?


    At first nce, Sam recognized what the stone giants were. The rocks making up their bodies had an obsidian like ck sheen to them, much like the Giant Ants that had attacked the sanctuary twice so far. They had a crude gori like shape with very long, bulky arms and short legs. Their heads were small, and the only feature on their faces was arge hole from which an ominous red light shone.


    An army of thousands surrounded the abandoned airport. Sam nced up at the gigantic eyes, the first question toe to his mind being if those things were the ones targeting the human survivors all along.


    As his mind worked up more questions for him to stress over, he saw a series of twinkles in the distance and almost immediately Sitta shouted from beside him.


    "THREE!!!"


    The two Valkyries teleported to the edge of Ichigo''s Transcendent Purge and held their hands up. The next moment hundreds of red beams collided with a translucent gray wall scattering in every direction like water sshing against a polished floor.


    The other Valkyries moved as well, creating barriers all over the airport to block the barrage ofsers shot at them from every direction. A series of explosions sent violent tremors through the ground, the resulting heat melting everything in its way.


    The light itself would''ve been deadly if not for Sitta''s quick wittedness. She chose a type of barrier that could block all light saving everyone from being blinded by the first attack.


    The barrage went on for three whole minutes during which everyone was isted inside a semi-transparent gray box. The drones Sam had scattered around for surveince were destroyed, thest bit of data they sent indicating that a nuclear disaster was currently overtaking the surrounding areas.


    When the lights stopped shing and the tremors halted, everyone was relieved to have survived the first round, but then, not a minuteter, a weak quake reached the airport, following the sound of hundreds of stone feet and fists touching the ground as the giants took the first step.


    Sitta adjusted the properties of her barrier so it would be possible to see what was happening outside. The scene was straight out of a nightmare, with an army of ck figures marching in unison as the world around them burned. The forests were gone, the buildings were obliterated and the only thing left at the edge of the barrier was a sea of mes and molten rock.


    As he looked at the bubbling surface of theva pond that had formed, Sam couldn''t help but wonder if the heat would kill the humans without the barrier''s protection. Ichigo''s ability protected them from radiations, but it could do nothing about the scorching wind that would flow in the moment one of the Valkyries takes down her barrier.


    ''... What am I thinking?''


    The humans were thest of his worries right now. They were in the face of a force far beyond their pathetic perception of war, one capable of creating armies of monsters surpassing the Ragnarok Heralds like it was nothing more than a simple trick.


    As he gazed at the ck stone giants, Sam saw the orange halos over their heads. The situation was helpless, and thest thing he had to worry about was a bunch of humans he had no idea how to save even before this disaster struck.


    "I''m heading out."


    Speaking in a resolute voice, Zero Five took a step toward the barrier. Sam was about to call her, but the words got caught in his throat. By the time he regained the ability to talk the ponytailed Valkyrie had already teleported away.


    CS and Trenta followed after her, and Juni went next, leaving the others to handle the barrier.


    The heat outside must''ve been truly unbearable as the four had to turn their Force Fields up to the maximum seconds after they appeared on the other side. Without having to discuss their next move each of them created a Proton Cannon in the blink of an eye then fired a concentrated Balder''s Light at the marching army. Another violent detonation shook the region, but when the light faded it became clear that things wouldn''t be so easy. The giants weren''t entirely immune to energy weapons, but they were practically unscathed after receiving the st head on, continuing the march with a stop.


    The girls fired another st, but this time instead of hitting the advancing army the beams bounced off an invisible wall, showing that their enemy was capable of creating barriers as well.


    The second barrage of beams came soon after. The giants ignored the girls attacking them and focused their fire on the abandoned airport. The four ascended to a higher altitude to escape the fire. It was then that they ended up near one of the monstrous giant eyes. Faced with such entities, Five and the others felt extremely small, like specs of dust floating in the air, their presence not even worth the entity''s attention.


    CS was the first to lose her temper, pointing her cannon at the eye and pressing the trigger. The cannon shattered as itunched a beam muchrger than before. Unlike JX9 who was able to alter her weapons to withstand greater strain, all CS could do was to sacrifice her creation to increase the output.


    The resulting beam could''ve erased entire countries if it were fired at the ground, but as long as it was pointed to the sky the aftereffects could always be dealt withter on. Or so everyone thought.


    Sam had expected the eye to manifest a barrier to block the energy beam. It was the most likely thing to happen considering everything so far.


    But no. The beam wasn''t blocked, and it didn''t stop. It continued toward its target unhindered, but when it seemed like it was about to hit, the golden ray vanished without a trace.


    No one could believe what they had just witnessed. There was no impact, no explosion. The beam was simply erased the moment it entered a certain range, only a few meters away from the ridiculously enormous pupil.


    The second bombardment ended and the giants continued their advance.


    Sam was once again expressionless, his emotions suppressed to keep his mind intact. Three had retreated back to his side, waiting for him to give the order everyone instinctively knew was the only one left.


    Triska left her side of the barrier to Venti and rushed to the ne where B3 and JX9 slept. Sitta gritted her teeth as she watched the advancing giants while Ichigo fought to keep her ability active.


    Nino watched the scenery in silence. Despite all the deaths and destruction, she seemed rather indifferent, even a bit cold. She felt a strange sense of tranquility. Everything that''s happening around her, all of it was meant to happen. Such is Fate. Once the Tapestry is woven, changing it simply bes impossible.


    ''Not even Lachesis could''ve done it…''


    As the end slowly drew near, she began to reminisce about the past. Memories of her past life began resurfacing, and same as before none of them felt alien.


    ''Fate…''


    It was the subject she and her sisters had spent centuries researching. Was life nothing more than a series of coincidences? Or was there some coherency to everything humans had to go through?


    Eventually, their studies led them to a definite answer. Every life was born with a thread. That thread starts from the moment of conception, and ends at the moment of death.


    Each living being has its own thread, and when those threads intermingle, the Tapestry of Fate is created. A majestic work of art depicting every life, every path and every event in existence.


    Perceiving it was beyond the abilities of most living beings, but the three sisters were able to find a way to observe the paths and even interact with them.


    ''Ah, so that''s how it is…'' Nino thought, recalling what her older sister had done to B3 and JX9. ''She severed their paths… getting them back will be quite difficult…''


    The Japanese doll began to wonder where her own path led from there. Would it still follow along with the others? Will the Doctor abandon the humans and choose to save his Valkyries? Nothing could confirm that the strange alien beings gazing down on them would simply leave them be if they decided to escape now. Knowing that, would he decide to stay and fight to the bitter end?


    If only she could see what lies ahead, maybe then she would''ve been more useful to him. Unfortunately, even though she had regained some of the memories from her life as Lachesis, the ability to gaze at the Tapestry of Fate has yet to return to her. Whatever it was that granted her such an ability, it seems that death had deprived her of it.


    ''Well, even without it…'' Closing her eyes, Nino heaved a long sigh. ''I can still see how this will end…''


    Just when that thought crossed her mind, a cold sensation enveloped her hand. Startled beyond words, the Japanese doll almost teleported away, the horror she felt taking her mind off the battle happening beyond the barrier she had created.


    The fear she felt didn''t go away when she saw who it was that held her right hand, but she managed to keep her barrier intact.


    She saw the bony fingers and the dark skin, then the strange torn clothes and wrinkly face. An old woman was looking at her with white colorless eyes, and for an entire second Nino didn''t recognize who it was.


    "The path…" the old woman said. "You have to… You have to show them the path…"