Dimensional Descent

Aina continued to sit, her expression settling down into a usual indifference. Facing off against this army of people, she didn't feel fear... She felt excitement.

It had been a very long time since she experienced this sort of thing. Even with all the danger they had been in during recent months to even years, Leonel usually took the brunt of it. For better or for worse, he was always her shield.

Recently, though, Leonel had undergone a huge change, and it might very well be the reason he had decided to trust her with this.

And she would prove his trust to be placed correctly.

The skies rumbled as Aina crossed one leg over the other. A light smile tugged at her soft, pink lips. With her back straight, her chest proud, and her hair gently laying around her, she looked dignified and untouchable in her regality.

The roar of the crowd seemed to be considerably dulled at this moment. Like peasants before an Empress, they felt each one of their hearts constrict, their momentum akin to a doused flame.

Even as they continued to charge forward, their feet faltered, their Force winking in and out of existence.

Each Sovereignty had their own kernel of truth, their own refined presence crafted by the hand of their owner.

Leonel's Spear and Bow Forces carried an air of Creation. His Destruction Sovereignty carried an air of the exact opposite. As for his Dream Sovereignty, it was now a dichotomy of Respect and Persistence.

As for Aina's...

A dense Battle Lust filled the skies. It was suffocating and all-pervading that it seemed to form very real and tangible tendrils of Will in the skies. At the same time, her mental coercion, something she usually kept under lock and key, spread out with even more fervor.

She continued to sit there, her legs crossed and her chest tall. Her curves were proudly on display, and yet not a single person seemed capable of looking her in the eye, let alone observing such a thing.

The charge came to a grinding halt. They stumbled atop one another, falling and grappling for position as they skidded to a stop. Many were trampled beneath the feet of one another, and there was no hope for a quick death. Their bodies were simply too sturdy.

They could feel every one of those heavy feet stomping above them, crushing their fingers, flexing their skulls, shattering their rib cages.

The world became a chaotic mess. It became akin to entertainment for an Empress, peasants scratching and clawing for a hope at survival, until it all suddenly came to a stop.

The city fell into silence, the slight swing of Aina's leg the only real sign of movement.

"Is that all?"

ever heard. Their hearts ached at the three words, so much

at Aina with longing. Some who were exceptionally weak of heart and spirit fell to their knees,

by the scenes of murder and carnage, the same light

There were many in the back that weren't affected by Aina's coercion, mostly because she didn't even bother to spread

they couldn't get into

sent became their own form

suddenly appeared before Aina. It

And when she appeared again, there was

Caspian of the Council.

Ax. She didn't need to, not by any stretch of the imagination. But she wanted

you going to surrender?" Aina asked, her coercion filling the

to walk forward

most. It was a thick, black, military uniform filled with pockets. Her feet had thick-soled boots on that made the gentleness of her

rule against Dream Force usage in the city limits. If not for the subtle restrictions that likewise put on Soul Force, Aina's coercion would

of battle... there were no

that if you sent those poor people at me, you could tire me out, injure me, and even if it didn't

his throat seemed to be clamped. Aina soothing and gorgeous voice taking hold of his heart and

in love, his face flushing. He shook it off quickly because he was a master of Dream

was a

him like

then the

pain at all as his arm flew away. But that only made him feel more fear. She had coopted his mind so thoroughly that he couldn't even feel pain the way he

flickered again and his

he

a knee, his eyes filled with despair. Even now, he couldn't speak. The coercion was far too strong. It was like

almost like he was watching with a clear mind as his death date

It was horrifying.

chin pressed against the ground as he tried to look up toward the woman that occupied his heart. And yet,

suddenly felt the weight of Aina's ax on the