All alone now, all alone. With the swift and permanent execution of the few allies she had left, the Daemonette was once again completely isolated. Only the heart of the inhuman could persevere under such conditions after all, and as the Bloodthirster had just demonstrated often then it was still not enough. The fight did indeed seem hopeless at times, the combination of Godmodder and "JOE" often providing close to an inviolate bulwark of defense. It was highly uncertain if as they progressed even the faintest sliver of hope was present, as although they grew in strength with each Pillar slain, so did their enemies, and it seemed as if they were running out of means to attack their foe sooner rather than later. If they could not damage the Godmodder, if their methods of attack ended up one and all nullified, then defeat was an inevitability.
In that case, why persist? The answer was simple. Do not.
At least, do not persist
on the field. Instead, find what you are looking for and then fall back. A show of utter domination and defeat would, should it occur before her eyes, only encourage the Daemon's lust for yet greater power, and believing it might be coming soon had a similar albeit lesser effect. There was an entire planet to search, and it most certainly wouldn't search itself. The Daemon muttered to herself, preparing to use her reality bending charge selfishly.
"In the name of the Great Changer of Ways, let me see with truer eyes, hear with truer ears. Lay bear the secrets of the world before me, ascend me to an all-seeing state. Grant me such power and such wisdom that for the most fleeting of moments I might be able to find the ultimate prize, beyond mere mortal potentialities. Show me everything."
The wish was swiftly granted, of course. Yet in her haste, the Daemon had been outmaneuvered. To Tzeentch, one who was not her patron deity, she was worth no more than a common cultist. Her access to power had blinded her to the fact she herself was not the source of said power, which made her ripe for manipulation. The Descendant energy that flowed in her false veins may have saved her on the battlefield against reality warping enemies, but her soul was still bare and unprotected except by the grace of her own god. For you see, a demonic pact always had a steep price to pay, even if one was demonic themselves. And using her power, the Daemon had simply
demanded of the Ruinous Power. A successful forcing, but the mindless creature would in return exact a measure of irony in its own way.
The soul of the Daemonette had been empowered by the energy it put into it, and in turn it was shattered with ease by a deft blow. Spinning fragments reflected the Daemonette falsely, like shards of a broken mirror.
Each and every one was at once an aspect and a possible future. One shard was snapping and hissing, a bestial remnant of the mindless thing that existed before her evolution at the hands of her summoner. It swam through the air, accomplishing its task with a single-minded focus that only a true Daemon could possess. Another wept openly with grief at the cost of their actions, of the war, of their kind's ravages through space, the doubts of the Daemonette compiled into one almost fully human form. It covered its eyes with a pair of slender humanoid hands, but across its arms, legs and torso skin parted to reveal other eyes hidden inside, glancing about every which way in search of the target.
These were the two extremes of course, but every possible type in between was present too. Cold and calculating logical things, cocky and arrogant parts claiming
they would be the finder of the Chamber, grim and dour mindless units that had nothing at all but memories of their actions devoid of context to their name. None had the proper balance of things, naturally, none showed hope for the future.
They flew across the planet at speeds beyond measure, beyond mere time and space. They dashed as clouds of purple mist, cavorting through the clouds and snaking down among the grass, in one place one moment before moving to the other side of the planet in an instant. Each searched and searched and searched until there was nowhere left to search. High above in the midst of fiercest battle, down below in deep and dark cave systems, no stone was left unturned, no location left beyond the Daemon's sight. Her, or perhaps now its wish had been granted, it had been twisted and molded into an all seeing eye.
The only places that were left not fully and totally explored where the very hearts of the facilities containing the Guardians. Whenever the drain of the Pillars was felt, tendrils of scanning energy were sent instead to analyze the area before returning to their fragments, which then swiftly departed. Still, these were notably small parts of the planet as a whole, which was searched thoroughly. Not even the path already behind them was spared the attention of Chaos, the path behind them that led to the C-Mech, and the path between that and Hatred's location, as well as the still besieged castle itself were also gone over as the Daemonspawn checked even the most minute detail.
To ensure that this would not be interrupted, this was done as swiftly as feasible. It did take a few subjective minutes, but when one is searching literally the entire planet from the depths of the oceans to the peak of the tallest mountain you can only move so fast, even with this much energy. For it to be close to instant would require even more charge available, which could not yet be done.
Then, once there was sufficient satisfaction that all possible locations had been searched, the fragments snapped back into one whole, standing where she had been standing before. Taking a sharp breath and eyes flaring wide at her return to consciousness, the Daemonette staggered in shock. After all, if you break a mirror and glue it back together, cracks will remain. In this case, scars on the soul. Extremely unpleasant, especially for a being who's true body is their soul. She feels strangely melancholic after all is done, a result of the damage incurred. She doesn't particularly feel like contributing to the battle for a while.
[SECOND ACTION SACRIFICED FOR THIS ROUND]
Still, even her partly functioning mind knew what had to be done, and could access her various new memories. Her many, many memories, an entire geographical survey of immense proportions to wade through. Still, most of it was a blur, impossible to decipher one moment from any other, meaning she had no idea of any terrain or enemy forces ahead. The noted exception was of course anything that could be used to Ascend to Alpha. One question was asked of her memories:
Are there any Godmodding Chambers anywhere on the planet? If so, where? If not, are there any other methods of fueling an Ascension?
If the answer was no to both, then alas. She would have to carry on regardless. They were getting sort of close to the next Guardian, and she wanted to see the Godmodder sweat at least a little. After three entire Guardians down, surely he had to be feeling some sort of pressure. Right. Right?
If the answer was yes to either, then things were about to get
interesting.
Charges:
Third Of The Triad: 20/20,
used for real this time.
Weapons of War: 8/20.
+1
@benevolentEnigma
+1
@Crusher48
Entity Order:
All ships, retreat immediately! As I said during summoning, if the Flagship goes down then the Battleships evacuate from the battlefield. So they can just bugger off to wherever, not sure where but far away from here.
