The will of the plane thanked him. Then it broke apart and fused with him. The tiny motes of consciousness that make it up became connected directly to him. He became the child of the plane just like that. There was no light effect or anything. He didn't even feel any different except for the connection to the plane.
The connection will empower him if it had any power to give. That's still a long time to come. Then there's the feeling that he will share in the fate of the plane good or bad. He can break it off anytime so he has nothing to worry about.
He shook his head in pity. "This plane is too weak."
He didn't know how malnourished the plane was before but now he knows. It is normal for life to die every moment but there's a problem when the death rate is higher than the birth. Zargoth plane has gone beyond that point where there is a problem. It is doomed.
New life is not being created while death saturates the plane. The Celestial Supreme's recent tantrum dealt a great deal of damage to the plane. If not for the sudden influx of mana through the connection then the consciousness would never have woken up ever again. Only something drastic can change the fate of the plane as it is.
There are three things that can change its fate right now. One of them is for him to pump Origin energy and mana into the plane through Soverick. He is not going to do that. The effects are unknown and it might compromise Soverick. There's no need to risk the Virut plane for the Zargoth plane.
The second thing is opening the gate of the plane and allowing mana to enter from the ancient battlefield. That will give access to the plane to outsiders and disrupt Legion's plan for it so he is not doing that. The third and most promising option is to create a permanent channel to the abyss. That is very feasible and within Legion's plan so they will do that.
The contractor responsible for doing it has also arrived. Aeternus entered the Zargoth plane. He nodded to Helios and Helios nodded back. Then Helios flew towards the next target. There's more to be done.
The two of them don't need to talk. They know what's there to know because their minds are linked. They don't need to exchange pleasantries either. The nod that they gave each other is because even though they are joined together in their minds, they have an individual sense of identity. They are simply acknowledging that individualism with a nod.
Aeternus waited for his army to get into formation. It is going to take a while before 495 million troops will get through the portal even with a portal empowered with three Authorities. The width of the portal has increased so it shouldn't take much time.
His dukes entered after him and surrounded him for instructions while they waited. Terrifying beings of power towering above a small demon that no one will believe is their lord, yet they are all kneeling to this short demon. Their current situation made the dukes realize how far above them their lord really is.
Baal looked around confused, "Where are we? This is not the Armageddon of the plane. Did we get lost, lord Khaos?"
The portal had switched during its activation so he feared that they had gotten lost.
"No, we didn't. We simply bypassed the divine plane and entered the main plane." Aeternus answered stoically.
Baal was stunned. He wasn't the only one to be shocked. The other dukes were also all shocked. Baal opened his mouth several times but ultimately kept quiet. He believes what Aeternus said. He just cannot fathom how it happened. He has a lot of questions but he felt it inappropriate to ask them so he decided to keep quiet.
Aeternus understood their confusion. So he said to them. "A traitor opened the door for us."
"You mean a Celestial had a hand to do with this, lord Khaos? I am in awe of your abilities, my lord." Xander praised.
Xander is the one in charge of infiltration and espionage so she knows what it means to tempt others to betray their society. She thought she knew almost everything that can be known about Aeternus but she didn't expect that her lord can secretly tempt a Celestial to open a backdoor into the plane for them. A Celestial is a being on par with a demon king and yet, one deigns to make deals with a high-rank demon.
Aeternus nodded. "The gods of this plane are very strong and they have a very strong leader. But this leader wantonly kills Celestials to consolidate his power. A Celestial betrayed the plane so that we can come and cause chaos. Our job is to destroy every church in the mortal realm."
They understood how they got access. A Celestial made a deal with Aeternus. The Celestial will grant them access and in exchange, they will undermine the religions in the plane. There may be more to the deal but the dukes didn't ask further. It is not their position to question but to execute the will of their lord and that's what they will do.
Infernox asked hopefully. "Can we burn and pillage as much as we want?"
That's the most important thing to a demon. It is doubly important to a demon of wrath that just lost a fight. Nothing fixes that bad mood like good old-fashioned carnage and destruction. He knows that they are on a job but he will like to enjoy doing his job too.
"You can burn and pillage as much as you want."
Aeternus's answer relieved them. All of them perked up with anticipation. The plane wouldn't know what hit. The civilization of the giants of order will crumble. It may hurt the plane in the short run to have the bulk of life in it massacred but it will benefit it in the long run. Giants of order are parasites and pests while the invading demons are the much needed pesticide.