages could describe yet tell what it was. One shot yellow light of his eyes, which burned everything they touched. One could do the same but from his hands. One could create a spear and shield from nothingness. One could fight our army with only his fists." Again the room went senile and the Senators couldn't hold their mouth anymore.
Emperor Molt: "Enough! Be quiet, or I will seek to your silence!"
No one wanted to oppose the Emperor, so the room went silent and nobody said something ever again.
Benevus: "Your Majesty. I will find it difficult for the Senate to be quiet after what I have left to say."
Emperor Molt: "Speak. Don't tell me how to run my Senate!"
Benevus: "I am sorry, your Majesty. Let me continue. After a while, they seemed to back away from the battle. We thought this was our victory and the enemy was possibly exhausted fighting such a large army. But again we were wrong. From nothingness appeared a black circle that grew in size each second. And from nowhere appeared a giant clad in strange green armor. It was easily more than 300 meters tall. Its presence was as if a god appeared before one. Nobody moved at that moment. Expect me and some fellow soldiers that came with me back to the other side of the gate. The last I saw was how the giant stretched his hand, and then all our soldiers disappeared as a blue aura surrounded them. This was an angered god that was not happy with our presence in his realm. That is all I have to say, your Majesty."
The room was so silent, that someone could hear the clouds flying past the Senate Building. There were several gulps in the rows.
Emperor Molt: "That is what you wished to say, Benevus? That? I was foolish to let you lead the army beyond the gate. That you would fall for mere illusions. I didn't expect that. You said the enemy retreated because they had no power to last against your army, correct. What they did was their last attempt to implant fear into your mind. They combined their power to somehow cast a great illusion as their last plan. And you, Benevus, fell for their pathetic trick. A mere illusion will not win the battle."
Benevus: "But your Majesty! What I saw was real, I swear!"
Emperor Molt: "Guards! Bring him out of here now! With that cleared, I believe that is the most logical solution to what happened there."
Marquis Casel: "Your Majesty. Consider if he says the truth about these five beings. It would explain why we lost 60% of our troops. Scouts said that there were indeed five that laid waste to the Second Legion."
Emperor Molt: "Maybe we can be sure that these hold great power, but with tactics, we will defeat them. Our advantage is that we have a bigger force, and we can use that to our best outcome."
Godasen: "Your Majesty, how do you want to defeat this enemy. The Second Legion has been destroyed in a day."
"Send messengers to the Allied Kingdoms. They will fight the enemy at Alnus Hill."
The Senate started to cheer at the Emperor's words. One man came closer to him to say something.
Marquis Casel: "Your Majesty. It will be a bloodbath."
At these words, the Emperor made a smile that disappeared like it wasn't even there.
Alnus Hill, Eternals Base:
In the passing week, many things happened. One of the things was that the Celestial Host informed the Eternals to use their tech to be able to defend the Hill at all cost. If the gate got destroyed, well, the Celestials would not be satisfied.
The Eternals used a sort of advanced 3d printer, that could print metal and other valuable materials, to build walls, buildings, and other things. As a defense, they placed energy turrets that would fire on anything hostile. To attack at long-range, they also implemented energy-based artillery. All these were engineered by Phastos. He would also design guards to guard the area. They were built of a golden material and were programmed to make decisions if needed. For safety, Phastos placed an Anti-Intelligence-Shield around the base. With that, no one could watch them with any spying technique.
Ikaris: "Hey Phastos. You finished with the preparations?"
"In a moment. Did Gilgamesh cook something good today? I would love to eat a self-made pizza."
"I think he got something you like. Did you get any news from our Surveillance Drones?"
Phastos: "Yeah, they found a village near the Hill. Also, there is an army coming in our way. With our current weapons, we could easily destroy them. But we could at least try to talk to them."
"I also don't like the killing of thousands. Druig could help out."
Druig could control minds with his ability and would be useful against the army of the allied Kingdom, because why kill if there's another way. They would at least try before killing an army full of fathers and sons.
They prepared everything they could. Dealing with an enemy of this size could be tiresome. And they got the news that in the coming days a Celestial will come to their Base to see the progress and analyze the properties of the other world like the atmosphere, the dirt, and other stuff.
Alnus Hill, Allied Kingdoms Camp, 1 week later:
King Duran: "I will lead the front and the others will lead the sides. The Imperial Army should also arrive to aid us if we are correct. Now, let us gather troops."
The Kings, Princes, Dukes, and Chiefs left the tent to join their legion and march against the enemy. But before they could leave. Someone appeared.
A man in strange green armor entered the tent. He had brown hair and was most likely the enemy that wanted to assassinate them.
King Duran: "Guards! Intruder!"
Druig: "No one is coming. I have shielded the place against sound. Now, let us talk before we take our weapons out and fight each other.
At the same time, a man drew his sword and wanted to strike him down, but then.
"Stop! Go back to your place!"
The others were shocked that he could control the man with his voice, so they didn't have any other choice.
King Duran: "What do you want? Kill us? With that ability of yours, we would long be dead, so spit out what you have for us!"
"Well, let's start, shall we. We want you to retreat from here and go back home. We don't wish to fight you."
King Duran: "Hahaha! What do you think we are, your servants? We will never leave a battlefield even before it started."
"Then you don't give me any other choice."
King Duran: "Wait, wha…"
It was too late to say something. Druig already took command of all the important persons in the army and commanded them to pull back all troops.
Druig: "Command all forces to retreat home! Don't go near the Hill at all costs!"
The Captains started giving orders to the soldiers to retreat. They packed their tents and loaded everything on carriages. And the Allied Kingdom left as fast as they arrived.
Druig was very proud of himself that he could end the suffering that would've happened hours later just by using his ability.
Phastos: "Nice work, Druig. You saved them from certain death. And that with efficiency."
Druig: "Stop flattering me, Phastos."
Imperial Capital City, Throne Room, 3 days later:
Advisor: "Your Majesty. The Allied Kingdoms Forces have retreated to their lands. They didn't even face the enemy."
This was not going according to the Emperor's plan. He wanted to eliminate all threats to the empire, but with the Allied Kingdoms still having their leaders and military power, they could soon be invaded by them.
Emperor Molt: "It is not going according to plan. We have failed to secure our borders, and now we could get attacked at any moment when they realize we don't have enough manpower. We have to act fast. We could use scorched earth tactics, but we are not fighting an army, so it would be useless to burn lands for nothing to gain."
Advisor: "You are right, your Majest…"
He was being interrupted by a girl wearing armor. She had red hair and looked to be around seventeen years old.
Princess Pina Co Lala: "Your Majesty!"
"My daughter. Why do you come here?"
He asked but knew for what she came. He was no fool and knew why people would come to him.
Princess Pina Co Lada: "It's about Alnus of course. I have heard that the Allied Kingdom retreated from battle and that the Empire's Holy ground is still occupied by the enemy! What are you going to do in a time like this?"
Emperor Molt: "You are correct, Pina. Something must be done. But we are far too ignorant about the enemy at Alnus Hill. You don't seem to have much to do, so why don't you take your Order to scout their position."
"Me? With my Order?"
She was surprised that her father would say such a thing. Her Order was mostly for ceremonial stuff and not for battle."
Emperor Molt: "Indeed. If your Order is more than your plaything, of course."
Many had the opinion that her Order was just a Princess trying to be a Knight, so this would be the perfect opportunity to prove them wrong.
Princess Pina Co Lada: "I understand, your Majesty."
Alnus Hill, Eternals Base:
Ikaris: "We have been tasked to go to Cado Village and make friendly ties with the villagers there and see if we can get more information about this world."
Kingo: "Finally, something to do."
Ikaris; "I, Thena, Druig, Kingo, Phastos and Makkari will go to the village. The others will stay here. We will not take the Domo because it will attract too much attention. We will use the Umos Mobile created by Phastos."
The Umos Mobile was a mostly cubed vehicle that floated slightly above the ground. The design was similar to the Domo but much smaller. You could not see inside from outside, and there were no doors. The material would simply open a way to go inside or outside the vehicle. Inside were comfortable seats, and it was decorated in a modern, futuristic look. The front was like that of a plane, but more flat than round.
Ikaris: "C'mon, guys, we don't have all day."
All the Eternals that we're called to go stepped into the Umos as it closed the entrance by itself.
Eros: "Good Luck out there."
The rest of the Eternals were sad that they couldn't come with them and meet the villagers. But they had other duties to attend to until the others were back. Their time will come soon.
Coda Village, 2 hours later:
The Umos arrived in the village and stopped automatically in front of the gate. The villagers were in shock to see such a weird black thing floating in the air. They didn't know what it was, and that made them fear it.
Kango: "We should know that this thing would scare them away. They never saw something like this before."
Ikaris: "Let's get out of the vehicle. When they see us, they would not be as scared as now."
Suddenly, the black thing moved, and it opened a hole in a shape of a cube. Five people in strange armor came out of it and each had different colors. The villagers could just barely see them out of their windows and behind their doors, where they tried to hide while being able to see the enemy. And they didn't expect to see humans at all.
Ikaris: "Do not fear. We come in peace. We won't harm you in any way. Do you have a Village chief or a Leader to whom we can speak?"
Seconds passed and nothing happened, but then there came an elderly man out of the house that was in the middle of the village. He knew it was his job as Village Chief to protect his village.
Village Chief: "I am the Lord of this village. Who are you? What do you want? And what is that thing where you came out of?"
He asked many questions, but he wanted to ask even more when he realized he should not anger them because they could become angry at so much to answer.
Ikaris: "I am Ikaris, an Eternal. We have come in peace and to communicate with the village Coda to get more information about this world. And that thing is something like a carriage."
He tried to explain the Umos in their words, so the man would understand what he said.
Village Chief: "If you say so. You look friendly to me. Guys come out now, they won't harm us."
The villagers were happy because they could be attacked by bandits anytime. For it to be safe was a blessing for them. They came out of their houses to see the strangers that had come to their village. But some still waited in their house until they went away.
The villagers told the Eternals about countries, magic, and creatures in this world. It seems like magic was a thing in this world and that there were mystical creatures that lived here.
The Eternals also explained who they were and from where they came from. Some villagers took that lightly and some did not.
Village Chief: "Thank you for your visit here, Eternals. May Flare guide you."
They left the village to go to another village in a forest. From what they could see from the pictures taken by the drones, it was mostly in the forest, and it was occupied by humanoids with sharp ears. After one hour, they could see smoke coming from their target location. It looked like it was caused by a bushfire, but that was not the case.
Phastos: "There's a large fire in the forest, and you wouldn't believe what caused it."
Kingo: "I'm going to guess it's a gigantic monster."
Phastos: "Your right. It looks like a dragon. But it's more of a wyvern from what I have read."
Ikaris: "It's a big one, that's for sure."
Phastos: "Wait! It's leaving. It just left. Furthermore, it didn't even try to catch something to eat. Something tells me this dragon did it for the fun of it."
Ikaris: "If he is going to do this very often, we might have to fight him. Let's go to the settlement and see if someone survived this. Probably no one, but it's worth a try."
Everything was burned down. You couldn't even recognize the faces of the perished. There was just dust and ash. Except at someplace.
Druig: "Guys. I found a survivor. There, inside the well."
All came to see who survived this disaster. They were surprised that only one person survived the attack. But they were happy to be able to rescue someone during their day.
Ikaris: "Interesting, this one looks human, except the ears."