Reidar shared skill after skill with the Shadow Guardians that Xy'tharr's primary summons spawned. The chain reaction spread exponentially as each guardian summoned more guardians, and each new creation received the same suite of abilities from Reidar.
"While I do this," Reidar said, "you should know what I found out in the Chittering Tunnels. The Church of Unbinding was there."
Xy'tharr, in the meantime, killed as many creatures as he could before turning to Reidar. "Are you certain? "
The man nodded.
"My Vorathid Foragers swarmed the place," Reidar said. "The Church had set up some kind of ritual chamber. A magic circle was carved into the floor," he said, sharing the skill with another Shade.
A new pair of shadowy entities materialized beside the first. "I think they used the entire raid quest as a power source. All that fighting, all that death, and mana expenditure... they stole it. I don't know how they learned to make it, or how it even works, but my scouts were killed just as they activated it. That's when the portal opened."
Xy'tharr nodded. "That explains the anomalous energy spikes preceding the breach. The math aligns. A spell of that scale would require a catastrophic amount of mana to activate."
The newly summoned Shadow Guardians lunged toward the distant Behemoth. As the newly summoned Shadow Guardians lunged toward the distant Behemoth, Xy'tharr considered the details.
"The magic circle... it was a targeted dimensional breach. A portal to another world."
He blasted another monster before continuing. "The Progenitor was lucky. Or, perhaps, unlucky for your world. He ripped a hole into a reality that is long dead, a world where only high-level monsters survived."
Xy'tharr gestured to the swarming portal creatures. "All of these monsters are apex predators in the new ecosystem of that world. The Phalanx will now be forced to hunt every single one of them across this continent. It will drain our resources, pulling resources away from helping your world's survivors."
Reidar shared the skill with another Shadow Guardian, then another. "How could the Progenitor know how to create something like that? "
"Mutated sentients develop an... intuitive grasp of mana," Xy'tharr said. "Such beings are... highly attuned to mana. They learn to manipulate it intuitively, carving new magic paths in ways it would take others decades to do by studying. He did not find the magic circle, Reidar Miller. It is highly likely he created it."
He paused.
"He likely carved the lines, designed the anchors, and calculated the energy requirements," the Kytinn warrior said.
"And used us to provide the power," Reidar said.
"Yes."
The number of Shadow Guardians swelled into the dozens, then the hundreds, as Reidar systematically empowered each of Xy'tharr's existing summons. They became a dark tide flowing across the shattered landscape.
When the first Guardians reached the Behemoth's path, their Umbral Lances shattered on impact, leaving no mark.
Grasping Shadows erupted from the ground, areas of writhing darkness that sought to slow the colossal feet.
The Behemoth ignored the Grasping Shadows, crushing the magical fields beneath its colossal feet as if they were puddles.
Then the Walls of Night, solid barriers of shadow, ten feet high and tingling with energy, materialized directly in the Behemoth's path.
The creature simply walked through the first walls, dissolving the shadow-stuff against its immense bulk. But a second wall formed immediately behind it, then a third. While the creature did not slow, it began to exert more force, a slight shift in its gait as it plowed through the obstructions.
Reidar kept sharing, his mana draining steadily as the network of Shades expanded. The Shadow Guardians coordinated, no longer just attacking but constructing a maze of shadows.
The creature's movement was funneled by walls that rose on its sides as well as in front. The Shadow Guardians coordinated, constructing a maze of shadows rather than just attacking. Its course was no longer a straight one.
Thousands of Shadow Guardians now swarmed around the Behemoth's legs, and while their attacks were mere insect stings, their control effects were cumulative.
The path of least resistance was slowly being altered, causing the creature's northwest trajectory to imperceptibly bend. It was not turning yet, but it was no longer marching with unimpeded purpose.
"These monsters will spread across your world. Create nests. Breed. Hunt." Xy'tharr seemed sure about that. "The Aegis Phalanx will need to contain them. Track them down. Exterminate every specimen."
He paused, allowing the implication to settle. "This will consume our resources. Our attention. We came to help Earth's survivors resist the Progenitor's influence. Now we must wage a second war against these invasive species."
"You won't be able to help us as much," Reidar said.
"Correct. The portal creatures are an immediate existential threat. They must be prioritized, even more than the progenitor, and I'm sure he will open other portals." Xy'tharr's mandibles clicked in what might have been frustration. "The Progenitor has bought himself breathing room."
Reidar, his face pale with strain, shared yet another skill.
The Shadow Guardians moved. Thousands of them spread across the battlefield, positioning themselves in a vast perimeter around the Behemoth.
Walls of shadows erupted everywhere. The guardians weren't just throwing up walls randomly.
They built them in layers, packing them thickest to the east—right in the path toward Creamont. Meanwhile, the western and southern routes stayed mostly clear, with just enough shadow barriers to make them seem like the easier way forward.
The Behemoth walked through the first hundred walls without even noticing them. But more rose immediately to replace them. Then more.
The creature's northwest path became a gauntlet of regenerating barriers. As the Behemoth had to push through every wall, its advance slowed to a crawl, while the open ground to the west and south lay open.
It took another step east, and two thousand walls materialized. The creature plowed through them, but its stride shortened.
After another step and two thousand more walls, the Behemoth's foot came down harder, crushing the barriers with visible effort.
The Behemoth paused, its enormous body still for three full seconds. Its eyes swept across the battlefield, processing the tactical situation with alien intelligence.
Then it moved. Not east, but west.
The change was subtle at first, but the Behemoth's next step took it away from Creamont's direction, and the step after that continued the new trajectory.
The Shadow Guardians kept up their pressure. The creature was turning.