Today was a sunny day. Tourists roamed the streets to take pictures of the Reichstag, locals chatted in cafés and engaged in various activities, letting the usual Hunter team to deal with Portals and disposal of monster corpses.

  Most of them had no idea of what was happening in Berlin's outskirts. Hidden from the public's eyes, the House of Sagittarius, The Constellation of Knowledge was in turmoil. Alarms were blaring in the dungeons, laboratories, the underground of the medieval tower-looking House.

  Hunters, scribes, apprentices... all of them were scrambling to pass on reports of stations all around the globe, to the top of the Tower. They had to give this to the Arch-Mages; the Apostles of Knowledge. They would know what to do.

  All this data was worrying. Terribly so. Some satellites were prediction the manifestation of an EX-rank Portal in the northern hemisphere of Earth. Others were reporting pulses of mana from far-away in deep space. Most of the less advanced devices had their readings completely indecipherable due to the overwhelmingly powerful signals the observatories were sent.

  Above all of this chaos, three figures skimmed through the stacks of reports that had started to flood the dimly lit room. They were the Apostles of the three major Stars of Knowledge. The most secretive Apostles, who kept to themselves nearly all the time.

  "-ensors. The source of this signal could very well be coming out of Them. And it would make sens because... Look at this, Maya. The waves of mana seem to appear from one of the zones The Holrde has conquered. If you can pinpoint the exact origin of it with your skills, that would help us determine whether if it's a random mana wave, or if it's A Star fighting near the Twilight."

  "But... Divination is not something we can use lightly. What if I end up using my |Clairvoyance| for something not worthy of it ?! The Hermit warned me when he gifted me that power. To learn the unknown without paying the price is an offense that cannot be repeated too often."

  The two first figures in blue and red robes were arguing in the mess of potion recipes, astrology symbols and paperwork that was the chamber. Meanwhile, the last one was channeling mana in a crystal ball, replaying a scene over and over again in a loop and muttering incantations softly.

  After a few more minutes, the ball's light dimmed and the third mage turned to his colleagues after dismissing his System window.

  "Maya, Aaron. Stop this at once. We have no time for quarrels like this. The situation calls for emergency measures. More than three-hundred satellites and observatories failing us at the same time is not a coincidence, and such an event is leaving us in the dark.

  There is no time to debate on the use of your Clairvoyance Maya. As far as I know, The Hermit hasn't said anything against it for now and I would hate to have a repeat of DracLabs' disaster.

  The revived corpse of a dragon was already bad enough, I don't want to be unprepared should a living member of The Horde comes close to our planet."

  "Then... are we officially doing this ?" the blue-robed woman of petite stature asked in a cautious and uncertain tone, to which the last figure answered with a silent yes.

  "Then channel as much mana as you can to me. I don't know how far Clairvoyance will take me, nor how much mana this will sap from us. Better take some magic stones and warn some Arch-Mages. All Hunters in fact. Otherwise everyone's going to be scared by the surge of mana."

  "Already taken care of."

  "... Alright."

  "Good luck Maya, Sky Seer."

  The small mage took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She lifted her arms and put her arms in an open-palms prayer. One last exhale and it felt as if all the air and magic energy of the Tower of Knowledge got sucked out in a singular point. Many eyes turned in the general direction of the House, wondering about the sudden change in atmosphere.

  "O ever-searching Lights. Bestow upon me these all-seeing eyes. Allow me to pierce the veil of the Unknown. To gaze beyond Twilight !"

  The Sky Seer internally frowned. Never had The Constellation kept silent when she had required an audience to draw power from Them. Big beads of sweat started to from from every part of her body. The ordeal was putting a terrible strain on her body and her mana reserves. She was already dipping in the last quarter.

  Please...

  The multitude of wise Stars finally answered, but not in a way the mage had expected. A confusing question she had to answer to rapidly. The Mage of Earth and the Empyrean Mage were exhausting their mana too.

  "I will... adapt. I will bend !"

  A metaphorical third eye opened in the caster's mind. It reached far, deep into the nothingness, crossing worlds, debris, encountering Stars of The Hunt and of War, who were chasing after something.

  After what felt like an eternity, the eye settled on a chaotic form, slashing its way through space and between planets. The form was pitch black, even darker than spatial void itself, draped in an aura of dread Maya could feel from far away.

  I need to get closer...

  The view closed in and the Sky Seer could finally gaze at it. Obsidian scales that absorbed light. Fangs and claws that split bits of meteor and celestial bodies in half and formed small rifts everywhere they touched. Wings of darkness that cloaked a powerful body, together with the same aura of despair Maya had felt instants before.

  Closer...

  Huh... ? When did it... get so close ?

  This thing... this Dragon was not the biggest creature that had been sighted in a Portal. It was maybe only about forty meters in length, five to seven in height ?

  But this presence...

  Overwhelming power was before her. Maya closed off the eye of Knowledge in panic and expected to be back in the Tower.

  Instead, two eyes, one of red, the other of black and white, were fixated on her astral form. The slits carried a predatory intent behind them and the mage's panic seemed to be felt by the entity before her.

  Who...

  Maya blinked and she was laying on the wooden floor of the Tower, with her companions unconscious, surrounded by worried apprentices and Hunters.

  "Grand Sky Seer! Thank Stars you're awake! We-"

  "Meeting... Call the Houses. All of them! It's a Dragon. The Holrde! They are coming!"

  "A dragon you say. And far more powerful than the remains the remains DracLabs studied. More powerful than something that took three national-rank Awakeners to defeat. Tsk...

  I will not doubt a fellow Returnee, especially one who caught the attention of The Knowledge. In any case... Truly worrying. Have you managed to glimpse at its power level yet ?"

  "Sorry Pierre. I was too... too scared to do anything when it faced me. But the readings of the few astral computers we have left all point toward the coming of a seventh EX-rank Portal. Where? That's the only question there is left. We don't have enough resources to redirect our magic satellites where the others got destroyed. It's surely too late anyway."

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "Wealth is willing to offer manacores of the highest purity. Seven tons is what we can gather at this very instant. Would that be enough magic to send orders to your fleet?"

  "I believe so. But what about the price?"

  "I think we're already past the point of speaking about price and debts. If this amount of manacores can help us prepare better against a threat that could wipe out a whole nation... this tiny sacrifice is a gamble we of Wealth are ready to make."

  "The seventh... and we don't know where it'll appear. How great."

  "Besides..." a dark-skinned man in shining knight armor interrupted "- what about the public ? How do we cover this up this time ? We were able to fool the world that a Portal broke out because DracLabs was in a mana-dense area. But if this dragon truly brings a Portal with itself, we're dead. Civilians will connect the dots that dragons are the factor at play and we'll lose trust and our image of protectors."

  "That reminds me. The Shade has spoken to us. The Enigma has asked us to not meddle with this affair. No media or governmental control this time."

  It was as if time froze. The noisy online meeting of the 999 Returnees came to an abrupt halt at their companion's words. The general reaction was not without reason.

  While Awakeners could sense another's presence, ordinary people could not feel mana unless they aligned with A Star. For all this time back on Earth, this had worked in the favor of the factions under the House of The Shade.

  As master manipulators, pranksters, and pure hedonists, they had planted spies, and informants in every bureau, every place of importance to spread confusion and to have their fun.

  They had crashed markets not in the favor of Awakeners, stolen strategic weapons and many other secrets. They had replaced many figures of importance with their pawns. Cunning schemers they were.

  The other Houses normally didn't care. They were only affiliated with themselves, they had their own politics. Even The Shade was under the banner of Life's Light, against Them after all. No government could truly control Awakeners. An irony considering they were included in a country's might...

  But for The Shade to not pull its strings in such a dire situation...

  "... I understand. Your Stars will revel in the chaos created by the dragon's arrival."

  "I believe so. As one of Their Apostles, I understand and support this. As a person and as your companion, this decision leaves me perplexed."

  "It's fine. But will this prevent your Hunters from acting when this dragon makes its way on Earth ?"

  "That's something I haven't considered. I will send you a crow when I get an answer." the follower of the chaotic Stars replied before vanishing in a puff of smoke, cutting the transmission.

  "What a quagmire of a situation. Buster, any idea apart from smashing things with your hammer or fists ?"

  The bald man with bodybuilder physique shook his head and shrugged.

  "Great help, as always." another Returnee snickered at the man's behavior.

  "Let's get back on topic, shall we? Maya, we were about to get on... the dragon's characteristics. Can you tell us more ?"

  "I'll try. Wait, I think it's be more pertinent if I tried to draw it with magic. Let me see."

  The Sky Seer positioned herself and started leave thick lines of magical energy hanging in the air. Little by little, the outline of horns, wings, paws and other limbs appeared.

  The more the mage was drawing, the more her hand trembled and the heavier her breath grew. Heavy stress the other deducted. Maya would have to see a healer.

  "It's big. Not the biggest. Not the twin Giants of Fire and Ice, but still big." a Japanese Returnee armed with a yari plainly stated. "I don't believe you managed to see any potential weaknesses considering you were observing a dark body in pitch black environment. But the mismatched color of the eyes intrigues me. A meaning to them maybe ?"

  "We'll have to see. We're in the dark for now, literally and figuratively. Aaron and Celia told me The Hermit is not responding to our other Stars. Right?"

  "Indeed."

  "Right."

  "Feel like we'll pull an all-nighter, right everyone ?"

  She was traversing space as fast as She could. As fast as Her claws and Her mastery of Her abilities allowed her to. That tiny thing that dared to spy on Her had stalled Her for far too long already. She would have closed another light year if not for this pest.

  She could make Herself bigger to travel more distance with less effort, but the spatial distortion would attract more unwanted attention. Some pesky Lights were tailing Her tail already. They started following Her as soon as She crossed the barrier of The Horde's dead space.

  I don't need more leeches tailing me. No time for them. I have to be quick. There's so much I have to tell them about. So much I have to share. But... how will I do that ? How will I introduce Myself ? Who ? As myself ? Or as Myself ?

  Are you Nidhogg ? Or are You Tiamat ?

  Will the others believe m... Me ? Will they see Tiamat ? Or me ?

  Will they recognize a comrade? Or will they try to slay an enemy? Please, everything but this. Please do not attack. The madness He forced upon me will respond to the challenge. Please... Do not try to kill me. Do not... Resist, miserable flickers of-

  NO ! This has to stop. I have to find a way to calm these impulses.

  -

  ? Abomination of The Holdre! Stop this instant! This territory does not belong to you ! ?

  A trail of light grazed Her, bouncing off in the distance after leaving a small mark. The Vice in Her mind tugged at ever fiber of Her being to answer to this challenge and put in its place the carrier of Life, but She carried on. This was a journey worth every risk She could encounter. To protect Earth was Her only thought right now.

  Even after He broke Her body during what felt like eons. Even after He gave Her a new body She detested. A body to... mate with Him. This form, made to please Him... A body She would not accept. Never.

  Are You... sure about that? You almost gave in already. Remember this~

  ... This wasn't me. It was you. The instincts He shoved in Me. You are not Me. I will fight. All of You. Along with The Horde. I will destroy you.

  KHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

  How delusional ! I like this ! You will see ! The hope you cling onto ! We will crush it ! As we crushed millions of worlds ! This is Your last defiance ! The last until We become whole ! And them You will truly be part of The Many !

  SHUT UP! I will never bow down again. I will foil the plans of this bastard. I will destroy everything... everyone in this Horde.

  The clank of metal got Her out of this inner fight with It. This other side...

  You PEST ! I will pass this warning to Earth. You will not stop me! None of you are my match. Go back to being obedient dogs of Light! I have no business with weaklings like you !

  Fuck... My Wrath has taken... control.

  ... Fucking meddlers.

  A sword of starlight sliced through the void, aiming at Her neck.

  Too slow, Star of Heroes!

  She bit off the arm that attempted to harm Her and coiled around the attacker, slowly crushing the celestial entity who struggled to get free. The more pressure She applied, the more power She squeezed out of this worm. Delicious Hope, Warmth, Life. Light.

  Another ray of light crashed into Her, this time, powerful enough to make the dragon stagger and release its hold off the prey. The figure was a six-armed centaur with a titanic bow that stretched out in space. Memories almost forgotten told Her this was... The ever-chasing Star. The Scout. An annoying bug who offered power to several of the ones abducted with Her human-self, years ago.

  Anger flared up from deep within Herself and black miasma spread out from Her snout. Tiamat did not care about the crumpling scales that were hit, She didn't care about Her hide being pierced, She didn't care that She was hurt.

  At this very instant Tiamat only cared about was the thing that made Her lose Her prey.

  RAAAAAARH

  In a flash, the dragon's body shifted direction and lunged at the Star.

  The black maw closed mercilessly to shatter the bow and close off on the godly being's neck, trapping him until...

  The other Stars rushed at the tangled mess, but a rift fueled by Fury and Wrath sent the predator and its victim light years away from the scene.

  The Star's final words before descending into the Abyss were only heard by The Vicious Wrath, too busy to absorb every bit of energy the corpse had.

  Intoxicated with the surge of power and with a mind clouded by primal instincts, She rifted again, unable to comprehend She killed a being She would have worked with against the rest of The Horde. Unable to comprehend the consequences of this act.

  -

  "Huh-?"

  "Wha- ?!"

  "I can't-"

  At this very instant, countless beings on countless worlds felt their powers vanishing. All instinctively looked up at the sky and gaped... as a Light of The Constellation of The Hunt flickered to vanish in a flash.

  Madness in flesh streaked across the void, collided with comets, phased through interstellar clouds, and devoured the energy of forming suns.

  It passed near a strange, antique contraption from an era where mankind wanted to reach beyond the skies. The machine briefly powered by the presence's magic, took and sent pictures at the speed of light, in direction of the blue planet.

  -

  "-Understand~

  Never gonna give you u-"

  "Still with that old song ? You'd be better off at your post instead of standing near the boss' office."

  "That's why I was there. Just reported something to the head mage. Voyager I seems to have transmitted some kind of signal. Two pictures, both are completely messed up tho."

  "... That's weird. That old pile of scrap should be dead. Have you checked if it's not just a prank ?"

  "Yep. I checked with five other guys. Even the head mage says that the data is accurate. Voyager indeed reactivated for a few seconds. And it did with the help of magic. The boss said he'd transmit this right away to the Tower. Can you imagine ?! The Tower!"

  ...

  Blue... Planet...

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