I was happy for Alyssa, who had gotten her father back after two years of him being gone. I was happy that she had gotten her best friend back, after being away from him for ten years.

I was happy for Spark, who was reunited with his sister and grandson. Ianite had come with him, and he seemed happier than I had seen him in a long time being back here in Ruxomar.

I was happy for Mot, who got his daughter back, and just had his god being revived. It was clear that Dianite returned his affections, and I was happy for their future relationship.

But for me?

There wasn't much to be happy about.

My family was completely gone. I had come here only to learn that my wife and daughter had been killed when World Historian drained the quintessence from the land. My parents had died even before I left Ruxomar, so I had nobody to return to. Alyssa had taken the role of my daughter for many years, but now she was back with her real family. I had to find my own way.

I walked slowly off of the platform, slumped over. Jericho walked next to me, turning his kikoku over and over in his hands absentmindedly. He whistled while he walked, a spring in his step, ready to continue what was just a long adventure to him. I tried to ignore his enthusiasm, seeing as his constant joy just made me remember all my reasons to be sad. But, as I looked around, all I saw were reminders. Mot and Dianite were walking side-by-side, their shoulders touching, and their hands only inches apart. Spark was talking to his daughter, and Alyssa was walking alongside her father. Now that they were back here, their lives were complete. They had everyone they needed, and everything they needed, to shape a perfect life.

I wasn't part of that life.

Even seeing Mianite walking was a painful reminder. I think the god still assumed that I was a follower of his. He had given me a very warm welcome, and introduced me to Jericho immediately. Besides being alternates of each other, I think that Mianite assumed we would be working alongside each other in the future. He had no idea how much those ten years in the Realm of Mianite had changed me. I could never be the same again, and none of the others could ever understand that.

I was wallowing in self-pity and misery when I heard someone scream next to me. Jericho had stopped walking, and his hands were beginning to tremble. "Guys? GUYS! SOMETHING'S HAPPENING TO ME!"

Everyone spun around in shock. "What's wrong?" Firefoxx yelled, dropping her sword and rushing over to her boyfriend. When she tried to take Jericho's hand, however, he reached out and slapped her.

"I'M SORRY!" Jericho shrieked immediately. "IT'S NOT ME... I'M NOT DOING THIS!"

Firefoxx, who had recoiled from the slap, was now backing away slowly. "What the hell is going on? Does anyone have any idea what to do?"

Suddenly, Jericho extended his kikoku, and tore straight at the crowd of people. Everyone began to scream, and jumped to the side. Terrified to see who Jericho was trying to kill, everyone darted to different sides of the platform. Dianite, being a god, rose into the air to escape the madness, probably figuring that Jericho couldn't fly either. After all, he had been experiencing problems with his angel ring up until this point.

Except that Jericho's angel ring difficulties were now gone.

"SOMEONE STOP ME!" he screamed as he flew after Dianite, swinging his kikoku. "SHOOT ME WITH A BOW AND ARROW! ANYTHING! I CAN'T STOP!"

Sparklez desperately tried to aim his bow, but whatever was controlling Jericho dodged every arrow. Mot began to panic, seeing how close Dianite was from death. Alyssa was squeezing his arm, terror lighting up her scarlet eyes. Martha was yelling loudly, and Tom was desperately trying to climb up the altar in an attempt to reach Jericho. Everyone was panicking and screaming and freaking out. Everyone, that is, except for Mianite.

I narrowed my eyes at the god. Something was off about him. Letting my voice carry over everyone's else's, I called, "Mianite, why are you so calm? Do you know what's going on?"

The yelling died down as they realized just how calm the god was. Mianite smirked at me, an icy glare in his metal eyes. "A blow drawing blood gives me a little control," he told me stiffly, "but the potency of the blood really depends on the willingness of the giver."

Everyone went silent in shock, except for Jericho, who cursed as loudly as he could. "IT WAS A RUSE! YOU TRICKED ME!"

"A droplet of given blood is much better than one taken by force," Mianite continued calmly, "but still not optimal."

"M... Brother?" Dianite cried, sounding as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"A contract signed in blood, on the other hand," Mianite chuckled, "truly expresses the consent of the blood giver. This is the ideal vehicle for domination."

"Jericho?" Sparklez gasped. "You signed a contract? With your own blood?"

"I signed a contract, yes!" Jericho snapped, livid. "I signed it to ally myself with Mianite's projects! There was nothing in there about having my body controlled!"

"THIS NEEDS TO END!" Mot screamed, joining Tom in his attempts to grab Jericho from the air, despite the fact that he could kill both of them in one hit each.

"I'm coming back, I'm coming back!" Jericho cried suddenly, slowly falling back to the platform. "I'm in control again! Now this is absolutely it. Mianite, you are dead!"

I started running toward the god alongside Jericho, desperate to kill him. End this pain and suffering that we never seem to be able to escape from. We were trying to escape from this world for the past few days, when in reality, we should have been trying to escape from someone in our group.

"WAIT!" Sparklez yelled, adding to the utter chaos that this place had become. "NOW I'M BEING CONTROLLED!" Instead of going after Dianite, however, he started flying around and attacking each of us. First Jericho, then Tom, then Waglington. Everyone was almost falling off the platform in their attempts to escape.

"Forget Sparklez!" I yelled, watching the others attempting to attack him.

"Kill Mianite, you fools!" Mot cried. Jericho turned and rushed at the god, but he was almost dead after one hit from Mianite's lightning bolts.

"I don't think so," Mianite said, his voice bitter.

Horror filled each of us as we realized how difficult it would be to attack him. If he used one of those lightning bolts on the rest of us, we would die instantly and never be able to respawn. We couldn't defeat this enemy. Just as were thinking that this would be the end of us, a familiar black fog filled the area.

It swirled around Mianite, masking the look on his face. Before I had time to realize what the black fog was, the god had keeled over, and collapsed onto the ground. Dead.

The fog cackled as it took the shape of a person. "Ripe for the harvest."