24 : 58 : 24That was the countdown in every screen of the company. A day and an hour, before... the invasion.

  They watched the bureaus of the ones who desecrated their realm with their game... The ones who were working on the test bug-fixes and the ones who were handling communication. Trailers, they were called.

  Sending the resume of one of Their many identities proved to have been a very beneficial gamble. The half hundred identities across the world had gathered experience at lightning-fast speed and Chris Topher had been able to get hired.

  The tour of the game studio was very important to Them. This allowed Them to take a look at the different areas They would have to strike. The server room was the first one. It held the bridge between Marka and the pyers of Earth.The data bank facility was another prime target. It held all of the game code. The otherworldly authority that was coding. If They managed to destroy it, Marka would be out of reach of the devs' hands. There would be no more major alteration to The Divine's realm.

  Then finally, the minds. The Divine would use Their authority to slowly make people forget about this game... Even the developers.

  They just needed time. And find a way to deal with some issues. They had promised Earth's deities They would link Marka and Earth, to allow the terran gods to regain some Divinity. But to do so, the link between worlds the mortals had made needed to be maintained.

  The Divine couldn't just cut-off everything today. The process of creating Their own link between Marka and Earth would take time.

  "Mister Topher ? Is something wrong ? Are you feeling unwell ?" the studio’s director asked, his tone betraying concern.

  “Not at all. I was just thinking about my… position here. I do not believe I will get the chance to work on Sins of Marka II, right ? It is your biggest project and I’m still a rookie after all.”

  The director scoffed and shook his head.“No, no, no. That won’t do. I’ve seen your resume. It’s impressive. Your creations, even more-so. It would be a shame to waste that much talent on some grunt work. I think that you’ll find yourself a nice pce in the modeling & rigging team. Unless, you have a preference.”

  Such a shame it was. This man was a kind one. His secretary too. They had been very welcoming and open-minded. The team was radiating passion and love for their game. But it was such a shame that this game caused trouble for Marka…All this hard work… down the drain…

  The Divine noticed a worker transporting a worn-out virtual pod outside of the studio’s building and another oval-shaped structure. A newer pod.

  “What’s that ? New equipment ?”

  “Yeah. The company could finally afford better equipment for the teams. The previous ones were…” the studio’s director began, turning to his secretary. She shrugged and took over to finish her boss’ sentence.

  “The previous pods, the ones we used ever since Sins of Marka I were defective. The manufacturer was sketchy but we didn’t have the funds at the time. We were about seven people, an indie team and one high quality pod was enough to pay for five low-quality ones.”

  “The problem was that some of these pods hurt people who were using them. Shocks, light burns, and even dispying false information to the devs who were using them. We decided to repce them because… Well, one of the guys in the bug-patch team used the st working pod of the bunch and stayed there for eight hours. Nobody knows what happened but he was found in a comatose state, with two and three degree burns all over his body.”

  “That’s… concerning.” The Markan god let-out in a falsely anxious fashion. He then noticed the brand on the newer ones. “Noki-a ? Wasn’t that a brand that made cell phones long ago ?”

  “Yes. Sturdy ones at that. That’s why we selected this manufacturer. The quality of their hardware is almost unparalleled.” the secretary, Miss Camellia expined.

  “I see. That’s really reassuring then. Let’s continue the tour, shall we ? I assume you don’t have all of the time in the world.

  A few hours ter, the god of Marka was hurrying with long steps, trying to not pay any mind to the disgusting amounts of sins the people in the streets were releasing. The air was almost suffocating. Disgusting… Truly.

  “Hey hey~ Didn’t know you were here. I thought the others were making up stories again~” a cheerful and childish voice reached Their ears. The Divine turned around and looked down to see a little blond girl fshing him a cheeky smile. She was dressed in a white short dress and a crimson red coat. Her blond locks were half hidden underneath a - Red Hood.

  She was riding a suspiciously huge, grey ferocious dog with a face that looked like a wolf’s. Many people were even actively avoiding the creature and its owner ?

  “... Little… Little Red Riding Hood. Wolf. How are you doing, dear Myths ?”

  The beast and the girl rolled their eyes at the same time but answered nonetheless.

  “Fine. We hate coming to cities, but we heard from other fairy tales that you were on a mission in our world. It’s been so long since we st saw each other, so we wanted to check out what you were doing.”

  Besides… Wolf began, As nice our life in forests is… it’s not very interesting. We still have to check up on little kids of this world from time to time. To see if…

  “To see if they still hold the magic that is Innocent Childishness.”

  Sadly… this era is not a good one for fairy tales and wonder. Everyone has this know-it-all attitude nowadays. Even kids. They believe they hold omniscience with their hologram-things…

  “It’s holo-screens, Wolf. Ho-lo-screen.”

  The beast scoffed and trotted away to drink in a nearby pond. Meanwhile, the god and the myth began chatting about their experiences and future goals. Riding Hood expined that Myths had blended painfully in today’s society. The rise of the Internet and of mass-communication had rendered most tales useless in the eyes of many.

  Beings of tales and legends had been rationalized by science, their powers stripped away from them. They were only worthy of appearing in video-games as formidable foes you would eventually stomp because of your awesome god-like powers.In return, the Divine expined Their goal. What They aimed to do to prevent Their world from being corrupted further and further. What They aimed to do to help Earth’s gods. They mented about not being able to do everything quickly.

  “Voyaging from one world to another was easy for me.” They expined “But if I want to link my Marka to your Earth, I will need to send strong bonds of divine energy. It’s a simir process to the one these devs use, but I start the process if I cut their bridge.

  “So you’re stuck for now, no ? You’ll have to let pyers flood your realm. And that’s not good in the short term.”

  “Indeed. But I aim to send some help to my children. If I can create… characters and send my Will through them, I will be able to… for example, create a boss that takes out many of these pyers.”

  Little Red Riding Hood acquiesced while watching over Wolf, who was baring its fangs at a… what was the name of that breed ?Chikawa ? Chihuahua ?

  “Wolf ! Come back !” she shouted before turning back to the otherworldly god. “Dude. You should read some fiction from this world. That could give you ideas. Try… hmmm…”

  The Myth took out her holographic dispy and started typing on it, deep in thoughts.“That’s right. Sword Online something. Get some intel about it. It could be… a really helpful aid.” she pyfully joked.

  The Divine made a mental note of the fiction’s title and thanked Their little helper. They got up from the bench everyone had seated themselves and hummed.“Little Red ? Do you want a drink as another thank you ? My pce isn’t too far away and I doubt Wolf would be happy about walking all the way back to a forest.”

  The girl shrugged and positioned herself on her ferocious companion.“Sure. Let’s do tha-”

  A middle-aged woman rushed between the two interlocutors, an accusatory finger pointed at The Divine’s chest, another holding her holo-screen for some reason.

  “Excuse-me ?! What are you trying to do to that child ? I hope you’re not trying to take her somewhere she doesn’t want to ! I’m calling the police-”

  The Divine, Wolf and Red Riding Hood looked at each other confused. Where did this woman come from ? Why was she meddling with something completely unreted to her ?

  A kind elderly man tried to calm the banshee down, with little effect. The bystanders were as lost as the two persons that were involved in the situation. This woman was bbbering about the man attempting to abduct a child but... couldn’t she see her dog, that was reaching above a grown-man's waist ?

  Who in their right mind would try to abduct someone with such a pet ?

  -

  "Can you repeat that ? I didn't catch what you were saying."

  "... -ok"

  "A... tok tok trend. Of course..." the policeman filling the report sighed, giving the stink eye to the shameless woman in the room. "Miss. Do you realize that such accusations are not ones you can freely make for everyone to see ? You could have ruined this man's life. It's not... It's not something you can live stream on a social media...I hope you're grateful that he didn't decide to press charges against you. Your defense against this would have been very meager no matter how your wyer would have tried to put it." the officer stated as a matter-of-factly.

  "But..."

  "There are no 'buts' madam. People got killed by S.C.U.M police droids, for less than that. There are topics you cannot joke about. Especially when you use these social media. Please understand that."

  "..."

  "Sigh... You will receive a fine of two thousand and five-hundred euros in the following week. Your social identity will be restrained from logging-in or creating any social media accounts for a month. Behave yourself and think about how you could have been shipped to a re-ed center."

  The woman gulped-down audibly. As painful one month without social media and the fine were, a re-ed center was way worse. This was the final destination of the hopeless. The ones who did not want to bend down to the rules of the system. A fate worse than death some said. The woman picked up her bag and hurried out of the police station.

  At the same time, the policemen were nervously letting the group of Myths and gods out from another exit, careful to not get close to the terrifying dog.

  After a moment of silence, Wolf sighed in exasperation and Riding Hood facepalmed. "What the fuck was that about ?" she muttered. "You know what ? Humanity was a mistake."

  "I hope that my world never reaches such a state..." They muttered. "At least, I'm learning the inner workings of this whole era. That one thing less I'll have to worry if Marka starts reaching this technological level..."

  I think that NOT letting them reach this technological level is better than allowing them to even get a glimpse of it... Speaking of which. Wouldn't our otherworlders cause trouble if they were to share some of their knowledge when they py ? And what about the opposite ? When you'll eventually link our two realms. You won't be able to stop Earth's tech and influence from spreading.

  "Don't worry. I've prepared many things. I'm not reckless enough to let my world without means to defend itself. My Angels are ready to strike down anyone holding this tech. My children are ready to erase any trace of the ones who bring it in Marka."

  "But... can't you just gaslight your world into thinking these otherworlders are madmen who are to be killed on sight ?"

  The Divine sighed heavily."Sadly no. The devs of Sins of Marka II defined a narrative strong enough to somewhat resist my authority. I can make it so that the individuals affiliated with me see these outsiders in a negative light, but that's meaningless, my followers already despise outworlders. Moreover... I am far away from my realm. Channeling my power would be costly. Not enough to weaken me, but enough to make the cost heavier than the benefits."

  "Well damn..."

  "Still up to get a drink though~" the cheeky Myth smirked.

  -

  "You're thinking about something, right ?"

  "Yes. I managed to find this world thanks to a soul I have taken from your world. I originally pnned to discard it and give it back to your realm, but it held... considerable affection for my Marka. I wanted to understand this and after much consideration, I decided to turn this soul into a being of my own world. In a twist... completely unreted to me, this soul obtained the powers of Purification and Destruction that were aimed to fight other Earthlings."

  ... That is dangerous. It could end badly. I do not understand why you did such a thing while you compin about our mortals vioting the ws and realm you created.Wolf questioned wisely.

  "I myself don't even know. I believe that I was just... intrigued by that fondness for another world. I wanted to understand why a being from a faraway realm could hold such feelings to a realm it considered fiction..."

  "And ?"

  "Now I want to see and understand the life this soul lived. To see... If mistakes were made."

  "Mistakes ?" Hood asked while enjoying her can of beer. "What mistake of yours ? Letting it live in your realm ? As Wolf said, you're pying a dangerous game right now."

  "No, no, no. I have Faith in this soul. It burnt away everything it held dear from its life here, to fully embrace its new role in Marka. And maybe that was my mistake to allow such a thing. Maybe I made a mistake to not allow this being to keep a few memories."

  "... Because ?"

  "Because I still want this soul to enjoy its life. I am doubtful of my own actions... Without any memories, without a past, without experiences it can rete to, without being able to feel... The being I reformed is nothing more than a glorified dog I can order around. It has... little free will. Its every action is aimed to become my Will. Not its own. I spoke to it to order it to get rid of its st, its most precious memories... It did so without the slightest hesitation ! And... in my Marka... a world I created to be one of magic, of creation and marvel... Such an existence is... a sad one."

  Do you realize what you did ? You turned this being into... A Dragon. Into Wrath. Something that... cannot feel. You have transformed... reduced a being who expressed wonder towards your mystical world... to a puppet. A puppet maybe destined to drown the world it loved... in Ashes, Fire and Cinders.... It is no life you gave to this soul. Only svery. A willing one... But still svery. Wolf finally added before vanishing in the shadows.

  Little Red Riding Hood stood up, beer in hand and looked up. Her eyes, previously warm and radiating happiness, now cold and disdainful.

  "Solve your problem, god of Marka. Then return to your realm, to fix the wrong you have committed. Myths like me wouldn't be happy to hear about this. You robbed a soul from its innocent Child-like Wonder. We fairy tales... hate that. You know it."

  The purebred arctic horses were galloping as fast as they could, pulling the imperial carriage along, in direction of an outpost not too far away from the First Army's positions. Gram de Wandermer had scheduled a meeting for mid-day in that specific outpost with the Commanders of his Ten Legions. He wanted a status report of what were these worrying rumors that were circuting in the fortress and FrostCitadel. His daughter, Liz'a de Wandermer was present here too. Still cuffed, but here. She was admiring the magnificent stallions of white and their light blue mane swaying in the wind.

  The Emperor hoped that looking at his armies would awaken forgotten memories inside her. The memories of her cunning military intellect. The head occultist and the most prominent magi of the court had all reached the same conclusion : Liz'a had memory loss. Most likely from her encounter with the padins' golems.

  It was weird, truly weird...She was still attached to her father, himself. She knew her way around. She knew of incantations, she knew of many things in the Empire, yet all of her battle knowledge and the magic tomes she had read had like vanished from her mind. The theory of someone erasing part of her mind was the first to arise, but some of the relics Liz'a was wearing constantly prevented that.

  Gram de Wandermer could only hope that familiar sights would awaken the exceptional self of his daughter.

  "Your highness, we've arrived-" the coachman alerted. A thud was heard along with a few steps on some gravel and the door of the ice-colored carriage opened.

  The first thing the Emperor of the Akwa Empire noticed was the abnormal heat of the pce. These nds were supposed to be pins where light breezes were flowing all year round. But now... the dry air and the dust particles in the air were giving this pce a vibe of a desote frontier between a forest and a desert.

  The second thing he noticed was the terrifyingly huge fmes in the horizon. Ethereal shapes that whipped at the sky in a chaotic fashion. Fmes that resembled wings, other that looked like tails and the biggest ones forming grotesque Wyvern heads, intercing with each other in bursts of fire.

  Gram de Wandermer frowned, feeling a tug in the depths of his mind. He didn't notice his daughter and her murderous gre aimed at the infernal shapes.

  The more he stepped forward, the hotter the magus at the top of the Empire felt. He adjusted his breathing pattern and tried to chill the surroundings to ease everyone up by sending ice magic in the air. Then, he entered the central tent of the outpost, where the ten Commanders were waiting for him.

  "We salute his Highness ! We salute the Heir of the Empire ! Glory to Frost !" they excimed as the Emperor and Liz'a seated themselves around the meeting table.

  The ruler and his heir both looked around and nodded to acknowledge the men and women atop of the armies.

  "Let's get started, shall we ?" Gram de Wandermer asked rhetorically. "First, I want a status report on... what the heck are those fires on the other side of the border. Second, I want to know what countermeasures you've prepared. And third... I don't have a third point."

  The ten Commanders looked at each other to see who would start first. Finally, a brown orc cd in dark grey armor, the Commander of the Sixth Legion decided to speak up.

  "Your Highness. The fires you are seeing were made by the Wyvern who crossed our borders a night ago. It began spitting its fmes everywhere to act as what we assumed to be a... an obstacle. Several of your commanders called in the services of sellswords, magi versed in water magic and Water Wyverns to see if they could extinguish these fires. Most told us that this was not normal fire and it was true. It burnt no vegetation, it never spread, it wasn't even hot.But... yesterday night, as dinnertime came, the fires exploded. Right before that, they were reaching a human's waist. And now..." the orc looked outside.

  The fires were towering over the few remaining pine trees and faraway siege towers. That was telling by itself.

  "Thank you Carnage." the Emperor nodded slowly.

  "Moreover, with their growth, the fires started heating up the surroundings." Brutus of the Fourth expined. "And it became bad to the point some soldiers belonging to races sensitive to heat fainted."

  "I assume that we won't be able to send terrestrial war beasts then. How much of the border is affected by these fmes ? Can we redirect the Legions to a safer pce ?"

  "About that. Only the central Legions are able to cross at this very moment. That damn Wyvern put its fires in a way that prevents us from marching all at the same time. It's... as if..."

  "It wants us to pass through where it wants. And the Sixth to Tenth Legions would need a whole day to reach the unaffected part of the border." Brutus sighed.

  "It's... stalling us. It wants us to waste as much time as possible." a delicate voice rang out. Everyone turned to Liz'a de Wandermer, who was staring at the inferno. "It created a choke-point. Where it can fly and massacre us if we pass. And what if... What if it decides to cut off the Legions that crossed the borders with more fire ? What if it decides to put its fire where it wasn't and vice-versa ? That would tire our armies out, and they would have made the way here for nothing."

  Gram de Wandermer's eyebrow rose slightly to the words of his daughter. Was she getting back her intellect ?

  "It's... going to be... a game of cat-and-mouse. The Legions far away from the safe passages will try to... get to where they can cross. The Wyvern will close the border at the st moment and create openings far away. Then if we manage to cross, it will trap us behind the Papal States' borders, with no support, no supplies, nothing to defend against."

  Liz'a paused, visibly uneasy about herself. She sent gnces to the fmes, her father, the Commanders and eventually opened her mouth again.

  "The best solution would be to do nothing. But then, there would be no assault. The First Army would have been mobilized for effectively nothing." she voiced-out. "Moreover..."

  Should... I do it ? Warn them against this... Wyvern ? Against that bitch ?But they'll panic... If they learn she's... Her identity.

  What if I twist the narrative a bit ? There's no witnesses. They just must... avoid...

  "Moreover ?"

  "This same Wyvern, I've seen it at Stallion. And I've seen it somewhere after. When I fled the academy, me and the traitor who abandoned me found the the ruins of the Fire Wyverns' tribe. There were... scriptures that portrayed this Wyvern. I am certain of it."

  "And ?" Liz'a's father asked, his voice sharper than before.

  "The Wyvern that was in the writings and that's aiding the Papal States... is named Raya. She was prophesied to be the next Avatar..."

  Avatar... was a word none wanted to hear. Because that meant... Something else was involved. And only the evils of this world could have Avatars.

  Gram de Wandermer gripped the council table. His gaze murderous and focused on his daughter's lips.

  "- of The Hellish Wrath. Of The Ender of Eras." Liz'a finished.