One week passed, and when the day finally ca.
The staging area no longer felt like a place where plans were discussed, but like a place where those plans had already solidified into sothing real and irreversible.
The central plaza of our base was filled, four hundred gods standing in precise formation, arranged into their assigned squads with a level of discipline that only ca from repeating the sa movents and procedures over and over again until hesitation had been worn out of them completely.
Their uniforms were identical, dark and practical, designed with no concern for appearance beyond what was necessary for combat efficiency, every line and layer built to reduce visibility while allowing full freedom of movent in a fight.
Each soldier carried equipnt that represented months of work, countless adjustnts, failures, refinents, and testing cycles, all of it condensed into compact systems that could be deployed in seconds under pressure.
Christina stood beside
on the raised platform overlooking the formation, a tablet held in one hand as streams of data moved across its surface, each line corresponding to a different soldier, a different system, a different variable that she had personally overseen.
She had not slept for more than thirty-six hours, and although she carried herself with the sa controlled composure as always, the fatigue showed in the subtle tension of her posture.
When she spoke, though, her voice carried across the plaza without a trace of it.
"All teams report ready status," she said, the amplification array projecting her words clearly across the entire assembly.
"We are beginning final equipnt verification. Squad leaders, step forward and prepare for inspection."
The formation shifted in response, not chaotically, but with calmly as forty squad leaders stepped out from their lines.
Forty squads, ten soldiers each, every group assigned a distinct role within the operation, from infiltration and direct combat to technical control, intelligence extraction, and dical support.
Christina stepped down from the platform without waiting, and I followed as we moved toward the first unit.
Alpha Squad stood ready, their role defined as the initial infiltration team for the Records Departnt, the group that would enter first and establish the foothold on which everything else depended.
Their leader, a seven-star goddess nad Kiera, straightened and saluted the mont we approached.
"Alpha Squad ready for inspection, ma'am."
Christina acknowledged her with a small nod before beginning her work, moving from one soldier to the next with a level of focus that left no room for oversight.
I watched her carefully, paying attention to what she checked first.
The identity arrays.
Each soldier wore one as a pendant, a small crystalline device designed to mask their divine signature and replace it with the carefully constructed identity they would carry inside the Court.
Christina activated them one at a ti, comparing each output against the data on her tablet, verifying not only that they functioned, but that they matched perfectly.
"Identity array functional," she said for the first.
Then the next.
And the next.
She did not rush, but she did not pause either, moving through all ten with steady consistency until every signature had been confird.
She shifted imdiately to communications.
The earpieces were designed to blend in with standard Court-issued equipnt, nothing about them drawing attention, yet each one was capable of maintaining secure contact even inside a hostile system.
"Test transmission," she ordered.
Each mber of Alpha Squad spoke a coded response in turn.
Each signal registered cleanly on her tablet.
"Communications verified."
Weapons ca next.
Every soldier carried two, one visible and aligned with their assigned identity, and one concealed, far more dangerous than anything they were ant to appear to have.
"Show
your cover weapon," Christina said.
The first soldier presented a standard Court-issued blade, the kind permitted to mid-level personnel for defensive purposes.
She inspected it briefly, then returned her attention to him.
"Concealed device."
He tapped his belt.
A faint pulse of compressed divine energy responded, tightly contained and ready to be released.
"Yield?" she asked.
"Equivalent to six-star full output, directed into a thirty-degree cone."
"Activation thod?"
"Double-tap and hold for two seconds. Triple tap for ergency detonation."
She gave a small nod.
"Next."
She continued down the line, repeating the process with exacting precision, verifying every detail without exception.
By the ti Alpha Squad's inspection was complete, fifteen minutes had passed.
There were thirty-nine squads left.
While Christina continued her checks, I stepped toward Kiera.
"Your team understands the insertion timing?" I asked.
"Yes, sir. We enter during the shift change at zero eight hundred, proceed to the Records Departnt on sublevel three, integrate with staff, and begin securing access to the central database."
"And if soone challenges you?"
"We present credentials and maintain identity. If those credentials fail, we signal for extraction and fall back to the designated position."
"And if extraction is denied?"
Her expression tightened, not with fear, but with resolve.
"We execute contingency protocol. Sensitive equipnt is destroyed, witnesses are eliminated if required, and we hold long enough for secondary teams to breach."
I gave a short nod.
"Correct."
We moved on.
Beta Squad waited next, assigned to the eastern frontier, their role to create disruption strong enough to pull attention away from the main operation.
Their leader, a seven-star god nad Rax, stood ready, his posture steady with the kind of confidence that ca from experience rather than assumption.
"Status?" I asked.
"Fully prepared. We have studied the target outpost repeatedly. Every mber of the team can move through it without visual reference."
"And your equipnt?"
"Standard combat configuration, plus the counter-resonance weapons."
He indicated the weapon across his back.
I took a closer look.
The design was more compact than the large-scale version I had tested before, refined for mobility without sacrificing function.
"Range?" I asked.
"Fifty ters effective. Thirty seconds of disruption per shot. Fifteen-second recharge."
"And against higher ranks?"
"Still effective, though reduced. Approximately twenty seconds on eight-star targets."
Christina joined us at that point, transitioning smoothly from Alpha Squad without missing a beat.
She repeated her inspection process, adapting it to Beta's role, moving through weapons, barrier arrays, healing systems, and extraction beacons, catching even minor inefficiencies.
"Your charging array is running slightly slow," she told one soldier. "Recalibrate before deploynt."
"Yes, ma'am."
We continued through the remaining squads.
Gamma through Epsilon, built for direct assault, carried heavier equipnt designed for overwhelming force, including containnt arrays capable of restricting high-level targets and portable systems that could interfere with domain abilities.
When I asked Gamma Squad's leader, Torres, to demonstrate, he produced a compact circular device and explained its function clearly, describing its deploynt, its activation window, and its vulnerabilities without hesitation.
"Two seconds before full strength," he stated calmly. "Fast targets can escape before stabilization. External interference can overload the field."
"So you require support," I said.
"Yes. Standard formation is two operators."
Christina glanced at
with a faint hint of approval.
"He takes preparation seriously."
"I can see that."
The technical squads followed, then dical, then support, each group carrying tools suited to their purpose, from network intrusion arrays to advanced healing systems capable of stabilizing even catastrophic damage.
Christina spent longer with the dical teams than any others, checking each device twice, her tone firm in a way that left no room for interpretation.
"If soone is injured, your responsibility is to keep them alive," she told them. "Everything else is secondary."
"Understood."
The inspections continued without interruption.
By the ti the final squad had been cleared, four hours had passed, and the sun had shifted high across the sky, its position marking the passage of ti more clearly than anything else.
Christina's exhaustion was more visible now, though she did not allow it to affect her movents.
Every squad stood ready.
Every system had been verified.
Every role was understood.
We returned to the platform.
She addressed them again, her voice carrying cleanly across the entire plaza.
"Four hundred soldiers," she began.
"Forty squads. One objective. In thirty minutes, we open a portal directly to the Primordial Court's central stronghold. This is not an infiltration. This is a direct assault."
She let the words settle over them before continuing.
"You are prepared. You have trained for this, and you carry equipnt designed to close the gap between you and stronger opponents. You are organized to support one another. You are ready."
Her tone shifted slightly.
"But this will not be easy. So of you will not return. So of you will face enemies stronger than yourselves. So of you will fall. If you have doubt, step back now. We need certainty."
No one moved.
She waited.
Ten seconds passed in complete stillness.
"Good! Deploynt will follow the assigned wave order."
She outlined the sequence clearly: Alpha first, Beta simultaneously at the frontier, Gamma through Epsilon advancing once the distraction began, support teams following in coordination.
No questions ca.
"Then prepare. Twenty-five minutes."
The formation broke as squads gathered.
Christina turned to , the weight of everything resting behind her eyes.
"This is it," she said quietly.
"It is."
"Are you ready?"
"Are you?"
A faint smile crossed her face.
"I have been ready for a long ti."
I reached out briefly, touching her hand.
"The plan holds. The people are ready."
She nodded, though her gaze drifted back to the field.
"Plans change. People make mistakes."
"We accounted for more variables than anyone ever has."
"I know."
She squeezed my hand once, then released it, already returning to her tablet.
The minutes passed quickly.
When the portal team activated the gateway, space itself began to distort, folding inward before tearing open into a controlled passage of compressed energy.
Through it, the entrance to the Primordial Court beca visible.
Massive gates.
Defensive towers.
Barrier arrays shimring in layered formations.
No sign of awareness.
Christina's hand found mine one last ti.
"Co back," she said quietly.
"I will."
She stepped forward and gave the order.
"Alpha Squad, deploy."
They moved without hesitation, ten figures disappearing into the portal.
"Beta Squad, deploy."
A second gateway opened.
More soldiers vanished.
"Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, prepare."
They assembled, weapons ready.
She looked at .
I nodded.
Her hand cut downward.
"All squads, deploy. Begin the invasion."
Four hundred soldiers advanced as one.
I moved with Gamma Squad, Christina at my side.
The transition through the portal lasted no more than a heartbeat.
Then we stood before the Court itself.
Alarms erupted imdiately.
The gates began to close.
Energy gathered along the towers as the defenders reacted.
Christina's voice ca through the communication array, steady and controlled.
"All squads, we are engaged. Execute your objectives."
I drew my weapon and fixed my eyes on the gates ahead.
There was no turning back now.
Everything was about to change.
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