From the right, that’s the direction the next attack will come from. Too slow, he’ll never hit me if that is the best he has. This one’s weak too, time to end this. The man before me is unable to dodge as I swing my axe towards his neck.

He tries to block but this sword isn’t enough to stop the momentum of my axe, it is batted to the side as both the sword and the man’s head land on the floor. I see his body collapse into a bloody mess before me. Shit, Kali is going to make me clean that up later.

I look up at the dead man’s friends who all came to find glory in defeating me, I cannot even ask them which one is next before they scurry away like children. No one is a challenge these days, just a bunch of cocky runts that have never seen an actual fight.

My goal in staying here was to attract strong challengers… but that isn’t working. The only people that challenge me are idiots that want to impress their friends. I warn them that I don’t hold back but they don’t listen, people have been giving me looks as I’ve had to deal with all of these bodies. Kali keeps telling me not to kill them but if I don’t I will gain a reputation that I’m soft and that can’t happen if I want to attract an actually strong challenger.

This is nothing like the fights from a year ago, maybe the strongest fighters in the world were truly there. My desire to fight two of them, in particular, has never waned. One of them I will probably never get the opportunity to fight, he’s growing soft while dealing with other things.

The second is far away, living on the Island of Immortals. Her name is Arua, she is the daughter of Sharn, an immortal that I killed. He was strong, I learned that first hand. He would still be alive if he didn’t let me win… I wish he was, someone like him would be perfect to test how much I’ve grown in this year.

Still, it is lucky that he has a daughter that is as strong as she is. I’ve seen it first hand when she handily defeated Kali a year ago. Ever since I saw that fight, I’ve wanted to test my axe against hers... but things have gotten in the way.

Being an immortal, she has to listen to the rules set by a man who calls himself the speaker but I know as Solomon, the brother of the red-eyed immortals we met on the island, Gudea and Koralia. Dealing with someone like him is sure to be troublesome, an encounter I can’t take lightly.

This man had offered me the opportunity to join his group before but I declined, Arua had the same goal, giving me the ultimatum that she will only fight me if I became an immortal. I have no interest in that, immortality would help me achieve my goals but things aren’t the same as they were a few years ago, my goal isn’t the only thing important to me anymore.

“Hey, Drakthar, did you… Dammit! Again? I told you to stop killing people,” Kali scolds me. Speaking of things that are important to me, I guess right now that’s her.

“I’ll clean it up. I always do,” I respond as I start to collect the man’s head and body.

“I just don’t want there to always be the stench of blood in our backyard. It’s unnerving,” She elaborates, telling me this for what seems like the hundredth time.

“Sorry,” I apologize, I have no response because I have no intention of stopping.

“Sorry, you won’t kill people in our backyard anymore?” She asks me hopefully. I look up at her in a way she knows I’m not agreeing to that.

“Fine,” she sighs in defeat.

“I’ll just remember to stay inside until the next day when you accept your challenges,” she adds before sulking back inside.

She can be pushy at times but I’m glad she’s here. The only thing that makes the lack of strong competition bearable is the training I do with Kali every day. She is strong but I can sense she has lost the ability to fight me seriously anymore.

It’s because she is in love with me, or at least that’s what she tells me. I didn’t know if I truly understood what she meant by that but I’ve come to discover that feeling myself. I used to always think women were just distractions but as I’ve gotten older, maybe a distraction or two isn’t the worst thing.

After I finish disposing of the body of the challenger, I head back inside to find that Kali has already made dinner for the two of us.

“I hope you like it, I tried really hard this time,” she tells me with a nervous smile as I sit down.

She's been trying to improve her cooking over the last year since we don’t have Xander or Kayde to cook for us anymore. The food she makes is edible, it really has improved but I never minded it because I’m used to eating whatever is in front of me from my days in the Legion.

“So is it good?” She asks me tentatively, I look up to see she’s been staring at me instead of eating herself. I nod as I continue to eat, it isn’t bad but it’s nowhere near as good as the stuff Xander makes. Having been given positive affirmation, she finally begins to eat herself.

“Drakthar… thanks but I don’t even like it,” she tells me as she has her first taste.

I finish what is on my plate before responding, “It was edible”.

“That’s not really what I’m going for here, we’ve been living like this for close to a year now. I thought I would be good at this by now… I just know how frustrated you are by the lack of competition, I thought at least I could make you something that isn’t terrible to eat as a consolation… but I guess not,” Kali finally explains why she is so hard on herself when it comes to cooking.

“You are far more useful to me in other ways that aren’t cooking. If it is too difficult we could just hire someone to do it for us, Kayde gave us all this gold and the place we bought is small so we have enough to afford a chef if the quality of food is that important to you,” I suggest, knowing gold is not an issue.

“That’s really not the point… I wanted to be good at it to prove something to you… never mind,” she trails off, not wanting to explain it. Having to reassure her this much is really tiresome, she should have more confidence, she is a fierce warrior but she acts this way too often.

“Here,” I toss her sword to her.

“I ate too much, let’s work off some of it,” I suggest, trying to get her into a place she can show that confidence.

“Sure, but can we spar in the front yard where it doesn’t smell like blood?” She asks me. I nod and the two of us head out there.

Training with her is always a workout, despite none of her actions being offensive she still likes to make me move around. She thinks my movements could always be quicker so whenever we fight she tries to push me in that area. She could be right, the problem is I don’t have anyone to test my speed against except for her.

After working up a good sweat, we head back inside long after the sun has fallen, night time is the best time to spar because the heat dies down.

As we head inside Kali asks me what she always does when we finish training, “I’m going to start up the shower, did you want to go first or second… or maybe at the same time?”

I know what answer she wants and she already knows which I will give, even if she acts like she is unsure I will agree to it each time she asks. Actions speak louder than words, especially when it comes to interacting with Kali.

I give her my response the same way I always do, by picking her up and tossing her up on my shoulder, carrying her off towards the shower room. She lets out a shriek in excitement each time I do it.

“Drakthar! How am I supposed to get my clothes off if I’m stuck up here?” She asks me in a playful tone, trying to get me to remove them for her. I oblige, first pulling her pants off and tossing them on the floor before moving on to her top.

I turn on the shower and put her down before disrobing myself, very aware of Kali’s leering as I do so. I pick her back up and carry her into the shower. I start washing her back as the water falls upon us.

“You can put me down now,” she requests just as I reach her backside. I listen to her, lowering her down in front of me.

“You know, it's kind of scary from up there, I’m not used to being that high,” she tells me as if we don’t do this every day.

“I’m still amazed by all your scars every time I see you like this,” she tells me as she runs her hand over one of them near my chest.

“It’s not like I don’t like them or anything,” she quickly adds, likely thinking I’d take it wrong.

“They just remind me how much you’ve been through,” she notes as she continues to rub my body.

“Makes me feel like I should have a few more than I do,” she tries to laugh to play it off.

“I like your body how it is,” I tell her, scars or not, her toned form can’t be topped by many.

“Did you want to show me how much you like it?” Kali asks as she starts to turn around so her back is facing me, starting to rub up against me.

I don’t endure her teasing for much longer, taking things into my own hands by pushing her down so her firm butt is in front of me. I grab onto either side of her hips as I give her what she’s been looking for.

I tune out her incessant moaning as I feel the water continue to pour down on us while we’re fucking. I used to look down on those like Alcaeus and Jorge for being so obsessed with this act but now I can understand where they were coming from a little better.

Still, this doesn’t compare to an intense fight with your life on the line against an equally strong opponent. I need to feel that again… I can’t keep on going like this, it’s been too long. I shouldn’t be thinking about this right now, I’m reminded as Kali’s moans escalate to sharp squeals.

I let myself enjoy the moment before it ends, Kali standing back up and clinging to me like she always does when we do it in the shower. I turn off the water and dry both of us off before carrying her to bed.

As we lie there silent for a few minutes, Kali deciding like always that my chest is a more comfortable place for her head than a soft pillow, I can’t help but think about my current predicament.

I know Kali is not going to want to hear this but I voice it anyway, “I want to fight Arua”.

“What?” I can hear the disappointment in her voice as she questions if she heard me correctly.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve fought someone on my level, I hunger to be in the heat of battle where my victory isn’t a certainty,” I explain to her, even though I know she already understands… it's just because it's Arua that it hurts her so much.

“I know that all she is to you is someone to fight… but still… it feels personal. I just wish it was anyone but her,” Kali laments, her depressed tone making me question if it is truly worth it.

I know that it is, proving myself the strongest by defeating worthy opponents has been my life’s purpose for a long time now... but things are complicated because of what’s happened. Arua, like Kali, seems to be attracted to me. She’s kissed me more than a few times and tried to seduce me one night, something Kali found out about.

“I guess if you only fight her it's fine, if it’s what you really need to do then I won’t stop you. I know how important fighting is to you… I just... I wish I could have been enough but I just can’t anymore,” she gives in.

She turns her head so she is looking straight into my chest, trying to hide her crying but she didn’t consider that I can feel her tears against the chest that she’s crying into.

I know how she feels, the same is true for me… I don’t think I could fight her seriously anymore either.

“Hey, none of this changes anything between us. I still feel the same about you… I love you,” I begrudgingly say but I’m afraid it’s the only thing that will cheer her up right now.

She looks up at me as soon as she hears me say it. The wetness is still around her eyes but the tears have stopped.

A smile replaces her look of disbelief as she tells me, “Thank you, I know that’s hard for you to say… so I know you really meant it”.

She snuggles up closer to me before she falls asleep, I feel her light breathing on my chest as I think about the journey that we will set out on tomorrow.

The next morning we pack the necessary supplies to begin our trek through the desert up towards the mountains where we will seek to return to the Marshlands, the Island of Immortals lying within them.

As we get close to the mountains I comment about my worries in traveling safely through them, this being something that is not simple without a proper guide, “I’m worried about doing this without Xander here to navigate”.

“Don’t be silly, I used to live in the Marshlands, remember? I used to come and go from there quite a lot between my family’s home in the desert and the fountain, so don’t worry I know the way,” she assures me. That’s right I guess she would be well acquainted with the path there.

Kali proves she knows her way around as it takes only a couple days to come across the entrance to the Marshlands, a rickety bridge that has been destroyed in a couple of places thanks to us and some encounters with the human-sized lizards that live within.

As we travel along it, the lizards show their faces once again, but we slay them easily, much less trouble then I remember. We come across the part of the bridge that was supposed to be destroyed, but it has been patched back up, the newer wood and twine noticeable compared to the worn-out pieces around it.

We find ourselves within the marshes, Kali easily leading us straight towards the Island of Immortals despite the dense fog clouding our way. It doesn’t even take a day before we see the short bridge that leads up to the entrance.

Standing in front of the gate are the same men holding spears that were there the last time we visited.

“Halt, Drakthar and Kali. What is it you need from us?” The Speaker asks us from atop the tower to the right of the gate.

I look into his dark red eyes, confirming that everything Koralia and God told us was true that this man is like them. A frown appears on his face as he certainly has read my mind, knowing that I know what he truly is.

“Come in, we have much to discuss,” he orders, his men stepping out of the way to let us through as the gate opens.

“So you encountered my siblings, I’m sorry they gave you so much trouble… the two of them can be rather unruly,” he comments once him, Kali, and myself are alone.

“Koralia helped us actually,” Kali makes sure to point out, having grown fond of the one who gave us a way to defeat God, Gudea, or whatever he’s called.

“That’s good, then she really has changed,” The Speaker notes, with what almost looks like a smile.

“We didn’t come here to tout that we know who you are or to stop you from continuing what you’re doing. I just want to fight Arua,” I get down to business, this talk of the past having gone on too long.

“I can bring her here to talk to you… but I can tell you now she will not accept. That is unless you agree to join me,” The Speaker throws out the same proposal he always had, the desire to add me to his ranks never waning.

“That won’t happen, I have too much to do and I cannot do it here,” I reiterate my stance on this one more time.

“Yet you have come here to seek out a strong person to test yourself against. If there is so much for you to do outside of here then why is this the place you have found yourself if you are so determined to be elsewhere?” The Speaker points out.

His words are annoying, I just want to fight one person here, I’m sure there are other strong warriors out there. I just can’t find them and I know one is here.

“You know Drakthar if it would mean you would join I could offer Kali the same proposition I offered you. If she would become an immortal as well would that sway you? Of course, you would finally be able to fight Arua if you accept,” He offers.

“If it’s what you want to do I can…”

“No, I don’t want that,” I interrupt her, I don’t want her to consider that because it isn’t an option.

“I’m afraid if it has come to this then I must ask you to leave, if you will not consider joining us, then there is no reason for you to be here,” the Speaker tells us.

I know despite what this man is saying if Arua saw me she would want to fight me as well. But according to Koralia, this man can control her every move if it comes down to it, so in the end, there is nothing I can do.

I stand, turning my back to the man before Kali and I leave, starting our long journey back to our home in the desert after a pointless trip out here.

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out,” Kali apologizes, knowing that nothing’s been solved.

“I knew there was a possibility this could happen when I came here, it’s fine,” I lie, hiding my disappointment.

“You know, Drakthar, I’ve been thinking. What if you actually achieve your goal and become the strongest? If that happens, every person you fight will end up dead… my point is… you would be depriving yourself of worthy challengers. It’s kind of like a story my older brother used to tell me about this family that lived by a lake, the family used to fish in the lake for food. So what if you are the only fish left in the lake? Or one of few… although you would really be the family in this instance so I don’t know if that fits exactly…” I ponder Kali’s words as she continues to ramble on.

Maybe she’s right… People like Radek or Xenos, sure they were weaker than I was but they could have grown much stronger if I hadn’t killed them. Especially Xenos, he was much younger than me… he had room to improve, especially after being defeated so thoroughly.

This is no different than what Sharn did for me. He was clearly stronger than I was but he accepted my challenge and soundly defeated me…. If, if I were more like him those strong warriors would still be alive. Shit, I’ve been reckless. I always thought a battle that didn’t end in death was meaningless.

“You’re right Kali,” I tell her, interrupting her constant muttering.

“Huh? What?” She seems surprised to hear me say that.

“Your analogy is correct, I won’t kill people anymore. If I can help it,” I admit to her.

She starts to hug me, probably because she’s happy our backyard won’t always smell like blood anymore. We make it back to our home after a week of travel. Sitting in front of it I find a kid, he looks no older than ten.

He stands up, a determined look on his face when he sees us.

“I challenge you Drakfar,” he declares boldly.

“It’s Drakthar,” I correct him.

“I know, I said Drakfar,” he pronounces it incorrectly again. I can’t help but sigh, what is this kid doing?

“You don’t want to fight me. Where are your parents? I can bring you back to them,” I inquire, looking to get rid of this kid.

“I don’t have any of those, I came here because everyone says you're the strongest. I beat all the strongest before so I’ll beat you too,” he exclaims with a determined fire in his eyes.

He draws his axe and points it at me. This is funny, this kid is probably viewed no differently than I was when I was younger. I did a lot of crazy things, fighting sand dragons on my own, taking down tribe leaders, and joining the Iron Legion.

“I accept your challenge,” I agree, I would have wanted the same if I were him.

“What? Drakthar he’s just a kid,” Kali whispers to me so he can’t hear.

“I know, that’s why I’m doing this,” I respond, not mentioning to her how much this kid reminds me of myself.

“Good, I, Valdemar, will kill you... or I’ll die trying,” the boy declares.

“No one’s dying. Now ready yourself,” I resist laughing at his declaration as I draw my own axe.

The kid acts quickly, running directly at me and swinging recklessly. I must admit he is strong for someone his size but he’s nothing compared to me. I easily parry all of his attacks, eventually knocking his axe out of his hands.

I notice his surprised expression as I kick the axe further away from him, this must be the first time he has tasted defeat.

I pin him with my foot and bring my axe to his neck as I tell him, “It’s over. I’ve won, now scram kid. Don’t do something stupid like this again, the next guy might not spare your life”.

I remove my foot and let him back up, he immediately grabs his axe and comes at me one more time. With one blow I knock his axe from his hands and push him to the ground once again.

“No matter how many times you try, you will lose,” I reiterate as I watch him start to get back up again. Despite my warnings this kid keeps getting up again, time after time I disarm him and knock him back into the sand.

Eventually, Kali comes back outside to see the two of us still going at it.

When I knock him down this time she speaks up, “Drakthar, stop this he’s just a kid”.

The boy grabs a hold of his axe and looks at Kali, “Stay out of this. You’re a girl you wouldn’t understand. Girls are weak”.

This boy messed up, he’s about to learn a harsh lesson that on the battlefield gender doesn’t matter. I watch as Kali walks forward, pure anger in her eyes as she rolls up her sleeves.

“Alright kid, if I’m so weak then you won’t have a problem beating a weaponless armorless woman like me,” she tells him as she pushes me out of the way.

The boy rushes at Kali just as recklessly as he rushed at me, she grabs onto his axe mid-swing and stops him dead in his tracks. His eyes filled with confusion at how strong Kali is as she effortlessly rips the axe from his hands and throws it to the side.

She grabs onto the kid’s head and slams it down causing the already delirious kid to fall unconscious.

I pick the poor guy up as I tell her, “You didn’t have to be so rough”.

“Why did you accept his challenge?” She asks me, ignoring what she just did to him.

“He reminded me of myself, he said he had no parents and the way his eyes were… nevermind it’s not important,” I give it up as I bring him inside so he can rest in a bed instead of in the sand.

“What are we going to do if he has no parents he has nowhere to go. I mean can we just dismiss him once he wakes up?” She questions, this being something morally gray to her.

“Yes,” I note, it is that simple, this kid will keep on living, that is if he can suppress the urge to foolishly challenge stronger warriors.

I ponder Kali’s metaphor about the fish in the lake as I watch the kid sleep. Even if I don’t kill the fish there is no guarantee they will become strong… that is unless I make sure they do. This kid… I can make sure he receives the proper training, I can already tell he is tall and broad for a kid his age, his body was made for fighting. Yes, if he had proper training he would grow to be strong.

“What are you thinking? You’ve been staring at this kid for hours,” Kali snaps me out of it by asking. Before I can respond I notice the kid has woken up.

“You said your name was Valdemar right?” I ask him, ignoring Kali’s question.

The boy nods, his eyes still as determined to defeat me as they were before he tasted defeat. Good, he’s going to need that level of determination for what comes next.

“Do you want to train under me?” I offer.

The kid seems apprehensive, so much so that it compels me to say more, “You saw my strength, those people who said I was the strongest were not too far off. Your technique is sloppy and you have bad decision making. I was much stronger than you at your age, when I was about two years younger than you, I slew a sand dragon all by myself, do you think you could do that now?”

The look on the boy’s face tells me he doesn’t think he can.

“Fine,” he finally responds.

“There is a bed in that other room, that’s where you’ll stay,” I tell him as I gesture to the unused room in our house.

“If there is a place you keep your things, go get them, you can keep them here,” I add.

“There isn’t. I have everything with me,” the kid responds, getting up and heading to his new room.

“What the hell was that? We are taking in a kid now?” Kali questions, that’s right maybe I should have asked her about this first.

“I wanted to make sure he would become a worthy opponent. There is no way to ensure that unless I train him myself,” I explain my thought process to her.

She tries to come up with a response to that, a way to disagree but she cannot, “Dammit, if you put it that way I can’t argue. I understand what you mean. If this is what you need I guess I can live with it. But this kid better not get in the way if you know what I mean”. I roll my eyes at her before walking off.

“Wait! Drakthar, I’m serious,” I hear her call out after me.

In the next few weeks, I begin Valdemar’s training, making him learn basic stances and slowly making him rethink the way he fights to have him develop the correct instincts. Sometimes I let him go against challengers that seem rather weak to test what he’s learned in a life or death scenario.

Most of the challengers get really offended by this but I just tell them that defeating a kid should be a simple task if they wish to defeat me and it usually works out. Valdemar can be dense at times but he is slowly getting better after each fight.

Every night, Kali and I sit down with him over dinner to review what he learned each day.

One dinner he changes the conversation from the usual by asking us, “Are you married?”

I notice Kali start to choke on her food for a second before I respond, “No”.

“Why not? You guys are really old, shouldn’t you be married by now?” He asks. This kid can be very annoying sometimes.

“I am not old! I’m twenty-one, sure I’ll be twenty-two in a month but that’s still really really young. Way too young to start thinking about getting married,” Kali quickly objects to the kid’s assertions. I do notice her voice trail off longingly when she mentions that last part about marriage.

“You two do like each other right? People who like each other get married,” Valdemar continues his constant pestering. I take a back seat here and watch as Kali gets more and more flustered as she answers his constant questions.

“Enough of this, we have to prepare for our journey tomorrow. You know what to pack right?” I ask Valdemar.

He nods, “Yes, but why do we have to leave home just to see your stupid friends?”

“They are important to us, if you make friends you’ll understand one day,” I tell him, that having been true when it comes to me.

I used to think friends, family, romantic relationships were all pointless but these days I don’t know anymore. When I think about all the strongest warriors I’ve come across I guess there was always someone they cared about… so maybe these kinds of attachments won’t hold me back either.