Both the Adrestian Army and Leicester Alliance waged a furious battle for control over a large fort that had long since fallen into dilapidation. Slumbering within its depths was a mysterious Crest Stone said to hold the power of a long lost crest sealed away by the goddess herself due to the immense amount of power it could grant to even the weakest of mortals. Though neither side understood the full extent of the power which they sought they knew they couldn’t let it fall into the hands of their enemies.
With that in mind general Ladislava of the Empire and commander Judith of the Alliance both fought their way deep into the depths below the ruins to an ancient vault where the Crest Stone waited for the one who would claim it. Both women, who were incredibly capable warriors and leaders in their own right, had been pushed to their absolute limits during the course of this campaign.
Neither of the women had managed to earn a moment of rest save for the few broken hours of sleep they were granted if they were lucky for the past several weeks. Even simple things such as bathing had become a rare luxury for them. With their goals in sight however, a light at the end of the tunnel appeared for both of them knowing that the final obstacle they had left to overcome was the other woman standing before them.
Striking like lightning Judith did her best to end her foe in a single attack, though Ladislava’s quick reflexes made the task impossible, and incredibly dangerous once she was permitted to counter attack with the might of her axe that could rend through the stone pillars supporting the vault with ease. Both women clashed several times, able to sense the same weariness, fatigue, and path to the reprieve they desperately desired from each other.
After one final fierce blow to ward off Judith’s blade and send the aged commander sliding backwards, Ladislava took the chance to desperately reach for the Crest Stone. Despite the distance she had been knocked back and, Judith was able to close the gap and place her hand on the stone at the same time.
With new masters to inherit the crest, the stone glowed a bright shade of red before a flash of light engulfed both women who could do nothing but shield their eyes with their free hand. The soldiers that had accompanied the general were also blinded, unable to see what was happening as a titanic object began pressing into them before slamming them into the walls of the ancient vault, crushing them into a fine red paste without ever knowing what had happened to them.
The two women experienced an otherworldly sensation that they couldn’t quite put into words, though neither felt as if they were in danger as the fierce rumbling all around them slowly halted and instead both were met with a soft, albeit cool breeze blowing over their bodies. Opening their eyes, Ladislava and Judith’s gaze met one another as they scowled fiercely for a moment before turning their attention towards their hands where the Crest Stone had been. Noticing that it had vanished and that the two generals were simply holding each other’s empty hands now, it finally dawned on both of them how different their surroundings were…
Not only were they no longer in the vault and their soldiers nowhere to be seen, but they were outside once more and the sky seemed to stretch on infinitely for them. Only when Ladislava tried moving her feet, noticing her boots seemed stuck in place did she realize what had happened, her shocked expression leading Judith to the same conclusion. By the power of the Crest Stone, both women had grown miles in height, dwarfing the ancient fortress into nothing but a mere pebble before them.
The soldiers fighting on the battlefield in front of the fortress, who had all given up on fighting to look up into the sky at the two godlike beings that were once their generals, were barely even grains of sand in comparison to them. Momentarily assessing their situation in silence as they looked down upon the thousands of tiny humans that just moments ago were ready to soak the fields in blood for these two women.
The crest stone had not only altered their bodies, but it had done something to their minds as well. Judith was the first to speak up, admitting that she had been questioning the direction of the Alliance for sometime now, especially as they worked her to the bone on this campaign. Judith’s words resonated with Ladislava, the younger general looking down at the soldiers, unable to tell her troops apart from the enemy, or any of them apart from the commoners for that matter. Realizing that she too had grown weary of pointless battles and thankless campaigns that simply existed to vilify her for the sake of the Empire.
Moving her foot ever so slightly, Ladislava realized there her boots were still trapped in the deep rubble of the vault from where she had ascended. Judith also found it rather vexing to waste the time pulling herself from the rubble instead opting to abandon her boots as one of her massive bare soles was freed from her footwear before being held over the legion of soldiers below.
Ladislava’s eyes grew massive asking what the Alliance commander was thinking, questioning if she forgot her own men were on that battlefield. Still gripping Ladislava’s hand, she asked if she was also tired of pathetic political squabbling and pointless wars, a sentiment that Ladislava couldn’t deny sharing as she silently turned her head away from the older woman.
Following up her question after a moment of silence, Judith put forth another inquiry, curious how the younger general felt about the two of ruling over Fódlan. Hearing those words didn’t shake Ladislava as much as she expected, having wondered the same thing since seeing the armies sprawling before her. Judith smiled, squeezing Ladislava’s hand, ensuring her that they could create any kind of world they wanted with the new power they had been granted by the crest stone.
Ladislava looked at Judith before steeling her own resolve and beginning to remove one foot from her boot, holding it over the armies much the same way as Judith. Massive drops of sweat dripped from both women’s toes and crashed down onto the battlefield, creating hot sticky tsunamis that carried off countless soldiers into the hole where the goddesses had appeared from.
Those sucked into the rubble were unable to do anything but drown in the ever deepening pits of their foot sweat as they were pushed further into the depths as more sweat continued casually dripping from their feet causing the earth below to tremor and shake with each drop that fell. That was nothing compared to the apocalyptic carnage to come however as both generals allowed their feet to fall towards the battlefield, smug smiles growing on their faces as they watched legions of troops desperately try to react in a feeble attempt to save themselves.
In a matter of moments the entirety of the battlefield had been engulfed in general’s smooth sweaty sole, and the commander’s mature wrinkled sole. In an instant, the casualties numbered in the hundreds of thousands as entire villages not even associated with the conflict had unknowingly been caught under the steps of the two former soldiers along with the majority of their armies. Leaving their feet comfortable in the earth, both women removed their other boot before letting their second foot slam down upon the stragglers who were left in complete shock after the ferocious force of their first steps had sent them flying.
Ladislava lifted her foot, examining the massacre that had occurred beneath her soles. Nothing recognizable remained in the massive crater that was her footprint with villages, people, and even the earth itself being reduced to nothing but smears in the wake of a single one of her steps. Judith simply smirked as she observed the aftermath of her own step, reaffirming to Ladislava that the two of them really were unstoppable beings at this point. Letting out a boisterous laugh that shook the foundation of the fortress itself, Judith couldn’t help but proclaim that even the goddess herself couldn’t stop them from taking over Fodlan now.
Setting her sights on the fortress that they had been sent to fight for in the first place, Judith’s smirk only grew more devilish. Looking over her shoulder at Ladislava, she asked once more if the woman was ready to become Fodlan’s god. The former general examined the aftermath of her step once more before smiling knowing that she could put the empire in its place once and for all, nodding back at Judith saying that there was nothing to be ready for.
Both women lifted their divine feet over the fortress, exposing their soles to the survivors within and the few wyvern and pegasus knights who had managed to barely escape their initial step. As she smugly smiled, looking down at the ants scurrying to save themselves, Ladislava proclaimed that the two of them were already the deities of Fodlan with no one to contest them any longer. Judith couldn’t agree more as she took one last moment to appreciate the sight of the desperate soldiers beneath them.
Most tried to flee for their lives, while others were simply left in shock as they looked upon the infinite expanse of the soles above them. Entire villages were nothing but debris lost between their toes, while specks of red that wouldn’t even be noticeable to the goddesses indicated where hundreds if not thousands of men and women had been reduced to mere stains on the bottoms of their feet, a fate that would soon be shared by all within the fort.
A few worms even dropped to their knees, forsaking the Church of Seiros and the Emperor in favor of worshiping Ladislava and Judith. It didn’t matter what they did however, in the end every last person on the battlefield, and perhaps across all of Fodlan would be reduced to the same red paste beneath the feet of their new deities.
Still gripping each other’s hands, and resting their other hand on their hips, Judith and Ladislava let their feet fall towards the fortress. In a matter of seconds, the entirety of the army had been reduced to nothing. Rubbing their feet together in the rubble, the few who had managed to survive between the toes or within the wrinkles on the soles of their gods were quickly put in their proper place.
With satisfied smiles adorning their faces, Ladislava and Judith next turned their attention to the Adrestian Empire, a nation that had far too long needed to be brought under the rule of proper deities. Perhaps in their casual walk across the continent that would turn Garreg Mach and its Archbishop into a stain underfoot as well to make sure that the people of Fodlan truly understood who they would be worshiping from here on out, leaving nothing but massive footprints filled with carnage in their wake…
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written by: Kslider