The impact of Shizuhana's words hung in the air. No one responded immediately, as if the weight of what she had just said had suspended time itself. The battle did not cease, but the feeling that something greater was unfolding, something beyond the boundaries of reason, took hold of all present.
"A law?" murmured Hanuman, nervously looking around. "What does that mean? What law?"
Shizuhana did not answer immediately. Her gaze, distant and somber, remained fixed on the horizon where the Manticores advanced like wild shadows. "Not everything can be understood by the mind of a god," she said finally. "But the forces we are facing are not just the destruction of chaos. This..." she made a vague gesture, as if indicating the entirety of the battle, "is the manifestation of something much larger. Something that even the gods do not have the power to control."
"It's as if reality itself is watching us, judging us," said Rikumi, her words filled with an anguish she could not hide. "As if we are at a point of no return."
"It's more than that," murmured Shizuhana, her voice even softer. "We are being watched... and the law that watches us shows no mercy."
The battle resumed its course. The Manticores attacked relentlessly, and the warriors of the White Pole fought with the desperation of those who feel something intangible stalking them. Every blow seemed heavier, each impact more resounding, as if space itself were tearing under their pressure.
Amid the chaos, Shizuhana's silhouette stood out. With a single movement, she summoned her mighty Ame-no-nuboko, cutting through the air toward the Manticores. Her power was not like that of the other gods; it was not in the shine of steel nor in the magnitude of spells. It was something subtler, something that seemed to dissolve space itself in its wake... Every strike she made was an act of negation: a negation of chaos, a negation of creation itself. "It's not just about defeating them," said Shizuhana. "This is not just a battle. It's a trial. If we continue fighting this way, we will never understand what is at stake."
Hanuman, though moved by Shizuhana's words, continued attacking furiously. "Then, what do we do?! Do we just stand by while everything falls apart?"
"We are not standing by," she replied, her tone not one of reproach, but of warning. "We are fighting because we need to understand. Every blow, every movement, is a piece in a game that we are only beginning to comprehend. But we will not win it with our weapons or our strength."
At that moment, the Manticores briefly retreated, as if something was holding them back. Their aggression had been replaced by a strange pause, a void of action that felt more terrifying than any attack. The warriors seized the moment to regroup, but the sense of disorientation only grew.
"Why are they stopping?" asked Rikumi, looking uncertainly at the creatures that stood still, as though waiting for something.
"Because the law... is in motion," answered Shizuhana, her eyes closed for a brief moment, as if she could see something the others could not. "What we are facing is not just a physical battle. It is the manifestation of something more. Something that drags with it the essence of everything that exists. And we are just... a small part of its game."
A thunderous roar shook the air. The Manticores, now colossal shadows, moved once more, but with a force that seemed to overwhelm any attempt at resistance. The battlefield erupted into a new chaos. But this time, there was something different. The sense that everything happening—the wounds, the destruction, the relentless advance of the creatures—was not just a confrontation between physical beings. It was a clash between what must be and what could be. The law, the unbreakable principle that Shizuhana had mentioned, was more than a cosmic rule. It was judgment itself, and this battle was its judgment.
Suddenly, something began to shift in the air. It wasn't just the vibration of the clash of energies, but the sense that space itself was distorting, as if reality was adjusting itself to something larger. Without warning, four figures descended from the sky, their presence emanating a dark aura that seemed to absorb the light as they passed:
Semyazza, the Goddess of Patan, ── Mivernag, the God of Nirarthakata, ── Yozora, the God of Tuchchata, ── and Baalzebub, the God of Seema.
Together, the four Gods of Dusk gazed at the battle, as if it were a distant scene, a play that did not concern them. But their intentions were unclear. As the combatants watched in silence, the tension grew.
Shizuhana did not flinch, but her eyes glowed with an unsettling understanding. She knew what the appearance of the Gods of Dusk meant. These were neither allies nor enemies, but observers, a reminder that the war being fought was not just between the White Pole and the Black Pole, but something much greater. A confrontation that transcended the laws of creation itself.
"They..." she began to speak, but stopped, knowing that words could not describe what was happening.
It was then that, from above, two figures descended, with the force of gravity itself pushing them toward the ground, though their steps left no trace.
Amayori, the Goddess of Astitva, and Ceres, the Sun of the Dawn, arrived with an energy so powerful that the other gods involuntarily stepped back. The light emanating from Ceres was pure and blinding, like a dawn that destroys the shadows of the night, while Amayori shone beside him, though not at the same intensity as Ceres. ─ If Amayori shone with the light of 1000 suns, Ceres shone with the light of the universe that contains all possible suns.
The two gazed in silence at the Gods of Dusk, and the atmosphere was charged with great tension. The arrival of Ceres and Amayori was not just a reinforcement for the battle, but a declaration that the forces at play were far greater than anyone could have anticipated. Ceres raised his hand, and with a gesture, the forces of the White Pole began to reorganize. The defense of the White Pole, which had been broken until now, was reinforced as if a higher will were weaving it once more, as if the very fabric of reality were being spun by its fingers.
"It is time for shadows to face the light," said Ceres, his voice deep and brimming with authority. "But do not forget that even light can be blind."
Meanwhile, Amayori silently watched the Gods of the Dusk. Her eyes showed no fear, but they did reflect an understanding of what was at stake. "This isn't just a clash of forces," she murmured, as if speaking to herself. "It's a test of will. And not everyone is ready for what's coming."
The Gods of the Dusk said nothing. They merely observed.
Shizuhana, noticing the arrival of two powerful allies, realized that the true battle had yet to begin. Something else was happening at the edges of existence, something that even the gods themselves could not fully comprehend.
And it was then that, beyond the Gods of the Dusk, reinforcements for the black pole began to approach. But these were not 10, nor 20 Kyoki Manticores—they numbered 100.
The air grew heavy. The horizon, already darkened by the battle's chaos, now seemed even more oppressive. The first roars of the new Kyoki Manticores arrived before their shadows, resonating like distant thunder that threatened to consume everything in its path.
Shizuhana, who had remained motionless until that moment, her eyes fixed on the chaos, felt the shift in the atmosphere. "This… is not just an invasion," she said softly, but with a clarity that cut through the growing storm of sound. "It's the very extension of the Law of Chaos. What we're witnessing are merely physical manifestations of that force."
Rikumi, who had been fighting alongside her, gazed at the creatures with awe and fear. "What do you mean? Does this war never end? Can't we defeat them?—Aaaagh! Why won't they just surrender? It's so annoying, this fighting and then coming back again!" exclaimed Rikumi, her frustration evident at the persistence of the Kyoki Manticores.
"They aren't just beings to be defeated," Shizuhana replied, turning to him with a look of solemn certainty. "They are the judgment of something far beyond us, something that feeds on our own conflict."
At that moment, the new Manticores fully emerged, and the ground trembled beneath their steps. But it wasn't just their size that intimidated—it was the feeling that the space around them twisted and distorted, as though reality itself adapted to their presence. Each of the hundred creatures seemed to pulse with an energy that devoured light, absorbing it to strengthen their own darkness.
"This is…" began Hanuman, his eyes reflecting growing despair. "It's as if we're fighting an infinite power."
Shizuhana didn't respond. Instead, her lips curved slightly, as if she were anticipating what was to come. "What we face cannot be overcome with more fighting. The battle we're waging here is only part of something far greater. The law… is greater than our forces, greater than our hopes."
At that moment, Ceres's blinding light intensified, flooding the battlefield with a presence so immense that even the Gods of the Dusk felt its influence. The battle paused momentarily, as if the heavens themselves bowed to the intensity of his power.
"If these creatures represent chaos," said Ceres, his voice strong, "then I will represent order. And with it, a new balance must be forged."
With a single movement, the defense of the White Pole reorganized. The forces of the White Pole, previously fragmented, united once more under a single will, as if the very structures of reality aligned with Ceres. The radiance of his light increased, transforming the darkness into a dazzling field where the pure energy of the White Pole flowed like an unstoppable river.
"But it won't be enough," Amayori whispered, her gaze fixed on the Manticores. "The laws of chaos don't yield easily, not even to the brightest light. And what's to come… is not in our hands."
The Gods of the Dusk remained still, but their gazes grew more intense, as if they could already perceive the magnitude of the game unfolding. None of them spoke. In fact, they showed no signs of interfering. Their silence, however, was more eloquent than any words.
Shizuhana watched the advancing Manticores, the pressure of the growing chaos weighing on her thoughts. "The true enemy… is not in them," she said, her voice filled with an unusual stillness. "The true enemy lies within ourselves. And if we don't learn to rid ourselves of our own chaos, we will never be able to face what's coming."
The Manticores, now even more powerful, approached, and the battlefield trembled once more. The shadows of the creatures seemed to stretch out, touching the ground and distorting reality itself, as if everything they touched was absorbed into their void.