There was no time to catch some sleep. The night seemed to stretch to eternity, but the fires in the forest blazed bright as day. By now, everyone had fled or evacuated and only the stealthiest of soldiers were still out there to decimate the marching orcs.

Seonghwa needed to stay patient. The titans and the golems were ready to seal off the path from the west. Leaving the orcs to stream into the Crystal Sphere without a barrier felt all kinds of wrong, but it meant they were surrounded by Seonghwa's allies. As soon as they were cut off from their reinforcements and had nowhere to go, Seonghwa would strike.

With his arms wrapped around his body, Seonghwa stood at the window to look out over the armies huddling in the fields around the castle. They shared food and drink, readied their equipment, and made promises to see one another after all this was over. San had gone down twice to boost morale, yet Seonghwa mourned their confidence even more than he shared their fear.

None of them deserved to go out there and fight. Whether they lived or died, whether the empire won or not. They should have lived in peace under Seonghwa.

He might never forgive himself for failing like this. Though one war was nothing in the grand spectre of time, Seonghwa failed to kill his brother when he had the chance to.

And now, he lost his father and one of his allies.

His fingers tightened at his sides. He momentarily took off his cuirass since it cut into his skin where minor dents hit it. While hasty smiths fixed as much of it as possible, Seonghwa stood in his black gown and caught his breath.

He heard Yeosang coming and looked up from the fires that drew closer persistently. The orcs and demons didn't tire so quickly as his allies and they left destruction in their wake as they followed the scent of people to find more blood to spill.

"Do you wish to see your babies?" The dryad asked as he leaned against Jongho's shoulder. The golem refused parting from Seonghwa for even a second and he asked Yeosang to bring the Pebble to safety instead. Not that she needed that type of hideout, but Seonghwa hoped she might distract his children.

"I don't know what to tell them," Seonghwa muttered. Outside, the most rested soldiers fanned out to man the walls and watchtowers, readying hot oil and enchanted arrows to destroy the gathering enemy. Seonghwa was needed here. On the battlefield, he made easy prey and his judgment kept an order he hoped his foes would soon lose once Yongguk fell.

"You could hold them. Kiss their worries away," Yeosang suggested, but Seonghwa mutely shook his head. He felt powerless. Before he couldn't assure his kids that they would be fine and all danger was banished, he didn't dare show his face. They should know him only as their strong parent who protected them. Not but a shadow of himself.

How would he explain to them what happened with their grandfather? How would he tell his mother?

Seonghwa buried his face in his hand. It traced over the hollow of his cheeks. He was worn from stress and the lack of the moon showed, as it couldn't cure the shadows of his eyes. Visions of the war haunted him and, though he was exhausted, Seonghwa couldn't give in to his dread.

"I will hold them once this is over," he replied without glancing at his husbands. He was ashamed of his derailing wits, but they understood and kept supporting him. If anyone, they deserved to have an in on his condition, but before this war ended, no one would regain their joy. It might last dozens of years. The orcs were a mighty force and where the dryads had been easily appeased, the brutes of the west had been waiting for this day.

Yeosang didn't push him. He understood Seonghwa's strain as he oversaw his people's fight outside. Once the orcs retreated to lick their wounds, Seonghwa wanted a burial for his father.

Tomorrow, the eclipse would have passed, and Seonghwa would regain his strength. They just needed time.

"Watching you fight is scary," Yeosang sighed. "As glad as I am that you know how to wield a blade, you aren't meant to be this cold. Lean on us, Hwa. Even San is intimidated by you."

"I wish the enemy was," Seonghwa replied, but his voice lightened at the confession. This wasn't only his battle. He couldn't resolve it by scowling and brooding to himself.

All of his allies worked together, and their rulers were on the way to meet with Seonghwa to strike at once.

Not all was lost. Wooyoung and Hlin had a plan. If they could assassinate Yongguk from above, the mediation between the demon king and the orc chieftains would be gone. Though they might rage blindly without inhibition afterwards, it also meant envy and possessiveness towards their prey.

In playing those two aggressive races against each other, Seonghwa might cause enough chaos for his knights to take care of the rest.

He turned and diverted his attention from the incessant battles downstairs. All elves had fled the Crystal Sphere to hide with their allies in neighbouring kingdoms, or ducked into Seonghwa's castles. The halls downstairs brimmed with their agitated whispers and the fearful embraces of lovers and children.

On his way to speak to them and assure them of his protection, Seonghwa nodded at his two husbands hovering behind him with watchful eyes.

"Be vigilant. We don't know what other cards they have up their sleeve." Yunho and Hongjoong had left to coordinate the matters of the north. The dwarves replied eagerly at being offered more gold for their neutralness, but they were stubborn in giving away the secrets about their weapons. So far, Seonghwa found no way to install the mages back into his army.

Which - paired with the demons - made for a tremendous loss on their side. He doubted the titans and the nymphs could make up for it.

Seonghwa left the two and wandered down the corridor to meet his allies in the throne room. Wooyoung kept an eye on him and soon peeled from the shadows to follow. He sustained minor injuries from the battle prior, but his eyes hadn't lost their loyal faith in Seonghwa.

Down in the throne room, they found Yunho and Hongjoong discussing with a courier owl. Seonghwa curiously eyed the additional door he had never seen here before and realised after a moment that this was where his babies and Mingi were hidden. Hongjoong didn't dare bring them far away into the spire unprotected, so Seonghwa slowed at the closed gates.

His family was so near and he could hear the beats of their nervous hearts. When Hongjoong left with the owl to send it off, he took the doors with him and Seonghwa's hand pressed against a bleak wall.

"Wait for me, Mingi. Aodhán and Morana. I will be done soon," he whispered. He believed to hear something, as if Mingi heard and searched for a way out to embrace him.

But their meeting had to be postponed. Seonghwa turned to look at Yunho.

"Are we successful?"

"Hongjoong has been yelling at them all day. Only the fact that he needs his energy for your protection keeps him from portalling to the dwarves and punching someone in the nose for their taunting. We are in no situation to jest."

"Give them whatever they want. No gold will have worth to us if we are all dead," Seonghwa replied. The dwarves didn't fear the empire, only the golems. No one else could ruin all their hard work and the impenetrable fortresses they built below the earth.

Yunho gave a humourless chuckle.

"Hongjoong thought the same. He is confident this owl will return with good news. As soon as Yongguk arrives, we can strike his shields down." He peered out of the window. The fires weren't far now and everyone downstairs was moving. Mounts were saddled and gates drawn shut to fend off the impending doom for weeks, perhaps months.

Unless the orcs brought yet another weapon no one expected.

"Once the dwarven weapons are out of commission, we can make use of their weak spots. So far, the poison the mages trailed around the forests proved most successful," Seonghwa agreed. He should check on that. Make sure none of his allies breathed it in.

Wooyoung made a noise in agreement and Seonghwa just turned to caress his hair and soothe his frown so they wouldn't bring each other down when a sudden sizzling in the air warned their lingering group something was off. The scent of burnt wood filled his nose and a moment later, golden sparks rained out of nowhere.

Hongjoong's magic.

With thunder and a gleaming ray of light, a portal abruptly opened in their midst. While Seonghwa made for Wooyoung to yank the frazzled gryphon-born behind his back, an ominous crackling came from the source of the light. As if Hongjoong's magic forbade this other force from entering.

A shoulder bumped into Seonghwa when Yunho hastened to their sides. Most soldiers had left the upper floors and the fighting outside was so deafening now that they had to be busy defending the courtyard.

Yunho's blade pointed at the gleaming shine and a moment later, it died down. A mortified gasp broke over Seonghwa's lips when he recognised his visitors.

Yongguk shrugged off the crude spell and its battle against Hongjoong's magic. He was flanked by two orc chieftains and none other than the Demon King himself. They all broke out in matching smirks when they realised their ruse worked.

"How did you-" Seonghwa gasped, and he tugged on Yunho with panicked fingers, backing them toward his throne. The human followed, every step calculated and steadfast. His eyes never left his enemies.

"We weren't sure either if it would work," Yongguk scoffed and a moment later, one of the orcs threw something at his feet. It was the body of a spluttering mage. Her neck was bruised from their brutal grip and she struggled for air when Yongguk packed her by the hair and yanked her head up. Tear-filled eyes recognised the terrified emperor and realised what she had done.

"Your Majesty," she choked out, gagging against his grip on her. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I-"

"Shush," with a quick stroke, the dagger in Yongguk's other hand silenced her. A red smile bloomed over her neck and she suffocated on the blood filling her lungs. Yongguk dropped her to fleck the rainbow crystals with red.

Only now, Seonghwa realised all four of them donned the dwarven artefacts. They wagered on disrupting Hongjoong's magic for long enough to make their way in, and they succeeded.

But they couldn't transport an army. They were cut off from their outside aid, and Seonghwa was with his husbands. He had the upper hand in this castle.

With a scoff, Yongguk kicked at the fallen mage. Her face was twisted in death, horrified by her betrayal.

"I figured we would speed this up. Get rid of the leading figure so my orcs may relish the elves promised to them."

A similar plan, then. The chieftains studied the huddled family full of blood lust, wishing to claim that throne. But the Demon King had always desired something else. The plans in his eyes as he studied Seonghwa's unprotected body were much more sinister.

"Let's end this here," Seonghwa also whispered. Before more blood flowed. Yongguk also profited off a swift triumph, and his cockiness made him vulnerable.

But before Yongguk could as much as draw his blade, the doors burst open and Hongjoong came marching in. The others couldn't be far behind, and once Yeosang and Jongho were here, Seonghwa had a good chance at winning against the bunch.

Ire coloured the sorcerer's eyes red. A swift glance at Seonghwa assured him of his safety, then he already whipped out the scythe of shadows and marched at the waiting foes.

"That's the one," Yongguk snickered at the two chieftains and Seonghwa didn't understand.

But he understood how Hongjoong worked.

The moment the sorcerer launched at Yongguk, Seonghwa whirled around to his throne. His fingers wrapped around the blade attached to the wall, the sacred coronation sword. Its purpose of peace in the empire had been long since lost, so all it served as was a blade for their protection.

Yunho didn't hesitate, either. While Wooyoung stuck with Seonghwa and assessed the moment he could strike, the first screech of weapons against each other filled the throne room of the Crystal Palace.