After having spent the majority of their time in the home of the only doctor on the island, Kali and Drakthar are finally recovered enough to be let go.

“You two make sure not to overdo it, you hear me? You recovered way faster than I expected so you might not be fully ready to throw yourselves into more fights. I’ll be angry if either of you ends up back here, you understand me?” The doctor starts to berate them, fully expecting exactly that to happen given their natural inclinations.

“I’ll make sure they don’t. Thanks for looking after our two meatheads,” Lunette answers for them, thinking Drakthar was probably going to respond in a hostile way.

“Thank you, I really appreciate everything you did for us,” Kali tells him, having been there the longest.

This causes the doctor to get sentimental, having grown attached to this odd group.

“You kids get out of here, there’s no good staying here any longer, okay? He’ll only use you to satisfy his sick fantasies, so promise me you’ll find a good ship and sail out of here,” he urges them.

“We have some friends to find first, but yeah that’s the plan,” Lunette agrees, Fore barking along in agreement with her.

“Good, now get out of here, I don’t want to see y’all again,” the doctor tells them in a bashful manner.

They wave as they walk away, Lunette, Maximus, Drakthar, Kali, and Fore heading off towards the forest, intent to find their friends who are still hiding there. As they walk through the city, Lunette stops, causing the others to also halt and look at her.

“What?” Kali asks her, not sure as to why she suddenly stopped moving.

“I just realized something. We were just going to go back to where Maximus and I left them but it’s been like a week and a half since then. Wouldn’t it be better if somehow we used Fore to find them?” She explains her thought process.

“And how are we going to do that? Only Kayde can communicate with him. We could try but he could just be leading us to wherever he wants to go,” Kali points out, having experienced this in the past.

Lunette thinks about what Kali said for a while, agreeing with her for the most part.

“I’ve got it!” She finally exclaims, quickly picking up a stick from the ground and starting to draw in the dirt below them.

The group looks on as she backs up, seeing the terrible recreation of Kayde in the dirt. She holds either side of Fore’s face and points it down at the drawing. Fore barks two times causing Lunette to instantly believe he understands.

Fore starts running in a direction towards the forest, the others follow surprised that he could figure out that Lunette’s sad excuse for art was actually Kayde. They all follow behind, having varying thoughts as to if this method is actually going to work or not.

They continue behind the wolf as day turns to night, Fore showing no signs of slowing down despite the darkness.

“We should stop, Mister Drakthar and Miss Kali just finished recovering, they should not strain themselves to this degree,” Maximus implores, having their well-being in mind.

“Yeah, I guess that’s fine,” Lunette agrees, grabbing onto Fore to stop him. As she lets go of the wolf’s soft fur, the group hears clattering from behind them, the sounds of colliding steel and falling bodies.

They walk back to see a blonde man dispatching the last of eight men, all wearing the same armor, they recognize them as the men who follow God.

“Wow, that was impressive. Who are you and why are you so handsome?” Lunette isn’t shy in asking.

“My name is Alistar. I apologize, I should have announced myself sooner. I was following your group because I recognized Drakthar and Kali. I thought maybe they would be headed to her. I noticed these guys following you as well so I took care of them,” Alistar explains himself.

“And who is this she?” Lunette asks, curious as to who he is searching for.

“I thought Xander would have said something. Let me fully introduce myself, I am Alistar Kinneck, I am looking for Gwendolyn, she is my cousin,” Alistar informs them, seeing as Xander didn’t.

“I told Xander that I wanted to help her… I kind of want her to meet my family in the Sacrosanct Empire but it is complicated,” Alistar adds, realizing that situation is not one quickly explained.

“Yeah, we’re on our way to her right now. You want to come with us? Seeing as how you took out all these guys,” Lunette offers to bring him along as thanks.

“It’s not enough,” Drakthar comments out of nowhere.

“What do you mean?” Lunette asks him, no idea what he is talking about.

Drakthar’s eyes remain on the eight corpses of those God sent to follow them as he explains, “He would have sent more. If he really cared about finding them he would have sent more”.

“Guys gather round,” Lunette whispers to them, signaling for them to get closer.

Once they are all huddled up she quietly suggests, “If you’re right Drakthar they are probably nearby. Some of us should pretend to sleep while the others take out those who are waiting”.

“I’ll pretend to sleep,” Maximus volunteers, knowing he would be no good at getting rid of them.

“Okay, you take a nice nap with Fore as bait. The rest of us will check around to see if there are any more of them. Drakthar you go with Kali, I’ll go with our new friend here,” Lunette lays out the plan.

Maximus and Fore pretend to sleep while the others look around for additional men that God could have sent after them to recapture Gwendolyn and Kayde. As Drakthar and Kali separate from Lunette and Alistar, Drakthar stops her.

“What? Did you see someone?” Kali whispers, starting to look around.

“No, I only said what I did because I think Alistar is the one God sent after her. He would know his men aren’t strong enough so he probably promised this guy something to get him to work for him,” Drakthar explains, suspicious of Alistar’s true intentions.

“I don’t know he seemed pretty honest,” Kali disagrees, although not too sure about it.

“Doesn’t matter, this is a test, we should trail them and see how he acts. If he tries to do something to Lunette then we know I’m right,” Drakthar suggests quietly.

“You’re using Lunette as bait? He took out eight guys Drakthar, how could you put her in danger like that?” Kali chastises him on the off chance Alistar really is working for God.

“Then let’s stop wasting time and follow them,” he implores, knowing there is nothing they can do to save Lunette if they can’t see them.

Drakthar and Kali follow silently behind Alistar and Lunette as they walk a perimeter around where Maximus and Fore are resting. To Drakthar’s surprise, they actually come across a group of around twenty of God’s men, the other eight being an advanced unit to report back to the larger one.

“You trust him now?” Kali asks Drakthar as she draws her sword, watching as Alistar and Lunette are being swarmed by the many men. Drakthar lets out an annoyed grunt, grabbing his own axe.

Alistar fends off those directly surrounding them as Drakthar and Kali make quick work of those in the back. The four of them make it out relatively unscathed as two of the twenty men start to run for their lives.

“We should chase after them,” Alistar suggests, ready to run.

“Don’t bother they don’t know where we are going,” Lunette notes, knowing she and the others will have to move before resting in case some of them come in the night.

“Looks like we are going to let Fore keep going. Can’t stop now that they know where we are,” Lunette lets the other three in on the plan as they walk back to Fore and Maximus. Once regrouping Lunette shares the plan, letting Fore continue on as she prepares a torch to help light the way.

They continue under the cover of night until suddenly Fore disappears through some trees. When they try walking past them they are halted, unable to walk past that particular treeline.

“What the hell?” Lunette comments as she tries to push forward.

“If we can’t walk forward, how could Fore?” Kali asks what they are all thinking.

“I do not know... but this is quite ominous,” Maximus notes, thinking God might have something to do with this.

At that moment the treeline disappears, they all take steps forward as they see a giant mountain before them.

“Good to see you guys. There is someone you should all meet,” Kayde tells them with a smile, Fore happy as can be at his feet.

“What the hell is going on? Why is there a mountain here in the middle of this forest? I couldn’t even see it,” Kali has so many questions as to what is going on.

“Oh, that’s just Koralia’s barrier. She doesn’t like humans that much. Come on, you should all meet her, she’s kind of particular about these kinds of things,” Kayde urges them forwards, starting to walk down the path.

As they reach the alcove with the waterfall, the five new arrivals notice Gwendolyn and the two other women who God had captured, along with a beautiful woman with long white hair and crimson eyes.

“Kayde? Why is she naked?” Lunette asks immediately, slightly taken by this intriguing woman.

“She just likes it that way,” Kayde responds, telling her what Koralia told him.

“Anyway, guys this is Koralia and Koralia this is Fore, Drakthar, Lunette, Kali, Maximus, and blonde guy I don’t know… wait… who are you blonde guy I don’t know?” Kayde stops his introductions to ask, realizing he has no idea who this guy is.

“My name is Alistar Kinneck, I’m Gwendolyn’s cousin,” he introduces himself to Kayde.

“Man, the amount of long lost family connections happening on this island is insane,” Kayde comments, this being the second time something like this has happened.

“What do you mean?” Kali asks, not sure of a single other one.

“Oh boy, do I have news for you guys,” Kayde smirks, ready to inform them all about Koralia’s past, God being her brother, and her relation to Xander.

The next night, the one before God and Xander are set to square off in the conclusion of the tournament, God invites Xander to one final dinner. Xander did not wish to attend but God gave him no choice in the matter.

“I am allowing you to have this one last lavish meal as a courtesy to you. Since tomorrow will be your last day, I thought your final night should be one you could enjoy. Now enjoy the meal that has been prepared for you. I can also have women sent to your room if you wish,” God extends the offer.

“Is one of them named Gwendolyn?” Xander cheekily responds, knowing full well he hasn’t recaptured her seeing as how he would have gloated about it by now.

“I would not be smirking if I were you. Right now my men are tailing your friends Drakthar, Kali, Lunette, and that weird guy who has been hanging out with them. It is only a matter of time until they are led right to where Gwendolyn is hiding and then she will be returned to me,” God declares, confident in his men’s ability.

“You know I have done a lot of thinking about what I will do with your friends once I kill you. Initially, I thought I only wanted to mess with Gwendolyn and figure out that walking question mark, Kayde, but the more I saw how much they all meant to you the more I wanted to toy with them even more,” God starts to monologue.

“You don’t need to worry yourself over that because tomorrow I’m going to be the one that kills you,” Xander stops him, fully believing in his ability to win.

“What because some kooky hack brought you a bag of tricks you have not looked into yet? Do you think those will really be enough to defeat me? I am invincible, no matter how many times you kill me I will regenerate. There is no way you can win,” God gloats, while letting Xander in on the fact that he knows about the bag of holding Lunette gave him.

“Now, back to what I was trying to say before you interrupted me. What to do with your friends… I know how much everyone here adores Drakthar so I cannot do anything to him but I might force him to fight Kali to the death. Watching him kill her would be entertaining,” God gives his first idea.

“Do you know how childish you sound right now?” Xander asks, likening God’s joy at these plots to a child’s joy at getting a new doll.

“You really do hate fun. If I walked around so serious all the time I would grow a natural aversion to it as well, luckily for me that is not the case. Life would be so dull if I were you. Anyway, Gwendolyn. I was thinking maybe after a few years I would stop torturing her. Who knows maybe she won’t remember a thing and accept me with open arms as the one who cured her. At that point you will be just a distant memory, an afterthought as she enjoys her new life with me,” God theorizes, hoping that will be the case.

“Dream on, no matter how long I’m gone she will never let herself be with you,” Xander retorts, trying to ground God’s lofty expectations.

“How will you know? You will be long dead and even if you are right that is only a mild inconvenience to me. Your wife certainly is beautiful but there are more women out there of equal beauty that will accept me,” God counters, seeing this as a minor setback.

“Except you’re lying. I have met guys like you, if you don’t win her over it’s going to eat away at you. You always get what you want, or at least you like to brag that you do, if that’s true then you will have failed and that isn’t something you can stand is it?” Xander points out, knowing enough about God to be right on the money.

“It would seem your analysis is once again correct, that is exactly why I do not plan on failing. This dinner was certainly interesting. You should return to your room and ponder what I just told you. I hope you do not lose sleep over it,” God lies, that being his intention.

Xander doesn’t need another excuse to leave his presence, getting up to exit the dining room, heading back to his room to get some rest before the fight tomorrow. Doubts do not weigh heavily on his mind as he easily drifts off to sleep.

The next morning, Xander grabs his sword, attaching it to his hip while he hangs that bag of holding from Lunette on his other hip. He exits his room, noticing a small breakfast laid out for him as he is beckoned to begin heading towards the arena.

As he leaves God’s mansion he can hear distant cheers coming from the arena. The street leading there is empty, the audience has already entered the arena to listen to whatever drivel God is spewing before Xander can arrive.

He finds himself in the same holding room he has spent all of the last rounds of the tournament, except this time he’s alone, only God standing in his way from becoming the champion.

Xander exits as he hears his name loudly declared from within the arena. He sees God standing in the middle of the Pits staring him down as he approaches. As he gets to the center God starts to speak to the crowd, clearly continuing whatever speech he was already giving.

“Everyone, all of you here today will bear witness to quite the spectacle. Your God, fighting before you for the very first time. This man has earned the right to face me but I must warn you that I can be merciless. By the end of this I will have broken this man down before killing him, so I suggest those of you that are faint of heart leave now or what you witness here will haunt you forever,” God warns them, waiting for people to leave but none do, something God already knew would happen.

“I will not delay any longer. I plan on giving you all the show you wanted, now let the slaughter commence,” God calls out, announcing the beginning to the watch as he raises his arms, golden swords appearing in the air and starting to rain down upon the helpless Xander.

Xander sees the evenly spaced swarm of swords coming towards him, he steps to the side, putting himself directly in between two of them as they clatter to the ground colliding harshly with the dirt below.

As God raises his hand to hurl another volley, Xander reaches into the bag Lunette gave him, as the hail of swords begins to descend on him for a second time he pulls out a giant metal sheet and holds it between himself and God, the swords intended to skewer Xander bouncing off the metal sheet with dull thuds.

God stops, running to the side so he has a line of sight on Xander so he can read his mind. Just as Xander comes into view, God sees something curious behind him, a giant tank full of water.

God reads Xander’s mind a second too late, the last thing he sees being a grin on Xander’s face. Xander switches God with the bell Lunette had placed within the tank of water, she put it there to make it obvious to him what to do with it.

God feels his body completely submerged in water, he slams his arms against the edges of the enclosed tank, desperately attempting to somehow break free so he can breathe.

Xander casually walks over to the side of it, making sure to look God in the eyes as he asks, “I know you can regenerate if I cut off one of your limbs, but what will happen if you can’t breathe?”

The silent crowd watches in awe as God struggles within the tank of water, not for a single second did they expect Xander to gain the upper hand. All of the guards working under God watch in panic, the idea of God being bested unthinkable to them. They debate whether they should come to his aid or continue to watch on as their God suffers.

“Ironic isn’t it? The very same way you tortured Gwendolyn will be your own end,” Xander gets in some mocking while he enjoys watching God squirm, his face turning redder and redder from the lack of air. God retaliates by summoning a single sword outside of the tank and having it flung at the distracted Xander from behind.

Having seen this coming, Xander turns around and effortlessly deflects the sword with his own. “You’ll have to hit harder than that to break out of this. Whatever this thing is made out of it’s tough as hell,” Xander notes as he bangs his hand against the edge of the tank.

Just as Xander says this, giant balls of steel with sharp points surrounding them are summoned high in the air, their appearance close to the end of a morningstar if it wasn’t connected to anything and much much larger.

The giant weapons come flying down upon the tank causing Xander to take steps back to get out of its giant radius. The crowd watches as God’s face turns from bright red to purple from the lack of air, raising the giant wrecking ball above the tank in a desperate attempt to break free.

The weapon is massive but the tank isn’t showing any signs of faltering, whatever material Lunette used to create it is tough as hell. Having the command of more weapons, God starts to summon anything in his arsenal that is blunt and directs it at the tank, the hundreds of instruments colliding with the tank to break free.

After what seems like an eternity of struggling God hears it, a crack. He internally grins as the next strike from one of his weapons breaks through, the tank drains out, the water turning the dirt around it to a thin mud.

God climbs through the hole of the tank, smirking at Xander as he asks, “Did you really think that would be enough to hold me? I hate to break it to you but if that’s the best you have, this is already over”.

With a wave of his hand, all of the weapons scattered across the arena disappear. He holds his hand out and a single sword with a hilt made of gold with fine gems encrusted in it appears.

“Now come at me, I will show you what swordplay truly is,” God beckons Xander forward, looking to show his superiority without raining weapons upon him.

Xander rushes in, deciding that this might be his only time to strike, God should still be tired from drowning for nearly half an hour. He delivers a flurry of horizontal strikes, trying to overwhelm God with his speed but each of them is easily blocked, God able to know every movement Xander will make before he ever makes it.

Despite the advantage Xander thought he might have; he finds that God’s form is sharp, unbelievably so for a man who was struggling to breathe for so long.

“Did you really expect any less? I am God or have you forgotten that I can read your every move and there isn’t a thing you can do about it,” God taunts him, trying to emphasize how hopeless his situation is.

Xander already knew this, he thought maybe if his attacks were so fast it wouldn’t matter if God could read them or not, but since God’s ability with a sword far surpassed what Xander expected, that is no longer an option.

Thinking it is his only option, Xander tries to suppress his thoughts and fight based on instinct alone. Despite his best efforts, he finds himself still planning his movements, that being the way he has fought his entire life.

God backs up out of Xander’s reach so it doesn’t have to deflect Xander’s attacks so he can start to laugh, “Your effort is pointless. The way you try to avoid thinking is just… pathetic. An analytical fighter like you can never be effective if you do not plan out your movements ahead of time. It makes you think, doesn’t it? It would be so much easier if you fought based on instinct like Drakthar does. Yes, he would have been much better suited to fight me in the manner you are attempting to. It almost makes you question why you would deprive him of the chance to face me if he would have been better suited for the task. In fact, I created this entire tournament to crush Drakthar’s spirit, to make him realize that his dream is unattainable and see the anguish on his face as he is reduced to nothing before me. But you selfishly decided to take his place and now you will have to suffer what was intended for him”.

Xander knows God is right about how he fights, it’s too late to change how much he thinks in the heat of battle. He backs up, trying to put more space in between him and God so he has more time to think about what he can do.

“What? Have you run out of tricks in your little bag? Or did you realize that half of the crap your quirky friend Lunette stuffed in there is useless against me?” God questions, already knowing what else is in the bag, having read Xander’s mind after he looked through it.

Now that Xander is running away, God decides to go back to raining down weapons upon him.

“Stop playing the coward, you will only wear yourself out running like that,” God calls out as he watches Xander dodge between the falling swords.

Xander doesn’t even hear God, much more focused on wracking his brain to come up with any kind of strategy he can use to win.

God starts to cackle, fully aware of all of Xander’s thoughts, “There is nothing you can do. You must have realized that by now. All you can do now is decide the way you want to die”.

“XANDER!” The two stop when they hear a loud outcry for the audience. As they turn they see Drakthar standing at the edge of the arena, holding out a closed hand.

As Xander rushes over to him God turns, making eye contact with one of his men at the edge of the arena, he shifts his eyes towards Drakthar signaling to go find him and those he is likely with. The guard nods and runs out of the arena.

“What are you doing here? I thought you’d still be recovering?” Xander asks him, surprised to see him on his feet this fast.

“There’s no time for that, take this,” Drakthar hands him something, a pill.

Xander nods, knowing what Drakthar is thinking. As God looks at their exchange, attempting to read Xander’s mind to figure out what they are plotting, he soon realizes he can’t read his thoughts anymore.

“What was that? Tell me now you insect!” God demands, the slightest bit afraid of what is coming.

A shocked look appears on God’s face before Xander turns around, his eyes wild and red, and rushes directly at God. God looks up to Drakthar, discovering that he slipped Xander a stym knowing Xander wouldn’t be able to avoid the side effects, although this time the rage like state works in his favor.

Xander’s sword moves at an unthinkable speed, the blade seemingly invisible as it moves through the air. The only indicator to the audience being the wounds created on God’s arms, blood flying from them before quickly rehealing within seconds.

Despite his regenerative ability, God feels the pain of each wound inflicted upon him, grimacing as he struggles to contain the berserk man in front of him with only one sword. Unable to let the crowd watch him be at mercy any longer, God snaps, dropping his sword and raising both of his arms.

“I am ending this,” God declares as chains come forth, lifting Xander and restraining him a few feet above the ground.

Xander, still under the effects of the stym, thrashes about wildly overwhelmed with bloodlust. But his movements are in vain, the chains proving to be strong enough to keep him at bay.

The crowd, who were slowly becoming more animated as Xander was winning, falls silent. They watch on with a sense of unease as Xander struggles.

“Despite the enhancements to your physical abilities, right now, you are nothing more than a rabid animal. Killing you while in this state would be utterly unsatisfying,” God notes, planning to wait until Xander has come back to his senses to continue.

Now that he has Xander under control, God turns his attention to the audience, “Why is everyone so silent, you should be cheering at my victory. This is a glorious moment, you all will get to witness the death of Xander, false hero of the Sacrosanct Empire. You all booed him during his earlier rounds, come on, let me hear them again”.

The crowd remains silent, unsure of what they are watching. Most turn to those next to them, trying to see what the others will do. God eyes the crowd, waiting for them to react to his words. What ensues is the most uneasy thirty-minutes of the audiences’ lives, sitting, breathlessly, not making a sound, in hopes God will forget they are all there. The only noise in the entire city is those of the chains Xander is struggling within.

God smirks when he notices Xander’s struggling stops, his wild eyes returning to their normal state, a light shade of purple appearing in the direct sunlight.

“It seems you have finally returned,” God notes haughtily, glad to inform Xander that his last gambit didn’t work.

“I would have liked to awaken to me continuously cutting your head off but hey it could be worse,” Xander finds a way to joke in the bleak situation.

“I must commend you, putting up such a brave front for a man who knows he has no way out of this situation. You have considered reversing time but you know you would merely return to your animalistic rage, it would gain you nothing. You have contemplated warping out of here but you assume correctly that I would just move the chains and recapture you. You have contemplated stopping time and beheading me but you know it would just grow back and I would restrain you once again. This is over, we both know it,” God declares, this being for him a foregone conclusion.

While God continues to monologue Xander makes his final desperate move. He warps out of the chains directly behind God, the second he arrives there he stops time, slashing off God’s head so it falls to the dirt below. He puts his foot over the severed head, readying his sword to do the same once his body regenerates.

As time resumes, the crowd gasps at the image of Xander standing atop God’s head.

“Did you really think I cannot control my treasures while in this form?” Xander hears God utter below him, unable to do anything as he once again finds himself in chains.

The crowd’s awe turns to horror as they watch God’s old body disintegrate, turning to ash that settles in with the dirt, as a new body grows out from his neck. People start to run from the stands in fear, trying to get as far away from this monstrosity as possible.

“That was pointless, you wasted your strongest abilities, and for what? To make me look like a freak in front of my people?” God asks, agitated to see members of the crowd fleeing in horror.

“You are all mice, running in fear of whatever you deem repulsive. To me, you are what is truly repulsive. Rapid dogs like you can only run, this man didn’t share your instincts, so now those of you who choose to stay will get to see what happens when a dog defies his master,” God calls out to the crowd.

By the time the stadium dies down, there are only around one hundred of the thousands who were there initially. The ones remaining those with a strong enough stomach to witness the conclusion of this fated battle.

Seeing that those who were going to leave have vacated the stands, God turns his attention back towards the man tied up in his chains.

“What does a man on the brink of death have to say? Will you beg for forgiveness, hoping there is a chance that I will spare you? Or will you die like the mutt you are?”

Xander responds by gathering the little saliva he can muster within his mouth and spit it upon God’s face. God stares directly into his eyes, unsatisfied by the man’s determined expression.

“What kind of man is able to retain such a face as he is about to die? You are truly infuriating. That determination of yours will falter as I show you what true pain is. I am going to mutilate you until no one can even recognize you, not even your beloved Gwendolyn,” God threatens, lifting his sword.

Xander’s face starts to show the slightest signs of the overwhelming anger he feels towards God. A change that doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Ah, yes, that is exactly what I was looking for. I knew bringing her up would cause you to react exactly how I wished. I want you to imagine all the things I am going to do to her once you are gone, let them run through your head as you experience the pain of my blade, it will make your expression all the more sensational,” God orders as his sword waits at Xander’s face.

God moves his free hand to the back of Xander’s head, steadying it as his sword starts to dig into Xander’s left cheek, right below his eye. As God slowly cuts into him, blood flows from the wound, the crimson liquid rolling down the side of Xander’s face.

“You hadn’t begun to cry so I thought I would get you started. Now you will weep tears of blood as you die. Yes! Tears will complete the expression I imagined you would have right before I killed you. Why don’t I do the same to the other side?” God notes as he switches hands, moving his bloodied sword to his left hand.

Just before he lifts it up to Xander’s face, an axe flies in, severing his arm right in front of him. It falls to the ground still clutching the sword as God realizes who has thrown the sword. He turns, seeing exactly who threw it before uttering his name in irritation, “Drakthar”.