User blog:DaWalkinWaffle/King of Steel: Part L: THE FINALE

So here we are, the final part. Myself, Galeforce and Carol of the Bells worked forever on this. This version is only my version of the finale, Gale and Carol are NOT posting this version but you can see theirs at the links below. Make sure to check them out because the three of us have different endings. Sorry it took so long. :{P

Carol's and Gale's

I clenched my fist and did my best to refrain from speaking when Mettias commenting on my “apparently horrible skills”. I already knew he was right--wallowing in pity would not help me get stronger.

'Zen,' I heard Mifune speak gruffly in my head, 'Why did you let yourself lose to that man? You didn’t even try, foolish girl.'

I responded in a low whisper. “I wouldn’t have stood a chance, Mifune. That man is...powerful. And I am not. It’s as simple as that. At first, I didn’t know how I was going to battle Maxwell. At least now, with him here, we have a chance.”

“Oh, Zen?” Mettias called back to me, still walking ahead, “From personal experience, I wouldn’t talk to myself if I were you--people might think you’re crazy. Except in my case, I’m already crazy.”

Beside me, Ayra scoffed. “Zen,” She muttered, “Whatever he tells you to do, you’d better think twice about it. He’s unpredictable, and he probably wouldn’t think twice about using you as bait, or something.”

I nodded. I already planned on keeping my guard up around Mettias.

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Mettias let out a low sigh. Ayra was right about what Mettias would do, but he wasn't on any official mission. That was his only rule, don't trick your allies unless it's going to be on the books. A backstabber is one trait that the higher-ups like about summoners such as himself... wild cards. He pushed this thought out of his head and cleared his throat. "Ayra, you know very well that I heard that." Mettias said with a low chuckle. He knew that this small bit of distrust was going to get one of the three killed... probably Ayra. My did he hope it would be Ayra. Ayra's eye twitched in annoyance but nobody really noticed or cared.

As the trio followed the tunnels towards Maxwell's palace, Mettias began to act... strange. He would occasionally glance around nervously or slice his blade towards thin air at some unseen enemy. Whether or not he was crazy or if there was reason for him to freak out, I don't know. Whatever it was, it was getting progressively more frequent until they got to a small dungeon of sorts.

The room was made of pure but beaten up marble, the walls etched with countless runes and stories. That's when Mettias snapped. With a roar Mettias slammed himself into the wall and fired a bolt of light at the wall opposite to him. The bolt exploded, turning the ancient ruins into a pile of dust. He groaned and let out a weak sigh. He was definitely crazy.

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I woke up to a bright light filling the room. I was in what looked like an infirmary from an old castle. I looked around, confused as to what had happened to me. The last thing that I remembered was the airship crashing after being hit with the spore. I felt strange... I knew about myself and that I was in Grand Gaia.. but didn't know anything about whether or not I had any allies or not.

As I thought this, a voice boomed in my head. "Vrael... I am Lucius, God of the gate! You have been chosen to help the righteous Goddess Maxwell in her fight against the evildoers that wish to slay her and throw this land into chaos!" I sat there, stunned. I was chosen to help protect another world from chaos? For some reason I felt as if this voice was true, that this was my true purpose in Grand Gaia. I failed to protect my home world... but I wouldn't fail this one!

I stood up and grabbed my gear.

I had some people to kill.

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I felt a stab of panic when Mettias suddenly destroyed the ruins. Instinctively, I lept away from him, crystallizing my arm. If he decided to attack now, I was dead. Ayra also seemed alarmed, but she did nothing to attack or defend herself.

Mettias sighed weakly, lifting his head and covering his eyes with his hand.

I didn’t dare move.

Suddenly, he straightened his posture. “Let’s go.” He began walking toward the dungeon exit without another word.

I relaxed slightly, allowing the crystal on my arm to recede. Ayra and I continued to follow him--at a distance. “Oh,” I spoke aloud, “It just occurred to me...but where’s Vrael?”

“T-that’s right!” Ayra’s eyes widened and she went rigid. “His footsteps…!”

“I told you before, in the tunnel,” Mettias answered me, “Or were you not listening? Vrael was taken by the gods.” Indeed, now that he had mentioned it, I recalled him saying that to me...amongst the beatings. Of course I wouldn’t remember. “We need to find him,” I said.

“Nope.”

Ayra’s eyes flared angrily. “What do you mean, ‘nope’?!”

He chuckled. “You’ll see. In fact, you’ll thank me.”

Ayra and I glanced at each other. As much as I would hate to admit it, he probably knew what he was doing.

Zen. I froze in place. Are you listening, child? I didn’t respond. You shouldn’t trust either of your companions, child. It is human nature to deceive. They will betray you. They will-- I felt an abrupt, stinging pain burn my skin as a hand slapped my face to the side. My hand flew to the spot that was struck and I stared wide-eyed into the face of Mettias.

“Get it together, Zen.” He spoke gravely. “Whatever you hear...whatever she’s telling you--don’t listen to it.” I just looked at him blankly.

“Understand?” He demanded.

“Y-yes…” I replied hesitantly. We continued walking, my head swimming. It wasn’t long before the voice returned. I did my best to ignore her--Maxwell.

Are you afraid? What do you want in life? Who are you? I don’t think you know who I am. There’s more than meets the eye. What makes you happy? Do you want things you can’t have? Do you know who killed your mother?

Something snapped inside of me at her last question. Without thinking, before I could even tell my body to move, my hand lashed out and grabbed the nearest person to me, knocking them to the ground. I landed on top of them and felt my hands wrap around their throat. “It….” My voice trembled before I finally screamed, “It wasn’t me!” Are you sure?

My blood ran cold as I found myself staring into my mother’s face, my hands choking her neck. I recoiled, staggering to my feet.

“What in the blazes was that for!?”

I blinked, stared, then blinked again to clear my vision. Ayra lay on the ground in front of me, massaging her neck, coughing.

“Y-you almost killed me…!”

I stared at my hands. “I-I...my apologies…” I didn’t know what else to say.

Ayra stood and brushed herself off. “You’re both lunatics…It’ll be my luck if one of you kills me before we even get to Maxwell.”

Ahead of us, Mettias chuckled grimly. “As tempting as that sounds, you won’t have to wait long to find out. We’re getting close to Maxwell.”

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I didn't know why, but I felt as if I had to listen to the voice in my head. The person talking to me seemed nice... telling me directions and filling me in on current events and such. As I walked, I began to slowly feel stronger and stronger until I had to stop for a second from the sudden loss of energy that I had. I screamed in pain as something cut through my back. The pain gradually subsided, and I turned around to try and see what had happened. Sitting on my back were a pair of wings, but only the bones of them. I was confused as to why they were there, only to have a strange idea. I diverted some of my maelstrom to my back. As I predicted, the maelstrom covered the wings and formed a membrane while a small, sharp tail grew up from the bottom of my spine. The transformation hurt like hell, but I looked awesome! I grinned and flapped my wings and took off. Being a pilot I was naturally able to fly like a bird.

Just then, the voice simply said two words: You're welcome.

Moments later, I landed and walked over to the entrance of the caves and hid above it, waiting. They were going to die here. --- I was still shaken from my...vision. Or illusion? Was a goddess of creation capable of such things?

“Heh…”

Ayra and I looked up ahead where Mettias began to pick up his pace, chuckling.

“Ah..ahaha….Ahahah!” His chuckle grew to laughter laced with insanity as he ran faster. “She’s here….I can feel it….We’re close. I’m so close….Ahahah! I’m so close to spilling her blood all over the walls!”

Beside me, Ayra clicked her tongue as Mettias continued to laugh like a madman. “Hey,” She spoke to me, “I don’t know what that stunt you pulled back there was about,” She pointed to Mettias. “But that guy is already losing it. When we start fighting, I wanna see you attacking Maxwell and only Maxwell. Got it?”

I nodded. “Yes, of course.”


 * And you will summon us--right?* Galant asked.

Again, I nodded. “Right.” We reached the end of the tunnel.

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Mettias walked out the entrance of the tunnel, still laughing. As soon as Ayra walked out, she let out a scream as something leapt onto her and attacked her. She tried to fight it only to be hit in the face. She let out a cry as the thing let out a battle cry and stabbed its wings into her. The thing then grabbed her and flew up into the air before slamming her into the ground, killing her instantly. The humanoid stood there looking at both Mettias and Zen.

"V-Vrael....?" Mettias asked nervously.

Vrael.. looked entirely different than normal. He had a full dark aura, wings, a tail, and claws instead of a sword. He smiled fiendishly.

"You have all committed crimes against the gods... what say you in your defense?" He asked before chuckling.

Mettias backed away, fear in his eyes. He drew his blade and pointed it towards Vrael. "Don't come any closer... you rat! You backstabbing-"

"Don't you mean I am what you are?" Vrael asked, annoyed. He simply rolled his eyes and walked towards Mettias. Mettias fired several bolts of light at Vrael during his approach to no effect.

Vrael smiled and began to create something out of the maelstrom. It began to take humanoid shape and eventually turned into a girl clad in full battle armor. The girl wielded a bow and her armor was light blue, like the sky. She looked a bit like Mettias actually....

Mettias stood there, still as a statue. Zen looked at him, confused, and then she realized what had happened. this copy was Mettias's sister.... -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

I looked from Mettias to the girl that Vrael had conjured. Could they be...siblings? Vrael continued to look on as Mettias remained unmoving, shocked, afraid...hesitant.

The girl looked at her hand, as if marveling at her existance. Then, she dashed forward, drawing back on her bow string. Two arrows made of water materialized, and she took aim--at Mettias. I moved, quickly, barreling into him and knocking him over and out of the way. The arrows shot over-head, missing their targets.

We landed on the ground in a heap. I grunted as I felt my arm twist the wrong way. I got off of it hurriedly. Mettias seemed to snap out of his gaze, scrambling to his feet.

I inspected my wrist--nothing more than a sprain. I encased it in crystal, and returned my attention to the battle.

---

The “unit” that I had created with the maelstrom worked! She fired arrow after arrow almost too fast to watch. I smiled and turned to the two, both dodging the attacks to the best of their ability but even that was a bit lacking. I bolted towards the girl, Zen, slashing at her neck. She barely dodged the attack and rolled out of the way. "Stop.. resisting... AND DIE ALREADY!!" I screamed at Zen. She looked shocked by this remark but she recovered almost instantly. She gritted her teeth as blocked another one if my attacks but I had other tricks up my sleeve. My claws raked across her arm, causing her to scream in pain. I kicked her in the face and she fell. She tried to attack me but I simply dodged and sliced her again. She landed on the ground, moaning in pain. I prepared to strike at her when there was a sudden loud CRACK!

A boy stood in front of me, blocking my path to Zen. He looked my exact opposite, silver aura and a holy feel about him. He opened his eyes, revealing the pure silver. The silver around him faded, leaving a young boy in its place. My eyes narrowed as I realized who it was.

"YOU!" I snarl. Winter smiled.

"Me. Ready to go again? Or are you afraid of losing again?" I snarled at him. Winter drew a sword, it was different from the one he used last time we fought, now that I saw him, my memory flooded back. I charged at him, intent on ripping him to pieces. He had other ideas. He blasted me aside with a single gesture. Winter advanced towards me, sword swinging. I blocked and tried to attack again but Winter was proving to be the better swordsman. Desperately, I threw maelstrom at him and it threw him off long enough for me to get close enough to him to attack. I slashed his chest and he stumbled back. He held out his sword.

"Too scared to fight me with a sword?" He asked. I snarled and formed a maelstrom blade. As we fought, I discovered I had missed the sensation and tension of fighting a skilled swordsman. The pressure, the suspense. I discovered that I had missed it. Then the feeling was gone, pushed out of me and I don't even know why.

Keep fighting him! The voice in my head said. But my moment of hesitation cost me however, Winter got past my guard and punched my chest hard, breaking a few ribs. I doubled over and Winter tackled me. We wrestled but Winter proved better than me at that. I was face down in the floor with Winter holding my arm be behind me in an arm lock. His sword was at my neck.

"I'm sorry, Vrael. We could have been good friends." He pulled out his sword, cutting my chest and neck in the process.

He got off me and I felt something warm trickling down my chest and neck... and I felt it with my hand. I looked down to see it covered in blood. My vision began to blur and the unit disintegrated as I began to feel the life drain from me. It was so familiar.. but so comfortable... I wanted to stay there.... forever...

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I stared at Vrael’s body. He was lying on the ground on his back, barely moving with his breathing. I tried to catch my breath as I looked around for Mettias--he was to my right, seemingly recovered from his shock, now that his...sister was gone again. I turned to the boy that had saved me. He was handsome, a confident smirk on his face and his silver hair and eyes seemed to glow. He cracked his knuckles.

"Hi there. I'm Winter. Who're you?" He asked.

"I’m...Zen...thank you..." I say absently, not fully understanding how he had arrived--but he was obviously an ally. That was all that mattered..

Winter waved dismissively. "No problem. But him...that’s another story. He seemed like a nice guy when I met him." Winter said. I frowned.

"I don't know him myself. Mettias?" I asked. Mettias didn't respond. I took stock of the situation. Ayra was dead. I was winded. I had a new potential ally that I was still breaking the ice with. If Maxwell showed up now--

“Hm, what a shame.”

I went rigid. Beside me, Mettias tensed. Winter's eyes narrowed and he crouched slightly.

The voice was female. It bore a very...knowing tone. That’s the only way I can think to describe it. I turned, and saw beforehand me a breath-taking sight.

I was looking at a goddess.

She hovered above the ground, staring down at us with disdain in her yellow orbs. The sclera of her eyes were black. Her hair was long and white, with crimson staining the ends, a stark contrast to her long-sleeved black dress. In her hand was a large spear that resonated with light energy.

She...she was beautiful.

“I had hoped he would last longer than that,” She spoke, frowning slightly, feigning disappointment. “But,” She continued, her voice airy, “I suppose one can only carry so much faith in a human.” Her frown morphed into a grin as she looked over at Mettias. “Even a powerful one. Isn’t that right?”

Mettias lowered his head so that his eyes weren’t visible.

She turned her attention to me, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Hmmm...You were sent by Lucius, yes?” She hovered slightly closer towards me, placing her free hand on her hip and leaning her face forward as if to get a better look at me. “I am...slightly offended.”

I furrowed my brow. She was playing on my emotions. She turned her gaze to Winter.

"And this one...I did not think you would survive my comrades." Maxwell said. Then she shrugged. “No matter. Perhaps you can take up a portion of my time...I do hope you make it entertaining.”

“Entertaining…?”

We turned our heads to look at Mettias, who wore an insane grin on his face. He raised his head. His eyes were wide and bloodshot as he laughed loudly and shrilly. “Ahaha! Dear goddess, you will be the one entertaining me...You’ll see! I’ll splatter your blood all over these walls...AHAHAH! IT’LL BE BEAUTIFUL!”

Unfazed by his outburst, Maxwell’s smile persisted. “Hm, is that so?” She drew her arm back, readying her spear. “Didn’t you know?” The edge of the spear grew bright with light, “...gods...we do not bleed.”

"There's a first time for everything!" Mettias interjected.

Suddenly she vanished. Just as suddenly, she appeared behind us, releasing a wave of light energy.

“Lira, Mifune!” I summoned my dark units, and they countered quickly with a dark attack. The force of the blows clashing together shook the ground, but I managed to stay upright. I quickly bolted forward, creating a crystal blade in my hand. I shouted as I leapt into the air and swung down with all my might.

She blocked it easily with her bare hand. Quickly realizing I was in trouble, Winter tackled me and pushed me out of the way. We landed on the ground in a heap, rolled once, and quickly got back up on our feet.

"Thanks." I said curtly. The goddess didn’t have time to release another attack as Mettias appeared from behind her, laughing wildly and attacking with vicious strikes from his sword. Maxwell blocked with her spear, and while she didn’t receive any wounds, she was forced back by the warrior.

“Zen…?” Lira asked me, waiting for orders.

“Wait for an opening,” I instructed.

"Define opening." Winter said.

"I’ll need some help reaching her up there..." I say. Winter grinned. Silver energy danced across his fingers.

"I got you covered."

Mettias continued his relentless assault, laughing all the while. Maxwell gathered light energy in her free hand and detonated it, blowing the swordsman away.

“Now!” I yelled. While I dashed straight ahead, Mifune and Lira took the left and right sides. While she blocked their attacks, I covered both my arms in spiked crystals and Winter launched me into the air with his silver energy so I could reach her. I swung my fists at her. She leaned away from my attack, swinging her spear. I raised both arms to defend, encasing the edge of her weapon in jade crystal. Winter jumped up onto the spear, balancing between us. Quickly he raised his blade and slammed it into the spear shaft, shattering it. It exploded, throwing us away from each other. Maxwell got up, unharmed.

“Hm, not bad,” She complimented cooly.

"There's more where that came from." Winter said.

Lira pressed the attack. “Demon...Execution,” She muttered lowly. She swung her blade, releasing her attack right into Maxwell.

The goddess dodged left, right into the path of Mifune’s blade. “Cosmic Flash.” Dark energy swept over her, blocking anyone’s view of her location.

I broke the crystal on my hands, dropping the remains of her spear, searching through the clouds of dust for any sign of her.

“Again, not bad,” Her voice chuckled from above. She looked down at us, smirking. “But not enough.”

A familiar strain of wild laughter cut through the air as Mettias appeared in mid-air behind Maxwell. Forced to retreat, she vanished, reappearing on the ground. He attacked again, and she countered with a light attack. It hit him square in the chest, but seemed to have no effect as he simply laughed it off, attacking again. Winter joined in, blasting away at Maxwell vigorously. They were giving me time. I followed closely, watching for an opening as their fight drove them further into the cathedral. Watching him, I realized Mettias was right--with him around, I might have a chance of surviving Maxwell, but I certainly was no match for her. Winter had clearly fought her before, however. I began to believe that we might win.

“Zen,” Mifune addressed me gruffly.

“Y-yes..?”

He furrowed his brow, the lower half of his face hidden by his scarf. “Don’t let your guard down. Show me your power.”

I blinked, surprised by his...encouragement. Then I nodded in understanding, turning my eyes back to Maxwell. Spreading my arms on either side of me, I created two crystal pillars, readying my attack.

Almost.

Mettias was blown away by another light attack from Maxwell. My eyes met with Winter's, he understood immediately. He slashed his sword at her, sending a powerful blade of energy into her body. She stumbled straight into my path.

“Prism…!” I brought my hands down. “...FLASH!”

Two beams of light shot out, merging into one and colliding into Maxwell. My heart sped up in my chest--my attack landed! I saw it!

“Did you see….?” I asked Lira.

She nodded. Suddenly, a ray of light burst from the cloud of dust, piercing Lira in the chest. She gasped, struggled for a bit, then quickly disappeared into a glowing orb, returning to me. I took a step back, alarmed. Winter crouched beside me. “Well, you actually got my clothes dusty.” Maxwell brushed the dirt off the hem of her dress to emphasize her point. “That’s a start.

I grit my teeth.

“Still it’s a good thing your unit returned in time,” She remarked. “Did you know? Units can die.” My eyes widened slightly.

“If you wound them gravely enough, you can kill them.” She shrugged carelessly. “You shouldn’t be too worried if I kill one of your units, though. There are duplicates. I’m sure you’ll find another one." She hesitated. "If you survive that is."

I clenched my fist in anger. “Aem, Selena!” My two units appeared by my side. Winter and I exchanged glances.

We weren't done yet.

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Mettias charged at Maxwell, fully aware that he was doing little to no damage at all to her. If he kept up his assault either Zen and that boy would get the upper hand or the whole thing would be in vain against an immortal enemy. Just the thought of that made Mettias scared deep down. He had gone through this very situation twice before already, though he had the sense to not tell Zen that he was leading her to a suicide mission. He'd lost to Maxwell before, battles and people in either sense.

As he attacked for the seemingly twentieth time or so, he landed an actual hit. His blade connected with her hip, tearing through the cloth and armor, and left a large gash. Mettias grinned and rooted as Maxwell let out a howl of pain and anger.

"YOU LITTLE-" Maxwell began, only to be cut off by another Prism Flash. Maxwell fired off a massive light attack at Zen, knocking her back and wounding her units pretty bad. The boy battered her with whatever magic he had. Mettias let out a groan as he thought of Zen being added to the list of people that he'd gotten killed trying to fight Maxwell. And that boy. Did he have to come? Might as well add him to the list as well...Mettias's abilities were barely above-par for his lineage, but compared to Maxwell he'd need a miracle to get close to a point where there was a chance... but that miracle was going on so far.

Zen and her units regained their bearings and got ready to attack as Mettias battered Maxwell with ineffective but annoying attacks. Zen and Mettias were a good pair for fighting anything but a god with their strategy and skills. With the boy they might live even if they lost. Mettias felt bad if Zen still had any thought that he would be the deciding factor in the battle. Maxwell knew almost everything that Mettias could do, she'd been studying him for ages. But with the boy, she might have a chance.

But it was only a chance. And to make good of that small chance, they would need a miracle. Maxwell roared in pain as a small hole appeared in her leg, followed seconds later by a small trickle of blood and the sound of a gunshot.

Mettias hoped that was his miracle.

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Winter didn’t have time to wonder where the gunshot had been fired from--this was an opening he wasn’t going to let pass by. Zen dashed forward, shouting as she closed in. For a moment, Maxwell remained unmoving, head lowered so that her face could not be seen.

Then, she spoke. But her voice had changed. It wasn't light and careless anymore. It was...dark...and… ….Sinister.

Winter and Zen stopped to listen to her words. He didn't know why, but something compelled him to listen. At first he couldn’t understand her.

“....Hear Me…” Suddenly, a dark aura swept over the room. Winter felt a great uneasiness as her words became discernible. Quickly, he realized it had been a bad idea to stop.

“...Restorer of Life…My Children, My Creations....” All at once, They were struck with a great pain. Zen screamed from shock, and the pitch of her voice quickly rose to tones of agony. Winter dropped to his knees, gasping.

“S-stop….!” Zen gasped.

“Whom Thou Hast turned against Me….”

“...No….” Zen grasped her head with both hands, screaming loudly to try to block out the noise--this horrible, horrible noise. Winter gritted his teeth. He had been here before. This was nothing compared to Chaos. He stood up. He would not bow down to her. -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

I was being unmade. I could feel my very existence being torn apart.

“I. Am. Maxwell.”

Behind me, Aem was also struck by the words of the goddess. He cried out, instantly de-activating the summon and returning. I became unable to breath, and I could feel blood trickle from my nose and from behind my eyes. “..P-please,” I begged, gasping.

Maxwell’s sick grin returned as she finished her dialogue. “Let forth the God of Destruction: Endless.”

Blades of light were flung at me, accompanied by that horrible noise. I closed my eyes, but no pain came. I discovered why. Winter stood in front of me, unsteadily would be an understatement. He was weakened, the shield he had set up faded and he was blasted back. He hit the ground hard.

Finally, the horrible noise ceased, and I could breath again. My hands still grasped my head, tears flowing from my wide eyes. Shaky breaths escaped my throat as my mind lingered in the terror I just experienced.

She smirked, wrapping her hand around the shaft of her spear, wrenching it from the ground as the other end reformed. “What a pitiful little human...Still, you must be quite resilient to have survived Endless.” She turned to Winter, who lay on the floor. "Perhaps him even more so."

I could only let out a sob.

“But, not enough.” She laughed, the edge of her spear radiating with light energy. She drew her arm back. “Now...die.” With a mighty heave, she vaulted the lance.

I didn’t have the strength to move. I didn’t even look up as the goddess’ weapon spiraled towards me.

The sound of metal piercing flesh resonated in the air. Crimson painted the floor.

Yet I felt no pain.

Slowly, uncertainly, I looked up. My eyes widened with shock and horror. My lips parted but no sound came out. I forgot my pain as a single name filled my mind, pushing all other thoughts out.

“F-fool…” Mifune struggled to stay standing. The spear had lodged itself in the center of his body. He coughed up blood, choking, straining to breathe. “...stop...crying and get up…s-somebody needs to...to kill this goddess…gah…!” He was interrupted by another fit of coughing.

I finally found the will to speak. Yet I could only utter one word. “...why…?” My mind slowly began to return as I spoke again. “You hate me...so why...why would you…”

The unit could not answer as the image of his body became transparent. He managed to look up one more time before his existence shattered before my eyes. Maxwell’s spear clattered to the floor, leaving the room in ringing silence.

Mifune was dead.

I remained there, on my knees, motionless before the goddess. My mind was trying to repair itself from the calamity it suffered; I still could not fully comprehend the fact that one of my units was dead. Gone forever. I dragged myself back, anything to stay away from this horrible creation.

“Oh,” Maxwell commented, looking genuinely disappointed that she hadn’t killed her intended target. She clicked her tongue in frustration, moving forward to retrieve her spear. “How troublesome that you’re still alive.” She smirked. “Maybe if you leave now, I won’t have to kill you.”

“You should be the one running, goddess!” Mettias attacked suddenly from behind, laughing wildly, ignoring Zen’s plight. Maxwell turned her attention to the swordsman, forced to fend off his attacks.

“Z-Zen,” Selena was breathing heavily, holding her hand to a bleeding wound at her side. “Get up...Mettias will provide an opening, and we can--”

“Why?”

She was cut short as I spoke absently. “What’s the point in resisting? What...what can I, a human, do against a god?” I laughed, a small, broken chuckle. “It is all futile...against them, we are nothing. We--”

This time, I was interrupted as Selena suddenly screamed, “Please don’t speak like that, Zen!” She was facing the battle, her back turned to me. Her voice was strong and unshaken. She wasn’t pleading, she was...scolding me. “If you give up now...after everything we--Mifune--sacrificed for you, I’ll...I’ll never forgive you!” She paused to retain her composure. “You keep worrying about not being strong enough. So get up! Get up and fight!”

I stared at her back, and for a long moment, my mind still did not comprehend her words. Why should I get up? Why should I fight? Who was I to stand against a god? I felt a hand on my own. It was Winter. I looked into his silver eyes. They were calming.

"Perfection...it's what you seek isn't it? Well....perfection....can never be...achieved...but that's why you practice, no? It means you'll always...be able to become stronger..." Winter whispered.

All this lingered within the emptiness of my mind.

Then, I saw something--an image within my consciousness. The cathedral faded.

Despite everything, it felt familiar. The image grew clearer in my mind’s eye as my memory returned, slowly. I saw that it was the Arena. Someone was lying on the ground while their opponent looked down at them, victorious. A second person lay on the ground in a pool of crimson blood.

There was no sound, just these images. I found myself standing between these two people, also staring down at the fallen contestant. My mind seemed to finally respond as my eyes widened in sudden realization. My legs buckled beneath me and I dropped to my knees, eyes still fixed on the body before me.

I was looking at Zen.

I was looking at myself.

This...memory...was the same battle I had lost two years earlier. This was the very incident that caused me to...be exiled….from my home…

The more I thought about these things, the more my mind began to recover. Sound slowly joined the images before my eyes, but they weren’t the noises of the arena. I was hearing voices. It started as a collection of indiscernible sounds and words before dwindling down to a single voice.

So get up! Get up and fight!

Another voice.

Perfection can never be achieved, but that's why you practice, no?

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In the meantime, Mettias was still forcing Maxwell to stay on the defensive as he continued his relentless barrage of attacks. Maxwell detonated another orb of light, forcing him back. As she moved to continue her counter-attack, a biting pain cut into her side, taking a trail of blood with it. She hissed in pain, spinning around.

Zen was standing on her feet, somewhat shakily. She glared at the goddess--but her eyes were fearful. Her fist was clenched, but it still trembled. Maxwell smirked. The summoner was afraid.

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I forced myself to look the goddess in the eye. I was afraid, no, terrified. She could kill me anytime she decided to.

I would just have to kill her first.

I dashed forward, attacking before my body decided to fail me. Two bladed crystals formed over my arms, and I leapt into the air, spinning rapidly. Maxwell blocked with her spear. Everything else happened so fast.

She swung her weapon, catching me in my side. I cried out, but didn’t retreat. I crystallized the blood from my wound; it grew rapidly, covering her spear and encasing her hand. From behind, Mettias rose up and swung his sword at her neck. She ducked. I broke off from the crystal, swinging my fist. The crystal blade scratched her face as she leaned away, shattering the crystal restraining her hand and teleporting several feet away.

I followed quickly. Don’t stop, I told myself, don’t slow down! Fight! Fight, fight, fight! As I pushed myself harder, I seemed to grow stronger. I realized why. There was a silver aura around me, reenergizing me. It was Winter. He had lifted himself up slightly and was sending wisps of the energy at me. He looked terrible. I returned my gaze to Maxwell.

She cut me with her light. I returned the attack. Mettias struck from behind. She retaliated. I pressed the attack. She detonated an orb of light, blowing me away. I grunted as I was slammed into the wall of the decaying cathedral. I pushed myself up, breathing heavily. Winter's magic continued to heal me. I formed to crystal pillars by my sides and allowed them to gather energy. With Winter's power I probably had enough energy for one more shot.

Maxwell shoved Mettias away. “FOOLISH CHILDREN!” She screamed, preparing an attack. “GENESIS!”

She attempted to throw her spear at me, but Winter threw his sword and deflected it out of the way.

“Do it now!” Winter snapped hoarsely. His energy surged into me in a massive wave.

“Prism Flash!”

Everything faded to white.

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Mettias let out a groan as Zen passed out after landing a devastating blow on the Goddess. "Of all times... useless idiot..." Before Mettias could finish insulting Zen, he screamed out as he stumbled to the ground, and blood began to drip from his neck. Moments later the gunshot came. He took his blade and burnt the wound knowing fully well that the bullet would have to be taken out later. This sniper was shooting whoever he or she wanted! Well... their choice. Maxwell also let out a roar of pain as she was shot too. The sniper then just stopped shooting. Using the opportunity, both Maxwell and Mettias fired massive strikes of magic and other attacks at the source of the commotion, the gunshots. As the two did this, Zen regained her consciousness, the boy clearly had a few tricks up his sleeve. But he wasn't fast enough. Mettias needed her to focus on Maxwell before she realized...no, he can’t think about that. Zen watched the two and realized that they were quite similar; their spells, their stances, even some of their physical characteristics.

Mettias turned back to Zen and immediately withdrew from Maxwell's side. The two, with some sort of silent agreement, went back to their positions and readied their weapons. They were waiting on Zen...

But Mettias was turned to Zen now.

He had betrayed her.

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Mettias’ blade was pointed at me. I didn’t have the strength to try and comprehend what was happening--I barely had strength to stand. Winter's energy wasn't enough.

Zen!

“I know,” I murmured. “Galant...Sergio….L-Lancia….Zeln…” My units appeared one by one. Lancia dropped down by my side as a glowing aura surrounded her hands as she began healing my wounds. At the same time, Winter stopped, apparently burnt out.

“Buy me some time,” The chef ordered.

“Yeah,” Galant brandished his club. “We’ll do our best.”

The three rushed forward, Galant heading for Mettias while Zeln and Sergio moved to intercept Maxwell. I cannot remember how long they lasted--I was losing my sense of time. Lancia knelt by my side, trying to keep a brave face, her hands trembling slightly.

Someone cried out, and I felt Zeln’s spirit return, shortly followed by Sergio’s. I turned my head to survey the battlefield through blurry vision, just in time to see Mettias impale Galant with his sword, causing him to dissipate and return. He turned towards me--he wasn’t smiling per usual, but insanity still lingered in his eyes. Lancia moved to retreat, but he swiftly swung his sword, cutting her deep. She promptly de-summoned and returned. He stared down at me with an unreadable expression. Then, he suddenly kicked me in the ribs, hard. I felt my body lift from the ground under the force of his blow. I grunted, gasping as I collided with the earth, rolling several times before stopping.

“Poor, poor human,” I hear Maxwell croon above me, “A shame that you must die...for such an ill-conceived reason.” I found myself suddenly questioning my motives--why was I here, bleeding in these ruins? Lucius had sent me. He said the gods were ‘terrorizing humanity’. That’s why I was here, right? Furthermore, if I could defeat Maxwell...Father would let me return.

“I sense your doubt, child,” The goddess continued. “After all, why should you play proxy for a god?”

“You-you’re killing humans,” I coughed weakly.

I could almost see her frowning. “Humanity is a filthy existence--they are corrupt, unjust.”

“Didn’t you...create….them?”

“I create beauty--they create chaos. Lucius would use you to see us, the gods, destroyed.” She laughed bitterly. “You’re not the first. Tell me, human, is it because I am a god that you so easily weigh the life of humanity against mine? Is it so wrong for me to purge that which is unholy?” She stooped down, her cold hand closing around my throat, lifting me from the ground. “Who made you judge over me?”

I grasped her hand, trying it pry it from my neck.

I cannot die here…

“Maxwell,” Mettias grunted, “Stop stalling.”

The goddess shrugged, giving me a look of false empathy. “Hm. As you wish.”

I gathered the last of my strength, reaching my hand out and releasing a concentrated version of prism flash into Maxwell’s face. She dropped me, covering her face and screaming in pain and anger.

I somehow landed on both feet, staggered, then regained balance. I lifted my hands and created a wall of crystal as Mettias rushed at me and attack. His sword glanced off the jagged surface. The wall shot out spires of crystal, and he quickly leapt away, avoiding injury.

He grunted in irritation, moving around the wall and attacking again. I didn’t move as I spawned another wall, blocking him. He moved around, and I blocked again, standing in the center of my barriers, clutching my wounds. “Just hurry up and die!” He screamed at me, weaving through the crystal walls. He jabbed his sword forward, and it pierced my left shoulder. I stumbled back as he drove it deeper into the wound. I reached up and grabbed his blade to keep it still, crystallizing it. He retreated, abandoning his weapon.

The sword clattered to the floor as I pulled it out. In my hand, I spawned a small white crystal. I hadn’t planned on using this method, but I saw no alternatives.

Behind Mettias, Maxwell had taken up her spear again, and was rushing forward in an attack.

Sorry everyone, I found myself hoping that my units could hear me. I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t make it out alive.

I expanded the translucent crystal and threw it forward. Mettias dodged and Maxwell caught it in her hand before it struck her face. It quickly began growing up her arm.

Hopefully this was the end.

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Mettias let out a groan as he watched the small crystal begin to crawl up Maxwell’s arm. He rushed over to Maxwell and shouted something. A blade materialized out of thin air and he proceeded to slice off Maxwell’s arm before the crystal could spread. To his dismay, Maxwell regrew her arm only for the crystal to come back. He cursed and walked over to Zen. He grabbed her by the face and forced her to look at him. “What… did… you… do…?” He asked mechanically. Seeing that Maxwell was completely still, it was easy to tell that Mettias was being possessed by the Goddess. He seemed to be slowly regaining control, but not fast enough to stop Maxwell from doing whatever she wanted.

This could not end well.

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Winter tried to stand. He was severely weakened, Maxwell's Endless has taken much of his power and he had fed a lot to Zen. He looked up. Maxwell was frozen, seemingly in concentration. Mettias was moving toward Zen. Winter didn't like his manner. With difficulty, he stood up and Varnen-Zor flew into his outstretched hand. Mettias grabbed Zen roughly so Winter shoved him away.

"Leave her alone." Winter said. Mettias looked at him.

"Stay out of this." He said in a monotone. Mettias tried to move past him but Winter held up Varnen-Zor.

"I said, leave her alone." Mettias's blade leapt out at him and Winter parried.

"It would be so much easier if you stayed out of this." Mettias said in the same monotone.

"The easy way ain't that fun." Winter said.

"He's being possessed," Zen said. Winter's eyes narrowed.

"That could be a problem." Winter said.

"You are a problem." Mettias said.

"Thanks." Winter thought about the current situation. Mettias was being possessed. Maxwell was slowly becoming more and more frozen. If he could stall long enough, then break her influence, she may be unable to free herself. He wasn't sure how strong the crystal Zen had created was though. He sighed. It was either a stalemate or a lose-lose situation. For him at least. Mettias lunged again and I parried. Perhaps it was time to go on the offensive. Winter lunged forward, swinging a side hand cut aiming for Mettias’s neck, but not quite as fast as he would normally do so. He wasn’t entirely faking it. Mettias blocked easily and countered. Instead of parrying again, Winter dodged and thrusted, forcing Mettias to jump back. They traded blows in this manner for a few minutes, unfortunately Zen’s crystal seemed to be freezing Maxwell slower. It was time to make a move.

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I watched as Winter and Mettias circled each other. Their swords were held in front of them, guarding. Winter sighed.

"Sorry, Zen, but I was never destined to kill Maxwell. That's your job. I'm on borrowed time anyways." Winter said. Mettias and Winter looked into each other's eyes. Mettias whispered something I couldn’t hear. Winter smirked, clearly amused.

"What do you mean?" I ask. My heart sank as I realized what he meant. I stretched out my hand and called out for him to stop. "Wait, no!"

Winter lunged forward, stabbing his sword forward. Mettias did the same. Mettias's sword buried itself into Winter chest. Winter flinched but didn't crumble, he grabbed Mettias's sword so he couldn't withdraw. They looked into each other's eyes. Winter's eyes began glowing brighter. Sweat ran down Mettias's face. He was fighting Maxwell's influence and Winter was helping. Winter dropped his sword and he became a being made of the silver energy he wielded.

"You will leave his body." Winter rasped. His voice echoed throughout the cathedral. “Now!” Mettias's face contorted in pain. Slowly, Mettias held his blade to his chest, right over his heart. Maxwell twitched. Mettias finally drove his blade into his heart and he sagged to his knees. Maxwell flinched slightly. Winter returned back to his physical form and fell to the floor. Maxwell began moving. I dragged myself to Winter and Mettias. I turned Winter’s body over so I could see him.

"You better...finish the job..." Winter said jokingly.

"...I...I’ll do my best...." I said. Winter smirked and coughed. He released a bunch of the silver magic and it flowed into me, making me feel a bit better. I was thinking a bit clearer now. "Good luck..." He whispered. He closed his eyes and his breathing slowed. I turned to Mettias.

“I…wasn’t strong enough… forgive me…” Mettias begged with his shallow breaths. He fell forward and his blade began to glow. Mettias began to glow and then an orb appeared above his body. Not a unit orb, but a powerful manifestation of pure power…a spell with an immense amount of energy. It drifted towards me and floated right in front of my face. I hesitantly reached forward and touched it. It burst and I was blinded by the light.

My vision cleared, and I looked around. There were several warriors surrounding me, all seemingly made of… Maelstrom? No, it wasn’t the same color and it didn’t give off the same aura. It seemed the exact opposite of Maelstrom to me. One of the warriors was patching up my wounds as the rest set up a defensive perimeter around me. A few others were with Mettias, Ayra, Winter and Vrael, who put them onto stretchers and disappeared through a few portals that appeared seconds later. They were all gone… it was just me, these…things, and Maxwell. Maxwell roared in anger and destroyed the remaining soldiers and barged towards me.

I created a crystal barrier and fired several shards from it at Maxwell. Maxwell let out a cry as the crystals embedded themselves into her. She had been reduced to nothing within moments. That’s when I noticed it. Mettias’s spell… had made Maxwell mortal. Now was my chance to kill Maxwell once and for all! Maxwell knew this, and blasted the barrier to pieces. Her rage was unrivaled by anything that I had ever seen. She was more consumed by it than Mettias could ever possibly be.

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I shielded my face from the flying shrapnel as Maxwell shattered my barrier.

“Insolent human, die!” She screamed, thrusting her spear forward.

I dodged, and countered by spawning a crystal blade, deflecting the spear from its intended path and striking out blindly. The goddess’s shrieks were cut short. I stared, partially in shock. My blade had cut her across her body, leaving a thick trail of red in its wake. The goddess stared back at me. In her eyes, I saw an unwillingness to comprehend what was happening. But Death was not patient and her motionless body fell forward, a cloud of dust rising from the ground as she collided with the earth. I just looked on. Maxwell, the fallen Creator, was dead. I wasn’t sure what I should have been feeling. At the moment, I felt nothing. It was over. The only thing that remained was Winter’s sword. I picked it up. I lost too many friends here.

With nothing left, I walked out of the Cathedral.

Alone.

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As I stepped out, a small team of the soldiers that I had seen earlier appeared almost out of thin air. They walked up to me and seemed to stand guard and would occasionally glance up at the mountainside as if something were there. I would occasionally glance with them and see a metallic glint on the mountainside and the bare outline of a person. The soldiers led me to a portal that had appeared a few feet in front of them. Two of the soldiers went through and gave the group a thumbs-up.

The rest of the soldiers went through, leaving me and a single soldier together standing before the portal. The soldier kept his weapon aimed at the sniper as Zen stood there, undecided as to what I should do. Something was nagging at me, deep down, telling to not trust anyone and head back. The other 90 percent or so of my consciousness told me to get out of there and just go through the portal. I readied myself and entered the portal, hearing the sound of a gunshot behind me. I turned to see the soldier crumble to dust and I was transported away to safety.

It was over.

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Chaos walked into the hospital wearing a formalized version of his standard cloaked outfit. He asked where Winter was being held and with a bit of persuasion, he was led to the room. Outside the door was a young lady. She looked at him as he walked over.

“Pardon, do you know Winter, by any chance?” she asked.

“I’m one of his oldest friends.” Chaos replied.

“I see...Well, I have his sword. Could you give it to him please? I wanted to return it before I go to visit my...other friend.” she asked, handing him Varnen-Zor.

“Of course. What’s your name, by the way? He’ll want to know.” Chaos asked.

“My name? My name is Zen...thank you, but I must leave now.” she said. She gave a small bow and returned to the waiting room, as if waiting for someone. Chaos looked after her curiously. He shrugged then opened the door to Winter’s room. Winter was sleeping on the bed, hooked up to some strange stuff. Chaos assumed it said if his body was working or not. There were dangerously low numbers and movement. Chaos poked him.

“And here I was thinking I’d get some peace.” Winter mumbled. Chaos grinned. He pulled out a deck of cards.

“Can’t sleep? Wanna play?”

“Shut up.” Winter opened his eyes and took the cards anyways. “You here to get me out of this place?”

“The only way you’re getting out is being put out of your misery, my friend. I’ll make sure they won’t find your body though.” Winter closed his eyes again. Absently, they dealt the cards and played for a few minutes. Finally, Winter put down his final hand, winning the game, an ace of spades, a king of diamonds, and three jacks, all but the jack of clubs.

“So be it. Let them wonder.” he said. Chaos grinned and set his cards down.

“I knew I liked you. Now how about story?”

“It’d better be a good one.” Winter said. Chaos smiled.

“Don’t worry, it will.”

When Chaos walked out of the room, no one rushed in after him, they were all in Vrael’s room. The girl, Zen, was passed out in a man’s arms. The man walked by him in a hurry, so he decided to ignore him. Instead, he sighed thoughtfully. They wouldn’t discover the lack of readings on the equipment in Winter’s room until later. Or the lack of body. The only thing they would find was a single lock of silver hair. But sometimes it was better for them to wonder rather than not knowing.

Chaos walked out into the sunlight and looked up at the sky.

“How’s that for a story, Lucius?”