The Peaks Surrounding Ithteca

Standing upon the peak of the northern mountains surrounding Ithteca stood a lone Horde Scout. Wreathed in lightning, the human looking man observed the bustling Capital City below.



The demons crimson slitted eyes glinted in the inky blackness of the Ion Storm overhead, and he smiled, his sharpened teeth showing.

{"And now, the siege begins... and the future of this world ends."} the monster spoke.

He tilted his head backwards, and raised his arms, gathering his energies. The Battle lord granted him the first shot, to begin the assault.



He brought his hands together and drew them close, the aura around him condensed and shrank down.



{"NOW, BEGIN!"} the scout roared. He thrust his hands forward, throwing a large lightning bolt into the city below, accompanied by the now colossal lightning thrown by the ion Storm as it finished casting it's shadow over the entire mountain chain, Ithteca included.



With this blast of hellish lightning, the entire ring of mountains came alive as the Hoard advanced from every direction, blasts of energy, missiles, bullets, rockets, lumps of flaming rock, and thousands of other weapons and methods of attack sprang from the roaring Hoards as they advanced rapidly down the slopes of the mountains, descending into the plateau and crashing into the city with immortal ferocity and rage.

Aerial units began to pepper and bomb the city from above without warning, flying demonic monstrosities and vehicles with impossible technologies fired their payloads at anything that moved without mercy or restraint.

As the city of Ithteca was being barraged by the various land and air units a loud explosion came from above in the air as an air unit exploded. Although the hoards continued to advance below the air units nearby the explosion seemed to have a new target and stopped barraging the city. A few moments later a couple more explosions were visible as blasts of fire and plummeting debris started to rain from the skies. The skies were illuminated by bright flashes of what appeared to be white light and blue flame. As the air units came to attack their new target they were met with freezing engines and a moment later bursts of ice breaking through the windshield spearing the drivers. Large spikes of ice drove through the bodies of the air units before the engines were struck and blew up from the force. Slowly the explosions came away from the city and closer to the Horde scout who had shot the lightning. As the explosions grew nearer the sound grew intensity and the sounds of the trapped air men could be heard before an explosion occurred. Moments of silence would pass before another air unit followed the same fate. An explosion occurred within 100 yards of the Horde scout followed by a long silence...

An air unit flew over the Horde scout's head toward's its target of Itheca when in a cloud of rainbow light and burst of blue fire a figure draped in black clothing with blue hair jumped from a ledge below the Horde scout and touched the air unit. As the figure's finger tips touched the frame of the air unit ice began to spread across the machine spreading from the point of contact outward until the entire unit was covered in ice. The air men inside attempted to run to the emergency doors and found them to be frozen shut. By the time they had reached the windshield again to try and smash their way out ice covered them and their screams for help. The figure looked down at the Horde scout with a smirk before clasping his hands together allowing a burst of blue flames and moving ice to form around his hands in a form of energy. A moment later the figure shot his hands forward directed towards the air unit releasing a burst blue flame and large yet light light ice spike exploding from him hands. The energy burst struck the air unit splitting it in half horizontally. Within seconds the air unit burst in flame leaving only small pieces of debris and chunks of ice falling to ground below.

The figure came flying towards the Horde scout and stopped a mere foot away from him. "It's not nice to have a party without inviting me. I am the dealer of pain and suffering in this world and no one else. Do you obey this command to stand down?" a calm, cold, and dark voice inquired from underneath a dark hood the blue bangs of the figure's hair hanging in front of it's eyes.

The scout looked inquisitively at the hooded figure, and a sinister fanged grin came from under his own hood.

"Ah, very good. One of you 'War Gods' actually appeared, sooner than expected too. Looks like the intelligence we received was not entirely accurate. Still, that means the objective has been met.... I have someone who would like to meet you. Perhaps 'She' would deign to halt the Hordes attack, if it suits her purposes..." The Horde scout said, before taking a step back, and kneeling down, slapping the flat of his palm into the ground.

A large pentagram etched itself into the rock around him with hellish energies and furious burning light. It lasted for only a moment, but when the light faded, in the scouts place, stood a tall woman swathed in black and red robes, hood pulled over her head with... odd shaped lumps about it.

"Hmm... So you are one of the planetary guardians that the mortals of this world call "War Gods?"

As scout moved back the figure stood motionless staring intently with his eletric blue/green eyes. The moment the dark energies started to form around the pentagon the figure smirked folding his arms in anticipation of what was coming.

It lasted for only a moment, but when the light faded, in the scouts place, stood a tall woman swathed in black and red robes, hood pulled over her head with... odd shaped lumps about it.
"Hmm... So you are one of the planetary guardians that the mortals of this world call "War Gods?"

The figure grimaced at the creature that stood before him however without moving or blinking he kept his gaze on the creature. After a few moments the calm, cold, and dark voice spoke saying, "The mortals of this world do indeed call my kind War Gods but we are not planetary nor elemental. You seem smug in my presence. You will learn why the name Stratus causes the mortals of this realm to quake to the very core of their soul. Stratus, this be the name given to me by these mortals and you will know my full power if you do not abandon this futile attempt to destroy this city. As a deity of war my pact of 2000 years service to the city of Ithteca shall not be broken. This is your final warning."

Understanding from her appearance that his attempt at diplomacy was more likely to be a formality Stratus unfolded his arms, slightly bending his knees and kept his arms at the ready though his form became entirely covered by his black cloak. The black hood still hid Stratus' face except for his bangs and the slight glint of his electric blue/green eyes. In accordance with his emotions of imminent battle a cold blue flame spread from Stratus' feet in a circle and slowly proceeded away from him in pulsing waves of frozen light energy. Each wave of energy pushing the circle of blue flame to expand farther away from the War God.

The woman did not raise her gaze to look at Stratus for his insolence, but rather looked at the city.

"You wish to save them... Don't you? You would do well to heed a little advice. Don't try to threaten or attack that which you have yet to identify or understand. I am feeling generous at the moment though, perhaps a lull in the fireworks will get your attention..." With that, a mental command was issued. The monsters of the cursed Hoard immediately ceased their onslaught, and returned to their pre-attack positions upon the orders of the Empress. The ballistic missiles carrying the hell Fire Warheads simply ceased momentum, floating in mid-air. And the Ion Storm continued to rumble and rage, but no bolts cast downward.

"I must admit, it is fascinating how quickly one of you responded, a single siege was all it took, to rouse one of you from the slumber... A single, lone city, and a Space Station... I wonder how many of you would rise if I were to lay siege to the rest of this little planet, with forces comprised of individuals capable of matching you and your kind? Now, that would be interesting.... Fortunately I have limitless reserves of such beings at my disposal." the Empress teased, as her crimson gaze turned slowly towards Stratus, a slight smirk upon her lips, her fangs hooking into her lower lip.

"Ah, and there it is. That inquisitive stare. You are wondering now, just what, and whom you are dealing with. it wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Do you know why I refer to you as a 'Planetary Guardian?' It is not because you protect this planet, although you certainly seem to do that. No, it is a reference to your level of overall capability. The 'Totem Pole' of power in all existence is indeed vast, and on a cosmic scale within the bounds of your own dimension, you rank quite low indeed. Oh, more than enough power to conquer mortals, certainly, but the scope of your power is quite limited indeed..." Seeing Stratus prepare himself for a fight immediately, the Empress shook her head slightly, before she lowered her hood. her formerly blond hair had truned jet black, Her spiral-curved ram-like horns sat on either side of her head, while another set came above them, angling backward, and curved outward, like those of an ancient dragon!

"Hmm, it would seem that you want to play, instead of parlay. It's not often I have to play with one of the bottom rung, but I guess you are adamant. Well then, show me this power of yours that has all these mortals living in fear. Show me everything you have to offer, all of it. Don't hold back, because if you fail to amuse me, I may reconsider conquering this little world in favour of simply destroying it!" The Empress finished, upping the stakes into the ultimate gamble.

Stratus stared at the woman without a facial expression throughout her long winded and meaningless monologue. When the hole that was her mouth finally shut and Stratus could once again hear himself think he felt relief. There are only so many words that a War God can hear from the lesser beings. The corners of Stratus' mouth curled upwards into a beaming smile before he started to laugh for a few moments. After a few moments Stratus collected himself closing his mouth into the form of a sneer commenting, "What cheap parlor trick is that? Even the mortals can command such weapons and forces to stop an advance. Mental capabilities as those can be found in a War Lord. You stated you wanted to see the full power of Stratus? of a War God?!" Stratus took a breath in almost as if he was going to allow a response before he continued, "When you have deemed me inconsequential and my kind as small as a grain of sand? You do not deserve the honor of witnessing such power! Instead, you will realize that War Gods are the most high honored and powerful creatures of this world. We are stronger than any angel! We are stronger than any demon! WE ARE THE ETHEREAL and WE ARE THE ABANDONED! YOU WILL NOT underestimate MY kind or YOU will REGRET IT!"


As Stratus said these lasts few words his eyes began to frost over and his body became encased in a prism of glacyian ice. The ice a light translucent blue form that gleamed in the light produced from the particles of the Ion Storm. From inside the ice it could be seen that Stratus' body had not moved an inch but his eyes had slowly turned from a dull frosty white to a glowing electric blue. Bursts of energy in the form of blue electricity and flame radiated from Stratus' eyes. The energy being unperceivable to the naked eye of any being or creature leaving only the image of Stratus' eyes engulfed in blue flames and electricity. A moment later screams were heard throughout the mountain chain and on the outskirts of the city as the hordes became encased in frost and ice. The shouts and cries of the men lasted but mere seconds before the landscape looked like a frozen chess board that had been left in an attic gathering dust. The woman would notice that Stratus' blinked his eyes before the bodies of the hordes shattered into small bits of ice that melted away blowing away as droplets of rain into the wind. As the droplets blew away in the wind the earth began to shake around the area and the mountain chain itself. A circle around the woman including Stratus in the ring began to form as prisms of ice burst through the ground speeding into the air in the shape of the War Gods of Old: Freyd the Wise, Sephiroth, and the others including the form of Krad. The statues looked lifelike in appearance with their eyes peering down at the woman. The statues eyes would appear to glow with the reflection of light from the Ion Storm bouncing off them.

The Empress shook her head from side to side, her raven hair swishing slightly, and a terrifying smork came across her face. "Do you truly beleive that you killed all of them?" she asked, even as the vast majority of the legion rose out of the improptu ice dust. The creatures and cybernetic constructs remained.

"The runes of protection, an ancient technique that has lost none of it's potency... You succeeded in eliminating the former mortals, unblooded ones. But those that have earned their marks remain..." Her eyes looked back at Stratus, and the evil sneer turned ice cold, colder than the ice-fire Stratus just used.

"Tell me, do you know what this is?" she asked, as she raised her hand, and within, hovering just above her palm, floated a tiny black orb. Polished like marbel, and giving off the feeling of absolute nothingness... it seemed to swallow everything around it.

The Battlelord, Raza'thi'iel, turned his furious gaze from the offending immortal, towards his Empress, and his expression turned from fury to fear the instant he laid eyes on the sphere she had just produced.

"My Empress...." he uttered.

"Raza'thi'iel, return to the fortress, and withdraw your troops immediately." came the Empress's command, and the battlelord obeyed, albeit reluctantly.

"FALL BACK! ALL FORCES, WITHDRAW BACK TO THE FORTRESS! FALL BACK NOW!" bellowed the immense demon, before he teleported back to the Gorge Fortress, followed immediately by the mass teleportation retreat of the Horde attacking Ithteca.

A portal of unknown origin appeared over the Battlelord, and then emerged an individual cloaked in dark grey garb, summoned a black spear with crimson decorations, and landed on the left shoulder of the Battlelord, impaling the spear between it's shoulder blades, coursing electrical energy through it. "Well well well, I come to visit this dimension and find myself with more interlopers to deal with. Demonic forces intent on conquering this world, huh?" He said, then turned his head to the Empress. "Well, I'm not exactly one to take these things lying down." He said as he twisted the spear in the demon's wound, causing him more pain. "I hope you'll at least provide me with some entertainment." He said as he turned to Stratus. "Hmm, have we met before?"

K wrote:A portal of unknown origin appeared over the Battlelord, and then emerged an individual cloaked in dark grey garb, summoned a black spear with crimson decorations, and landed on the left shoulder of the Battlelord, impaling the spear between it's shoulder blades, coursing electrical energy through it. "Well well well, I come to visit this dimension and find myself with more interlopers to deal with. Demonic forces intent on conquering this world, huh?" He said, then turned his head to the Empress. "Well, I'm not exactly one to take these things lying down." He said as he twisted the spear in the demon's wound, causing him more pain. "I hope you'll at least provide me with some entertainment." He said as he turned to Stratus. "Hmm, have we met before?"

Raza'thi'iel was not amused by this intrusion, and he did not want to be around when his Empress activated that sphere.

Thi'iel tapped the rune of protection on his right breastplate and the powerful sigil blew the black spear, and the intruder off his body in a violent shockwave of hellish energy, which seemed to wakewash around the unfazed Empress.

The massive, agitated Battlelord hefted it's enormous rotary cannon, and pointed it at the offender. "I could easily kill you right now, welp. But I don't want to be anywhere near that thing when it goes off. So, if you'll excuse me, I have a gate to catch...." the Battlelords last words faded as he vanished in a swirl of crimson energies.

The Empress's eyes never left that of Stratus, but her senses kept track of both new potential foes, and a slight, cold smirk crossed her black lips. "Well now, it appears you may know what this is, after all...."

The cloaked figure landed on his feet, and dispelled the spear, ignoring the Battlelord's idle threat, and responded to the empress, as he walked toward her and Stratus. "If I had to guess, that would be a quantum singularity, a sort of portable black hole." He dusted off his jacket a bit, then followed up. "Honestly, seems like such a boring thing to use, don't you think?" He snapped his fingers, and dispelled the orb. "Oh, you can summon it again as many times as you like, but the result will be the same. This isn't exactly my first time dealing with 'supreme demonic entities'" He emphasized 'supreme demonic entities' with air quotes. "Honestly, it's pretty much the same issue, lead demons think themselves unstoppable, thinking because their magic is better due to age, and I stop them without much complications. But wait, I imagine you have some sort of reason WHY you're better then them," he began the next bit of his in a heavily sarcastic tone "So please, go ahead, explain why 'I'm a foolish mortal, unable to comprehend your supreme power, and why it's futile to resist.' Oh, I'm gonna love this one." He sat down on a nearby rock, waiting for her reply.

K wrote:The cloaked figure landed on his feet, and dispelled the spear, ignoring the Battlelord's idle threat, and responded to the empress, as he walked toward her and Stratus. "If I had to guess, that would be a quantum singularity, a sort of portable black hole." He dusted off his jacket a bit, then followed up. "Honestly, seems like such a boring thing to use, don't you think?" He snapped his fingers, and dispelled the orb. "Oh, you can summon it again as many times as you like, but the result will be the same. This isn't exactly my first time dealing with 'supreme demonic entities'" He emphasized 'supreme demonic entities' with air quotes. "Honestly, it's pretty much the same issue, lead demons think themselves unstoppable, thinking because their magic is better due to age, and I stop them without much complications. But wait, I imagine you have some sort of reason WHY you're better then them," he began the next bit of his in a heavily sarcastic tone "So please, go ahead, explain why 'I'm a foolish mortal, unable to comprehend your supreme power, and why it's futile to resist.' Oh, I'm gonna love this one." He sat down on a nearby rock, waiting for her reply.

When the sphere didn't disappear, or even ripple. the Empress smiled.

"You play a dangerous game, Krahtzvota. While I am not that psychotic monster, I can control, to a certain extent, the absolute Null-Void. Only 3 beings in all existence can do this, of which I am but one. The One Above All is one, and then there is Verial, The exiled one... Tell me, if I had allowed you to dispel this sphere, what do you think would have happened? Do you know what happens when a Void Sphere is detonated?" the Empress' sneer became savage.

"As their name implies, a Void Sphere creates emptiness and nothingness. when activated, it instantly corrupts and decomposes the very fabric of existence, reality, time and space within it's area of effect, leaving absolute destruction in it's wake, erasing everything. Can you imagine the sphere's destructive power? - it instantly destroys time and space. The absolute void that it opens contains nothing, not even reality itself, a concept your tiny mind may have trouble comprehending. You do know well that the physical realms cannot contain voids, the gaping wounds left by a Void Sphere's detonation is quickly filled in, and it is then that terrible destruction takes place. The absolute emptiness causes an implosion of a magnitude and scale most beings cannot even begin to imagine. Allow me to give you an example - This, one pea sized granule of Void energy, when detonated, can encompass the entirety of the city below, erasing it completely, but the implosion can shatter the reality of the entire mountain range, and everything within 100 kilometers of it. Now..."

Then, the orb increased in size to about the size of a small marble.

"At this size, the erasure effect can swallow the city, the mountain range, and everything as far as Beijio City, and the implosion will wipe out Gailden with ease... Now, imagine how little it would take, to destroy Galivan...."

K chuckled a little, and lowered his head a little. "Heh.... you know, I was hoping to have a little fun with this, but now..." He said as his head came back up "Now I don't have the leisure to do so." He said, and then vanished, and reappeared in front of the empress, reeling his right arm back, a pair of black gauntlets and greaves appeared on his hands and feet, as he unleashed a powerful punch into the empress, knocking her back!
(Music starts on impact)
K follows up with a couple kicks, then shifts from the gauntlets and greaves to a scythe, performing an uppercut swing, launching her into the air, then jumping up and performing a few slashes at the Empress, followed by a blast of fire charged from the scythe blade, knocking the Empress into the side of the mountain, followed up with a blast of lightning from his scythe. As the empress began to rise, K readied his weapon, and began to charge the empress.

As the two clashed in front of Stratus the ice started to melt all around them starting with the ice sculptures of the Wargods. The statues' bodies slowly turned red before their bodies started to melt the droplets of water cascading down in a small stream every few seconds. A moment later the small stream of water turned into a cascading river as the statues melted and the snow underneath them began transformed into jets of water that tumbled down the mountain in a giant tsunami wave. As the wave's shadow loomed over the pair and the retreating armies a sharp glint was seen for a mili-second before large shards of ice started bursting out of the tsunami towards the two combatants. The shards at first appeared to be the size of an arrow but on approach they took on the appearance of a tower (tower of pisa size) and on impact these shards dug into the earth and crashed into each other sending large shatters of sharp ice throughout the area. Craters of earth formed from the impact of the shards causing crevices of unknown depths to form around the combatants.

From the remnants of the tsunami wave a white-cloaked figure could be seen due to his shadow against the ice. The figure lifted his head slightly in the direction of the combatants and the tsunami went from being a frozen form in mid surge to a reanimated body of water that continued to come barreling forward with the figure at the head of the tsunami wave. As the wave came crashing down on the combatants and fell down through the crevices and craters in the earth the figure jumped forward at the Empress who had been contending with the other figure for some time now. The figure aimed a swift kick at the orb in her hand and made a hard contact on the orb like a soccer professional trying to make a goal. As he did so his white hood fell backwards to reveal the all familiar blue hair of Stratus.

The grey cloaked figure emerged from the waves, summoning a lance, and throwing it at the Empress, then channeled lightning magic through the spear, the water surrounding her amplifying the damage. He then turned to Stratus, asking "What the hell!? I'm technically on your side here, trying to kill the she demon!" His flames then flared up around him, drying off his clothes.

The Empress grinned, as her feet slammed into the side of the mountain, standing upon it's side.

"It seems you both fear the void..." she muttered. Before Stratus' kick could punt the orb of Void energy, it disappeared! Then, the hand that once held the orb suspended latched onto the offending limb, and pulled Stratus close.

With her right hand, the Empress rammed her own right fist into Stratus' abdomen, and out his back, erupted a massive stream of Hell Fire!

"You are as foolish as your little friend here... You lash out like a child when faced with death. You know no restraint. Should I have lost control of that orb, then you would have been responsible for the complete erasure of millions of those you swore to protect... Idiotic little War God." The Empress hissed into Stratus' face, before backhanding the Wargod with a flash of black lightning enshrouded left hand, sending her opponent spiralling back towards Galivan's protective shields, as the Empress turned towards K.

"And you, meddling in a battle that you have no place in, you are even more foolish...." The Demoness grownled out, as her energy began to gather around her skin.

"Says the demon who's attempting to invade and conquer a world that isn't theirs." He replied, unfazed by the actions of the Empress. "By the energy you're gathering, I assume you're going to transform into some sort of massive monstrous true form to 'finish me for one and all'." He said with air quotes, and summoned a bow. Pulling back the bowstring, conjuring magic arrows, he stated "Not very original, to be honest. Let me know when you want to be original." And fired the arrows, knocking her into the newly formed lake through the clashing of the Empress and Stratus. "Besides, I was asked to come here."

"As was I....." Alexastra replied, before vanishing as the ethereal arrow passed through her.


In an instant, the Empress reappeared behind K, and at her sides, 4 ethereal arrows floated, weightless, suspended by the hellish powers, but not for long, as with the next instant, the Empress, willed the deadly projectiles forward, impaling K through the shoulders and knees.

when she turned him to face her, K would see that she was different. Gone was the smirk from before, and in it's place, was an emotionless, cold and malignant fury. her eyes lit up like the sun in golden light. Like her son before her, she had gone into a battle trance, there would be no more words spoken.

Instead, the empress drove both her palms into K's chest with significant force, and followed it up with a wave of pure hellish energy that turned the Ion Storm above into a haze of red light....

(OOC: Next post is the Wargod's, we keep leaving him behind.)

"Ugh, why is it that ALL deities and demon lords have to be so over the top, prideful, and ego stroking?" K said, still impaled on the empress's hands, sounding rather bored. Darkness swirled around him, and he slipped off of the hands of the empress, the darkness repairing his gash. "You know, if you want, I'll just let you two duke it out. We're barely five minutes into this fight, and it's already getting repetitive." He drifted off, floating closer to the edge of the "arena" that the war god forged. "I'll be right here when you need me, when you're done with your lover's spat." He said, not even hiding his annoyance.

The Empress looked, blankly, as K retreated, then gazed at the raging frozen tempest. Both her opponents had retreated.

The golden light of the battle trance faded, and the Empress's face remained stoic for a few moments longer, before a slight mix of forlorn, and boredom creased her regal features.

"Fragile...." she finally spoke, softly. but her voice carried through Stratus's torrential winds, unimpeded. "You are all just so.... fragile...." she spoke again, as her gaze returned to K.

The Empress spun on her heel in the air, a look of rage suddenly sprang on her face, she snapped her palm towards the shielded city of Ithteca, and instantly generated a sphere of Void energy the size of a basketball. Enough energy to wipe out half the star system!

With a voice, dark and macabre, the Empress spoke once more. "With such weak gods and protectors like you two, professing to have attained absolute power, and swagger like you know the meaning of it, the arrogance of newborns with dreams... I have no further use of this place! if you have power, and the courage to use it, STOP ME! OR BEAR WITNESS!" The Empress's roar coincided with the condensation of the Void Sphere, readying the deadly energy to fire.

(Core Pride from my earlier post starts playing again) K snapped his fingers, creating multiple chains, dragging down the empress. "Ok, but only because you asked." He raised his right hand. creating a fireball roughly the size of a mountain, slamming it down upon the empress. As the flames raged, K yelled out "I hope you don't falter under my little firecracker, because I'm only just getting started!" He then conjured a blade. Then several hundred. He grabbed one, and swung down, sending the blades into the inferno. "Oh come now Alex, the stage is set, let's give this world one hell of a show!" K gestured shouting to the sky.

K wrote:(Core Pride from my earlier post starts playing again) K snapped his fingers, creating multiple chains, dragging down the empress. "Ok, but only because you asked." He raised his right hand. creating a fireball roughly the size of a mountain, slamming it down upon the empress. As the flames raged, K yelled out "I hope you don't falter under my little firecracker, because I'm only just getting started!" He then conjured a blade. Then several hundred. He grabbed one, and swung down, sending the blades into the inferno. "Oh come now Alex, the stage is set, let's give this world one hell of a show!" K gestured shouting to the sky.

Certainly a lively little thing, aren't you?" came the Empress's reply, through the inferno. The ball of flame darkened slightly from it's lively vivid yellow, to a darker orange.

The next minute, the ball of fire exploded, showering the mountain chain in it's embers and whisps, revealing the Empress floating, surrounded by the floating swords. no longer comprised of ethereal energy, but of Hellfire! The blades pointed outward, away from her, a cruel smirk crossed the demoness's lips, and she emitted a spherical shockwave, sending the hundred blades in every direction. Some clashed into the protective barrier of Ithteca, causing the shield to shudder and flicker. Others crashed into the surrounding mountains, creating small strams of molten rock to slowly fall down the mountainsides, like tear drops, many more plunged into the tempest above, creating streams of sunlight through the raging storm, before they closed almost as suddenly. Half a dozen of the fell blades however, hurdled towards K.

Come.... Face me!" beconed the Demoness, as she summoned her own chosen weapon.

On the horizon, the proud city of Ithteca shined with a brilliant light... and then multiple streaks of white grey smoke rose from the grandiose city of the mountains. They hurdled towards the location of the Empress, K, and Stratus's tempest and when they got too close the missiles were instantaneously frozen by the blizzard Stratus had become. To show that he had still been with them during this fight yet, the hundreds of missiles when they crashed did not explode with fire, but had exploded with large plumes of frosted air and shrapnel made of ice and steel. These showered both the Empress and K with the materials. They would both also notice that the frost that had encrusted their bodies would not come off with heat, no matter how hot they would try to make themselves. They would also notice that these missiles had inadvertently spread the tempest of ice and snow further, causing the snowy ground to be now as slick as ice, ice that itself was as hard as steel and permafrost, so much so that it too could not be destroyed by mere flame no matter how hot it was. The swirling blizzard roared, and the two who were caught in it would realize this roar was not of the howling winds, but that which was Stratus himself. He was this storm. He was this one who was sieving their powers, using his very soul to dampen and dissipate their peculiar skills, the orb itself wavered with Stratus's soul, weakening under the intensity of this violent icy storm!

((OOCC: Yeah, you can't ignore Stratus guys...))

K dispelled the blade in his hand, then held that hand up, stopping his swords from flying at him, dispelled their physical forms, and reformed their energies into a scythe. He then poked the ice stuck to his jacket, then tried to melt it, but no success. "Huh, permafrost, not often I see that. Maybe I can work with this..." He said as he charged, the empress, blades, clashing. They recoiled, K shifting the scythe to a lance, and his jacket to dragoon armor. pulling a few thrusts, and a jump down on the greatsword.

A voice in the wind spoke, "I am here to make sure no harm comes to these people in this city and world. Should our battle continue to escalate to encompass them my soul will be turned into your containment." At this moment the ferocity of the storm increased to the point that instead of wind a snow falling in a mere cascading effect a cone of snow, ice, and wind formed before slowly starting to enclose on the pair.

A voice in K's head would be heard, "Should you mean peace for this world then I will grant this wave pass over you without effect."