73

You're a coward, Stralchus! I see your hands shaking on the machine. Only Control and I have the courage to face the False Icon. You know that, don't you?"

"I'm the only one who can lead these savages!" Stralchus screams, his voice tinged with hysterics, his whole body shaking. "The only one! The only one!"

"He's mad," Vecla says. "And I think his followers know it."

You can see the doubt and fear of the Cerulean Guards. If Stralchus ever commanded their respect, that's starting to slip away.

"I'm tired of listening to your lies," Stralchus whispers, his voice deadly cold. "I'm tired of living in this false world, under a false sky." He glances at his soldiers. "Kill them all."

The Cerulean Guards and the torch-bearing red guards surge forward, trying to force you back down the steps. They can't quite do it, but they force you away from the sun lens and its vulnerable mirrors.

"Prepare to fire," Stralchus says.

"No more time," Control says.

You need to end this now. All you need to do is damage any part of the sun lens and the mountain will fall, but you can't see the lens, the mirrors, or Stralchus! Cannons surround you; machinery rises above you. But the guards are ahead of you, blocking your way with a solid wall of spears, shields, and swords. Behind them wait the Ziggurat's musketeers, ready to shoot anyone who forces their way out of the melee.

You and your enemies can feel the pressure of the River People coming up from below, but you know they won't arrive in time. You wish you had more controllers to hold the Cerulean Guards back.