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Chapter Text

The multiverse was roiling. She felt it, even if she felt little else. Since she had made her choice, she felt hollow. Burned. As if something had taken a big part of herself from her. 

There was no sound, wherever she was. Just a low humming noise, hanging in the air. Was it air? She didn't even know where she was. She knew nothing of what had happened. Her view was hazy, blurry, as if something had hit her head. Sparkly lights danced before her eyes but she could make out little else. Just lights dancing in the darkness before her. 

She tried to remember. She tried to recall what had happened. There had been a plan, she was sure of it. Something about an invasion. Something about an explosion. But she couldn't remember much else. What role did she play? What was her rank? Did she even have a rank?

Suddenly, the humming was broken by a new sound. A voice, soothing and warm, reached her ears. It seemed to reverberate within her, filling her entire body with a warm and fuzzy feeling. She gasped when she finally realized what the voice was telling her.

"Elspeth..."

Chandra Nalaar sat on something she could only describe as a throne. Soft cushions softened the hard metal the throne was made of and it would have been a really comfortable chair, if only she didn't feel so ... frisky. Ever since their little taskforce had departed for Mirrodin, Chandra had not had a single moment of calm. She had been busy running around the tower, talking to herself. She had checked up on Saheeli. She had seen Liliana off to the nearby city. She had even vented her frustrations on some dead phyrexian abominations. But she had never sat down. Well, not until Saheeli had forced her to. 

It had been her fourth - no, her fifth time checking up on the artificer. Saheeli had set up camp in one of Urza's old workshops. There, she had found tools and materials to tinker and craft her little automatons. But was she safe? What if a drop of phyrexian oil had found its way into the workshop? Someone needed to check, and Chandra had decided that she would be that person. So she had checked up on Saheeli. Like ... every ten minutes or so. But the fifth time was when she had mugged it all up.

Chandra had burst into into the workshop and simply asked if Saheeli needed any help. The woman, deep in thought, had jumped from the sudden noise. She had dropped the servo she was working on and the small automaton had broken apart on impact. For a moment, Saheeli had stared at the broken machine in disbelief before spinning around and staring daggers at Chandra. A stare like that from Vraska would surely have turned Chandra to stone. 

Saheeli had wasted no time. She had taken Chandra's hand, stormed out of the workshop and into one of Urza's study rooms. With a disapproving grunt, she had shoved Chandra onto the throne she was sitting on right now.

"Sit down," she had said. "Relax. You help no one by ... fidgeting like that."

With another deathly glare, Saheeli had left and closed the door. 

So, Chandra had waited. She was still waiting. For news, either good or bad. Hopefully good. Most likely bad. From everything she had heared about Phyrexia, bad news were so much more likely. Stories about the weird oil that turned innocent people into horryfiying abominations. Like Ajani, or Tamiyo... Tales about their disregard for everything that wasn't ... what had Teferi called it ... compleated? Had this compleation forced Ajani to kill Jaya? Had it forced her friends to turn against each other? Would she need to - No! The taskforce would destroy Phyrexia. No more need for friends to kill each other. Hopefully. 

Gods, she hated the waiting. Why Jace had been so resilient to her agrument did not make any sense. What could have been of more help than a freakin' pyromancer throwing fireballs all over the metal world they had invaded? Last time Chandra had checked, metal melted under extreme heat. But sure, someone had to look after the Tower of Urza, she guessed. 

A creaking sound from outside of the room pulled her from her thoughts. She looked around and found the face of Wrenn, the dryad, peering through the window of the study. 

Wrenn was way to big to enter the tower. Well, she and Seven, the tree she was bound to. That she had bound to her? Chandra still did not understand Wrenn's magic completely. Maybe she didn't need to. 

Wrenn and Seven had stayed outside the tower. There, they could make use of Wrenn's ability to feel shifts in a planes magic. In any magic, really. Wrenn had felt the last incursion of the phyrexians, so they trusted in her abilities in case of another attack. or worse: the Phyrexian Invasion. 

"You look troubled, Chandra," Wrenn said, her face soft and calm. It was something that seemed impossible to Chandra.

"I hate waiting," she said. "I hate noe knowing what's happening to my friends. What if this is like Amonkhet? What if everyone ends up scattered all over the planes?"

"Then we will find them," Wrenn said and began to smile. "Like you did before the battle on Ravnica. Like you found me on Innistrad. Like every time be-"

But Wrenn did not finish her sentence. Her smile froze and the fire within her chest burned hotter, fiercer. Her eyes widened while she tried to form words. 

"What's wrong?," Chandra asked but Wrenn did not answer. She just stood frozen, her face turning into a grimace of pure horror. 

"Chandra!," Saheeli yelled from below her and Chandra jumped up. She looked at Wrenn again before storming out of the room. Her feet carried her down a flight of stairs and she came to a skittering stop when she nearly crashed into Saheeli. The woman from Kaladesh stood at the foot of the stairs and looked at her with fear in her brown eyes. Her dark hair had escaped her bun and she had oil all over her dress - Chandra hoped, the oil was of a regular kind - and when Chandra opened her mouth, Saheeli simply grabbed her and pulled her outside. 

Dark clouds blocked the sun. On every other day, Chandra would have expected rain. Today however ...

"Ah, there you are," a voice said and it was only then that Chandra saw the raven-haired woman in front of the tower. Her black dress looked way to high-class for such an old tower. The basket she was holding seemed even more out of place. A few years ago, Liliana Vess would have created some zombies to buy her provisions. This Liliana however seemed ... different. Maybe Gideon's death had affected her. Or she had finally learned to be less ... Liliana.

"Something bad is happening," Liliana said and lifted her chin. Chandra followed her gaze and found the bad thing happening. 

A red line had parted the clouds. It looked like a smear of blood, a crimson line in a mass of grey cotton. As Chandra looked at it, the line grew longer by the second. 

"What is that?," Chandra asked as a creaking behind her announced the arrival of Wrenn and Seven. 

"Phyrexia," Wrenn said breathlessly. "They are here."

"But that means...," Chandra said but she could not finish her sentence. The red line in the sky had parted, creating a circle around the line. It looked exactly like the signs she had seen on the bodies of the dead phyrexians. And then...

A gigantic, metallic root burst through the portal, silver scales gleaming in the dominarian twilight. A gigantic thorn bore through the air and embedded itself into the ground not far from Urza's tower. 

Chandra looked on in horror as something else emerged from the portal. Hordes of glittering soldiers, running down the spine of the root, flying from the portal, invading Dominaria. 

Invading Dominaria. 

Chandra only managed to avert her eyes when a loud clattering came from the tower. She felt her fire burst from her core. Her red hair, her red eyes turned into a burning inferno and she was ready to burn the entire plane of Mirrodin to the ground. She ran into the tower, followed the sound  and was ready to throw fire, when she saw who had arrived.

A young woman with dark skin and black hair, beaten and breathless stood in the doorframe. On a chest in the back, a young man in the get-up of a ninja sat bend over. There was blood on his face, on his clothes, but he did not seem to have any open wounds. The last of them was an elf with a bare chest. He was coated with oil and blood and looked utterly defeated. 

Only Kaya, Kaito and Tyvar had returned. Only three out of the ten. And maybe most disturbingly ... Nissa wasn't with them. Nissa wasn't with them.

"What happened?," Chandra asked but she didn't need to hear Kaya's answer. She could already see it in her eyes.

"We lost," the assassin said and dropped to the floor.

The Seedcore was filled with the sounds of blessed perfection. All voices joined in harmonious chanting and metallic ecstasy. Elesh Norn had never heard anything more beautiful. 

She stood absolutely still beneath the branches of Realmbreaker, her greatest achievement to date. The glittering roots of the tree grew even now, ripping holes into the very fabric of the multiverse. These roots were the bridges that carried her troops. That carried the will and the blessings of New Phyrexia to every plane in the multiverse. All would finally be one. 

"Mother of Machines," a voice behind her said. It was the voice Elesh Norn herself had created. The voice she had manufactured with her own hands. The voice she had implanted into the throat of her greatest creation so many years ago. 

Elesh Norn turned around. In front of her, a few feet above the ground, hovered Atraxa, her most priced general and her right hand. The Praetor's Voice, the Grand Unifier, she had been called. Once the whole multiverse had been brought to heel, Atraxa would gain a new title. As would all those who adhered to the Argent Etchings. All those who had gained the favor of the Mother of Machines. 

"Your evangels have gathered, revered Mother," Atraxa said and waved her spear through the air. As Elesh Norn looked behind her, seven figures knelt down and bowed their heads in reverence. They would have been eight, had the devil not been too weak. His body had already been taken to the Surgical Bays. Maybe his parts would help Phyrexia where he had not been able to.

These figures had once been the bane of Phyrexia. Planeswalker, they had called themselves. They had given themselves the name of Urza, the greatest enemy of Phyrexia, but none of them had been able to defeat Phyrexia. They all had fallen, as sure as the entire multiverse would fall to the glory of Compleation.

"Welcome," Elesh Norn said and spread her arms, as if to embrace all of them simultaneously. "Blessed evangels, I have a special task for you. One only you can accomplish. On this, the eve of our triumph, I would ask you to remember your imperfection. I would ask you to remember the place you foolishly called home."

A moment of silence followed, after which one of her evangels stood. His feline features had been augmented by perfected metal. His weapon infused by the Glistening Oil. He had once been the planeswalker Ajani, but now he was so much more. 

"Sent me to Alara, Grand Praetor," he said and bowed his head again. "I will start my conquest in Naya and take our armies to the very edges of the plane."

Elesh Norn thought about it and nodded. Once the Artificer had been compleated by Jin-Gitaxias, he would be able to assist the leonine. 

"Nissa!," Elesh Norn said and the elf stood. Her once impure features had been augmented. Vorinclex had seemingly seen fit to grant her more arms and her robes now incorporated a brestplate of golden metal. 

"Your command, Mother?," the elf said.

"Take control of our Realmbreaker. Show us this Alara," the Mother of  Machines said and Nissa nodded. She moved over to the root of the tree, not even touching the ground. As she raised her hands, the metallic leafs started to tremble. With a flick of her wrist, Nissa twisted one of the roots to open a portal. Beyond the root, Elesh Norn could see gargantuan creatures within a deep forest. They fought each other, seemingly testing their own strength. 

"Go, Ajani," she said. "Take with you a part of the Copper Host. Use them to find us stronger phyrexians!"

Ajani bowed his head. A metallic screech filled the air of the Seedcore for the moment and the leonine had vanished, planeswalked away. 

Next came a woman who had formerly been a Kor. her white skin and hair had been perfected by the Glistening Oil and her arms now ended in savage blades where here hands had once been. This was Nahiri, the one who had sent Sheoldred's arena hurtling into the Fair Basilica. 

"Sent me to Zendikar, Mother," she said. For a moment, Nissa twitched. She hailed from the same plane. Had she wanted to bring that plane into the embrace of Phyrexia? But no, Nissa was needed here. 

"Very well," Elesh Norn said, when the pictures of floating stones and vast forests had vanished. "Bring our glory to Zendikar."

So they kept going. Lukka, the stubborn fool who had willingly bounded with Phyrexia, was sent off to Ikoria, a plane of giant monsters and weak humans. Vraska, the Gorgon who's hair had been turned into cables and her gaze filled with Glistening Oil, wanted to go to the great city of Ravnica. Jace followed her without a word. 

Finally, there was Tamiyo. The moonfolk from Kamigawa had been the first to be compleated. It had been her who worked tirelessly on perfecting the oil with Jin-Gitaxias. And now she would reap her reward.

"Send me to Kamigawa," she said. "Let me finish, what we started."

Elesh Norn nodded. She did not need to see Kamigawa again. 

"I expected nothing less," Elesh Norn said. "Go, Tamiyo. Show Kamigawa blessed perfection!"

With another metallic screech, Tamiyo vanished and left Elesh Norn with Atraxa and Nissa. 

"What about me, Mother?," Atraxa asked as she landed and knelt before Elesh Norn. The Grand Praetor felt a smirk creep unto her face.

"We have a special task for you, Atraxa," she said. "Nissa, show us Capenna!"

Nissa obliged. She took control of another branch of Realmbreaker, ripping another hole into the fabric of the multiverse. The portal opened into the middle of a bustling city. Not as big as Ravnica but still a danger to Phyrexia. 

"They call this place New Capenna," Elesh Norn explained. "You will go there, Atraxa, because only you can halt them. There had once been phyrexians on Capenna, but something destroyed them. Tezzeret spoke of a substance called Halo. Search for this Halo, Atraxa, and destroy every last drop of it!"

"As you command, Mother of Machines," Atraxa said and spread her wings. "All will be One."

"All will be One," Elesh Norn repeated and followed Atraxa with her eyes as she flew up into the air and vanished through the Portal to New Capenna. 

"What about me, Mother?," Nissa asked. Elesh Norn turned around and placed one of her hands on Nissa shoulder. 

"You belong here, Nissa," she said. "We need you to look after Realmbreaker. Guide our troops to their destination. Open the paths for our glorious arrival."

"As you wish, Mother," Nissa said, but Elesh Norn could feel her resistance. Something wasn't right.

"You wish to go somewhere as well?," Elesh Norn asked. Nissa winced.

"There is one I wish to see," she said. "One that hurt me deeply in the past. I wish to show her our glory myself, Mother of Machines."

"Patience, Nissa," Elesh Norn replied. "You will get the chance. The planeswalkers who escaped earlier will not just sit around. Just wait until they decide to throw themselves at us again. Then, your wish will be granted."

"As you say, Mother," Nissa said and returned to her duties. 

Elesh Norn watched her for a moment, before she turned around to leave, wanting to return to her sanctum for the moment.

Now that the invasion had begun, she had to consider the threats from within Phyrexia as well as the threats from the outside. There had been rebels in the Seedcore. Urabrask had not yet shown himself. Sheoldred was sure to make a move at the opportune moment. But Elesh Norn would be ready for it. She was the Mother of Machines. She was the ruler of Phyrexia. She would soon bring the entire multiverse to heel. Two small insects would not stop her.

As she reached her sanctum, she felt a presence creep into her from the oil running through her veins. A feeling of omnipotence, of great wisdom and burning anger filled her for a moment, before she heard the voice of the first Father of Machines. The god of Phyrexia, who had raised the first Phyrexians from the dust of the Thran.

"Well done, Mother of Machines," said the presence and the voice of Yawgmoth seemed to echo through the halls of Elesh Norn's sanctum.

Chapter Text

Dark shadows swirled before her eyes. The low humming sound had returned but something was different this time. There was a slow beat, a bit like a heartbeat. Her heart? Was her heart still beating? After everything?

"Elspeth...," the voice said once more. She turned around, tried to find the source of the voice. There was none. Only darkness and small motes of light. But something was different. She felt something. Some sort of ... pull. Like a moth felt drawn to a flame. But how could she move? How could she follow? And where would she go? Back to where she came from? Where did she come from? All she could remember was oil and metal. Screaming voices and a flash of blue. 

"Come, child...," said the voice and suddenly, Elspeth was moving. Hurtling through the darkness until she reached a mote of light. It burned bright, brighter than any light she had seen before. More radiant than the angels of Capenna, the knights of Bant and even Heliod on Theros. She felt the heavenly light in every part of her body - or in every part of the thing she assumed her body to be. 

"Let me reveal your fate at last...," said the voice and Elspeth felt the pull again, more powerful this time. With a silent scream, she disappeared into the light...

"Kaya!," Chandra screamed as she fell to her knees next to the other women. The ghost assassin lay flat on her back, her eyes closed and her breathing erratic. Whatever had happened on Mirrodin must have affected her greatly. 

"She'll be fine," said Kaito, who was bandaging the cuts on his arm. "We got out just in time. No oil, at least I think so."

"What happened over there?," asked Saheeli, who had entered the room just now, her eyes wide. 

"An absolute nightmare," said Tyvar and shook his head. "They knew we were coming. At least I think so. They had traps in place, troops on every portal. We fought some of them. But we were way to slow."

"And the others?," asked Chandra and stared up at him. 

"Elspeth is ... gone," said Kaito and pulled his knees in close. "She planeswalked the Sylex to ... I don't know."

"What!?," screamed Saheeli and took a step towards him. "But it could have saved all of us!" 

"No, it couldn't have," said Tyvar and shook his head. "Not when we reached the root of that abomination the phyrexians call their world tree."

"The tree had already started to split the sky," said Kaito. "It had already started to connect the planes. We weren't sure if the Sylex would only destroy Phyrexia. It could have destroyed ... everything."

"So Elspeth took it?," Saheeli asked. 

"Yes, well," said Tyvar and sat down next to Kaito. "Jace wanted to blow it up anyway. He had already started the ritual. Elspeth stabbed him and vanished with the Sylex."

"Jace is dead?," Chandra asked and sprang up. She felt her fire rise again and saw sparks floating through the air.

"No", Kaito said and held up a hand. "He is one of them now. As are Lukka, Nahiri, Vraska and ... Nissa."

The world became very quiet very fast. Chandra felt like someone had pulled the rug from under her. Unsteady, her feet trying to find solid ground while her mind began to race. Nissa was one of them. Nissa had fallen to New Phyrexia. What had they done to her? Had they taken her beautiful eyes and turned them into ugly machines? Her Nissa was now a soulless and cold machine? 

"You are lying," said Saheeli. 

"I wish I was," said Kaito. "Nahiri was the first. A phyrexian cut her soon after landing. I don't know about Nissa and Lukka, but Vraska walked right into one of  Sheoldred's arenas and was turned there. She turned Jace soon after."

"And the Wanderer?," Saheeli asked but Kaito just shook his head. 

"The emperor is lost somewhere in the multiverse," he said. "Whatever trap they had set for us expelled her from the plane soon after our arrival."

Saheeli looked at Kaito for a moment before she dropped onto one of the chairs and put her head into her hands. 

"So...," Chandra asked, her voice shaky. "What do we do?"

"We leave," Saheeli said. "I have to go to Kaladesh. And I have to notify Huatli. And you, Chandra, you should..."

"We leave?," Chandra said und felt the fire within her burn hotter. "And we just watch as Dominaria gets compleated?"

"What would you have us do?," Liliana said and stepped into the room from the floor. "They are not only invading Dominaria, dear. They are going to compleat every plane we know."

"But Dominaria is your home!," Chandra yelled and sparks began flying from her fists. 

"No, it isn't. And it hasn't been for a long time," Liliana said and she screwed up her face in ... worry? Liliana was worried about something? "I have to go. I have students I have to look after."

"Students?," Chandra asked, but before she could dig deeper, Liliana had vanished into a cloud of dark mist and the scent of lilac. 

"She has the right idea," Saheeli said and stood. "Your mother still resides on Kaladesh, Chandra. You should be with her."

"No!," Chandra yelled but it was already too late. Saheeli disappeared into a complex system of geometrical patterns. Chandra starred at the spot were Saheeli had vanished. Her fire burned hotter now but something stopped it from bursting from her hands and hair. She felt hollow. Like someone had taken all the energy from her. Every last bit of ... hope.

"You... you have to stay," Chandra began. Her eyes started burning and she could feel tears on her cheeks. "We can only stop them together. Like we did Bolas."

"Chandra," a weak voice said from below her and she glanced down to see Kaya. The woman from Tolvada had opened her eyes and looked up at her from the floor. "We can't win. Elspeth took our only weapon."

"There has to be another!," Chandra said. She started walking up and down the room, her hands in her hair, pulling and twisting. "Saheeli can make a new Sylex. We can go back to Mirrodin. We can... We have to... I have to..."

"Stop it, Chandra," Kaito said and gently placed a hand on her arm. 

"This is not like Ravnica," Kaya said and pulled herself to her feet. "We don't have to worry about just one plane. We have to worry about every plane. And we can't defend them all."

"She is right," Kaito said. "We have to think of those closest to us. Go home, Chandra. Defend what's closest to your heart."

But what was closest to Chandra's heart had already been lost. Her heart had already been turned into cogs and cables. Her beauty had been smeared with disgusting oil.

"I hate to disturb this discussion but we have got company," Wrenn said suddenly from outside of the tower. All heads turned around and Tyvar was the first to step toward the door, before Wrenn spoke again. "They do not seem hostile, though."

Chandra saw Kaito and Kaya exchange quick glances. Kaya nodded, just as Kaito vanished into a matrix of blue and black lights. Before Chandra could question this, however, Tyvar inhaled sharply. He stood in the doorway, his eyes wide in shock.

"What?," Chandra asked, just as a silent, creepy whisper started echoing through the halls of Urza's tower. The sound seemed unearthly, like one of those synthetic voices of the phyrexians she had burned. But this was different. It seemed ... more powerful. More primal. 

"Do not be alarmed, beings of flesh," the voice whispered. "We come to bargain with you, not to harm you."

"You need to see this," Tyvar said. He took another step and vanished from sight.

The chanting had finally stopped. The rumbling of feet, the screeching voices and the perverted noises had finally ceased. But was that truly a good thing?

Koth felt the cold metal beneath his hands. He was still listening, his ear pressed to one of the panels of Elesh Norn's Basilica. Behind him, two of his rebels knelt on the metal floor. They clutched their hexagold weapons like lifelines. 

When the rumbling and the screeching had begun, Koth had formed a protective shell around the only to of his fighters who had survived until now. The rest had fallen to Phyrexia. Their bodies had been engulfed in oil, their minds had been muddled by the scriptures of their enemies.

"I think we're clear," Koth said. "I don't hear them any longer."

"And if they are just quiet to trick us?," asked one of men behind him. He had multiple cuts on his arm. They had to bring him to Melira or else...

"Even if it's just a trap," Koth said and stood up. "We will die fighting for what we believe in. For Mirrodin."

"For Mirrodin," the other two said and also came to their feet. They all looked exhausted. Koth felt his muscles burn. He saw the hunched backs and weak posture of his rebels. They didn't have much time. And if Phyrexia was waiting to kill them, they would not be able to destroy many. But destroy them they would. Too many had already died. 

Koth mustered the last of his concentration and magic and dug his fingers into the metal panel. The metal began to screech under his fingers, bending and breaking at his touch. He gave the panel a strong pull and the metal burst with a sharp bang. It split in two, sliding open like a door or a window. Beyond it, Koth could see the red and white of the Fair Basilica. The phyrexian symbol, a circle with a line through its middle, was burned into the floor every ten feet or so.

Koth rolled his shoulders and stepped out of the hole they had hid in. For a moment, he was sure to be killed the instance he stepped out into the open. But nothing happened. There were no phyrexians here. No guardians at the doors. No exarchs or suture priests wandering the halls. There was only an eerie silence. 

"Where are they?," one of the rebels aksed as he stepped out into the hallway. "What happened?"

"Our glorious invasion has begun," a synthetic voice said and a shadow fell on Koth. He saw a body, high above them. Two gigantic wings spread to their full length. Four arms, two of them holding a spear. Black oil dripped from its tip.

"Atraxa!," Koth bellowed and spread his feet. He took a fighting stance, ready to fight. Ready to die. 

The phyrexian angel cocked her head and flew down. The flapping of her wings seemed to echo through every corridor and hall of the Fair Basilica. And as she drew closer... 

Something wasn't right. This here wasn't Atraxa. Her frame was much too small. Her head didn't have the right form and her moves where to ... inexperienced. It was like she had only recently learned how to fly. 

"I'm flattered," the angel said as she landed in front of Koth. "But I am not my mother. She has been sent off to one of the impure planes. Me, however ... I seem to have been forgotten by the Machine Orthodoxy."

Koth took a step back. This here was a phyrexian. A creation of none other than Atraxa. But she didn't seem to be hostile. No, she seemed to be ... sad? Disappointed? Defeated? Her shoulders slumbed, her veiny wings dropped to the ground. The tip of her spear pointed down. Koth could have killed her. He could have driven his fist through her exposed core. He could have turned her armor into darts and pinned her to the floor. Why didn't he? He could. He should! Instead, he dropped his fists.

"What's your name?," he asked. "If you even have one?"

"Atraxa called me Ixhel," the angel said. "I don't know if I am still worthy of that name. If I ever was worthy of that name."

"Why isn't it attacking us?," one of the rebels asked behind Koth. He didn't turn around. He just stared at Ixhel. Something about her felt almost ... human. 

"I do not wish to harm you," Ixhel said, her head turning to one of the doors. "It's paradoxical, I know."

"What do you mean?," Koth asked, just as one of his rebels jumped in front of him.

"What are we doing?," he asked and stuck his axe right under Ixhel's nose. The phyrexian didn't move an inch. "This is one of them! It could betray us at any moment! Rat us out. Bring Elesh Norn here!"

"She's not going to do that," Koth said and pulled the rebel back. "She would have already done so, if she had wanted to." He moved in front of the rebel and moved the axe out of Ixhel's face. "Which only leaves us with one question: What do you want?"

The angel looked at him. Her body was completely still, yet Koth could feel her tremble. 

"I wish to leave alongside you," Ixhel said. "Bring me to Urabrask. There is someone I wish to see."

"How can we trust you?," Koth said. He crossed his arms. Ixhel looked at him for a moment, before she threw her spear to the ground and dropped to her knees. She bowed her head and for a moment it seemed like she was crying.

"Kill me, if you must," she said, her voice shaky. "Cut off my arms. Take my legs, my wings. I will not defend myself. But grant me my wish first."

Koth looked down at the angel. Down at Ixhel. He had spent his entire life hating everything she stood for. He had killed so many abominations. He had lost so many fighters, comrades, friends. But he could not bring himself to kill Ixhel. And before he had really wrapped his head around it, he had made his choice.

With trembling hands, he took Ixhels spear and presented it to her.

"You will need this if you want to meet Urabrask."

Urza's tower had been surrounded by hundreds of phyrexians. Black oil dripped from their bodies and soaked the grass in its gloom. The phyrexians had stopped ten, maybe fifteen feet from the tower. Their weapons glittered in the twilight and all of their eyes had been turned towards the door Chandra had just used. 

The phyrexians had formed a perfect circle around the tower, with one big exception: A giant construct stood in the middle of the circle, only a few feet away from the door of the tower. It looked like a giant spider with enormous metallic legs and a body of black scales. Above the giant body sat the torso of a woman, also clad in black scales. Her head was encased in some sort of strange crown. Chandra wasn't sure if the six red slits in the crown where eyes or simply decoration.

"She's a praetor," whispered Kaya behind her. She had just emerged from the tower. The assassin took two steps and leaned on Chandra. 

"My name is Sheoldred, fleshlings," the praetor whispered. "We don't have much time, so listen to me..." The giant mandibles of Sheoldred's body worked for a moment, before she hissed a word. It sounded like she had never spoken it before. "Please."

"Did she just say please?," Chandra asked. 

"What do you want?," Tyvar said, before Kaya could answer. He had crossed his arms, but in front of the army of phyrexians, he just looked like a moody child.

"I wish to assist you," Sheoldred whispered. "If - and only if - you grant me your help in turn."

"Assist us? With compleation?," Tyvar asked. 

"You insolent...," Sheoldred began, before she closed her mouth and relaxed her shoulders. "Not with compleation. At least not with the compleation Elesh Norn envisions for the multiverse."

"But shouldn't you all be unified? What was the sentence? All will be One?," Kaya asked and took a step forward. Sheoldred shifted slightly to look at her.

"That is the vision of Elesh Norn, not mine," Sheoldred whispered. "It is not what Phyrexia is supposed to be. We once destroyed all who opposed us, not welcomed them into our perfection."

"Not a good pitch, I have to admit," Chandra whispered. The praetor could not honestly expect them to help her with that?

"So you want our help with...?," Tyvar asked.

"I want you to come with me," Sheoldred whispered. "Phyrexia is empty. Elesh Norn is weak. Even Atraxa has left her. We can strike at the Mother of Machines, defeat her and return Phyrexia to what it is supposed to be."

"Wouldn't that just postpone this invasion?," Chandra asked. "Is this just some ploy to weaken us?"

"I promise you, it is not", Sheoldred said and turned her head towards Chandra. "If I had been sent to destroy you, we would not be having this conversation. No, Elesh Norn does not know that I am here. I imagine she is still trying to find me within the dross."

"So, what?," Tyvar said. "We go with you, destroy Elesh Norn and ...?"

"Return to your impurity, at least for now," Sheoldred said. "My Etched Host will defend your people against the other phyrexians, at least here. I will turn back, return to the dross and help you infiltrate Norn's Basilica. One day, we will fight against each other once more, but today, we need to be allies if you want to have even a slim chance of survival."

Silence followed Sheoldred's words. Only the soft rumbling of the invasion disturbed it, quiet and steady. Chandra looked from Sheoldred to her friends, before she made a decision.

"I'm going," she said. "We won't get a better shot at killing Elesh Norn."

"You are right," Sheoldred whispered and nodded. 

Another moment passed, before Wrenn appeared besides Chandra with a loud creaking of Seven. "I will go as well. I might be able to influence the tree, break some of its branches."

"Are you insane?," Kaya said. "You can't be serious! This is suicide!"

"But it is the only thing we can do," Chandra said and turned around. "We won't be able to defend the planes. Not alone, not even as a team. You said it yourself, Kaya. This is not like Ravnica. It is not like Bolas."

"So you simply want to ally yourself with them?," Tyvar said. 

"Well, no," Chandra said. "But if this buys us time for a better defense, why not try it? The multiverse is screwed either way."

Tyvar looked at her for a few seconds before he started to nod.

"Yes, why not," he said. "Let's go down swinging."

"I can't believe you," Kaya said and backed up into the door. "Tyvar, you saw what they do! How can you go back?"

"Because Chandra is right," Tyvar said. "What can I do on Kaldheim? For every phyrexian I kill, two more will simply arise from the population. But killing Elesh Norn? That might accomplish something."

"You don't have to go, Kaya," Chandra said. "Strictly volunteers."

Kaya looked at her for a moment, before she took her hand and nodded. 

"Be careful, Chandra," she said, before pulling Chandra in close. "I'm sorry, but if you see Nissa ... She is not your girlfriend any longer."

"My what now?," Chandra asked and felt her cheeks turn red. 

"She is one of them. So ... you can't hold back," Kaya said. "If push comes to shove ... don't hesitate."

"Don't say that," Chandra said. "I now that she is still there, somehow. I will get her back."

"Just," Kaya said and squeezed Chandra's hand. "Be ready for anything."

With that, Kaya vanished in a swirl of black and white smoke. She had probably returned to Ravnica, to help the Orzhov defend against the invasion. 

Chandra looked at Sheoldred once more.

"So, we just walk over there? Use the portals?," she asked. Sheoldred simply nodded before her legs began to move. She turned around and so did all of her phyrexians. 

"Here's to our demise," said Tyvar and followed the praetor. "Or to our glory."

Chandra followed silently, her thoughts racing within her head. This was her chance. Her chance to safe her mother. Kaladesh. Everyone she loved. And a way to get Nissa back. To finally tell her all the things she wanted to tell her. 

With a last glance at the tower, she followed Sheoldred into the jaws of Phyrexia.