Kayla was informed, and the group paused for lunch. Even amid everything going on, breaks were needed to keep energy up. They exchanged finally notes after lunch, everyone going their separate ways. Xix, Troy, Hathor and Sky left for Terpola, the first place on Xix's list. Jay, Maddie, Kinda and Valria left for Alexandria, Jay saying he had an idea for where one of the greatest places of knowledge outside of the Database could be found. The others who were left for research split up, some hitting the Palace Library, others headed for Ariuma. This only left Amneris, Leo, Nikki and Colt who were making preparations for their own mission.

"Do you think Orura was right?" Colt asked, pulling back the drawstring on his bag and tossing it over a shoulder.

Amneris held up her dagger, the golden light of the sun glistening on the silver blade. "No idea. Can think of one way to find out." She placed it in its sheath on her thigh. "You ready?"

"Of course."

"Good. Let's—" Amneris raised a hand to her head and groaned. "Headache," she muttered.

Colt placed his hands on her shoulders. "You don't normally get them out of the blue."

"Yeah," she laughed. "Not unless the planet is under attack or something."

Silence.

"You don't think—"

"I would be in a lot more pain," Amneris assured him.

She reached for her own small travel pack, barely having her hand around the strap when the headache intensified. Images flashed through her mind as she stumbled back, Colt barely catching her before she hit the ground. The ground shook. Amneris thought it was just her mind playing tricks, but Colt was now on the ground.

Amneris shook away her pain, grasping Colt's hand. She pulled him to his feet and out onto the balcony overlooking Lapide. They were everywhere. Void Beasts rained down from the sky having breached the shields. They ate away at Lapide, taking down buildings as though they were light snack. And only more were coming.

"They breached Iraliya," Amneris said. She closed her eyes, letting the images of her world fill her mind. "Went straight for the Shield Generators. They're all over the planet now."

"There are so many," Colt breathed.

Amneris spread her wings. "Forget Hetsipara. We have to stop them before they destroy my planet!"

She jumped onto the balcony, making to take off, but Colt grabbed her arm. "You can't beat Void Beasts. No one can beat them."

"I have to try." Amneris ripped her arm free from him and jumped.

* * * * * * * *

It was even worse up close. The Void Beasts weren't just going after the buildings, they were going after the people. What possible reason could there be for that?

Amneris didn't have to notify the others of what was happening. Everyone knew. She could feel them all over her world.

Carmina, Dan and Imogene were defending Voliabyi with little success. The entire Firelands had been overtaken. From what Amneris could see, her Dragonoid friends had created a makeshift battalion with the locals.

Zoe was on Iraliya with Mel, trying to fix the planetary shields before things got even worse. There was no way they could do it in time to make a difference now. There were too many. Few of the city's soldiers were protecting them as they worked, the others working alongside the Sky City's inhabitants to try and distract the Void Beasts from going elsewhere. It wasn't working.

Kayla and Nikki were battling in Ariuma. How Void Beasts were able to attack a city at the bottom of the ocean, Amneris had no idea. She filed that away for later. The water species of Lyriumia were holding their own, no doubt the water having some minor effect on the Beasts, but even that wasn't enough to stop them.

Brayden, Sol and Iridia were doing their best to defend Subreai. They evacuated the locals from the city, protecting them as they ran for Haelia's entrance to the mineshafts. The sheer density of the stone was making it difficult for the Void Beasts to reach the people, but it was only a matter of time before they broke through.

Ema, Axel and Isaiah were on the other end of the continent, having broken through the Void Beast ranks to Kiloqua. The Beasts were yet to breach the city walls, everyone who lived there having set up a strong defence. Even so, they were barely slowing the effort of the Beasts. The entire city was surrounded.

Which left Leo, Colt and Amneris to defend Lapide. From what Amneris could see, they were dealing with the largest amount of Void Beasts, almost as though something in the city was drawing them specifically to Lapide. Something, or someone.

Amneris spun in the sky until her back was to the city. She raised her hands toward the sky, shooting down every Void Beast she could see with cyan bolts of energy. There was almost no effect on the damned things, only momentary stunning! Some of the Beasts turned away to the city. Amneris cursed under her breath, shooting into the sky. The Beasts gave chase.

* * * * * * * *

Things weren't going much better down below. Leo had called all his guards to defend the planet. They were spread thin, Lyriumia only having a finite amount of beings living on it. They all had their orders – protect the people. Easier said than done.

Nothing was working against the Void Beasts. It was almost like every blast of energy was feeding them. Those with the strongest powers quickly found themselves swarmed. The only thing they could do was use those people as bait to lure the Beasts to certain parts of the city. But there were so many! No one could keep up.

"Behind you!"

Leo spun, blaster in hand and begun shooting into the mouth of a Void Beast. It shook its head, seeming confused, then spread its tentacles and roared. Leo jumped back as the Beast's jaws clamped down on the stone walkway. Its many eyes bore down on him. Oh, the thing was pissed now. Leo prepared for another strike as it rushed toward him—only to be blown into a nearby building! Leo looked to the side. A Star-Weaver man sent him a salute and disappeared back into the crowd.

That had been way too close.

* * * * * * * *

Colt would never stop being amazed at the resourcefulness of the people of Lyriumia. They were all well equipped fighters, all working together against the common enemy. No wonder Terpola got their butts kicked so many times during the Forgotten War. These people knew how to fight. Even the shopkeepers, the people who no one would expect to know how to fight back, were defending their territory.

The bakery owner on the street Colt ran down stood outside his store, two chefs flanking him on either side. The owner himself was whacking a Void Beast's head with a rolling pin. His two chefs fought off another, one with a bread board, the other with two sharp-looking knives.

Across the street, closer to the coast, the owner of a spice shop was battling her own Beast. She held a longsword in one hand and a jar of spice in the other. She jumped over the Beast's tentacles, dumping the contents of the jar straight into the Beast's eyes! Blinded, the Void Beast became rampant. The woman dropped her sword, grabbing the Beast's tentacles, swinging it around and tossing it down the street. It slammed straight into another Beast, the two tumbling down into the water of the Najima River.

A Void Beast landed directly in front of Colt. He skidded to a stop, diving to the side as it tried to bite down on him. Before he had a chance to fight back, something strong whacked the Beast over the head. It slumped, shook its head, and took off to find new prey. Colt sat there, stunned, before realising who was standing nearby. It was the owner of a restaurant the Court frequented. The owner, a Lyriumian-Nightwalker woman named Zia stood over Colt, a baton over one shoulder.

"You're welcome," she said cheerfully, holding out a hand.

Colt took it gratefully. "Nice swing."

"Thanks." Zia looked to the sky. "What's going on?"

"We have no idea." Colt followed her gaze, eyes narrowing as he saw someone familiar. "Oh, please tell me that isn't who I think it is."

Zia raised a hand over her eyes. "No, that's definitely her."

* * * * * * * *

Amneris was being chased by an entire hoard of Void Beasts. The good news was it meant they were now focused on her, meaning they weren't going for the city. The bad news was there was nothing Amneris could do but lead the dumb Beasts around in circles. She was starting to get dizzy. She had to come up with a new plan and fast.

* * * * * * * *

Thankfully, someone else had the same idea.

The Old King Lvaane stood on the edge of the grasslands overlooking Lapide. The Void Beasts were focused on the city, most of them having gone straight over the grasslands to get to where people lived. The sky was dark as the mass number of Beasts blocked out the sunlight. The shields were yet to be put back in place.

While Lvaane no longer held the full power of Naiu, he was still a force to be reconned with. The Old King raised his hands to the sky. "One more time, old friend." He felt the small amount of Naiu's power he held rise up inside of him.

A burst of pure white energy shot from his hands, blasting a small group of Void Beasts headed toward the city back into space.

* * * * * * * *

Amneris, still circling and being chased, saw what her father had done. She smiled. "Now why didn't I think of that?"

She flew faster, the Void Beasts following. Amneris suddenly broke from the circle, stopping in the centre, the Beasts circling around her. She charged her power and, with a cry, let out a wave of white energy. The Void Beasts were blown off the path, vanishing over the horizon.

Amneris snapped her fingers. "Aim up not across, idiot. Oh, well. Next time."

She dove down toward her city, landing lightly on her feet. A Beast turned from its current target, two of her soldiers, and charged straight toward her! Amneris summoned her staff. She ducked under the Void Beast as it jumped her, stabbing up with her staff. A beam of cyan energy sent it into the sky.

Amneris turned to the two guards. They sent her a thumbs up and rushed to tell the people. Her father's plan was a simple one: get the Beasts off the planet. It was better than nothing and gave her people a goal to work toward. Hopefully, if they could get the damned things off the planet, they could find a way to keep it that way. Assuming things actually went to plan for once.

* * * * * * * *

Colt and Leo had met up on the bridge crossing the Najima, where they were almost immediately attacked. The pair stood back-to-back, covered on both sides by Void Beasts. Leo shot at the ones on his side with his blaster, the strength having been changed to maximum. It was the only thing that had a slight effect on the Beasts. Stunning, nothing more. Colt, on the other hand, was taking a more direct approach. As he tried to keep them back with blasts of his power, he used his khopesh on the Beasts that got close.

"This isn't working," Leo said, shooting at a cluster of tentacles coming toward them.

Colt slashed at his own, the Beasts tentacles dropping to the bridge, only for them to grow straight back. "Yeah, I think we need a new plan."

"I like the planet-wide evacuation idea, only there's nowhere to go!"

"We might not have to."

Colt pointed over Leo's shoulder. The General turned around. Something was making its way through the ranks of Void Beasts, sending them flying this way and that as they charged. Whatever it was must've been crazy strong. Child-like laugher came from whatever was doing all the work. Leo and Colt braced themselves.

A group of toddlers stopped before the pair, grinning like maniacs. They all looked the same – red skinned, black haired with small horns sticking out, and golden-snake like eyes. Leo recognised them immediately.

He nodded at them. "Thanks, Hellspawn."

The group of child demons laughed and ran off to see what else they could destroy.

Colt shivered. "Those children are more terrifying than any Void Beast."

* * * * * * * *

Amneris fought her way through the city. Where she'd been alone before, she now found herself flanked by citizen and soldier alike. They worked as one to send the Void Beasts back into space, making sure the Beasts had no chance of even landing in the city.

One came toward the group. A familiar looking woman stepped forward. She raised her tattooed arm and send a shockwave of golden energy toward the charging Beast. It flew backward, slamming straight into another group. The woman, one of Hathor's old teachers named Viviane Alim, gave Amneris a triumphant smile.

"Nothing to worry about at the Academy, You Majesty," she said. "It's closed for the holidays and not a single Beast attacked."

Amneris frowned. "But there's no way they could possibly know that."

Another woman stepped from the crowd, now moving away to do more damage, to join them. Amneris recognised as Izzy, one of Hathor's school friends. "We checked there first," the Cat Shifter said. "From what everyone can tell, they're only attacking places where people are currently inhabiting."

Amneris crossed her arms. "That's not like Void Beasts. They're not tactical creatures." She shook her head. "We can figure this out later. Come on."

The three made their way toward the group. Amneris felt something wrap around her waist. She looked down to see a Void Beast tentacle holding her tightly. She shifted into her Godly form and blew the thing away.

But where there was one, there was an entire swarm. They went straight for Amneris. She cursed under her breath, shooting at each and every one with bolts of her energy. But there were too many for her to take on alone! The group she'd been with were dealing with their own swarm. There was no way for them to get to her in time.

Amneris felt the grips of several Void Beasts holding onto her. Her power came to life. She roared, a shockwave of white energy leaving her body. The Void Beasts went flying, crashing down around the city.

* * * * * * * *

Leo and Colt rushed toward a familiar power. They stopped, stunned. While there were still many Void Beasts around the city, it seemed most of them were going after Amneris. The others were trying to keep everyone away from helping her. They were going after her specifically. The pair exchanged glances and ran.

* * * * * * * *

Amneris wasn't faring well against the swarm. She knew help was coming, she could feel it through the bond her Court shared, but she also knew it was struggling to get to her. What was happening? Why were the Void Beasts coming after her? This wasn't like them. No matter the reason, there was no way in the worlds she was going to let some rampant Beasts get the better of her!

Out the corner of her eye, Amneris saw Leo and Colt break through the barrier of Void Beasts. They were fighting tooth and nail to get to her. Amneris, one eye on her friends, batted away the closest of the Beasts with her staff. But where one retreated to recover, another quickly took its place. Then another. Then another.

There was no way she could beat them all.

The moment the thought crossed her mind, Amneris found herself once again caught in the grip of the Void Beasts. Only this time was different. It pinned her arms and wings against her body. She was trapped! Amneris charged her power, letting it off like lightning strikes around her, but there was no effect on the Beast holding her.

The Void Beast roared, taking to the sky with Amneris held tightly. She struggled against it, throwing as much power as she could muster at it to let her go. She angled the head of her staff to cut at its limbs but they regenerated too fast. She couldn't get out.

The other Void Beasts on the ground looked up. They gave chase to the one holding Amneris. Was it the leader? Or was it just the one to complete their mission?

Amneris dared a look behind her. Somehow, this Beast had opened up a tear in the fabric in reality. There was only one place it could be going. She struggled harder, managing to get one arm free.

"Amneris!"

She looked down as someone yelled her name. Colt was flying straight for her. Since when could he do that? Amneris held out her arm. Colt grabbed it, pulling her toward him as hard as he could. But it was of no use. The Void Beast merely used one of its other tentacles to whack him out of the sky.

Amneris watched in horror as her husband fell toward the ground. Her power became stronger, reacting to her anger. Amneris roared, her power becoming too much for even the Void Beast to handle. It dropped her. Amneris made to dive down, to catch Colt before he hit the ground.

But the pull from behind was too strong. Something, the place beyond the tear, was dragging her in. Amneris fought against it, using all her might to try and escape the draft but it was too strong! The Void Beast who'd been dragging her came back and struck Amneris from behind, shattering the bones in her wings. She screamed at the pain, at being pulled backward by a force she couldn't fight.

Amneris, still fighting, was dragged through the tear.