At God’s mansion, Xander, Drakthar, Radek, and Arua awaken on the day of the semi-finals. They take the morning to prepare before having to go over to the arena to square off against their next opponent.

Breakfast passes by wordlessly. God, not present to start one of his prodding conversations, is too busy handling the search effort for his escaped prisoners. The streets are crowded with people wanting to get a look at the top four, onlookers lining the path from God’s mansion to the arena.

Some of them are bold enough to ask for autographs, more often than not from Drakthar but he refuses to give out a single one, instead, he walks towards the arena with a single-minded focus on the battle before him.

Xander isn’t as cut off, stopping down a few times to quickly pen his name on the outstretched parchment, trying to turn the crowds’ opinions on him around since he was booed the last time he was in the arena.

“Hey, Xander! Could you sign this for me please?” He hears a woman ask. Upon looking over at her he notices she doesn’t have a piece of parchment, like the others, but is instead gesturing towards her chest.

“Sorry, I’m not going to sign there,” he dismisses her request with a smile trying not to lose favor by refusing.

“Wait,” the woman pushes past the crowd so she is in the middle of the walkway with the four of them.

“I think it’s important that you have this,” the woman hands him a bag of holding.

“I worked on them all night just as you requested,” she adds, causing Xander to realize the woman is Lunette disguised using one of her rings.

“Thanks,” he whispers to her, attaching the bag to his side.

“Also, your wife is with…”

Lunette tries to give him an update about Gwendolyn before he stops her, “Don’t tell me. God will read my mind. Don’t use this ring anymore he’ll probably figure out your new appearance from me as well”.

“Already figured that. Just wanted to let you know she is safe for now,” Lunette informs him, slipping back into the crowd now that she delivered to him what was promised.

“You get it to him?” Maximus asks Lunette once she returns from within the crowd.

“Yup, now come on, let’s get good seats before these people wise up and start filling the arena,” Lunette suggests, trying to beat the rush that is sure to ensue with a crowd this large.

The two of them find front row seats, the majority of people still attempting to get a closer look at the famous warriors outside. The stands around them start to fill minutes before this round is set to begin. Once again God is absent, the fighting not proving to be enough entertainment for him to take a break from his quest to recapture the fugitives.

“Without further delay, let me introduce to all of you the participants who have bested their opponents and proven themselves among the elite!” The announcer starts to give his spiel, causing the audience to fall silent as they listen in anticipation.

“They’ve all done well to make it this far so let’s give them each a round of applause. First, a man no one is surprised has made it this far, after having watched his exploits in our very own Pits it is no surprise that one of our four semi-finalists is... Drakthar!” The announcer pauses for the roaring cheers that accompany the mere mention of Drakthar’s name on this island.

“Our next fighter is one who fought alongside Drakthar, a man who is only a few points away from joining him and becoming the third ever man to earn his freedom from the Pits, its... Radek!” The announcer introduces Radek, garnering fewer cheers than Drakthar but still many as the crowd is very familiar with him and is one of their favorites.

“Moving on, our next fighter is as graceful as she is beautiful and carries a silent strength that dominates her foes, its Arua!” Slightly less applause than the other two breaks out as many of them are only aware of what she did in her last fight against Kali.

“Lastly and maybe least is a man who won his last match before it even began, bringing the validity of his victory to be questioned by yours truly and you, the audience, its... Xander!” An outcry of boos overwhelms the faint cheers at the mention of Xander’s name.

“Wow, they really hate him,” Lunette comments, surprised to see this sort of reaction towards Xander since she wasn’t present for the previous round.

“Mister Xander is just misunderstood… I must work harder on my tales of him so the people can understand just how extraordinary and gallant he is,” Maximus decides, intent on swaying the hearts and minds of the people through song.

“Now, if Drakthar and Radek could vacate the arena we can begin our first matchup,” the announcer calls out, prompting Drakthar and Radek to turn back towards the waiting room. Arua flashes Drakthar a smile before he leaves, trying to convey to him that she hopes the two of them are victorious and able to square off in the finals.

“Our first matchup features the strong beauty hailing from the mysterious Marshlands, Arua! She’ll be taking on the trickster of the Sacrosanct Empire, Xander!” The announcer introduces the match, changing up the titles of the combatants from what he has already used.

“Trickster? Who am I? Kayde?” Xander mutters to himself, not finding that particularly accurate.

“Now, if both of the combatants are ready, let the first match of the semi-finals begin!” The announcer calls out.

“Arua, listen to me. If you surrender now then I won’t be forced to hurt you. You saw what happened with Alistar, he didn’t stand a chance and neither will you so just give up or I will be forced to do to you what I did to him,” Xander starts frantically talking to her instead of fighting.

Arua smiles back at him, shaking her head with her axe raised, looking to carry on with the fight no matter what Xander says.

“I’m serious, this isn’t some sort of empty threat. I don’t care about putting on a show for these people. I just want to get revenge on God for what he’s done and if you’re going to stand in my way then I’m going to have to knock you down. So just give up,” Xander pleads, knowing the result of this battle is already decided in his favor. Unlike with Drakthar, he doesn’t mind killing Arua if it comes to that, his goal being worth more to him than her life.

“Is this something worth dying over to you?” Xander asks her, trying to get her to understand one last time before he has to dodge the first of her attacks. Her axe comes in from above him, causing Xander to roll to the side to evade it.

“Please Arua, it doesn’t have to be this way,” Xander doesn’t give up, continuing to dodge her attacks as he pleads with her. The crowd has already started to boo, assuming since he hasn’t ended the battle already that last time Xander must have won by some sort of fluke and is now begging for his life.

“What is mister Xander doing? Is he really asking for her to spare him?” Maximus questions, not having a deep understanding of what Xander can really do so he is slowly getting influenced by the thoughts of the audience.

“No, it’s the exact opposite. Xander, that soft-hearted idiot, he’s not begging for his own life, he’s begging for hers. Imagine being so powerful that you have to convince your opponents not to die… it’s not an enviable position. I certainly wouldn’t want to be him right now,” Lunette explains, giving insight into what she knows Xander is thinking.

If Arua won’t be convinced by his words maybe he needs to take action to get her to realize how outmatched she is.

Xander warps behind her, his sword held to her throat as he tells her, “Surrender or die”.

His ultimatum lacks conviction, something Arua can sense, causing her to slip out from his hold leaving only a slight scratch upon her neck. She immediately goes for a killing blow in response, her axe heading directly towards Xander’s head as she spins around.

Xander ducks beneath is creating space between the two of them.

“Come on, I don’t want to have to do this. Just give up,” Xander tries one last time, getting frustrated with her that she won’t let him help her help herself.

Arua laughs, finding his whining no different than a child’s. The audience starts to laugh along with her, seeing Xander as nothing but a joke after this display. The sounds of chuckling at his expense causes Xander to realize there is only one way to end this.

He resolves himself to what he must do, knowing that if this fails he still has one option left to end things. Xander stops time, taking Arua’s axe from her, hoping to repeat the same method he used on Alistar.

He winds back, hitting Arua’s head with the broad side of her axe. He tosses it as far from the two of them as he can as time resumes. To his surprise, Arua hasn’t collapsed, instead, she remains upright, grinning in spite of herself as she is barely able to stand.

Not having a weapon, she throws her fist at Xander with all she has left. The dizziness she is feeling causes her depth-perception to be off, making it easy for Xander to slide away from the predictable attack.

He remains close to her, countering her attack with one of his own, his fist colliding directly with her cheek. The already dazed Arua collapses, Xander’s fist packing more of a punch than she could have ever expected from someone like him.

She looks up to the sky, lamenting her defeat, just as her vision starts to blank out she sees Xander above her, trying to see if she is okay. She laughs internally one last time before losing consciousness.

“The winner is Xander! It was more a fight this time but once again his mysterious abilities have carried the day,” the announcer calls the end of the fight, leading to more boos from the audience.

Having given up on trying to win favor from them, Xander picks up Arua and brings her back to the waiting room where Drakthar and Radek are watching from.

“Good job, looks like you will be my opponent in the finals,” Drakthar comments as Xander lays Arua down.

“You can’t hide your disappointment from me. I know you didn’t want me to win this one. You were way too eager to fight her,” Xander points out, having known it was this way the whole time.

“I can’t deny that, but if you won then you’re the stronger opponent. If I defeat you then I would already know that I am superior to her. Too bad for me you would never fight me all out,” Drakthar laments, noting what both of them already know to be true.

“Let’s not talk about this now, there is still one very big obstacle between you and the finals,” Xander points out, looking over to Radek.

“Yeah,” Drakthar agrees, walking over to the edge of the room as he prepares to take to the arena.

“Do we have a treat for you in the final match of the day. We have two men who fought alongside each other in the Pits before your very eyes, facing off in what can only decide the strongest fighter the Pits has ever produced! Everyone, give it up for Drakthar and Radek!” The announcer masterfully previews the upcoming match, hyping up the audience for what should be the showdown of the day.

Before the fight begins, Drakthar pulls out a pill from his pouch and swallows it, something that goes unnoticed by most the crowd but not those sitting near the edge of the arena, including Maximus.

“Did mister Drakthar just eat something?” Maximus inquires, perplexed as to what he would need to take before the beginning of an important match.

“Kind of, he just took a stym. It’s a drug that can have terrible side effects if one isn’t used to taking them. It will enhance Drakthar’s physical abilities for a short time but it can also cause the user to lose all of his senses, no longer able to distinguish friend from foe… the only thing remaining is a beast with the desire to kill… but it looks like he was able to control himself so he’ll only reap the benefits,” Lunette explains, her tone shifting from serious to chipper once she saw that Drakthar was able to retain his mental faculties.

As the fight begins, Radek takes a defensive stance, reminiscent of the one he uses when fighting exotic beats within the Pits. His spear is outstretched towards Drakthar, maintaining a distance so that he is the only one doing the attacking.

Drakthar, starting to theorize how to move past Radek’s guard, decides to lunge forward, his first step explosive as he closes the gap. Radek responds by holding the tip of the spear to Drakthar using his own force to try and skewer him.

This method proves unsuccessful at doing any real damage as his spear only finds part of Drakthar’s power armor. Radek, realizing he needs to retreat out of Drakthar’s reach, decides to use the backward momentum from his spear colliding with Drakthar’s armor to maintain the same distance as before.

The crowd watches as this stalemate continues, Drakthar trying to get closer to Radek while Radek uses Drakthar’s movements against him, attempting to land a clean hit with his spear. Unfortunately for Radek, Drakthar isn’t like any of the creatures he faced in the arena, the density of his power armor proving to be a better defense than any skin or hide could ever be.

Getting tired of this game of cat and mouse, Drakthar changes up his strategy. He eyes the midpoint of Radek’s spear a couple of times, trying to determine its weakest point. Radek notices Drakthar’s glances, easily able to determine what his next move might be.

Drakthar, being no stranger to a one-on-one duel, knows that Radek is aware of his plans based on his glances alone. Instead of executing his plan immediately, he stalls, attempting the same forward movement to close the gap between them to get Radek to forget about those looks.

After a few minutes pass, Drakthar suddenly shifts his movements, faking a lunge before stepping back and lowering his axe down towards Radek’s pesky spear. Having prepared for this, Radek swings his spear sideways, bringing it out of the path of Drakthar’s axe. He spins around guiding the spear up to slash Drakthar’s exposed face.

Drakthar leans back, not able to fully avoid the attack as the steel cuts slightly into his skin just above his jawline. Hoping this sudden movement will have made Radek drop his guard, if even a little, Drakthar side steps before moving forward so Radek is unable to get his spear in place to maintain the distance between them.

Radek, able to recompose himself after drawing blood on Drakthar, expertly shifts his spear so it is perfectly in between Drakthar and himself. This elicits a grin from Drakthar, Radek being everything he expected and more.

“It looks like mister Drakthar is losing. His opponent’s defense is incredible, he’s not letting mister Drakthar get anywhere near him,” Maximus comments while intently watching the match before him.

“I don’t know if I would view it that way. It is taking everything Radek has to fend Drakthar off. He’s dragging this battle out until it becomes a test of stamina… but too bad for him that’s a battle he’ll lose. No one in this tournament can match Drakthar in terms of stamina. That’s why Drakthar isn’t panicking, he knows a drawn-out fight is in his favor,” Lunette explains, knowing Radek is the one who must take action to win.

The audience starts to get bored watching the same thing transpire for what seems like hours, some of them dozing off while others simply leave, not interested in wasting more of their time watching a battle with seemingly no end. The only ones still watching intently are those seasoned warriors who understand exactly what is going on.

Drakthar, having been testing the speed of Radek’s movements finally starts to notice him slow down. His backward movements happening slightly later than at the beginning of the fight.

He decides now is the time to make his next move, letting go of his axe with his right hand and grabbing a hold of Radek’s spear. Radek is almost able to pull his weapon back in time but he is too late, watching as Drakthar’s hand curls around the point on his spear.

The force of Drakthar’s grip is enough for the sharp edges of the tip of the spear to cut through Drakthar’s gauntlets, blood oozing out into them as Drakthar hangs on. Radek tries to pull his weapon loose but he soon realizes that Drakthar has turned this into a test of strength, one Radek knows he cannot win.

Radek can do nothing but watch as Drakthar bends his spear upwards, the metal easily giving way to the force of Drakthar’s left arm. The spear in Radek’s hand is now malformed, bent in an unusable ninety-degree angle, making the distance between them halved.

Drakthar let’s go of the spear, returning both of his hands to his axe as he declares, “Looks like my weapon has the longer reach now”.

Drakthar, not having to deal with Radek’s pesky defense any longer, lands a blow to Radek’s side knocking him to the ground, a large wound now gushing at his hip, blood pouring out between the butchered gap in Radek’s skin.

Drakthar, knowing he has won, hesitates, holding his axe above Radek ready to end this man’s life.

“Do it, I knew exactly what would happen when I finally ended up coming face to face with you. I have nothing left to keep on living for, there’s no one left that depends on me… I’ve lived a full life and I cannot think of a better way for it to end than gloriously in the heat of battle. So don’t hesitate, you know you would want the same if you were in my position,” Radek tells Drakthar, accepting his fate.

Drakthar has no other choice but to grant his wish, his axe slices through Radek’s skull, killing him instantly. Those that are left in the stands roar as their hero is once again victorious, sitting through the long battle well worth it to have witnessed the thrilling conclusion.

Drakthar does not share their enthusiasm, not bothering to raise a fist in victory. The only thing on his mind is Radek’s final words: you know you would want the same if you were in my position.

It’s not that Radek misjudged Drakthar, that statement certainly would have been true in the past, dying in battle to a mighty warrior would have been the only way he would have wanted to go out… but if the tables were turned and in that moment it was Radek standing over Drakthar, he would have wanted to live.