Juno wondered why was it that the Imperator stared at her so intensely after Helena made her declaration. For a Vassal such as she, the reasoning behind all of this was obvious, even if Juno wasn't that much of an strategist, she knew what force drove their actions at any single time.
The choice of who the Imperator commanded to join the fight was interesting to Juno. In fact, she could swear that Iona wouldn't be sent down to fight unless an unprecedented crisis was happening— Oh, wait, this is an unprecedented crisis, right? Perhaps, she could do something help as well, even if she couldn't join the fight properly said. With this thought in mind, Juno turned to Deva, just as the forces of Heaven began to pour in to traverse the portal, and said, "Do you want me to eat it?"
The question, no matter how ominous was it was said, was said as Juno looked at the portal, making it clear that what she was thinking about eating was in fact the whole of the Oblivion Dungeon. Whether it was a joke, or something to be taken seriously, only those who knew the truth about Juno could tell.
The Oblivion Dungeon
Probably the most challenging battle to have ever been fought in the recent story of the Nexus, the battle at the Oblivion Dungeon has a simple concept at its core: fight, kill you enemies and be the last one standing. However, thanks to the insidious nature of Oblivion itself, as well as the presence of Victoire's reviled roses —targeting all in the prison, regardless of alliance, thanks to Helena's meddling— the Oblivion Dungeon became a place where reality and imagination are mixed. Illusions become real and your very own memories are both your worst enemy and the key to one's freedom.
"Here, to gain is to lose and to lose is to gain."
To put it simply, the longer the characters traverse to the Oblivion Prison, the more their minds shall suffer degradation, progressively losing their memories until all of their sense of self is lost. At any moment, some of these memories might some to life and either fight or try to interact with their bearers and, allegiances soon enough shall mean nothing in the winding tunnels when you can't tell friend from foe. The key to the recovery of the damaged memories lies with Helena, but... everything has a cost.
For a practical example of how this works, the first image that would greet the Demons as they crossed their respective portal, landing in front of the gates of the arcane prison would be the sight of a
certain wolf girl that seemed eerily familiar to most of them. The skittish being scampered around excitedly, running in a carefree way before dashing inside of the dungeon's gaping maw as soon as she caught eyes of the Demons who arrived at the dungeon's entrance, along with both Angels and Machina only to be greeted with the sweet fragrance of azure haze which filled the air.
Extradimensional movement, if anyone attempted it, was allowed inside of the Dungeon, but not to its outside, meaning that the portals were a one way road and no feasible methods of escape seemed to be at anyone's power. A perfect place to set up a prison, naturally. Portal creation inside of the Dungeon was also possible, meaning that powers like the Gates of Tartarus were fully functional unless someone else blocked them. Of course,
a certain inmate of this prison had the power to escape this dimension, however, his praised stone laid even now safely in the Oblivion Dungeon's vaults, exactly the place in which Helena made her temporary sanctum.
With all of these variables at play, even the most lucky of the gamblers would be hard pressed to place a winning bet. It was almost as if Helena were challenging someone to a game... perhaps?
CamiCat
Ariamis
Lonewolf685
TheWendil
mickilennial
Scrawl Banditta
