“So you come from another world that also is affected by heaven's armistice with the demons?”(Pope)

Amin was standing in a corner in the small conference room late at night, inside the church located in Levan. 

“Indeed. However, we are given no opportunity to play a part in the outcome. The battle fought on this world will decide the fate of Whildernae.” The she-elf named Aleesha Shau Thessinda explained. “And the others.”

Amin had suddenly gotten pulled into something that would expose his visit, but he judged this was far more important. Visitors from another world had not been heard of. Other than gods.

“There are others as well?” the grey-haired gangly man asked.

“Yes. We do not know how many, nor do we know for certain how to find them. Only that they received essentially the same revelation that we did.” Aleesha looked at the pope. “Can you recite the revelation you received?”

She’s pretty.

“

’.“ the pope recited. “What did your revelation say?”

Aleesha closed her eyes as she recited. “ ‘An armistice has been agreed upon for the next one hundred and thirty three seasons, two blue moons, three red moons and five suns.

Amara the Ascended is the new protector and caretaker of your world.

Upon the armistice’s expiration, the battle to decide the fate of your world will be decided between Amara the Ascended and the Demon Lord Ryc’zamul upon the the world Teyrin.

As of this moment, the cycle of reincarnation is suspended. The fate of all souls currently residing or born hereafter on this world, will depend on the outcome of their battle.’ “ She opened her eyes and looked at the pope. “Discarding the differences in how we review the pass of time, it’s the same. Except ours also contained mention of the world Teyrin.”

A silence descended over the room.

Aleesha was the first to speak, and began hesitantly. “Have you...heard anything from the new goddess?”

Not a peep.

“...Nothing. But we have faith that she will not abandon us, despite her silence.” the pope proclaimed dejectedly. 

Right, you can say that while some have practically started rioting outside.

“...The other worlds were the same. I wish we could gain more information.” Aleesha sighed as she mirrored the pope deject.

The elf’s eyes turned serious. “But our people will not stand idly by as our fate is decided for us by others. When the time for the battle comes, we will be here. With or without your approval - even if I hope it doesn’t have to come to such talk.”

“Certainly, you have my approval. From both my perspective and that of our goddess - though I don’t wish to be audacious enough to say I believe myself to know her mind - would not turn down the assistance.” The pope sighed as he continued. “There might be a problem with the political leaders. I will send an invitation for a new Grand Conference so that we may discuss it further.”

“I’m most grateful to you for arranging such an event for us.” Aleesha bowed her head.

“Not at all, it’s the fate of all our souls we’re discussing after all.” The pope smiled. “What do you think we can expect as support from your world?”

The elf furrowed her brow as she contemplated. “My race is a long lived one, and our numbers are few. Whether that will change during the time of peace, I can not say. So we can only make optimistic, estimated guesses.”

Aleesha turned to look at her male companion next to her. He had introduced himself as Vandelor. Behind them both stood the she-elf warrior Aleesha said was named Zanadell. She hadn’t uttered a single word, only staring fiercely at all strangers.

Vandelor nodded at Aleesha’s urging and spoke. “From the elves, a hundred thousand swordwielders. Three hundred thousand spear-and-shield wielders. Five hundred thousand archers. One hundred thousand magicians. Ten thousand druids.”

What.

Vandelor paused before he continued. “From the Dryad races, it gets more difficult to answer. The Centauri are short lived, and normally don’t fight. But I suspect a hundred thousand will come from them. The Saplings are immortal, lest withered or killed. I suspect the sapling combatants can be counted in the thousands, at least.”

And there was more. Of course there was.

Amin realized his mouth was gaping. The difference it makes when the people are united to a single cause. An army greater than any that has been gathered in our world’s history will be coming as reinforcements. Alarice must be disappointed in us. This is what it means to be self-reliant.

And those numbers are considered few!?

Looking at the pope, Amin saw a similar expression. Shock, followed by shame.

“The demons must have been easy to deal with in your world.” The pope uttered quitely.

Aleesha shook her head. “Not at all. We don’t have that many combatants currently. And the demons numbered even greater, and whenever a demon lord would appear we would be massacred and pushed back. Even if we somehow succeeded in killing the demon lords, new ones would come a couple seasons later.”

“Like Ryc’zamul?” The pope asked.

“Indeed. It would take the combined effort of thousands to even slow a demon lord down.”(Aleesha)

The elf paused. “The demon lords are beings worthy of being called gods in their own right. And they are the reason your world beyond the barrier is dying.”(Aleesha)

Well, shit.

The pope frowned. “We never saw an enemy that powerful in the years before the barrier. Yet the land was already dying.”

“You mentioned that the demons halted their advance, just like for us? When did the first signs of corrupted land appear?” Aleesha inquired.

“...Just after the demons halted.” The pope said after recollecting.

Aleesha thought before she replied. “This is but speculation, but we believe the demons stopped due to the impending armistice. Perhaps the break in their advance was when the armistice was negotiated. In that case, it makes sense to send the person who would be their champion here to get a lay of the land, see what advantages they can negotiate into his plan of action.”

“...I suppose that would be a reasonable assumption to make.” The pope let out a long sigh. 

Silence fell before Aleesha spoke.

“After the armistice was declared, our peoples gathered to discuss it. Soon enough it was decided that we would not stand idle, and I volunteered to travel the worlds to find you.” The elf sighed before she continued.

“The teleportation ritual we use is not without flaws. The world we end up on is random. We quickly noticed one thing, however.”(Aleesha)

The elf looked seriously at the pope. “More often than not, the ritual would finish without any result - which hadn’t happened in the past. For all reasons, it should have worked. We could eventually only draw one conclusion.” Aleesha paused. “The teleportation was blocked.”

The pope frowned. “Blocked?” 

“Yes. By an outside force.” Vandelor spoke gravely.

Aleesha spoke while the realization was dawning on the rest. “We suspect it’s the result of the armistice. We’re trapped to the worlds affected. So we have no hope of fleeing this battle.” 

The pope sighed. “That’s a shame, isn’t it.”

Alarice would never retreat.

“Indeed. The idea crossed our minds as well. But that fact can be used as a motivator to bring unity.” The elf smiled. “We’ve been to six other worlds. One of them has promised support. Three others are considering it. The last two were...hostile to outsiders.” Aleesha ended with a dejected voice.

“I suppose that could be an expected reaction as well.”(Pope)

“We’ll try again at a later time. Now that we’ve been to those worlds, we can visit them with more ease. In the meantime, we’ll continue look-.”(Aleesha)

A sudden burst of light interrupted them and blinded Amin’s vision. He felt like his body burst into flames as he fell to his knees in agony, face contorted in a voiceless scream.

The beam of burning light enveloped him for a dozen seconds before it faded away.

[Ding!]

[Ding!]

[Ding!]

[Ding!]

“What in the world was that?!” The pope exclaimed.

“Amin! Are you alright?” Aleesha shouted as she rushed over; Zanadell attempted to stop her but had her arm pushed aside. Arriving beside him, Aleesha put a hand on Amin’s shoulder as she looked at him with concern. When Aleesha appraised him she froze up. “G-goddess…”

[Hello, Amin.]

The clear voice of a youthful woman resounded in his head as the headache was dissipating. Amin didn’t have to wonder who it was.

[I suppose you all have questions.](Amara)