Amdirlain's PoV - Hades

Lysandra shifted them to a gigantic grey cliff face carved with Grecian columns and balconies. Ancient shed ectoplasm provided ghostly echoes from all the souls that had trudged through the barred gates at the cliff's centre. The stream of residue washed a chill breeze over the pair, as the figures' hollow, phantasmal faces looked their way. Some wept silently, while others screamed in despair.

"These emotional trails unnerved me the first time I saw them," said Lysandra. "Though Cerberus can be enthusiastic, please don't expand your height. I'm trying to get him to behave."

"Good luck with that," Amdirlain drawled. "All the pets my family had always had better luck training us than the other way around."

A gleam of amusement sparked in Lysandra's gaze. "Perhaps because you're tender-hearted to those you care about, Am."

Amdirlain moved alongside her as Lysandra strode towards the gate, the phantasms parting ahead of them.

"Where are you going next?" asked Amdirlain.

"It depends on whether you let me help you with your project. Otherwise, I'll go talk to Mother and see about getting strong enough to wrest souls from the Hag."

"I just didn't want to assume your commitment. If you want to be involved with it, I'll shift both of you and Cerberus to the Plane I made. You'll find a couple of primordials already there, and they'll be able to advise you of the Plane's name." Amdirlain created a crystal cube and held it out. "This will allow you to avoid being locked to the Plane. It will activate upon arrival and establish that permission. The other guests don't have the right to come and go freely."

"I'm on your team. Just let me know what you need help with. You're being very careful about revealing that Plane's name." Lysandra collected the cube and slipped it into a pocket of her dress.

"It's not paranoia if someone is out to get you. The Plane will start taking in new souls shortly. If you can, study the crystals for processing and see if you can duplicate their outcome."

Lysandra smiled confidently. "I'll take care of it. Though I am curious, why go to the trouble of luring forces from lower planes here?"

"What, I'm not allowed to occupy the armies of these planes for a time?"

"Paranoid. Right, let's get going."

The gate cracked open only enough to allow them to walk alongside each other. Through the narrow gap, they could see a dark tunnel that offered a steep climb, wide enough for one person, as it led deep into the grey cliff. There wasn't a light at the end of the tunnel, just a wall of darkness that appeared ready to consume whatever came in contact with it.

"I can't hop you out of the Domain because of the way you entered, but it's a straight path up. The darkness blocks most senses beyond a few metres, though it allows you to hear the protests of the departed from thousands of years ago. Ensure you walk at an untrained Mortal's pace, using any travel powers will see you locked here."

"So this is the test of courage to see if you'll look back at the person behind you?"

Lysandra nodded. "Mother told me the old legends, so that I'd understand your concerns."

"If I tried to get out of here alone?"

"From what I've picked up from studying the throne and its rules, I'm not sure it would let you out. Someone set you a nasty trap by provoking you to come here, Am." Lysandra's lips thinned into a white line. "I'm very unhappy with you having to come here."

"What is the worst-case scenario?"

"It might have delayed you for millennia until the Domain broke down enough to let you out." Lysandra grimaced.

"Even though I planned to walk out with Medusa. Not to mention that I've got hundreds of thousands of souls in my flesh at present."

"Escorting Medusa out might have been enough to allow you to slip free. I can't feel those souls within you. I'd suggest you release them to me, and I'll take them to your new Plane."

"There are some I planned to put with the Dammed once there."

"I'm sure I'll be able to tell who those are."

Amdirlain held out her hand and released the souls from her fingers, with Lysandra absorbing them before any regained their form within the Domain.

Once that was done, Amdirlain nodded to the exit. "I'll open gates for you and my armies just before the thresholds to enter the Domain. They'll lead to a Demi-Plane, and before you, there will be another Gate. Don't linger in the Demi-Plane; immediately enter the second gate, and repeat until you find yourself in some woodlands. Most of the souls Sarah ferried there for you will be in that region of the Plane."

With that, she strode into the darkness. She kept a steady pace as the rocky terrain teased and threatened to slide out from underfoot. The steady beats of her favourite songs let her judge their pace as she climbed out of Hades's Domain. It was half a day of trudging up a steadily steepening slope until they crossed the threshold and came out beneath the turbulent clouds of the larger Plane. Ahead of them, the narrow tunnel expanded into a pass leading down out of the mountains. Cerberus blocked the pass's centre, his tail wagging as he watched the ongoing battle between constructs and demons. Now outside the primary influence of the Domain, Amdirlain expanded her senses. The units she'd deployed nearby appeared to have sustained losses, the smallest unit being the most severely affected. However, in reality, the units had merged into condensed units, increasing their capabilities while releasing shards that further combat had churned into the mud. Her forces had drawn back along the paths from shore, luring their opponents onto the prepared killing grounds.

As Cerberus gave Lysandra a gruff, explosive triple bark of greeting, she planted her hands on her hips. "Shrink down. If you want pats, you will not slobber all over me again."

He whined but shrank in a jerky, uneven fashion. Though he frequently possessed weirdly proportioned limbs, he eventually settled into a three-headed mastiff the size of a draft horse. Lysandra's stance didn't change, and he whined again, putting a paw over the eyes of his left head.

Lysandra huffed. "Your legs are still longer than I'm tall, silly boy."

All three heads shook energetically, ears slapping the air, and then jerked upwards as Cerberus whined, gazing at Lysandra sadly.

"He has a point," said Amdirlain. "If we grow a little, it's a compromise."

"I'm not giving in to emotional blackmail. He'll keep asking for more."

Cerberus scratched the ground repeatedly with his right paw and then spun around in circles, as if showing off his size and his shiny black and chestnut coat.

That's precisely what he's doing.

"His size won't make a difference moving him to the next Plane." Amdirlain restrained the temptation to give him an ear scritch.

"You're too soft on him. He's going to wrap you around his paw. Cerberus, are you ready to go?" asked Lysandra. "No pats until you shrink down far enough that I'm not reaching up."

He ignored her and lowered his central muzzle to sniff at Amdirlain. She raised a hand to let out a trickle of Ki to wash across his snout. "Do you remember the Dragon tail my commander gave you?"

The lick he unleashed ran from her forearm to her fingertips and sprayed drool everywhere; Amdirlain blocked before it covered her face. "Don't be a naughty puppy."

All three heads had their tongue lolling out of their mouths as if amused by her scolding, and Amdirlain snorted at them.

A translucent Gate opened to the prepared staging Demi-Plane, the spatial effect almost melding in with the mists that filled the route into Hades. Lysandra rolled her eyes and provided him a friendly pat. "Time to go to our new home, Cerberus."

With that, she stepped across the threshold with Cerberus on her heels. Amdirlain closed the Gate and opened scrying windows to the scattered front lines around the besieged Domain. Though some had fared worse than the closest forces, the farthest any of them had retreated from the shore was to the entry of the passes they'd been blocking. She focused on those dug-in armies that held positions closest to the river and ordered them to start their retreat.

Demon lords and major devils by the bucket load out there. I need to set this up so I can strike and leave. If any of the major players show up, I won't be able to hold them back.

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Each army waited for the next attack surge from their opposition. At the height of the fighting, key groups amid the front ranks of the constructs shattered. The unleashed shards covered the cores that ejected backwards into the ranks behind them. Wedges of screaming demons split the lines, and the remnants of the front ranks blended with those behind them. Together, the ranks hastily withdrew towards the Domain's nearest entrance. Their retreat triggered renewed assaults, flooding forces onto terrain thoroughly seeded over the years with countless shards of True Song crystal. Amdirlain's armies rallied and established barriers across the narrow fronts. The focused firepower hitting the narrowed defensive lines had magical defences collapsing, narrowly replaced by weaker barriers that were hastily shored up. The diminished forces took time organising, yet eventually reinforced their defences, and a stalemate resumed. There was a noticeable lack of opportunities for the pressured forces to launch any counterattacks.

The process took months of careful orchestration and throughout it all, Amdirlain sang and cast to prepare additional surprises. The Demi-Plane that she'd expanded beyond the expanse of Júpiter's orbit transformed under the pressure of her new song. Mass sourced from remote locations on dozens of infinite planes got repurposed within it, and the gravity point at its centre grew by the second. Throughout the mammoth effort, Protean and True Song increased.

Finally, with the larger armies clawing at the defenders' lines in the passes, Amdirlain signalled a go. Fresh reflective barriers sprang up before she sent out Primordial flames that magnified through the scattered shards. The influx of energy unleashed their stored energy into a tidal wave of explosions, which ripped apart the armies that had claimed the freshly conquered territory. As the minefields erupted, they devastated vast tracts, spraying their surroundings with burning foes; her armies fled through more Gates connected to disposable demi-planes and from them to Atonement.

A pressure snapped into existence beside her, and Amdirlain tilted her head at the armoured figure. "I thought you'd have come here with more forces, Laodice."

"The only force I needed here was you." Laodice waved her sword at the obliterated demons as Amdirlain's army swarmed past her. "This whole exercise was about delaying you. You know the population of Qil Tris, and that was just one world you saved. Now, there have been so many more mortals affected by your actions over seventeen years. Enjoy your reckoning with the plinth, Amdirlain."

"You're an idiot, Laodice. Look around you at the grey plains and blood brambles that litter this Plane. Before your time, it was lush and ripe, a cruel Plane yet one that was overflowing with monstrous life. Then an Aspect played games that ended Shindraithra's original life."

Laodice spat. "What Aspect? I've never heard of us being involved in the death of Shindraithra."

"Because Orhêthurin utterly destroyed your predecessor. That was after she turned this Plane to ash and destroyed all the daemons, not just those involved in Shindraithra's death. They didn't learn that some wars are too costly to start. You'd best pray that I only come out of the plinth's assessment insane. If I turn back into the Orhêthurin you remember with all her grief and misery," Amdirlain smiled coldly. "Well, I'm sure you'll be among the first she'd destroy."

The armoured visor vanished, and a twisted smile marred the revealed beauty of Laodice's angelic features. "Her love and her Mḗtēr are here. That will bring her peace and ease any pain, so it's the perfect opportunity in this war to get rid of you, impostor. You've narrowed yourself to two choices: you can either stay a Fallen or accept the fate of your last days."

That's what you think.

"What war?"

"Reality is an ever-shifting battlefront." Laodice's helm reappeared, and she vanished.

Beyond the immediate battlefield, Amdirlain sensed dark powers arriving and activated her monitoring devices before she fled, skipping across multiple planes. At the signal that the last armies had fled, she imploded the demi-planes used for their retreats. Their destruction didn't catch any foes, but covered their tracks and the existence of Atonement.

A dozen demi-planes imploded behind her before Amdirlain stopped to wait out the last of the chain reactions of the seeded crystals. The experience delivered searing notes that streamed into her flesh and dropped Amdirlain to her knees with an intensity that overwhelmed her filters. With the shifting change in her intellect, everything became clearer as she adjusted.

[Combat Summary

Demons, Least x 6,904,898,438,700

Demons, Lesser x 4,365,047,137,608

Demon x 146,215,096,605

Demon, Greater x 39,698,150,460

Demon, Named x 2,646,543,364

Demon, Lord x 11,339

Devils (various) x 4,226,947,069

Total Experience gained: 23,695,700,000,000,000

Psychic Bastion: +7,898,566,666,666,666

Psychic Bastion Levelled Up! x152

Ki Guardian: +7,898,566,666,666,666

Ki Guardian Levelled Up! x152

Arcane Magistrum: +7,898,566,666,666,666

Arcane Magistrum Levelled Up! x 314

Achievement: Songbird's First Step decayed to Tier 5

Achievement: Soul Musician decayed to Tier 5

Note: Sure, their forces are disposable, but that was enough of a slap to draw attention.]

Maybe I overdid it a touch. This time, the mass destruction involved objects related to my classes, so I reaped experience. There were a lot fewer devils than I'd expected.

As the first avatars reached the now quiet boundary of the Domain, she melded her solar system-sized Demi-Plane with the Domain's exterior. The gravitational forces of the black hole at its centre didn't kill the avatars; it only slowed them and everything else near its event horizon. The outer limits of the Domain itself restricted the effect to a column.

Once they get free, I'll retrieve the material bound up in it.

[Achievement: God Trapper

Tier: 6

Details: Hinder one or more avatars belonging to opposing deities.]

My Psi reserves are the lowest of the three because I've not forced them to expand. I'll have to check on the Class options I have now.

She shifted to the Demi-Plane with the observation platform and found constructs crawling over the outside, adding extensions to the exposed exterior. One paused and looked her way, and the green figure appeared in the air beside her. "Do you have any further questions?"

"What materials do you need to expand the platform?"

"Information. With more of us, we can expand the platform faster. We spin the knowledge into strands that the maker reads."

Amdirlain focused down to the atomic level and caught the static alignment of electrons in molecular strands.

"I'll expand this Demi-Plane then, so you've got more space."

The figure tilted its head, first considering the radiant sun before regarding the rocky landscape provided by the Demi-Plane's bedrock. "We have plenty of space now. The platform's expansion will be faster since we are no longer limited by materials to grow more constructs. We appreciate your consideration."

"You had to balance between creating new agents and recording information?"

"Yes. Now we can focus on our work of gathering data." The surface of the figure rippled energetically.

"Do you have information on your platform about the Greek gods? In particular, Kronos."

"Yes. You cast him from this realm. Why are you still concerned about him?"

"I want to make something for him later. Why did the maker let the other pantheons take credit for the realm?"

"The maker creates, we observe; we don't know or ask their reasons. You make choices based on the information you have, whereas the maker makes their own decisions. You would have to gain the maker's permission for us to release information on Kronos or anything else."

"Thanks, I'll drop by again when I've time for a chat with your maker."

What will I need for that conversation? Centuries? More?

As Amdirlain arrived in a fresh Demi-Plane, her monitoring of the surroundings of Hades alerted her to Moloch's proximity. Unfortunately, he was beyond the restricted reach that the melding allowed to the black hole, but she caught enough elements to get a rough gauge of his new strength.

Stupid deity jump-starting him past mantles.

Another Planar Shift took her to the Demi-Plane she'd made as a playground for Sarah. She sent out a Message and slumped down on the grassed bank of the inland sea, ignoring the cries of nearby dinosaurs.

♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫

Moloch's PoV

Thousands of kilometres from the river, Moloch watched as the landscape twisted and warped. Rock and earth rose in great strands towards the black orb that hung in the turbulent sky over the greater Plane of Hades. He could see the boundary effect of the Domain limiting its influence on the surrounding terrain into a giant funnel. On the other side of the river Styx, its draw reached across the sky. The gravitational effect caused clouds to stream inwards faster than the Plane could recreate them, drawing lines across the revealed crimson sky.

"To see a brief clash of a couple of decades turned into such a rout. This devastation is quite delightful," said Tingeth.

'I wonder if I can get out of this realm.'

"It's possible to stretch oneself between multiple realms, but you'd need to be far stronger." Tingeth's long fingers stroking through his black hair as if he were her pet. Heat radiated from her naked skin, but her desire for domination play drew revulsion from Moloch.

Moloch swallowed.

"You're sworn to me, so of course. I know what you're thinking. Fortunately, I caught onto the game being played and ordered you to stay clear of the Domain, otherwise you'd be among the fools currently trapped."

Thin mithril chains slithered across her currently crimson skin as she turned towards a nearby Pit Fiend. "I want a report on our opponents' losses."

The reptilian Devil offered a memory crystal. "We were keeping track of their armies."

Tingeth plucked it up with a smile. "Proper preparation is so delightful. What have you learnt from this, Moloch? Besides that you're a moron for trusting the word of an Aspect."

"She was preparing a lure to kill as many forces of the lower planes as she could," replied Moloch.

"That alone should tell you something. Especially with the ancient legends about the creation of planets. What does it tell you, idiot?" Tingeth jabbed a finger at Moloch as she glared. "Besides wanting to make you run away?"

"That the songbird is a lot stronger than I expected." Moloch kept himself from spitting out the words.

"Was a lot stronger," corrected Tingeth. "Her crystal army spent nearly two decades here, either to prepare this trap or while she found the souls that were within Hades's old Domain. Or both? There is a mismatch between this recent feat and the legends that the oldest elves had concerning her. That mismatch tells me the songbird is weak, perhaps enough that the purpose of this butchery was to harvest life energy to grow her levels. There are other lessons to see if your fear of her does not blind you."

"Such as?"

Tingeth brushed black strands from her face as her delicate red lips twisted with contempt. "Deliver on more assignments, and I might tell you a common factor. You need to understand your foes to bind them, and you spend too much time trying to sell to understand the truth. I grow disappointed in you."

She flicked her fingers, and Moloch found himself hurtled back into the Abyss.

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