It looks like me being able to go home is now entirely dependent on Will’s abilities. My original plan was for me to find some druid monks and have them read the book for me. If they chose not to help me, or decided to make up some excuse, I was going to punch them until they helped. But, I think having Will read it for me is a much better idea, that way I won’t become a wanted criminal. If I got arrested, I wouldn’t be able to read my books anymore and that has to be avoided at all costs. As for the past two months, they’ve been painful. I’m getting better at exercising and I can use my aura for quite an extended period of time. But that doesn’t mean I like exercising any more than before. In fact it could be said it’s gotten worse because Armstrong is making me workout for even longer durations due to my stamina improving. On the bright side it’s fun to look up from my book to see Will struggle ever since he decided to join Armstrong and I. After working out with Armstrong, Marianne and Luther have still been training me in combat. I’ve gotten better at fighting against Luther, even hitting him a few times though he never looked like he got hurt by it. The problem is that I still haven’t unlocked my specialization. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but for the past two months nothing has happened. I’ve been told what’s supposed to happen but I guess I have specialization dysfunction because it’s not showing up. Marianne is quite concerned about it but Luther says I’m just a late bloomer. The school is mostly put back together and I’ve been going to classes, but to be honest, I’ve learned a lot more just by reading books on my own as I suspected. Then at night, I go to my room and read to conclude my day.

I think the strangest part that has happened to me over the past two months is that I’ve obtained a social life. Every now and then I would go over to Dragon’s Descent with Will just to hang out with Nerva and Adam. I read and socialize with them at the same time. There’s no way I’m going to read less because I’m hanging out with people. Nerva tells me she’s been training with a very reluctant Adam. I wish that I was there to witness it but my schedule is packed enough already. She’s also gone on her own adventures with him. Nothing major but like the training sounds like something that would have been hilarious to witness. Warren however has been a no show. Nerva tells me he’s still around but rarely shows up at Dragon’s Descent and is never there when I am. He hasn’t been going on adventures yet hasn’t been frequenting taverns which I suppose is a good sign. I’m not worried about him, he’s literally the most competent person in my party so I’m sure he’s doing alright. Thus the two months of pain yet tranquility passed by and just like that it was the day that Will and I were scheduled to fight Emperor Marcus.

I wake up to the sound of knocking at my door. Groggily I make my way to it and upon opening it see that it’s Marianne.

“Today’s the day. Did you go to sleep early like I told you? You look like you just woke up” Marriane asks.

“Yeah I did ...well I tried to. I couldn’t sleep, the idea of getting my ass kicked has made me restless” I admit.

I did tell the truth but another reason is that I have a horrible sleeping schedule since I focus on reading so much. She doesn’t need to know that.

“You’re going to do better than you think, you’ve improved a lot over the past two months. While you haven’t unlocked your specialization your power should be enough to impress everyone. Besides I’m sure Emperor Marcus will go easy on you two.” she assures.

“Well, if you say so. Anyway, where’s Will?” I ask her.

“If he’s like you, then he’s asleep. I’m going to knock on his door right now so get yourself dressed” She orders.

I close the door and change into my monk outfit. I wish I had some armor to put on like Will, but Armstrong keeps telling me that aura is my armor and that monks don’t use armor in order to move as quickly as possible. After changing I head into the hallway where I see Marianne knocking on Will’s door. After knocking a few times the door opens but instead of seeing Will, we see Nazuko looking tired.

“Ugh, what is it? Why do you gotta ruin my sleep?” she questions, rubbing her eyes.

Marianne looks really confused at seeing Nazuko. I’m sure Marianne has seen her before but perhaps hasn’t been told she was living with Will.

Marianne was most likely about to ask a question but I prevented her by talking first.

“Hey, Nazuko, where’s Will at? He's asleep?” I question.

“Nah he woke up like two hours ago. That Vasavir guy dragged him out of bed. Something about wanting to do some last minute training.” Nazuko informs.

“Do you know where he’s at?”

“I think he’s at the stadium at North Point. I’m not too sure because I was trying to sleep while they were talking to each other.”

“Alright thanks Nazuko. You’re going to watch the fight, right?”

“Yeah, of course. I got plenty of time to get there. I just want to sleep some more.”

“The fight starts in 45 minutes, you sure you don’t want to get there now? The stadium is already almost at full capacity” Marianne interjects.

“Eh, I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. That’s future Nazuko’s concern and she’s a capable girl.” Nazuko asserts.

“Well, alright then, see ya” I say.

“Bye Quincy, make sure Will doesn’t die. If he dies I can’t sleep with him anymore. Bye, big-tall-lady.” she waves, closing the door.

“Wasn't that the thief Will rescued from imprisonment?” Marianne asks in bewilderment as we make our way out of the castle.

“Yeah that was Nazuko. She lives with Will for some reason. ” I inform.

“Huh, well that’s interesting. Wait, did she say she was sleeping with him?” she asks in a surprisingly excited voice.

“Will told me it’s not what you think it is. I don’t really know if I believe him.”

“I can’t believe the first hero fell in love with the girl he rescued from imprisonment. That’s sooo cuuute! That’s exactly what happens in one of my stories. Wait, but he’s engaged, that means he’s cheating on his fiance with a mistress. That’s also like one of my stories… it’s one of the more steamy ones '' Marianne states with excitement, ignoring what I just said.

The f*ck is she on about? Note to self, don’t talk about relationships with Marianne ever. If you do her demeanor becomes that of a mom who watches too many spanish soap operas. I don’t like where this conversation could head. I gotta change the subject now.

“So, ugh, got any advice for handling the Emperor?” I ask as we are now making our way through the streets of Colonus on our way to North Point.

“There’s not much I can tell you. Just remember your training, and be careful.” she advises.

Wow, such helpful advice. I was planning on being reckless and forgetting all of my training. Though to be fair, I don’t think Marianne knows much about the Emperor so I’m sure that really is the only advice she can give. We are now at North Point and wow it’s crowded, there’s a huge multitude lined up and crowded around the stadium attempting to get inside. Reminds me of people tailgating before a football game.

“Are people really this excited to see Will and I get beat up?” I ask Marianne as she moves people out the way to get to the entrance.

“You don’t understand how significant this is for them. They get to see their leader fight against the nation’s heroes. It’s a big deal, but don’t worry about them, you just need to remain focused.” Marianne instructs.

We are now in front of the entrance where I see Ice Cube (yes I meant it when I said I was going to refer to her as Ice Cube) and a couple of guards guarding the entrance to the stadium.

“Anastasia, how’s the security situation?” Marianne asks her.

“.....” she answers looking at Marianne with those big old eyes.

“Alright, that’s good news, keep it up.” Marianne says walking past her.

“I thought you had to call her by her full name?” I inquire as we make our way into the stadium.

“Yes, usually that’s the case but she said that since you gave her that nickname she became self conscious about how tedious it is to say her full name, so she just goes by Anastasia now.”

Wow, I didn’t think she would have cared about what I said. Come to think of it I assumed she wasn’t even listening to me.

Suddenly, I felt a cold hand on my left shoulder. I freaked out and quickly turned around to see that it’s Ice Cube.

“Sweet Jesus. Are your hands always that cold?” I ask rubbing my shoulder trying to warm it up.

Marianne must have heard me as she whirls around to stand next to me.

“Anastasia, is something wrong?” She asks.

“.....” Ice Cube answers.

“Oh that’s it? Ok but make it quick.”

Ice Cube looks at me.

“....” she tells me.

“Uh huh” I say sarcastically.

“....”

“Oh ok”

“....”

“Right”

“.....”

“I’ll make sure to do that”

“.....”

“...Yep”

Yeah I have no idea what she’s trying to communicate to me. An awkward pause ensues making us awkwardly stare at each other. Why does this happen every time I talk to her?

“You don’t understand her, do you?” Marianne asks.

“No! Don’t act like I’m supposed to, she doesn’t talk, how am I supposed to know what’s she saying?” I argue.

“Right, right, sorry. Once you get to know her you start to pick up on what she means. She just gave you advice. She said to wind up your punches if you want to hurt the Emperor. She also asked how her sister’s doing” Marianne explains.

“Oh ok thanks. Nerva’s fine. She’s just as small and angry as ever.” I tell Ice Cube.

“...” Ice Cube responds.

“What did she say now?” I ask Marianne.

“She didn’t say anything.” Marianne remarks.

Ok this is going to get annoying. I’m ending this right now.

“Ok thanks for the advice but we have to get going right?” I inquire.

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go. I’ll see you later Anastasia, keep up the good work” Marianne affirms, walking into the stadium.

I follow and as I do so I make a glance behind me to see Ice Cube still looking at me. Ugh, she sends shivers down my spine. I’m inside the stadium proper now and wow this place looks a lot different than when it’s empty. The stadium is huge so to see it filled to the brim with people is a spectacle to behold. It really is like a football stadium. It’s also loud, so loud that it’s kinda hard to hear my own thoughts. Looking down from the crowd I see Will and who I have to assume is Vasavir talking to each other. Will has told me about him but since I never accompany Will to his portal training I’ve never had the chance to meet the guy. I read about him in my books however. The guy is like a constant in the history of the empire, no matter what happens or who is in charge, Vasavir is there. He’s been trolling people for hundreds of years. I make my way over to where they are only to realize that Marianne is not following me.

“Ugh, you coming?” I ask, turning around.

“Oh no. I’m getting nowhere near Vasavir. He’s worse than Luther by a mile. I wanted to give you and Will some encouraging words but I’m going to have to leave now. Just remember what I told you and you’ll be fine, ok? Don’t forget to make a plan. Take care, Quincy.” Marianne says making her way to the exit.

I make my way over to Will and Vasavir to overhear the end of a conversation they were having.

“Remember, Will. Now is the time to ask yourself the big questions” Vasavir instructs.

“Yeah, like what?” Will asks in response.

“Tits or ass!? These are the questions a man must ask himself”

“Please, not this again old man.”

“It’s a serious question. A hero has to know who they are. Who are you, William?” Vasavir questions, pointing his finger towards Will’s chest.

“The hell did I just walk into?” I ask bewildered.

“Oh hey, Quincy. Don’t mind the old man he's. . . deranged.” Will greets.

“Look, William, even your token black friend can answer such a question for he knows who he is. Second hero, tits or ass?” Vasavir inquires.

“Ughhh I gotta say I’m more of a butt guy. But if that booty don’t read I’m not interested.” I answer.

“Hmm, well said, second hero. I’m not surprised you have a book fetish,” Vasavir comments.

“Wait I-I don’t think that’s a fe-” I attempt to say but Vasavir cuts me off by talking to Will again.

“Ok William, Marcus will be here soon. If I had taught you how to become a woman you would be the victor but alas that’s not the case. Good luck and try not to die. But if you do die, I call dibs on your stuff. Farewell!” Vasavir says, disappearing into thin air.

“. . . What just happened?” I ask Will.

“I’m not completely sure,” Will answered hesitantly.

“So did you two just have weird conversations the whole time you were here?”

“No Vasvir dragged me here to do some last minute training. The weird stuff didn’t come until the very end”

“Well did you learn anything that could help us?”

“He tried to make me learn how to increase the size of my portals and he’s said it worked but I can’t tell the difference. Anyway did you think of any strategies with all that history knowledge of yours? Like a weakness or something?” Will inquires.

“I tried but the books don’t go into much detail about his fighting style, mostly his feats and tactical brilliance.” I explain.

“So you learned what we already know. That he’s stronger and smarter than us. Dang it Quincy, I was hoping your history knowledge could be useful for once.” Will berates.

“Hey my history knowledge is always useful. It’s just never useful for you.” I shoot back.

“Yeah, that’s the problem” Will retorts.

“Hey you two stop fighting! You gotta work together if you don’t want to die!” We hear a voice call out.

We both look up into the stands to see that in the first row our party members are sitting together. I even saw Nazuko up there so she really did make it in time. Probably snuck her way in. Turns out that it was Remi who yelled at us. Good thing she did because we need to get our act together

“Sorry, Quincy. Remi’s right, we need to work together if we want any hope of doing well.” Will points out.

“I’m sorry too, man. I really wish there was something I could tell you.” I respond.

“Good luck Will!” Lilith calls out.

“Yeah good luck!” Azura adds.

“Will! Quincy! Do you need any weapons?!” Ryder yells.

“No thanks, Ryder, we’re good!” Will answers.

I wouldn’t mind having a weapon right now to be honest. But nooo my class doesn’t use weapons. Curse the class system.

“Will! If you die can I keep your stuff?’ Nazuko asks.

“Yeah! Make sure Vasavir doesn’t take anything!” Will says.

“QUINCY! YOU BEAT HIS GINGER LOOKIN’ MOTHER FUCKIN’ ASS!” Nerva screams.

“Be careful!” Adam meekly adds.

I look to see if Warren was sitting next to them but he’s not there. I don’t think he’s anywhere in the audience. That saddens me a bit, I thought we were friends and friends watch friends get their butts beat by their nation’s leader.

“Well I’m about as ready as can be. Only question is where’s the emperor?” Will asks aloud to no one in particular.

Suddenly we hear this loud roar and there’s a shade covering the entire stadium. Wait it’s 12:00pm that’s not normal. Oh and the loud roar is also not normal. Will and I look up to see what I swear is a freaking red and black dragon flying over us.

“Will? Is that what I think it is?” I ask in awe pointing upwards

“If you think that’s a dragon then yes it is.”

“If we’re fighting a dragon I’m outta here just so you know that”

“I’ll be right behind you if that’s the case”

As we continue to look at the sky the audience starts cheering loudly like a rockstar is about to go on stage. We see a figure jump off the dragon and plummet towards the earth. It slams into the ground causing a bunch of dust to fly up into the air.

“Ack” I cough.

The dust settles revealing the emperor on one knee with a big smile on his face. He’s in the same outfit he had on during the meeting. The crowd starts to cheer even louder than before.

“Oh come on, that was not necessary. He could have walked here.” I complain.

“That’s true but I’m more in shock that he has a pet dragon.” Will comments.

“Sorry about that, you two! Julia begged to bring me here! Plus it made for quite an entrance don’t you think?” Marcus asks excitedly as the dragon flies off to who knows where.

There’s an awkward pause. I don’t think the question was rhetorical.

“...Yeah!” I finally answered.

Marcus gets up from his kneeling position. I don’t see a weapon on him which is confusing me. If he’s a monk then he wouldn’t have armor on. I would then say he’s a magician but they wear robes so I’m at a loss.

“Ok! I’m ready whenever you are! Come at me!” He commands still keeping that huge smile with his arms wide open.

“Will I have a plan” I whisper.

“Ok what is it?”

“We give him everything we have. We beat him so bad he doesn’t even get the opportunity to fight back.” I elaborate.

“Better than nothing.” Will says opening a portal to take out his swords.

“Oh Gods and Goddesses! You have an affinity for space as well!? Now I’m really excited” he says motioning for us to come to him

“WILL NOW!” I yell.

Get hyped son

even more hype fight music

Will and I dash apart from each other in order to attack from two sides. I start to make my way up to the emperor so that I attack him from his left, Will doing the same from his right. We’re on his sides now. I give him my hardest punch to the face and Will does the same with sword in hand. They both connect as a shockwave comes from our punches. Without giving the emperor time to react I give him a right hook to the body which makes him roll backwards a few feet. Before he gets a chance to get up Will runs up to him and stomps on his head with all his might, causing another visible shockwave. After that I give him a punch to his face, then grab his feet and using my aura enhanced strength start to spin around in circles. After a few rotations I throw him up into the air. Will drops one sword to unleash a flurry of wind bullets from his fingers. Each blast connects, causing the emperor to stay suspended in the air. After about ten shots the emperor starts to fall to the ground. Before he hits it I run up to give him a punch to the gut causing him to fly into the wall of the stadium. Will and I stop attacking after that to catch our breath. Ok that should have done something. If that didn’t cause any damage I’m quitting life.

“You think we did it?” I ask Will.

“I really really hope so” Will says in between breaths.

The entire audience is in shock. The whole place went quiet in light of what they just saw. Unfortunately the silence didn’t last long as a laugh started to be heard throughout the arena. From the hole in the wall emerges the emperor laughing. There goes all my hopes for a quick fight. The emperor starts to clap and the audience cheers.

“That was something to behold. I gotta hand it to you two, that was better than I expected” he congratulates before spitting out a tooth.

Good news, I think that means we did some damage. Bad news, those were some of our strongest attacks unless Will has a trick up his sleeve I don’t know about.

“Oh sorry about that. I had a cavity, that tooth was due to come out any time. ” The emperor explains.

Ok so there’s only bad news.

“Alright now it’s my turn!” the emperor says.

Suddenly a bunch of portals pop into existence. They’re everywhere but the majority of them surround us. The emperor throws a punch into a portal next to him and the next thing I know I just got hit in the side of the head. My head slams into Will’s causing us to both fall to the ground.

We both get up quickly and dash away from the portals causing us to seperate. Some of the portals start disappearing only to reappear next to our general locations. Well this is going to be a problem. The emperor starts rapidly punching into portals next to him. Fists start coming at me from a bunch of different directions. I attempt to block them but I can only block the punches that come at me from the front. My sides and back are taking a pounding from the flurry of blows. In the midst of me trying to turtle with my arms I see that Will’s in the same predicament. He’s trying to block but is also being pummeled. In an act of desperation I attempt a counter blow. I threw a punch into a portal in front of me but instead of hitting his face as I hoped, I felt something grab my arm. Oh no. I am pulled through the portal to see I am in front of the emperor.

“That wasn’t a bad idea, second hero. There was a major flaw though--you’re slow,” he tells me as he keeps his iron grip on my arm. I attempt to hit him with my other arm but he blocks it with his palm. He throws me into the stadium’s wall. Ok, this is bad. My shoulder is dislocated as he used my arm to throw me. I moan in pain as I reattach my shoulder to its socket. AHH OK AURA DOESN’T HELP WITH THAT. I emerged from the rubble to see Will in front of the emperor. He must have been closing the distance when the emperor was busy with me. Will starts to attack the emperor with his swords but the emperor dodges all of his attacks while laughing heartily. He’s not even breaking a sweat. During the attack a portal opens behind the emperor and he falls through. Another portal then opens behind Will where the Emperor steps out.

“Will! Behind you!” I call out.

But it was too late. The emperor got the drop on him. The emperor puts his arms around Will. With a wicked smile the emperor performs a freaking suplex. I got up and ran towards them. Avoiding the portals along the way I shoulder bash the emperor causing him to roll back a few feet. Enough space to give us breathing room at least.

“Will! You ok!?” I ask checking his neck to make sure it’s not broken.

“Owwwwww. I’m alive. What about you?” he asks, slowly getting up.

“I’ve seen better days” I tell him.

We both look at the emperor who’s still smiling. I can tell he’s toying with us. He’s not fighting seriously. We’d be dead if he was.

“You know. I think you two are worthy enough to witness my weapon.” he tells us.

He puts his hand into a nearby portal to take out what I swear is a freaking sledgehammer. Though as you might expect, it's not a normal sledgehammer. It’s got all of these weird gold symbols over it. He is now slowly walking his way towards us.

“Will please tell me you have an idea” I beg.

“I think I do. This is going to be a battle of portals” he states.

“Are you going to cancel his portals with yours? You can summon that many?” I ask.

“No, not even close. But we can use his portals against him in addition to my own. Quincy, I’m going to have you fly through portals, gaining so much momentum so that when you throw a punch at him, it’ll hurt like nothing else.” Will explains.

“Wait, you want me to fly through portals until I’m at terminal velocity?” I ask

“Yep,” he affirms.

“F*ck it, I can’t think of a better idea let’s do it” I curse.

But before either of us could do anything to carry out our plan the emperor leaps high into the air and slams his sledgehammer into the ground between us, causing a bunch of wind to throw the two of us into the wall. Will and I are now on opposite sides of the arena. I get up to see a portal emerge next to me. This one has a purple outline instead of orange so I think it’s Will’s, taking a gamble I jump through it to arrive next to Will. Across the arena I see the emperor slam his sledgehammer into the spot I was just at. Jesus christ if it wasn’t for Will I would have gotten hit with a sledgehammer to the face. The Emperor has a surprised look on his face seeing I’m not there but then starts to laugh.

I was about to sigh in relief when he threw the sledgehammer right to where we are. In response Will summons a portal in front of us. The sledgehammer goes through it to remerge on the side of the emperor. It was about to hit him but he opens his own portal making it disappear again. Suddenly the sledge hammer is flying from portal to portal all around the arena. The portals keep changing locations to ensure the thing doesn’t fly into the ground or to the audience. It’s gaining more and more speed as it flies.. It comes towards us again but Will summons a portal in front of us once more. Once again, it’s flying towards the emperor but this time from above. But this doesn’t matter as the emperor just summons another portal. It flies towards us again but this time from our right and in response Will closes the portal in front of us for it to reemerge to our right. A pattern starts with Will closing and opening up portals next to us to redirect the sledgehammer only for the emperor to do the same.

“Quincy! You gotta do something! I can’t keep this up forever!” he yells as he redirects the sledgehammer yet again.

The emperor is laughing hard like it’s some sort of game. At least one of us is having fun.

“Alright, alright, you keep redirecting the hammer. I got a plan. It’s a slight modification of yours.” I tell him. I get on my hands and knees preparing to take off running.

“What are you doing?!” Will yells.

“Just trust me! You’ll know what to do when you see it” I yell back.

I take off running as fast as I can to a nearby portal of the emperor’s and leap into it. Since the emperor rearranged the portals in a way such that whatever flies through them gains as much velocity as possible, I can do exactly what Will wanted to do with his portals. I’m going to gain enough momentum in the hopes to give him a powerful blow to the head. Of course there’s the chance I’ll just end up next to the emperor before I gain enough speed and there’s an even bigger chance I’ll get hit by the sledgehammer but that’s a risk I have to take. I’m now flying from portal to portal gaining momentum. It’s weird, it feels like I’m constantly falling with no hope of hitting the ground. As I fall through the portals something comes to me, what did Ice Cube tell me to do? Oh yeah I remember her advice now. She said “....”. Wait no that’s not helpful. It was what Marianne told me she said, I have to wind up my punch. As I continue to fall through the portals I start to wind up a punch. The flying sledge hammer almost hit me in the face but thank goodness for my quick reflexes because I was able to narrowly dodge it by moving my head to the right. Next thing I know I’m about to be right in front of the emperor. With all of my might I throw my punch making a good connection causing him to fly back what looked like 20 feet. Problem is that I was flying so fast that I flew with him. I am now a few feet in front of him.

While we’re both lying on the ground I call out to Will

“DO IT NOW!” I scream.

Luckily Will knew what I meant as a portal opened over the emperor. The sledgehammer flew out of it at terminal velocity hitting the emperor right in the chest. The landing caused yet another shockwave. Will runs over towards me to help me get up.

“That was insane” Will comments.

“Oh definitely” I concur

We are both wheezing due to fatigue with our hands on our knees.

“Watch some bullshit happen” I joke.

Right on cue we start hearing more laughter. The emperor jumps up like it was nothing with his sledgehammer. There’s this huge dent in his chest though.

“Hah! My ribs are broken!” he cheers.

“Will” I say

“Yeah Quincy?”

“I wanna go home”

“ Me too”

“Hah don’t be so sad you two. We’re done. I’ve seen enough. You two are definitely good enough to go to Ayana. But... the people want a winner to this fight. Don’t worry kids I’ll make it painless. Before that happens, I just wanna say that I loved this, we gotta do this again ASAP” he says.

The emperor proceeds to drop the sledgehammer to dash in front of us so quickly that we didn’t have time to react. He quickly grabs my head with his right hand and Will’s head with his left. He smashes both of our heads together, knocking us out instantly