The banquet was in full swing. Roaring crowds of gaily dressed nobles pranced and danced across the golden tiles of the Imperial Promenade. Wine flowed, cheers following after it, and the only faces that didn't have smiles on them were the servants dutifully pouring out wine like it was water.

It was also, Cato couldn't help but notice as he stalked between the chattering cliques, a lie. The smiles were stretched, the eyes dead. Whatever joyous proclamations people made, they were empty of real cheer.

The Festival of Spring was a drizzle of rain on a raging wildfire of misery. After all, every one of the people in this room was doomed.

Cato's steps took him towards the back of the great ballroom. Emperor Altus was holding court there beneath the grand dome, the brightly dressed partygoers fluttering around him like moths before a flame.

His smile was wide as he laughed and joked. Assurances were made. Promises spilled from his lips saying that the army would succeed. That they would fight off the Dragon of Ruin and all would be well. His words were as much of a lie as the smile on his face.

Their eyes met for a moment as Cato moved closer. The Emperor's eyes narrowed, and then he was turning towards one of the sycophants at his side. His lips moved, and then the entire group was exploding with laughter, faces turning toward Cato with jeering eyes.

He just shrugged in response, their jeers failing to pierce skin that was well used to them. Cato was not often in the Emperor's good graces, and it was worse tonight. After all, the only thing worse than a naysayer was one that was obviously right.

His eyes flickered over the laughing nobles, settling on the Dragon General Takeo. Though dwarfed by the elves around him, his dark haired human form still stood with perfect posture like a statue. But all it took was a second look for the facade to shatter.

For all his closeness to the Emperor, the short distance between them might have been a chasm. Both of them alternated between chatting with the sycophants and trading scathing glares.

For all his accolades and standing in court, Takeo was the only person at the festivities less welcome than Cato. After all, it was on his advice that the Atlans launched their great offensive on the Wizards Congress, wiping them from the face of Themus in a single masterful attack. And so, in the eyes of the court, responsible for awakening the wrath of a dragon beyond any seen before.

Cato personally thought the sentiment was meaningless. He had been saying for years that the Atlan Empire's more damnable practices would have all of their heads on pikes one day. It only took the success of a single rebellion; and they had many of those. So what if their end came at the claws of a dragon instead?

The jeering finally became too loud for his ears, so he turned and began making his way towards the side of the hall. His eyes roved as he walked. The same desperate eyes were everywhere, on lords and ladies, on low barons and high dukes. The only real smiles he saw were on cheeks flush from alcohol.

He reached the side of the building, passed by the stone faced servants and chose a flight of stairs at random to follow. It took him to a walkway running along the side of the hall, and he followed it down to a set of doors at the front of the building.

Shouldering through them, he found himself on a small balcony that looked out over the grand courtyard of the Imperial Promenade. It was dark, the rough semicircle of stone barely lit by the magelights shining through the now open doors. The sky overhead was empty except for stars, the moon not showing her face for the Atlan's festival.

Settling against the raised parapet at the edge of the balcony, he looked down. And down.

The Imperial Promenade was the crown jewel of the Royal Palace, rising above the grand complex on a pyramid of tiered gardens. The Palace itself was built atop an ancient plateau, sitting enthroned above the surrounding countryside like a lounging king. The capitol spread out on the ground beneath it, hundreds of square miles of densely packed city surrounded by a wall of granite stones a hundred feet high.

But Cato wasn't focused on the glittering marble walls and golden roofs of the buildings below him. Instead his eyes finally settled on the field of lights that surrounded the outer wall of the capitol. Miles thick, the thousands of flickering dots were the collective encampment of the entire Atlan army, all gathered to protect the Capital City in its time of need.

It was pathetic. What the nobles inside of the room were refusing to acknowledge- what they didn't want to even think about- was the fact that this little flickering field of lights was all that remained of the Atlan Empire.

Its boundaries ended with the light of those watchfires, the rest of it chipped away piece by piece by an enemy beyond any of their nightmares. Ruin, that was what they were calling her. And she lived up to the name.

Because the creature awoken by Takeo was no mere agent of death. No, her dismantling of the Atlan Empire was as vicious as it was thorough. Their fortresses had been cracked open like eggs, their slaves and vassal states liberated. She had systematically stripped the mighty empire of its tributes and spoils like a stern mother taking sweets from her misbehaving child.

Their banner had become a symbol of death, a sword of Damocles hovering over the heads of those who carried it.

And Cato couldn't find it within himself to care.

He had spent three centuries clawing his way up the ranks of the Empire, finally reaching the position of governor for the Capital City. Only then did he finally comprehend the oceans of blood the mighty Atlan Empire was founded upon. He had spent the rest of his life desperately curbing the worst of their sins. Yet he had never had the courage to truly defy them; for fear that they would tire of his moralizing and have him assassinated.

If he were any worse at his job he'd be dead, and if he were any better he'd be a monster. The sword of Damocles was an old friend.

A commotion caught his attention down by the front doors of the Imperial Promenade. A young woman was down there, held back by some of the staff. Blonde haired and wearing a dirty shift, she looked like one of the slaves brought through the Capitol's market district.

Except instead of cowering like a slave might, she was bowling through the protesting servants like they weren't even there. He watched with a raised eyebrow as she vanished through the doors. Then he turned and began making his way back towards the hall, mildly curious as to what was happening.

But his steps stalled as a thought occurred to him. The capitol had grown bloated with refugees over the past few decades, and it had gotten worse as Ruin drew closer. And despite the many spies they had placed in the Wizards Congress, few in the empire knew what the human form of Ruin looked like.

So what was stopping her from sneaking in through the glut of refugees, then waiting until the nobles gathered in a single place to attack?

Very little, a voice in the back of Cato's head whispered. He reversed his steps, returning to the precipice. Just in time to hear shouts and screams of horror and watch the servants below flee out the gates in a tide of bodies.

"BEEN A WHILE, HASN'T IT ALTUS!"

A roar followed after them, a titanic battlecry that rattled the stones around Cato like they were pebbles. The sounds of shouts cut off, instead becoming the roar and crackle of spells firing as the nobles finally realized what was happening.

He stood frozen for a moment, wondering just what to do. Then he was startled out of it by the patter of footsteps. A figure appeared through the doorway a moment later. Moving so quickly that Cato could barely even recognize the dark robes before the figure was diving headfirst over the parapet.

Cato's mouth opened to shout a spell to help, but stopped as the figure began to transform midair. In a flash they changed from a human to a black scaled dragon. Spreading their wings wide, they angled downward and were quickly flying towards the army encampments below.

It took a moment for his mind to catch up. That was Takeo, the Dragon General. Except… Why was he running? Pride was everything to the Atlans; they did not run from a challenge, even if it led to their deaths.

Cato's own pride was a shriveled husk of what it should have been, and the thought of fleeing had still never crossed his mind. Why was the First Atlan Dragon, a figure so celebrated that despite his mistakes he still held the ear of the Emperor, fleeing from this final challenge?

Determination solidified within Cato's mind, and with a great leap he threw himself over the parapet. A whispered spell arrested his fall, and another one sent him shooting off after the distant form of Takeo.

The Royal Palace whizzed by below him, warning bells ringing out their dreadful song for the first time in three thousand years. The streets themselves were empty of traffic, the families of the nobles likely huddled deep within their homes and cellars.

At least they would be spared, Cato thought as he whizzed past one of the clanging bell towers. Despite the century-long rampage, Ruin had always left anyone not directly serving the Empire alone. It was a hollow comfort for him, he had been governor for more than long enough to earn his Ruin.

The outer wall of the city finally passed below, and then he was crossing over the open air above the massed ranks of the army. He could see Takeo better now, swooping down above one of the enormous tents of the Elven Generals.

The camp was oddly dark and busy for an army keeping watch.. Shadowed figures scurried in and out of the hill like swathes of canvas. They carried boxes and hauled crates with desperate speed. Cato's eyes narrowed as he spotted the glint of gold and steel, the waxed canvas of rations.

A final muttered spell cancelled his flight, landing him on the ground in a light crouch. Unnoticed by the rushing figures rushing around him, he marched forwards and into the tent.

Magelights lined the ceiling on the inside. Dim, but giving enough light to see by. They shone down on a fleet of carts, all filled with crates and supplies. A small army moved in between them, working with desperate efficiency. And at his feet, inked into the ground with glowing lines was a massive runic circle.

Cato had never delved into the intricacies of runic magic, but the runes of journey, safeguard, and world could really only mean one thing. Takeo wasn't just fleeing the empire, he was fleeing the planet of Themus in its entirety.

Careful steps took him through the mass of carts, the dark and panic granting him anonymity among the soldiers. Further within, at the center of the tent he finally found Takeo.

Still in his draconic form, his bulk took up the center of the tent where the tarp was highest. Totally still, he watched over the scurrying soldiers with a regal calm. The only thing that betrayed his worry was the almost imperceptible tapping of his foreclaws against the ground.

"General Sorek," he said, finally pausing his tapping. "Are the preparations finished?"

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"No," the reedy voice of one of Cato's least likeable colleagues came from behind him. "Ruin's early arrival has snarled things. Much of the gold still hasn't arrived."

"I was wondering why I was receiving so many requisition orders," Cato's voice boomed in the dark.

Takeo started at the sound, his head whipping around to face Cato. The ruddy-faced Sorek appeared from behind him a moment later, mouth wide in shock.

"Governor Cato," Takeo recovered first, dipping his head into a nod as he spoke. "I am surprised to see you here."

"As am I," Cato blandly replied, ignoring the gaping Sorek. "I can't help but wonder why, if you are already here with the army, that you are not readying the men to march on the dragon assaulting the palace."

Takeo's eyes narrowed, his claws taking up a staccato beat as he stormed up an excuse. Cato let him think, idly wondering what kind of drivel he was going to be fed.

"Because I am no fool," Takeo finally snapped. "Altus is dead, the rest of his sycophants as well. They could not stop the beast assaulting us, and neither can we. Ruin will see us all dead before the night is out, and our best- our only option is escape."

He rose up, standing over Cato to glare down. His fangs flashed as he spoke, lips pulled back just far enough to expose them.

"The chance is slim, but better than if we stay. And if we find a habitable world, then we can continue the legacy of the Atlans. Let the empire live on even if in name only."

Takeo grinned, teeth fully exposed by wide lips.

"So, will you stay and risk judgement from the dragon? Or continue on, and help rebuild our empire to its former glory?"

Cato met Takeo's eyes, and had to suppress a gulp. The promise was clear. As governor, Cato may have no military power, but he still had enough sway that he could throw a wrench in their operation. Maybe even delay them long enough that Ruin could catch up. It was a risk worth killing over, and Takeo wouldn't even hesitate.

So with a mouthful of footlong teeth hanging above his head, Cato weighed his options. He could choose to say no and try his chances, however slim they were, with surviving Takeo and then Ruin. Or he could continue on with his current course, being the broken cog in a machine of death and war.

He wished the choice was harder to make.

"I will come."

"Excellent," Takeo's grin was genuine this time. "Now we need to be going."

Raising a hand, he snapped his fingers and with a heavy rustling of cloth the great tent floated into the air above their heads. Folding in on itself repeatedly in a series of movements too complex to follow, it quickly compressed into a single mass. With a second snap of Takeo's fingers, it settled down until it rested in the back of one of the wagons.

"All ready?"

"Yes, the mages have already begun charging the circle," Sorek said with desperate anticipation.

A few seconds passed as they waited, and in silent unison all three of them turned to look up at the distant Imperial Promenade. Where before it had been a beacon of revelry, the walls now shook with the impact of spells.

Then before three sets of incredulous eyes, the building vanished in a flash of light. For a moment the entire massed ranks of Takeo's army was lit up in bluish tones as the Imperial Promenade blew apart in a fountain of shattering stone. A boom echoed a moment after, sending the tents around them flapping.

"By the gods," Cato whispered as he finally saw Ruin for the first time.

Rising from the blasted heap of stones that had moments before been the greatest architectural wonder of the Atlan Empire, she took in the world around her like a fell god. A sinuous wyrm bathed in the hellish light of the destruction she had wrought. Her eyes scanned the ground around her, then narrowed as she seemed to realize something. With terrifying slowness, her head came up and she breathed in.

"WHERE ARE YOU TAKEO?"

Cato saw from the corner of his eye as Takeo took a full step back, the movement sending Sorek stumbling to the ground. He didn't turn to look at the horrified dragon or the stumbling general, though. His attention was focused entirely on the Archdragon before them.

Eyes wide with fury, and head swiveling back and forth in search of the errant Dragon General, she seemed every bit the walking apocalypse the Atlans claimed her to be. The flames of the annihilated Promenade dimmed, leaving the only source of light atop the palace Ruin herself. Her leaden scales glowed white hot, sending shadows spinning around her as she moved.

A sharp pain struck Cato's cheek. His eyes flickered down to catch the sight of a small stone falling to the ground at his feet. A light pattering started around him, and his eyes raised again in shock as he realized that there was no crash of falling stones. These tiny shards were all that was left of the Imperial Promenade.

The twin orbs of Ruin's eyes found their group, and this time it was Cato taking a terrified step back. As he watched, a snarl crossed the Archdragon's face and she crouched low over the blasted heap of stones. Then she leapt into the air. A scream of air erupted around her, and then she was shooting forwards directly on course for their group.

Screams broke out from the men, and Takeo seemed to brace himself to run. Then the air coalesced around Cato, locking him in place. His eyes moved away from the raging Archdragon for the first time since the Imperial Promenade exploded.

The spell circle around them was glowing with energy, a deadening of the sound around Cato the only warning before the spell fully activated. The last thing he ever saw on Themus was the screaming form of Ruin falling upon them.

Her claws closed on nothing as he and the others vanished into the space between worlds.

The staccato clicking of Takeo's claws was uneven as he marched down the marble stairs of the teleportation chamber. One of them had snapped, a too fast leap earlier having been too much for the keratin.

The sound grated at him, each missing click seeming like yet another whispered reminder that he should have killed Susan when he had the chance. Or kept her around when she was still a human so she could continue to improve his body.

His teeth grit as the thought of that age old mistake raked across the front of his mind for the thousandth time. The body she had created when given the time and motivation was something out of a damn anime, and it was his own fault he wasn't able to use it. Instead he was trapped in this fragile shell, stuck watching as even the creations of lesser geniuses outperformed him.

"Bah," he muttered, shaking his head.

Realizing that his steps had stalled, he forced himself away from his thoughts and began walking again. Turning his gaze away from the missing claw, he instead looked out at the world around him.

Yellow skies and a bloated red sun met his gaze. They shone down on the Tower of Brass, its hundreds of floors of ornamented metal lighting up like a beacon in the daylight. Pyramids, towers and ziggurats, their tops barely reaching the tower's ankles, covered the ground for miles around it. Every one of them capped with the golden portals that kept the Dawn Empire alive.

With a total footprint that covered hundreds of square miles, the vast complex made up the seat of power on Sunrest. The capital planet of the Empire of Dawn.

The entire complex hummed with activity despite its absurd scale. Merchants moved in and out of portals, soldiers and dragons patrolled. All of them forming the lifeblood that thrummed through the Empire's heart.

Takeo couldn't help the flush of pride that ran through him as he saw the patrols of dragons marching along the base of the pyramid, each of them stopping and bowing as he passed. He had claimed his place in this empire, and he would be damned if Susan took it from him again. His pace quickened, taking him into the vast halls of the Tower of Brass.

It was an hour later when he finally reached the iron doors to Empress's throne room. Two Thunder Dragons flanked the doors, their dispassionate eyes meeting his own as approached.

"I come bearing news-"

"Enter," a harsh metallic voice echoed from within the room.

Takeo blinked at that, freezing in place even as the guards moved to pull the doors open for him. Empress always acted strangely when she sent him on these missions, but for her to break protocol for him? Something must have truly thrown her off.

Still, he shook himself and hurried inside, the doors snapping shut on his heels as he entered a world of metal and sound. His claws clicked over on glass tiles inlaid in a metal frame that served as the floor of the enormous throne room. Meanwhile hissing copper pipes ran above and below him, forming a network of metal veins that ran around him. All of it pointing inexorably towards the center.

His eyes immediately found the throne, a hissing mess of pipes formed in the rough shape of a chair. Then they landed on an oddity, a small copper bowl sat on one of the throne's arms. It looked perfectly ordinary, though rather old. But amidst the technological wonder of the throne room, it stood out like a beacon.

"Greetings, Empress," he said, nodding to the room's owner.

Two glowing eyes rose to meet his own from where they had been staring down at the bowl. Then their owner rose, steam hissing and metal groaning as the two hundred feet of animated bronze rose from its customary crouch on the seat.

Like every time Takeo saw Empress, he couldn't help but think that the statues didn't quite do her justice. They only matched her in size. Empress dwarfed Takeo; an array of metal tubes and pistons served as her veins and muscles, supporting an exposed skeleton of metal almost two hundred feet from head to tail.

Pressure tanks and pistons hummed behind armored ribs, while behind the eyes a sickly green glow illuminated the glassy insides of her skull. She crouched over her throne like something from a Victorian flavored nightmare of twisting metal and steam, the cold metal inherently malicious in a way no statue could convey.

Though for once, some of that intimidation seemed to be tempered. A whine hung in the air as some piece of machinery along her body vented steam, while the length of her tail whipped back and forth in worry.

"Report," she snapped, eyes promptly flicking back down to the bowl.

"It was rebels, summoning support for their uprising."

"That can't be right," the spotlight-like eyes dimmed a moment as she thought, before continuing in a murmur. "Hmm, perhaps a moment of opportunity then."

"A what?" Takeo asked pointedly.

"You heard nothing," Empress snarled, still focused on the bowl. Takeo's teeth grit.

"Empress," he snapped, "They summoned an Archdragon."

"Who." Her eyes refocused on him instantly, any kind of distraction gone.

"Ruin."

"If that is the case then you are looking remarkably well."

"I have my ways," Takeo demurred. "But, you must understand that I am not willing to take any more of these missions without knowing the reason behind them."

"I am Empress. My orders are to be followed, without question." The response was almost automatic.

"Without question, what about without sanity! I've been sent to investigate every kind of dimensional disturbance with a full squadron of dragons sworn to secrecy! Each one a gamble to see whether or not I return with all of my limbs still attached!"

"You overstep, shogun!" Empress snapped, icy steam venting from her mouth as she spoke.

Takeo shivered as frost grew on his scales, and he took a moment to gather himself. They had gone over this argument a dozen times already, rehashing the same points over and over until he could recite them from memory. Shaking himself to knock the ice off, he tried a different tactic.

"Empress, I cannot continue like this," he shook his head as he spoke. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to find, and your paranoia on the matter nearly killed me this time. I should have brought a full battalion to deal with the dimensional incursion, but instead had to fight an Archdragon with barely a dozen soldiers."

He took a step back as he finished speaking, only to freeze as the glowing orbs locked with burning intensity. They swept up and down his body slowly, a gout of steam hissing from between her teeth.

"This matter is a state secret, shogun. Are you sure you want to know?" The tone was light.

Takeo's heart was anything but.

"Yes." He still bit out.

"Very well, but we will need to deal with your old friend."

"I have plans for her," Takeo somehow managed to speak without stuttering. "I would rather learn the truth first."

"If you are so sure, then I shall indulge you." Empress said with another hum, before spearing him with another look. "But what I say now will never leave this room. Am I understood?"

He nodded, his excitement managing to overcome his fear for a moment.

"Now, this world is not merely the center of the empire. It's history stretches back further than almost any other, beginning tens of thousands of years ago with the arrival of a god."

Takeo's blank expression must have shown something, because a glint came into Empress's eyes.

"Oh yes," she chuckled. "A god. A being of sun and fire that governed the people of this world from a golden palace that floated above the clouds. Up until someone killed it, drank its blood, and took its place as ruler of the planet."

"The God Eater forged this world into a kingdom of dusk. And when his servants developed the technique to travel between realms, he expanded it into the greatest empire ever seen. Only to vanish, lost on campaign in one of his conquests.

"I first encountered the empire then, falling apart without the support of a ruler. I took it, made it my own, and with your army I have made it grow to surpass its former glory."

Takeo held back any comment. Unlike Altus, who had lavished honors upon his nobles and generals, Empress hoarded credit like a miser.

"But the God Eater is not dead, and he even now seeks to return. So far I have been able to shield Sunrest from his scrying. But rest assured, dear shogun, if he returns we shall face a capricious wrath beyond even the worst Archdragons."

Takeo's mouth had half fallen open. He wanted to protest, he had expected tangible threats, not ridiculous urban legends he might have heard in high school.

But Empress's gaze bored into him with overwhelming intensity. However ridiculous the things she was saying were, she believed them.

"And the bowl?"

"The bowl is a relic from the age of the God Eater, an archaic manner of communication between realms," a claw came up to tip the bowl towards him. Dark red liquid sloshed within it, likely blood judging by the color. It had crept up from the center to form runes along the inner rim. Takeo's eyebrow raised as he recognized the word 'Terra' listed among them.

"It activated at the same time that we detected the summoning," Empress continued. "So I assumed we were dealing with agents of the God Eater, not the ruinous fruit of your mistakes."

"Yes, her…" Takeo spoke slowly, trying to sort out the rush of information he had just been fed from the fear that still froze his veins. He finally gave up and shook his head, returning his attention to Empress. "Well, at least we won't have to worry about her."

"Really?"

"Of course, did you think that I wouldn't have any plans at all for the Archdragon that's been hounding me for centuries?"

"Do tell," Empress's head tilted ponderously and Takeo grinned.

"Let me tell you about the greatest magic the Atlans ever devised…"

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