​[6:00 PM.]

The vast military ground of the Ogre Nation was no longer filled only with soldiers; it was packed with every able-bodied Ogre as commanded. The crowd was a terrifying spectacle of over 800,000 individuals, their confusion palpable.

​"Wow... Who would have thought you are so efficient," Xanor remarked, a flicker of genuine appreciation for the sheer numbers crossing his usually aloof expression.

​Chad felt a cold dread pressing in on him. "What now? There are more than 800,000 here."

​"Good," Shadow Eyes said, her eyes calculating the sheer volume of organic mass. "This number will suffice."

​She ascended the high stage, her voice magically amplified, reverberating over the sea of anxious faces. "Everyone! You all know about the upcoming war, right?"

​The crowd erupted in a cacophony of panicked, confused voices:

"Upcoming war?"

"Husband, are you going to war?"

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Dad, are you leaving?"

​Shadow Eyes turned to Chad, her face a mask of surprise and open confusion. "You didn't tell them?"

​Chad stammered, his kingly facade cracking. "Well... I thought keeping it hidden wouldn't cause a—"

​"Cause what?" Xanor interjected, his voice sharp with scorn.

"Your nation will be attacked tomorrow! Instead of telling your people, you kept them in the dark? How did you even run this nation?"

​Chad bristled, clinging to the only defense he had left: denial. "Why are you two staring at me like I'm stupid? Is knowing about the war important?"

​"Well... No," Shadow Eyes admitted, shaking her head. The God Wolf's power made military strategy moot; their real plan required the element of surprise on their own side. She turned back to the people, her red eyes gleaming.

"None of you know about the upcoming war, so I will cut to the point."

​She knelt dramatically, placing her palm flat on the stage floor, and began chanting in a language that felt ancient and wrong—a series of guttural, powerful sounds that vibrated in the air, a forbidden tongue.

​WHOOSH!!

​A massive, glowing red runic circle flared into existence around the entire assembled crowd, encapsulating over 800,000 Ogres.

​"This! What are you doing?" Chad shrieked, his betrayal now crashing down on him.

​Shadow Eyes ignored him, her chanting becoming faster, her focus absolute.

​"What is this?!"

"No!!"

"I don't feel so good!"

​Chad watched in horror as his people, his own blood and kin, began to fall to the ground, vomiting dark blood. He realized with sickening clarity that he hadn't bargained for strength; he had bargained for their lives.

​"I... I thought you were going to be strengthening them?! What are you doing?!" he screamed.

​"Shhh."

​Xanor was suddenly behind him. He grabbed the King's neck with a vice-like grip, and, with a casual surge of power, hurled the colossal Ogre King into the center of the runic circle.

​BAM!!

​"Stay right there and find out yourself," Xanor snapped, stepping back to observe.

​"Great Mother!! Take this sacrifice and rise!!!" Shadow Eyes screamed, her voice hitting a fever pitch as her eyes turned a frightening, solid blood-red.

"Help us kill God Wolf!!!"

​BOOOOM!!!

​Chad, trapped, moved his gaze around the dying masses. Red strings of light, like parasitic threads, shot out from the massive runes, wrapping around every Ogre. He watched in primal terror as each person was rapidly and violently reduced to nothing but pure blood.

​"No!!! You can't kill me!! Not like this!!" he screamed at Xanor and Shadow Eyes, who stood on the high stage, indifferent observers to his panic.

​BOOOOM!!!

​Chad looked down as the red light energy closed in on him. "No!! No!! I can't die here! Not like this!" He summoned his sword and slashed wildly at the glowing thread.

​"...?!!"

​The weapon passed straight through the light energy as if it were air. It was not a physical attack.

​He watched in pure, soul-shattering terror as the light enveloped him, and in the next moment, King Chad shattered into blood just like his people.

​"Rise Great Mother!! Rise!!!" Shadow Eyes shrieked, the summoning ritual complete.

​BOOOOM!!

​"Get on your knees!" she hissed at Xanor, who instantly dropped to the ground. The two watched as the sky above the Ogre Nation turned a horrifying, unnatural blood-red.

​BOOOOM!!

A massive, crimson lightning bolt dropped from the blood-red sky, smashing directly onto the runic circle and mixing all the collected blood into a single, swirling vortex.

​Xanor watched, his heart pounding, as the blood began to coalesce, molding itself rapidly into the shape of a human. The blood merged, skin appeared, smooth and flawless, followed by long, flowing black hair.

​BOOOOM!

​A dense, overwhelming surge of spirit energy exploded from the nascent being, effortlessly pushing both Xanor and Shadow Eyes backward despite their peak god rank power.

​"Ah...."

​The woman moaned softly, a sound of profound pleasure, and ascended into the air before landing lightly on the stage.

​The two quickly sank back onto their knees, their heads bowed low, daring not to meet the gaze of the newly arrived being.

​"Finally."

​The impossibly beautiful, naked woman slowly opened her eyes. They were a brilliant, burning crimson. She moved her gaze around the empty, blood-soaked grounds, then down at her own perfect body.

​"Hmm..." She snapped her fingers. A long, flowing black dress, intricately embroidered with sparkling diamonds, instantly materialized on her form.

​"Shadow," she said, her voice a deep, resonant bell, echoing with the power of the hundreds of thousands of lives just consumed.

"Why do you summon my fragment in this lower world?"

​"Great Mother, we need your help against an enemy," Shadow Eyes said, her head bowed low, her voice respectful but urgent.

​"Come here, child." The woman pointed one of her sharp, claw-like fingers at Shadow Eyes.

​Shadow Eyes stood and walked toward the Great Mother, her gaze still fixed on the ground in a practiced posture of submission.

​"Look up at me."

​Shadow Eyes raised her head slowly, meeting the terrifying crimson eyes. "Mother."

​"Shhhh." The Great Mother reached out, gently grabbing Shadow Eyes' cheek.

She brought her head closer and kissed Shadow Eyes on the lips, a long, intimate gesture.

​"I miss all of you," she said, a deep affection coloring her tone. She then turned her red eyes toward Xanor. "Who is that?"

​"He is Xanor, Mother, an ally," Shadow Eyes quickly provided.

​"Oh... Why are you here? Did my elder sister order you, or was it a directive from Lester?" she asked, referencing figures of power far beyond this world.

​"No, Great Mother... We are here to kill the God Wolf, but he is far more powerful than we imagined. We need your help," Shadow Eyes explained, relaying the necessity of the massive, dark ritual.

​"Oh... You didn't ask Madeleine for help? Is that daughter of mine slacking off?" she asked, licking her lips with a subtle, predatory gesture.

​"No. No. Mother..." Shadow Eyes quickly interjected, perhaps a little too fast, trying to deflect attention from Madeleine .

​"Fufufu... You are so scared, slave," the Great Mother said with a light, amused smile, reclaiming the power dynamic with a single word.

"Ok, now tell me about this God Wolf."

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