"Hmm," Layna Kasio nodded as her darling son spoke aloud his attempts to rationalize this apparent 'paradox' standing in front of him. She decided to match him, point by point. Perhaps by doing that, she felt it would help connect her to him better for understanding her situation. But since time was of the essence, proper word choice would be paramount to keeping her explanation precise. "No, it [i]was[/i] me. I was just... in a deep demonic sleep, nearly identical to death," Layna explained carefully, trying to take his hands into hers. "And I've been away on a... [i]different[/i] world, with the one who saved me," she continued, her voice straining to remain uncracked, "and as much as I regret it, my son, I was unable to leave until the proper time... time..." She dwelled on the word. "So many years have passed, yet I don't feel a day older than my 'funeral'..." Layna looked up at Mairyell, pushing up her brow, "Please forgive me for my weakness, Mai... and we will deal with 'him.' I promise." She leaned up on him, standing on her tippy toes, and attempted to kiss him on his cheek. Although she knew that [i]something[/i] had happened to her daughter, she felt that now was not to time to ask him about it. In fact, she would let him tell her on his own terms when he was ready. They needed to leave Loom soon. She just hoped Poe was nearly finished up there, convincing Julian and Mary to trust him for their exit; the latter whom her lord said especially needed to survive. --- Aulder was fucked, as an unknown but derpingly [i]gorgeous[/i] seeress recently opinionated. And he knew it. Still, this was not supposed to end in victory anyway, but just stall his lord's enemies until the sword could find a worthy user. Through his Iotan link, he could tell that it was now in some [i]Lucien's[/i] hands and his lord had just left, leaving a strong impression upon him to do the same. Not that he had much choice. This 'Old One' was a tough cookie, Aulder knew. His very essence had been warped, temporarily, but was certainly effective. His liquid fire, no longer able to consume shadow and darkness, vanished into his tea cup. With now nothing holding him up, Aulder closed his eyes, putting trust in the one his lord advised him to. The old man fell, soon to impact the ground perhaps. But his faith was well placed, and in less than a few seconds, the Reclaimer had 'come out of his body' and caught him, holding him up by her arms. Strangely enough, she appeared to be in two areas at once: where Aulder had fallen just now, still several yards in the air in front of Szayeis, and then back where she was hovering several yards above Lucien and Ilana. A moment later, Aulder vanished into a dividing blue rectangle of tiny cubes, and so did the 'Reclaimer' duplicate who had caught him. It was in that moment, however, that an event occurred in a special place exclusive to all Iotans: [b]The Enigmatic Elsewhere.[/b] Whilst all thoughts and emotions were, more or less, shared between Iotans wherever they may be, it was here that prominent meetings were initiated by the Empty Lord himself. It made for a more powerful experience shared between him and his followers, which was sometimes necessary to foster greater resonance between them and himself, but also strengthen their minds and Iotan growth. And as always, questions and concerns flooded the 'waves', but the Empty Lord quieted them, firmly and gently... and all listened. "It appears to be a predicament," Ioi stated calmly, referring to the brief conflict between Aulder, Szayeis, and [b]Him.[/b] "But while the lodestars will not divine this fully, I know He is not in disharmony with my designs. For I have bent the lights and delved the shadows in between the information within our reality's foundation. He is only a large rock in the river that we swim in. "He is not a foe that we wrestle against, but fate it·self, and we will not despair. For fate can be carved with our will a·lone, but our flesh and spirit will fall against it. "We will focus on the carrier. Szayeis requires aid with keeping his priorities in order... so I am going to strengthen his resolve to subdue Him. He will remember that what he does have is worth more than what he wishes to obtain." Ioi paused, letting his speech sink deeply into his followers' minds. As it did so, images of the coming conflict flooded before them. "Thank you, Naerisidia," Ioi said, to which the newly converted clairvoyant nodded and smiled sadly in her mind. "I will send the Reclaimer to subdue his kingdom and divert his attention from Lucien," Ioi declared, to which Ilana, even as she stood by Lucien's side, mentally confirmed. In the middle of the Enigmatic Elsewhere, their collective minds interlinked, stood the Reclaimer. She waited for the order - the very precise order. Ioi had said he will... but now? She was eager to act, to please, to obey. The Reclaimer, as a person, was perpetually bored. So much action needed to be done, but she lacked the foresight of her lord and father. She knew this very well. "Take them," Ioi ordered her, "all of them; Spare nobody and nothing; Leave not an iota of anything behind." The Empty Lord had declared war on the Lord of Chaos. --- Ilana met Lucien's little smile with one of her own, albeit it was her heart that probably skipped a beat and excited her nerves. She pulled a strand of blond out of her face and cleared her throat. "Her," she said simply, pointing at the Reclaimer (the gray girl) above them. Subtle admiration spread across Ilana's face, clearly visible to Lucien. But then it changed to surprise as the Reclaimer descended to the ground extremely fast, but then lightly stepped onto the ground, barely disturbing the dirt. She glanced between Ilana and Lucien, her face besmirched by boredom fading to a strange excitement. Her gray composition also seemed to be producing its own light, for neither darkness or light could conceal her. Yet strangely, if she did produce her own light, it did not illuminate the area around her. That was something Ilana was still trying to understand, but her lord's assurance of this creation of his (a daughter, oddly) was good enough for her. And of course, she never spoke a word. "She doesn't... talk," Ilana whispered to Lucien, her eyes still on the motionless Reclaimer, "but my lord has assured me that she will protect you without question... I mean, don't even worry about how--she's very precise, and will sync with your actions." She was about to continue, but then the Reclaimer surface-pinned to the ground beneath them. It basically anchored her to the spot a few yards from the original angels. It also produced a very loud, but [i]reversed[/i] sonic boom. Staring into space, she then proceeded to take off her [i]right middle finger[/i] and then dropped it to the ground. It vanished before even touching the ground. She then glanced up at Lucien and Ilana for a moment, before turning her vigil towards Szayeis's general direction. "She's... she's attacking Szayeis's kingdom, Lucien," Ilana whispered, looking at him wide-eyed, but trying to remain calm, "it's a ploy to force his attention away from you and..." Her eyes fell to the sword that had once been his daughter... [b]Meanwhile... in Hell.[/b] The part of the Reclaimer that was sent to Hell had arrived, specifically in an arid wasteland's edge a few miles from the Western region. The finger stood upright, moving in place as it expanded its many gray chain links to a larger size. In mere seconds, a second instance of the Reclaimer emerged, but no less potent than her full entirety. Her stoic gaze turned toward the kingdom... and she began walking in lieu of flying, counting down the time to her first attack wave that would be the herald of many to come. It was not a good day to be a nightwalker in service of Szayeis.