The griffin hit the stone like a falling warhammer.
Its talons carved deep gouges into the black rock as it landed, wings spreading wide to balance its massive weight. Bronze plates clattered softly against one another along its shoulders and ribs. The runes etched into the armor glowed faintly in the sunlight, reacting to the presence of something powerful nearby.
Mike stared at it.
Then he started laughing. "Oh hell yes," he said, rolling his shoulders as flames leaked faintly from between his teeth.
The griffin screamed again, the sound tearing across the coastline.
Mike stepped forward.
"Come on," he said. "Give me a fun battle."
The creature didn't hesitate.
Its wings snapped once, launching its massive body forward with terrifying speed. Talons extended, aimed directly for Mike's chest. Mike caught the creatures leg before a smirk formed on his face.
His fist slammed into the griffin's foreleg mid-lunge. The impact cracked the stone beneath Mike's feet as the creature's momentum drove them both backward several yards.
"That's more like it," Mike laughed. "Keep attacking!"
The griffin shrieked, twisting its body violently. Its beak snapped down toward Mike's head with enough force to crush his skull. Mike jerked his neck sideways just in time. The beak slammed into the stone beside him.
Rock exploded.
Mike's tail lashed out instinctively.
It struck the griffin across the ribs with a thunderous crack that lifted the creature partially off the ground and hurled it sideways into a boulder.
The stone shattered on impact.
The griffin rolled across the rocks before scrambling upright again, wings flaring wide.
Mike grinned.
"Oh this is fun."
He launched forward.
The griffin met him halfway.
They collided in a blur of claws, wings, and snapping jaws.
Mike's fist slammed into the creature's chest with bone-shaking force. The bronze armor dented inward with a ringing clang, runes flickering violently across its surface.
The griffin retaliated instantly.
One talon raked across Mike's shoulder, sparks flying as it scraped against his scales. The claws were sharp enough to leave shallow gouges.
The griffin lunged again, beak snapping toward his throat. Mike caught the upper half of its beak in both hands.
The force of the bite slammed his arms backward.
For a moment the two creatures stood locked together, muscles straining as they tried to overpower one another. Mike's grin widened.
The griffin's wings beat once.
A blast of wind exploded outward as it tried to lift them both off the ground.
Mike braced his feet harder into the stone.
"Nope," he said.
Then he head-butted it.
The impact echoed like a cannon blast.
The griffin staggered backward with a stunned shriek, golden feathers scattering into the wind.
Mike surged forward before it could recover.
His claws drug across the creature's side, tearing through the bronze armor and the flesh beneath. Blood sprayed across the rocks as the griffin screamed in pain.
It leapt backward, wings beating frantically to gain distance.
Mike laughed louder.
"That's right!" he shouted. "Come on!"
The creature circled him now, limping slightly. Its eyes burned with fury. Mike could feel it studying him before flying into the air above him with a screech.
The griffin dove again. This time it came from above. Mike waited until the last second.
Then he jumped.
His wings snapped open mid-air as he surged upward to meet the attack head-on.
His jaws closed around the creature's shoulder.
Teeth punched through the armor and muscle as griffin shrieked again in agony.
Mike ripped sideways violently, tearing a deep gash across its chest before releasing it.
The creature tumbled through the air, blood spraying behind it before hitting the ground hard. For a moment it didn't move.
Mike hovered above it, wings beating slowly.
The griffin struggled upright.
One wing hung slightly crooked now.
Its breathing was labored as it glared up at Mike. For several seconds the two creatures stared at one another.
Then the griffin screamed again.
But this time the sound was different.
It launched into the air.
Mike blinked.
"…oh come on."
The creature climbed rapidly, beating its wings hard despite the injury.
Within seconds it was already far above the coastline.
Mike hovered for a moment, watching it retreat.
Then he snorted.
"Coward."
He dropped back to the rocks with a heavy thud.
Behind him, Enki coughed weakly.
Mike glanced over his shoulder.
"Oh right," he said. "I forgot about you."
The god lay exactly where Mike had dropped him earlier.
But the fight with the griffin had made something clear.
Enki was not recovering.
The golden glow around his wounds had dimmed even further.
Mike walked back toward him slowly.
Enki's eyes followed every step.
"You fought it," the god rasped.
Mike shrugged.
"Yeah."
"That creature serves the pantheon."
Mike crouched beside him again.
"Well it sucks at its job."
Enki stared at him for a long moment.
Then he laughed.
The sound was weak but genuine.
"You are exactly what they feared."
Mike tilted his head.
"That so?"
Enki nodded slowly.
"They warned us about the one who inherited power from Kur."
Mike's eyes narrowed slightly at the name.
"I keep hearing the same things from each god that shows up. I am not Kur or Bahamut. I have my own goals and purpose," he said.
The god studied him carefully.
"You truly are different," Enki murmured.
Mike sighed.
"Yeah, I am."
He reached down and grabbed Enki by the arm.
The god tensed slightly.
"You're going to eat me," Enki said.
Mike shrugged.
"I will eat all of you."
There was no fear in the god's eyes now.
Only something like grim acceptance.
"Then listen carefully, beast," Enki said quietly.
Mike paused.
"You will see me again."
Mike blinked.
"…what?"
Enki smiled faintly.
"When the gods return to earth."
Mike frowned.
"What does that even—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Because the god started laughing again.
A low, quiet laugh.
"Enjoy your victory," Enki whispered.
Mike shrugged.
Then he bit his head off.
The crunch echoed across the rocks.
Warm divine energy exploded through Mike's body the instant he swallowed.
It hit him like lightning.
Power surged through his veins, hotter and stronger than anything he'd absorbed from a Chosen before.
Mike sucked in a sharp breath.
"Holy shit."
He devoured the rest of the body quickly.
Even the remaining divine essence dissolving into raw energy as they passed his throat.
The power spread through him like fire.
Every scale along his body shimmered faintly.
The sensation faded slowly.
Mike stood there for a while afterward thinking. A calm filled his mind. He had never stopped rushing since he emerged from the trial chasing after Kelsey then Hecate before preparing for Abbadon. He finally had no rush as he was in the past. There was no danger to Kelsey. No Bahamut shouting in his head to devour chosen.
The waves continued rolling in behind him.
The burned fleet drifted farther out to sea.
He looked down at his claws.
Then up at the sky.
Then back at the empty coastline.
The god's final words echoed in his head. As his calmness started to falter and a frown formed on his face.
You will see me again… when the gods return to earth.
Mike scratched the side of his head with one claw.
"That doesn't make any sense. How would they return."
Then something clicked in his mind as Mike froze. His chest tightened for a moment.
Then he slowly exhaled.
"If I'm in the past…" he muttered.
Mike frowned harder.
Would anything he did here change the future?
If he killed a god now… would that erase them later?
Or had all of this already happened?
Was he trapped in some kind of fixed loop?
"How long am I even stuck here?" he growled.
Mike had absolutely no idea.
He kicked a loose rock into the ocean.
It bounced twice before disappearing into the waves.
"Great," he muttered.
"Fantastic."
Mike had never been much of a history buff.
He'd paid attention to mythology just enough to recognize the big names.
Zeus.
Odin.
Ra.
Enki apparently.
But beyond that?
Nothing.
Just stories.
Legends.
Half-remembered nonsense from documentaries and movies.
He rubbed his face again.
"I don't even know where I am," he said.
The coastline stretched endlessly in both directions.
Mountains rose far inland.
Somewhere beyond them were cities.
Empires.
Gods walking among mortals.
Mike thought about that for a while.
Then something dark and simple settled into place inside his mind.
He knew one thing about the gods.
They hated Bahamut and Kur.
They feared him.
Because he devoured them.
Mike slowly grinned.
"Well," he said.
"That works for me."
If he was stuck here…
If he had no way home…
Then there was one thing he could do.
Get stronger.
Devour every god he could find.
Maybe if he absorbed enough power or if he disrupted enough of whatever strange prison or timeline he was trapped in, then something would break or send him back.
Mike flexed his claws.
Flames flickered faintly along the edges of his scales.
"Yeah," he said.
"I like that plan."
The problem was…
He had no idea where the gods actually were.
No map.
No knowledge of this era.
Nothing.
Mike looked up at the sky again.
Then shrugged.
"Guess there's one way to find them."
He spread his wings.
The massive membranes unfurled with a thunderous snap.
Wind rolled across the coastline.
"If they hate Bahamut this much," he said with a grin…
"…then showing up should get their attention."
Mike crouched.
Then launched into the sky.
The ground exploded beneath him as he surged upward.
Within seconds he was climbing high above the coastline.
The land stretched endlessly beneath him.
Rivers.
Mountains.
Small clusters of settlements.
Smoke rising from distant cities.
Mike picked a direction at random.
Then he flew.
Hoping somewhere ahead…
A god would be waiting.