Book 7, Chapter 90 - Investigating

The truth was confirmed . G.o.ds had entered their solar system, their counterinsurgency was about to begin . How were the humans supposed to prepare for this?

Cloudhawk sat in his fortress, surrounded by dozens of high-ranking Elysians and wastelanders . They were all grappling with that question .

“We should take the fight to them!” Phoenix shot to her feet and made the suggestion . Her combative nature was never in question .

“We have to fight them eventually, there is no avoiding it . We should take this opportunity while they’re still on unsteady footing . Send out best up there and hit them hard . Let them see our strength and determination . ”

Siegebreaker, now commander of Praelius’ armies, responded . “Master Phoenix makes a good point . According to what we know the group on the moon is not their main force, only their fastest . It’s a good chance for us to take the upper hand . A quick victory would improve our people’s waning morale . ”

“Greet them with an iron fist? What do the rest of you think?”

“I think that would be disastrous,” Governor Pelagius replied . “The civilization of our enemies is far more advanced than ours . With their ingrained unity and discipline they will have acted with great speed . There is no such thing as ‘unsteady footing’ with the G.o.ds . If our attackers can even reach their base, they will be met with cannons and an established defense force . ”

“I agree, for what my opinion is worth . ” The agreement came from Highmorn’s Master Demonhunter Anan . He had recovered from his wounds . Though weak, he still firmly voiced his opinion . “We don’t have the equipment or preparation for a battle on the moon’s surface . We should focus on strengthening our position here before the battle begins . Our enemies are far deadlier than us, we need our defenses to be able to rise up to the challenge . ”

Phoenix was not pleased with the opposition . “Defense, defense, always defense . How are we supposed to win if we just sit behind walls? Do you think we have the resources and troop numbers to  wait out a siege?”

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“Our troops and resources are exactly why we can’t waste them on a suicide mission . Our limited means are too precious . Instead of thinking about ludicrous ways to win the war, we should be focusing on how to survive as long as possible . ”

Both sides devolved into shouting over one another .  

Meanwhile Cloudhawk was lost in thought . It was a fair point that boldness was a risk, considering how unequal their civilizations were . Focusing on protection seemed wise, but was it as easy as the Highmorn delegation claimed? The G.o.ds wielded tremendous power and influence throughout the galaxy . Expecting humanity’s paltry resistance to stand much of a chance seemed foolish .

Legion turned to Cloudhawk . “What does my King think about our situation?”

“They’re right, we can’t afford the risk . We have to prioritize preserving our strength . We are neither equipped nor capable of taking the fight out there . Best we can do is bide our time . ” He saw it clearly . Humanity’s best chance was convincing the demons to join their cause . Cloudhawk would continue to try and establish a relations.h.i.+p, but in the meantime they couldn’t act rashly . “On the other hand sitting around with our head in our sh.e.l.l is only waiting for death . We have to at least test their strength . I’ll go myself . ”

Selene was shocked by the proposal . “To the moon?”

“Unacceptable . ” Southern Capital’s Governor Dawn refused outright . “You’re too important to gamble your life on a scouting mission . The G.o.ds are intelligent and must have something prepared . I wouldn’t be surprised if they were expecting you to show up . ”

“No one’s better at getting out of a sticky situation than I am,” Cloudhawk a.s.sured her . “I’m the only one who can do this job . ”

Although the council was stacked with powerful people, only a handful were able to even make it to the moon . Among them Cloudhawk was the best equipped . His spatial powers allowed him to come and go as he pleased . A quick trip to the moon’s surface was all they needed, then if something went wrong he could blink back home without issue .

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Running wasn’t his only skill, either . He was strong, well-defended and good at keeping himself hidden . As a spy his abilities were second to none . Even compared to the G.o.ds he was impressively strong .

That was it . The decision was made, despite Dawn’s reasonable fears .

A person’s decisions were always bound by the reality they observed . As logical as one’s choices seemed to the individual, they were never as accurate as they appeared . G.o.ds especially were beyond human understanding . According to everything they knew it was impossible for them to get a full read on their enemy’s strength . By contrast, the G.o.ds knew all about Cloudhawk . It would be stupid to imagine they weren’t prepared for him to do something . Sure, Cloudhawk’s spatial abilities were enigmatic and invincible – against humans . Was this also true for G.o.ds?

There was no guarantee that teleporting to the moon wouldn’t mean walking right into a trap . In fact, it was almost a given . Mount Sumeru sent this squad of G.o.ds here for a reason, and that reason was Cloudhawk . The G.o.d King wanted him captured alive .

G.o.ds were strong enough that an up-close battle with humans was unnecessary . They were more than capable of firing on their planet from out in s.p.a.ce with their mighty s.h.i.+ps . A few salvos was all they needed to obliterate this world, and there was nothing they could do to stop it .

“If gathering information is the aim, there may be a better way . ” Legion offered his suggestion . “The Cloud G.o.d still maintains his link with the enemy . My King can use him as a mental conduit to reenter the Divine Matrix . Within lies the opportunity to see what the G.o.ds are preparing from a safe distance . Minimal risk to our leader . ”

Cloudhawk had almost forgotten about the Divine Matrix . The Cloud G.o.d had indeed held onto his link with the unified will of his species . Skycloud’s patron was locked out from the deepest secrets of his kin, but that seal was not air-tight .

The Divine Matrix was a ma.s.sive information network and betrayer G.o.ds were like hackers . They could patch the breaches as often as they liked, but the Cloud G.o.d would always find a way in . What’s more, the locks were focused on the Cloud G.o.d himself . Cloudhawk, like a virus, could slip by undetected and steal information from under the G.o.ds’ noses .

“Alright, that’s the plan . ”

Cloudhawk explained his scheme to the Cloud G.o.d . Their wills connected and Cloudhawk was conveyed through the gates and into the Divine Matrix for the second time . Once again he found himself amid a strange and magical city .

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“Please follow my lead . ”

As the Cloud G.o.d spoke through their shared link, he manifested himself in the spiritual world as a small mote of light . Cloudhawk followed the spark as it danced through the air until they reached a door . Behind it was what he was looking for .

Here? Cloudhawk forced his way through the door .

When he saw what was on the other side he froze in place . The area was… strange . Desolate, empty . Blackness closed in on all sides and the only object of note was a tawny globe . It was earth .

He could make out the hideous scar that was the ancient battlefield, as well as the terraformed area around Southern Capital . This was the world as it was now, and he was staring at it from the moon .

We did it? He tried to look around and was greeted with the expansive gray surface of the moon . Its peaceful surface was disturbed, kicking dust into the vacuum of s.p.a.ce as a vortex appeared above . It was one end of a tunnel from which an enormous s.h.i.+p appeared .

The s.h.i.+p that was spat forth was bigger than the tunnel itself . It looked like a giant liquid metal ball, perfectly circular . The surface of it s.h.i.+mmered with an internal light like some sort of holy vision . Quite the thing to look upon .

The orb-like s.h.i.+p appeared above the surface of the moon, its glimmering surface perfectly smooth . There it hung, silently suspended and untouched by the forces of gravity like a still picture .

Behind it, the tunnel shrunk and disappeared .

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For a few seconds more the s.h.i.+p did not move . Eventually a light radiated from within, releasing waves of energy that moved at the speed of light . They were sonar waves, scanning the entire solar system and Cloudhawk’s home planet .

The s.h.i.+p began to break apart, releasing several individual droplets . They zoomed off all across the surface of the moon . After making landfall, imposing figures in glorious armor emerged . G.o.ds – and not the half-formed things he fought below the desert . Each one was a highly evolved warrior . The weakest of them could put the strongest human to shame .

Importantly, a G.o.d’s strength could continue to grow . They didn’t progress as quickly as humans did, but their lifespans were effectively limitless . Given enough time, these lowly soldiers would slowly perfect themselves into Supremes .

Theirs was truly a frightening species .  

A cursory examination told Cloudhawk there were two or three thousand of them . By no means a small force, but not impossible to defeat either . The problem was their s.h.i.+ps . Those strange droplets could have all kinds of strange weapons and cosmic creatures he didn’t know about .

He didn’t see any specifics, but he knew there was more to this strike force than he could see .

After the G.o.ds dispatched throughout the moon, he saw several more who were different from the others . These G.o.ds were not as strong as their King, of course, but they were definitely mightier than the Supremes of Cloudhawk’s world . Especially their leader .

s.p.a.ce appeared to collapse around this creature, even when standing still . It was like staring into a black hole . Such a potent and unique aura meant that this being – like him – had the ability to control s.p.a.ce .

A G.o.d with spatial power . Much stronger than any he’d seen before . A leader among Supremes .

How many terrible beasts lived on Mount Sumeru? Cloudhawk’s only consolation was that the G.o.d King himself hadn’t come . IF it had, they would all be doomed .

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