It was the noise that she could never get used to, it wasn’t the blood, the gore, even the death, it was the sounds. The sounds of death, the screams of pain, those were the kinds of things that were hard for even a Goddess to get used to. ”Cleanse these filth from the world! Burn their Sin away in the Light!” She screamed over the din of the battle as she swung her hammer of Light and crunched yet another eldritch… thing, into a pile of goo. Sirona hefted her hammer up again and swung it in a wide arch in front of her, crushing several more abominations under the hammer’s weight, combined with her Divine Strength. ”The Strength of you Faith will guide you!” Sirona called again to her people who replied with a cheer.

Sirona knew she could push ahead of her people, she was immortal, she could push forward and let them follow. But that wasn’t Sirona’s way, no, she stayed with her faithful, her Clergy, fighting along side them, watching their backs, the same way she would have if she was mortal. If someone was wounded Sirona could get them out there in an instant, back to the healers at the camp and then bring back in someone who was fresh, or at least wasn’t wounded anymore. That made things a tiny bit easier, Sirona’s ability to move at light speed meant she could move people in an a near instant. Which meant that in the whole time of her people fighting she had only lost two Clergy, who had sadly been killed outright before Sirona knew what was happening to them.

Sirona wasn’t up here with her full force either, partly because there wasn’t room and because it was easy for her to switch Clergy out from fighting to resting so quickly. Sirona could use and in fact had a couple times blasted a group of eldritch beings with her Divine Light, but in an enclosed space, and the fact that not everyone up here was part of her Clergy, it made that Light that much more blinding. Sirona used it sparingly, only when a larger group of enemies appeared in a close clump would she erase them with Holy Light.

While Sirona would admit to keeping a closer eye on her own Clergy, she wasn’t ignoring the other fighters up here who were fighting along side her people. If they needed help she would help them, this wasn’t a time for old grievances to divide people, this was a time to come together for the fate of the world.

It was time. The days of nonstop work between Life and Luck had finally borne fruit, and now would mark the beginning of a real counterattack against the eldritch presence that stubbornly clung onto the domain of Love. While Angela came up with the concoction, Shiloh had been using the Clepsydra to send volleys of Spotted Lactarius Indigo powder canisters into the outside of the malachite Spire. Blasting the structure at random, she had forced the possessed stone to divert some of its focus towards keeping the pearl protected. Above the malachite wastes of Mo'mey, dark and thunderous clouds began to gather. The sun's light from the skies began to dim as a deep rumble was heard throughout the steppes. A swirling front of storm clouds were now amassed over the Spire as a palpable tension was felt in the atmosphere. It was like a still silence that could break at any moment.

And then–it happened. An echoing explosion of massive electrical energy being released shattered that stillness as forked lightning snaked down from the thunderheads. The winds howled in wailing tongues as a very different kind of downpour began to fall. Acid created from the fungal powder which seared the Wrath World Eaters on contact came from on high in torrents, a continuous, never-ending storm that burned and hissed as it ate at the malachite corrupted by eldritch power. The malachite's response was immediate–a shuddering quake at an onslaught it could no longer fully avoid. Intruders from below it could handle, attacks from the sky it could deflect with the right defenses. But the liquid fire that one of the brightest minds from Auzial had created was now rendering all of that useless. Angela's unrivaled alchemical skill was now implemented on a grand scale with Shiloh's assistance. Standing atop the roof of her airship, the deity of misfortune looked up to the heavens as she threw her arms up to the sky, calling down the rain. 

"You thought you could get away by fusing yourself to something inorganic, didn't you? In the end, no one can escape inevitable. No one can escape oblivion. And in the end, even you still cling on to life in your last moments. Your time is up." 

The acid rain eroded everything the malachite had taken over. Plants, animals, even people who had patches of sickly green were now having its influence washed away. Those mindless beings who roamed the wastes were now regaining consciousness at last. The wild overgrowth of plant life that had so valiantly tried to hold the malachite back was now free. Glossy leaves and woody stems regained their original sheen and texture, the earth itself was slowly returning to normal. The acid showers continued to break down the stone wherever it could reach. This was the most that she could do for someone who wasn't suited for the front lines. There was no telling how things would change inside the Spire, as no one knew what the eldritch remains would do when backed into a corner. But one thing was certain–those who were aiming for the top would have a greater chance to break through than before. The acid meant the pearl was vulnerable, the very last thing the World Eater residue wanted. It was a time for it to have a taste of its own medicine.

Even after surviving the Void Invasion and the other disasters that led up to the assault, Revaliir was still alive and kicking. Just like she promised, Shiloh would repay the World Eaters for what they did to Dalanesca–this time, in full. 

(Pre-curse Wesley)

There was so much going on inside and outside of the tower. Wesley was inside the tower, fighting from a distance. He was a young teen, only 15, with brown hair and bright green eyes. His clothes were simple, only a tunic and trousers with some heavy boots. The bow he carried was a basic war bow and his arrows were simple as well. But there was one thing that gave him an advantage when compared to other archers. He was a hunter. Closed spaces were different for other archers but for him, it was another hunting trip. There were people he couldn't shoot. That was a problem. He couldn't shoot into a crowd of allies.

Suddenly, an idea came to his mind. He dug into his satchel and pulled out a bundle of immovable rods. These rods were given to him on his last birthday and were the most valuable things he had. Wesley jumped as high as he could and made the first rod stay in the air. Then he jumped up again, catching onto the rod and using a second rod next to it. Now he had a place to stand above the crowd, as the rods were immovable and far above people's heads. He managed to pull himself up to the two rods and stood on them. His feet were on both rods, and he was careful to balance his feet, or else he would fall onto everybody's heads. Taking out his bow, he began to aim. Although he was terrible with regular fights and the sword was not his specialty, he was amazing with the bow.

Wesley's eyes narrowed as he aimed for one of the eldritch's eyes. Or what looked like an eye. Either way, an arrow to the face wouldn't help the terrible creature. He pulled back the string on his bow then released, the arrow soared above people's heads and lodged straight into the eldritch's eye. Wesley didn't check to see if it had hit, the second that he released the string, he reached back for another arrow and prepared to shoot again. He couldn't allow himself to think of this as a battle. It was easier for him to concentrate if he thought of it as a hunt. In a hunt, one had to be fast and ever shot counted. Wesley didn't know what it was like in a battle but he did understand what it was like to go up against foes who were stronger and faster than himself. It was a closed space but as long as he had good vision, he knew that he could aim well.

Another arrow flew from his bow and struck an eldritch monster trying to attack an injured person. The arrow struck the monster right in its chest, or at least what he thought was the chest. He wondered if his little sister would ask about the war when she was older. Wesley had left his precious baby sister with a babysitter since he would never bring her to a war-zone. She was the reason that he was fighting here. If the tower wasn't destroyed or the pearl wasn't taken or whatever, he knew that they would pay the price. It was already challenging to find food. Wesley wouldn't let them die from some stupid tower. That was why he fought, it was to protect Charise's future. It didn't matter how many arrows it took and he didn't care about the danger. All that mattered was ending the threat and saving his little sibling.

Wesley prepared another arrow. 

Sirona could feel it before it happened, that growing power from her Sister Deity above in the sky, the storm that was starting to roil around. So when the echoing blast from the exploding thunderheads erupted around them Sirona was ready for it and didn’t flinch. Some of those around her did, but when they saw her not reacting it calmed them somewhat. As the acid rain started to wash into even where they were fighting Lady Glory could feel its affects on the malachite around them. She allowed herself a small smile as she called out to those around her. ”The Overseer has assisted us, push forward!” Sirona called, rushing ahead with her people, hammer swinging around her as she crushed any abomination that came close.

She wasn’t unaware of the young archer up here either and had been keeping the corner of her eyes on him. To have such a young man up here in this hell hole showed bravery that Sirona couldn’t help but admire in the young man. As her Clergy cried their own challenges to the eldritch beings Sirona glanced around until she spotted the young man again. With a small wave of her hand Sirona sent a blessing his way, charging his bow and arrows with holy magic to give it a little more of a kick to anything on the receiving end. On top of that, Sirona included some healing magic and a bit of her Divine magic that would give him some extra strength so he wouldn’t fatigue as quickly when drawing his bow so often.

With that taken care of Sirona sent a mental message to Shiloh. Thank you, Shiloh, but, could I ask a small favour? Could you part you clouds enough to at least let the sunlight through? There was a hint of amusement in her voice, but some pleading cause while Sirona could possible just call the sunlight anyway, she didn’t want to undo anything that Shiloh had done by accident. That and having the sun out Sirona knew would hearten her Clergy.

Sirona then turned back to the fight and waved a hand in front of her and in a flash of Light appeared her Light Elemental. A beast of pure golden Light, it looked like a griffon in a way, with large wings, but it had an elongated face. Without needing to be commanded it snarled and dove into the fray, using its heavy claws to rend apart the eldritch beings. Any damage it took was almost instant repaired as Sirona was feeding it a constant supply of mana to regenerate its body.

She was no spell caster or magically gifted like the former queen of the Red Court. Creating and maintaining this maelstrom was taking more out of her than when she summoned her lightning towers during the Onnen insectoid invasion. Shiloh was already onto her third bottle of greater mana potion when she heard Sirona's voice press its way into her mind. So the Conclave had someone who was storming the Spire right now; that was good news. She and Angela had softened the place up quite a bit so it was only a matter of time before the pearl would have people staring it down. The ascended angel's request was simple–have a bit of sun show through the clouds. 'Understood. I should probably start conserving my energy now. I'll open up some patches close to the Spire.' Staying in full focus was becoming a serious strain on her, as she was concentrating her efforts on a very wide area. In times like these, people needed something to lift their spirits to carry on. The pearl had almost suffocated any chance of hope by taking control of Love, but with its grip weakening, a positive boost to one's psyche would accelerate everyone's progress. There was something about the sun that brought comfort to most, even in the most desperate of times. 

Rays of sunlight began to come through the thunderclouds while the storm still raged on. The winds picked up even more to scatter the rain every which way to compensate for the reduction in clouds. Pools of acid rain started to grow on the steppes below, standing puddles gradually becoming small ponds as the downpour continued with nowhere for the water to go. These pools created concentrated pockets where the malachite was eaten through until soil was exposed. And once it reached soil, it seeped into the thirsty earth. Any residual traces of eldritch stone that tried to hide underground would be eroded as the acidic water trickled down through the layers. Eventually the pearl would be forced to make a choice–pull back from the surrounding wastes to bolster itself, or attempt to allow some of its influence escape deeper below the surface of the earth. That window of choice was growing more narrow by the second as slowly but surely it was being overwhelmed. Revaliir never forgave and never forgot what it had done to this world and its people. Now it would reap its karmic debt with added interest. It was time they took back what had been rightfully theirs from the beginning.

Many might think he was brave or fearless, but the fact was that Wesley was terrified of these creatures. The only reason why he was able to focus so well was because he was pretending it was a very strange hunt instead of a fierce battle. Suddenly, a strange glow began around his arrows and bow. The young boy realized that the woman with wings must have been the one to grant such a powerful advantage. He shot one of his arrows into an eldrtich's head and it cracked through the skull, unlike how his normal arrows could only dig into the flesh. Although she may have seen it as a small thing, the holy magic advantage made his arrows farm more deadly to the eldritch abominations. Then there was the acid thing that had happened earlier, an event that he didn't really get but knew it was helping them. 

He took down his two floating rods with the secret word and re-positioned himself as they went further into the tower. At times it was difficult to shoot since there were so many other warriors and monsters mixing together. Wesley was having to be extremely careful to shoot only the enemy. But the rods in the air gave him a better view of the crowd and made it easier to shoot. Thankfully the ceiling of the tower was high enough so he wouldn't have to worry about bumping his head. However, just because he physically above the other warriors didn't mean he was safe. 

An eldritch creature was crawling along the ceiling like a creepy spider. He raised his bow towards it and shot an arrow at it, making it fall to the crowd of warriors below. The tower seemed to be….adapting? Wesley didn't realize that was a thing it could do. But the monsters were changing from just large fierce creatures to flying types or creatures that could avoid the large crowd of warriors who couldn't fly. It was still sending out big monsters but there were more specialized ones. He spotted a monster that was flying, it had wings and several eyes. It began using its claws to scratch at the heroes who couldn't fly. 

Wesley drew back the string and shot an arrow at this flying eldritch. The arrow shot into one of its arms but that made the creature start to fly towards himself. Quickly, he drew another arrow and shot it in one of the creature's eyes, successfully slowing the flying beast down and confusing it. Whatever The Overseer did, it caused the tower to seemingly go into a panic. 

Thank you, Shiloh. Came Sirona’s reply as the sun started to once more peak through the clouds. Should you need to rest, please take that time, don’t run yourself to exhaustion. Sirona cautioned, her voice held genuine worry, for the most part it was hard to tell if Sirona actually liked anyone else in the Conclave, or if she was just tolerating them because she had to. But she did like Shiloh and Angela, though not all their ideas or beliefs, Shiloh’s mechanical false life, for example, was something that made Sirona bristle at the idea of it.

Lady Glory could feel… something shift around them, like the tower was reacting to what was being done to it. Not too longa after that feeling started she saw that the eldritch beings started to include ones that could fly over the heads of her Clergy! An arrow caught one of the fliers, an arrow from the young hunter, and then another into the same creature causing it to become confused. But that didn’t last too long as Sirona threw her hammer at it and connected its head, crushing it.

The hammer returned to Sirona who by then had opened her wings and was in the air to meet the new threat and protect her grounded Clergy. She looked to Wes again and smiled with a nod of respect to him before turning to face the coming threat. Sirona threw her hand out and a small collection of pure Light orbs flew out from her fingers. They streaked to one target each and upon impact burst into small, but powerful, flashes of holy light, causing the eldritch beings to fall from the air.

They were close to the stairs to the next level now and Sirona wanted to make that push now. Propelling herself forward the Goddess swung her hammer wildly with her left hand having drawn her sword into her right hand which she was also swinging around. Clearing the air of the fliers for the moment Sirona got back to the front line of her Clergy again. ”With me, take the stairs!” Sirona called out, using her two weapons to cleave her way through more of the abominations with her people around her.