I was about to take off to tell the others what I’d seen, when Wind of the Wild appeared beside me, dropping the clothes of Darkness at my feet.

“Forgot something,” he said into my mind with what looked like a grin. “You have company too, I see.”

“Yeah,” I answered as I slipped back into the clothes. “Bastards.”

“It’s not all of them. Around four thousand,” he replied.

“I’ll let everyone know.”

“Interesting,” he said, stopping me in my tracks.

“What is?”

“They don’t know we are here, and from what I can tell their Paladins are all flying near the back. For someone who is apparently as strong as you think you are, it seems the perfect opportunity for a hit and run. Surprise attack?”

“You know Wind of the Wild, when I first met you, you were like a wise, old wolf, now you're like a bloody angry teenager. What gives?”

“I’m being driven from my home. You potentially have the power to help me return to it one day. And you realize, I was not always docile and peaceful?”

“I heard something about armies of Wultr,” I replied.

“Just stories. The truth is far more complicated. One day I might share it with you. But for now, the deal you’ve made with Justice is already broken and we must fight at the Palathi Peaks. Perhaps a thinning of the reinforcements is in order.”

“I agree. I’ll tell Sania to get everyone to stop and move. Try to flank those following us. I can stun them with Ethereal power. If the others wait for my attack, and then come in from the sides, we should be able to take them all out. They’ll pay for breaking the deal.”

“I will return to assist, once the battle has begun.”

“Cool, Wind. We’ll be glad of the help,” I admitted as he vanished. Shaking my head at his increasingly erratic behavior, I contacted Sania.

“Hey, hey.”

“Why are you not moving toward us?” she asked.

“Oh, just a little issue of three thousand troops of Justice following behind you, when I transported back here.”

“I’m not surprised. So why are you still there?” she questioned curiously.

“I was thinking we should maybe take them out. I’m assuming the troops around the Palathi Peaks won’t be planning on heading too far away, if at all. So instead of us being jammed between them, we should hit them now.”

“I agree. They have made their choice.”

I explained what I thought we should do, to Sania, Danivra, and Grigor, and they all agreed. Sania then described an area of ground that would give them cover, with a hilly area and a forest. They were about six miles apart, but they would work well if I began the attack between those two areas.

As I flew toward them, I scanned the dark landscape for the area Sania had described. Spotting the forest first in the darkness, my increased perception overlaid with Singularity sight, showed me the green energy that permeated the area. Differentiating it from the faint blue of the air and the brown of the earth. I kept the area to my left side as I scanned to my right, searching for the grey colour that denoted stone, or as the Wultr described it, the power of the mountains. It never appeared though, and I had to rely on my perception to spot the rolling hills.

Satisfied I’d located the area, I dropped down to the ground to wait. Looking over my Ethereal energy it was still quite low from the attacks I’d enacted back at the fort.

With a sense of guilt, I focused on the highest concentration of bonds that led back to Far Reach. Then I attempted to communicate with them hoping only to bother those in our town and not those creeping through the hills and the forests either side of me.

“Hey guys, I hate to do this, and I know it’s the middle of the night, but we’re about to fight a pretty big battle and I could really do with a boost to my Ethereal energy. I want to make sure I can protect as many of our people as possible. So, if any of you have a minute, can I beg a little prayer from you?”

I stopped myself from telling them not to worry if they couldn’t. I felt like a total dick for asking, but I tried to settle it in my mind that it wasn’t praying as such for me, but for their friends and families and their homes. I was just the focal point.

Almost immediately, I heard voices within my mind, praying. At first it was just a few, but more and more added swiftly until I sensed each and every one of my followers was up from their sleep and praying to me.

“Thanks, guys, you are literally the best ever. When I get back, I'm cooking all you fuckers the best damn meal you’ve ever tasted!”

I felt humor come back through the collective bonds and it felt…warm, cozy, almost. I smiled to myself as I stood shrouded in darkness.

Once filled to the brim with energy, I thanked them, and told them all to get back to sleep. As the connection to their bonds disappeared, I concentrated on Sania’s position. She was off to my right in the forest.

“You all good?”

“I am, yes. We’ve split our forces down the middle. The Nystiobek and Nanooks are carrying the goblins into the battle. Danivra and Grigor are in the hills. I have Freeler and Nanook with me. We are ready.”

“Perfect. Wait until you see the fireworks, then come and help me out as quickly as possible. I’ll be working on the airborne Paladins after the initial bombardment into the ground troops.”

“We’ll be there,” Sania said, before adding with a healthy dose of sarcasm. “And thanks for letting us join in. I’m surprised you didn’t just try to take them all yourself.”

“I’m not that bad,” I laughed. “But yeah, get in there, stay safe, and get some damn XP!”

“I shall,” she replied determinedly.

I spoke briefly to Danivra and Grigor after that, but the arrival of Justice’s army redirected my focus.

I slowly rose up into the night sky to get a better view. With my hood up and my stealth apparently activated, I wondered if they could see me yet. No cry of alarm had been sounded from them yet.

Once they came to within 50 yards, I unleashed Ethereal hell on them. The bright white ball of power illuminated the now terrified army of Justice. Their neat formation suddenly turned into a mosh pit of blinking, panicking idiots desperate to get away from me. I only managed two more of the devastating blasts before the Paladins came to the fore. They had no other choice. It was either stop me or lose their army.

Flying forward as quickly as they could, they all refrained from using their portals for fear of what I could do to them.

Doesn’t matter to me. I thought, activating my Claws of Brutal Dismissal first, to bat away energy attacks. Then I summoned my Cleaver, from which I could both shoot out Ethereal bullets, and hack off any stray limbs invading my personal space.

The Paladins tried their best to overwhelm me, forcing a desperate defense that didn’t allow me to attack back productively. Though it suited me for the moment as I waited for a specific attack to come in.

A paladin shouted, and those attacking me pulled quickly away as a wave of silver and blue, pulsating energy came rippling in my direction.

With Singularity sight already active, I pushed on the power where it would strike me, and the full wave fell apart. I immediately shot an Ethereal bullet at the level 130 Paladin who had cast the spell.

The paladin next to him threw up a portal and the Ethereal bullet disappeared through it.

I was too busy defending to really appreciate the move, but when I was smashed in the back by something incredibly painful, I had to acknowledge the ingenuity of the tactic.

Sadly for them, my own Ethereal energy wasn’t quite as damaging to me as it was to everyone else, but as the back of my hoodie of Darkness disintegrated, I just lost my cool.

“STOP RUINING MY CLOTHES!” I screamed. Possibly the worst battle cry ever. Braveheart certainly had nothing to worry about. But the point remained. I was pissed.

Then I was surprised as Olata zipped past me, suddenly attacking the paladins with speed they couldn’t hope to match. Wounds opening up faster than they could heal.

Next, golden balls of energy I recognized as Sania’s Hunters' Flames added to the carnage as she flew up to join me. Swiftly followed by glowing green arrows in far greater numbers than we’d been able to produce up until now.

It was a truly amazing display of power that illuminated the night sky with a multitude of colors. As the pressure from the Paladins eased, I took the opportunity to check on our progress below. It was a massacre.

Near the back of the fighting was the most epic of sights, as full-sized Nephilim battled with Nanook and his Nanooks. There was only ever going to be one winner in those encounters, despite the average Nephilim level being higher.

I saw Wind of the Wild among them, too. At his full size, he was equal with the recently evolved Nanooks, and together they tore into the Nephilim with brutal abandon.

I roared to activate my Call to Action skill. Providing all of my people with +14 to Strength, Speed, and Constitution.

I noticed the difference in our troops immediately, especially the emaciated Drenglafar. Already impressive, the boost made them look like brand-new warriors.

I also cast Dark Flame, though it was so pathetically ineffective in comparison to an Ethereal blast, it was barely worth it.

With that done, I refocused my efforts on the Paladins still fighting us in the air. After only a few more minutes, they finally attempted to escape. But no one here was in the mood to let them. They’d gone and fucked up by sneakily following us. I doubted they ever thought this would be the price they’d pay.

I watched as the Paladin, Olata was currently dealing with, desperately attempted to open a portal. There’s a good chance I grinned at his confusion as I slammed it shut and Olata quickly finished him off.

It was a true rout now, and I was able to focus my full attention on slamming portals shut, preventing further escapes while others finished them off and earned the XP. As the last of their army died, I dropped to the ground with Sania. There was a strange moment as everyone stared off into nothing as they dealt with their notifications.

I barely acknowledged mine before I dismissed it. Not wanting to dwell on the hundreds of lives I’d taken. I’d gone up three levels again, which was agonizingly close to the Nephilim evolution. Though my interest lay in the size manipulation powers rather than the additional paths it would bring. I was already horribly overpowered because of the Singularity. Though I suspected at some point, there’d be a price to pay. The other gods would retaliate in some way. Their decision not to affect events in the mortal realm was an agreement, after all. And as I’d discovered once or twice in my life, agreements could be broken, especially with that lot of tossers. For now, though, as long as it meant I could keep my loved ones alive, I’d take it.

I looked at Sania and couldn’t fight the smile that bloomed on my face.

“Well done! Two levels, that's awesome!”

“It is. I dreamed of becoming a Woltar on my return to Far Reach, but now, I think there is an opportunity to reach Amarok!”

“I’ll help you as much as I possibly can,” I said, butting my arm around her shoulders. It was a bit awkward because of the size difference now, but she didn’t seem to mind. Oh and here, I said, pulling out her clothes from my void pocket.

“I see you’ve already managed to ruin your hoodie,” she laughed.

“Honestly, I’m friggin’ sick of it. I’ve had it on for a couple of hours and… did you see what the bastard did to me?”

“I didn’t. Too busy finally getting some decent XP.”

“Well, I shot one of them with an Ethereal bullet, and his mate threw up a portal. Bastard had put the exit behind me. So I essentially shot myself in the damn back!”

“Lucky the bullets don’t kill you,” she remarked, looking around at my back with concern. “It’s actually a pretty bad wound, Clive.”

“Yeah, it’s still hurting,” I said, focusing on my neuma, to heal the area. To my horror it wouldn’t heal using my standard golden Neuma. Not to panic too early, I used what remained of my Ethereal energy pool. I felt a cool tingling sensation spreading across my back and knew it had worked.

“What did you put your points in?” Sania asked.

I stifled a yawn. “I haven’t yet.” What about you?”

Intelligence and Constitution,” she said proudly. “Next ten goes into Internal Connection.”

I chuckled. “Did you ever think there’d be a time those would be your choices?”

She laughed back. “Certainly not. Speaking of stats though, I think you might want to consider investing in your Stamina, Clive. You’re pushing yourself from all angles, but you haven’t put your Stamina up, since before Natom’s house.”

“I’ve had boosts,” I said defensively.

“They might help someone normal, even fighting at a normal level, but you are doing way more than that. I order you to put ten points into stamina and look after yourself. We need you with your full abilities if you're going to get us back home.”

“That’s fair, I suppose,” I said, bringing up my stats. I looked at Stamina and it was lagging behind. I also saw Dexterity was depressingly low. It hadn’t really mattered, but I was beginning to wonder if my spicy ball accuracy would be improved by it. I wasn’t lacking in any other area to my detriment, so I brought it up to forty to see if there’d be any notable improvement. The rest of the points I put into Stamina and Internal Connection.

Physical statistics:

Strength: 75

The capacity to exert and resist force.

Dexterity: 40

Skill and ease in hand-based activity.

Agility: 90

How effectively the body can move into a range of different positions.

Speed: 90

Rate at which the body can move.

Stamina: 76

Period over which the body can effectively sustain prolonged activity.

Constitution: 223

The ability to withstand physical punishment.

Mental Statistics:

Intelligence: 86

Knowledge and its application

Charisma: 38

Charm, coerce, inspire.

Perception: 66

Awareness of surroundings

Spiritual Statistics:

Ethereal Awareness: 0

Attunement with the Gods and spirits of Gulithea. (Necessary for Ethereally supplied magical ability.)

Internal Connection: 85

Attunement with oneself. (Necessary for cultivation of one’s own inner power)

Singularity: 38

Innate understanding of universal essence (Neuma). Will increase with personal level. (Cannot be leveled by other means.)

World sense: 8.22% Knowledge of Gulithea.

Experience Points to next level: 2603/3800