[The wheels of history rumble on; all was set long ago. All I can do is guide her to the land of truth and fulfill our long vow. I am a demon, a false god, yet this is all I can do. Trust that all will be made clear. At the world’s end, we shall stand shoulder to shoulder and fight.]

On 3/19, Paris wore a black satin cloak embroidered with a white dragon. His eyes gleamed like molten gold. Waves curled through his hair as he stood before a full-length mirror.

He checked his eyes, left and right, hunting for a flaw. Finding none, he let a contemptuous curl touch his mouth and strode out of the castle.

The sky was a vast wash of blue and white, the sun a high coin. Light poured like warm rain. A steady sea breeze carried salt and peace. The water shone, clear and azure.

Patrol boats and merchantmen came and went at the harbor mouth. Traders hauled cargo. Travelers wandered and laughed. Troupes sang and danced. Acrobats drew applause like rolling surf.

The royal fleet formed up and paraded. Months ago, the Second Fleet captain’s betrayal was smothered by the king, yet every sailor knew. Rage burned with a tremor of paranoia.

No one had imagined it. A captain once respected. Comrades who’d shared life and death. They betrayed at the worst moment, and freed Manto and Erig, two of Eunomia’s darkest war criminals.

Manto was left gravely wounded, but the pursuing fleet paid dearly. One ship blown apart. Hundreds dead. Three warships crippled. Worst of all, the quarry escaped.

Sia City was besieged for over three days, and not a single ship noticed. The cases were indirect, yet each one slapped the navy’s proud face.

Morale cracked. Thankfully, Elyu did not forget their pain. Timely mending and fresh strength let them stitch themselves back together.

Now their spirits stood high. If they met that damned Segireneto again, they’d show him what true hell was.

A man past thirty took over the Second Fleet. He had a brown crew cut and wore silver armor. A blue Sixpetal Rose on his chest marked his branch.

“Hm?” The Second Fleet captain looked toward the coast. Maybe it was a trick, but the sunlight seemed to dim.

In the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, the light went dull. The sun still hung high and strange, and you could stare at it without pain.

“This…” The captain stared, stunned by the omen he could not grasp.

Sailors and the helmsman stopped their work and watched the sky, wary as cats.

The heavens were flawless and blue. Yet the sun shed no warmth. A chill crept in. The blaze looked like a lamp out of oil, fading to death.

“Captain! The other fleets stopped too. What’s going on?” The first mate, leather coat dark with spray, asked with fear on his face.

The man’s eyes flicked. Thought failed him. He turned on his heel and thundered below. He grabbed a white pigeon, scrawled coded numbers, tied them on, and flung it skyward.

The pigeon knifed through the air toward the palace.

“Oooh—”

“Beautiful—”

Nobles and commoners filled a square, open hall, cheering and clapping as the troupe performed. Joy chimed like wind-bells.

“Good—hmm?” A young man in plain gray noticed the light turn wrong. His face shifted. He stared up, puzzled.

“Hey, Kali, what’re you staring at? Aren’t you worried the sun will—” His friend choked mid-joke. He looked up. His eyes went wide with raw fear.

The sky began to bleach. Black clouds pressed in from afar, eating blue at a steady, heavy march. Two dark lines appeared above and below the sun, stretching down like teeth.

…

“Dear, look at the sky!” Penero’s flower-bright face lost color. Her eyes shone with fright.

Ostos bared his teeth in a grimace, muttering, “Black Dragon devours the sun? Impossible… How can this be…”

“Dear?” Penero had never seen Ostos like this. Her fear deepened as she stared at the black tide of cloud.

…

“Captain! This weather’s wrong!” The sailors felt the air thin. The sky pressed down like a millstone.

“Move! Raise sail! Full speed for the harbor mouth!” The captain’s instinct kicked. The ship lunged, driving hard for shore.

Kra-koom—

Rrrr-rrrumble—

A lightning serpent scored the sky. Thunder split the air. A thick bolt slammed down in the distance and lopped the top off a misty mountain.

The thunder was a signal. Raindrops like yellow beans poured from the vault, drenching the earth.

The dense drops were sharp as ice awls. Bare skin stung under the pelting.

Wooo-ooo-ooo—Oo-oo-oo—

A gale howled and whipped the rain sideways. Sheets of water and the keening wind rolled toward the palace like a gray tide.

“Your Majesty, watch out—” Delaia pulled Elyu down, sheltering them behind the balcony’s stone lip.

Pak—clatter-clatter—

Wind-dragged rain smashed the wall where Elyu had stood. The force shook stones loose from the special masonry.

“Heaven and earth turn strange. The Empire totters… Will heaven destroy my Eunomia?” Paris stood unbowed in the lash of rain and wind.

“Prime Minister! Please, take shelter first—” A noble’s voice trembled with worry.

Paris did not move. He let the downpour scour him like penance.

…

Bee-ooo-ooo—

A bolt struck and dove into the sea. The surface shuddered like a drum.

Splaash—oooh—

Cyclone winds roared like an angry god. They heaved mountains of water. Ships rose and fell, shaking like leaves.

Before the absolute power of nature, human “strength” looked laughably small.

“Hold her—” the captain shouted, steadying chaos. He’d seen scenes like this before.

Whraaash—gong—

A heaving wave raced in from where the lightning fell, rolling like a charging wall.

“Ah—tsunami—tsunami incoming—” Panic finally cracked the captain’s voice. It all moved too fast for countermeasures.

This wave was blisteringly fast, colossal beyond any memory. In under two minutes, it swept in from a hundred kilometers out, the sea pitch-black under cloud.

A fifty-meter giant, enough to erase any fleet in a breath.

He watched himself and his ship lifted and flung tens of meters high. He roared, “Regido—”

A lance of light shot out. Horror followed a heartbeat later.

The beam vanished into the sea. The surface gaped like an abyssal maw and devoured all that rolled in. His Magic Breaker was eaten clean. Not even spray rose. Before shock could stick—

The sky slapped him down. The ship fell and shattered. Countless soldiers were dragged under, lost without a trace.

…

“Raise the flood barrier—”

“Fall back—fall back—”

End-times voices rang. The reaper wave barreled in. Inside the coastline, a steel wall rose. Gates slammed shut. The crowds had been cleared.

The soldiers did not rest. They drove civilians toward shelters. Hippo charged with war-breaking momentum, Black Spear in hand, galloping for the gate.

Rrrrr—

Crack—crack—

The royal city’s ground split. A serpent-shaped fissure tore uphill, arrowing straight at the palace.

People wailed. Elyu stood stunned. “Why… Could it be… has Eunomia’s fate truly run dry? I don’t believe it. I refuse!

God of Eunomia! If You still shelter us, show Your might. Carry us safely through this calamity—”

He hadn’t finished. The iconic statue of a woman not far from the palace was eaten by the crack. Its base gave way. It toppled with a roar.

It smashed the paving and shattered. The slim sword in her hand broke into pieces. Her proud, regal armor split apart, her form no longer knowable.

…

Boom—crackle—bang—

The flood barrier had not fully risen. It was blown in half. It still managed to break the wave. The wave turned to a hammering flood and slammed the wall above the gate.

The battered wall collapsed at once. The gate burst. The rolling flood became a charging beast and poured into the city.

The blow was softened. The sea lacked a second push. It flooded only to a third of the palace grounds and stopped. Water meters deep swallowed those who could not flee.

“Ah-nngh—” A roar split heaven and earth. A mushroom-cut boy fell from the sky. He landed atop the flood and stood on it.

“Regido—” His fist crashed down. White light flared in his eyes. A shockwave bloomed from his knuckles and blasted the water apart. The level dropped at once.

Most people were saved on the knife’s edge and drew breath again.

Tianensai’s knees went soft. He knelt. Sweat and seawater slicked his skin. His fair, boyish face turned paler, yet in that instant he looked like the handsomest man alive, saving thousands.

Hippo rode through water barely a foot deep and nodded in praise. He gave Tianensai his respect, then sprinted for the outer wall.

Tianensai’s vision went black. He pitched forward. Healers sprinted in, lifted him to a stretcher, and rushed him to safety.

Rain fell like tossed chestnuts. The water kept rising. The sky howled. The earth keened. The heavens hung dead as doomsday. In the distance, another wave rose. Lightning struck and clung to the watery wall, lacing the surge with eldritch light.

Hippo stood on the half-ruined rampart. Red light flickered in his eyes. His grip tightened on the Black Spear. His body radiated a crushing, towering force.

“Natural wrath? God’s fury? Good. Then I’ll break the sky. I’ll slay the gods.

Watch, whether man or god—invade Eunomia and pay the price!” Hippo howled at the vault. Stones around him exploded. His ferocity shot into the clouds, punching a hole in the black to show buried blue.

“Re..gi..do…” A death-knell voice tolled. A jet-black pillar blasted skyward. In it, a pair of blood-red demon eyes flickered. Then—