Klaus glanced at Flage for the first time, quietly inspecting the god's unique features as he sat on the front steps, facing the piece of wood he was carving.
"So that's Flage?" he asked Shade, who walked beside him.
"Yeah," Shade confirmed as they arrived in front of the god.
Despite the demigods stopping ahead of him, Flage paid them no mind. His hands remained steady as he continued sharpening the wood with a sleek blade.
"Lord Flage," Shade began. "I know you didn't expect me to return here, but we come with urgent news."
Flage remained silent, his movements uninterrupted.
"It's about The End," Shade continued. "He's escaped the Void... and he's killed most of the other gods."
Finally, Flage abruptly halted, shock creeping subtly across his face as he paused. But only seconds later, he continued his action, carving the wood with his eyes focused downward. Once he finished with the piece in hand, he let it go, and it vanished before it could touch the ground. Instantly, a brand-new, unsharpened piece appeared in his grasp.
Klaus and Shade stood speechless at Flage's lack of a response. Neither knew how to react, but they both knew they didn't have the time to stay silent.
"We need your help," Klaus said.
"What good would that do?" Flage finally replied, his gaze still fixed on the wood. "If he has truly been freed… then what do you expect of me, if the others have already fallen?"
Shade and Klaus remained quiet, unable to respond.
"If our doom is already impending," Shade spoke up, "then wouldn't it be better to go down fighting for the world you created?"
Flage continued his motion, never glancing up. "I have nothing left in this world," he muttered calmly, his eyes revealing a quiet certainty.
The silence was suffocating. Klaus's expression began to soften, though annoyance simmered just beneath the surface. He felt disappointed by Flage's abandonment of humanity, especially when he recalled the unwavering determination shown by his father and the others to fight.
"Don't you care about the mortals you gave life to?" Klaus finally asked. "About the realm you helped create?"
Flage said nothing at first, but eventually, he spoke. "Zenith told you about it, did he not?" he said. "About how we chose to overthrow our creator for the sake of mortality."
For the first time, Flage lifted his head toward the demigods, his hands stilling as his eyes locked with theirs. "Who do you think suggested the rebellion?" he added, his voice soft yet heavy with the weight of truth.
Klaus and Shade froze, stunned by the revelation. Yet what they saw in the god's eyes wasn't disdain: it was disappointment.
And as Klaus studied the situation--recalling the history of the demigods Flage had fathered--he began to form a guess as to why the god of Hunting had turned out this way.
"Something happened to your wife when you were on Earth, didn't it?" Klaus said quietly. "Something that made you lose faith in humanity."
Flage, as expected, didn't respond. But his glance confirmed that Klaus's words weren't far from the truth. He let out a quiet sigh, his expression softening before he returned his attention to the wood in his grasp.
"You both best get going," Flage said after a moment. "Nekro awaits your presence in Under World. You would not want to be late."
Without moving his gaze, Flage stretched out his right hand. In response, a spatial distortion tore open behind the demigods. Shade turned to witness a crack ripping through the air, forming a portal to their destination.
Looking back at Flage, Shade could see the sorrow lingering in the god's eyes. But he knew there was nothing he could say that would change it.
"We need to go, Klaus," he said quietly to his brother.
Klaus shared the same concern, but chose not to linger on it. He turned and stepped toward the portal Flage had opened.
As Klaus walked through, Shade followed. But just before entering, he paused, glancing back at his former mentor.
"Whatever happened to you," Shade said calmly, "I'm sure it wasn't your fault. So maybe consider fighting for what you lost that day… not for what you have today."
With that, Shade stepped into the portal, following his brother through as the rift sealed shut behind them.
Flage sat in silence for a while longer, adjusting his posture as he dropped the wood from his hand. He stared at the ground, his thoughts swelling behind tired eyes. Then, with a weary breath, he materialized a new piece of wood and quietly resumed his action.
Tremor saw nothing but darkness.
Though his connection to the earth remained strong, the advantage it granted him was slipping through his fingers. The darkness was suffocating, so thick and dense that he could barely see a few feet ahead. It was the closest thing to blindness a god could experience.
Then, without warning, a sharp punch slammed against his jaw.
He stumbled back with a grunt, immediately swinging his fist toward the source of the strike. But it met nothing but air. Soon enough, another blow followed--this time to his back, shattering part of his armor and sending him tumbling forward. He twisted around to retaliate, but again, there was no one there.
"Coward!" Tremor roared, his voice echoing through the void. "Come forth and face me head-on!"
Shortly after his words, Tremor suddenly began to hear growls that grew louder by the second. Turning his attention toward the noise, he spotted three pairs of eyes staring back at him, each set gnashing their teeth as they inched closer with calculated steps, their forms blending seamlessly into the darkness domain.
The darkness obscured their bodies from view, and as they crept nearer, the god's eyes widened. From what little he could make out within the darkness, these were the most vicious creatures he had ever encountered.
They were beyond anything the monster race had ever produced. Their razor-sharp teeth were layered with extra rows behind them, their maws dripping with liquid darkness. Their skin appeared molten, and their feet bore wicked talons as they approached on two legs. Then, without warning, the creatures lunged at the god, their ferocity flaring as they slashed with sharpened claws.
Abyss's domain made it nearly impossible to react, but Tremor's connection to the ground granted him some advantage in perceiving the attacks. Still, he recognized that something else held him back from striking effectively: fear.
His attacks grew erratic, and he found himself making mistakes that defied his norm. Because of this, the creatures began to land more blows, chipping away at his defenses.
He continued to fight vigorously, prioritizing defense over offense. But as he maintained this stance, a sudden punch landed hard in his gut.
Wincing in pain, Tremor looked up to see Abyss, whose pure white eyes stared back at him, his figure cloaked in the blackness. Tremor doubled over, coughing up blood as he dropped to his knees. He lashed forward to strike, but the form before him was already gone.
The monsters resumed their assault, tearing into the god of Stone with their claws, ripping through his armor. At this point, Tremor's anger began to boil. Bruised and bloodied, he was being pushed further into desperation by the relentless darkness.
"Enough," he chanted, his voice rising sharply as it reached a breaking point.
With a roar, he slammed his fist into the ground, sending tremors throughout the domain.
The three creatures crumbled into fragments, yet Abyss hovered a few feet above the ground, his wings outstretched. Using the momentum from his flight, he rushed at Tremor and delivered a powerful kick, sending him skidding backward.
Tremor recovered quickly, using his thumb to wipe a line of blood from his cheek. "It is high time this came to an end," he growled, clenching his right fist.
"I agree, for once," Abyss replied, his form still veiled within the darkness as he raised his own clenched fist.
Suddenly, crystals began to materialize around Tremor's extended hand. "With this final blow," he spat, "I shall rend thee asunder."
Abyss smiled as Pure Darkness coiled around his arm, forming an even larger, jagged fist. "We shall see about that," he said, watching as Tremor launched forward at blinding speed.
Abyss followed his opponent's charge, flapping his wings with force as he shot ahead. Both gods collided in a clash, their fists meeting mid-air in a thunderous impact.
Siege and Tundra continued their clash of weapons, but it was clear who held the upper hand.
With precision and an eerie calm, Siege bested his foe with ease, landing a multitude of strikes on Tundra. His demeanor felt entirely new, as if he had transformed into another fighter altogether, and it left Tundra visibly shaken.
"How... can this be?" Tundra muttered, frustration lining his voice. "Thou wert but barely standing."
Tundra was in his worst condition yet, his body covered in gashes and wounds, his armor shattered in several places. But Siege paid no mind to the comment, swinging Impaler with poise and deadly grace.
When their weapons clashed, the tip of Impaler struck against Tundra's frozen weapon and shattered it. The divine lance followed through with a clean slash across Tundra's right arm, before Siege used his left hand to deliver a powerful punch, sending the god of Frost stumbling back.
The tide of battle had shifted entirely, and Siege was well aware of it. "It is as if I were stripped of every unnecessary emotion and thought," he said, towering over his foe. "Granting me the clarity I need to win this war."
Hearing this, Tundra growled and forced himself upright. "Dost thou believe this to be over?" he spat, rage flaring in his eyes as he summoned another blade of ice and charged forward.
But as he swung, Siege sidestepped with effortless grace. Twisting around, he placed a foot ahead of his opponent.
Tundra tripped forward, and before he could recover, Impaler tore through his armor and back in a brutal slash. Still, the frost god struggled to regain his footing, refusing to accept the truth that the battle was showing him. He lunged again, but Siege flowed past every strike as if he were untouchable.
Seizing the moment, Siege took the offensive once more. He swung Impaler upward in a swift arc, faster than before. Tundra tried to dodge, but the weapon was too quick, slicing from the bottom right of his chin through to his left eye. The slash cut deep, slicing through his eye before a kick sent him flying.
Tundra crashed to the ground, his face stained with blood as he lay motionless.
Siege relaxed his stance, taking a breath and reflecting on the shift within his mind. "This clarity is not something attainable by any uninterfered sentient mind," he thought. "Which means my mind was likely altered… by one of the others."
His gaze dimmed, realization setting in that one of the fallen gods had potentially aided him. "Whoever it was," he whispered, "I thank you."
He then returned his attention to Tundra, who had begun to rise once again. But something about his behavior was unexpected.
Despite his position, Tundra giggled, his face turned toward the ground as he stood up, seemingly amused. "Ye bastard," he said through manic laughter. "That was almost fatal."
He extended both hands, materializing two icy spears into his grip. "Know this..." he snarled, "I shall repay thee tenfold."
Siege resumed his stance. "Defeat suits you well," he said calmly, despite his stoic expression remaining unchanged.
Tundra's grin stretched wide as he laughed again, rage leaking through every breath. Then, he charged.
"Futile," Siege murmured, effortlessly evading every attack before slamming the blunt end of Impaler into Tundra's chest.
Tundra collapsed, gasping from the impact.
"You cannot defeat me in this state," Siege said, stepping closer. "You will never win while I wield the strongest weapon in the Divine Arsenal."
As Tundra stirred again, Siege gave one last warning. "Surrender now," he said coldly, "and perhaps I will grant you a swift and painless death."
But despite the pain, the blood, and the wounds, Tundra's maniacal laughter continued. "We shall see," he spat with a twisted grin, rushing back into the fray.
As the battle progressed, Siege began to notice something strange: Tundra was somehow keeping up, despite still being outclassed. It made no sense that only moments ago, his strikes had been landing with ease, yet now they were being countered more frequently.
Within seconds, the skill gap between them had nearly vanished, a reality that felt impossible. Forced to adapt, Siege began to rely on other weapons and approaches.
He summoned Defender between himself and Tundra, blocking an attack he knew he could not evade. Seizing the brief moment of separation, he conjured Harbinger, quickly nocking it and unleashing a flurry of ethereal arrows to slow his opponent's advance.
Tundra countered the barrage with the two spears in his hands, before hurling them toward Siege with brute strength.
Acting swiftly, Siege fired two arrows in succession, intercepting the incoming projectiles mid-air and stopping their trajectory.
When his gaze returned to Tundra, he saw the god conjuring smaller icicles now, one between each finger on both hands. Tundra launched them with alarming speed, generating new ones rapidly and flinging them in succession like an icy hailstorm.
Siege summoned Treasoner and Usurper, slicing through the incoming shards with sharp precision. As the relentless assault continued, he conjured Defender once more, momentarily slowing Tundra's advance. But it was only for a moment, as Siege immediately dismissed the shield, revealing Impaler in his grasp, now held as if preparing to throw it like a javelin.
He locked eyes with his foe, focus sharpened, then hurled the divine lance forward with tremendous force.
Tundra stretched out both arms and caught the weapon before it struck him. The impact pushed him back a considerable distance, his feet carving through the ground before the momentum finally died down.
Even as he steadied himself, he saw Siege already closing the distance. Stretching his hand to the side, Impaler dematerialized from Tundra's hands and reappeared back in Siege's grip upon reaching his opponent.
Tundra's desperation was beginning to show as the fight continued. He fell back, summoning a towering pillar of ice and hurling it at Siege. But Siege dismissed Impaler without hesitation, shifting his stance as Enforcer appeared in his hands.
With ruthless precision, he cleaved straight through the center of the pillar and rushed forward once more.
Tundra's smile began to fade. Beating his wings, he flew backward to gain space. Still locked onto his opponent, he raised his left hand to the sky, rage etched into his face.
Siege noticed the motion and turned his attention upward. But in that moment, Tundra's smile returned.
What Siege hadn't seen was Tundra's right hand, subtly pointed toward the ground in front of the god of War.
Instantly, the terrain began to freeze. Spikes of solid ice erupted from the ground, rising in unison with the motion of Tundra's swaying hand, growing and surging toward Siege with alarming speed.
Due to their proximity, Siege was unable to summon Defender in time. His only option was to dodge left. But he wasn't fast enough to evade completely, and his left hand was caught in the attack.
The ice grew rapidly, crawling along his suit and into his bones. Without hesitation, Siege drove the tip of Impaler into his own arm, severing it before the ice could consume his entire body. He hurled himself away from Tundra, collapsing to his knees as an indescribable pain surged through him. Clutching his left shoulder, he clenched his muscle to stem the blood from pouring out.
Siege gnashed his teeth, vision blurring as the agony overtook him.
Tundra approached slowly, a cruel smile on his face. "It would seem we have reached a most rousing conclusion," he said, a mocking giggle following his words. "Wretched traitor."
Siege was baffled. Despite everything, Tundra had continued to match him and slowly even surpass him with each passing moment. But amidst the chaos of his thoughts, something finally clicked.
He remembered the moment Tundra slammed that ball of ice into himself. That was when the shift began. And now, at last, he understood why.
"S-Snowball effect," Siege whispered between breaths.
"Affirmative," Tundra replied, smiling as he stepped closer. "I knew thou wouldst uncover the truth in time."
Tundra soon came to a halt in front of Siege. "How dost one triumph over an adversary who groweth mightier with every breath of combat?" he asked, his grin twisted with pride. "The answer... one doth not. Not when I have already overcome the so-called greatest weapon in thine arsenal."
With that, Tundra summoned a blade and raised it high, ready to bring it down upon Siege. But just before the strike landed, Siege mustered enough strength to move out of the way.
His vision faltered again, legs failing beneath him as he fell once more to his knees. But then, something caught his attention--something glowing beneath his breastplate.
Siege's eyes steadied upon noticing this, and the pain that once overwhelmed him faded into stillness. Immediately, his expression shifted to a strange calm.
"Finally," he whispered, slowly reaching beneath his armor with his only hand.
Tundra watched with a smirk. "Thou hast exhausted all thy sacred weapons," he said. "There remaineth naught for thee."
"Is that what you think?" Siege replied, rising to his feet with a power that made no sense to his adversary.
Tundra's grin began to waver as he witnessed Siege pull a glowing necklace from underneath his armor, one unfamiliar to him, but clearly familiar to his opponent.
This was the stone necklace Siege had received during his first direct interaction with humanity--a gift from the mother and daughter he had saved from the jaws of the monster kind. And yet, there was more to the relic than sentiment.
Suddenly, an immense force radiated from Siege, enveloping the battlefield. It was so powerful that even The End, who had been watching the war unfold, focused his attention on their fight.
Then, standing tall and resolute, Siege spoke:
"Destroy all who oppose thee... O Conqueror."
At his words, the necklace swiftly began to change form.
Tundra moved to strike, but his instincts screamed at him to retreat if he wished to survive, an action that rattled him.
Slowly, the stone shard began to grow, morphing into a golden, metallic sheen. Jet black lines traced along its surface, shaping what appeared to be a longsword.
Siege gripped the hilt with his only hand, his stance betraying none of the exhaustion he had shown just moments before.
"What... is this?" Tundra asked. "How dost thou yet possess such power?"
"I always did," Siege replied, his anger settling into a calm, warrior's tranquility. "I just had to divert the majority of it toward this weapon to activate it."
Tundra glanced at the weapon known as Conqueror, unease building as he watched Siege wield it with effortless elegance.
"You have faced the strongest weapon in the Divine Arsenal," Siege said. "Now it's time to face the strongest crafted weapon in existence. One that cannot be bested in combat."
Siege's stance shifted--one he had never assumed throughout the entire battle--and his focus sharpened beyond anything Tundra had seen before.
"'How do I defeat an opponent who keeps growing stronger as the battle continues…' right?" he echoed, throwing Tundra's question back at him. "I suppose we will soon find out."
Siege's calmness made Tundra's blood boil. "Do not get cocky," he spat, gripping the hilt of an ice blade he had just spawned before charging at his opponent.
Tempest's hair began to levitate, currents of lightning surging through his hands and eyes. His gaze locked onto his opponent, filled with fury. Swiftly, he stretched his hands outward, each finger aimed at Sol as lightning burst forth from them.
Sol dodged to either side, evading the strikes with sharp precision and unwavering focus. He knew he needed to end this fight soon if he wanted to come out on top.
Tempest swiftly rushed toward his opponent, swinging a flurry of strikes in rapid succession.
The god of Light maintained a defensive approach, recognizing that any attempt to land a blow on Tempest would be dangerous for him due to the immense current coursing around his foe. He needed a way to strike without relying on physical contact, and after a few quick evasions, an idea sparked.
Tempest created distance again and began to launch series of lightning bolts. As they tore through the air, the Rings of Radiance hovering behind Sol responded, emitting beams of light to meet and match the incoming projectiles.
Tempest watched as Sol swiftly closed the distance between them. He swung a fist, but Sol slipped past it, extending his right palm toward the god's chest.
"Lend me your move, Klaus," Sol whispered to himself.
Immediately, a ball of light began to form in his palm, growing to a foot in diameter as it neared Tempest. Without hesitation, Sol slammed it against his opponent's chest.
Tempest was flung backward by the force, a blinding explosion of light following the impact. After hurling through the air, he eventually managed to stop himself.
As the light faded, the damage became clear. Tempest's armor had been nearly obliterated at the chest, and the exposed skin beneath was visibly bruised.
Fury began to consume Tempest, and the currents surrounding his body darkened. "Enough!" he roared, spreading both arms to his sides.
Resonating with his words, tremendous currents surged around him, lifting him slightly off the ground. With a primal scream, his arms wide, lightning erupted from his form, scattering wildly across the battlefield, though the majority of it raced toward Sol.
Realizing this might be the final stretch, Sol took a breath to steady himself. Immediately, he began weaving through the incoming bolts and sparks, his wings propelling him with grace and speed.
Sol's focus was unwavering, a sharp contrast to Tempest's fury as he propelled himself through the air with controlled precision. Tempest had maintained a wide distance, forcing him to close the gap quickly.
As the bolts continued to streak through the area, Sol's palms began to glow. He clenched them with intention, and while still evading the lightning, he slammed the sides of his knuckles together before swiftly pulling his left hand away from his right. Within his grasp, a blade made entirely of Absolute Light began to materialize, solidifying in his right hand.
The bolts Tempest unleashed were now too powerful for the Rings of Radiance to counter, meaning Sol had no choice but to focus purely on evasion until he could get in range. With each movement, he drew closer, his dodging unbroken. With a powerful lunge, his body and wings folded into a streamlined form as he wove through a barrage of lightning.
Upon finally reaching close range, Sol readied himself. Both hands gripped his blade tightly, prepared to deliver a clean, decisive strike.
"Thou canst not evade at such nearness," Tempest spat, his right hand already raised.
At this point, the storm above had swelled into a monstrous black cloud, looming directly over them as they fought beneath it. Without delay, a colossal bolt of black lightning surged downward toward Sol, right as he lunged in front of Tempest.
Everything happened in an instant... but Sol was faster.
Sensing the devastating strike, he raised his left wing into its path. The lightning connected cleanly, obliterating the wing in a flash of destruction. But it gave Sol the moment he needed to pass the projectile and press forward.
The expected pain should have been paralyzing, but Sol moved too fast for it to even register.
Crouching slightly to his left in a wielding stance, Sol steadied himself before Tempest.
"Klaus, Natalie... give me strength," he thought, tightening his grip on the blade.
With a single horizontal swing, Sol slashed cleanly through Tempest's torso, slicing through both flesh and armor in one motion.
Everything happened in a blur, and only now did the massive black bolt fired from Tempest's storm finally crash into the ground behind Sol, triggering a devastating explosion that engulfed the battlefield in blinding light and force.