The rage that flowed inside him was like a torrent, like the relentless pound of the ocean on the sea, he had no idea who the man or god that was standing in front of him was, and really he didn't care.

No that was a lie.

He cared very much.

Rushing forward with a speed that set heads spinning as they tried to calculate how fast he was moving he rushed the god, a streak of red and gold, bearing down like a bolt of holy fire thrown to smite whoever was in his way. The blade of the axe sung as he began dancing a cadence with the angry pounding of his heart. The blade of the axe swung down from the left, but was caught by the strange blade wielded against it, the force of the blow caused Dan to stagger back a step, but his opponent didn't move. Turning his stone like face towards Dan for the first time he spoke. “You, you dare to interrupt this trial? Very well, I have bested Ea once, and you, you are not even a shard of Ea, you are the fragmented bits of his soul held together with someone else soul, you are a simple aberration, an abomination,” he pointed his strange blade at Dan and the corners of his stone like lips lifted ever so slightly. “It is amusing is it not that such an unnatural thing was made by a goddess of nature?”

Dan said nothing in return, simply readying himself for the next strike.

“What chance do you think you have of beating me? You are not even 1/13th of Ea, you are not a god, not a man, not a demigod, in truth I am not sure if you are even alive.” he spoke softly, but the words were clear to everyone.

“Good,” Dan said simply, his voice flat and emotionless.

“Good?” Shamash asked looking at the face of the thing in front of him.

“If I am not man nor god nor anything then I do not have to be subjected to your conjecture of what those entail.” he said, the corner of his lips playing up in a wicked smile.

“Bow to me and I will make it quick.” Shamash snarled.

“You know, you may be a god, but I doubt I have ever met anything less worthing of worship.” Dan laughed, before moving forward again. He rushed forward, rolling to the right allowing the blade of the weapon to swing over his head, as he did he reached out the axe in an attempt to knock the god off of his feet, he seemed to see through this though as he leapt up into the air, he raised his blade to use the momentum of the fall to add to the cleaving blow when a streak of something black and dark hit him roughly in the side. Shamash grimaced in pain and his mid air lunge was interrupted.

He rolled as soon as he hit the floor, his stone mask of a face crumbled, showing the slightest tugs of anger and annoyance. The object that had barreled into his side swept itself through the air and landed gracefully to the side, her dark hair was braided through with golden and turquoise beads and two cat ears poked out of the waterfall of brown. “Perhaps alone he cannot beat you, it is a good thing than that he is not alone is it not?” she asked, in her hands was a long barbed spear.

“Indeed,” Amani said as she stepped up, a pair of daggers in her hands, even Nix and Abyzou were there, ready to support, Sara was over at the side of Asherah holding the now weeping goddess and rocking back and forth . Some of the madness faded from Dan’s eyes as he recognized them, not the anger, not the fire, simply the madness. He was not alone, he didn't need to ever be alone again.

It felt good to have such reassurance.

“It matters not,” Shamash said, looking over at the group of them as they fanned out around him, now forming a half circle, each person at attention. “Not even together can you take me.” he said with a cold smile. Both Dan and Bastet lunged forward, Dan with a large over sweeping strike faster than should have been possible and Bastet with a graceful plunge, Dan’s Strike forced Shamash to dance to the left to avoid being cleaved in two, unfortunately that meant he had positioned himself right in the way of the lunge that Bastet had sent.

Like some sort of Dancer he was able to twist his torso to dodge, only the fabric of his clothing parting under the silver flash that was Bastet’s spear slash. And while he was able to dodge both of those attacks he had no way to dodge the low thrust of daggers to the calf from behind.

Amani hamstrung the god with two vicious attacks each dagger crossing the same calf with a bloody x that caused the god to stumble. Dan leapt forward again, swinging the blade of the fan axe down and the tip of it bit deep into the flesh on Shamash’s shoulder. The god roared with anger and lashed out with the sword faster than Dan could see, the blade bit into his side in between two ribs, and it was onto this blade that Dan held onto as a wave of force blew the others back causing them all to go flying and land in sprawling heaps.

Any further and the blade would have hit his heart, gritting his teeth against the pain, as bright gold red blood leaked out of his side. Both of them stood there, held in an embrace of steel more intimate than a lover's arms. His teeth still gritted Dan released one of his hands off of the shaft of the axe and grabbed the blade of the sword protruding from his side. Blood flowed from his hand as it clamped around the blade, with a single hand he wrenched the axe out of the god’s meaty flesh and raised it high over head. Shamesh attempted to remove the blade from Dan’s side, but found it held in place by a hand and arm like that of a statue.

With a smile that could make a volcano run cold Dan let the axe fall, using momentum to do his work, to proclaim his truth. The blade sunk home like a splitter into dried firewood, hitting the same point in the shoulder, causing the arm to almost entirely fall off. The look of stoicism broke on Shamesh’s face as his flesh and bone was cleaved. Dan raised it again, wrenching the gore splattered blade from its fleshy sheath, a mad look in his eyes, and once again he sheathed it into the god’s shoulder, this time the blade slid through, the arm and blade falling at the same time.

The resounding thud shook the ground as the blade of the axe embedded itself into the hard ground sinking a foot or so of the fan axe and causing its to stand on its own even as the two combatants slid to there knees. Dan slumped back, his hand loosening on the blade, which to his surprise he found was no longer clamped in Shamesh’s other hand, but rather the owner’s arm had slumped loosely by his side. With a painful gasp Dan raised his hand to the sword in his side and he once again gripped the blade even as his fingers grew cold and stiff from blood loss and pain and he pulled the hateful blade out of his side, flinging it out of sight. He slumped forward, the look on his face mirrored his now disarmed opponent as he closed his eyes.

They all rushed over to him, all of his family, crowding around him. He looked up to see bastet, tears in her eyes as she stood pointing her spear, its tip trembling as it rested just above Shamesh’s heart, even as vines crawled out of the ground, binding him there.

It was not fear of killing that caused her to tremble so.

“hey , hey you can’t die on me.” her voice ached with so much pain it caused him to stir slightly. “Open your eyes Damnit!” she snapped, and he tried, he tried so damned hard, “You can't die, what will I tell the kids?” she asked softly, his eyes flittered open at this, she was no longer standing holding her spear but instead kneeling in front of him.

“Kids?” he asked weakly.

“Yeah,” she said with a tear streaked smile, “You know it is what happens when a man and a woman spend so much time together.” a hand went down to her stomach in an unconscious motion. “You are not allowed to die,” she said softly. “You have too much to do,” she whispered.

“Too much to do.” he echoed, and closed his eyes, Bastet’s eyes widened in fear but he growled low in his chest. “Too damned much by half to die here.” she nodded her teary smile growing slightly wider. He attempted to rise, and with the help of his wives he did so, his eyes open, not the broken halo of madness, but the eyes of a righteous god as he looked at the slackened form of the god before him.

Shamesh still yet breathed but it was a labored process. He was held in place by thick spiked plants that held him in place and bit into his flesh at the same time. With numb hands Dan drew the Khopesh, the blood on his hands soaking into blade and with his off hand he raised it, painting a rune on the blade’s surface. As his fingers finished there bloody calligraphy the silver blade cracked, and shards of metal fell away revealing a blackened blade, as though it had been bathed in fire and darkness. Gasps ran through the gods that still stood watching.

روح الختم”

The Khatam flame, the soul eating fire.

This was the blade that could end not only life but also the sacred afterlife. Dan looked at it, his face hard and rose the blade, swinging it through the air experimentally. He was about to light it when a hand landed on his shoulder, looking over he found himself eye to eye with Asherah.

She didn't say anything, she didn't need to, he knew what she was saying.

Sometimes, mercy is the greatest strength.

With a nod Dan sheathed the Khatam blade, and his hand grasped the polished staff of the fan axe. With a single hand he wrenched the blade free of the ground and leveled it on the intact shoulder of the god Shamesh. In a flash Dan saw Shamesh as Ea had seen him, and sighed.

Even with blurry eyes Shamesh looked up at him and smiled. “Damnations,” he croaked. “Even weakened thus you bested me Ea,” he coughed up some blood, “I am glad.” he said softly. “It is good to die at the hands of family, far better than that of a stranger.”

“Good bye,” Dan choked out, “Brother.” as he swung the blade down.