The sound of combat erupted from the top of the wall and Ruwen could see it with his own eyes. At least fifty guards plummeted to their deaths as the Naktos attackers pushed them off. Shifting back to Whiskers, Ruwen counted over a thousand more troops, and they continued to arrive at a dizzying pace.
They had lost New Eiru.
And Ruwen’s army would soon be within striking distance of the now occupied city.
Ruwen focused on Elder Vachyl using Chat. Temple is underwater. City is occupied. Tell the Commanders to fall back to the crystal forest near the dungeon.
Elder Vachyl didn’t argue or demand details. At once.
Ruwen spoke to his team and the three groups of Void Band Workers he controlled. Retreat to the crystal forest north of the city. Spread the word.
What is your status, Lir? Ruwen asked as he sprinted around the lake and turned north toward the Shattered Sun dungeon.
I am dropping vertically at fifteen feet per second through a slurry of salt water and fine stone particles. My spatial value has dropped six significant digits in accuracy, and stream coherence is under ninety percent. All revivals have paused. I will require an Architect to recalibrate.
Elder Vachyl spoke to Ruwen through Chat. I don’t think we can help you. The Stone Mages say there is too much water outside the temple for their magic to be effective. The Water Mages say there is too much stone. I am reluctant to allow a Spatial Mage or Observer to move past the temple walls if the environment doesn’t warrant it.
Elder Vachyl’s update gave Ruwen cause to worry. Lir, can you block the enemy from teleporting into the temple?
I have blocked sixty-seven attempts already. The previous vibrational interference has ceased, and visibility has returned. I will reach the bottom of this hole in three minutes, reaching a depth of three thousand feet.
I thought we looked that deep with the Temple Guardians.
You requested the Guardian assigned to recheck under New Eiru.
When I wanted help saving Lylan at the cavern.
Yes.
Guilt threatened to overwhelm Ruwen, but the Overlord pushed it away. He might have been able to prevent this. But the more he thought about it, the faster the guilt faded. This attack had been executed with precision. With the speed they were tunneling, it was likely they hadn’t been under New Eiru until the last moment. It was as if they knew what would happen.
Ruwen stopped, causing his group to stop as well.
“What’s wrong?” Sift asked.
Ruwen’s skin prickled as understanding washed over him.
“He knew,” Ruwen said.
“Who knew?” Lylan asked.
Ruwen clenched his hands in frustration. “Uru’s Blessing. It was too big. Too obvious. He knew something would happen here. Probably before the war even started. Who knows how long they’ve been planning and practicing for this day.”
“You’re not making much sense,” Bliz said.
Clarysa and Colyn looked concerned, and Tremine had narrowed his eyes in thought. Xavier stared at the sun.
“Naktos, maybe Haffa, too,” Ruwen said. “They would have seen Uru’s Blessing reappear in multiple timelines.”
“That doesn’t help,” Sift said.
“It means I should have expected this,” Ruwen said. “I’m to blame.”
“Now that I understand,” Sift said.
Lylan punched Sift, who frowned and rubbed his shoulder.
“Let’s keep moving,” Ruwen said. “We’re almost to the crystals and then we can figure out how to fix this.”
As Ruwen ran again, he focused on Rami. It was Uru’s Blessing right? Impossible to miss when using the Architect Role to glimpse the future.
Probably, Rami said. The destruction of his underground temple by the oil lake also might have tipped him off. Or the maiming of one of his favorite artists.
Wow, I’m responsible for all those things.
I think you should expect that. Your destiny is to change the Universe. So this is only going to get worse. You need to prepare better and assume the other gods will have glimpsed pieces of your plans.
Have I already failed? Did I mess this up past fixing?
Without the temporal abilities of the Architect Role, Rami said, I have no way to know. And you still lack the experience to use or understand it. The good thing is you never planned for this, which means fewer possible timelines had your response. You could still surprise them.
Ruwen summarized his problems. There are over ten thousand enemy troops inside the city we just fortified. We’ve lost access to the temple and our ability to revive the dead. Naktos is already bringing his revival baths into the city and will soon have all the advantages we thought made us unbeatable.
After a slight pause, Rami responded. I never said it would be easy.
Can you give me a hint?
Mom already warned me to stay out of this. Rami paused and then added. You know everything she does is with a purpose.
Ruwen did know. The purpose in this case was to keep Rami from helping Uru’s Champion in life and death situations. A stipulation the other gods had forced on Blapy when they agreed to Rami and Ruwen’s bonding.
Taking back New Eiru seemed impossible. Thoughts of Hamma, trapped in the queue, made his heart ache. He’d thought they’d have reunited by now. Instead, he had been forced to retreat from his own city.
I have stopped falling, Lir said. The attacks on my hull have intensified.
Ruwen’s chest tightened in worry. What does that mean exactly?
If the enemy power expenditures remain constant, my integrity will collapse in two hours and thirteen minutes.
Can you fight back?
My offensive weaponry has long since been repurposed. Without an Architect to provide exact navigational parameters, I am stuck in my current location.
What happens if your integrity collapses?
I will lose coherence, the current revivals, and the revival queue.
When you say lose, do you mean die?
The queued are already dead. But their backups will be lost, and
