As the imperial warship carrying Lupus and his broken forces blasted off into
the sky, the oppressed Solarians erupted into cheers. The once mighty overlord had
been crushed, humiliated beyond repair, and now their world was free—if only for
now. Talus watched the ship vanish into the atmosphere, a cocky grin stretched across
his face. "Heh. Let him run. Gives me something to look forward to later." Zaiyal
exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "I can't believe we actually pulled that off."
Veska smirked, clapping her younger brother on the back. "You didn't. He did." She
nodded toward Talus, who was currently basking in the glory of victory, his arms crossed
as Solarian warriors chanted his name. "The bastard did something I never thought
possible—he humbled the empire." Talus stretched, cracking his neck. "Humbled?
Nah. That was just a warning." He licked his fangs, eyes gleaming with predatory
amusement. "Next time, I'll break him." Ungar laughed heartily, "Aye, and if we're
lucky, his father will show up next time. I wouldn't mind breaking an emperor." The
thought made some of the Solarians uneasy. Lupus was strong, but his father, Emperor
Lupus the Elder, was said to be a force beyond comprehension. Marox, the old war
general, approached, his expression still laced with disbelief. "No warrior in Solarian
history has ever beaten an imperial prince in open combat. Not even the greatest of
our ancestors." His eyes met Talus', filled with something between respect and sheer
terror. "You truly are a demon, aren't you?" Talus grinned, "That's what they tell
me."
The King's Decision – The Road to Osiris:
After the battle, King Solarius X himself—the last remnant of a once-proud
dynasty—agreed to meet with the warriors in his grand palace. Though the Solarian
monarchy had long been reduced to a puppet under imperial rule, the king still
carried an air of dignity and wisdom. His golden robes shimmered under the pale light
of Solaria's twin suns, and his eyes held the weight of a ruler who had seen his people
fall from power. He sat on his throne, studying the heroes before him. Finally, he spoke.
"You have done what I could not. What none of us could. And for that, Solaria owes
you a great debt." Zaiyal bowed slightly, his voice steady. "We didn't do this just for
Solaria, your majesty. Our battle is far from over. We seek the Seal of Osiris." The
room fell silent.
The Seal of Osiris—one of the last barriers between this world and the
Otherworld, where the Old God had taken root. The King's expression darkened.
"You understand the danger of what you seek? The Seal of Osiris is no ordinary
gateway. It is the final lock before the sacred realm of Apollonia—the throne of the
Gods, and the source of the Old God's power." Talus grinned. "Perfect. That means
we're close." King Solarius narrowed his eyes. "To reach the Seal, you must pass the
Trial of Osiris. It is no mere test of strength—it will strip you of all pretense, all lies.
It is a battle against yourselves." Sarai, standing with arms crossed, finally spoke.
"Then we will face it." The King studied the group for a long moment before finally
nodding. "Very well. I will open the path. But know this you have to spend as little
time in there as possible, if you spend too much time, you will get lost forever in the
abyss of the Realm of Osiris." With a single gesture, the chamber trembled. The floor
beneath them rippled with celestial energy, revealing an enormous golden
portal—etched with divine hieroglyphs that pulsed with ancient magic. The Seal of
Osiris lay before them. The final roadblock. The last trial before their ultimate battle
against the Old God. Talus cracked his knuckles. "Well then... let's get this over
with."
The air in the Realm of Osiris was thick, heavy with the weight of history and
divine judgment. The golden sands of eternity stretched beyond sight, and the colossal
pyramids looked like forgotten titans, whispering the echoes of civilizations long past.
The portal to Apollonia, the last gateway to the Old God's throne, shimmered in the
distance—a haunting promise of the battle to come. But before them, standing tall like an
immovable force of nature, was Osiris, the God of the Afterlife. His massive green head,
crowned with a golden headdress, gazed down upon them with cold, unwavering
authority. His body was wrapped in shimmering white robes, yet beneath them, the power
of an ancient deity pulsed like a burning sun. "You wish to pass?" Osiris' voice boomed
across the desert, reverberating through the very fabric of reality. "Then you must prove
yourselves. Only those who are worthy may enter the divine gates to your destiny of
Apollonia." Ungar stepped forward, his dark cape billowing behind him. His crimson
eyes burned beneath his black war helm, his massive, armored form standing at an
imposing seven feet tall. He flexed his hands, the sound of metal scraping against itself
echoing like the tolling of a war drum.
"I'll take you on," Ungar declared, his deep, guttural voice filled with unshakable
resolve. Zaiyal glanced at him. "Are you sure about this?" Talus snickered. "He's sure.
And besides, if he can't die, and even if could , we could just step over his corpse to
victory." Ungar didn't dignify that with a response. He was already marching forward, each step leaving deep footprints in the golden sand. Osiris observed him with an
expressionless, godly gaze. "Very well, warrior." Osiris extended his massive hand, and in
a flash of emerald light, a monolithic golden crook and flail materialized in his grasp. His
towering form began to levitate slightly, the sands swirling at his feet as his divine energy
caused the entire dimension to tremble. "Then let the trial begin." The moment Osiris
uttered those words, the desert erupted. A colossal sandstorm howled into existence,
whipping through the battlefield with enough force to grind flesh from bone. Ungar
didn't flinch. His jet-black armor glowed with a faint crimson energy as he planted his
feet, standing unshaken. Osiris struck first. With a flick of his wrist, the golden flail
extended at impossible speeds, cracking like divine thunder as it lashed toward Ungar.
The very air split apart, a shockwave of power tearing through the sands. But Ungar was
faster than he looked.
CLANG!
The flail struck his raised gauntlet, and though it sent tremors through his arm, he
did not yield. Instead, he twisted, grabbing hold of the divine weapon mid-air before
yanking Osiris forward with monstrous strength. The god stumbled slightly, eyes
narrowing in surprise. "You are strong," Osiris mused. "But strength alone does not grant
passage to the realm of the gods or anyone else in this Star-System." Ungar grunted.
"Good. Because I'm not just strong." With that, he lunged. His massive armored fist
collided with Osiris' chest, sending a shockwave through the battlefield. The ground
cracked apart as the impact sent the god skidding backward, his massive form plowing
through sand dunes. Ungar pressed forward, relentlessly. His speed was inhuman for his
size, luckily he was not human. One moment, he was standing in the crater—the next, he
was above Osiris, his black cape whipping violently in the divine winds. His fists crashed
down like falling meteors, striking Osiris with the full, unrelenting might of a war-forged
executioner. Each hit thundered like the wrath of a forgotten god. But then— Osiris
caught his fist. The sands froze. The air was still. Ungar narrowed his crimson eyes.
Osiris slowly stood up, his grip tightening around Ungar's massive gauntlet. "You fight
well, warrior. But I am no mortal." In an instant, Osiris unleashed his full divine power.
The entire realm twisted. The sky turned black. The pyramids rose into the heavens,
floating like celestial islands. The sands became a river of golden energy, swirling with
the trapped souls of the countless warriors who had fallen before. And Osiris? Osiris had
transformed.
His once serene expression was now wrathful, his emerald eyes burning like twin
suns. His golden staff crackled with the power of the divine afterlife, and his body expanded, now easily standing four times Ungar's height. Ungar narrowed his eyes. "Tch.
Now we're talking." Osiris raised his crook and slammed it into the ground. "BOW
BEFORE THE JUDGMENT OF THE AFTERLIFE!" A monstrous tidal wave of divine
energy surged toward Ungar, howling with the cries of the dead. The sheer force of it
threatened to consume him entirely. But Ungar was not one to kneel. He let out a
deafening roar, his aura flaring with dark crimson fire. With a single, monstrous punch,
he parted the divine wave, splitting it like a blade cutting through water. Osiris' eyes
widened slightly. "Impossible—" Ungar was already in front of him. With one final,
earth-shattering blow, Ungar's fist—coated in the very essence of destruction—collided
with Osiris' chest. The desert exploded. The pyramids shattered. The very fabric of the
realm trembled. And then— Silence. Osiris staggered backward, his massive form
beginning to crumble. His divine body, once unshaken for millennia, fractured. He gazed
down at Ungar. And then— He smiled. "You... are worthy." With those words, Osiris
kneeled. The golden portal shimmered, its locks unsealing. The way to Apollonia—was
open. Talus, watching from a distance, whistled. "Damn. Didn't think the tin can had it in
him But I guess I was wrong, you held your own against a god, wizard." Ungar rolled his
shoulders, unfazed. "Tch. Gods break just like anything else." Osiris chuckled, his form
slowly dissolving into golden dust. "Go forth, warriors. The final battle awaits." With
that, the Gate of Apollonia burst open. The last trial was over. The final battle against the
Old God... had begun.