Amdirlain's PoV - Deep space

After sharing the Star Dragon's memories of the Eldritch with the assembled deities, the deities exchanged concerned glances.

"That's a lot of Eldritch. It would be good if we knew what drew them to ensure no others are following," Minerva ran her thumb along her shield's rim.

"If we don't kill or capture them, we'll be leaving a lot of worlds unprotected," Livia said.

Minerva stopped fidgeting and clasped her shield. "That is an understandable motivation for you. I hadn't heard that catching an Eldritch was ever an option."

Týr turned to Amdirlain. "Can you secure these?"

"The smaller ones I could if they were by themselves. Presently, the larger ones would require putting them into stasis under a divine seal, and they'd interfere with me trapping the others."

"Then we need to seal them for you. To deliver justice requires restraining those called to trial or found guilty." Týr nodded to Minera. "Though there are some better at restraining foes, since there are two of us with related callings here, we should manage. Let us clear the field of minor threats, then we can start with the smallest of the trio."

"Let's work out some general strategies; given how unpredictable the Eldritch can be, set plans will be useless. I'd suggest we decide our goals and who will play what part, then adapt as needed."

Amdirlain created an illusion of the approaching swarm and floated ratings near the main types.

"There is more than you showed from Fronuth's memory. Do they have a means of gaining reinforcements?" Minerva asked.

"I don't know if some were out of Fronuth's range when they attacked."

Minerva's mouth tightened. "Then we need to allow for reinforcements."

"Let me grab all the smaller ones, and I'll take care of any smaller ones arriving," Sarah stated grimly.

"I can block Eldritch blasts, so I'll work with Lerina to herd the largest," Livia offered.

Sarah stated. "I'll handle the opening volley to grab their attention and clear the ones below a Demon Lord's strength. Mars, if you want to use your javelins to draw the second away from its buddies?"

"We can't kill all three of them to kick them out of the realm?" Mars asked.

"We can, but it would cause other problems." A long spear appeared in Livia's hands, and she rested its haft against her shoulder. "Since they've gotten through once, they'll probably be able to get back in somewhere we won't know about. Right, Móðir?"

"Correct, and they know the taste of the realm, so they'll be able to track it on the tides of Far-Chaos. I'll draw the smallest. If you each can draw one away at an angle until the smallest is far enough away to seal and imprison."

Týr nodded in satisfaction. "Wolf tactics that Fen would approve of; it's a shame that she won't come to fight something she can't eat."

"If we get one sealed away, the remaining two might react to its imprisonment," Minerva cautioned as she drew some optimal paths to draw each component along.

"If it's four of us on that one, we can try to herd it. I have some toys that might dish out considerable damage to the swarm in the opening fun." A fleet of sleek discs with cannons mounted on them stretched out in line behind Sarah.

"As long as you're not planning to fire them piecemeal," Lerina cautioned.

"Please, I know you don't count on one type of weaponry being effective for long. I've got combinations set up to feint and KO."

Lerina glanced at Amdirlain. "I'm going to assume you know what she means."

Amdirlain smiled. "Overkill in multiple flavours, with decoys and screening cover fire."

"If Sarah is going to lure the swarm off. I assume killing them is fine?" Lerina asked.

"Yes, they can't get back in alone. They need either an insane mind or a higher-tier Eldritch opening the way for them."

"Then Livia and Lerina occupy the largest, Mars and Amdirlain take the second, and we'll seal the smaller one," Týr said.

Mars frowned. "Better for Amdirlain to keep it busy so you two can focus on sealing it. I can keep one occupied, then the three of you can come join me."

"If we can't lure them apart?" Lerina asked.

Týr exchanged glances with Minerva. "Then the five of you need to keep them corralled so we can try to seal them without being disrupted."

"It's not our primary expertise, so if something stronger joins the fray, we'll have problems locking them down." Minerva let the support strap around her shoulder bear the weight of the shield and secured her hair. "Do you know a deity of binding?"

"Let's not go there," Sarah rebuffed tightly, and Livia shuddered.

"Very well. Let's move closer, and then I'll start," Lerina said.

"Let me get the swarm first," Sarah proposed, and the others nodded.

Despite having experienced and shared Fronuth's memories with the others, the sight of the warped forms of the Eldritch still crawled across her skin and scratched at her mind. Though the hiss of distortion from the largest exceeded the noise from the Tier 4 Eldritch beneath the triumvirate university, she didn't feel tendrils of corruption seeping into her mind at the mere sight of them. Sarah stabbed her hand out, and most of her fleet unleashed a salvo of concentrated radiation that mimicked a Star Dragon's breath weapon. Obscured by the wavefront, a second very different salvo of shells launched, and then those cannons entered rapid-fire mode; millions of shells enchanted with assorted Destruction spells tore across space in the radiation's wake.

The Eldritch swarm had changed facing to engage and brought up shields that had blocked Fronuth's later assaults. As the radiation assault flared and crackled across the purplish-black shields, the leading shells cracked against it hard, while some spells flailed fruitlessly, others bit into spots weakened by the radiation flare and burst their impact point apart. Follow-on shells rode through the gaps or tore open new holes. Those munitions that got among the swarms burst in cone-shaped detonations, concentrating their spells' power over foes, and letting subsequent shots strike the untouched depth of the swarm.

Larger members of the swarm teleported forward to the platforms and absorbed the defensive fire pouring forth. The static emplacements seemed to feed them as contorting limbs burst from their distorted forms to pummel at the barriers, and the energies within their bodies kicked purple lightning across the shields. More followed suit, teleporting beneath the units and unleashing their onslaught out of the firing arc of the main guns. The vulnerability attracted the attention of more Eldritch, who teleported into the blind spot beneath the platform. Some clung to the barrier like limpets, drinking in the Mana, while others copied the original attackers, unleashing strikes with morphing appendages.

Sarah's fleet retreated with its weaponry focused on the annihilation of the closest foes, the picture of fleeing prey.

The wounded swarm continued to race towards the fleet, focused on the drones alone. Once the swarm got ahead, the others appeared spaced out across a hundred and forty-degree arc on the side opposite the swarm and launched their attacks. Lerina launched a narrow blast at the most prominent foe. When it turned on her, Mars rose above the trio and cast a silvery pilum at his assigned target. The energy form continued to mimic the Roman centurion spear, so that when the tip buried deep into the mass, it bent. Then the haft continued with the initial velocity and flipped across the Eldritch's mass, sending it tumbling downwards from the others with the unshed momentum.

Amdirlain bled a point of essence through Excising Concerto and targeted the smallest of the trio. Where the Power had previously sent out sparrow-sized phoenixes to punch through the stones, this time the first was thirty metres long, and its spread wings left a blazing trail. Her skyscraper-sized target's contorting form suffered a deep furrow across the side instead of taking the strike to its core. It continued to charge after her as Phoenix's Blaze left a trail of flames in her wake.

With a gap opened, Livia swung into the gap to drive hers further from its allies. Her long spear blurred to split tentacles, and glowing barriers repeatedly erupted from its blade to counter attacks as she worked with Lerina to herd it. Minerva and Týr kept their distance, weapons ready to strike, as they marshalled energies for their roles.

The seven of them harried their foes, pulling them in different directions to isolate them.

The trio had crossed vast distances before Minerva began the seal, and their target reversed course, jetting back towards the Eldritch which Lerina and Livia had been battling. It teleported to close the distance, but Amdirlain's notes formed an elastic chord of force that let it stretch close to its destination before flinging it back through dimensions. Once it reappeared, she followed. With its separation now far beyond what Týr and Minerva needed to seal it, Amdirlain interposed herself in its path. The sudden reversal of position had caught Týr and Minerva by surprise, and they scrambled to start the seal.

As the silvery divine energy wrapped the isolated Eldritch in netting, it spasmed and shot out thousands of tentacles. It tried to block Amdirlain's perspective of the battlefield, and among the entwined limbs, hundreds struck for Minerva and Týr. Tendrils burst from Amdirlain's form and, sheathed in white Primordial fire, they seared chunks of flesh away and severed limbs. Limbs close to her morphed and spat blobs of goop across her that rang with the wilderness of Far Chaos. The energised liquid frothed across her skin, raising blisters and chewing into flesh as it attempted to twist and distort her nature.

Even damage is a change and transformation.

Even with her essence no longer defined by a spiritual net or the sigil that the Eldritch could corrupt, she lost chunks of flesh and bone to the onslaught. Large wounds bled golden ichor that glowed as it streamed through the void. As its attacks ate into her flesh, Amdirlain erupted into a pillar of flame, not expelling the Eldritch infection from her flesh but seeking to consume and transform its attack as more fuel for her furnace.

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The larger two Eldritch hopped to their wounded brethren before Amdirlain could stop them, and all three merged; their distortion intensified into a single shrill scream. What at first looked to be a purple pupil in a massive eye turned into the centre of a storm as the three became one and tore open a conduit into the Far Chaos. The positive pressure of the Material Plane sent wafts ‌into the boiling expanse, and that flow drew the attention of millions of Eldritch, which raced into the conduit.

Fuck.

"Kill them."

An additional wave of Sarah's drones appeared, and their primary guns blasted towards her original fleet. The massed Eldritch swarm, which had still been hammering away at the barriers, got squeezed between Primordial flame and suddenly reinforced shields. They evaporated. With only a few elementals of the swarm remaining, the drones relinquished the pretension of limited mobility and teleported about as they gave chase.

Amdirlain expanded into a kilometres-tall form, and her blazing hands seized the edges of the conduit the Eldritch had formed with their flesh. Tentacles extended from the wreath of flesh and wrapped around her limbs; suckers became gnawing maws that seized onto her body. As the tentacles ate chunks from her, the others lashed out; mountain-cracking explosions rocked the sides of the Eldritch's combined mass, yet barely scratched the merged entity. Amdirlain tried to turn to smoke and dart away, but found the Eldritch's grip held her fast, and the energies of teleports got drawn away.

This isn't good. I became too confident about getting in close since merely seeing them didn't hurt.

She fought back, mirroring its strikes as it sent more tentacles out, its strength growing as the Far Chaos energy washed across the merged form, instantly healing wounds. Though the energy did nothing to her flesh, she heard sour notes start from among Sarah and their allies. Precognition screamed of danger, and the pandemonium of the Far-Chaos rang out with more potential for death than she could track, yet among them were bright notes leading along a tightrope offering escape.

"It's corrupting you. My essence is fine. Fall back, attack from extreme range, hit it harder." Amdirlain projected to the group.

Gideon, can I survive out there?

"In theory, but be quick." Gideon's mental voice was tight with concern. "Though I'd prefer to send you help, that open conduit is a problem that your intended lunacy might solve."

As the others retreated from the Eldritch, Amdirlain blasted out a barrage through Excising Concerto, expelling essence mixed with the pain from their ongoing assault. Each Phoenix of Primordial Flame incinerated legions of emerging Eldritch and scoured across the trio holding the conduit open. When stronger strikes of silvery energy landed, the Eldritch's attention and placement in the realm wavered. Seizing the moment amid an intense explosion, she ejected herself and them through the conduit they'd opened. Without the combined Eldritch to anchor it in the realm, the realm expelled the conduit. Caught at the end of the frayed thread of power, it was a wild ride, a blend of a tornado that dragged energy from her and being drowned in a whirlpool of possibilities all at once.

The colours blended through dimensional spectrums she didn't have the knowledge to describe. Wild trumpets blared scents and sounds into the depths of her mind, yet her forged Willpower held firm. The realm had provided the mechanism to gain the refinement, yet now, as a Primordial, the changes were innate to her. Other things weren't so concrete, as beyond the realm's skin, with its rules no longer in force, her evolution of Resonance ceased to function.

Primordial Will was her sight, her hearing, and her only reliable tool in a place where physical rules had no truth and only energy counted.

The Eldritch forces became shadows in an ocean storm, blending in with the background where distance was meaningless. They ripped and tore at the boundaries that defined her, trying to get to the essence that lay beneath her exterior. She tried to flip back with Realm Step, but their grip held her fast.

The effect of her Enduring Flame failed, taking the armour within her flesh with it and allowing the Eldritch to hook deep into her innards. Amdirlain's focus shifted to using Primordial Will to enact another Power within the wild spaces.

Let this work.

As cracks formed in her consciousness, her force of will applied the rules for Phoenix's Symphony onto her surroundings and activated it.

Retribution.

Within the Far Chaos, the explosion wasn't measurable. Yet if it had occurred within the realm fueled with the hundred million health they'd consumed, compounded by her proficiency in the Power, ‌it would have swallowed Qil Tris. The shockwave shoved the Far Chaos away and left an eddy of force in its wake, allowing a brief stability as a Phoenix with a twenty-thousand-kilometre wingspan floated among the ash of her foes, encapsulating her Human-sized Form at the core of its ongoing inferno.

I hope I got the three main ones.

As the flames burned bright, feeding off their surroundings, she adjusted her focus to Realm Step and had it return her to the depths of space. Born of Primordial energy and essence, the burning Phoenix she left behind continued to grow; an increasingly coherent spark that drew attention from one busily crafting multiple realms.

The realm's familiar rules wrapped around Amdirlain, stabilising her flesh as she continued to reform.

Khaos was there waiting for her, a rolling ball of liquid starlight that bubbled happily. "Boom."

"You can see beyond the realm."

"Please, I'm the Aspect of Chaos. I can sense far beyond the realm's boundary. Should I tell you what I think?"

"Please don't."

"You should go for swims occasionally; it might help your brain understand transformation better."

"I'd prefer to keep my concept of it sane."

"That's no fun at all," Khaos huffed and disappeared.

[Refined Shards:

- Transformation: +2

Primordial Will [J](3->9)

Note: I'm able to sense the change in you from before.]

"I'm back. Give me a few minutes to recover before I rejoin you." Amdirlain projected Sarah and caught her relief. "Sorry for the scare."

"How badly are you hurt?"

"The off-balance feeling after being out in the Far Chaos is the worst part of it."

She isolated the aching hollowness as bones and flesh rebuilt.

It was half an hour before things settled enough for Amdirlain to return to the others, who were still floating in space. Her arrival interrupted a casual debate between them about other tactics applicable to battling the Eldritch.

"Well, that got interesting. To be fair, we were playing at a disadvantage," Amdirlain offered. "Our goal was to confine them when, individually, any of you could have annihilated them and banished them back to the Far Chaos."

Lerina poked Amdirlain's shoulder. "You had your family worried when you vanished that way. You need to get stronger so we don't have to play these games. Once you're high enough, you'll be able to lock away the ones that can make it into the realm."

Amdirlain caught the relief and remnants of fear that mingled in Sarah's thoughts and resorted to teasing Lerina to change the subject. "Speaking of worried families, are you planning to make Gail a big sister soon?"

"Don't change the subject," Lerina grumbled light-heartedly.

"What subject? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Get stronger, Amdirlain."

Amdirlain huffed. "It's not like there is an exact mechanism for me to achieve that goal. Gideon offered me suggestions, but I think they just wanted me to sit still for a while. It's the same as Farhad's endeavours to move from Immortal Spirit to an Immortal. Insights can be fleeting and infrequent, and my best come from living, not sitting still."

"Your family banter aside. Shall we conduct a post-battle review? You didn't propose such actions during the planning," Minerva interjected.

"It only occurred to me to use it when they snared me and opened the conduit. By that time, the planning had gone out the window with how they'd combined. I removed them from the realm and blew them up. We can hope they're destroyed," Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. "At least I think they're destroyed as the flames ripped them apart on their home territory."

"What flames?"

The name of the Power won't mean anything to her.

"I have a Power that causes my body to explode, consuming foes and material in my surroundings based on how much damage I've suffered. You could consider it a fiery and explosive version of a Phoenix's rebirth. I enabled the ability in Far Chaos, and the effect was far more devastating than I expected."

"The closer you are to death, the bigger the explosions?" Minerva swallowed. "You seem extremely robust. I didn't see you so much as flinch while the Eldritch were gorging on you. If we are going to engage in such a battle again, I'd like to know more of your capabilities so we can strategise options."

"Once I'm stronger. For now I'd prefer to keep most of my capabilities to myself."

As Minerva stiffened, Mars clapped her shoulder. "We're soldiers fighting foes whose abilities we don't know. An insane idea sometimes comes to a soldier in the heat of a fight that they wouldn't be able to tell you of in advance. The enemy is vanquished, and we're all here. Let's count it as a win. You thought nothing of her sect before the Gods' War, and she invited you along on my advice. Did you enjoy smacking the Eldritch?"

Minerva nodded stiffly. "I prefer orderly matters, and their very nature is abhorrent in that respect."

"If I ever encounter more like this group, I'll call up everyone and anyone I know to lock them down. I'm still hesitant to let too many beings know I'm around, so I took an approach that didn't give us enough safety margin."

"I believe it's more a matter of inexperience. Mars had encountered an Eldritch twice, while Minerva and I had only heard the tales of others," Týr offered.

"We learned two positive things. You can leave and return to the realm, and exist exposed to the Far Chaos," Lerina offered.

Minerva tapped her shield, her gaze momentarily distant. "If we can figure out a way to hurt them in the Far Chaos, we could take the war to them."

"We don't know if what I did truly destroys them. The place is so vast that there would be no way to scour it to determine if they just reformed somewhere else. Also, the tools I have for tracing entities here don't function out there." Amdirlain clasped Livia's hand as she drifted close. "It's also not a war. It's more like swatting flies. Far Chaos continually spawns them, so keep your home secure and kill what crawls in."

"Very well. However, I would like to know one thing. How do you mimic their bizarreness?" Minerva asked.

"The Roman pantheon didn't have shapeshifters like Týr's kin?"

"None to that extent," Minerva eyed Týr. "We'll speak about your wild one later."

Sarah smiled. "She does like her Protean. It's the closest beings we consider sane can get to the Eldritch."

"I have a question: do we consider Amdirlain sane, or just functionally coherent?" Livia asked with a glimmer in her gaze, from suppressed amusement as she squeezed Amdirlain's hand.

"Amdirlain enjoys being an ugly opponent," Mars confirmed.

Minerva's hand stilled. "War is ugly."

"Primordials are one step removed from Eldritch, since some of us are birthed in the Far Chaos as well," Amdirlain drawled. "Or at least that's the story of the Greek primordials and others, right?"

"I think you enjoy making light of matters others take seriously, Amdirlain."

"That's true, but I also repay aid provided. As a sign of appreciation for your help, Minerva, would it be acceptable if I spread your name to a few worlds?" Amdirlain asked. "There are some people whom I know in need of wise advice."

Minerva's shoulders slumped slightly. "Is this to get me to leave the post-battle debriefing alone?"

"Nah, I thought that was already over," Amdirlain replied guilelessly. "The unexpected happened. I took the fight outside, and things got cooked. We've moved on. Would you like some faithful on other worlds?"

"I'd prefer to know more about them first, as I take it you aren't talking about humans," Minerva replied primly.

"Just because Vehtë is the only world with humans at present, it doesn't have to stay that way." Amdirlain grinned. "I was going to create a few thousand new worlds, so I can spare a few for humanity. I'll leave them with hints about deities."

And I've got all that survival knowledge and skills recorded from the orcs being educated.

"Accepting such aid feels mercenary," Minerva hedged.

"There is no rush in deciding. I'll let you all know when the worlds are ready, and you can decide then. In the meantime, Mars and Týr might share their perspectives on venturing to new worlds with you. Since I've helped them, why not you?"

"I've benefitted from learning the elven perspective on other worlds, and these would be humans to guide." Mars rubbed his hands eagerly. "One cultural group, I hope?"

"When the worlds are ready, we can discuss them. Anyway, I appreciate you all coming along today to help."

Minerva, Týr and Mars took that as their cue to leave Amdirlain with her family.

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