Claire POV:

It was a long quiet walk back.

As suspected, the portal to the nether from the village they had been attacked and was destroyed along with everything else.

There was no massive scent of dead, decaying bodies, all that was left was their ashes painting the floor grey and black. Jordan couldn't help but to fall on her knees at the horrible sight of it all, covering her face to hide the running tears but never covering her eyes so she could witness what she had done, what she had let happen.

They didn't have anyone to protect them when they needed it most, that was supposed to be her job as a champion, one she had failed to accomplish.

Tom looked disgusted at the sight of the village, not so much at the condition it was in but rather at the memory of the man responsible.

As Dianite went to go inspect the portal and Tom disappeared into some of the village homes she just knelt there unsure of what to do. It was still dark out, probably around midnight, yet she could see everything clearly with the raging fires all over the village.

A part of her craved the warmth from the fires, but she denied herself that comfort because those fires were responsible for the deaths of many, ignited by her new enemy.

"Here, eat" Tom whispered, sitting next to her with enough space in between them that she had to stretch out her arm to receive the apple and bread he offered.

"Its not right, we shouldn't be looting their belongings" she said quietly

Though she appreciated him giving her space, a part of her wanted him to get closer so she wouldn't feel so alone.

"As crude as it sounds, they won't be needing them any more. We on the other hand, we can use all the help we can get" Tom said, throwing a few clothes her way before taking a bite of his apple.

They were complex clothes, probably tradable goods that never got to fulfill their purpose.

Jordan scanned the plain black dress, tight above the waist and loose below it with simple black beads sown into it with such precision she could never hope to achieve. Along with the dress was a warmer, fluffier, cloak better suited for the cold nights of Mianite. Tom had also managed to find some boots that were a bit too large, some black socks and gloves big enough to cover her elbows.

"Well, you got lucky. Wonder who's clothes they were supposed to be"she said

"Yours actually. I didn't think you had thought about what dress to wear for tomorrow so I had this made for you, ordered it weeks ago actually so it would be ready for tomorrow. Looks like Sonja tried to help you with your wardrobe too but you'll end up wearing mine after all" he said with a small laugh

"Its beautiful, thank you! But why black? isn't tomorrow supposed to be very festive?"

"Yeah, but black compliments your skin tone, plus I also had this made" Tom said as he removed something from the pocket of his new jacket

It was a sort of...metal crown. It was small and thin, almost like a regular hairband, it had small red gems all around and little black metal flowers in between them.

Tom leaned in and placed in atop her head with a smirk.

"The tiara looks nice on you, its custom that the gods wear their crowns during the event, and since your imaginary god won't be able to come, I thought you might wear one in his place" Tom said, eyes never leaving hers "Now go change before you freeze to death in those wet clothes, I'll go see what else I can find for the trip back"

Jordan just nodded and went into the least beat up house she could find and changed. With the gloves and cloak she was much warmer, it was the tiara that felt foreign on her head. It was beautiful with no doubt, but it made her think of the blacksmith that had worked hard to make it, he was probably dead..

There was a broken mirror in the corner of the room, when she looked at the reflection it was hard to believe the person staring back was her... she looked like a princess. Long gone were her jeans, insecurities, and traces of weakness. The girl that stared back was stronger physically, with clothes that would get her odd stares in the streets back home, and eyes that were strained with all the death she had witnessed yet strength that made them look like steel.

She sighed and walked away from the mirror as fast as she could. Jordan found a sword on the ground and fastened it with a sword belt that was inside the house she was just in. She also found a steady bow and many mismatched arrows, placing both on her back.

Jordan had found a small backpack in which she put her wet clothes as well as some food and knives for the trip. After looting the blacksmiths station for a steadier sword she headed back for the center of the town were she had last seen Tom and Dianite.

Wearing a dress was probably not good in case a fight broke out again but she didn't dare ask for another set of clothes, not after these had been made for her. As she walked, Jordan did her best to not step over the ashes scattered around and holding the tears back. At least her dress was so dark she couldn't tell if it was stained or not.

"See, it does suit you" Tom said from behind her

He too had a new set of clothes that were more like his usual attire, a suit with a red tie, a cloak much like hers, and a few pieces of mismatched armor and weapons. He noticed her scanning his outfit and smiled

"I had this one made for myself, I was gonna pick it up tomorrow" Tom said, a hint of sadness in his voice

"We look like the kings and queens from Narnia, fancy dresses but armed with weapons, like we can't decide weather to be formal and pretty or warriors" Jordan joked

"Maybe we are both in that case"he joked back, clearly not knowing what she meant by Narnia

"The portal cannot be repaired, you idiots got me suck out here" Dianite said as he approached them, eyes staring at bits of the portal stone in his hands

Once he looked up and saw the new outfits and weapons he stood still.

Tom walked over to his god and knelt on one knee reluctantly, handing Dianite a sword

"My lord" Tom said as he handed the sword over, trying not to laugh.

Dia didn't so much as flinch at the action and took the sword with a bored expression.

"I hear horses on the far side of the forest on the outskirts of the village" Dianite said in a bored tone

"I'll get some carrots and apples from the farms" Tom said before heading for the other side of the village were the crops were

Jordan noticed Dia staring at her tiara and she scoffed at him when she was confident Tom was beyond hearing distance

"Its a gift" she said

"I've never seen a human dare to wear one of those, specially in the presence of the gods"Dia said, giving her a small smile.

"Why?"

"Only gods wear crowns my dear"

"Wow, aren't you full of yourselves?" Jordan mocked

"Is that not how your world works?" he said

"Some humans wear them, not many monarchs left I guess"

"Wow, aren't YOU full of yourselves?" Dianite mocked back

"Now that your so talkative, whats the reason you two want to get back so badly?" Jordan snapped "I don't think you care much about parties and wearing crowns"

"I'm sure you'll be informed soon enough" he said

"Hopefully someone will, and I hope I won't need to wear another dress after this party"she said pointing at the dress she wore with slight anger "I can barely move in these things"

"You prefer a sword rather than a crown then?" Dia said, slightly shocked

She knew what he meant, that she preferred battle rather than being royalty, but the thought had never crossed her mind. In all honesty, who would in her world?

"A sword helps me survive, so yes, I suppose I do. But I hate violence nonetheless"

"Your outfit nullifies your statement, you're armed to the teeth my love" he said with a chuckle

"Shhhh...Tom could hear you!"Jordan said as she shoved her hand over his mouth

Dianite just gave her a wicked smirk and held her in a lose embrace

"Don't go jumping off cliffs like that ever again" he said in a more serious tone

"Then don't trust Furia to do your bidding"

As soon as she said his name everything came crashing down at once in her head. She remembered who he was...

In the streams he had been the guy that was defeated by the cow wands, and they killed him because...because...he killed one of the pirates....

"Oh no..." she said out loud by accident

He was gonna kill Captain Capsize, that meant that maybe pirates would be arriving to the world. But Dianite had said that there were no other humans in the world, they had all been wiped out.

Jordan wasn't gonna take her chances though, she wasn't gonna let Furia kill her. That meant she would have to kill him before they arrived, how much time she had till then...hard to tell.

"What is it?" Dianite asked with concern in his eyes

"Nothing, just hoping I won't catch a cold" she lied hesitantly

The pirates had been Ianite worshipers, that meant she wasn't alone! But that also meant that Dianite wouldn't like them very much, she had to keep him from knowing of their possible existence for as long as she could.

Then Jordan could just blame killing Furia as revenge for the events that unfolded that day.

"Got the stuff" Tom screamed from behind her

Dianite had moved a few feet away from her before Tom could notice thankfully

She debated telling Tom about the pirates, he would centanly be excited since they had watched all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies together. Tom was a bit reckless though, he would probably try to kill them as well.

Instead she just sighed and said "Let's go horse hunting then"

They had found three horses and after feeding them a bit, they calmed down and let the three of them ride them. It hadn't taken them too long thankfully, letting them proceed home on good time.

The ride back was relatively quiet for the first few miles, then Tom and her began racing each other like little kids. Tom had said he was bored and wanted to do something fun so they raced along till they reached the outskirts of the dessert and waited for Dianite to catch up.

Once he did, he glared at Tom for no reason and they continued on until they reached the outskirts of the island. As soon as they did, Dianite didn't so much as look at them before teleporting back to the nether, leaving them his horse to take back themselves.

"See you tomorrow my lady" Dia had said in her head seconds later

They left the horses at the stables and began their walk back home. After a hug, they parted ways, each to their own homes. As she walked alone in the night, dread filled her heart.

What if Furia was around waiting for them... If he was jealous of Tom for being Dia's champion, could he know of the relationship she had with him. Would he want her dead for it as well?

Everyone in Dianite's castle knew by now of their relationship as they were always around and Dianite didn't care much to be discrete around them. Furia could know, and If he somehow didn't it would only be a matter of time till he did.

Jordan doubted that such thing as cow wands actually existed and that they could be used to defeat Furia, but something told her that the combat skills she possessed now wouldn't be enough to kill him before he had a chance to spill innocent blood.

"There you are human" Mianite's voice said next to her "Why didn't you meet me at the portal?"

"I was preoccupied with almost dying, sorry I couldn't make our appointment in time" she said before noting the rude tone she had used on Mianite

The god looked taken back at the tone yes, but thankfully not angry. Instead he eyes her new clothes with confusion.

"You and Thomas didn't...." he began

"What?" she asked, puzzled.

"You have a new attire, your hair his wet and are back late at night, I just assumed" he said before she cut him off with a yelp

"NO! Nothing like that! We almost died and had to get new clothes" she said, feeling her face heat up

"I wasn't aware that mobs would be so hard to handle, they are the same as the one's here you know?" he said falling into step next to her

"It was someone else, but that doesn't matter anymore" she said "were you able to tell anything from the portal?"

"Yes, my brother's health is improving slightly. Something is helping him recover faster but without his heart he can only reach a certain level of recovery" the god said calmly

"At least he's recovering" Jordan said

"Your tiara.." he said, dismissing her previous statement

"I know, humans shouldn't wear them. I'll take it off once I'm home. I just left it on because it was a gift from Tom. By the way....the village we visited today..." she began

"What did Tom do this time, whatever he destroyed I will hold him accountable for fixing this time" he said completely unaware of what happened

"He didn't, Furia did...there is no one left and almost everything is destroyed. I just thought you should know since you seemed to be very friendly among them and all. I tried to help but I didn't have any weapons, I'm sorry" she said a bit too quickly

Mianite just stared at the ground with disgust

"No time for that now, I have a big announcement for you and my champions. I'll summon you all early in the morning before the party" he said flatly

"It kinda is morning already" she said pointing at the lighter sky and slight sign of the sun rising in the horizon

"Then ill summon you in four hours once everyone is awake, get some rest" he said, dropping her off at her front door and vanishing without another word