Samuel stared at Menikos silently, his mind whirling as he finally understood the challenge that faced him. Menikos was right. This was suicide. The two powers around him, combined with the power of an Ancient, were the most powerful combination imaginable. He could contend with the Chaos. He’d even be capable of fighting the Ancient. But Corruption had claimed both, and as soon as Menikos was gone, it would be a single united force.

“What are my options?” He asked wildly. “You’ve fought Chaos and Corruption before. What do I do?”

“Pray that you can reach Grimr,” Menikos said. “He is the only one who can save you now.”

Without another word, Menikos broke. A crack formed in his torso as if he’d suddenly turned to stone. The crack spread rapidly throughout his body until he finally shattered into millions of tiny pieces. Each turned itself into pure white light and slowly drifted to Samuel. It surrounded him, filled him, and healed him. His mana was restored to its fullest capacity, and he was whole. A voice lingered in the back of his mind as Menikos faded completely. This is my gift to you. I hope that you live to use it.

The wall of black that surrounded him snapped closed in an instant, now that there was no barrier to restrain it. It swallowed Samuel faster than he could blink, and he was lost. As he was nearly six years ago, after his first fight against an Enari, he was nothing. Just a single mind, drifting through infinite darkness. A voice, the same voice that had reached him before, was calling out. He could not reach it. And after a moment, it faded. He was nothing. He was nothing.

His eyes snapped open, and he flailed his body. He was blind, and he was drowning! He clamped his mouth shut, but it could not stop the Corruption. It flooded his mind and soul through his eyes, through his ears, through his very skin. He could not escape it. The best he could do was push it back. The specter of an image appeared before him. It was a person, he thought weakly. A short, bald man wearing blue robes. Master Astori! The ghost of his oldest and best teacher looked down upon him sternly, his face set in disapproving lines.

“You’re supposed to be a better student than this,” Astori said. His voice was dry and nasally, just like it had been back then. “I thought I taught you how to use magic.”

I cannot fight this, Samuel thought, staring pleadingly up at his old master. It is too strong for me. I don’t have the energy.

“If you do not have the energy,” Astori retorted, “Then borrow it. Did I teach you nothing in your time with me? There is power all around you, fool. Use it!”

The last two words echoed throughout his mind. Suddenly, the darkness around him seemed a little less potent. The Corruption continued to flow around him and inside him, but he found he could breathe. With a supreme effort, he pushed back against Corruption. It nearly broke him to do so, but slowly, the power was retreating. It roared its fury, struggling all the harder, but he held firm. What are you doing?

He blinked, and he was at the top of a pool. Just in front of him, on the surface of the water, stood two beings. A wolf, nearly a hundred feet long and eighty feet tall, bared its fangs at an equally large, shadowy figure. It was the wolf’s head in his mind, he realized. He was furious at the shadowy figure, who he’d never seen, but felt sure that he recognized.

“What are you doing?” Corruption snarled. “He is one of hers! He must die!”

“Yes,” Chaos said, his voice a bored drone. “But I quite like him. He adapts to me quite well, you know.”

“But we are her sworn enemies!” the wolf screamed. “We agreed to set ourselves against her!”

“You agreed that,” Chaos replied, “Not me. I do whatever I please, as you very well know.”

Chaos lifted his head in a rebellious expression, and the wolf roared. It lunged, aiming for Corruption’s throat. But it clamped on nothing, as Chaos was behind it. Chaos let out a snicker. “Always had quite the temper, didn’t you?”

The wolf snarled a challenge, which Chaos promptly ignored. He sniffed. “Not worth my time.”

“Fine!” Corruption screamed. “Then stand back while I kill it.”

Chaos gave a lazy wave of his hand. “Do as you please. I don’t care, one way or the other.”

Samuel looked on in silent horror as the wolf turned to face him. It was dead from inside to outside, with rotting hide and cracked fangs. Its eyes, like those of Neratas, were a pale yellow. The end of all life. True Corruption. He bore down on Samuel, taking one leisurely step at a time. Samuel wanted to cry out, to scream his terror, but his mouth would not move. He looked just past the wolf to where Chaos stood, watching the scene with idle interest. After all, he was a creature of self-interest. Chaos always moved on its own and didn’t do things just because you wanted it to. Unless you forced it, Samuel thought suddenly.

With the wolf a mere yard away from him, Samuel reached out with his mind to touch the Chaos. Help me! He pulled as hard as he could, willing Chaos to surround and infuse him, to displace the Corruption around him. Chaos looked at him with a tilted head, and Samuel almost swore he could see a curious smile show through the flickering silhouette of shadows. A faint voice laughed in his head. Why not? Sounds like fun.

Mere feet away from Samuel, the wolf stopped. A low growl emanated from the depths of his throat, and he turned to glare at Corruption. “I thought you agreed not to get in my way.”

“I did,” Chaos said with glee. “If he wants to pull me, I cannot do anything to stop it.”

“Liar!” The wolf roared. “I should devour you now, so you can irritate me no-”

The wolf got no further. Suddenly finding his body free of the bindings, Samuel leaped with as much force as he could muster. A shower of chaotic energy flowed with him, feeding on his mana but giving him power in return. He struck barehanded at the wolf’s head, packing just enough power to snap its head to the side. You will not devour me! The wolf staggered away, not harmed in the slightest, but he was now snarling in rage. He lunged forward, jaws snapping, but Samuel vanished. Chaos, having switched places with Samuel at the last instant, looked down at the wolf biting his arm.

“Tsk, tsk,” he said, in mock-stern tones. “I think you’re biting the wrong enemy here, friend.”

But Samuel hadn’t escaped unscathed. Even now, there was a nasty, festering wound on his forearm. It stung like mad despite the lack of a body to infect, and the black ichor was quickly taking hold, spreading further up his arm. He’d been infected, he realized with a surge of panic. He glanced over at Chaos, who made a shooing motion. Go along, then. You wanted out, so leave.

Samuel didn’t waste a second to ponder the instruction. It seemed as though Chaos was just interested in him enough to be his ally for the moment, and he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. Covering himself from head to toe in the chaotic energy, he dove headfirst into the black pool. It tried to smother him, but he was free of its crushing presence and could move freely. He struck out blindly, feeling his way further down, to where he could just barely sense an escape. He could feel the Corruption chasing him, determined to catch him.

With a gasp, his eyes snapped open. He was able to see again, back in his own body. Grimr was beside him, holding his body somewhat upright, his face pale and sweaty. The instant Samuel’s eyes flicked open, he raised the bone knife to his throat, ready to strike if need be. But he seemed to recognize his friend and lowered it again. Then Samuel turned to the side, dropped to his hands and knees, and vomited. Though it was normal, he could feel the Corruption spreading from his mind into his body. It continued to grow, and he looked up at Grimr with pleading eyes, too nauseous to say anything.

“Damn!” Grimr exclaimed. He pushed Samuel down onto his back and raised the knife again. “Of course, he was Corrupted too! I don’t know if I can get it all, but I’ll try. This is going to hurt.”

That was the last thing he remembered, as the pain and sickness overwhelmed him, throwing him deep into a restless state of unconsciousness. His mind continued to conjure twisted images, shadowy figures that attacked him again and again, carving great chunks away. That which they didn’t take grew putrid and rotten, falling away from his body in chunks as he continued to writhe. The Corruption continued to claim him until, finally, everything faded to black.

-Tobito-

Tobi felt a shiver run down his spine, seconds after cutting down a lucky soldier who had slipped through the front line. The man hit the ground on his hands and knees, coughing up blood. Tobi immediately took several steps back, glancing in all directions. What had caused him to feel as though something was going wrong? Despite the chaos of the battle, he couldn’t spot any impending sign of disaster. The Gorteau Army, with its back to the hill, was holding its position fairly well. The hill? He glanced back and up, squinting his eyes against the glare of the sun that was just now peeking over the horizon.

With a heart-stopping surge of terror, he saw the armed figures appearing at that exact moment, relocated by magic. They popped out of thin air, already running forward with their weapons ready. They didn’t yell, for their attack was a surprise, but there were more than enough of them to do some serious damage to the army’s back lines. Maybe enough to even crush the army from opposite directions, he thought.

“Jakob!” He shouted. He had an excellent battle sense and knew who was close to him and could be spared. “Aki! Noda! To me!”

His spear whirled in a circle to catch an arrow, then back around in a flat swipe at the first man to approach him, opening a massive wound in the man’s stomach. Jakob, Aki, and Noda were at his side in a flash, their reactions sharp as ever. The four of them moved in coordination, moving and striking around each other with perfect balance, leaving no openings for the enemy to exploit. They were a whirlwind of steel and blood, cutting down any unfortunate enemy who stepped within reach.

More of the army behind them were becoming aware of the situation. Just as more soldiers appeared through teleportation, a captain ordered his entire battalion to turn and face the threat. It was a wise choice, Samuel thought, noting that the chosen battalion’s absence wouldn’t create any weakness in the rest of the line. They consisted primarily of mages and archers and could be a great help. He thrust his spear to split an enemy’s shield, then directed his comrades to back off.

“Back!” He shouted, brandishing his naginata to give them time to disengage. “Back to the line!”

“But then they’ll breach!” Jakob shouted back, his voice barely audible over the din of battle, even from six feet away. “We cannot abandon our position!”

Tobi opened his mouth to reinforce the order, then quickly realized that Jakob was right. Not only that, but the enemies approaching were no longer targeting just the four of them. In such a wide-open space, it wasn’t necessary to take out the four warriors to gain access to the rest of the army. They simply streamed past in a wide flood of fighting men, rushing for the back of the army. Only the battalion of mages and archers stood in their way, and they wouldn’t provide much in the way of protection.

As if looking on from above, Tobi could see their position. The entire Gorteauan force was pushed up against the hill. They couldn’t be flanked to be sure, but they were extra weak to any attacks that might come from the rear, as this one had. Tobi knew that, once the spare battalion fell, the army would be split, and they would lose. Could he do anything with his power to stop that from happening? Well, yes, he thought. He could.

“I’m breaking off!” He called. In one smooth leap, he’d done it. The others didn’t look too pleased with this decision, but they closed ranks in an instant, covering the momentary gap that he’d left. He ran to the left, where the bulk of the charging soldiers was, taking care to stay low to avoid friendly arrows and magic. In less than a minute, he was down the slope, ready to intercept. The battalion covered one-half of the line, he would cover the rest. It wasn’t feasible that he could hold the position on his own with just the spear, of course, but he had another weapon at his disposal.

With one upward flick of his hand, the spikes he’d been gifted flew up and out of the pouch at his side. After six years of constant study and practice under Samuel, moving these new weapons was second-nature to him. They obeyed his thoughts nearly as fast as he could form them. He threw his hand forward, sending the spikes, now loaded with his mana, out. Twelve different streaks of light caught the attention of the approaching men. Some of them hesitated in their movement, wondering what the light had been. For quite a few of them, it was the last thought they had, as the spikes struck.

All along the enemy, each spike hit with the force of an artillery spell, sending men and earth flying. Before they could quite recover from the surprising devastation, he’d pulled the spikes back, and stepped forward to meet who was left. His spear moving in a lethal blur, he jabbed, cut, ducked, and spun for all he was worth. It was only in battles like this, where the odds were stacked so heavily against him, that he could truly feel his father’s presence. He offered his silent prayer as he moved, picking up his face even more.

Guide me in battle, God of War. Guide my weapon so that I may strike true. Guide my body so that I may defend my home. There was no wash of power to be felt, of course, because he was his father’s Champion, and that power was in him at all times. He shot a blast of Ki from his hand, knocking back four or five men, then turned forty-five degrees and repeated the spell, to cause more mayhem for another half dozen men. He was a snake, slipping between their blows, unable to be pinned down. He was a panther, striking through their defenses, establishing his territory on the field.

His first break in focus came when he heard Aki cry out. There were more than a dozen yards between them, so he didn’t know how he’d been able to hear it. It was as if they were linked, and he felt the arrow strike her as if it had struck his own body. He staggered back, the simple movement saving him from an enemy’s pike thrust out at him. Swinging from side to side to give himself some space, he spared half a second to glance over to where his friends were.

He was just in time to see Aki dropping to her knees, her knives falling from her fingers to hit the ground. There it was. An arrow, sunk so deep into her heart that it was almost buried. As if sensing his gaze by some divine connection, she looked up to him, her eyes wide with surprise and shock, and, he fancied, just a bit of disappointment. He knew that, in her final moment, she believed that she’d failed him. Then an enemy struck her in the back, and she pitched forward, unmoving.

“No!” The shout that came from Tobi’s throat cracked across the battlefield, stilling the men for a heartbeat. With fury and fear in his heart, he dove back to where Jakob and Noda were fending off the wave of enemies. Before he’d taken three steps, a spell struck Noda, catching him high on his thigh, and tearing through the limb as if it were butter. Noda fell to the ground, dispatched in the next instant by another sword strike. Tobi called the spikes to move with him but knew in his heart that he wouldn’t make it in time.

“Kill him!” A captain in the enemy force was calling out now, brandishing his sword high above his enemy, and pointing it at Jakob. “Kill him now!”

Surrounded on all sides, Jakob put up one hell of a fight. His sword moved in a deadly blur of light, cutting his foes down on all sides. The master couldn’t be taken so easily. In less time than Tobi could blink, three of the enemy staggered back, clutching wounds and crying out. The fourth fell without a sound, his head hitting the earth half a second later. An arrow slipped past Jakob’s shield, striking him in the shoulder. He staggered under the impact but continued to fight on, his face set in grim, determined lines. He struck down two more, then three, then one, hammering his sword down with all his might.

An enemy sword swung down on Jakob, catching his shield and tearing it in half, leaving him with two half-circles of wood only loosely connected by the arm straps. Undaunted, Jakob struck the same enemy with that arm, stunning him. Then he flicked his sword around, catching the man high in the chest, a killing blow. At the same instant, a pike cut the back of his knee, dropping him to one leg. Jakob gripped his sword with two hands and cleaved that enemy from shoulder to hip. Only a moment later, a sword slipped past his and stabbed into the chest.