Diablo 3: Hell's Eclipse
Heaven: Invasion
Previous ChapterNext ChapterIt didn't take Tyrael or Kulle long to reach the watchtower that Adria and Leah went to, the one Luna investigated when she and Kulle found that the witch was betraying them, and they plus the Nephalem found a demonic portal to the Heavens sitting up there.
"And our worst fears have been realized: Adria was in league with Diablo the whole time, they created Leah to be a vessel for her father, and now Diablo is the Prime Evil." Luna stated, landing nearby as everyone stared at the portal and the area that was beyond it, the Heavens were in danger as it looked like Hell was finally matching on Imperius and the other angels, all while both Kulle and Tyrael noticed the change in Luna's appearance, "For some reason Nightfell is refusing to come to me, but that won't stop me from having my revenge on Diablo."
"The Prime Evil, reborn after all this time... I don't know how to feel about this." Tyrael said, because this was horrible, as the existence that Diablo now existed in was akin to the First Prime Evil, Tathamet, meaning his power was now beyond that of what the Heavens had to offer, even if he was an Archangel still and Malthael was among them he had a feeling that none of them could defeat their new foe.
"I suspected Adria might be planning to betray us, but this... this exceeds even my expectations." Kulle remarked, as he had been wondering why someone would seek to have all seven Lords of Hell sealed within the Black Soulstone, but never did he consider the fact that it was to birth a newer Prime Evil, which he really should have seen now that he thought about it, but as he considered that he glanced at Luna, "I know this will be painful for you, but I must ask: how did Adria overpower Leah in the first place?"
"She used a shard of the Worldstone, one that had been attached to a wand she had collected long before meeting us." Luna replied, where she could see the gears in Kulle's head turning as he put the information together, allowing him to see why Leah had been captured despite having so much more power than even her mother had predicted when she was born, to which she focused on the portal as a large imposing gate on the other side collapsed.
The portal gave them a good view of Diablo, as it looked like he had burned away Leah's form and had taken on a lithe form, almost feminine, with a fierce almost dragon-like tail, four spikes growing out of his back, powerful looking claws on his feet and arms, with a demonic head with a set of horns that almost looked like a crown, all while he disappeared into the domain of the angels.
"So, that is the Prime Evil." Kulle commented, while some of the Nephalem shivered, which was to be expected since even he could tell that Luna's new form was slightly influencing the weather around her, chilling the air while it looked like the stones beneath her hooves were starting to frost over, before he reached into his robe and withdrew a bundle of daggers, where it took Luna all of a second to realize that their blades were crystalline, "Yes, these are made from shards of the Worldstone, a set of seven that were made a lifetime ago by artisans who no longer exist and with skills that are no longer in use... I know you are strong, but you might have need of the remaining strength of the Worldstone. Do what Adria did, if you need them, just absorb their power and boost your own... you'll be facing the Prime Evil, so there's no reason to hold back."
Luna nodded her head a little as she had her smaller sword float nearby for a moment, so she could collect the daggers and place them inside her pack without delay, and once that was done she collected her second blade before walking up to the portal, showing them that she was definitely making a move against Diablo. In the following moment Luna stepped through the demonic portal and appeared on the other side without delay, where she found that the golden and elegant floor had been tarnished in demonic ooze and bits, showing that the Prime Evil was spreading his influence. She could also tell that the forces of Hell were marching on the Heavens, as it looked like Diablo's forces had been secretly waiting for this day to come and had responded to his call as soon as he was in the domain of the angels, as they were flying all over the place while the golden armored and energy winged angels fought to protect their home. There was fire and brimstone in the air, which was to be expected given the destruction that was happening right now, and standing on the edge of the walkway she was on Luna could see Imperius, she recognized him from Tyrael's vision, trying to heal the gaping hole in his armor, an area that Diablo must have struck in their battle.
This told her that not even the Archangel of Valor could hope to stand up to the terrifying might of the Prime Evil, but at the same time Luna found that she didn't care about Imperius at all as she stared out at the Heavens as the demons tore down whatever stood in their way, even stringing up angels to corrupt them into demons.
"YOU! Fiendish devil creature! The Heavens burn, and it's all your fault." Imperius stated, showing that he suspected that she was the one behind the destruction they were seeing, the rebirth of the Prime Evil, and the utter chaos that was unfolding in his domain, causing him to turn on her with what appeared to be half a spear, a weapon broken by Diablo, "This is why we should have destroyed Sanctuary and the Nephalem... your kind are a blight on creation!"
"You know, it would be best to know who you are talking to before speaking. I am not a Nephalem, rather I am an alicorn." Luna remarked, though her attention was on the destruction that was in front of her as she found that a single force was in the middle of moving towards what appeared to be the core of the High Heavens, causing her to realize what Diablo's goal was from just a glance, "So, he's going after the place that all angels come from, the literal core of the High Heavens... if he takes that out you can bet all of you will lose your divine protection, the ability to be reborn here, and be fully susceptible to demonic corruption. If he takes it out, you lose and the Eternal Conflict ends... I wonder if there's a core in the Burning Hells as well, that does the same thing... but that hardly matters to me. Time to chase Diablo."
Instead of waiting for Imperius to say anything Luna spread her wings and leapt through the portal that was beyond where the wounded Archangel had been waiting, where it spat her out on what appeared to be another walkway that served as a connector between two parts of the Heavens. Sure enough she found that the corruption had spread all over the place, like the demons were making sure to cover everything and ensure the angels were unable to recover from the invasion, and yet it seemed like Diablo was expecting someone to follow him. The reason for that was due to the fact that demons surged out of the dark holes in the flooring and rushed at her, where Luna found shadowy skeletal figures rushing at her, causing her to swing the modified Ashbringer at some of them and watched as frost shot off the blade, carving a freezing path through the shadow vermin. It wasn't just that she cut through them, but the ice froze them, even the ones that she didn't touch with the edge of the blade, which allowed her to smash her foes with ease, and she even found that the chilly aura she had seemed to slow down the enemies that were coming towards her.
There was a lizard-like demon that seemed to be one of Diablo's servants, how high on the totem pole Luna had no idea and honestly she didn't care too much, though it did allow her to see that the smaller blade also carried the power of frost now, hers was overwhelming the power the weapon originally had and made it mimic Ashbringer in appearance, where two quick slashes froze and shattered the demon in an instant.
"You are quite skilled." a voice said, where Luna found another of the Archangels, who appeared to be male based on their build, and she noted that he carried a scroll of some kind that seemed incredibly important to the Heavens, though based on what she was seeing this Archangel didn't get in her way at all, "I am Itherael, Archangel of Fate, and I am bound to write what is and what will be... you are not written in the scroll at all, so your fate is unknown... meaning you should be able to do the impossible: defeat the Prime Evil. I must ask of you a favor: if you can free Auriel, the Archangel of Hope, from the foul demon Rakanoth, the Lord of Despair, we can hold off the demonic invasion and carve open a path to Diablo."
"Thereby allowing me to focus on my quarry." Luna replied, as she wasn't sure if this was necessary on her part, she could just fly through the Heavens, collide with Diablo, and fight him away from the core of the High Heavens, causing her to sigh as she realized that not having hope was crippling the angels, "Very well, I'll lend you some assistance."
Following that Luna rushed out into the area beyond where she fought the shadow vermin and found that there were more demons waiting for her, stronger demons than any she had fought in terms of minions of the Lords of Hell, because there were tall demons that were outfitted to be oppressive warriors. Next up were flying demons that struck the ground like they were projectiles, and when they dislodged themselves from the ground she found that those ones used their bulky arms as shields, which were rather interesting in her eyes, even though she slashed through them with ease. In addition to that she found that some of the angels were definitely corrupted, demonic energy was coming from those that were coming at her and she could see that some happened to be turning into demons, with dark spikes growing out of them. The twisted angels were definitely somewhat faster than some of the other foes she had fought, but that hardly mattered when they entered the area that Luna was in, her chilling aura slowing them down as she slashed through them.
There were also succubus among the demons, though Luna wasted no time in slashing and freezing her way through all of the enemies that were in her way, so it didn't take her long to track down an area where an Archangel was chained down by demonic energy, trapped in spikes and whatnot.
"I don't know who you are, nor do I care... you are are not free from the chains of fate, for all shall belong to Lord Diablo in due time." a voice said, where Luna found a tall demon standing in the center of the area that Auriel was trapped in, one that appeared to be like a butcher or something with the long dark cloth armor that was over it's body, or maybe that was just dark armor plating that was it's body, with both of it's hands being long carving blades, "And once this Archangel falls we shall cripple the angels at long last and sow despair among their ranks!"
"You're wide open." Luna remarked, not even wasting a moment as she appeared in front of the demon and quickly swing Ashbringer towards the ceiling of the chamber they were in, the blade cutting through the demon's chest before freezing his body before he had a chance to move, causing a sound of shock to come from Rakanoth's mouth, "Now, begone."
In that instant the ice covered the rest of the demon's body before shattering, leaving nothing of him left as his prison also broke, allowing Auriel to go free, though as Luna let the Archangel recover she turned her attention to the Heavens and the demon that was running through them, and braced herself for the hunt of her life.
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