Journey to the Drak Wall [Mekura&Anyone on the Countryside]

[Johnathan]

Ben released a pulse of chi which slid along the surface of the wall, piercing in through the various entryways to echo through the interior of the complex. The information relayed to his senses would inform him that there was not a single living being within range. Shaking his head, he took the first step and then vanished, reappearing on the next landing.

"I'm not sure, but the entire complex is empty. No one in the bunks, the living quarters, or even up top." Vanishing again, they continued to rapidly climb the wall, breaking their speed only to turn and climb the next flight.

The interior of the wall was composed of a number of extremely dense keystones, each the center point for a number of powerful wards and spells. The space in between was a network of reinforcing material, rooms, and corridors used as housing and living space for the guards stationed here, as well as supply storage and armaments. The cameras that were spotted throughout the living areas would display no life forms around, however there were a number of suspicious scenes. Meals were left standing half eaten, beds showed loose cavities in the covers where a body may once have been, items littered the hallways as though their owners had merely dropped them and vanished, and all forms of entertainment, whether t.v.s, computers or otherwise were left on and unattended.

The duo reached the top of the wall at an impressive speed. Stepping onto the standing area, a quick glance around would show the watch area was completely empty. Crossing the three-hundred foot width of the wall in a blink, Ben peered down over the side and out into the wastes only to see...

Nothing.

There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. True, the corrupted wastes that stretched as far as the eye could see beyond the wall may not have been an ordinary sight, but there were no suspicious creatures to be seen marring the landscape. The towers with glowing orbs at their tips stood vigilant, dissolving the dark miasma that rolled down from the ever burning distant mountains into nothingness. The ruins of the enormous and awe inspiring ancient civilization stretched out to their right in complete and utter silence, seeming that it hadn't been disturbed in eons. The only change from the normal view was in the absence of the writhing black shapes that typically lined the branches of the petrified grey forest.

Ben let out the breath he'd been holding as he rubbed a hand through his hair. "And there's nothing." He declared with a bit of frustration. Turning back to look down the length of the Wall to his right he shook his head. "In more ways than one."

[Rikka]

Mekura flicked open the electronic waves finding the living quarters all empty. Everything was empty. Not a sing soul could be found. Expanding her senses she found that there was no one even near this section. It was as if they had all vanished. Following Ben up the stairs matching his speed as they flew up the stairs she stopped next to him on top of the wall. Staring out into the vast nothingness as if she could see it. Quickly she knelt down and laced her fingers together as she closed her eyes as she released her other four senses to hopefully sense for anything useful. Usually she could catch what a normal person would miss due to the fact she did not have her sight to confuse her other senses.

Frustrated she reigned in her senses and stood herself up stumbling slightly from having released all the mental barriers on her senses all at the same time. "There is nothing here. Absolutely nothing. All the electronics are still on, texts half sent, there is three showers going. Where could they have gone? How did they just vanish? How did this escape our notice?"

Quickly she started to brush off her dress angrily. Standing up straight she took a deep breath and counted to twenty before letting it go slowly. How had she missed this? She should have noticed that this part of the wall had become strangely quiet.

[Johnathan]

Ben moved a hand to Mekura’s shoulder to steady her as she stood. “I’ve been hearing rumors lately, but this is beyond strange. I can’t even begin to-” Ben stopped as he suddenly sensed a presence behind them that hadn’t been there an instant before. Whipping around to place himself between Mekura and whoever could sneak up on them, he sighed and relaxed again upon seeing Master Eleazar. “Geeze old man, you shouldn’t sneak up on us like that.” The elderly master hooted in amusement.

“Hoo hoo, you shoulda seen the look on your faces!” He doubled over and slapped his knees in his mirth.

Mekura let him steady her as she stood. Rubbing her head she soon found herself whirling around defensively with two daggers in hand. When the mysterious person was revealed to be Eleazar she stood up straight the daggers gone, back to their hiding spots, a moment later.

“Yeah, yeah.” Ben replied with a shake of his head. “It’s good that you’re here though. Mind explaining what’s been going on and why you’ve been gone for so long?” Pausing, he gestured to the wall around them. “Where did all the guards go, and what was that huge pulse of energy earlier?” The grand master stretched as he slowly approached the edge of the wall, looking out over the waste beyond it. Turning, he leaned back against the lip that prevented people from falling off the watch area.

“Hmm, good questions, good questions. After all, battalions of guards, don’t just up and disappear over night. Except for when they do, like they seem to have done here!” Ben put a finger to his temple as he sighed again. Grinning like the old crazy he was, the headmaster continued. “Of course, there are many phenomena that could be responsible for such an occurrence, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly which one it was.” Ben held up a hand to stop the old man before he went off on a tangent.

“Let’s just start with what you’ve been doing out here, yes?” Eleazar nodded furiously, pointing at Ben and shaking the finger.

“A splendid idea. Five points to gryffindor!” Ben blinked in confusion before deciding he probably didn’t want to know. “There have been a number of preparations for events still to come that I’ve been seeing to. Little things hear and there that should all come together into big things later on. Though, in order for you to properly understand, allow me to ask the two of you a question in return.” There was a flash of light in which the grand master vanished and reappeared behind Mekura. Grabbing her by the shoulder, he leaned in conspiratorially narrowing his eyes comically. “Pop quiz! First question: What lies at the heart of magic?”

Mekura blinked as Eleazar was suddenly behind her grabbing her shoulder. Relaxing her tense muscles so she didn’t hit the headmaster she looked in his direction. ”Emotions?”

“Bzz bzzz!” The old master replied imitating a buzzer from one of the many T.V. gameshows. He pointed at Ben. “Your turn!”

“Um, will?” Ben questioned, confused by the sudden turn in the conversation, if it could even be called that.

“Bzz bzzz!” Eleazar replied again. He looked between the two with a mischievous grin before throwing his hands into the air and consequently pushing Mekura forwards at the same time. “The answer is lies!” He declared happily.

Mekura blinked before she was suddenly pushed forwards causing her to accidentally bump into Ben. ”Erk.” Righting herself she moved so she was standing next to Ben and facing Eleazar. ”How is the heart of magic ‘Lies’?”

“Simple my dear.” He replied matter-of-factly as he crossed his arms and a flat square collegiate hat appeared on his head. “Magic, is the art of fooling others with cleverly worded lies! Following that line of thinking, there are a couple facets of note when thinking of magic. First!” He pointed at Ben. “Go!”

Ben sighed in exasperation. It was clear they weren’t going to get any answers unless they played along. “Let’s see, whether or not your lie is believed?” The old man made an exaggerated gesture of considering the answer.

“Almost but not quite. Let’s say, the first facet is instead, the scope of the individual your lie is able to fool. The simplest would be lies that fool lesser life forms or inanimate objects. Things only escalate from there as we move on to tricking other humans, greater magical creatures, nature, the world itself, maybe even the fabric of the universe, the gods, and last but not least the ANCIENTS!”

“Ancients?” Ben questioned in confusion.

“YES!” The master exclaimed while elaborating no further. He switched his attention to Mekura and suddenly pointed at her. “Number two!”

Mekura thought about it but had a feeling she was going to get it wrong anyways. ”If the first is the scope of who the lie fools, then the second would possibly be effort taken to fool them?”

“Bzz bzz, though you’re close!” He replied while pulling on a rope that seemed to be dangling from the sky. In response, a bucket appeared over Mekura’s head and tipped, dumping out a bunch of green slime.

As the bucket appeared over her head she was already moving hiding behind Ben as the green slime hit the stones of the wall. Peaking around Ben she glared at Eleazar.

“Though effort would certainly be included in both categories, it is not broad enough for our purposes. Instead, think of it this way. The second aspect would be ‘for how long my lie continues to fool its target.’ When thought of that way, this wall could be considered impressive, though I admit it is one of my shoddier works.” Ben’s eyebrows knit together at that.

“Wait, your works?” Eleazar waved it off as not important before continuing.

“Therefore, it’s only natural that all but the greatest of lies will eventually be unraveled!” He stood in silence for a moment waiting for the two of them to draw their own conclusions. Ben knelt down and placed a hand to the surface of the wall. There was a golden hum as he pushed chi in through the black surface to examine the structure. He waited for a moment before shaking his head.

“Following that line of thinking,” he began as he eyed the grand master in confusion. “I thought you were implying that the wall was weakening, or falling apart, but I can’t feel any major defects in its composition.”

Mekura blinked as she thought about it. ”Its not that its weakening….It just no longer fooling its target.”

“Bzz bzz!” The master exclaimed again, folding his arms as his face took on an expression of contemplation. “The wall is still working perfectly, and therein lies the problem.” Ben shot the headmaster a look that clearly questioned the old man’s sanity. “You see, I’m simply too good of a liar. Lies that normally would have fallen apart more easily are simply too strong for this poorly designed dollhouse of a universe to overcome. Where I’m from, I was also referred to as a Grand Master, though the connotation was much greater than what it means here. Tell me, are you familiar with the term sorcery?” Ben’s eyes narrowed.

“I can say I’ve heard the term used before but I’m afraid I don’t know the specifics.” Eleazar nodded in understanding.

“Of course, you couldn’t be expected to considering you don’t even know what an Ancient is.” He pointed at Mekura again. “Tell me, in the delicate house of cards hierarchy that is the power balance in this universe, what is the greatest force?”

Mekura for a moment thought about hiding behind Ben again when she was pointed to but quickly thought against it. ”Power balance. As is those who are more powerful than others? Or those who hold more presence or prestige?” Eleazar waved her question off.

“In terms of esoteric power. Thinking in terms of magic, those whose lies hold the most sway.”

”Then thinking of it as a house of card the bottom would be those with no sway. While the next tier those with some sway with the most powerful person who has the most sway with lies at the top. Correct?”

“Yes essentially.” The master replied with a nod. “Now, aside from myself, who would be that top card, the pinnacle of our tower?”

”Besides yourself, Could it possibly be the ancients you are talking about?”

The grandmaster snapped his fingers as a light bulb appeared above his head. “Correct, 10 points to gryffindor! However, not really correct. You see, in the proper structure of existence, the Ancients are not nearly flimsy enough to be thought of as part of the house of cards. Practically speaking, the top cards would be the entities humans refer to as gods.” Eleazar gestured dismissively at Ben. “Like that little incandescent humanoid right there.” Ben gaped at the headmaster and took a step back. “Gods are forces of powers who preside over civilizations or worlds. While they’re certainly powerful by comparison to most, they’re rather limited in their capabilities. While a god could shape earth and water and create life, they could only do it because that earth and water was already present.” With a sigh, the grandmaster shook his head dejectedly.

“No, by those standards, the Ancients are so far above the gods that they aren’t even within view. Ancients are beings who create and shape entire universes, existences, and before the might of their power, no mortal can possibly stand.”

Mekura blinked and listened to Eleazar before looking in Ben’s direction as he took a step back. ”So the Ancients create everything and give it shape while leaving the rest up to house of cards to decide how it goes?”

Eleazar sighed and his face took on a very tired look. “While that is certainly true for this universe in some ways, I’m afraid things are never that simple. However, to get back on topic for a moment, now that you can understand this I can explain the concept of sorcery. To put it simply, sorcery is the pinnacle of magic. Sorcery are lies which can even fool the Ancients themselves. Throughout the extent of eternity, there have only been a handful of magic users who could claim to have mastered a sorcery. That, is where they and I differ. You see, my home, or rather, the universe from which I originate is filled with Ancients. They seem to be everywhere, entertaining their own whims and desires, while toying with the rest of creation as though we were their play things. Unfortunately, they’re right too.

“Before the power of an Ancient, simply being a sorcerer is not enough. So you see, when I was titled Grand Master of magic, it was an absurd declaration. Absurd, however entirely true.” A prismatic ray of light burst from the sky and slammed into the grandmaster, cracking the wall and forcing Ben and Mekura to their knees. “When I claimed to be the master of all magic, I meant it. I am truly the master of all magic, and the master of all sorceries. All of them. As in, I even invented a few here and there.” The grand master looked up in annoyance as space time began to warp around the prismatic ray. With a wave of his hand he dismissed it and the pressure was gone.

“You see my problem?!” He shouted at the sky. “The Ancient who made this reality is simply bad at it. This pitiful excuse of a dollhouse can not even support the weight of my power. ME! A human!” Eleazar hung his head into one of his hand moaning to himself. Ben had already jumped to his feet, pulling Mekura with him and backing away from the crazed man with trepidation.

Surprise still showed on the blond womans face as Ben pulled her to her feet. The weight of Eleazar’s power had been tremendous. ”Is being a human really that bad?”

“It’s not that it’s bad dear, simply powerless. Indeed, even with so many mighty magics to my name, standing against the Ancients is still a pipe dream. In a universe where there are countless other beings as powerful or more so than myself, surviving and protecting those close to you seems like an impossible prospect. That’s why, when that naive trickster of a creator pulled me into this existence, I did not despair. She essentially gave me a get out of jail free card, for a short while at least.” He turned and raised his hands into the air as though saluting the entire world around him. “Here I can exist, and study, and learn, and grow while isolated from the flow of time of my home dimension. Here, I can prepare.

“You see, I am not so naive as to believe I can stay here forever. As soon as that harlot’s conditions have been met she will send me back. That’s why I decided on something very important. A chance like this can not be missed. I’ve been given literally hundreds of thousands of years extra to prepare for a war beyond your understanding, that rages even now.” He turned to them, shaking a gnarled old finger. “I need an equalizer for that war. Something to help even the playing field. That’s why I came up with a new sorcery, specifically for this universe.”

The grandmaster threw his hand out towards the wastes. A malevolent hum shuddered through the wall as the clouds of dark corruptive miasma that swirled down from the mountains began to rise and come together. They funneled and spiraled into a massive drill of corruptive gases. Like an arrow, the drill lashed out, smashing straight through the orb towers meant to hold it at bay and crashed into the barrier of the wall. A massive surge of protective energy slammed out across it’s surface, rocketing out and away over the dome as it tried to spread the destructive force across it’s surface to mitigate the attack. In the end, the barrier stood and the wave continued, leaving crackling black plasma in its wake. Eleazar doubled over, smashing his head on the lip of the wall again and again in apparent self discipline.

“THE PROBLEM IS I MADE THE DAMN WALL TOO STRONG!” He shouted. Rounding on the duo, he gestured out at the wastes as if asking if ‘they could believe this shit’. “It’s taking too long to tear down. At this rate it’ll be months before I can corrupt the academy.” With a heavy sigh he hung his head. “Gather all the most powerful beings of this universe in one spot Eleazar. Cultivate their latent potential Eleazar. Make me a good story Eleazar. Blah blah blah blah blah. That damn redhead wench. He turned his head to the sky. “I’LL GIVE YOU THE BEST DAMN STORY YOU’VE EVER SEEN! AND WHEN THEY FAIL I’LL HAVE A NEW ARMY TO BOOT! SUCK ON THAT YOU DAMN TRICKSTER!”

Mekura seized control of cameras in the wall until she found one that actually floated. Pulling on it she raced it out of the living quarters and now could see everthing that was going on. Watching the destructive force of the corruptive gases she actually took a step into Ben. Turning her eyes on Eleazar she decided her must have lost his mind. ”Why would you want to corrupt the academy? Why would you put all those students and the people of Savale in danger? Children, wives, fathers, and grandparents alike. Would you really want to release that upon them?!”

“Ah Mekura, poor deluded child. I wonder if your true self was this naive.” The grand master shook his head. “I have been alive since the beginning of this frail excuse for a reality, and you know what I’ve realised.” He gestured out around him. “It is truly nothing more than a dollhouse. A wretched little thing for a child in the body of a Creator to have her fun with. This, ALL OF THIS is a sandbox. Something to build up a pretty little castle to look at, only to tear it down and go home at the end of the day.” He gestured at the two of them. “You are dolls, players in an oblivious Ancient’s game. At the very least when I take you, twist you, empower you, and bring you back with me you’ll be able to serve an actual purpose. Millions will survive an impossible war thanks to your efforts.” The master raised a single finger to point at them as an immensely dense ball of golden magic gathered at it’s tip. “You. Should. Be. PROUD!” The world was consumed by gold as the destructive energy rocketed towards them and expanded. In a quick turn, Ben slammed his hand into Mekura’s back throwing her from the wall at the same time his golden staff appeared before him. Not having time to dodge, he slammed it into the ground, hoping that the barrier would be enough.

Mekura balked at the idea he was suggesting. ”You can’t be serious. Just so you can have an army you’re willing to destroy the lives of everyone here? This is as corrupt as when some of the major leaders in the Wars decided Nigarians had no place in the world. Families, and homes, my home! lost because a few people decided it. Now you’ve decided that to have an army and to defy this trickster you speak of your going to do exactly what those leaders did?!” It hurt that Eleazar who had brought the worlds together was now trying to destroy the academy. As he pointed at them and let loose a golden ball of magic towards them. Gasping she was tossed from the wall by Ben before she could do anything. Clenching her jaws together she threw her hands out creating sound barrier after sound barrier to slow her descent until she rolled across the ground. Popping up to her feet Mekura raced for the stairwell and up it hoping Ben was okay.

The barrier projected by the golden staff shattered, but it’s defensive force was enough to cushion the blast. He was sent flying backwards. Rolling in midair, he slammed a hand into the ground to spin and reorient himself before landing on his feet. Overhead, the sky became fire.

A hurricane of fire descended from above, blocking out the clouds and blue sky with its immensity. When Eleazar spoke, magic carried his voice to them, thunderous even compared to the roar of the descending fire storm.

“You don’t understand. How could you? That planet, those people, this world and it’s academy, your lives, they are all nothing more than shadows. A simulation hoping and failing to represent the original. Do children feel sorrow for the characters they kill in a video game? Do painters feel sorrow for the silhouettes they crumple and throw away. YOU ARE A SIMULATION WITH THE ILLUSION OF PERSONALITY AND WILL! I WILL MAKE YOU SOMETHING!” As the inferno descended, Ben raced for the stairwell as he began to glow a brilliant gold. He split in two, a perfect copy of himself racing towards the crazed grand master as his hand fell to his sword. As his true form hit the stairwell, he nearly barrelled into Mekura. Grabbing her, he shook his head.

“Time to run.” He declared as his copy hit the grand master. It evaporated as the swirling storm of flame slammed into the wall.

”Yup I agree!” With that she jumped off the side of the stairwell dragging Ben with her this time. She slowed their descent with sound barriers just like before. Letting go of Ben she tucked and rolled when she hit the ground.

As they hit the ground, Ben reflexively reach to grab on to her; a protective gesture in the face of impossible odds. The hurricane of fire stretched for miles. In the distance as it passed the peaks of the mountains that made up the horizon, streams of blazing orange could be seen running down their sides as the stone was liquified.

“Stop!” He called aloud as the golden glow spread to the swords on his hip. He glanced up towards the top of the wall in an attempt to gauge whether they would be pursued. As though to answer his unspoken question, a massive representation of the grandmaster’s head appeared in the storm of flames as it descended on them.

“Run!” It bellowed, even as Ben’s hands moved to his blade. “Run and make your meaningless preparations! When the Dark Wall falls and my corruptive magic reaches the Divinity Gate, this universe will sing the lament of it’s end!” As the giant head of flame approached, it opened its pyroclasmic maw as though it were preparing to swallow them. Ben dropped into a low stance.

“Form of the Divine:” He drew his blade in a simultaneous strike. “Severing Distance!” As the blade traveled, it made good on it’s promise to cut through anything as a tear in space time opened before them. With no time to sheath the blade, Ben reached out and pulled Mekura to his chest before jumping into the tear.

They tumbled out of an identical tear several miles out from the walls of Savale. A burst of flame poured through the tear as though trying to dive after them before the rift shut and cut it’s connection to the source of the inferno.

Ben fell to his knees, planting his blade into the ground as he clutched Mekura to his chest protectively. He stayed there breathing heavily for a few moments before smiling weakly at her.

“Well,” he began shakily. “when I invited you for an outing to the wall, that was not what I had expected.”

[Rikka]

Mekura froze before she could take off running and looked at Ben. When he grabbed her she latched onto his chest and closed her eyes as he tossed them through the rift he had made. When they tumbled out several miles from the wall she dared to actually breath. Blinking her eyes open she found herself clutched to Ben's chest still. "How bout when we survive this we shall have a date at my house."

Pulling her knees under her she gently let go of his robe. "Ben, What do we do now?"

[Johnathan]

Ben just stayed there, kneeling with an arm wrapped around Mekura as though she would disappear if he let go. He ran scenario after scenario through his mind and none of them had particularly good outcome.

"I-" He began before finding he didn't have the words. "I don't know. If- if everything that he said was true," He stopped, pulling her chin towards him so she could feel how serious he was. "Not about us though, about the people of... this existence." The words felt strange to say. "We may be- different from the people where he comes from, but that makes us no less here, alive, and important." He sighed and looked away, running a hand through his hair as he considered the problem seriously.

"Regardless, if he is who he claims to be, then he might be the very person who taught the idea of magic to our ancestors eons ago." He gestured up towards the city. "Heck, every one of the cities defenses are magical in origin and designed by him. We need to-" He paused again, shaking his head in frustration. "Get rid of all the old systems and find new ones. I don't know. Something."

[Rikka]

Mekura let him hold on to her since he felt like he just needed to. Silently she waited as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Her left hand was tapping a weird beat on her leg as she opened and closed connections to any and all electronics around and near the academy. Mainly it was soothing her nerves to see everyone safe, at least for the moment.

When he spoke she shut them all at once leaving only the streaming colors for her to see. When he pulled her chin toward him she locked her unseeing eyes onto his. Listening she focused on his voice calming the rest of her mind. Taking a deep breath she let it out slowly as her mind worked through plans to protect the city she had come to call home. "Okay. Lets think of this rationally. New systems. Something not magic reliant since he could probably bend it to his will. We have Rikka whom can put together anything we need. Alex Kuchou who can get us what we need in a weeks time."

There was an almost visible switch as Mekura switched to her assassin mode. It was simply a way of letting things be said without her emotions getting in the way. "People are going to die. Its unavoidable. We can minimize those deaths by protecting a smaller portion. Trying to protect all of Savale is suicide. We send the districts and villages through the Divinity gates. Old and young first. Everyone else after. Once the villages and districts have been evacuated we could evacuate the school next. In the mean time while we are evacuating the villages and Districts we can get Rikka and the rest of our resident technopaths to design a new system to protect the school."

Leaning back gently against his hold her eyes seemed to be traveling across hidden lines. Her hand took up the random tapping again as she thought about this plan.

[Johnathan]

"Not going to happen." The cold voice of Erebus Melanthios spoke up a short distance away. "The Divinity Gate shut down five minutes ago. I traveled through the void to check the gates on other worlds and they're all still functioning, but no connection can be made." His calculating eyes took in the state they were in. He noted the singed grass behind them and the distinct hum of magic in the air. "Would you mind showing me exactly what just happened?"

Benjamin regarded the young man for a moment before nodding and closing his eyes, lowering his mental defenses. Erebus closed his eyes as well before tapping into Ben's memory to get a play back of the events. The air grew cold as Erebus' mouth twisted into a scowl.

"We can infer that the gates are sustained by his magic then. The city's worthless as a stronghold against him. With nothing going in and out with the gates down even if we manage to bring things to a siege we wouldn't have enough supplies to last more than a month, two at the most and that's not even considering how difficult it would be to defend an area that size from the corrupted." Ben put a hand over his mouth as he considered the line of reasoning.

"The old man said it would take even him a few months to bring the wall down but he couldn't have meant the entire thing. If we tried to reinforce the city it wouldn't matter but-"

"If we brought the fight to the wall we'd at the very least have better control over a smaller area. With the way the corruption spreads, that seems like the best option. Wherever he manages to punch a hole through it, we be there to plug it up."

Ben looked up at Erebus suspiciously. "We don't have enough personnel to manage that though. Fighting a two front attack against both a horde of corrupted and the Grand Master himself?" Erebus crossed his arms, chains clinking as they slid against each other.

"We have an entire academy full of potential combatants." Ben was about to interject before Erebus held out a finger to silence him. "If the wall falls, they're all dead anyway. Moving so many people through the void would be just as bad. I'd be surprised if even half of them made it to the other side. Not to mention what would happen if Eleazar were able to pump pure corruption energy through the gate itself." There was a pause as these thoughts sunk in. "In a couple of months, I can have the majority of the able student body prepared to engage with corrupted. Add that to the entirety of the active Melanthios family and we'll be more than enough to hold the corrupted back for quite some time. Enough time for the more experienced combatants to engage the Grand Master directly."

[Rikka]

Mekura's thoughts were put on hold as Erebus spoke up. Looking in his direction she frowned. The divinity gates were down? Minimizing the dead became a lot harder. No one could get in or out. As Ben and Erebus spoke her mind raced through different possibilities. As Erebus suggested using the students of the school Mekura rearranged plans. It might just work. Taking the battle to the wall might be a bit risky though.

Standing up slowly she kept a reassuring hand on Ben's shoulder. "You have a point. The children are dead either way. Training them and supplying them with a way to protect the people they have come to love at the academy might work. They will be better together rather than divided. Taking the fight to him would also minimize the deaths. Ben he said it himself. He made the wall too damn strong, which is a plus on our side. If he can only bash holes into it then we just need to patch them just like Erebus said. The question is how do we patch the holes?"

Taking a deep breath she looked closed her eyes and thought through it logically. "Who do you have in mind for the training and when can we start? I will set up the gym for stamina training to help speed things along. We could probably get Rikka to design specialized weapons if we can get her the supplies. You can't take people through the void easily, how about supplies? We could also get the technopaths working on a way to create a gate out."

[Johnathan]

"Short of annihilating everything in the immediate vicinity on the opposite side of the wall, it would be exceptionally difficult to attempt to patch a hole like that up. The wall itself I could potentially fill with a void construct but we have no idea how the damage will affect the barrier that stretches above and below." Erebus put thoughts of repairing and reinforcing the wall on hold. It wouldn't matter if they couldn't first defend it.

"The things best suited to combat Corrupted are energy or magic manipulators with very good control or simply dense enough energy, and those with strong enchanted or energy based weapons. Good control will cause the energy to be tainted far more slowly and some constructs will simply self repair more quickly than the corruption can taint it. Being exposed to the corruption will have an effect on the individuals and their constructs no matter what. The ability to resist it through force of will or sheer aura will be tantamount, but the individuals fighting can simply rotate out in shifts to recover from the taint."

"A skilled support group will be important as well then." Ben added as he rose to his feet, sheathing his blade. "A back line trained to purge the energies of the Corrupted." Ben grimaced as he shook his head once more. "Unfortunately it seems that keeping the Corrupted at bay will be the easy part. Much more importantly, we should consider our options for-" He sighed with a resigned look. "dealing with the old man."

Erebus nodded at that before turning to Mekura. "If you have requisition forms drawn up I can see to the transfer of supplies, though even with myself or Veronica supervising there is always the chance of loss. Everything should be inspected down to the last screw once it's on this side but otherwise it should be possible."

[Rikka]

Mekura listened as Erebus and Ben started to flesh out the plan. It was actually starting to look possible to save their home from the madness that seemed to have pulled Eleazar to wits ends. He was simply using them to save his universe. Unfortunately that would result in their annihilation which Mekura was prepared to stop at all costs.

"I will have Alex draw up everything we will need and have her get it ordered and ready to transport so you won't have to worry about anything but getting it over here. If there is anything you need just let her know." Mekura pulled her hand away from Ben as he rose to his feet. "Hopefully he can be talked down if we defeat his army. If he can't...well." Mekura looked at Ben with unwavering eyes. "I won't hesitate to save this place that I call home.

[Johnathan]

"Determined as you may be," Erebus cut Mekura off a bit rudely. "That's easier said then done. I doubt that he will just stand around as we deal with his horde. Besides, if he's the one who created the Corrupted in the first place there's no reason he couldn't simply continue making more of them until we collapsed from exhaustion. Fortunately he seems to be at least slightly restrained by the apparent limits of power our existence can sustain, but that'll mean nothing if he suddenly decides it's not worth it and blasts us all to bits. You should spread the word among the faculty and older students and start developing a plan of engagement to deal with someone of his projected power." Erebus turned to Ben with an appraising look. Finally he seemed to come to a conclusion and sighed.

"Releasing the Elder Gods from beneath the Black Palace would be very bad idea. What would the Celestial Court have to say about all of this?" Ben grimaced in response as an unpleasant thought seemed to come to mind.

"I can't imagine that the rest of the Celestial Court will be doing much more besides arguing among themselves and trying to confirm or disprove the existence of these supposed 'Ancients' after today." Ben flashed Erebus a guilty look before continuing. "Most of the Court is composed of surprisingly haughty individuals. They end up forgetting their roots after so many centuries and looking at everyone else as beneath them. The ones with closer ties with-" Another guilty look, this time directed towards Mekura. "Humanity would likely be easier to convince but they're also the ones more likely to have the presence of mind to be afraid. It would take some convincing to get them to leave the perceived security of the Celestial Plane instead of just waiting there for everything to blow over."

Erebus blew out a disdainful huff. "So even the gods would rather abandon us then." Ben gave the young man a conspiratorial grin.

"Well, at the very least I can see two right here starting to prepare." Erebus merely snorted in response.

"Do you realize how ridiculous it sounds to hear you say that out loud." Erebus shook his head. "Though I suppose with everything else you just heard it might seem almost tame." He glanced at Mekura before affording Ben a slight smirk. "If this all ends well, I pity you for the bureaucratic nightmare you're going to have to deal with upstairs when they start dropping her name." Erebus turned towards his shadow and began to walk, slowly sinking into it. "I imagine she's old enough as it is for a recommendation."

Ben allowed himself a good humored chuckle. "Don't act like it couldn't be your problem too." Erebus shot him a knowing glance as he continued to descend into the darkness.

"It can't. That's what's so nice about being down here. It's nothing if not quiet." With that last quip, the master of Oblivion vanished into the darkness.

[Rikka]

Mekura watched as they seemed to delve into a conversation that she had no info to input. Standing back quietly she listened and blinked when Ben gave her a guilty look. Her mind raced through the new info she had been given as she heard about the Black palace, which Erebus was apparently apart of, and the Celestial Court which she assumed that Ben was apart of. Suddenly the topic was turned on to her.

Blinking in confusion she looked between the two of them more out of habit. Wait how had she ended up as the center of the topic. As Erebus disappeared she turned to Ben with a frown. "Ben, why.....What was that all about?" She had a feeling she didn't want these Elder gods talking about her.

[Johnathan]

"Ah nothing, nothing." Ben said with a knowing grin as he walked over to her. Stepping to her side, he slid his left arm along the small of her back as he reached down with his right arm to sweep out her legs and catch her in a princess carry.

"Now it's time for the shining knight to bring the princess home." He took a few steps before cringing. "And the much less enjoyable task of telling everyone else what happened." He sighed before smiling down at her, resisting whatever struggles she might be putting up to get down. "I think I'll take the long way into the city." He started whistling cheerily to himself and walking towards one of the city gates at a sedate pace.

[Rikka]

Mekura glared him and was about to demand more details when he scooped her up princess style, causing a rather adorable squeak to escape her mouth. Rapidly her cheeks started to tint with red. "Benjamin Fiore! Put me down!" Struggling she tried to get him to put her down. Unfortunately her struggles went ignored as he took the first couple of steps.

Feeling him cringe she gave up her struggles and simply let him carry her. "Don't worry. I'll help you break the news. We can start with the staff and then have them help with crowd control as we tell the students." Before she could say anything more he decide he was going to take the long way into the city. "You aren't seriously going to carry me all the way there are you?!"

[Johnathan]

"What do you mean all the way there?!" Ben asked in mock indignation. "I'm going to carry you all the way to your room!" He grinned down at her before continuing slowly through the forest outside of the city. The distance could be measured in miles, and at the rate he was moving it would be hours before they got anywhere close.

He continued on in silence, the only sounds to be heard coming from the forest around them, and their breathing and heartbeats. The grin faded off his face and he instinctively clutched her to his chest a bit tighter, as his thoughts slid off onto darker paths.