Master Torrid walked in on me while I was sitting on the toilet, "What the hell master, get outtt!?" Torrid's expression was emotionless, and his words were cold, "Don't get so flustered. I only came here because I needa talk to you once you're done. Got it?" "Yes, yes I got it! Now get out!" Torrid sighed and closed the bathroom door. I let out a sigh and whispered to myself, "Jeez… can't I have even a little privacy? It's been like this ever since I got here."
Once I finished up in the bathroom, I walked out and headed to the estate main hall. I walked down a hallway, took a left, and opened another door that led into a large room. Master Torrid was standing at the center of the room. Once he noticed that I had entered, he turned to face me, "Kiliano… I'm glad you've come." I made a confused look, "Uh, yeah. But why'd you wanna see me?" Torrid drew his sword, and made a stance, "I, Torrid, the Northern Sword God, challenge you, Kiliano, the Fire God, to a Challenge Of Gods!" My eyes widened, and shock ran through my body, "WHAT!? Wow, wow hold on master! Why are you doing this!?" Torrid sighed, "Sigh… Six months ago, Vencer dropped you off and told me to trai you up. I've done the best I could, but now time's up. Shyzen has made his move, and the final battle of the Second Great War has now begun. So I must make sure you're ready for the battle at hand. Fight me, Kiliano!" My hands were trembling, but then images of my friends began to rush into my head. Nazeem, Lura, Nyleah, master Vencer and Victoria. All of their faces popped into my head, and it began to sooth me, "Sigh… Alright master. I accept!"
The two of us stared at each other. Our swords were both in our sheathes, and an advisor was standing in the corner of the room. For what seemed like hours, the two of us stood still, waiting for someone to make the first move.
I noticed master Torrid's foot shift forward slightly. And in less than one second, he grabbed his sword from within its sheathe, and began to withdraw it. I bent my knees, and leaned towards master Torrid. I put my hand on Excalibur's handle, and dashed forward. Before Torrid could fully unsheathe his sword, CLANG! His sword went flying through the air, his hands disfigured, and blood spraying from them. I was now standing behind Torrid, his back to mine, and Excalibur in my hand. Torrid fell to his knees, his eyes wide from shock. I turned around to face him without saying a word. Master Torrid smiled, and without looking back at me said, "You're ready Kiliano. Go on… defeat Shyzen." A sense of warmth filled my body. I could feel his encouraging words fuel my drive even more, and I smiled, "Thank you, master." I bowed down to him as a last goodbye. Then, I turned to face the room's exit. I pushed off my feet and disappeared, heading to Sumerst's capital.
Torrid's advisor walked from the corner of the room, handing him a clean rag, "Here you go, master." "Thank you Jean…" He began wiping his hands and face, "...Kiliano's grown quite a bit in just six months. At first, he wouldn't have lasted more than a minute against me, but I can't lay a finger on him now." His advisor chuckled, "Yeah, it's been enjoyable to watch him grow. That boy's tenacity is nothing to scoff at. He's clumsy, and moronic, but still… he's special. It's hard to explain, but ever since he showed up, the entire estate has felt brighter. Kiliano must not be normal." Torrid laughed, "Hahaha! Well of course he isn't normal. That boy… he's not just some teenager now. He's The Flaming Sword God Of The North. For the first time in recent history, a teenage boy has become a God in two subjects. Not even Solomon was that gifted." "Sir… are you saying Kiliano has surpassed Solomon?" "No, no, not that. But he's definitely on the right track."
Back at Belafleece, in the middle of a dense forest lay a large stone castle. By its base, an open staircase led to a locked metal door. Within the door was a room with nearly a dozen people sitting in chairs lined up beside a large oval table. Lura, Nyleah and Nazeem were all sitting by each other. Vencer, Paarl and Solomon were also there. On the end of the table sat the general of the Northern alliance, Sarik. Solomon was sitting in the chair when he cleared his throat, "Ahem… Thank you all for coming today. Let's get straight to the point now… My sources have told me the South is going to launch a full-scale invasion directed towards the kingdom of Hydenfort. They'll be invading by the end of today." Vencer spoke up, "Wait hold on. This is so sudden. Aren't we too unprepared for something like this?" "No... Actually I've already sent a couple thousand troops to Hydenfort's capital. They should already be there by now." This time, Paarl decided to speak, "Alright then, what do you want us to do, general Sarik?" The general was laying his chin on his hand out of boredom, "That much is obvious… We're gonna move out immediately. We should make it there before tomorrow morning." Lura spoke out, "Wow, wow that's too sudden! We should've had this discussion sooner, do you think-?" "Calm down girl…" Sarik was glaring at her, "...I get you three are still pouty about not being able to see your friend again, but this is serious. Our intel just got back to us, so we haven't known for very long. That's why this is so sudden. And it seems that Shyzen wants to end this war much earlier than we had thought. We cannot waste time squabbling like idiots. I suggest we leave right now actually." Solomon sighed, "Sigh… Please be patient, General. I understand your concerns, but we still have time to discuss." Sarik removed his chin from his hand and sat up straight, "Master Solomon… I know your judgement is great, but this matter is serious. We shouldn't dilly dally when the entire country is at stake here." Paarl nodded his head, "I agree. This invasion is a serious threat. So I believe leaving now would be the best choice. Afterall, we can always have another meeting like this once we get to Hydenfort, right?" Solomon began thinking for a few moments, "Well… I suppose you are right. Let's leave now then." Nazeem was silent the entire conversation, but decided to speak up now, "Hold on! Don't you think we're missing an opportunity here? If Shyzen is sending all their forces towards Hydenfort, then Phulkart and Anthesia are left wide open for the taking. I think we should at least send in some troops to take advantage of the situation just in case their invasion proves too much for us to handle." Paarl scoffed, "Oh please. I thought I taught you better than that Nazeem." "W-what?" "You never plan to be defeated, got it? We won't love this battle." He was glaring at Nazeem, but his face wasn't showing any hostility. It was pure determination that was covering his facial expression. Nazeem felt a bit embarrassed, but Nyleah patted him on the head. He turned to face her, she was smiling at him. Lura noticed this and made a slightly jealous look. She swiped Nyleah's hand off Nazeem's head and replaced it with her own, "Actually, I think Nazeem's idea isn't bad. We should take advantage of this opportunity." She said. Solomon nodded, "I agree. Let's send two thousand troops into Phulkart. Also, send the Water God to accompany them, just in case." General Sarik nodded, "Got it, I'll send the word immediately. Anything else to discuss…?" The room was silent, "...Alright, then. Let's head out!"
Farther south from Belafleece, in the kingdom of Homstine, Shyzen and Asfodel stood side by side. Behind them, thousands of southern soldiers marched forwards. Asfodel held a wide smile, but Shyzen held a stern, emotionless face. The two of them were walking down a path with their army behind them. Shyzen was clad in pure black metal armor. A sword inside a sheath was on the left side of his waist. Its handle was covered in brown leather, and its handle-guard was made with the same black metal as his armor. Asfodel was wearing his white robe with white, baggy pants. He wasn't wearing a weapon anywhere, which made his presence seem less intimidating. However, a faint, yet powerful aura was surrounding every inch of his body.
Shyzen was looking around, scanning the environment, "Asfodel… have you heard word from our spies yet?" Asfodel was eating a piece of bread when he was asked the question. With his mouth full, he answered, "Hrmph… Uhrm, yeah… gulp… Yeah, they all came back about an hour ago actually. They said that Solomon sent out a few platoons to take over Phulkart." Shyzen scoffed, "Alright then, send in two Sword Emperors to take care of them." "Yessir!" Asfodel turned around and walked over to a soldier marching with the army. This soldier wasn't wearing armor, "Yo, advisor. Send in Polotine and Jorror to Phulkart. Tell 'em the North sent in a few platoons and they needa take 'em out." The advisor nodded, "Yes sir." He turned around and ran off. Asfodel walked back over to Shyzen, "Alright master, I did it." "Good. Also, I trust you'll do most of the heavy lifting during this battle. It's been too long since I fought anyone powerful, so I'll need some more time to adjust before fighting any Gods." Asfodel looked surprised for a few moments. But he nodded, "Oh, yeah sure. Just lemme know if you want a piece of the fun, hehe." Asfodel ran off, heading towards a thicket of trees. Once he disappeared into the trees, everything went silent for a few moments. And then, a wave of pressure swept through the area, catching Shyzen off guard. Following shortly after was a giant explosion from where Asfodel had run to. Pieces of debris flew towards Shyzen, but each one disintegrated before making contact with him. Powerful winds pushed outwards from the explosion, but The God Of Gods continued walking towards the explosion.
Heat began to sear through the trees, as the explosion began to die down, flames covered the entire area. SHOOM! Asfodel flew out from the flames, hurling through a few trees and landing into a boulder. "Cough cough… Gyuh!" He spewed out some blood, and his head was bleeding. Shyzen was taken aback by this. He drew his sword and prepared for battle, "Who's there!?" From the flames, a figure walked out. A man, wearing a black coat and jeans. His hair was pure white, his eyes piercing red. A large scar rolled down from the top right of his face down to the left side of his chin. His facial expression seemed emotionless but a dense, purple aura enveloped his entire body. The man's gaze shifted to Shyzen. He opened his mouth and said, "Lord Of The Accursed…" His voice was low and gravely. It was commanding, and held a sense of pressure to it, "...Your meddling has cost me quite a bit of extra work. So I've come here to end this charade early." Suddenly, a heavy pressure consumed Shyzen. His knees began to wobble and sweat began to form from his face. His eyes widened, and a sense of fear consumed him. Shyzen took a step back, but stopped short, "Don't worry Scar… This war is going to end before tomorrow is over. But until then…" Shyzen began to channel mana through his body. The man's eyes widened. He leaned forward, and dashed towards Shyzen, "Leave!" Shyzen shouted, sending out a wave of mana towards the man just before he could attack. Suddenly, the man was teleported to a completely different area. He leaned back, standing straight once again. The area around him had no snow. Sand covered the ground, and greenery was nowhere to be found, "Damn it Shyzen… If your little squabble doesn't end soon… I'll have to kill you myself. How dare you use your cursed chants against me!"
Back in the kingdom of Homstine, Shyzen was walking over to Asfodel, who was still laying in the crater of a boulder, "Get up. I've sent Scar somewhere far away, so he won't bother coming back." Asfodel climbed out from the crater. He stumbled over to Shyzen, his knees wombling after every step, "J-jeez, what the hell was that dude's problem?" Asfodel was rubbing his head. Shyzen sighed, "Sigh… Unfortunately it seems that I've angered him." "But why? And who the hell was he?" "The man whom you just saw… is known as the most feared individual in the entire northern part of the world. His name is Scar… and he's one of the Scions." Asfodel was shocked at what he just heard, "W-what? He's a Scion!? Well… crap that's not good if he's comin' after us." "Don't worry… he won't make it to us in time. We'll end this war before Scar comes back." The army behind them was completely silent at what they just saw. Their eyes were wide in surprise, after seeing someone so strong pop up out of the blue like that. And then, an advisor walked up to Shyzen, "Master, what should we do now? And who was that?" Shyzen turned to face him, "Don't worry about that man. We must continue onwards!" Shyzen pointed his finger north, and they continued walking towards the kingdom of Hydenfort.
Later that day, once the sun had begun to come down, Asfodel and Shyzen were still walking together. Asfodel began to feel a sense of unease. And after a few moments, he leaned towards Shyzen and whispered, "Master… are you sure this is a good idea? I don't mean to doubt your strength, but the north's forces have been kicking our ass for most of the war. What if we end up losing this battle?" Shyzen his head away from Asfodel, and made a look of disgust, "Ever since you revived me, you've shown so much doubt. Just trust in my words, and we will win this battle." "R-right… sorry sir." Asfodel moved back to walk normally.
Shyzen's eyes focused in front of them, and he stopped, turned around, and began to speak to the three advisors that stood behind him, "Tell my soldiers that we've arrived. Set up camp… we'll attack at dawn." One of the advisors bowed slightly, "Right away master." And then he ran off into the crowd of soldiers, heading back the way they came.
Asfodel laid down on a nearby rock and closed his eyes. Shyzen sighed, and he too sat down, propping his back on a rock, then closing his eyes.