The Antarctic night burned bright with impossible colors. The Gate pulsed like a living wound torn into the fabric of the world, its halo of violet light staining the ice and sea alike. The strike teams sent by Reina pressed closer to its foundations, desperately clinging to their mission to sever the Elves’ bridge to Earth. Every second mattered—yet every second, Queen Elara anticipated their moves.

High above, upon a ridge of conjured crystal, Dyug and Mary stood like twin avatars of Forestia’s wrath. Dyug’s silver hair gleamed beneath the aurora, his hands steady as he drew on the full force of Lunar Magic. Mary’s golden armor glimmered as she raised her Sunblade, her voice a rallying cry that cut through the Antarctic gales. They had no intention of letting humans shatter their lifeline.

And as the clash escalated, the world’s leaders—thousands of miles away—sat in a chamber thick with smoke, silence, and fear.

POV 1: THE COUNCIL CONVENES

In Geneva, the emergency session of the Global Council of Defense and Unity had begun.

The chamber resembled an ancient coliseum of marble and steel, filled with ministers, generals, and heads of state. Massive screens broadcast live feeds from drones circling Antarctica, where images of Aurora-lit battlefields, collapsing bases, and screaming soldiers painted a grim canvas.

President Williams of the United States slammed his hand on the desk.

“We are running out of time. Our strike teams are dying by the hundreds every hour. If we don’t collapse that Gate, there will be no world left to govern.”

Admiral Kuroda of Japan countered, his voice sharp:

“Collapse the Gate? How? Even nuclear warheads cannot detonate within the cloaking wards. You would scorch Antarctica and achieve nothing but fallout. Think, Williams. Think beyond brute force.”

From India, Prime Minister Sharma spoke with calm intensity:

“We propose coupling our Green Guardian mechs with the modified magical shields your scientist provided. It is untested, but with her enhancements, they may survive the magical interference long enough to breach the Gate’s perimeter.”

China’s Premier leaned forward.

“And if they fail? We will have wasted our final line of defense. The Elves will march on the southern hemisphere unchecked.”

The Russian delegate scoffed, tossing his pen across the table.

“While you bicker, our sons and daughters bleed in the ice. Perhaps the real question is not how to kill the Elves—but whether we can survive long enough to bargain with them.”

That suggestion lit the chamber ablaze. Voices rose, accusations flew. Some demanded annihilation, others whispered of capitulation, while a small few begged for unity before humanity fractured beyond repair.

And as the shouting swelled, a tremor shook the chamber. The lights flickered.

On-screen, the Gate pulsed—once, twice—before erupting with a wave of energy so vast it disrupted satellites in orbit. The council fell silent.

POV 2: THE NEXT WAVE

Back in Antarctica, the air split with a scream that was not of any mortal throat. From the Gate poured forth towering shapes—beasts clad in crystal armor, their spines crowned with burning glyphs. They were constructs of Elven war-magic, half-living, half-engineered, bred for one purpose: to crush resistance.

Reina’s infiltration teams staggered as one of the creatures slammed a claw into the ice, splitting it like glass. A squad of French commandos was swallowed whole by the sea.

“Keep moving!” barked Captain Alvarez, leading a NATO contingent. His soldiers fired missiles and railgun rounds into the beasts’ glowing joints, but each shot that struck dissolved into sparks against protective wards.

Above them, Mary descended like a blazing comet, Sunblade carving through a tank column that had fought its way inland. “Your courage is wasted,” she declared, voice ringing with divine conviction. “This world belongs to the Elves. Return to your false gods—or die!”

Her blade shattered steel. Her soldiers surged forward, emboldened by her fury.

Yet humanity did not break. Not yet. A squadron of drones armed with experimental plasma charges swooped overhead, each detonating against the beasts with enough force to carve fissures in their armor. Smoke and flame filled the air.

Dyug stepped forward, cloak flaring as he lifted his hand. A single beam of Lunar light lanced upward, tearing through the drones like paper, leaving only falling wreckage. His voice boomed over the battlefield.

“You will not touch the Gate. This world’s destiny is no longer yours to decide.”

POV 3: THE COUNCIL’S DILEMMA

The council chamber shook again as reports streamed in.

“Dyug von Forestia confirmed alive,” said an intelligence officer, voice shaking. “And he is not alone—Mary, the Sun Knight commander, fights beside him. Their power is… beyond anything our teams can counter.”

The French minister whispered, pale as ash:

“They are gods. And we are ants.”

But Reina’s ally, General O’Donnell, stood and slammed his fist.

“No. They bleed. They must bleed. Our infiltration is working—the wards are flickering, even if only briefly. If we commit now, reinforce them, we can break through.”

President Williams leaned forward, eyes burning.

“Then this is our chance. Mobilize every reserve. Prepare the second strike wave.”

Premier Chen frowned.

“And if it fails?”

A pause. Then Williams answered coldly:

“Then humanity falls. But I will not die on my knees.”

The chamber went quiet. No more arguments—only the echo of final decisions.

POV 4: COLLISION

On the battlefield, the human strike teams regrouped, bloodied but unbowed. Reinforcements thundered across the ice: Indian mechs glowing with shimmering shields, American heavy tanks air-dropped from C-17s, Japanese railgun emplacements crackling with energy.

Mary saw them coming and narrowed her eyes. For the first time, a flicker of doubt crossed her face. The humans… did not stop. Even as thousands died, they kept coming.

Dyug, too, felt the weight of their resolve. He could sense it—the same determination that had shattered his arrogance once before, when the torpedoes of a single submarine sent him into years of captivity.

He clenched his fist. Not again. Never again.

He spread his arms wide, calling upon the raw force of the moon overhead. “Luna, bless thy son! Let this world know despair!”

A tidal wave of Lunar Magic surged outward, freezing tanks in place, knocking soldiers off their feet. The Gate’s pulse resonated with him, amplifying his power to a scale unseen before.

Mary raised her blade high, sunlight breaking through the storm as if answering her call. Together, they became a beacon of divine wrath upon the frozen continent.

And still, humanity advanced.

FINAL POV : ELARA’S HAND

Far within the crystalline fortress overlooking the Gate, Queen Elara sat upon her throne of ice and silver. Her eyes glowed faintly as she watched the battle unfold through scrying pools. She had anticipated the strike teams, anticipated their courage, even anticipated the council’s fractured bickering.

But what she saw now—the convergence of global might upon Antarctica, all nations united despite their mistrust—made her lips curl into a faint smile.

“So humanity chooses defiance, not surrender. How quaint.”

She raised her hand. The fortress walls shivered, their wards shifting. Dozens of new portals shimmered into being, smaller but no less deadly, flaring open around the Antarctic coast. From them emerged High Elf commanders, Sun Knights, and Lunar Priestesses, each bearing weapons of Forestia forged for conquest.

Her countermeasure was simple: if humanity threw everything at the Gate, she would drown them in numbers before they ever reached it.

The great battle had only begun.