Chapter 218 - In The Skies Above

The sky had split, the blue clear sky was now marred with a completely black, dark void that hung high in the skies above. As the shaking from the shockwave subsided, like the mouth of some enormous beast, the split in the sky grew wider and wider. 

Kothar could feel a powerful resonance from his Spatial Necklace, he gazed up into the sky in horror, the opening in the sky was a portal. The amount of power required to open such an enormous portal was simply insane.

"Father, that's a portal." Kothar choked out, his breath catching in his chest due to how shocked he was by the enormous split in the sky.

"No." Tam was lost for words, even he couldn't fathom the amount of power that such an enormous portal would require, and he and Kothar stared, eyes wide at the sight before them.

The portal was visible for thousands of kilometers, and the fluctuations of Spatial Energy were felt even further, so that beings all over Eclat had turned toward the Isle, above which the portal was opening.

In an enormous tower of black stone, above which there was a constantly shifting rift atop it, and purple lines of energy that criss crossed the walls, a certain elderly man stood in a laboratory.

The laboratory was littered with the remains of strange creatures, and on top of the metal surface of the table in the center of the room, a purple skinned humanoid lay, taking shallow breaths, its limbs sliced open.

The old man's face was twisted in sheer terror, and had turned completely pale, he was shaking violently, and stood frozen for a few moments. 

Immediately after, he began to run about the laboratory, packing away odds and ends before running to the peak of the tower.

Elsewhere on Eclat, there was a great plain that stretched out for thousands of kilometers, it was dotted with towns that had been built alongside the great rivers that ran through the plain.

Every single one of these rivers stemmed from the towering mountain that dominated the plain, visible even from the very edge of it.

The peak of the mountain, which rose up even beyond the clouds, had been carved and shaped to form a castle, shaped into steep walls, and lofty towers.

Within the castle, in the throne room that had been carved out of the heart of the peak, there sat a stout young man, a circular ring of stone around his head. 

As the shockwave from the portal struck, the man immediately came to his feet, a vibrant yellow aura forming instantaneously around him, great wings spreading out from his back as he ran out from the throne room leaping into the sky.

When the man flew into the skies above, countless figures rose from the castle behind him, their wings beating rapidly as they followed their leader into the skies above.

All across Eclat, figures wrapped themselves in aura and took to the skies, all of them heading for the disturbance that could be felt throughout the plane. 

In a remote forest, far from even the slightest hint of civilization, a tall man with ashen colored skin stopped in his tracks.

"Master, I hope you're ready for this." He murmured, and then the dark mist that swirled around his feet quickly wrapped all around him, forming a suit of armor, as well as a pair of wings that spread from his back.

Even as all these figures leapt into action around Eclat, Kothar and Tam watched as the portal continued to stretch open, spreading impossibly wide before it stopped.

It seemed as though the sky had been blotted out, the portal was so vast that it completely occupied Kothar's vision.

[There's got to be an Ascendant on the other side of that.] Silane whispered, and as she spoke, the surface of the portal began to ripple.

An enormous wedge shape emerged from the portal, far larger than even the greatest castles and buildings that many on Eclat had seen. It was an abomination, so out of place in the skies above.

The wedge shaped object continued to emerge out of the portal, and as the strange inscriptions covering the gray surface of the wedge shaped object became visible, realization dawned over Kothar.

[Xerev! I knew I couldn't trust that damn b******!] Kothar exclaimed, remembering the strange device  that the explorer had used to communicate with him so long ago, on Idwa.

Soon the gigantic wedge shaped object had emerged into the skies of Eclat, and after it, followed thousands of smaller cuboid objects, like a swarm of locusts, clouding the skies.

As they emerged, the countless smaller ships split away from each other, all making a beeline for different locations on Eclat.

"Father, those are all sky faring craft. I'm sure they mean us harm, we should fight against those that we can." Kothar said as a few of the craft peeled away from the rest and flew down toward Aznur. 

"You're right, son, no peaceful visitors would come in such numbers, nor in such force.."Tam said as he gazed at the venomous shape completely blotting out the sky, and his blue aura surrounded him, forming the hawk shape as he leaped into the skies from the tower.

"Anteris! Vaya! Teves! With me! Let us meet these strange invaders!" Tam yelled, as the strange ships grew closer and closer to Aznur, flying low over the buildings. 

Anteris' red aura rose into the sky, his halberd in his arms, surrounded by coiling flames.

Along with him, rose a shining golden crow that was Vaya, his curved saber clutched tight in his hands.

Finally, Teves flew up into the sky, his glowing yellow aura forming the shape of a falcon around him, a cloud of sand whirling around him as he flew. 

Once the Advanced Rank fighters flew into the sky, the ships that were flying over Aznur suddenly slowed, and began to slowly rise up into the air, coming face to face with the glowing beings.