I looked over the battlefield.
For a moment, everything had slowed. Both sides had paused, their attention drawn to the destruction of the spikes. Even the drifting warfields had stilled slightly, as if the void itself was reacting to what had just happened.
I let out a breath and spoke.
"What are you waiting for? Destroy the legion."
My voice spread across the battlefield, echoing through space.
That was enough. The Naga forces erupted.
A wave of cheers broke out, and in the next instant, the entire formation surged forward again. The hesitation was gone. The moment of shock had passed. Now it was only war.
My summons moved first.
Ragnar let out a deep roar that shook the space around him as he released his restraint. His body expanded rapidly, muscles growing, bones shifting, until he stood as a massive ape, towering over everything nearby. His fists clenched as he slammed into the battlefield, crushing through phantoms and abominations alike.
Beside him, Silver transformed.
His body stretched and shifted into his bird form, wings spreading wide as he rose into the air. His size dwarfed even the floating debris around him, and with a single sweep of his wings, he cut through waves of enemies, scattering them across the void.
Then the battlefield shook again.
A massive tree erupted from nowhere, its roots bursting outward and spreading rapidly. They tore through space, crashing into the Eternal legion, binding, crushing, and tearing apart anything they touched.
But it was Ash who changed the flow of the battle the most.
Across the battlefield, the floating space bubbles that held clusters of Eternal forces began to glow. Runes appeared along their outer surfaces, one after another, forming complex sealing patterns.
His work.
The runes tightened. The bubbles began to compress.
Then collapse.
Entire sections of the battlefield vanished as the space within those bubbles was crushed completely, taking everything inside with it.
On another front, Steve, North, and Azalea fought together.
Azalea had already shifted into her blue serpent form, her massive body crashing directly into the legion, tearing through their formations. Steve moved beside her, his sword cutting cleanly through anything below Upper Transcendent, his strikes fast and relentless.
North fought differently.
She stayed close to Knight.
Shadows spread beneath them, and from within those shadows, they appeared and disappeared, striking key targets. Legion controllers, commanders, support units, one after another, they were taken down before they could react.
I watched it all.
And I could see it clearly. Their levels were rising fast.
I watched the rift closely. There was no response. No shift from the rift. No surge of power from the other side. No sign of a Saint stepping in to stop what I was doing.
A small smile formed on my face.
"Then let’s push it further..."
I raised my hand again.
The tablet above trembled, and the chains responded instantly. They rose once more, heavier this time, their weight pressing down on me as they moved. I felt it again, that strain running through my body but I didn’t stop and activated Node 1 again.
The chains shot forward.
They wrapped around another black crystalline spike, coiling tightly around it as they locked into place. The spike resisted, just like before, pushing back with force from the rift itself.
I pulled.
Node 1 flared again within me, and with it, my strength surged.
The spike tore free. This time, I didn’t lift it high. I held it in front of me.
Then I changed something else.
Fire spread across it first, flames igniting along its surface, turning the black crystal into a burning mass. Then lightning followed, coursing through it in violent arcs, cracking across its structure, filling it with unstable energy.
The entire spike began to tremble in my control.
I spun the spikes using the chain and threw it. The massive structure shot forward like a comet, tearing through space as it headed straight into the rift. It crossed the boundary, disappearing partially into the shifting colors of the tear.
And just before it vanished completely, I clenched my hand.
The chains reacted.
And I detonated it.
BOOM!
The explosion was not just force.
It was disruption.
The spike shattered inside the rift, releasing everything at once, fire, lightning, and the raw energy holding it together. The entire rift trembled violently, its edges collapsing and reforming in chaotic waves.
For the first time I heard a reaction from the other side.
Screams.
Shouts.
The reaction spread instantly. The remaining spikes vibrated, the rift twisting under the damage, struggling to stabilize itself.
Then the space within the rift parted as I could feel something move on the other side. A figure stepped out slowly, floating forward from the tear.
It was another Eternal standing at almost ten feet tall. Just like me it glowed silver as well.
But there was a difference.
At its navel, a core was visible. A sphere of condensed Essence, shining brightly, its light steady and powerful.
A Saint.
Its gaze fell directly on me. And the moment it appeared, the battlefield changed.
Every Eternal across the battlefield, whether Upper Transcendent or far below, began to glow. A faint silver light spread across their bodies, seeping through their forms like something had awakened within them. The change was subtle at first, but within seconds it deepened, their presence sharpening as the glow stabilized.
I narrowed my eyes.
My perception expanded instantly, sweeping across the battlefield again, this time focusing on each individual Eternal.
And I saw it. Their strength was rising.
It was being pushed forward, lifted by something external. Their movements became cleaner, their control tighter, their attacks more coordinated. Even the phantoms and abominations reflected the change.
The entire legion had just been reinforced.
"Wow..." I muttered under my breath. "Now that’s what I call reinforcement."
I exhaled slowly.
Then I released the chains.
The crimson links lost their tension and drifted back, no longer bound by my will. At the same time, I deactivated Node 1, letting the surge of strength settle down. The strain faded, replaced by a calmer, steadier control.
I didn’t need brute force right now. This was going to be different.
The battlefield had shifted.
And I knew it. The fight from this point onward wouldn’t be about overwhelming them. It would be about handling something far more dangerous.
I looked at the Saint again. At the glowing core embedded in his body.
Then I smiled faintly.