Divine Intervention

Atenzi lay unconscious.

His battered body showed the ferocity of his duel with Khan.

The warlord's corpse lay nearby, a grim reminder of defeat's price.

Báthory knelt beside Atenzi, brushing blood-matted hair from his face. "Get our best healers," she ordered. "He must not die. Understand?"

Medics tended their fallen champion. The army dealt with defeated centaurs. They collected weapons and corralled prisoners.

Centaurs eyed their captors warily.

Suddenly, the air changed. It grew heavy, charged with energy. A low hum filled the air, growing until it vibrated through bones.

The sky split open with a thunderous crack.

A beam of light, blindingly bright yet shadowed, pierced through.

Figures descending defied description.

Their leader radiated terrible beauty and majesty.

His face was young and perfect, but his eyes held millennia's weight.

Great wings, once white but now mottled with black, spread from his back. He wore an ever-shifting armor of starlight and shadow.

This was Jesus Christ, the Fallen Messiah, a dreaded Harbinger.

Fallen angels flanked him, beings of terrifying grace and power. Their wings, like their master's, bore marks of their fall.

As they landed, silence fell.

Vampire and centaur alike stared in awe and terror.

Jesus surveyed the scene. His gaze settled on Atenzi and Khan. A sad smile played on his lips.

"How the mighty have fallen," he murmured. "And how the meek have risen to take their place."

He strode forward.

The crowd parted before him.

Even Báthory watched with narrowed eyes, not daring to interfere.

Jesus knelt beside Khan's corpse. He placed a hand on the warlord's chest. "Your time isn't done, old friend. Battles remain to be fought, lessons to be learned."

Energy pulsed from Jesus into Khan.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a heaving gasp, Khan's eyes snapped open.

The resurrected warlord sat up, confused. "What happened? I was... dead."

Jesus helped Khan to his feet. "Death is but a door, Genghis Khan, and I hold the keys."

A murmur ran through the armies. This power was beyond anything they had witnessed.

Báthory stepped forward. "What is this?" she demanded, her voice cold with fury. "You dare interfere in Bloodmire's affairs?"

Jesus turned to her. His expression was serene yet terrifying. "I dare much, Queen of the Damned. But do you dare stand against me?"

Báthory held his gaze, then stepped back. Even she knew better than to challenge Jesus.

Jesus addressed the gathered armies. "Behold," he began, gesturing to Atenzi, "your so-called champion. The self-proclaimed Oni no Atenzi. A False Messiah of The Sovereign Lands."

He paused, scanning the crowd. "You see a savior, a being to lead you to glory. But he is no messiah.

He's the Antichrist, a force of chaos, and a harbinger of destruction far greater than any you've faced."

Unease rippled through the vampire ranks. Even the centaurs listened intently.

"I've walked destiny's paths," Jesus continued. "I've seen fate's fabric.

Atenzi's thread frays reality's fabric.

He's not of this world, nor any world.

He's an anomaly, a glitch in the cosmic order."

He looked down at Atenzi. "In him, I see echoes of myself. The desire to save, to lead, to change. But also the capacity for terrible violence, for destruction beyond comprehension."

Jesus's eyes glowed as he spoke. "He calls himself a demon. Perhaps he's right. What is a demon but a fallen angel? And he has fallen further than any of us, through countless realities and lifetimes."

The Fallen Messiah's gaze swept the battlefield. "Mark my words: his path leads to ruin. Not just for Bloodmire, The Sovereign Lands, or Naaim, but for existence itself."

Heavy silence fell as Jesus's words sank in. Even Báthory seemed at a loss.

Jesus knelt beside Atenzi. He placed a hand on his forehead. "I can't undo what's been done. His presence here, his victory over Khan, are woven into this world's destiny. But know this: he is not your savior.

He's a test, a crucible in which all fate will be decided."

A soft glow enveloped Atenzi. His worst wounds closed. His breathing eased.

"I grant him this boon," Jesus explained, rising. "Not out of kindness, but necessity. The coming trial requires him at full strength."

He turned to Khan. "Come, old friend. Your part in this drama isn't done, but we must withdraw for now."

As Jesus prepared to leave, Atenzi stirred.

His eyes snapped open, blazing with pure anger.

He lunged forward, grasping for a nonexistent weapon.

"YOU!" Atenzi snarled, his voice raw with fury. "YOU DARE STEAL MY VICTORY? UNDO WHAT I HAVE DONE?"

Jesus turned, sad yet determined. "Stand down, Atenzi. This battle is over."

But Atenzi was beyond reason.

He charged at Jesus, hands like claws, radiating murderous intent.

Jesus stood didn't move.

But before Atenzi could reach him, Michael intervened. His sword of pure light materialized, meeting Atenzi's hands with a clash that sent shockwaves across the battlefield.

The impact sent Atenzi flying, carving a line in the blood-soaked earth.

For a moment, all was still.

Then, impossibly, Atenzi began to rise.

Blood poured from reopened wounds. His left arm hung broken.

Yet his eyes burned with an intensity that made even fallen angels step back.

Atenzi stood, swaying but unbowed. A manic smile spread across his face.

He pointed at Jesus.

"YOU ARE NEXT," he growled.

Slowly, he drew his finger across his throat.

Jesus met Atenzi's gaze, his expression unreadable.

Then, without a word, he spread his wings and took flight, carrying Khan. His angelic host followed.

As they rose, Jesus's voice drifted down:

"Prepare yourself, Atenzi.

When next we meet, it will be as judge and judged.

May whatever gods you believe in have mercy on your soul."

They vanished into the sky rift. As it sealed, anticlimax settled over the battlefield.

Atenzi collapsed once more. Báthory was instantly at his side, ordering healers to redouble their efforts.

As medics flocked around Atenzi, Báthory looked skyward, her expression troubled. The game had changed. New players had entered, and the stakes had risen beyond imagination.

At the center lay Atenzi, who had defeated a war god and challenged the Fallen Messiah in a single day...