Argrave was the only one who could stop Sataistador.
That wasn’t a grandiosity complex, merely the facts of the situation. Argrave should’ve put some of the pieces together when he saw Governor Ji Meng tear his own rib out to make the array that warded away divinity. The governor was dead now, unfortunately, but at least he got to see his granddaughter’s wedding.
Regardless, the Stormfield was shamanic magic, true enough. But it was more than that. It was blood magic.
“Thief god, space god, I need you to defend me from Sataistador. He’s quiet enough now, but in a few moments, everything inside and outside the Palace of Heaven is going to become a warzone as his little soldiers show their face. Almazora, I need you to amplify the power of the blood in my body. And Anneliese... I need you to keep me alive.”
He spoke only the names he had verified in Erlebnis’ wiki. Except Anneliese, that is. He would never confuse her with another. Unless he was, which would be rather embarrassing.
“What are you talking about?” Anneliese questioned as Argrave looked upon Sataistador, who still kneeled bleeding.
“Why should we take orders from the man with a crooked face?” Space god questioned—he thought the name was Raccomen, but he couldn’t be sure.
Argrave ran his hand over his face. Was it crooked? He thought he’d put it back on right. He dropped his hand down and pointed. “You’re talking to me about being crooked, after that stunt you pulled? Listen, tomorrow I can be straight, but you’ll be dead forever if you don’t shut up and suit up. I promise I can explain everything after this is over.” Argrave conjured a dagger of blood magic, then walked out onto the glass cover of the Stormfield and kneeled. “I learned some things. Just do as I say, or this whole continent is going to fall into chaos.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sataistador gurgled, looking at Argrave as smoke billowed all around him. He seemed like an erupting volcano, wreathed in smoke while his neck erupted with blood. “You have no idea what you’re doing.”
But in the smoke, figures danced—figures eerily similar to the god of war. The army, it would seem, was on the march. The first wave of soldiers was soon to arrive.The source of this content no/v(el)bi((n))
Argrave rolled up his right sleeve. “Almazora—do your part. Empower my blood. I know you can do that—I read all about it.”
“You want me to amplify the magic in your blood?” The goddess of magic walked up behind him, kneeling. “I trust your intentions, but what you’re asking... it could kill you, even with Anneliese’s intervention. And even if it doesn’t, it could be a similar experience as what you experienced to gain this black blood in the first place, after.”
“I’m twisted up enough already. I’m certain I’ll live—I saw it, clear as day, in the wiki. Still, I can’t beat him unless you lend me some of your power. So, do it,” he commanded her, as he rolled up his other sleeve.
“Clench your teeth.” She put her hand on the back of his head... and in a few moments, Argrave’s body caught aflame.
Argrave looked around, searching for any coming ambush. This place was flat and endless, with few places to hide. Just from the context of the situation, Argrave suspected that it was the Stormfield. The few crevices Argrave saw weren’t large enough to hide one of the many soldiers in Sataistador’s army. It was this one alone, now—an advance scout, maybe. Argrave suspected that soon enough the whole of his army would come to Argrave.
As Argrave readied to fight, he spotted some movement in a crevice just behind Sataistador. His face warped with shock when Governor Ji Meng crept out from the darkness, then cast some magic right into the back of Sataistador’s head. The lone soldier’s head blew clean off in a burst of flame, and the one fragment of the god of war turned into a spirit.
“Argrave!” the governor shouted. “These damned things are everywhere. What in heaven is going on? Where are we?!”
“Governor,” Argrave greeted the man, approaching cautiously. He couldn’t be sure if this was a trick just yet. But then... if Ji Meng had spilled his blood atop the glass covering over the Stormfield, it made sense that he was here. “I think you and I are in the Stormfield.”
“What?!” the governor looked all around as lightning continued to brighten the gloomy stone plateau. “What do you mean, ‘we’re in the Stormfield?’ It’s not a location, it’s a—”
“Just shut your mouth,” Argrave interrupted him, looking around. “Sataistador used you. He’s been using from the beginning; you were just too blind to see it. You took him right to this place—you and that stupid weapon he gave to you.” Argrave grabbed his shoulder. “Whatever. We can reminiscence about how stupid you were later. Right now you, Ji Meng, are going to help me take dominance over this place. I don’t know precisely what’s happening, but we’re inside the Stormfield. We have to win control over it from the god of war.”
The governor looked extremely confused, about more subject than one. He babbled, “But why is he...? I mean, what’s his aim? What’s here for us?”
“Sataistador spilled his blood onto the array. That’s taken him here, to what I assume is the Stormfield. You... uh, you spilt some blood, too, so you’re also here. I did as well. Right now, I think all three of us are in this together. What ‘here’ is, or what the future holds... I’m not entirely sure.”
Ji Meng closed his eyes. “Then... this must be the sacrifice to the Stormfield. I’d heard about it from legends, but I thought—”
“You thought wrong. It’s real. I did this with the suspicion Sataistador intends to imbue the array with a power of his—the fire of chaos. I’m certain he’s going to send it to the sky tower, where it’ll be cast across the whole of the Great Chu.” Argrave waved his hand. “The Stormfield, Sataistador’s fire of chaos... it’ll have power enough to wipe the whole slate clean. No more Great Chu. That’s what both of them want.”
“How in heaven can we best a god, alone?”
“This is a battle of blood, Ji Meng.” Argrave tapped his face. “Sataistador smuggled a small army inside his blood. But me, I brought magic. Loads of magic. So, let’s work from there.”
“Why do you keep calling me...? Never mind. Where do we start?” Ji Meng looked around everywhere. “I mean... I studied the damn thing, but all of this is new territory to me.”
“Good question,” Argrave conceded. “Erlebnis didn’t know, either—he just had theories, some small few tests, but it’s not enough to explain this. This place feels as real as the one I left.” Argrave looked around for a few long moments, lost in thought. He focused intensely. “At the very least, Sataistador’s surely got the same questions. So, let’s figure it out.”