Cashius turned his head sarcastically and sniffed the air, “Your kingdom is on fire… You should be down there with your people saving everyone but instead you’re here with me. What a conundrum you’re in…” He stepped away from his prisoner and took a few steps closer to Iya. She stood still and motionless following all of his movements with her eyes. “I knew you couldn’t resist coming back for your armor. Chaining you to the wall was only to slow you down. I knew it would be a matter of time before you’d met me here. Bout time too, I was about to kill lover boy here for fun.”

When she had the chance, she glanced down at Kal trying to be discreet. He sat on his knees hunched over. He began to move around while he rubbed the back of his head. Kal could tell Cashius wasn’t close by anymore and took his opportunity. The wounded captain slowly turned his head to the side lifted two fingers signaling Iya he was down but not out. He knew she would be looking for something from him. Iya immediately felt relieved when she saw his signal. She knew it was a matter of time before Kal would be by her side. She needed to stall and give him the time to recover.

“Where are my parents?” Iya began to walk in half circles back and forth waiting for her opportunity to strike. She knew her attacks would have to be smart and well strategized. Cashius was trained at a very young age just like Iya to fight and survive. Most importantly, Iya knew he learned a lot of his fighting technique from watching her. This fight would feel like she was fighting one of her own. One of her brothers in arms…

Cashius smirked before answering. He began to unbutton the ties on the side of his armor. He pulled down the chest plate through his arms and the cloth shirt underneath. He turned around and let his bare chest flex as he freed his body from the heavy metal. “Your parents are in the dungeon… It hurt me to put your mother down there but your father deserved it. For now, that’s where they are being held until I gather the rest of you… When your lover boy here got himself captured, one of my men saw a group of medics carrying your sister into the palace. She looked like she was ready pop but that wasn’t the best part. Jayce and Surra was among them… I’m curious to where they were headed. That just leaves Jaron Jr and well you… The whole family should be together in no time.” The Star Lord stopped in his tracks and his expression turned serious. “Unless… you agree to join me and be my queen. Agree to this Iya and you won’t regret what will happen to them. This will be my last offer…”

“That’s funny,” Iya huffed, “I was going to offer you the same thing. You agree to put your sword down and I won’t kill all of your followers. Just the ones I don’t like…”

“Ha! Which one is that? You’re funny! In that case we should start with your beloved…” When Cashius turned around to face an unconscious Kal, he wasn’t there anymore. It made him stop in tracks. At that moment, Iya saw her window of opportunity. She dashed towards him with full speed, raising her sword high in the air to give a strong blow but Cashius saw it coming. He quickly turned back around and grabbed Iya’s arm and countered her attack by striking her directly to the jaw. His blow made Iya fly back and slide a few inches after hitting the ground. She laid there for a moment holding her face in shock at how strong he was. “Oh… did I forget to tell you? After getting my full powers as Star Lord, I am more than any normal man. I have the strength of ten men, the agility of a panther and I can be as fast as any vehicle. I am a god, Iya. You can’t stop me…”

Iya slowly stood to her feet rubbing her jaw. She spit out a glob of blood to the side then replied, “You may be stronger but you’re not immortal. You can be killed…” Blood outlined her teeth when she smiled at her opponent. Cashius didn’t like that response… He disliked it even more when he saw Kal coming from the side then standing next to Iya. Together they got into they ready stance. Quickly they glanced at one another then nodded, this was their do or die moment.

Together they lounged at Cashius side by side. He mocked them saying, “How cute…” He grabbed his own two swords and the fight began. Each took a side, Iya on his left and Kal to the right. Cashius held his own really well against the two bests in the Sagen Army. He countered Kal’s attack then gave him a front kick to the stomach. The kick made Kal fall to his knees, gripping the ground with his hands. He did the same to Iya but punched her in the gut instead. Both the commander and her captain laid on ground holding their bodies, but only for a moment. They quickly returned to their feet once again in their ready stance.

They were breathing hard and their bodies felt broken already. Together they lounged at their enemy once more. Giving it all they had for the same result to occur. Iya would go first and she would throw everything she had at Cashius, for him to counter the attacks. The same for Kal, who would be right behind her. Blow after blow and the Star Lord was barely touched. Cashius was toying with them and they knew it, they felt it…

After Kal gave Cashius a good punch to the face, the Star Lord quickly returned the attack knocking Kal to the ground. He walked over to the captain and stomped on his back. Cashius dug his boot deep in the middle making sure Kal felt all the pain and pressure. Iya screamed out Kal’s name and rushed over. She jumped in the air and was coming down fast but Cashius caught her in mid air. He grabbed her by the neck with one arm and used the leverage from standing on Kal to hold Iya in the air.

Kal screamed in agony from the pain as he felt one of his ribs crack underneath him. He had to get from underneath Cashius otherwise he was going to crush him. The Star Lord laughed and mocked his opponents as his eyes glowed bright white, “I expected more out of you two… I mean really this was more fun than anything.” Iya squirmed hard trying to kick Cashius but more she squirmed the tighter his grip got. He held her about three inches above the ground and she could feel her body fading. “You chose this over me?!” He pointed down at Kal who was also squirming trying to get free.

Kal didn’t notice it right away when he first hit the ground but there were broken pieces of clay from a pot everywhere. While Cashius continued to scream at Iya, Kal picked up a sharp piece and as hard as he could drove the piece of clay into the back of Cashius’ standing leg. He quickly dropped Iya to ground and hopped off Kal’s back. Both Iya and Kal crawled to one another trying to catch their breath once more.

“If we don’t come up with something better, we’re going to die Iya… How in the hell do we defeat a god?” Kal huffed hard as he held on to his side then turned to look his partner.

Iya huffed hard as she wiped blood from her nose and softly replied, “He’s not a god… he’s a man just like you and I and he can be killed.” Her words came out confidently but she was losing hope… She turned at looked at Kal like it might be the last time they would have a moment. He was breathing hard, hunched over leaning his chin on his knee. Iya gently reached over and touched Kal on his shoulder. When they made eye contact, they shared a moment. Wasting no more time, Iya leaned in and kissed Kal hard and strong placing her hand on his cheek. “I love you.” She whispered, then the strategy hit her. Something they should have started with in the beginning. Iya’s eyes widened when the feeling overcame her, “Kal, dance with me…”

Kal looked gave Iya a confused look as he watched Cashius take the piece of clay out of his bleeding leg and throw it on the floor. “Dance with you?”

“Yes, we have to fight as one Kal otherwise you’re right we’re to die. You remember the move your father taught us when we were kids? The move he called ‘the one that never fails’.” Cashius let out a huge roar as he stormed towards his opponents. Kal and Iya watched as he approached them.

“Yea I remember. We do the same moves at the same time almost like we’re the same person but mirror image. Why didn’t we think about this in the beginning of the fight?” He nodded at Iya with their final strategy.

“I’ll go high…”

“And I’ll go low when the time right.” Iya and Kal jumped to the feet as Cashius approached but this time their stance was different. They stood in the same stance with the backs facing one another while still facing forward.

Cashius slowed down in his march when he noticed the difference. He attacked them first this time and both split to one side but delivered the same attack at the same time. Iya went low and striked his lower torso, legs and feet, as Kal went for the upper parts of his body. They circled Cashius quickly and swiftly, throwing him off completely. The fighting style resembled a ‘dance’ when done correctly. The point of the style was to work together as one and if one cannot deliver the blow the other will finish opposite of them. When Kal swung at Cashius’ head, all of the attention went to blocking that attack and it left Iya open to slash Cashius’ legs.

This went on for awhile, the duo were actually doing some damage to the Star Lord. He found it difficult to block and predict what was the next move. Cashius was off and out of balance as Iya and Kal danced around him. They made him look foolish and discombobulated, they even knocked him down to the ground a few times. The duo celebrated by slowly getting back into the ready stance, taunting him. He knew if he could separate the pair, he’ll gain back the upper advantage. He backed away far enough so he couldn’t be surrounded. Kal was the first to try to attack and to fall for the trap.

Cashius saw an opportunity and tripped the Sagen captain, catching him by the throat mid fall. Iya tried to slow down her attack but it was too late. Cashius swung his leg low giving Iya a kick to the body. She flew a few feet, hitting the floor unconscious. “Finally,” He whispered to himself as he squeezed Kal’s throat, “I can kill you… I wanted Iya to watch but enough is enough. All of this messed up because of you. I had my eye set on Iya long before you decided to be selfish and take her from me! Everyone knew Iya was mine when we were younger but somehow you poisoned her mind. For that I will make you pay for ruining my original plans. I became so focused on killing you, I ended up making a lot of mistakes!”

As Iya slowly regained consciousness, she could hear the choking sounds as Kal was fighting for air. She moved her head side to side trying to focus her vision from being blurry. When she looked up from laying on the floor, she saw Kal’s dagger. It was lodged under the last unbroken flower pot. Iya reached for the dagger then flipped to her back. Cashius wasn’t that far away but there was no time to get up and attack so Iya took her chances… She threw the dagger as hard as she towards Cashius’ head but it landed in his back. The dagger actually landed in a good spot, in between the shoulder blade and the spine. It was going to be difficult pulling that one out…

Cashius flung back from the pain dropping Kal where he stood. He tried several times to reach back and remove it, with no luck. The dagger annoyed Cashius so much he didn’t think about Iya or her whereabouts and that was his mistake…. As he slowly turned in counter clock rotation, Iya was right behind him. She crawled a few steps as he turned to grab her sword from the floor then she waited for him to finish turning all the way. When their eyes made contact Iya swung her sword as fast and hard as she could. Cashius stood still with eyes widened and bulged. Iya didn’t know how far her blade had cut until she saw him grab his throat. Cashius slowly started walking towards her as huge globs of blood poured in between his fingers. His eyes began to glow bright white while blood dripped out of his mouth and nose. Iya slowly moved back and out from his dying path and watched the finale unfold. The Star Lord plopped down hard to floor, slamming his head inches next to Iya’s feet. The Star Lord was dead…

Iya jumped over Cashius’ body and ran to Kal. She lifted his head and rested his body on her lap. Kal wasn’t breathing at first until she gave him a few punches to the chest. He jolted up coughing before laying back down on her lap. She held Kal tight, squeezing his head and kissing his forehead as she had a small celebration. Cashius may be dead but the war was far from over… Iya rested her head on Kal’s just for a second. That fight took everything they had and she began to have an eerie feeling. A feeling that she wasn’t going to make it out of this one alive…

After a few minutes of resting, Iya began to stand to her feet. She glanced to look at Cashius’ dead bleeding body and noticed it began to glow. Immediately her heart began to race and started thinking the worse. She looked around for her sword and it was by her feet. The bright glowing lights began to swirl and surround the Sagen Commander. Iya stepped away from Kal and clutched her sword tight once more. The bright lights flew around her faster and faster until they jolted all in Iya’s body.

Her consciousness was transported somewhere else as her body stood still and motionless. Iya’s eyes glowed yellow and her head was tilt back like she was looking up. When she opened her eyes, everything was white. She had to shield her eyes from the brightness as she tried to look around. There was nothing to look at, just emptiness and unlimited space. Iya for sure thought she was dead as well… She did a full circle before screaming out her thought, “Am I dead?!” She looked all around again, spinning waiting for an answer. “Hello? Where am I?”

An echoing voice from behind Iya startled her and it replied, “You are in the Realm of the Stars and no you are not dead.” Iya looked around looking for a person but no one was there. “We brought you here Sagen because we are in need of your help, as much as you are in need of ours.”

Iya still stared into nothing answering back, “What help? Why did you bring me here? The Realm of the Stars? No one’s ever heard of that before…”

Another voice spoke up this time from Iya’s left, a deeper toned voice. “No man or creature has ever been in this realm without being half Star. We are the creators of the Star Lord and its Council. We created the idea of a half Star-being becoming the bridge between our worlds or universes. It is our job to maintain life throughout all the universe and we needed help maintaining the peace.”

A squeaky voice almost child like said the next comment, “The Star Lord was never supposed to abuse the power given for any purpose but to help others. We are grateful you helped correct this wrong…”

Iya looked up and yelled back, “Why didn’t stop Cashius yourself? There was no way to warn us of what he was doing beforehand? He planned this invasion for years.”

A voice from the right spoke up. She had a lower softer tone and sounded elderly, “Somehow Cashius was able to shut us out. We don’t know how but because we had no communication with him, we couldn’t get him to stop. We couldn’t do anything… We had to relay on Titantius seeing the truth, which he did but still he couldn’t stop Cashius.”

Iya looked around confused. “That doesn’t make any sense! Cashius was a monster and you should have done something to warn us about him.”

“That’s why we brought you here, young Sagen Commander…” There was a short pause before the next voice spoke, “We need your help correcting this wrong. We hear people from all corners calling your army their ‘Guardian’. Celebrations and festivals are put on honoring your name, ‘The Guardian of the Stars’. Did you know this?”

Iya knew about the name but not about the festivals. She softly replied, “We were doing our what we were born to do. This is what Star Lord Titantius and my ancestor King Methodius agree upon. He asked for warriors to fight for peace and order. That’s what we did and still can continue to do. What’s going to happen now that the Star Lords are dead? Cashius brought war and deconstruction upon Sage. The Barbarians are destroying my home as we speak.”

“Which is why we want to give you the powers of the Stars, temporarily. We want you fulfil your name as the Guardian.”

Iya did another full turn spin, “What if I don’t want the power? There are three other Sagen Star Children, why not chose from them?” She wasn’t afraid to express how she felt about this ‘Guardian’. All Iya wanted to get back home and save her home.

“The Red Beard Barbarians has joined the cause in attempting to conquer Sage. Without the power of the Star Lord, Sage will fall. We want to help make this right by giving the power to someone who deserves it. Someone who won’t abuse it and who has a heart to always do what’s right.”

“You don’t leave me with much of a choice. After the war is over you will just take back the powers?”

“No, you will guard the power until the next Star Lord is born and ready. With the help and training from the best fighter known to man, you can train righteousness. You, Guardian of the Stars, will be the replacement. Will you help us restore order and peace?”

Iya took a deep breath and slowly nodded agreeing to the terms. She didn’t know how to feel about this new role but there wasn’t much of a choice. Sage was the one in need this time, Sage was under attack… She did not know what she was walking into gaining this superior power and what was to come. All she knew it was going to protect Sage from falling into the hands of the Barbarians. Iya looked up, again into the open empty space and said, “Ok give it to me…” She started pacing back and forth, “I will defeat the Barbarians once and for all ending this war forever! I will save my people and I will protect the powers of the Star Lord until the next one is ready. I will be your Guardian…”

“We thank you Iya, Daughter of Sage.”

Artemis peeked through the curtains and was shocked from what he saw. Iya was standing still facing the sky, looking out to the ocean. Her eyes were still glowing yellow as he slowly back by, walking past Cashius’ body. He saw Kal laying on the ground unconscious and quickly tried to move to get him. He honestly didn’t know what to think… Artemis gently turned Kal’s body to his back to examine the wounds. He was hurt pretty bad but was confident he would make it through. He called Kal’s name a few times as his son awoke from being unconscious. As soon as Kal began to open his eyes, Iya also awoke out of her trance.

When she turned around and looked at Artemis and Kal they both sat in silence looking at her. Both of their mouths slightly open and eyes wide in awe. Iya’s eyes remained glowing bright yellow. She smiled at them both and then hopped on the edge of the balcony. She looked down at the chaos beneath her then turned once more looking at Artemis. “Don’t let him die Artemis. He’s the love of my life…”

“I won’t… He's going to be ok... Iya…”

She smirked at her lifelong friend, “Don’t worry Artemis. I’m going to save us all… This will be the end of all the Barbarians once and for all…”