The Apex of Qivittoq is a sheer, windswept platform of primal sky-ice, high above the clouds. Kaelen stands guard over the two bound Slayers, Thrain and Salome, while Nyra scouts the periphery. Tari and Madara stand closest to Oba Zimbila, who takes center stage.
He does not need the Unchained to amplify his song; their presence is a testimony. They are the representatives of the "Hollowed," the proof of the world's spiritual corruption.
Oba Zimbila raises his massive, Prismatic wings until they catch the pure, high-altitude Aether. He begins to vibrate, a frequency so low and powerful it travels not through the air, but through the Aether itself. It is a song that addresses the Primal Orgons of the World Turtles directly.
"The noise is deafening, King," Madara feels the frequency in her bones, translating it for the others. "The cities are scratching the shell. The fear is poisoning the water. The Commandment of Love has been broken."
The vibration increases. It is an argument, a plea, and a sovereign command delivered in the language of biology and Aether.h
The song pierces the "Mana-Anchors" and "Qi-Clots" that have kept the Turtles docile for centuries. The World Turtles, recognizing the frequency of the Mushashatal finally respond.
In the deep, ancient hearts of the three Titans, a decision is made.
Aethelgard and Shenzhou two of the three great World Turtles are too sick, too bound, and too weary to actively "molt" and destroy the civilizations themselves. They are tired of the parasites.
Instead, they use the only defense mechanism they have left: Sub-Turtles.
Deep beneath the oceans of Miasma, dozens of smaller, faster-moving World Turtles—the size of small countries, usually used for high-speed Miasma-feeding—are awakened.
These Sub-Turtles are commanded by Aethelgard and Shenzhou to surface near the major Mana and Qi cities. Their job is to perform localized, tactical attacks, using their hyper-dense shells to smash and destroy every Magigram tower, every Qi-banking complex, and also every Sinking Pillar currently being aimed at Kushvanipad.
Across Aethelgard and Shenzhou, the largest cities—the hubs of the Unified Church and the Pugilist Alliance—begin to experience terrifying, localized "earthquakes" as the Sub-Turtles rise from beneath, causing utter chaos and disrupting the "Sinking" operation before it can begin.
The Kushvanipad Turtle is the only one to respond in harmony. It shifts its weight, subtly but definitively, releasing the last of the "Sinking Pillars" that had been implanted in its shell. The vibration of the 'Turtles become a sound of pure joy—a counter-song of freedom.
The world's political and economic centers are now under attack by the smaller world turtles.
Just as Zimbila completes his song, lowering his massive wings, a voice cuts through the clear, high-altitude air. It is not amplified by Magigrams; it is pure, cultivated power.
"You have shattered the balance, Mushashatala. Harmony is not chaos."
Standing on a spire just 50 feet across the Apex is Lord Genji, a Nine-Tailed Kitsune.
Rank:The 0th Slayer (The "Oversight"). While the Seven were the attack force, Genji was the failsafe, the observer, tasked by the Heavenly Palace of Shenzhou with ensuring the mission was completed—or covering it up if it failed.
He is a master of spiritual attack. His body is wreathed in PrimalQi. He is immune to Zimbila's Aether-hacks, as his power comes from the deep-seated spiritual energy of the Shenzhou Turtle itself.
He holds not an L× Shank, but a fan made of Pure White Kitsune Bone, which can channel his Nine-Tailed Qi into spiritual daggers.
"I am Lord Genji," the Kitsune states, his nine tails slowly swaying in the wind. "I am the balance of the Heavenly Palace. The Shenzhou World Turtle cannot be allowed to rise. It would ruin the harvest."