Of course, the Presence was right. Most fully corrupted worlds ended slowly; there would still be trillions of lives left to save after the Vroshir retreated.
Arguing with your personal Presence was an exercise in futility, but Suriel countered by summoning images all over her room. Windows opened onto many realities, covering the walls, images projected from reports that were delivered to the Abidan even now.
Each of these was from the perspective of an Abidan agent somewhere calling for assistance. Each an image of devastation.
An orbital barrage, shown from the ground, as deadly orange light rained from a steel sky.
A deluge of once-human monsters swarming up the side of a fortress, the army conducted by a hovering figure in a silver crown.
A desperate blur of combat as an Abidan from the Wolf Division held off a warrior whose spear-strikes leveled mountains.
The Mad King manifesting into reality, holding a black Scythe.
That last image was only shown for a moment before an overwhelming tide of blue light as the Abidan delivering the report escaped, but even in that brief flash less than a second, Suriel could see the sky behind the Vroshir—and the entire Iteration—crack.
There were a thousand of these, and they covered the room. Suriel faced her Presence, though she knew the construct could hear her every thought.
“What can we do?” she asked.
[You cannot leave this Iteration until Makiel is restored,] her Presence reminded her. [With that restriction, you are limited in what you can accomplish alone.]
In her mind, the Presence spooled out a list of how she could resolve each of these emergency scenarios…except for the appearance of the Mad King. That was beyond her.
“And if I’m not alone?”
[Your highest probability of success comes from cooperating with the other Judges in the tasks they are already performing.]
Her Presence gave her brief glimpses of possibility. Razael, the Wolf, would never leave the battlefield. Joining her would mean putting two of their seven greatest assets in the same place…but it would also make Razael far more capable. Together, they could potentially cut off the advance of the Mad King, though still not oppose him directly.
Telariel, the Spider, wouldn’t risk his own life even in the event of total system collapse. He was currently coordinating Abidan efforts on all fronts, and with Suriel’s support, he would have an easier time pushing past chaos. Not to mention more willing to take the field, with the greatest healer backing him up.
Zakariel, the Fox, was more selfish even than Telariel. She had a lot in common with the Angler of the Crystal Halls, and each considered the other something of a rival. If it didn’t benefit her directly, she usually didn’t do it, and she was currently raiding Iterations under Vroshir assault to scoop up any valuables before the world fell. Though any Silverlords that encountered her had no chance of escape.
Suriel might persuade the Fox to act for the good of the Court, which would open coordinated rescue efforts.
Suriel could work together with any of the other Judges and accomplish great things. But not enough. None of them could stop the advance of the Vroshir.
All predictive models showed the same thing: the Mad King cementing his isolation of Sector Eleven, then moving in for the kill. Once Sector Eleven was in ruins, he would retreat before even he was cut off by the chaos he’d left in his wake. Then he’d leave the Abidan to clean up after him.
No two Judges could stop him. Without Makiel, no two could even fight him.
But what about three?
“What are my odds of getting two other Judges to work with me against the Vroshir directly?”
[Not high.]
Suriel preferred her Presence to answer numerically where possible, even when regarding scenarios that were technically incalculable. When it didn’t, that meant the scenario was truly uncertain.
[It is a shame that those who rise to become Judges tend to be unusually individualistic,] her Presence continued. [Forceful. Difficult to persuade, even with objective facts.]
Suriel stroked the ghostly gray correlation lines that ran from the back of her skull to her knuckles like strings of smoke. “It will be difficult to get them to abandon their individual pursuits, but not impossible. Is there any other chance of victory?”
[If you define victory as preserving as many of those under our protection as possible, then a defensive engagement has the highest probability of success. Taking conservative actions and retaining territory until the Vroshir incursion ends gives us the best chance of reclaiming as many worlds as possible almost one hundred percent of the time.]