Darkness slipped away from Anton’s mind and he could begin to think once again. Several long seconds passed before he could formulate even a single coherent thought, so thick was the heavy black sludge that had consumed and overwhelmed his thoughts. An endless white void greeted his sight even after his mind cleared. He reached to rub his head. His hands were no longer human, now a white ethereal outline. Just like once before.

“I’m back.” Anton’s voice echoed. “Back to this place.”

He looked either side from his lying position. He could not see any other being, nor the strange White Marble spear, certainly not within rolling distance across the gently swaying golden grass. He had returned to the same tree enclosure during his first visit to the White Realm. However it was no longer pristine; most of the trees were broken, four were blackened stumps and many others completely uprooted. The small fountain’s base had cracked and split open, water now flowed endlessly onto the golden grass, the orange fish lay dead and lazily floated through the water or lay half buried by the swaying grass.

Anton forced himself up. Something pressed against his tail. He grumbled, running a hand along his now ethereal tail and twiddling the ends.

“Looks like you’re a part of me for good.” Anton shook his head. “Same with the feet.”

Anton’s clawed feet parted the grass as he approached the small fountain. The break in the white material was not natural, not that he needed further confirmation. Unlike the normal breaks of the marble material, a perfectly clean cut with razor sharp edges, the white stone was charred and burnt. Like a bolt of lightning had blasted it apart.

“My gods were just breaking through when I left…” Anton pushed his hands through his waving white hair. “At least I’m sure it was them. How long has it been since then? How…How does time even function here?”

Anton looked up. The black lightning continued to run along the sky, connecting to invisible points in the endless white void, but their intensity was severely diminished. One ran directly over his head, the black lightning barely made a sound and began to evaporate, flickering in and out of existence. He followed the lightning back to the impossibly large White Tower. The spire had been heavily attacked with great slivers broken off and now resting against the main pillar. Black and red marks, still on fire yet not bellowing smoke, adorned all of the broken pieces. Small jets of flame, blasts of lightning and brown projectiles shot out of tiny specks buzzing around the entire pillar.

How big are they? If the White Spire is…It took me hours just to get a tiny bit closer from here.

Anton glanced back to the dead fish. Their white eyes stared into the white void above.

The battle is still ongoing then. What are they going to say if they see me? Can they even? They couldn’t before. Will they just think I’m one of those children and just obliterate me on sight? Shit.

Something moved outside the ring of trees, beyond the swaying golden grass. He dived behind the broken fountain, his ethereal body blended in extremely well with the marble stone, quickly realising that his tail stuck out and pulled it close to his body. Twenty White Goblins, identical in shape to the small dolls held by the child, Trellos, marched through the golden grasslands. Unlike his White Goblins, these wore armour that nearly encompassed their entire body, a small grid-like mesh over their face, alongside curved swords and small shields, no bigger than a buckler. Anton didn’t like his chances attacking one of these back in reality, let alone twenty while essentially naked and completely powerless.

Two were badly wounded, their arms bound in a material similar to their armour, and lagged behind the main force. Nevertheless, they were keeping pace. More importantly there was no sign of what injured them.

Anton retrieved a small off-cast piece of white stone, heavily charred on one side and continued hiding. He didn’t want to discover if his body could be wounded by their menacing swords. Magic didn’t work in this realm, at least one type didn’t. Anton wanted to see if he could use the White Realm’s magic but decided to wait until the White Goblins had left. He did not wish to take the chance.

When the White Goblins had reached the edge of cubular boulders Anton breathed more easily. He remained crouched and looked outside the protective ring of trees, nothing moved in the expansive plains of golden grass. Anton checked the direction the White Goblins came from but couldn’t see any sign of a battle. Had they been marching for days in this world to join the main battle around the White Spire?

“No way to answer that now.” Anton stood upright. “But…How to get back?”

While he was curious as to what was happening in the White Realm, returning to Atros was far more important. Last time it involved accidentally taking in power from one of those children, some kind of god, and then passing out. He did not wish to repeat that, lest he transform even more.

Would I eventually turn into something like the Dragon beneath Atros? That’ll make things extremely difficult, in more ways than one.

Anton held the shard of marble stone tight in his hand. It was nothing more than an irregularly shaped piece of stone and wouldn’t do much against the armour of the White Goblins or even their skin. Anton wasn’t too confident in his strength in this world. He held the shard like a blade and tried to drive it into the ground. The shard dug deep, covered in a white sandy dirt.

“Guess it’ll have to do,” Anton mumbled, his voice still echoed strangely. “Now, does their magic work?”

He focused all of his effort to creating a marble spear, anything that used the charge in his tail. No matter what he did it was completely useless. He could still feel it, vaguely, but he could not manipulate it.

That’ll be bloody right. At least I’ve got this piece...All the good that it’ll do against a sword

After peering outside of the safety of the tree ring again Anton walked towards the White Spire as quickly as he could while crouching low, constantly looking around for any sign of something approaching, especially from the air. The battle around the spire continued unabated, the small specks growing and diminishing in number, as he reached the first line of boulders. A distinction slowly grew between the dots; one side fired off streams of black lightning and small white specks, the other unleashed a multitude of magical attacks, the only source of different colour in this realm. Anton caught flashes of flame, lightning, water, stone and some kind of black smoke.

Maybe that’s from the God of Death…I don’t think those Children stand much of a chance.

The ground rumbled as a great wave of flame descended along the exterior of the White Spire, breaking free another sliver of the tower, sending it tumbling and smashing into the other fragment. A great plume of white dust rose up, consuming the small flying specks before settling and spreading out across the land.

As Anton continued walking towards the White Spire a wave of white dust settled over everything, thick enough to obscure the White Spire and the black lightning running along the sky in a dull white haze. Anton stopped, allowing the white dust to fall on his outstretched ethereal hand. It slowly built up but it was impossible to feel the coarse dust, even when he tried to grind it in his hand. He continued, simply allowing the white dust to fall away when it became too thick.

By the time Anton reached the second forest, where he had met the children previously, the white dust had begun to thin to a level where he could see the White Spire again. The battle continued to rage around the spire, with no clear victor. As he entered the forest he gripped the marble shard tight. Ahead was where his Gods had entered this world to battle the original Gods, if that was what actually happened. The golden trees appeared mostly intact, one or two had broken branches but otherwise there was no sign of a battle.

“It…” Anton cut his mumbling short. Only one thing in this realm had noticed his presence before, but that was only after accidentally absorbing their magic.

The small clearing came into view. Anton crouched low and hid behind a particularly large tree, only daring to peer out with a single eye.

No one remained in the clearing. In fact, there was no sign of anything ever having been here in the first place. On the far side Anton saw a small white cube, the same as the children were using to create block castles.

“Not surprising.” Anton crept along the perimeter of the clearing towards the cube. “They are Gods, probably. It’s not going to be easy to take something like that down in their own realm. Just like Fliodher.”

Another bolt of black lightning ran along the sky. Anton crouched low again as he neared the cube. He reached out, holding the rugged White Marble shard tight in the other, and snatched it back into the forest. There was nothing unique or strange about it. It was just a white cube.

“Pity….” Anton gently placed the cube in the shade of the golden tree. “If I get more of…that, then I might be able to get out of here. But who knows-”

A whistling rang out above Anton. He threw himself against the tree and looked up. Through the myriad of branches he could make out three dots that were closing in rapidly upon him. Anton felt his heart jump into his throat; if he died here who knows what would happen. Perhaps some horrible fate like Caiden or Harold?

Just this shard?

Anton grunted and held the shard tight with both hands.

Please don’t notice me. Just go on fighting while I figure out how to get out of here!

One of the three specks broke away, chased by bursts of flame and lines of white light. One such beam hit the third dot hard and it began to fall at tremendous speed. Anton ran deeper into the forest as the whistling grew into a roaring gale. The creature smashed into the forest just behind him, smashing golden trees while throwing up great plumes of white sandy soil. Anton dived behind another tree, ensuring that his body was tucked in tight and couldn’t be seen.

“He almost had you.” A growling voice came from above.

A creature floated in the sky above the crashed creature, its form obscured by the trees but Anton saw the flames erupting from its body. His first thought was of a Demon, not the lava dog creatures invading through red lightning tears between worlds but of Earth. In fact, Anton had seen this creature drawn in a book. A book gifted by Ferula on Esperit’s magic: a level ten fire summon, the greatest and most difficult creature to summon and control. A Fire Lord.

The Fire Lord, easily eight meters tall, floated above the canopy of the golden trees. Overall it was rather human in appearance. At least its general figure and face. Four wings grew out of its back, a mixture of flame and some dark hard flesh, beating slowly, far too slowly to float in the sky. The Fire Lord frowned, eyes and brows made of a flickering flame, and pointed a sword wreathed in white hot flames towards the golden forest.

“I love the way the leaves crackle and burn.” The Fire Lord laughed. “How long has it been since we’ve had the chance to burn something that wasn’t flesh or metal?”

“How should I know?” The second creature, speaking with a soft female voice, floated next to the Fire Lord. “I do not care for such pointless destruction.”

The second creature Anton didn’t recognise. It looked similar to a stereotypical angel but something was off; her face was far too elongated to be natural, she had a third eye in the centre of her forehead and six arms, each with a disk of light perfectly fitting between her fingers, expanding and contracting seemingly without effort. Compared to the Fire Lord she was very small, perhaps the size of a normal woman, comically small next to the flaming giant. A yellow flowing dress hung from her shoulders reaching beyond her feet, slightly swaying and hugging her slender form. It did not look like any of Tethra’s summons but there were many Gods that Anton did still not know about.

“Perhaps.” The Fire Lord swung his sword. A jet of flame erupted from the tip, eradicating a swath of trees, right up to the one shielding Anton. Anton forced himself to remain still, even though his legs shook from fear. “But at least here you get to see the sun, no?”

The angelic creature raised two of its hands, twirling several errant strands of her short blonde hair. “P-Perhaps. But I’d prefer to not be here. In this place, reeking of corruption and filth.”

“What are you on about?” The Fire Lord continued to frown. “It’s great here. So much to do, so much to destroy. Their plan really worked well.”

“You’d say that.” The angelic creature smiled. “So long as you, and the rest of your kind can burn you’re happy.”

The Fire Lord laughed. “You know us too well.” The Fire Lord slapped her behind, the palm of his hand was more than enough to completely encompass her rear. The angelic creature’s eye twitched but she offered no rebuke.

The Fire Lord smirked. “Come, the battle continues.”

“And this one?”

Anton felt his heart race once again. The angelic creature pointed to the fallen creature, still obscured by the burning trees.

“It’s dead.” The Fire Lord flapped its wings, rising into the air far faster than the beats should allow. “And there are a lot more for us to kill. There’s…Oh. There’s a huge group of those little critters coming from the tower.”

Shit.

“Do you want to deal with them?” The Fire Lord rested upon his sword, as if it was actually planted in the ground rather than just floating in the air alongside him. “Or do you want to let the young-lings deal with them? You know, give them some practice.”

“They could die.” The angelic creature floated up to join him.

“Then they just need to try harder. So…”

“I’m sure that Solious would be furious to find that we are playing with a dead enemy while they continue to fight over the tower.” The angelic creature smiled. “We aren’t exactly the strongest of fighters.”

The Fire Lord merely raised a disbelieving brow and soared into the sky with the angelic creature in close pursuit. Anton had no idea what to make of their conversation; clearly from two different gods but worked alongside one another. One from a god Anton had never heard of before.

A god of the Sun or of Light? Why did Esperit’s creature act like she wouldn’t have seen sunlight in years? That’s certainly how it came across.

Anton vigorously shook his head.

There’s a small army of White Goblins or Ghlotsm coming here. Or something worse. Who knows what else is lurking in this realm?

Anton took a step, following the direction the two had flown towards the tower, when the trees behind him rustled. He stopped dead and gripped the shard tight. Was there a chance that they were wrong? Even with their apparent strength?

Anton took a deep breath, not that breathing was even necessary in this realm, and hesitantly approached the ring of crushed trees. It was extremely difficult to see through, Anton could only see that the creature the two had felled was large and covered in dark skin.

Should I run? I’m curious…

Anton decided that the creature, even if it was alive, would be too wounded to act anytime soon. And he would be long gone before it could bring itself to attack him, let alone move.

I’m curious, but if it sees me I could be dead. That Fire Lord destroyed half of this forest with just a simple swing of its sword. What could threaten that? Certainly not me.

Anton kept low as he ran away from the hidden creature and towards the White Spire, still in lieu of any better plan. The dense golden forest continued for some time until it abruptly stopped and gave way to a golden grassland where a battle raged. Anton hid behind a tree, it was almost becoming second nature at this point, and peered out.

Two distinct forces fought across a charred and burning field; one a myriad of colour and different shaped creatures fighting in a disorganised and chaotic horde with no regard for supporting one another, the other a uniform and clearly disciplined army that fought as a single cohesive force. Unfortunately the organised force did not belong to any of Anton’s gods. Hordes of White Goblins formed large square formations, shields raised to deflect ranged attacks, reminiscent of a Roman testudo. Behind the initial formation the White Goblins wielded large white bows with equally large simple white arrows. They fired in volleys with disturbing accuracy and speed. The opposing side tried to dodge the volleys with some success. Any creature hit was killed in one or two hits.

Behind the lines of White Goblins were White Ghlotsm; again they had the same general structure as the Ghlotsm Anton knew but stood more upright, their claws longer and not filled with rot, their distended bellies far less pronounced and covered with a simple armoured plate. They remained behind the formations of White Goblins until the melee commenced. The moment the front of the White Goblins swung their swords and technicolor hordes the White Ghlotsm surged forward, jumping onto the backs of the White Goblins before diving into the enemy. The enemy recoiled from shock, allowing the White Goblins to advance again while the White Ghlotsm continued to tear into their foes.

Both forces continued to clash seemingly without end. Old God forces poured out of the forest while more White Goblins and Ghlotsm emerged from another in the distance.

“Some sort of summoners?” Anton mumbled aloud. “Perhaps the gods themselves?”

A large green bird flew close above, trails of blue mist trailing from its wingtips. The trees shook violently as the wings clipped the golden canopy.

Shit. They’re getting close again.

While the battle was too dangerous to go anywhere near Anton saw something in the distance that might allow him to pass. A large field of giant white cubes, far larger and more dense than anything he’d seen so far, extended as far as he could see. A boulder field that reached close to the White Spire. None of the battling forces were near the boulder fields and appeared deserted.

I’m just wandering around in this place. Am I supposed to head to the White Spire? I don’t know if I’ll learn anything even if I do, let alone if I can enter it.

Anton looked at the broken and burning shards of the White Spire.

Perhaps I could climb? I don’t get tired and holding onto sharp edges doesn’t hurt. I…I might still die if I fall from that height. I’ll have enough time to think on the way down.

Anton crouched low and slunk through the forest as close as he could to the boulder field. Some of the Ghlotsm and the faster creatures of the Old Gods tried to outflank one another, small bands colliding and forming small and intense battles of their own, but they gave the white cubes a wide berth. Anton hoped they weren’t dangerous.

After a quick dive from the forest he entered the white boulder field. Immediately he understood why the creatures had no desire to enter such a place; nestled between the boulders at the base were hundreds of tiny white cubes forming spikes. Two dead White Goblins, impaled through their chests and skull, proved the dangers of the field. Anton moved slowly through the boulders, trying his best to remain at the sides where the spikes were smaller and less numerous. The sounds of battle continued without end, echoing over the large boulders, as he drew closer and closer to the White Spire.

Time became a strange concept as Anton advanced, constantly scanning the boulders for any sign of movement, the air above for any flying creature that could swoop down and snap him up. Nothing assaulted him or even noticed his existence as he moved forward.

Will it just be a few minutes when I get back? A few weeks? Years? I’m all but certain I’ve been here longer than I was the last time. Not to mention there’s the Fire Elves. What will they think?

Anton passed another dead White Goblin, impaled just like the others.

Will it start a war? Magic’s shit in their cavern. Will we be able to fight our way out?

A flash of light caught Anton’s attention. It came from just in front of the White Spire. An obelisk, stood just before the base of the White Spire, easy to make out by the blackened slivers of the White Spire. Anton didn’t understand why but something drew him to it. A curiosity of the unknown.

Well, waiting in this field isn’t going to solve anything. However I’m going to get home, it’s not going to just fall in my lap.

Hoping he hadn’t tempted fate, Anton continued his slow movement towards the White Spire and the strange obelisk.

---[]---

As Anton finally exited the boulder field and arrived at the obelisk the sheer mind-boggling distances began to sink in. If he wasn’t constantly terrified of attack, from behind the uniform boulders or from above, he might have gone a little mad. So far everything had ignored him but that could change at any moment. He had been hiding so far, but now there was no cover between him and the obelisk.

The obelisk lay at the centre of twenty raised concentric white marble rings, with a small set of stairs to connect each level. They clearly weren’t made for humans but for the White Realms denizens, narrow pathways of small steps lay alongside the larger steps, so that smaller creatures didn’t need to clamber up each of the rings without impeding the larger species.

Clearly they care about their creations. If they didn’t they wouldn’t have created the smaller steps. Unless they were truly bored and simply did it to pass the time…What a terrifying thought. To be that bored in a place like this...

Now that he was much closer it was obvious the obelisk was different to anything else in the White Realm. While most of the structure was a continuous white marble, a small section at the base, a recess about two meters tall and one wide, was coloured a vibrant blue and gold. Blue formed the majority of the depression while the gold formed a vertical line that radiated a complex square of diminishing size until they were little more than dots at the edge.

“So what are you supposed to be?”

Nothing returned an answer, not that Anton expected one. If something had he would have jumped out of his skin, figuratively of course.

“Surely this must be important. It’s the only thing with colour for…Well, a thousand miles. Probably. It must be important. Maybe it’s just a shrine? But surely children wouldn’t worry about something like that. Unless that was just their current form and not their actual mental age.”

Again nothing answered Anton’s question as he walked to the obelisk. As he neared the top the black lightning cracked overhead, the golden marking pulsed once and faded as the lightning trailed away from the spire.

“So you’re powered by the lightning above.” Anton stepped back, craning his neck back. “Can’t see anything…Magic. Remember? It doesn’t need to make complete sense. Just within its own laws.”

Anton quickly ran around the obelisk, just to check that nothing lay behind and he was just staring in vain at the front. Unfortunately, there was nothing.

Anton rested his spare hand on his hip, frowning at the obelisk.

“Guess you are just a shrine.” Anton murmured, shaking his head. “Oh well…I can’t see any more so you might be…”

A sharp sound caught his attention. Something clambered up the small steps towards the obelisk. A single White Goblin, its armour bent and broken, trudged up the stairs, using its chipped and cracked sword for support. It didn’t leak any blood, at least as Anton knew it, but it was clearly hurt.

Anton hid behind the obelisk and watched the Goblin in silence. Its strange light eyes looked to the blue and golden recess in the obelisk and smiled, a smile that didn’t fill Anton with a sense of impending dread.

It stood just before the obelisk, dropped its shield and raised its damaged sword towards the centre of the recess. Anton moved closer, trying his best to observe without being spotted, and saw the sword float out of his hand. Tiny specks of black lightning jumped out from the sword and the golden lines running along the obelisk, growing in intensity and strength until they touched. The sword flew forward and struck the central golden line as the obelisk began to hum with energy. Pulses of black lightning raced four times down the obelisk. When the fourth touched the bottom a bolt struck the top of the obelisk, splitting off from the bolts running through the sky overhead. The Goblin screeched in delight. It reached into the recess and brought out a new sword, now rippling with black lightning along its entire length. The Goblin smiled and observed the new weapon closely, smiling like a child receiving a new tow. A few practice swings later, the Goblin looked extremely pleased with its new weapon, it moved to recover its shield. As it picked it up the Goblin stopped and looked towards Anton. He wasn’t entirely in view but his heart still raced. The Goblin slowly picked up its shield and advanced towards Anton, readying both to defend itself from something it didn't understand. Its white eyes narrowed, squinting as it walked around the obelisk, remaining far away so Anton, or whatever it suspected was hiding there, could surprise it.

Anton slinked around the other side of the obelisk, holding the shard close to his chest. The White Goblin continued to slowly creep around the obelisk before reaching the back. Anton peered around, the White Goblin bobbed its head back and forth, giving a single shrug and began walking towards the steps.

Maybe it can't see me, just the shard of marble...Whatever this actually is. Would I be safe if I just dropped it, so they don't see a floating-

"Grekka!"

A White Goblin ran towards him from the other side of the Obelisk, shield raised and sword ready to strike. It wasn't the same creature as before, the sword lacked the black lightning, but this Goblin wasn't injured or wounded in any form.

"How did you sneak up on me?"

The White Goblin frowned, slowing its charge and stopping a few meters from Anton. Anton held the shard like a weapon but he didn't fancy his chances against an armoured enemy, even after the training he had received.

"You." The White Goblin pointed its sword at Anton. "Don't...Belong. Here."

It took the White Goblin great effort to speak, like the words were poison in its mouth.

"Me?" Anton pointed to himself. "You can actually see me?"

"Not a creation of the Gods." The White Goblin snarled, a white tongue ran along its pointed teeth. "Or a creation of their creations. But you, ghost...You are an...Outsider."

"I-"

"Like the others. Have killed so many already..."

"I'm not one of them."

I technically am.

"And I want to get out of here. Something brought-"

"No more of your kind!" The White Goblin raised its shield once again. "No more of your destruction. Destroying our realm. No more! Agal will know what to do with you."

"Then can they-"

"When I bring her your head!"

The White Goblin screamed, lunging forward with all his might. Anton didn't have time to lament or regret his words. It was likely it would have made little difference, the White Goblin had clearly already made up its mind.

Anton remembered his training from Cetina, as much as he could, waited until the last moment before throwing himself to the side. Collisions with his ethereal body elicited no pain but he wasn't going to take the chance against an actual weapon. The White Goblin was dumbfounded as its blade struck the obelisk, cracking and breaking in two. It appeared more concerned with damaging the obelisk than its broken weapon, not that the marble structure had received even a single scratch. Anton took the brief opening and rammed the marble shard deep into the Goblins neck. A viscous golden liquid squirted out, covering Anton's weapon before quickly petering out to a faint dribble. A faint noise, a tiny gurgle, escaped its dying lips before it fell forward, planting its face against the obelisk and slumping down to a crumpled heap. Anton didn’t feel anything in his tail, something he was glad not to feel.

"Damn things aren't that different." Anton ripped the shard free, the corpse fell away, smearing a line of golden blood over the obelisk. "Imagine if they were like this back home. There wouldn’t be anything left."

Anton quickly surveyed the area, the previous White Goblin was still absent and there was no sign of how this one had snuck up on Anton.

"There must be another path up to the obelisk. I can't imagine they'd make you walk all the way around if you approached it from the tower."

Anton looked above, the battle in the air continued to rage without end.

"But where to now?" Anton tried to shake the blood from his marble shard, some came loose but most remained stuck. "Now where am I supposed to go..."

The sound of distant marching stopped Anton's thoughts. At first he didn't believe his ears, at least his hearing, for the sounds came from the entire perimeter of the obelisk's circular base. Anton gingerly and carefully moved to the edge, only far enough so that he could peer over without being seen.

"So he did see me." Anton clicked his ethereal tongue.

Hundreds of White Goblins, even some White Ghlotsm in their midst, surrounded the base of the obelisk platform. At the front a White Goblin, one with a sword rippling with black lightning, screeched and waved the others forward.

“And he’s got some clout. Maybe that’s what the sword was…A reward for feats in battle.” Anton looked up, towards the distant battles. “There are going to be a lot of chances right now.”

The lead White Goblin waved the sword over his head, drawing more attention to himself, before pointing to the obelisk.

Time to leave.

Though there was only a single pathway fit for a Goblin, or a human, Anton wasn’t worried about jumping down the larger steps. He hurried to the far side but found his feet skidding to a halt; the lines of White Goblins were remaining in formation, their only purpose was to surround the obelisk and prevent his escape. Anton’s blood cold, if such a thing could happen in this realm.

“Shit!” Anton stomped his dragonoid foot. “What…”

The Marble Shard felt extremely heavy in his hand, almost like it was trying to tell him something.

“Fuck it.” Anton ran to the recess in the obelisk. “I’ll be dead if I don’t do something.”

The recess, adorned with the intricate golden lines, looked identical to how he first found it. The blue retained its vivid colour while the golden lines were without a blemish. It hadn't burned out from use but he had no idea if it would still function. Or how it functioned in the first place.

"Might need some time to recharge." Anton held the golden blood-stained Marble Shard like the White Goblin held his sword. "Please work."

The shard jumped from his hand, snapping frozen in the same place the sword floated. Pulses of black lightning ran down the obelisk, far more than before and with greater intensity. From above a bolt struck the top of the obelisk but didn't dissipate, forming a writhing and arcing connection to the lightning running along the sky, dragging the normally chaotic bursts towards a single direction, straight over the obelisk. Anton backed away as the blue began to fray and peel away, the golden lines buckled and warped under heat that Anton could not perceive. The white marble blackened and cracked, small chunks exploded away from the recess. The Marble Shard remained unchanged.

"Come on!" Anton hissed at the inanimate object. "You've got to do something. Other than just making a mess. Otherwise I'm probably dead."

A screech from below confirmed his worst fears. The patter of armoured boots on stone, of white marble on marble, rang throughout the air. Anton didn't need to look to know what was coming.

"What did he do?"

Anton approached the Marble Shard. One of the golden lines exploded, showering him in thousands of tiny pieces of shrapnel. They didn't hurt but he felt great discomfort.

"Something in their language? Something like go or activate?" Anton sighed. "I don't even know if this will work..."

The sound of approaching enemies grew closer, already Anton could see the tops of their helmets.

"Guess I'll be heading back when I die." Anton reached for the suspended shard. "If that'll send me back. Or if I can actually die."

The instant Anton's ethereal fingers made contact, something was ripped from him, the energy he had accidentally taken from the child in the White Realm and much more. It returned the next moment, but for that brief period he felt impossibly frail and weak, his tail and feet shimmered in and out of existence. The marble shard began to crack, growing brighter and brighter until it obscured his vision. Anton looked behind to see how close the White Goblins were, but even that was almost impossible to see. Something shattered, like glass, and the light faded away. The White Goblins had reached the top of the platform but did not advance, they groaned and rubbed their eyes in an attempt to see.

The recess, once a vibrant blue and gold, now burned and crackled. Every piece of gold now dangled helplessly while the blue had disappeared completely. So too had the marble shard. Anton didn't know what to think when he laid eyes on what replaced it, a long spear with three large holes in the blade. Unlike the spear held by the Fire Elves, this had three large purple spheres rather than just one. Something crashed to his side, a large piece of marble. The top of the obelisk had shattered, more and more pieces crumbled and fell away, crashing onto the platform and rolling down the large rings to the ground beyond.

Anton felt reluctant to touch the spear. A White Goblin’s screech convinced him he was being unnecessarily cautious and stupid. He ripped the spear free, nothing happened this time, and wielded it like he was taught.

"..."

Anton frowned at the spear. While he didn't hear anything he was certain it tried to say something.

"Can you speak?"

The spear didn't reply directly, instead the spheres shimmered brightly once.

"You're a sentient weapon then. That’s neat." Anton mused, again the spear tried to respond but could do little besides shimmer. "Well, looks like if you are the same spear the Fire Elves had, we might just make it through this."

A single White Goblin broke from the pack, the first to recover his vision, and ran at Anton, screaming and waving his sword over his head.

"I hope I make it too."

This time the spear shook in confirmation, even the three purple spheres shone a shade brighter, telling him it was ready to fight. At least that's what Anton felt.

The White Goblin charging at him clearly wasn't the most intelligent. While his shield was raised it wasn't held tight and could be easily pushed aside, the sword over his head could deliver a powerful blow but if the target didn't remain still, something Anton had no intention of doing, it was essentially useless. Remembering Cetina’s training he ran as the White Goblin neared, catching him off guard, and thrusting the long spear into its face. It raised its shield to block but couldn't reach in time. The spear's shaft ground along the edge of the shield, sending great chunks of material scattering into its face, before the tip punctured through its helmet and erupted through the other side. Golden blood burst over him and the spear, the White Goblin struggled for a moment before its body twitched once. Strength left its body and slumped down, pulling the spear with him. Anton kicked the White Goblin away, he could interact with them at the very least, and looked at his spear. The three small purple spheres sucked the blood in, glowed brighter for a moment then returned to normal.

“Does that make you stronger?” Anton asked half-jokingly.

The spear shimmered, two of the spheres flashed, then the central.

“I’ll take that as a yes then.”

Anton readied his stance again but something felt different. He felt lighter, faster, even if it was infinitesimally.

Glad you’re taking the charge then.

The spear shimmered again.

So you can hear my thoughts as well?

Again the spear shook, almost a mocking laugh, in its silent language.

Anton stepped back, readying his stance, and waited for the next White Goblin. He wasn’t willing to leap into the mass of creatures, especially as they had all but recovered. Two began to charge at Anton but saw the downed White Goblin, the great pool of golden blood, and advanced with some hesitation. But only some.

They moved either side of the body in order to flank him.

What would Cetina say? Take out one first, don’t let them dictate how the battle is going to flow!

Anton threw the spear with all his might. The White Goblin’s eyes constricted in surprise and fear, raising his shield. The spear tip cut right through the shield, cracking it in two, and cut right through his arm and chest. Anton was right behind the spear, grabbing the end and ripping it free before the White Goblin fell over and took his only weapon away from him. The other White Goblin hesitated for a moment, caught off guard by the sudden death of his colleague, but quickly moved to attack. This time Anton caught his blade with his own, his spear sung, an incredibly high pitched whistle, loud enough to catch the White Goblin unaware, and shattered it a moment later. The part of the sword that connected with his spear began to melt, both he and the White Goblin stared momentarily at what both would have believed to be impossible. Anton stomped his foot and thrust the spear into the White Goblin's neck before cutting to the side. The creature fumbled and fell. The golden blood staining the blade was absorbed once again by the purple spheres.

“Great. Three down.” Anton forced a smile. “Just hundreds more to go.”

A new wave of White Goblins charged, this time eight.

“Can you do something?” Anton asked the spear. “Something else? Like shoot out a beam of light? Some Black Lightning that can kill these things?”

The spear remained silent and still, not even a hint of a shimmer or movement.

“Great.” Anton clicked his tongue. “At least I got a few.”

From behind Anton saw movement, already the White Goblins were reaching the top of the platform.

How did they get up there so quickly? Did they climb over each other like ants? The steps aren’t big enough.

A screech from the front caught his attention.

They certainly look like they might do something like that.

Anton readied his stance once again. “Let’s take out as many of you as I can then.”

The first White Goblin neared Anton and the spear began to shine. The purple spheres glowed as the edge of the spear blade glowed with a bright purple light.

“Strong…” A faint voice entered Anton’s ears, coming somehow from within him yet not. “You wanted…Stronger.”

“Yes.” Anton gripped the spear tight. “Yes, I did. Thank you…Spear.”

The purple light grew even larger, extending a few inches from the spear itself. The first White Goblin neared, far more subdued in its rage than the previous attackers. Anton thrust the spear straight at its chest. The purple edge cut through its shield and armour like a hot knife through butter. Anton withdrew the blade, this time the Golden blood flew from the wounds and into the purple spheres, and swung at the next. The purple energy cut through just as easily as before, severing the White Goblins chest from its body. After killing both of the White Goblins the field purple energy remained consistent.

“We can do this.” Anton found himself almost laughing. “Can you keep that energy field thing going? I think we can win if you can.”

“Can…Will do…Best…”

“Just let me know if you’re about to run out.”

“Will try…The blood makes me stronger…”

“I understand.” Anton advanced on the next White Goblin. “I just need to keep killing them, right?”

---[]---

Anton was glad, more than glad, that his form didn’t tire or suffer from any kind of exhaustion no matter how many times he swung or thrust the spear. The purple energy surrounding the spear’s blade certainly helped as nothing the White Goblins or the few White Ghlotsm’s wore or wielded impeded his attacks. With every kill it absorbed their golden blood but Anton noticed it could only do it once per kill, not that Anton deliberately experimented but when he brushed the edge against a pile of corpses the blood remained on the spear, the fresh blood was absorbed while the old remained, even passing through itself to reach the purple spheres.

Now only one creature stood before him amongst piles of corpses. The black lightning rippled along the White Goblin’s sword as it bared its teeth at Anton. It hadn’t waited for everyone else to fall, far from it, but Anton had kept out of its reach, putting other White Goblins in its path and running away, the lack of exhaustion was truly a boon and probably kept him alive. Now there was no choice but to fight this last White Goblin one on one.

“None of you have talked since we started fighting.” Anton held his spear pointed at its chest, the White Goblin glanced at its shield. “Except for that first one, that was willing to talk. At least for a little bit. But…Can you talk? Even my spear can talk.”

Did I actually create a life?

The White Goblin dropped its shield and gripped the sword with both hands.

“Are you even capable of talking? The other one could, and he didn’t receive that sword.”

The White Goblin glanced at his weapon.

“What did you do to get that? I’m sure you did something impressive. No one else ran to get it, even before…”

Anton looked back to the ruined obelisk. More chunks had broken from the tip during his fight, some had crushed a few errant White Goblins, but after creating his spear it had remained lifeless and dead.

“Killing a powerful foe.” The White Goblin spoke with a deeper, rougher voice than the previous. “Agal rewarded me for slaying one of the intruder’s greatest foes. A six-armed creature that created light that burned through our armies.”

The White Goblin smiled at the sword. “She screamed as I tore out her throat.”

“Was there a flaming creature with her?”

“No.” The White Goblin frowned. “You…You are more willing to talk than most of your kind.”

“I’m not exactly one of them.” Anton pointed his spear to the corpses before him. “I tried to talk to you, but none of you wanted to listen.”

“It doesn’t matter what lies you spout-”

“I’ve barely spoken.”

“-But the Masters have decreed that all Outsiders are to be destroyed. To be removed from our realm.” The White Goblin readied a fighting stance. “And after your reckless use of an Obelisk of Creation…No one that follows the Masters would be that foolish. Only an Outsider. An Outsider that needs to be removed for their sacrilege.”

“I don’t actually want to fight.” Anton sighed. “And I was attacked first, I only used that Obelisk of Creation, if that’s what it’s called, after I was attacked. I’d have preferred to talk and find a way out of this place. But you aren’t in the talking mood any more, are you?”

The White Goblin snarled, adjusted his helmet, and began to advance.

“Guess not.”

Anton readied his spear and waited until he could strike the White Goblin in one strike. The Goblin kept the lightning sword close to its chest, Anton didn’t know if it would hurt or even break his own spear. Anton waited until he was almost on him and darted to the side, reached down and picked up a broken piece of white shield and threw it at the White Goblins face. Though his face was protected by a helmet the sheer surprise and the obstruction of his view was sufficient. He swatted away the piece with his sword, the white material crumbled around his black lightning sword, but it left his sword away from his body. Leaving him open. Anton saw the moment he realised his mistake. He tried to bring it back but the spear flew at his face. The White Goblin tried to move but the purple edge cut through his neck, almost severing it in two.

“Wretched…” The White Goblin spat out a mouthful of golden blood, the Black Lightning sword clattered to the ground. The marble floor crumpled around the edge and slowly ate its way down. “Wretched creature…”

“I just wanted to find a way home.” Anton withdrew his spear, followed a great spurt of golden blood. “If you’d just talked, if one of you had just listened, none of this would have happened.”

The White Goblin snarled one last time before collapsing lifelessly to the ground. Anton watched the vicious golden blood fly into the purple spheres. This blood looked far thicker, richer, than the other White Goblins and Ghlotsm, but it absorbed it all just the same.

“I think that’s all of them,” Anton said softly.

He walked to the edge of the platform. Their battle had lasted longer than he’d first thought, that and the journey through the boulder fields had taken an exorbitant amount of time. In the distance, parallel to the beginning of the boulder fields, the battle had ceased. Anton’s gods had won, brightly coloured creatures moved through the forest and approached the base of the tower, where streams of White Goblins and Ghlotsm emerged from small entrances. In the air the battle continued to rage. However, that battle appeared to be going in favour of the defenders, for now at least.

“I wonder how much longer this battle will last.” Anton looked around for any more threats. “They’ll probably lose, if this is the past. How does time work in this realm? At least how it works back to mine.”

“The flow…” The spear spoke louder this time, its voice was feminine but very deep but still weak. The voice came from the central of the three purple spheres. “Time flows differently here.”

“I thought that was the case.” Anton backed away from the edge and returned to the obelisk, stepping clear of the bodies, as best he could. “I was in this place for ages the first time…But how do you know time is different here? Weren’t you just created?”

“I…I do not know.” The spear sighed. “It was merely the first thing that I thought.”

Anton held the spear close to his face. “Did you look at my memories? Or something like that?”

The Spear hesitated slightly. “I do not know.”

“Well…Thank you. I don’t think I would have made it without you.”

The spear shimmered happily. “Thank you. It was my pleasure to help you, Master.”

A silence filled the air, the fighting around the White Spire barely registered in Anton’s mind.

“Well…I haven’t been called Master before.”

That’s not exactly true…

The spear said nothing and remained motionless.

“So…What now? I think that White Goblin was speaking the truth about the Obelisk of Creation.” Anton grimaced at the sight of the ruined recess in the Obelisk. “I wonder if doing that pissed them off more than actually just being here. It might have ruined my chances to peacefully speak with them.”

“I do not know if that’s true, Master.” The spear almost appeared to be pouting. “You only created me using their inferior construct. I don’t see why that requires such a massive response from them.”

“They were coming before I created you.”

By accident, really.

“But you now have enough strength to talk normally.” Anton held the spear close to his face. “Did all that blood give you enough strength for that? I killed quite a few. Or is it just that you’ve been alive for long enough.”

“Forgive me, Master. I do not know.”

“That’s alright. Do…Do you remember being in an underground cavern? Surrounded by a race called Fire Elves?”

“I do not.” The spear sighed. “I have no memories before my creation. Forgive me, Master. I simply do not know.”

Anton held his chin. “If time doesn’t flow in a straight line then it might be possible that I met you for the first time before I even created you. From my perspective at least. Though certainly not for you…I’m pretty sure that my gods-”

“How can you…”

“What’s that?”

“Nothing, Master.” The spear made a strange noise. “I do not understand…It is something I’ll need to ponder later.”

“Definitely later.” Anton took a step. “Oh, and can you please not call me Master. It makes me feel a little strange.”

“But what should I call you?” If the spear could tilt its head it certainly would have. “Should I not call my entire reason for existence my Master?”

“I don’t know about that, but could you please call me Anton?”

“I…Yes, Anton.” The Spear did not seem particularly happy, rather it did not wish to disobey his wish. “Please forgive me if I call you Master by accident.”

“And what should I call you? Spear isn’t a good name. And it’ll just be confusing if I actually talk to someone in this realm, someone that doesn’t want me dead for just existing…Or destroying this obelisk. Do you have any ideas?”

“I…Hmm…I do not know.” The spear fell quiet for some time. “I know that I will like whatever you choose for me.”

“Well…” Anton looked at his surroundings. “There’s not a lot for inspiration here. Um…Hmm…I’m kind of drawing a blank.”

Anton looked at the spear. “It’s not right to not give you a name.”

“What about…What about Longinious?”

Anton frowned. “That-That sounds extremely similar to the spear that pierced the side of Christ. Or was that the guy that did it…Wait. How do you know about that?”

“I…I don’t know.” The spear sighed. “I just do…Somehow...You knew that name and it was the first one I found. I made a few changes though…”

“Right. Well, your name is now Longinious.” Anton smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you too, Anton.” Longinious laughed, faint but undoubtedly honest. “Umm…Master-”

“Please call me Anton.”

“Sorry, Anton. But…There was something I felt when I was created. I received some memories and knowledge from you-”

That must have been that power that left me. It would make things easier if a sentient creation had a basic understanding of the things the creator knew. How convenient.

“-But I think I should have received more.”

“Should?”

“Yes,” Longinious grumbled. “Something stopped me. It was like a wall. A wall made of thousands of flashing black and white lights, swirling and writhing together.”

Anton forced himself to keep as calm as possible. “Was it like static?”

“I don’t know what that is…”

“But did you try and break through?”

“No.” Longinious sounded rather shocked. “No. I didn’t want to intrude. I don’t know if some memories are supposed to be locked away like that.”

“Yes…Please don’t try and peek in. I-”

“I would never do something like that!” Longinious shook angrily. “I would never try and intrude upon my creator's memories. Not that I can now. I wasn’t even sentient when I found it.”

“I get the feeling that wall is there for a reason.” Anton looked around the obelisk’s platform, still nothing was approaching. “But we need to get back. Well, I don’t know if you can come with me…”

“I am your creation and your weapon,” Longinious spoke firmly. “Your Avatar. Even if I am destined to be only with you for a short time I will make sure that you return.”

“I think you’re there too.” Anton smiled. “But I fear that you might be waiting the long way. Maybe. If that’s how it works here.”

Longinious chuckled. “I will be fine. If I need to wait for a few thousand years then that’s what I must do.”

Anton nodded once and began walking towards the small stairs. “Since you’re a being of this world.”

Longinious huffed.

“Sort of. Do you know anything of how to get out of here?” Anton pointed to the battle in the sky around the White Spire. “Or any of what’s really happening?”

“I do not. But if we’re going to find out anything we’ll have to get into the White Spire.” Longinious made a strange grumbling noise. “But…But I think I know a way in that won’t be heavily defended. Compared to what we just fought it’ll probably still be a lot. It’s probably our only way in.”

Anton stopped at the top of the stairs, he turned to look at the White Spire once more.

“It’ll take months to properly explore such a thing.” Anton began his descent. “If we aren’t swarmed by those creatures. Or my own.”

“Why would Mas-Your allies hurt you?”

“I don’t actually know if they will.” Something caught Anton’s eye, a coloured light in the far distance. “I don’t know if they know that I’m here or who…Shit.”

Anton began to run down the steps as the light grew larger and large. A whistling filled the air, spurring Anton forward.

“Master, what’s happening?”

“Just-Hang on!”

Anton gripped the spear hard as he began to jump down the steps. His feet slipped multiple times, had they been human feet or he could feel pain he certainly would have stumbled but he managed to reach the bottom without completely falling. Longinious gasped as the bright light grew larger and closer. A bolt of yellow light, brighter than the sun, flew above his head, obliterating the ruined Obelisk of Creation, Anton felt the searing heat even through his ethereal body, and smashing into the White Spire. The roaring bolt of light struck an invisible field surrounding the White Spire, throwing up billions of arcs of black lightning, striking the creatures fighting above from both sides and evaporating each with a single strike.

Slowly the field began to break, exploding in a final explosion of lightning, and the beam of light broke through the marble and deep into the structure. Within a few seconds the light faded and sputtered away.

“They’ll be fighting over that breach…” Anton sighed. “We won’t be able to sneak through now. Not…No. I don’t think we can kill that many and get through unnoticed. Was that the way that we could have gotten in?”

“No.” Longinious groaned. “But it is nearby. We might have to be sneaky. But I know that you can do that.”

Is that a memory about Verona and Kal?

“Lead on.” Anton smiled at the spear. “But we need to keep quiet. No need for us to be swarmed after getting this far. Right?”

“Yes, Anton.” Longinious’s purple spheres flashed bright and happily. “We will find a way for you to return home. I know it.”