<strong>MOVING TO NARRATIVE TIME</strong><br/><br/>There is a moment's microreaction when Sanger challenges the Abyssal and she finishes skidding back through the maze of swords-- something that he said that struck a deep, painful, resonant chord-- but it's gone almost as quickly as it came,  buried beneath the mask of the languorous killer once again.<strong>"That's something I've always hated about you self-made heroes,"</strong>the Abyssal croons, shifting the grip it has on their knives, both pointing downwards now for maximum punching effectiveness.<strong>"I bent my knees for five days, praying for help, the same way my cousins did.  I begged, I pleaded, for somebody-- anybody-- to give me the strength to save my people from the Locusts, and She.  Said.  <em>No.</em>  I tried anyway, on my own, with everything I had, and it <em>killed me</em>."</strong><br/><br/>Eight petals of a phantasmal flower, dried and dessicated, unfurl along the floor from the Day Caste's anima banner; there is the faintest scent of daisies in the air.<strong><strong>"She denied me in my time of need and she good as killed me in doing it,</strong>"</strong>the Day Caste hisses, venom dripping from every word.<strong>"I'm going to tear down everything she cared for, and if you're going to stand in my way, I'm going to tear you down too.  When next you reincarnate, remember the name Five Burning Villages."</strong><br/><br/>It is a long moment amidst the field of brass blades while they evaluate one another, the Dawn against the false Day, as the way out is sealed a bit further by the relentless work of Sondok.  It is the Abyssal who moves first, lunging forward, hurling one of its poisoned blades at him.  Sanger's first impulse is to duck behind his shield and prepare an eviscerating counterattack--<br/><br/>but something else rises to memory that gives him pause--<br/><br/><em>It's an obvious opening.  Too obvious.  Ember Blossom would not have thrown one of her treasured knives so early when her Knife-Fang Striking Serpent style required two blades for maximum effectiveness, and his senses tell him that while this is a real attack, she is committing to something more deadly at the same time--</em><br/><br/>--and following his instinct, Sanger twists to the rear, raising his shield above his head to deflect the two soulsteel knives that would have found the important parts of his neck, and Zankanto cuts deeply into the body wielding them.<br/><br/>There is a choked cry from the Day Caste as the force of the blade pushes it back once again; Sanger feels a slight twinge as the thrown knife grazes past his side, and then a deeper twinge with the pulse of his heartbeat-- the poison Samaro had mentioned, apparently.  The Abyssal does manage to catch the blade as it flies past him to her, but the Day Caste's stance is radically different from before: the course Zankanto took across its body would have spilled their insides open if they were anything less than an Exalt, and it is having obvious difficulty maintaining the fighting position of before.<br/><br/>And then suddenly, from outside, there is a massive clamor and clangor like music made by a thousand half-talented-at-best artists.  Chorgath's voice is heard above the relative noise, ordering the evacuation.<br/><br/>The Day Caste's eyes widen-- it was prepared to die when it was certain that it would be taking everybody down with it, but now?<br/><br/>There's still a quarter of the antechamber's entry open.  The Abyssal takes this momentary break to make a bid for escape.<br/><br/><br/><strong>Location:</strong>Outside<br/>Baleful green light streams in from the other side of the opened doorway, leading to one of the many city streets of the Demon City.  Massive buildings stretch skyward above a lane of basalt and brass, and the great cacophony that is everywhere in the Demon City resounds outwards into the otherwise-quiet place of the sandstorm.<br/><br/>The people present don't hesitate.  Ruby and Cerulean begin hoisting Iori's unconscious body as the other begin to step through.  Rheeta, an attendant, goes through first.  Then Xieshi, one of the attendants.  Lightwater, another attendant.  Then the guests.  Ferril muscles his way in and past, then Ruby and Cerulean hoisting Iori...