Everyone began to scream at once. Sparklez stumbled backwards, and almost fell over. "WORLD HISTORIAN?"

The black fog laughed menacingly. "After I slew Dianite, I knew it was only a matter of time before the weaker brother rose up. When Mianite was young and the other's not yet born, I loved him. He was like me. Then, Dianite fulfilled my hopes for Mianite. He became what I yearned to be."

"You loved him?" Jericho asked, looking confused and slightly repulsed.

"Are... are you his father?" Sparklez cried, staring at the fog in shock.

I turned and saw my terrified god climbing up a pile of fallen gravel, trying to get away from World Historian. "Boyo, he's a dangerous enemy," Dianite said in a low voice, so only I could hear. "I've just been revived. I want to fight, and I want to protect you, but I don't know if I can."

Dianite had always been there to comfort me. Now it was my turn. I slowly made my way up the gravel pile, and stood directly next to him. "Not every battle is yours," I muttered to him. "Let the heroes handle this one. You need to choose wisely when deciding whether or not a battle is worth fighting. This one isn't for you. Stay here with me, for once."

The god bowed his head, and reached out to take my hand. I let him, and he squeezed it to show his gratitude. "You're right."

"Mianite grew strong, and the brothers shaped the world according to themselves," World Historian continued bitterly. "My envy gnawed at the lining of my sanity. And then, Ianite was the last to be born. When it came down to it, she was my favorite. She at least understood her smallness. I knew that if I pushed just a little, she could make everything balance out for me."

"What a terrible father!" Firefoxx cried, and the others nodded in agreement.

The fog whirled to face her, rage embedded in his smoky face. "If you had dreamt all your life of power, and then seen it flourish in your offspring while your body crumbled, how would you feel? Proud?"

"There's something terribly, terribly wrong with you!" Sparklez snarled, desperately attempting to fly. It was working better than before, but only in small amounts.

"Well, I do have this on my side," World Historian spoke as if nobody else had said a word. "My name means 'long life'. My birth name was Kikoku Botan, which I passed onto my children. But, taking after a devil of a higher world, I go by many names. You yourselves," he added, nodding to the sky people, "have known me as the Shadows."

Suddenly, someone started laughing. The fog's eyes narrowed, and saw that the laughter belonged to Alyssa. "Enough with the speech!" She extended her sword and got into position to prepare for a fight. "We killed the Shadows in the last realm, and we barely had anything! You think you're so superior, don't you? Let's see if you're any match for us!"

World Historian began to cackle. "Fine, little girl. Shall we see?"

"No!" I hissed, not loud enough for the fog to hear. "Alyssa!"

Tom looked up and nodded to me. "Don't worry, I've got you." He sprinted forward and shoved my daughter out of the way, holding his blade protectively in front of her. "I'M READY FOR A FIGHT TOO!"

The fog stopped taking the shape of a person, and crumbled into a thick, shapeless, dark being. It hurled a piece of fog straight at Waglington, who was, unfortunately, unprepared. The wizard shrieked, but didn't move out of the way before the fog reached him. He died upon impact, much to everyone's horror.

"Why is he so fast?" Sparklez yelled as World Historian whizzed by him. Swooping down for only a second, a burst of fog struck Jericho, who also died instantly.

"WAIT... NO!" Martha let out a shrill shriek as the fog dived at her and took her out as well.

"No... I can't fight back! But... I need to!" Dianite cried, letting go of my hand and flying into the air.

"Dianite, come back down! You can't..." I began, but then saw the pure horror in my god's eyes. I turned to see what he was looking at, just in time to see the fog hurtling straight toward me.

I flinched away, and everything went black.

And then I was gone.

When I opened my eyes, I found that everything was dark. I couldn't even see my own hand. And then, a split second later, the area was filled with a blinding light. I gasped, and looked up to see flames erupting from the center of the platform.

As my eyes adjusted, I saw that Dianite had used up almost all of his remaining strength to deliver an enormous explosion of fire at his father. World Historian was unable to move for a good ten seconds, caught in the intense flames. Then, weakened but very much alive, he started to run around the platform instead of flying.

"He did that for me," I whispered, realizing all that Dianite was constantly sacrificing for me. It had taken a while for us to admit our attractions to each other, but I was now happier than I had ever been. As I dashed across the stone to reach the platform again, I left my former self behind, and embraced the powerful, confident person I had become.

I was so much more than the dying half-creeper that I had been when Dianite had discovered me on the streets 17 years ago, and so much more than the depressed shell of a being that I had been when I first adopted Alyssa.

And I couldn't have been more grateful to be who I was now.

As I was running, energy pulsing through my veins, a face began to form in the stone above the platform. It was the shape of a woman, with long flowing hair. Her features weren't very clear, but it was apparent that her eyes were closed. The second Sparklez realized she was there, the lady opened her eyes, and began to speak.

"Sparklez..." Ianite breathed, her voice hoarse and weak.

"My lady!" he cried, almost dropping his sword in shock.

"Sparklez, your arrows!" she cried, straining her voice to become louder. Using up what seemed to be a large portion of her remaining energy, the face dissolved into the stone.

World Historian had his back turned, running at full speed toward Dianite to finish him off. I wanted to defend my god, as he had done to me, but I knew I wasn't going to get there in time. Sparklez, realizing what he had to do, pulled out the purple bow he had used to take out the withers and Ender Dragons back in Urulu.

He put one of Ianite's arrows into the bow, drew it back as far as it could go, and released it.

As World Historian was beginning to extend a ball of fog toward Dianite, the arrow struck him in the back. All it took was one arrow, and the incredibly powerful being vanished into the air. A purple aura filled the area for a second, and then was gone the next instant. If I had blinked, I would've missed it.

Everyone turned to stare at Sparklez in awe, who merely shook his head in astonishment. "I... I killed World Historian."

I quietly approached the area where the fog had dissolved, wondering for a split second if his death could've been an illusion. The others followed my lead, as if they were also having doubts. But, sure enough, World Historian was gone.

Ianite, tears filling her eyes, placed a hand on Sparklez's shoulder. "I never knew my alternate, but I'm sure she would've been incredibly, incredibly proud of you."

He looked like he might shed a tear as well. "Thank you, Ianite."

Dianite stood up straighter all of a sudden. "Okay, now there are some things we need to discuss. First of all, we need to get out of here, but we don't know if we can trust him anymore." He glared at Gaines, who was so pale that he looked on the verge of fainting.

"I... I... Mianite lied to me!" His voice was close to a whisper. "I was never told any of this! Mianite was supposed to tell me everything! I would've never helped him if I knew... HE MADE ME BUILD HIM A MECH SUIT! I DID HIS WORK FOR YEARS AND YEARS, AND THIS IS WHAT I GET IN RETURN?"

"He's not lying," Ianite said suddenly. "I can tell. What's important now is escaping. World Historian could come back in probably a day or two, if he's quick."

Dianite nodded at her. "I trust your judgment. Alright everyone, let's go. For real, this time."

With more of a spring in our steps, we headed off the platform once more. I let myself fall behind, so I could walk behind my god. "You almost used up all of your energy in that attack!" I cried when he was within earshot.

Dianite shook his head slowly. "Nobody hurts you and gets away with it. I don't care how powerful they are. You're way, way too important to me."

"I'm just a mortal, I'm replaceable," I reasoned. "You're a god, and everyone needs you. You're much more important, for the good of everyone else."

Dianite stopped walking suddenly. Surprised, I stopped too. The scarlet god leaned over, placed his hands on either side of my face, and pressed his mouth against mine. When we drew away, his face still only inches from mine, he smiled at me. "They may need me, but I need you."

"Umm... guys?" Sparklez said from the distance. Thinking that he was speaking to us, we immediately separated, and then saw that he was looking in the other direction. "I got a book that you might be interested in. It's from my lady."