The battlefield of Geb Fortress had become a cataclysmic warzone where only the strongest could stand. The clash of domains and Beast Zones had reshaped the land into an unrecognizable hellscape.
What was once a fortified frontline had become a chaotic expanse of molten rivers, frozen wastelands, endless dunes, and crumbling chasms. The very elements waged war, such as fire, ice, stone, and illusion twisted the battlefield into an ever-changing nightmare.
Grandmaster Caelum stood firm within Titan's Bastion, his domain reinforcing the land beneath him into an unyielding fortress. Each of his strikes sent shockwaves through the earth, cracking the armored hides of Emperor-ranked beasts.
Yet, his opponent, the colossal centipede Empress, slithered through Writhe of the Abyss, the land beneath her a shifting deathtrap that swallowed warriors whole. Caelum roared as he launched a fist coated in seismic force, only for the centipede to dissolve into the abyss and reappear behind him, her fangs bared for the kill.
Elsewhere, Grandmaster Solara wove through the air, her Everburning Expanse consuming everything in its path. Beasts incinerated upon entry, their ashes carried by the roaring inferno. But the phoenix-serpent Emperor bathed in Scorching Rebirth, devouring the flames and returning them with twice the power. It dove through the firestorm, talons outstretched, forcing Solara to evade as explosions of flame shattered the sky.
Across the battlefield, many Grandmasters and Emperor-ranked beasts fought their own deadly battles. A warrior cloaked in storm-touched armor clashed against a three-headed lightning hydra, their battle illuminating the heavens with unrelenting thunder.
Another Grandmaster, wielding a glaive infused with the power of shifting sands, battled a massive scorpion whose venom turned anything it touched into glass. Their fight carved deep trenches across the battlefield, dunes rising and collapsing in an endless dance.
A massive tremor split the ground apart as a Grandmaster wielding Molten Cataclysm hammered his enemy with volcanic fury. The battlefield boiled as lava rivers surged, consuming squads of lower-ranked warriors and beasts.
His opponent, the frost-bound Empress, shrieked as Glacial Extinction swallowed the heat, frost crawling over magma and turning the land into an unrelenting cycle of eruption and frostbite. The explosion flattened entire formations when their attacks collided, sending lesser warriors and beasts tumbling away like scattered leaves.
Amid the destruction, Grandmaster Sylas, the master of Verdant Genesis, continued his clash against the horned beast that wielded Devouring Wilds. Trees sprouted, their roots seeking to bind and crush, but the beast's mere presence rotted them away. What should have been a flourishing paradise was instead a battlefield of decayed husks, neither side willing to yield as nature struggled for dominance.
And yet, these were but a handful of the battles waging across the fortress. Thousands of Grandmasters and Emperor-ranked beasts were locked in combat, their power warping the battlefield beyond recognition. The warriors of Master rank and below, and the beasts of King and Queen rank and lower, could do nothing but retreat. To step near these battles was death itself.
Some had already fallen, caught in the residual destruction. Others fought desperately on the edges, shielding themselves with whatever abilities they had left. But the war showed no signs of slowing. If anything, it was only escalating. The land trembled under the weight of so many overwhelming forces, and deep beneath the earth, something ancient stirred in response to the endless carnage.
….
The battlefield was now an all-encompassing warzone, with thousands of Grandmasters and Emperor-ranked beasts clashing on a scale beyond mortal comprehension. The destruction had intensified, and even the land seemed reacting to the overwhelming power.
Hovering above the battlefield, the Earth Patrician observed the carnage with an unreadable expression. His brown eyes, reflecting the weight of responsibilities, scanned the war-torn land below—his domain, people warriors—locked in a relentless struggle against an enemy with no end. Even for a god's chosen, the scale of destruction was staggering.
He had allowed the Grandmasters to fight. He had watched as their domains tore through the battlefield, carving out swathes of devastation. He had seen the Emperor-ranked beasts retaliate, their Beast Zones countering, shifting and adapting. It was a war of attrition—one that, despite the power of his warriors, was not tipping in their favor.
He had seen enough.
The Earth itself trembled beneath his will as if the planet itself acknowledged his presence. Without a word, he descended, the air bending around him as his existence suppressed the storm of chaos below. His foot touched the battlefield, and silence fell for the first time since the war began.
The Grandmasters, locked in brutal combat, faltered for just a moment. The Emperor-ranked beasts—creatures of boundless fury—recoiled, their instincts screaming of an unfathomable presence.
The Earth Patrician raised his hand, and the land answered.