The Hecatomb Procession: A Chapter of Cataclysm and Heartbreak

The Hecatomb Procession: A Chapter of Cataclysm and Heartbreak

The world of our heroes has been shattered. What began as a seemingly stable, if chaotic, reality has been torn apart, and in the chapter titled "Hecatomb Procession," we witness the horrifying escalation of the war against chaos. From a mother's desperate search to a hero's broken faith, this chapter leaves us on a breathtaking, terrifying precipice.

The Descent of the Dragon King

The chapter opens with the world's most terrifying wake-up call. The Hall of Saints, a bastion of hope, is invaded by a force of pure malice: Loki. However, this is not the Loki we know. He is a shell, slowly being consumed by the ancient Silver Dragon King Bahamant. His actions are not just cruel; they are a tragic reflection of his own soul being ripped apart.

Loki's first act is to strike at the heart of the heroes, using the love of a family against them. He attacks the camp, holding Kimya hostage and brutalizing her parents, Amedeus and Anansi. Their fury and faith prove to be no match for his overwhelming power. Amedeus's pride is shattered, his mechanical werewolf form broken, and the entire Hall of Saints is defeated. The message is clear: this is not a battle that can be won with conventional strength.

A World on the Brink

As the main conflict rages, the chapter pulls back to show us how the rest of the world is reacting.

• In the ancient silence of the Gigas Class Leviathan Envoy, we find Iris (Pyromant) and Nute, two cosmic beings who speak of a greater, forgotten war. Their cryptic conversation reveals that the chaos is escalating far beyond a simple camp invasion, hinting that an even bigger game is afoot.

• Meanwhile, inside the living fortress Purgatory, Hayloskien, the alpha chimera, finds himself caught between his duties and his deals. Guided by the ancient voices of the Dragon Kings Biomant and Tiamant, he surrenders the powerful Excalibur scythes and receives a mysterious golden gauntlet. This exchange solidifies his role as a strategic player in the coming war, all while he stubbornly avoids his responsibilities.

• The personal cost of this chaos is best seen through Clara Bhaumer's eyes. A mother haunted by a past loss, she frantically searches for her missing daughter, Gaea. Her journey through Purgatory highlights the desperation of a parent in a world falling apart, and her final plea to her sister-wives to look after her children is a heartbreaking reminder of the stakes.

The Ultimate Betrayal

The chapter’s climax returns us to the Hall of Saints camp, where the situation goes from bad to worse. Loki, in his final, most heinous act of psychological warfare, shatters the camp's protective barrier and unleashes a horde of Chaos Constructs. The heroes are utterly overwhelmed. Conner, Hope, and Heaven, though brave and powerful, are effortlessly defeated, proving once and for all that Loki's power is on a god-like level.

But the final twist is the most devastating. Loki returns Kimya, now psychologically broken and traumatized. As Junior tries to comfort her, he is hit with a psychic flash of Loki's most potent lie: an illusion that made Kimya believe it was Junior, not Loki, who was brutalizing her parents. The scene ends with Kimya screaming at her friend, "Are you going to hurt me too?" as Junior recoils, horrified by the lie he can now see.

The chapter closes on a chilling image: the camp is surrounded by the howling Chaos Constructs, and the heroes are left with a broken leader, a shattered faith, and a deep-seated mistrust that threatens to tear them apart from within. The Hecatomb Procession has begun, and the heroes have already lost more than they could have imagined. Read it here: https://editor.reedsy.com/s/WUKgET1