Chapter 509.5 – Parallel Fears.

"The night before battle..." Halifax paused as she poked the crackling fire with a stick. Such a thing was quite familiar to the Divine Blade as this was far from the first prebattle night she'd experienced in her long life. "You know, after all these years, you'd think I'd get used to this kind of thing... But I never did... The nerves... The anxiety..." She said as Akagi poured each of them a glass of sake. Halifax hadn't been able to sleep, so Akagi invited her to talk and drink under the moonlight while the rest of the Dumetorian camp rested before the big day. "How are you so calm? I know that you're you, but going up against Gods in a battle to the death? Your world's future on the line? Do these things not stress you out? Are you not worried?" She asked as Akagi handed her the small glass before taking a seat on a log opposite the fire.

"My 'worry' is a bit different than yours." Akagi chuckled before taking a small sip. "My mind is always thinking about the possibilities and paths that the future may take. In the lead-up to this fight, I've run countless simulations, taking into account every variable I know of. At this point, all I need to do now is see exactly how the cards come up in reality. Will I hit blackjack or bust? Only time will tell, and since all the cards have already been dealt, there is no sense in fretting, for that will do nothing but drive oneself mad."

{Its so easy to lose one's sense of reality in the flood of data.} (Akagi)

"I must be drunk off the fumes of this stuff because I swear that I'm hearing you get all philosophical and wise." Halifax laughed as she took a sip. "Oh man, this is really good. Where were you hiding this? The other stuff you gave me was great, but this is on a whole other level."

"It's a limited supply brand, and a personal favorite of mine." Akagi winked. "I break it out only on those special occasions."

"I suppose the battle for the fate of two words qualifies as pretty special." Halifax said as she took another sip. "Though, even if things go down like you want, that still leaves us in a bad spot." She said as she stared into the fire. "Without Labrys accessing the Heavens without destroying Enoris..."

"I already told you not to blame yourself anymore." Akagi stopped her from apologizing again. "And besides, do you really think that I, of all people, have no backup plans? I'm not the kind of person to hedge everything on a single chance."

"Blowing up Elariel to take a chance on her plan isn't a bad one, but still." Halifax shook her head. "It's risky, and while I won't sit here and act as if I care about this world that much..." She paused, tightening the grip on her cup. "I don't want to see it destroyed like that. Not after everything I and so many others gave to protect it."

"I've had Imp working on some tunneling technology that uses the same magi-tech that got me here to Enoris." Akagi explained. "If we're lucky, Elariel's little fishing expedition will provide me just the piece I need to make things work." She'd already explained that Elariel was going to return to the Heavens during the battle in an attempt to steal one of the artifacts that allowed for incarnation. Halifax was naturally skeptical of the Goddess but conceded that it was not a bad idea but warned Akagi against trusting the Time Goddess.

"It's still a Hail Mary, though." Halifax replied. "There's no guarantee that Hilare's work will give anything even close to spatial coordinates or that such a thing even exists. Although I suppose it may just work if you could reverse-engineer the tunneling process that occurs when an incarnation takes place. That seems beyond a mortal, though. It's a literal Divine event that rattles spacetime to its core."

"Yeah, but we've got an Imp so..." Akagi waved her off, reminding the Divine Blade that Imp's most potent skill was taking the impossible and making it happen.

"I hope your faith in her is well placed. If she can actually work things out so that you don't need to chance the destruction of this world, I'd appreciate it." Halifax said with a wry smile.

"Regardless of the outcome of this endeveor it would do good to remember that this world is doomed, Halifax." Akagi said as she took another sip. "Whether it is as a result of my or another person's actions, Enoris will vanish; its end swiftly approaching. All I can do is help its people to escape, those I deem worthy anyway."

"Still, that's better than everyone dying." Halifax didn't really mind Akagi being choosy, but figured that the Demon would still bring a large portion of the population. "As much as I loathe this entire situation, I still can't bring myself to wish death on everyone who lives here. I don't hate them or this world."

"Well, less death and more annihilation." Akagi commented. "Odds are that when the whole house of cards comes crashing down, anyone within this place just poofs out of existence alongside it. The space between worlds is not hospitable to any kind of life. Only a Demon Lord or someone with enough power to literally hold themselves together despite creation itself not really existing around them can survive in such a place."

"Even more reason that I'd rather not chance popping this proverbial soap bubble." Halfiax retorted.

"And that's why I didn't just have Elariel go and do that right then and there. While I don't really care too much about this world's population, they will have their use." Akagi said as she took another sip. "And where else am I going to get an entire world's worth of people that I can play with? Without taking the Earth's population, of course. If I start acting all Angry God with them, Kana won't let me hear the end of it, and I just don't have the energy to get complained at all day by her." She laughed.

"I still can't see it." Halifax said as she downed the rest of her cup in one gulp. "How is Kana going to defeat someone like Rehael? I know she's strong, and I'm aware of the imprint, but..." She shook her head. "Akagi, that Angel is extremely dangerous. I know that you've got all sorts of plans kicking around in that endless mind of yours, but this one... I'm genuinely concerned that you're going to get more than you bargained for. Kana may die if your bet is wrong, aren't you worried about that?"

"If Kana is killed, then I have no one to blame but myself." Akagi said after a brief pause. "Am I worried? Of course I am, but I'm also not going to allow feelings to get in my way. I've determined that this course of action is for the best. If she is unable to succeed here, then she will never be able to fill the role I've created for her, and thus..." She paused as the wind kicked up some ash from the flame and disbursed it into the surrounding field.

"And that role is?" Halifax gestured for her to continue.

"None of your concern." Akagi said as she downed the rest of her cup. "Halifax, understand that I plan for long periods of time. Not just years, or decades, or centuries, or millennia. I've got goals in mind that may well take millions or billions of years to accomplish." She continued. "All that you need to know is that everything I'm doingis in pursuit of those goals. If you are lucky to be around long enough, then perhaps you will get to see them come to fruition." She said, her eyes telling the Divine Blade not to pry any further. "But for now, just focus on what's directly in front of you. After all, we've still got a war to win." She said as her form faded away into the darkness, almost as if it were blown away in the light breeze of the night. "Just know that I've got the utmost confidence in you, Halifax."

"Heh..." Halifax let out a quick laugh. "She says that as if our opponents aren't literal Gods." She said before looking into the sky and gazing at the two Moons that sat overhead like silent observers. "But considering this is Akagi we're talking about, I guess I shouldn't be surprised..." She shook her head. "Though... Did she have to do that whole dramatic exit? It was kinda cool but also really cliche." She said before kicking dirt onto the fire to put it out. "But, I suppose that kind of thing is part of what I like about her."

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"You should get to bed; it wouldn't do for you to be tired during the big battle." Akagi said to Hishya as the two stood in the Dumetorian Estate's garden, the full moon looming large overhead as the two spent some time discussing Hishya's anxiety about the coming battle. "I understand that you're worried, but I know that you can handle this, Hishya. I wouldn't place my faith in you if I weren't confident that you would win. So get out there and show those idiots what the Amethyst Dragon Empress can do." She winked before her form vanished in the wind.

"That absolute cringelord." Hishya rolled her eyes, seeming to share Halifax's sentiments about Akagi's choice of exit method. "But, if she were to do anything else, I suppose that just wouldn't be Akagi." She laughed to herself before baling her fist. "She's put all her trust in me, and I won't let her down. I'll give this battle everything I've got and then some! So just you watch, Akagi! I'll show these bastards what it means to mess with my home!" The Dragon said as she reached toward the Moon above. "So you just make sure those Gods pay for starting this whole thing!"

{That way.... That way, everyone we lost can finally rest in peace.} (Hishya)