En route to the Annorial Empire, at the edge of outer space right above the Kingdom of Altaras — February 21, 2020

  Trigger! As you no doubt know, the operation to retaliate against the Annorial Empire for their attack on Setapura is now underway—as an unofficial state of war now exists between the Annorials and the Osean Federation, Oured has authorised our military forces to conduct a series of long-range airstrikes against the Elysian superpower, designed to force them to abort their attacks on our country and seek a ceasefire with Osea. To this end, the OSDF has deployed its aerial and naval assets to the peripheral regions of the Third Civilisation Area and accelerated the deployment of our sixth-generation DarkStar fighters to strike at the heart of the Annorial Empire itself, and shatter any existing preconceptions of their technological superiority over Elysia at rge.

  The operation against the Empire has been split into three key objectives: the elimination of the Annorial navy, the destruction of their nuclear missile silos, and the annihition of all defenses and key military instaltions throughout the Annorial capital of Magicaregia. Accomplishing these objectives will both ensure that the Empire cannot pose a direct threat to the Osean Federation and its partners for the foreseeable future, and demonstrate to not just the Annorials but Elysia as a whole of the full consequences of seeking a war on equal terms with Osea—this is a no small task, and these operations will therefore be conducted simultaneously between several air squadrons currently stationed throughout the Third Civilization Area and in close coordination with the IUN’s orbital and naval assets. Satellite images have confirmed several key locations throughout the Branchel continent believed to be vital Annorial facilities or units ranging from military bases to missile and rocket unch facilities: we are to destroy each and every one of these, and ensure that these cannot be used against Osea again soon.

  As you are our most skilled pilot in the Lighthouse Division, you have been assigned to eliminate the rgest contingent of the Annorial naval forces as part of the first objective: an artificial floating isnd located at the center of a sea between the Empire’s two key continents, believed to be home to several Pal Chimerae and Scinfaxi-css submarines. Intercepted magical transmissions also suggest the facility is also a control centre for a significant contingent of sea monsters within the surrounding region of Elysia, highlighting its importance to the Annorials’ military forces—the loss of both mechanical and biological assets in such high numbers will undoubtedly prove to be a major setback for the Annorials’ future pns against Osea and Elysia at rge.

  Based on our previous encounters with the Annorials, ground and air defenses are believed to be on par with the pre-Belkan War Yuktobanians—still likely to struggle against sixth-generation stealth aircraft such as the DarkStar, but still advanced enough to pose a threat if not dealt with carefully—and the presence of magical technology as a means of anti-aircraft weaponry is also still something we know little to nothing solid about, so be careful when you move in. That said, communications on the ground suggest that the Annorial Empire is not expecting a direct assault on its own territory; if you pn your attack well, you might be able to take advantage of this in dealing the most damage possible before the locals can mount an effective defense.

  Due to the several other simultaneous operations taking pce throughout the Annorial Empire, your support will be limited to occasional fire support from the Arkbird where its crew deems necessary. Your AWACS for this operation will be Arkbird itself, owing to the sheer geographic distance from our nearest IUN bases in Altaras and the risk of local AA defenses intercepting conventional radar pnes until they are taken care of—Captain Kei Nagase herself will be overseeing your work once again, her callsign being “Edge”. Otherwise, you will essentially be on your own—but considering your record, that should hardly pose much of a problem for you and your ability to produce the best results in every situation you’ve been thrown in.

  Good luck!

  “Mr. President, all naval elements report that they’re in position; the Lighthouse Division will also be arriving at their respective AOs in about two minutes. It’ll only be a matter of time before the Annorials find out what we’re up to.”

  From his seat in the briefing room, President Bartlett looked at the holographic projection on the wall, where a map of the southern half of Elysia was dispyed.

  A series of small continents y between the Annorial Empire and the vast ocean beyond where the Osean Federation resided; several narrow channels and seas between these ndmasses were the only routes for vessels to navigate between both regions of Elysia. Here, four Osean naval fleets and their respective escorts and air squadrons were now positioned—as well as countless squadrons of DarkStars soaring above at hypersonic speeds—all waiting for his command.

  This massive undertaking was the culmination of several weeks of logistical preparations and diplomatic maneuvers, to say nothing of the countless pns originally meant for the far future that now had to be accelerated in the name of responding to the people responsible for Harling’s death. What the rest of Elysia would think from what would happen today would be a matter for tomorrow—what mattered now was ensuring that Osea came out of this intact for future generations to come.

  “No point in putting things off now, I suppose,” Jack grumbled to himself.

  “Sir?”

  Shaking his head, Bartlett turned to Edwards.

  “Launch the operation.”

  Sea of Solitude, Annorial Empire — February 21, 2020

  “Trigger, this is Edge. You should have eyes on the facility itself shortly.”

  Decelerating from hypersonic speeds as his DarkStar descended from the Karman Line and into the skies above the Annorial Empire, Trigger gnced from the narrow windows of his cockpit—easily identifiable amidst the vast blue of the surrounding sea with its sheer size and the eight spokes extending from its inner spherical core, his target loomed in the distance. For a brief moment, the pilot questioned the wisdom of sending him here alone to somehow destroy a massive target such as the facility before him—

  “The Milishials’ records describe a superstructure such as this as a Pal Cowne, capable of operating both as a staging and refueling ptform for Pal Chimerae aircraft and Pal Scyle submarines, and as a weapons ptform in its own right. The Cowne has eight subsections, each stationing one Pal Chimerae and two Pal Scyle—as we have no solid intel on how exactly to destroy the Cowne itself, our priority is therefore eliminating its complement of Chimerae and Scyle crafts, before seeing what parts of the Cowne itself are most likely to be critical to its survival.

  “I’ve marked on your HUD key points on the respective vessels for you to strike as well as possible AA defenses, but the Arkbird will also provide orbital support should any of these assets attempt to disembark. Keep in mind, though—once the Annorials become aware of our presence and the wider operation begins, I won’t be able to focus entirely on your AO. Send me a signal if you need help, though, okay?”

  Nodding to himself, Trigger gave an affirmative response to the Arkbird. Nagase sighed to herself.

  “Honestly, it would be easier and a lot nicer if you could actually talk to me like everyone else—but then again, it’s people like you and Bze who are more or less capable of doing near-impossible stunts such as these, right?”

  A faint murmur could be heard in the background; the astronaut chuckled in response.

  “Yeah, well, I was there too when we did that, Bze…I wasn’t going to lose another flight lead, was I? Anyway, you’re cleared to engage, Trigger. Go give them Harling’s regards!”

  Arming his StormBreakers and ser pods, Trigger hit the afterburners and shot forwards, waiting in anticipation for the magic tone that would soon see a prized beast of the ancient past go up in fmes.

  Technician Pame Orchina looked up from her console in confusion as Pal Chimera Unit 07 inexplicably exploded, an orange fireball quickly transforming into a rger and more violent secondary azure detonation as the superweapon’s core systems went critical. As the various staff in the Cowne’s bridge froze and watched in shock, a singur bck figure darted right above the facility, releasing a series of objects from its underside and a scattering of bright pulses of light at a nearby Scyl—it, too, cracked open and exploded in a fiery bze, sending debris raining down on the surrounding facility.

  At the center of the room, the base commander whirled around to face his staff, his face white with rage. “Are we blind?! Deploy the defenses!”

  The facility itself began to shake as a nearby explosion struck a still-inactive SAM site a few floors away, arms bring as the bridge crew and the Annorials on duty began to scramble—Pame herself quickly reached for her radio equipment, frantically running through emergency procedures she never thought she herself would have had to complete as the technician began to call to Magicaregia for support.

  “This is Pal Cowne Zero to High Castle: emergency! We are under attack by enemy aircraft, and are in need of air support! Several Pal Chimerae have been disabled and are…”

  Pal Chimera Unit 12 was first to react, its fk guns quickly swiveling towards the lone DarkStar as its payload cimed another Pal Scyl still in port. Unit 05 in turn began to loudly hum as its crew activated its dormant engines, seeking to escape the facility and gain altitude before engaging the enemy fighter—others began preparing shields and SAMs, their anti-air defenses indiscriminately firing into the skies yet somehow failing to strike down the errant enemy. The fighter, for its part, swept around and continued to release payload after payload of its guided munitions, scoring hit after hit as the enemy pilot squashed each and every countermeasure the Annorials desperately sought to bring against him while his light-based weaponry dealt critical damage to key systems left and right.

  “This is Pal Chimera Unit 02, we’re unable to take off! Engines are offline and our magic gems have been knocked out of alignment—we’re going to need several days to fix the damage!”

  “Direct hit to Unit 21! We’ve lost contact with the bridge—sending emergency teams to assess the situation!”

  “How the hell did our guided missiles miss?! That pilot’s crazy!”

  “Weapons systems are non-operational! We’re sitting ducks here!”

  The DarkStar released another salvo of bombs, this time aimed at the supercentre of the Cowne. These hit several power stations embedded in close range to the bridge itself, setting off a series of catastrophic chain reactions as key systems overloaded—most safety shut down in time, but several vital components were ultimately incapable of safely handling an unexpected surge in raw magic-enhanced energy—

  A nearby console in the bridge exploded in a fiery bze of manna, sending officers flying and short-circuiting other equipment in the room as Pame shielded herself from the bst.

  The base commander was the first to recover, barking at the surviving officers, “Get back on your feet! Get the wounded to medical and give me a damage report!”

  A visibly shaken lieutenant turned towards him. “Sir, shields are offline and primary propulsion systems are critically damaged. We’re unable to take off, and there’s a risk of Cowne Zero sinking into the sea without immediate repairs; fires have also broken out on Decks Three through Twenty-Five, and our teams are struggling to suppress them—”

  The bridge shook once more, another Pal Scyl succumbing to the enemy pne’s bombs and its remains disappearing into the waves below. The commander stared at the sight in horror, as if only now allowing himself to fully recognise the scale of the catastrophe unfolding before him.

  “Sir, your orders?”

  “…begin evacuating all non-essential and non-combat personnel from Pal Cowne Zero. Prioritise the evacuation of all remaining Pal units from this facility—you, Technician! Where are our reinforcements?”

  Pame sat up. “Commander, air support is two minutes away. High Castle is also asking for further details before they send any more assistance; I think they still believe this is a drill.”

  The commander’s eyes widened in incredulous outrage. “A drill?! Hundreds of people are dying as we speak and Magicaregia still thinks this is a drill?! Get them to send more people here, and I don’t care what it takes—or else we’re all going to die!”

  “Sir, up in the sky! There’s something coming down towards the Cowne—”

  A blue line from the skies struck the approaching Pal Cowne with astonishing power, its vaporising beam instantly annihiting a Pal Chimera in the process of lifting off from one of its ptforms and into the skies. Aboard two Pal Aurora 3s on an intercept course with the facility, Lieutenant Pollon and his wingman gaped in astonishment at the otherworldly sight before them

  “Ancestors above! What the hell is that?!”

  “Demon Squadron, report! What are you seeing?!”

  “Talon, there’s some kind of beam from the heavens cutting through Pal Cowne Zero! Several of our own ships appear to be destroyed or disabled! Ancestors…there’s so many fires…”

  “Roger, we’re notifying High Castle about the situation—”

  A harsh static unexpectedly cut off the airborne radar unit’s transmission, causing Pollon and his wingman to wince in pain—the tter quickly recovered, turning down the volume and barking angrily into his radio in response. “Talon, your equipment’s broken again! Repeat st, over!”

  “…”

  “I say again, Talon, do you copy; over?”

  “Oh, gods—Mandel, above us!”

  Far above the two members of Demon Squadron, the fming wreckage that once was AEWA Talon was tumbling down uncontrolbly towards the sea—whether any survivors had managed to bail out, neither Pollon nor his wingman could tell for certain—

  “Hey, there’s a faint glimmer in the skies between Talon and us!”

  Pollon frowned. “What? I’m not picking up anything on the radar—”

  “Shit, incoming! Look out!”

  A singur bck object shot right between the two Pal Auroras, forcing the two to hastily break formation as the sheer shockwaves from its wake alone threatened to knock their aircrafts out of the sky. Pollon swore loudly and struggled to regain control, simultaneously keeping an eye out for whatever it was that nearly sent them towards the same unknown fate as their fellow Annorials.

  “Damn it! Did you see what that was? It’s even faster than we are!”

  “Looks like some kind of aircraft! We need to take it down, fast!”

  “Roger! Keep your eyes on a swivel—it might get the jump on us again—”

  “Crap, it’s on my tail! Pollon, help me—”

  A bright blue fsh enveloped Demon Two’s aircraft, the Pal Aurora immediately exploding and disintegrating at its touch. Pollon’s eyes widened in shock and anger, seeing no chute emerge from the fming wreckage before it crashed into the sea below—the seasoned pilot immediately swept around to face the formidable enemy, summoning all of his past training in hope that it would see him through this fight.

  “Damn you! Demon One in the blind, engaging!”

  The Pal Aurora fired a salvo of missiles at the angur craft, swerving and twisting in close pursuit with its foe. The enemy aircraft was fast, incredibly fast, yet it struggled to shake off Pollon and his attacks, dumping fres with each incoming projectile and sluggishly maneuvering to the sides in vain hope of circling around. The sole remaining pilot grinned savagely to himself—he would strike down this mysterious enemy, save Pal Cowne Zero, and inform Magicaregia for what had just happened—

  “Missile lock! Take this, you bastard—”

  The angur craft abruptly cut its speed, threatening to collide with the approaching Pal Aurora—

  “—what—”

  —Pollon’s eyes widened in shock, instinctively flying over the enemy pne—

  “—three lines?”

  —now behind the Pal Aurora, the mysterious pne fired its blue weapons—

  “Shit!”

  Demon One’s aircraft burst into fmes, the ace pilot only ejecting from his doomed pne in the nick of time as the DarkStar shot past and returned to Pal Cowne Zero.

  As his parachute deployed and he spshed harmlessly into the sea below, Pollon could only curse at the pilot that had brought him and his comrades down and wonder as to who he was…

  Orantha Castle, Magicaregia, Annorial Empire — February 21, 2020

  High General Duran frowned as he approached the radio technician. “Is something the matter, Lieutenant?”

  The operator shook her head, her wings twitching as she turned to face her superior in confusion. “Sir, I’m receiving reports of some kind of rogue aircraft attacking Pal Cowne Zero, but we’re not picking anything up on our long-range radars.”

  “Odd. Could be a rogue dragon on the loose—do we have any fighter squadrons in the area that can provide reconnaissance?”

  “Pal Cowne Zero already has three squadrons stationed for air defense, but I’ve been unable to reach them—I’ve simirly redirected the 15th Pal Aurora 3 Squadron from the mainnd to investigate, but we then lost contact with them soon after they entered the local airspace.”

  Growing slightly more concerned with each passing second, Duran paused. “So it’s a bigger dragon, then—but why haven’t the Pal Chimeras or Pal Auroras in Pal Cowne Zero dealt with them yet?”

  “The facility mentioned something about the aircraft attacking our ships before they could complete preflight checks. They’re still trying to deploy, but—”

  “Something’s not right. Verify if it’s a fighter we’re dealing with and how exactly it’s attacking Pal Cowne Zero.” Duran whirled to a nearby technician, barking orders as he walked towards him. “You! Have all regional bases on alert and report back immediately on their status!”

  Nodding, the officer turned to his equipment and spoke to a rge microphone, “This is High Castle to all units, be advised: Combat Alert Yellow is now in effect. Report in on your status in alphanumerical order—”

  “THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!”

  Duran and the technician jumped in surprise, the tter quickly recovering and barking angrily into the microphone. “Ancestors above, calm yourself! Who are you and what’s going on?!”

  “Ancestors help us! We’re picking up hundreds of radar signatures all over the board—it’s not just an isoted air raid: we’ve got over a dozen cruise and anti-ship missiles heading straight towards us alone!”

  “This is Outpost Fifteen—we have enemy fighters unching airstrikes on top of our missile silos! How the hell did they get through our radar?!”

  “High Castle, this the Seventh Fleet—our ships are under attack by some kind of magical beam from the skies! The gods are striking down our carriers and battleships as we speak—oh, Ancestors—”

  “Is there anyone out there?! This is Captain Zhenmann…direct hit on the facility ten kilometers out of Magicaregia…lots of casualties…need assistance at once!”

  The ground itself shook, sending loose objects flying and cttering loudly on the floor—Duran rushed to the window, his eyes widening in shock: a rge explosion enveloped the nearby docks where the Defense Fleet was stationed, with several fires already raging uncontrolbly in the distance.

  “Shit!”

  The High General whirled to the other staff present, already scrambling to respond to the rapidly rising number of distress calls with each passing second. “Mobilise all of our defenses and alert Emperor Zarathosthra at once! All stations, this is not a drill—the Annorial Empire is under attack, I repeat: the Annorial Empire is under attack!”

  From countless naval fleets stationed along the isnds east of the Annorial Empire, dozens upon dozens of conventional cruise missiles erupted from holds and silos and erupted into the skies, leaving columns of clouds in their wake. These unches and their payloads were quickly detected by Annorial radar outposts, who immediately reyed the information to Orantha Castle alongside all major military bases throughout the Empire—the magical realm in turn mobilised and unched their own defenses; anticipating a nuclear strike in retaliation for the attack on Setapura, the Emperor and his advisors quickly ordered their forces to intercept the incoming missiles and retaliate in kind. However, the Empire’s own perceptions of conventional warfare from their Ancestors’ history in Elysia and their limited technological capabilities had both assumed the worst yet still failed to anticipate what the Oseans still had in store for them.

  Over a dozen kilometers above the seas between the Vestal Kingdom and Bushpaka Lakan, squadrons of DarkStars and B-2 bombers released simir payloads as their naval counterparts—stealth missiles, exceeding the speed of sound by several magnitudes yet barely even detected by the Annorials amidst their frantic efforts to destroy the initial onsught of guided projectiles. Guided by other hypersonic aircraft in lower altitudes as they soared with near-impunity through enemy airspace, each missile soon found their mark: Annorial carriers in the process of unching their aircraft were unexpectedly struck and ripped apart as their mighty hulls were ruptured in blinding blue fshes of light; missile silos preparing their core magic payloads were buried or critically damaged as the very hills and mountains that hid them crumbled and colpsed; Pal Chimera were ripped apart or crippled as they rested on the surface; naval bases deploying their creatures to wreak havoc on Osean and Elysian ports and ships alike were destroyed, leaving the monsters formerly under their thrall to turn on their own masters and ravage the surrounding nds unimpeded. And where the DarkStars and their missiles failed to hit their mark, the Arkbird was swift to respond—a beam of light from the stars struck the surface of the Branchel continent with a thundering crackle, as Osean technology infused with raw magical power ripped into missile silos and naval vessels and sea monsters like a knife through butter. Piece by piece, the Annorial Empire’s war machine was gradually being dismantled before its very eyes.

  Yet oddly enough, not a single city or civilian area was targeted by either wave—within the innumerable shelters and bunkers throughout the Empire, the Annorials cowered yet wondered how long it would take before the attention of their unexpected interlopers would turn to them. Of course, that was how the Ancestors of old dealt with the savages who dared defy their divine right—surely these invaders would do the same?

  Even while the magic of the empires of the past cshed with the technology of the future, a singur DarkStar continued to evade pnes and anti-air fire alike above Pal Cowne Zero, scoring hit after hit as the massive superstructure began to list over to the side. A sudden explosion ripped apart a key arm of the ancient superfortress, causing it to plunge into the sea and exposing what appeared to be a narrow passageway leading inside the very heart of the Cowne itself—a glowing blue light could be seen inside, perhaps some kind of magic power source?

  Eyes narrowing in thought as an idea came to his head, Trigger swept his aircraft around and soared into the opening, ignoring all common sense and giving in to pure instinct as the sky and sea disappeared behind him.

  “What do you mean, we’ve lost all of our ground-based core magic capabilities?!”

  High General Duran buried his head in his hands as Emperor Zarathosthra raged, himself only barely suppressing his own dismay as report after report came in of mounting losses against the unprecedented Osean attack on its homend. “The missile attacks were incredibly precise and designed to force us to expend our existing defenses against the first wave—the second wave of missiles all appear to have had stealth capabilities and evaded our sensors, before specifically targeting all of our assets capable of retaliating. Their primary objective seems to be ensuring that we can’t use our own WMDs against their cities, while allowing their own conventional forces to hit or even nd on our own territories if they so choose.”

  “Well, what about our remaining Pal Scyls?! Tell them to unch their own payloads at the Osean Federation—an eye for an eye, if that’s the game that they want to py! Destroy their cities and their ships before our Empire is destroyed altogether! Our ambitions, our pns to recim Elysia in the name of our Ancestors before their arrival—all these are at risk of failure if we do not act fast, you fools!”

  “Your Holiness, I must strongly advise against such an action, even as appealing as it may be,” Director Zamuras interjected. “Less than a dozen Pal Scyls were out at sea prior to the attack, and having them deploy their weapons will risk depleting our remaining stockpiles—to say nothing about the risk of them also being intercepted and destroyed mid-unch, or how the Oseans will respond—”

  “They are cowards! They refuse to use their own nuclear weapons against us, blinded by their misguided pacifistic ideals—what makes you think that they will change their minds now?!”

  “The Oseans are already showing restraint with their reliance on their experimental aircraft instead of immediately escating to a direct nuclear exchange between our two nations,” Captain Zhenmann ftly replied, turning to face the Emperor as several aides rushed and began whispering to the various officials present. “Osea’s international ws clearly indicate that nuclear powers such as themselves already have a valid justification in unching their own weapons against us if they are struck first—we cannot encourage them to act upon that privilege, Your Holiness, if we are to have a future beyond this very day!”

  “And judging by our present status,” Duran added, “it seems that the Oseans want to show us that their conventional methods are already more than successful in crippling our existing forces without having to resort to outright nuclear warfare. I’ve just been notified—we’ve lost control of the vast majority of our sea monsters after our naval bases were wiped out. Several nearby cities are now reporting widespread damage from rampaging creatures, and our own forces are struggling to both pacify the fauna while engaging the Oseans simultaneously; no word yet on military and civilian casualties, but our estimates will likely rise the longer it takes for us to resolve this situation.”

  “How about our space satellites? Could we mobilise them against the Osean mainnd or the ships unching these missiles?”

  Duran shook his head. “We’ve attempted to activate what few Mystar weapons we have under our control, but the Oseans appear to be utilising their spaceship to disable them before they can even get into position. Not even conventional rockets appear to be effective—the vast majority have already been destroyed by the airstrikes, or intercepted mid-route by orbital or conventional units.”

  Zarathosthra snarled. “Our naval fleets are crippled, our airships damaged, our defenses ravaged, our core magic weapons disabled and inoperable and our prized beasts on the loose—how exactly are we supposed to retaliate?! I was under the impression that our own forces were more than capable of handling all the so-called superpowers of Elysia at once—yet a singur nation of inferior peoples has brought us to the brink of catastrophe without supposedly so much as lifting a single finger!”

  Raising a finger in suggestion, Zamuras was quick to respond. “Our options are as follows: one, we unch our remaining forces and Pal Chimerae and retaliate against the Oseans; two, we consolidate our defenses and prepare for a naval invasion of our territory; three, we deploy our surviving Pal Scyls’ core magic weapons and wipe out key targets amongst the Osean forces while we recoup our losses; and four, we open a diplomatic channel with Osea and attempt to negotiate a ceasefire.”

  “Are you suggesting that we surrender to the Oseans, Director?” Vorus accused.

  “Not a surrender, Vorus—I will thank you not to twist my words,” Zamuras scowled. “We’ve bloodied the Oseans, but they in turn have successfully bloodied us as well—a ceasefire would allow both parties to deescate the situation while we repair and rearm our forces for the greater conflict ahead; otherwise, not only would we put our ambitions of restoring the Ravernal Empire at risk at the current rate, but our own survival would also be in jeopardy.”

  “But we have already committed to this war!” Duran protested, turned to Zamuras in anger. “This is the conflict that is destined to purge the inferior civilizations from Elysia and culminate in the restoration of the Ravernal Empire—to falter at the very start of our great crusade would be nothing short of disastrous, if not outright treasonous to our Ancestors!”

  “And yet the other options are unlikely to give us the outcome that we currently desire, based on our own performance against the Oseans,” Zhenmann pointed out. “Retaliating would only serve to destroy what few combat effective units we have remaining, especially with the technological gap between our nations. Preparing for a naval invasion means abandoning our pns to destroy Osea and conquer the rest of Elysia, and a nuclear strike wouldn’t necessarily result in the destruction of the Osean Federation—one, the Space Elevator itself is all but impervious to our core magic weapons, and two, the Oseans might actually be compelled to use their own nuclear weapons in response. Mutually assured destruction, except our own destruction is far more likely than theirs.”

  “What exactly are you saying, Captain?”

  “Your Holiness, we may have been premature in our actions against Osea. If you would forgive my boldness, but I believe that our efforts to restore the Ravernal Empire through direct military force are no longer viable—the window of opportunity to destroy the Osean Federation has passed as a result of our incorrect assumption that the Oseans wouldn’t try something like this, and we now have to rethink our pns if we are to see our Ancestors return to a world under their rule.”

  Duran’s eye twitched. “You dare—”

  An aide ran into the room, his eyes frantic as he gestured wildly with a stack of papers in his hands. “Your Holiness, sirs! New transmission from Pal Cowne Zero: they’ve suffered critical damage and are on the brink of total colpse! Most if not all of the Pal Chimerae and Pal Scyle stationed in the facility have been destroyed or disabled!”

  Zhenmann paled, slumping into his seat as the room gasped and shouted in horror. “Eight Pal Chimerae…eight Pal Scyle…those were supposed to annihite the Holy Milishial Empire in a month’s time…”

  “Your Holiness, allow me to order the remaining crew to evacuate with what remaining assets we still have,” Duras requested. “The more of our Ancestors’ possessions we can save, the better chance we have at salvaging the current crisis at hand towards our ultimate goal—”

  “Make it happen,” Zarathosthra affirmed. “What was responsible for the facility’s destruction?”

  “Your Holiness,” the aide nervously replied, “it was a great beam from the sky…and a singur dark fighter that outfought everything we could send and shoot at it…”

  “What?!”

  Pal Cowne Zero, Sea of Solitude, Annorial Empire — February 21, 2020

  “Trigger, do you copy?! I’ve lost track of you on all my sensors! Trigger—”

  Ignoring Edge’s frantic calls, Trigger looked around at the internal structure of the Pal Cowne as his DarkStar navigated the long tunnel toward the superstructure’s core. The damage inside wasn’t as severe compared to out in the open—Trigger suspected all his missiles and sers might have been partly responsible for that—but fires and smoke could still be seen throughout the countless corridors and walkways lining the tunnel itself, and the pilot often found himself quickly maneuvering his aircraft around falling debris and colpsing panels as the facility continued to tip over to the side. Sensing that the surroundings would likely become increasingly dangerous for his DarkStar (or any other aircraft for that matter) to navigate as the structure continued to capsize, Trigger began to gently accelerate towards the end of the tunnel, keeping his eye trained on the glowing light ahead.

  With a rush of wind in its wake, the DarkStar reached the end of the tunnel and emerged at what clearly was the center of the Pal Cowne itself. Seven other identical tunnels stretched out to the other ends of the Annorial facility, but at the center was a glowing, pulsating purple light that seemed to be in a state of flux—mere seconds away from colpsing into itself and unleashing the energy of a dying star, yet held at the brink by four identical objects (mechanical? Magical? Some arcane combination of the two?) that appeared to be drawing…something from the light. Magical technology (let alone something as advanced as those used by the ancient Ravernals) was something beyond Trigger’s knowledge or even paygrade, but the pilot suddenly had a sneaking suspicion that if something were to happen to the unknown light—or more specifically, the artefacts around it…

  Quickly looking around and pnning his next move, Trigger steeled himself and banked hard, missiles at the ready.

  A pair of AIM-9s impacted each artifact, causing the four objects to rupture and disintegrate in colorful explosions and destabilising the anomalous pulsating ball of energy they contained—from his cockpit, Trigger reckoned he had roughly less than half a minute to make himself scarce. Even as the superstructure continued to list to the side, sinking deeper into the sea with each passing second, the ace’s DarkStar swooped swiftly towards the solitary tunnel still above the waterline, a cascade of explosions and magical fire erupting in its wake as the pilot once again weaved through debris and colpsing infrastructure.

  With afterburners at full throttle, Trigger barely managed to outpace the wall of destruction mere inches away from his tail as his aircraft breached the sound barrier once more—a stream of ser fire and missiles made swift work of the panels still obstructing the distant end of the tunnel, blowing a hole for the DarkStar to punch out of the Pal Crowne in the nick of time as the core of the superstructure itself went critical.

  “Is everyone here? All right, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

  Pal Cowne Zero was lost—that much was for certain, its crew glumly realised as they began to row away from their doomed vessel aboard dozens of inftable rafts. The fming wreckage of the prized Ravernal ships they were meant to defend littered the surrounding seas, a grim reminder of the sheer magnitude of their failure as the superstructure continued to explode and crumble—above them, the blue light of death continued its path of destruction as other explosions could be heard in the far distance.

  Perhaps some comfort could be taken that Pal Cowne Zero wasn’t the only target, Pame mused as her raft drifted away. Not that it wouldn’t likely prevent her and her fellow survivors from facing the Emperor’s wrath for their shortcomings—although if the radio transmissions she had overheard amidst her communications with Magicaregia were of any indication, the whole situation was starting to feel more of a failure on the part of whoever didn’t see the attack coming when it did. Maybe some generals and spymasters would see the chopping block, perhaps?

  Several murmurs rose amongst the rafts, becoming frightened screams and shouts as the center of the superstructure itself suddenly began to glow a bright purple, lighting erupting from its exterior surface and the waters itself began to vibrate—a humming, thrumming noise grew louder and louder as the fires within the burning Pal Cowne turned from a pale orange and yellow to a bright purple, raw magical power mere seconds away to being unleashed—

  “Ancestors help us, the core’s going to explode! Brace for—”

  Pal Cowne Zero disappeared in a blinding bze of purple light, the Ravernal superstructure and the remaining superweapons still present but unable to be evacuated in time vaporized in an instant by a violent dispy of core magic not seen in countless millennia. The shockwave reverberated throughout the surrounding region, with even seismometers in Magicaregia picking up the faintest rumblings from hundreds of kilometers away—trees and buildings along the coastlines shook and shuddered and even the DarkStar itself was rattled by the bst, yet Trigger kept his aircraft steady through sheer force of will. As the vibrations subsided, the young pilot released a breath he didn’t realise he had been holding, the vague noise from his radio returning to his attention once more.”

  “…he’s back on our sensors! Trigger, do you read me? What the hell did you just do, vanishing and reappearing like that?! You gave us a goddamn fright here, you moron!”

  Muttering something incomprehensible, the pilot took a quick gnce back at the sinking debris and nodded to himself as he immediately began preparations for the spaceflight back home—his scramjets still operational and in good condition, the journey through the border between the atmosphere and outer space would thankfully be hardly as eventful as the aerial shenanigans of the past half hour.

  “Seriously, Trigger? Damn it, you’re just as idiotic as Bze here—oh, don’t give me that look, Captain! You know just as much as me that we should never survived the War by all accounts with everything we had to pull off—”

  Nagase’s husband made an indignant noise of protest, squawking in annoyance over the radio at her remark.

  “…well, I guess we still followed you and Pops into those tunnels even considering how suicidal that was…and also in Sudentor…and in the SOLG…you know what? Nevermind…”

  “Mage One is alive! He’s annihited the enemy naval facility!”

  The briefing room in Oured immediately burst into cheers, President Bartlett himself colpsing onto his seat with a mixture of annoyance and relief as the Arkbird continued to rey the newly-reacquired data on the suspected Singurity. “Damn nuggets…”

  Overhearing his remark, Vice Chairman Edwards turned towards Jack in confusion. “Sir?”

  “Sorry, ignore that,” the President hurriedly brushed him off. “Just had some fshbacks to that whole mess in Sudentor back in the day…have our technicians find out what the hell happened to Three Strikes once he nds back in Setapura, will you?”

  “Errr…right away, sir.”

  “It looks like the destruction of the facility’s having an immediate effect on the local wildlife,” Brigadier General Clements reported from the corner of the room. “Several sea monsters previously on an intercept course with our fleets in Varknd and the Vestal Kingdom have reversed course or are changing directions—or are now engaging Annorial naval units they were previously escorting. We shouldn’t have any more problems with those creatures for the time being, Mr. President.”

  “So that’s…what, the vast majority of the Annorials’ units out of action?”

  “We’ve hit almost all of their nuclear assets, disabled the vast majority of their Pal Chimerae and Scinfaxi-css submarines, de-whammied their sea monsters, and left their remaining forces exposed to whatever we want to throw at them. With the Arkbird in orbit above the Branchel continent and the Coast Guard in full alert, we should be able to successfully intercept any kind of retaliatory strike the Annorials might try to pull off—heck, we might even be able to start an invasion of the Empire itself if we so choose.”

  “Almost all of our primary objectives appear to be complete,” Edwards confirmed, “and accomplishing the full ste should be more than sufficient in forcing the Annorials to stand down and stop their maneuvers against Osea and Gra Valkas. There’s just one more thing that we need to do—to demonstrate to the Annorial government in person that nothing that they can throw at us will ever be enough compared to what we’re truly capable of achieving in the skies.”

  Clements frowned. “Weren’t our surgical airstrikes enough to achieve that aim?”

  The Vice Chairman shook his head and smirked, a smug expression on his face as he turned to face the Brigadier.

  “It’s one thing for the Annorials to hear about the destruction of their forces through eyewitness accounts, Clements. It’s another thing to see a single enemy pne in the skies outfight even the greatest pilots of your generation and think: we could be dead right now, so what gives?”

  “It’ll be like Eshirant all over again,” the President added with no small amount of schadenfreude in his expression, “except this time we’ll be fighting our magical equivalents for the very first time. Should be quite the show for us, considering who we’re sending to the enemy capital—though we probably can’t say the same for the Annorials, though, can we?”

  The officials present chuckled at that, feeling no sympathy for the Annorials’ imminent plight whatsoever.

  “Mr. President?”

  Bartlett turned towards the entrance to the Briefing Room, recognising the Press Secretary as she walked towards him. “Jennifer? What’s up?”

  “Your public announcement regarding the ongoing conflict is due to start in about ten minutes.”

  “Oh, yes, right. Edwards, give the Arkbird my personal order to unch the final stage of the operation—and make sure all the cameras on the Falken work this time.”

  “I’ll get to it, Mr. President.”

  Albion Castle, Runepolis, Holy Milishial Empire — February 21, 2020

  “Your Excellency, wake up! We’ve just received urgent news regarding the Oseans!”

  Rubbing his eyes as he rose from his bed, Emperor Milishial’s head turned to the servant that had disturbed his rest. “What is it? What do they want from us?”

  “We’re receiving unconfirmed reports from our merchants in Bushpaka Lakan that Osean aircraft have attacked the Annorial Empire! Several locations have been hit, and President Bartlett himself is about to make a public statement on the news!”

  All thoughts of returning to sleep immediately vanished as Milishial’s eyes widened in surprise. “The Annorials? Why would Osea attack the Annorial Empire?! Summon my advisors and get me a magical viewer, at once!”

  “Yes, Your Excellency!”

  Rising to his feet and quickly reaching for his robes as the rest of his staff scurried off, the Emperor frowned and began mentally noting down the countless tasks he and his ministers would undoubtedly need to do—but first, more information was needed for the situation that was already unfolding before him.

  Events were happening quicker than the Holy Milishial Empire could react—far from being at the center of the action as the premier civilization of Elysia had always expected, it was now frustratingly at risk of being left behind…

  Nivles Castle, Ragna, Gra Valkas Empire — February 21, 2020

  “Do we have confirmation from the Oseans that the attack on the Annorial Empire is taking pce?”

  Seated opposite Emperor Gra Lux, Director Akkan nodded as he, Minister Mopole, General Siegs, and the other officials and Senators present continued to discuss the ongoing developments—the shocking news from Bushpaka Lakan was surprisingly quick to filter through the rest of Elysia, with both spies and overenthusiastic mouths disseminating increasingly overexaggerated stories of DarkStars annihiting cities and armies alike with a single shot of their sers or of Osea summoning mythological demons from the ancient gods to strike down entire continents. With increasing concerns about the matter at hand—especially in light of recent events—the Emperor had summoned his advisors to Nivles Castle for an emergency meeting to figure out what exactly was going on.

  “Officially, no,” Akkan replied, “but we can be certain that the Osean fleets originally in the Phidean and Grameus continents have since relocated further south to Varknd—the official statement was something about strategic maneuvers in light of the attack on Setapura, but there were suspicions that they might have been in preparation for a reprisal campaign against the Annorials.”

  Turning to the Emperor as he shook his head in disgust, Senator Marix spoke up, “If the Oseans view us as a partner in our efforts to contain the Annorial Empire, then why exactly have they decided to uniterally attack—especially now, of all times?! Do they not view us as capable in assisting them in their plight?”

  “Considering both the Grade Astar and its naval escorts were barely able to escape the attack on Setapura—and after suffering significant casualties and damages, at that—I should hardly think our own forces would be capable of standing a chance against the Annorials,” Senator Eisenner rebutted, shifting in his seat to look at his ideological rival in annoyance. “Or would you like to risk our Empire losing another fleet to an enemy that technologically outpaces us by several decades?”

  “We were stabbed in the back, attacked when our guard was down and our forces wounded,” Marix shot back, unsatisfied by Eisenner’s response. “An attack on our own terms in retaliation for the injuries dealt to us would undoubtedly give us the victory that we deserve—and yet the Oseans would deny us that in the name of avenging their dead emissary? Clearly, we aren’t exactly seen as equals by our so-called allies!”

  Director Akkan rose to his feet, increasingly irritated at Senator Marix’s knee-jerk reactions and seeking to restore order to the meeting. “Senators, I must interject—we are currently basing our assessments on mere conjecture as of right now! We have no solid intel to suggest that an attack is even taking pce, let alone what the purpose of such an engagement would be! We cannot let wanton specution based on the tales of a few lowly Milishial merchants and vagabonds determine our response to this situation—”

  “What other proof do we need?! The Oseans have left us in the dark after offering aid in destroying our mutual enemies—”

  “Well, why wouldn’t the Oseans attack the Annorials in the first pce?!” Eisenner had simirly stood up, his eyes gring accusingly at Marix. “We would have done the same if these Elysian bastards dared strike down our Crown Prince—and by all accounts, he himself was but a stroke of luck away from suffering the same fate as the te Ambassador Harling!”

  “Silence!”

  It was rare for Emperor Gra Lux to raise his voice, the leader of the Empire itself viewing such emotional outbursts to be an unnecessary sign of weakness in times of crisis. However, the bickering amongst his advisors was clearly no longer contributing to the matter at hand—recognising the tone in his outburst, the Senators took the hint and sat back down.

  “Director Akkan, Minister Mopole, do we have any information from the Oseans themselves about the situation, or barring that, any actual details about what is happening in the Annorial Empire?”

  Mopole shook his head, pulling his files from a stack of documents between him and Akkan for reference. “Directors Gesta and Ciel have confirmed that they weren’t notified about any kind of movements prior to the ongoing incident, but Ciel is now currently seeking to get in touch with her counterparts in Oured. She’s stated that she’s expecting a response within a few hours—or barring that, considering IUN protocols regarding operations such as this, an official announcement within roughly twenty-four hours.”

  “What we can confirm,” Akkan added, “is that forces from the Osean Federation are actively within the territory of the Annorial Empire itself—what exactly it is or what its objectives are, we have yet to find out.”

  “Or otherwise, the Oseans have yet to tell us,” Gra Lux concluded with no small amount of frustration. “Very well; since we have no actions avaible to us at this time until Director Gesta’s staff or the Osean government itself provide any new information, we shall reconvene at a ter date—”

  “Your Excellency,” Siegs interrupted, nodding as another officer hurriedly whispered to his ear, “apologies for interrupting, but the Osean ambassador has just informed Minister Mopole’s staff that President Bartlett will be making a live television address shortly. I believe he might be about to give us the information that we’ve been looking for…”

  “Your Holiness…Pal Cowne Zero was destroyed. We’ve lost contact with all remaining forces in the surrounding region.”

  The Annorial officials present sank defeatedly into their seats as Emperor Zarathosthra regarded the catastrophic loss with no small amount of anger. For one of the most prized relics of the Ancestors to be destroyed in a matter of minutes was nothing short of disastrous, and their pns for accelerating their return were now undoubtedly set back by years at best—and that would assume that the Oseans didn’t do anything else—

  “Your Holiness!” The door to the briefing room had burst open as the aide from earlier returned, High General Duran behind him with a simirly pale expression. “We’ve picked up radar signatures less than fifty kilometers away from Magicaregia—the enemy’s about to unch an air raid on the capital itself!”

  Director Zamuras whirled to face the Emperor. “Your Holiness, we must get you to safety! The safe room in the lower levels of the command centre—if the fighters have nuclear weapons, we should be able to withstand an attack there—”

  Zarathosthra nodded as he stood to attention, his face grim yet determined to see this final crisis through. “Relocate all critical staff and operations to the emergency areas. And redirect every single fighter squadron we’ve got left in the area to our location—Magicaregia itself must not fall!”

  A singur fighter shot across the skies towards a nd where a people, still believing in their superiority based on old tales of chaos and destruction, had only just realised the precariousness of their fragile fantasy and found themselves all but helpless amidst their newfound epiphany. A vivid palette of blue and white contrasted the sharp reds and yellows of the Annorial fgs it zoomed over, its jagged forward wings slicing through the air and leaving onlookers below to stare at its wake in shock—in a world where dragons and arcane magicks that brought sacred artifacts from ancient times into the skies dominated the skies for untold millennia, a mechanical craft without a touch of Elysian magic or the aetherial curves of the Pal Auroras was but a foreign sight. An abomination, even, for those unfortunate enough to correctly surmise its true origin—apart for a few vague letters and numbers, only one defining feature could be seen on its wings as it approached the Annorial capital of Magicaregia:

  A blue ribbon, wrapping around itself in an infinite loop.

  From the skies above the Annorial Empire, a single message was transmitted from Oured to the Arkbird, to be conveyed to a singur E-767, simirly en route to Magicaregia itself:

  “Begin the final stage of the attack—inform SkyEye that the Ribbon Singurity is cleared to engage!”