Tuji looked the massive armored man up and down with approval. A good half a head taller than himself and looming like a golem, Hoplite certainly looked the part of a mighty warrior. Tuji was not sure how Hoplite would be able to fight without seeing anything… his helmet was completely smooth with no eye holes whatsoever… Tuji supposed he had some means of viewing his surroundings. Maybe Hoplite had a heightened sense of hearing?

He cracked his knuckles as he waited for the massive metal man's reply.

Either Hoplite would accept and they would battle, or… what if Hoplite said no? If he was Pillar-Born like Tuji suspected, then there would be no way for Hoplite to back out of Tomah… yet he only suspected that Hoplite was a Godling; Tuji had no way of knowing for sure unless Hoplite proclaimed himself as such. If the metal-man possessed no divine blood, it would be completely possible for Hoplite to simply walk away.

Tuji couldn’t partake in the fight unless his challenge was accepted or unless Hoplite struck first. Tuji could always dishonor himself and force the fight to happen… it wouldn’t be the first time he had done such… But Tuji had been trying to change his ways to honor his Third Father ever since he discovered the divinity of his blood.

The young armor clad human that stood next to Hoplite seemed ready and willing to fight at least, aiming that thunder staff right at Tuji’s head. Certainly that had to be what it was, the barrel, the scope… his time fighting the dragon-men of the Blastlands had taught him exactly what kind of weapon that was. The little bullets within certainly wouldn’t be strong enough to punch through his flesh, for after Tuji left the Blastlands, his skin had hardened to a point where those round little pellets would simply bounce right off him.

He turned his gaze upon the human and grinned, tilting his chin up in challenge. The boy didn’t move, didn’t blink, he just stood, simply staring at Tuji through the scope of his long black thunderstaff. Still as a statue he was, no different than the pebbles at Tuji’s feet.

For that brief moment, all seemed to be still, all save for the faekin.

Tuji turned his attention to the woman desperately scrambling back on all fours through the grass and dirt of the forest floor. That blood-curdling scream was no doubt a result of Tuji's proclamation; that he was indeed the son of Zodd. That reaction was one he expected from most people… but Hoplite seemed unfazed by Tuji’s true nature as a Pillar-Born, a very good sign. The young human aiming at Tuji seemed to be unfazed as well.

Both of the humans seemed very brave indeed. Perhaps he could fight both of them at once? It would be their right considering that Tuji was the challenger. The faekin woman’s back hit the trunk of a tree finally, her wide green eyes widening as far as they could go. She kept her eyes glued to Tuji as she drew a pair of long daggers from twin sheaths tied to the back of her waist.

Perhaps she would join in the fight as well, after she got her wits together at least. Though, considering how he had laid waste to several other watchers on the way here… Tuji doubted that she would be a threat to him on her own. Perhaps the three would work together?

Hoplite then tilted his smooth helmet toward the shaking elf woman and asked “Pillar-Born?”

Tuji felt his jaw drop as he heard the question in Hoplite’s tone. Did Hoplite doubt Tuji’s divine blood!? After he had proclaimed himself? This grave insult nearly caused Tuji to leap at Hoplite in a fury, feeling the veins on his neck rising from the metal man’s gall to question Tuji’s divinity. A Pillar-Born proclaiming themselves was never a falsehood. Even without the sanctioning collar, a Godling's proclamation was always truth.

Mortals could not claim any of the gods as their parents, a mortal’s tongue would falter if they attempted to claim descent from divinity. Only a Pillar-Born could declare themselves as the child of a god, though it was true that not everyone believed it was so simple.

Most mortal’s wouldn’t dare take it upon themselves to attempt a proclamation anyhow… After all, in a world where Godlings like himself were a thing to be hated and feared, why would anyone with sense even try to declare themselves?

He grit his teeth as he glared at Hoplite, the Sanctioning band around his neck seeming to grow tighter with every passing second. Tuji had even proclaimed while wearing a bloody Sanctioning band! Perhaps Hoplite was simply dim-witted? It would be impossible to tell even the most harmless lie with this damnable thing around his neck, everyone should know that by now.

In fact, why did he still bother with wearing it?

Tuji gripped the collar around his neck and ripped it free violently, the metal bending beneath his grasp as he tossed it aside like trash. As the broken band bounced across the grass, it shrunk, the metal fusing itself back together as it came to rest flat in a patch of dirt. Tuji grit his teeth again, turning to glare at Hoplite once more. Tuji’s blood seemed to boil the longer he stared at Hoplite, his hands desiring a place around the large man’s throat.

Hoplite, keeping one hand firmly on the grip and trigger of his thunderstaff, then began untying the bundles that had been tied to his armor. Hoplite simply let it all fall to the dirt, seemingly without care. Once that was done and he was free of his parcels, Hoplite again gripped his thunder staff in two hands, aiming it right at Tuji.

That could count as consent to Tomah, right? Aiming your weapon upon an opponent that had challenged you?

Tuji grinned as he decided that yes, that could technically mean that Hoplite had accepted his challenge. He crouched low and glared at the large barrelled thunderstaff. Should he try and just take the blast? These weapons were different from what he had faced in the Blastlands, what if Tuji was underestimating the power of these thunder staves? If they were more powerful, they may just be able to pierce his steel flesh. It was risky and certainly foolish… but Tuji decided that he would try and take the blast.

His whole life had been spent risking death, Tuji would not treat this any differently. Another few seconds of stillness passed as Tuji’s muscles continued to tense, giving him a small bit of time to reconsider Hoplite’s weapon. Tuji had been able to reflect the bullets of the legendary dragon-men, surely these mortal’s thunderstaves couldn’t be nearly as powerful as the ones in the Blastlands… Right?

There was only one way to find out for sure.

Tuji grinned, and shot forward at blinding speed. He doubted that Hoplite would be able to pull the trigger before Tuji reached-

Hoplite pulled the trigger before Tuji was even half-way to him, and Tuji felt his feet leave the earth as he was blown backward from the shocking force of the thunderstaff. He had been hit with blunderbusses before, but nothing could compare with the lightning that had just struck him.

The air was knocked free from his lungs, and Tuji saw his own blood fly before his eyes in droplets. How long had it been since he’d seen his own blood? His chest was wracked with agony; his flesh feeling like it had been cratered by the impact.

Tuji coughed as he hit the ground, lifting up his head to stare bewildered at Hoplite-

Before the human next to Hoplite pulled the trigger on his own thunder staff, the bullet hitting Tuji dead in the forehead and knocking his skull back to the dirt. Tuji’s world began to spin violently and he awkwardly scrambled to his feet, quickly ducking behind a nearby tree as Hoplite and the smaller human opened fire again. A few more shots collided with him, knocking him off balance as he stumbled his way behind the tree, pressing his back against the trunk as he struggled for air. More bullets impacted against the tree, ripping straight through it to collide with Tuji’s back, though thankfully the force of the bullets had been significantly reduced by their passage through the thick wood.

They still kicked him forward off of the trunk for an instant though, those rounds would have instantly killed a lesser Pillar-Born. Dangerous weapons those… He quickly turned, his dizziness already fading as he began scrambling up the tree, the goose egg on his forehead shrinking as the little flattened slugs in his chest were pushed out of regenerating flesh. Tuji looked down briefly to see the glinting metal of the slugs falling free from his closing wounds. He was shocked to see just how massive the holes were in his chest before they had completely resealed.

The smallest among them were the size of a man's hand. Scar tissue quickly formed over the wound, and Tuji supplemented the growing hunger in his gut with Foundation to keep his body mass from shrinking, tapping into the Golden Flame and letting it energize him. Heat spread through his chest, painful at first, as it always was when drawing on the raw Flame of Foundation. Tuji gasped as he reached a high point on the tree, almost taking in too much of the Flame for his body to handle.

The raw power of Foundation’s Flame was dangerous… For those who utilized it always wished to draw in more than what they could handle. Tuji was no exception to this rule. It was power, life, energy… it made him feel oh so grand… Yet, if he drew too much of the Golden Flame, it would engulf him, and that would be the end of him, Pillar-Born or not.

He opted to not perch upon the high branch he found himself next to, instead deciding to punch his fingers into the trunk of the tree to keep him anchored. He whispered his apologies to the fae within, but again no cry of agony rang out from the spirit… Perhaps it was uninhabited? Had the fae in the surrounding trees all fled at his proclamation?

If they were… perhaps he could find a way to use the soulless wood to his advantage.

Tuji knew that the two men would open fire upon him the instant he showed himself, so he needed to be careful. Were they talking to one another right now? Were they planning on flanking him or would they keep firing through the tree? Tuji still couldn’t hear anything, the ringing in his ears blotting out everything save for his own heartbeat.

Why weren’t they shooting? Did they wish to spare the fae, or were they wanting to save their bullets for when Tuji showed himself? He did not take Hoplite for the kind of man who would care enough to spare a fae, especially when it was to his detriment.

If the humans were coming up with a battle plan, Tuji wouldn’t be able to hear it. But then… wouldn’t they too be deafened by the sound of those thunderstaves? Perhaps the smaller human was, but Hoplite’s helmet could have dimmed the sound to a tolerable level. Tuji didn’t discount the strong possibility that those two could be using hand-talk to come up with whatever schemes they had in store for him.

Tuji would have to ambush them. He would start with the smaller human and then take care of the elf if she decided to join in on the combat. The problem was that he would come under fire again as soon as he showed himself. The blunderbuss Hoplite wielded could potentially knock Tuji out of the air if he tried to jump to another nearby tree… that thing packed a real wallop and Hoplite was quick on the trigger, as Tuji had learned. He then unstuck one of his hands from the tree, rubbing at his forehead gingerly where the goose egg had been. Tuji found that he still couldn’t hear anything, his ears still filled with that all-encompassing high pitched ringing.

His face was then split by a mad grin, feeling the scar form on his forehead beneath his fingers. Finally after what felt like forever, he found something that could hurt him again! Tuji relished the pain, knowing his flesh would grow back stronger than ever before. Still, he needed to be careful, one well placed bullet could potentially pierce Tuji’s brain. If that happened, he’d be useless for minutes while he regenerated, and by then, Hoplite would surely kill him.

No, he could not try an ambush. Tuji had a feeling that somehow, Hoplite would be able to see him trying to slink away. Tuji then grinned as inspiration struck him. Those bullets had significantly weakened the base of the tree… with a little bit of Foundation, Tuji might be able to use that to his advantage.

Drawing on the Golden Flame, Tuji felt his body begin to float, and carefully, he pulled back from his cover, hovering high above the forest floor while remaining center with the trunk. Once he was far enough away from the tree, Tuji flew forth as if he’d been launched by a catapult, drop-kicking the trunk with enough force to crack the base below. As Tuji predicted, the tree began tilting forward, and glee filled him as he felt gravity tugging the soulless wood in Hoplite’s direction. Tuji cheered as he fell with the tree, reveling in the thrill of this unique battle. He unstuck his other hand, running up the length of the trunk as it continued its descent, cackling as he went.

When Tuji reached a thick branch toward the end of the tall tree that blocked his path, he leapt, soaring through the air and spotting Hoplite readying his thunder staff. The metal man stood tall, directly to the right of where the falling tree was going to land.

He saw that the other human was ushering the elf away, likely to keep her away from the fighting. It was good to keep away those that did not wish to engage in Tomah, it was dishonorable to involve or harm onlookers if they wanted nothing to do with the fight itself.

Tuji watched them as his perception of time slowed, the two slinking off into the forest to his left. Before they were completely out of Tuji’s sight, he could see the human hand something small to the faekin… something metal from the belt at his waist. Could it be a pistol, like the ones from the Blastlands? If the human was handing her a weapon, why then were they both fleeing?

Perhaps it was to set up an ambush, or maybe the human just wanted the faekin woman to have a weapon capable of harming Tuji in case he gave chase.

Well, until he knew for sure, Tuji would consider their retreat a victory over them, as they had likely given up on Tomah. At least his main target was still ready to battle! Tuji raised his arms, forming an X across his broad torso right as Hoplite's slugs collided, the pellets tearing into Tuji’s hardened arms. Pain racked everywhere the scattershot struck him, and Tuji once again drew on Foundation to energize his regeneration.

With how much he drew on the Flame, Tuji was putting himself at risk of Singe… but if he let his body do all the regenerating on its own… his mass would deplete and Tuji would be left emaciated and weak. The warmth spreading through him helped ease the pain of the shot he had just endured, but before Tuji could fully heal from the fresh set of wounds, Hoplite fired his blunderbuss again.

The shells impacted with the regenerated portions of his skin, deeply bruising but not penetrating the flesh as they had just a moment before. When they hit his still wounded arms however…

Tuji felt the bones in his forearms crack as the slugs collided, and he screamed as another blast rocked him, knocking him back out of the air to land on his back. Tuji would have to draw more Foundation to keep up with these injuries… He only hoped that he’d not be burned by Draoi for his greed. There was a thrill in drawing in this much Foundation as well, he realized.

Risking sudden immolation in the heat of Tomah? It was an intoxicating feeling. He immediately flipped when his back met earth, landing on all fours and darting toward Hoplite like a feral wolf. The blunderbuss fired again, and again, knocking him back each time and forcing Tuji to draw in more Foundation to keep from degenerating into a husk. When was the last time he’d been this close to death?

The jungles surely, when he first began his journey to become the strongest creature on Ahkoolis. That, and his first encounter with a fellow Pillar-Born… That man Tuji would slay as well, for surely he would grow far stronger with time. Tuji’s might was immeasurable!

Tuji would prove it to Hoplite now by breaking that armor! As the slugs fell free from Tuji’s cratered torso, Hoplite stopped firing. Likely there wasn’t any more shot left in the blunderbuss, and surely Hoplite must have known that there wouldn’t be any time to reload that thing before Tuji was upon him.

Tuji reached Hoplite, tackling the man’s knees before pinching them together. Tuji then leaned all his weight into Hoplite’s hip in order to knock the big man to the grass, teeth clenched nearly to their breaking point. It took all the strength Tuji could muster to pinch Hoplite’s legs together, the veins across his body all popping as his muscles strained to complete the maneuver. It was like trying to bend steel beams with nothing but his pinkies, but Tuji would not fail. The blunderbuss fell from Hoplite's grasp as Tuji just barely managed to pinch those knees together with a clang of metal on metal. Hoplite then fell to the ground with a grunt, completely flattening the grass beneath his great weight.

The two rolled, Tuji feeling the breath leave his body everytime Hoplite managed to get atop of him. The suit was heavy… How strong did Hoplite have to be in order to move so dexterously in such a bulky thing? Tuji supposed that he should have been happy that Hoplite wasn’t out of the armor, for surely he would have been even faster without it’s bulk to slow him.

When Tuji found himself atop Hoplite once more, he raised a fist, intent on cracking the man’s helmet in two. Tuji then swung, but his blow hit only air as Hoplite pushed Tuji away, having managed to place one of his massive sabatons against Tuji’s chest during the roll. Hoplite then kicked, sending Tuji flying a good several paces away to land on his back with a cough. Tuji cackled madly as he immediately came to his feet and darted forward as Hoplite still was rising from the ground.

Their hands locked as Hoplite got to one knee, and Tuji squeezed those gauntlets as hard as he could. Tuji fully expected to crush Hoplite’s hands beneath the overwhelming strength of his hands, after all, there was no metal that Tuji could not destroy with his stone-crushing grip! Tuji grit his teeth together as he continued to apply pressure… but… what!?

His eyes widened as the metal didn’t obey reality, standing firm and strong beneath Tuji’s strength. How could this be? Steel had proven to be as sturdy as paper when put up against Tuji’s might… what was this armor made out of that it could resist a demi-god’s power!?

Giving up on crushing the metal, Tuji instead began straining against Hoplite in an attempt to keep the big man from rising. Tuji glared into that featureless helmet, seeing his scarred reflection as he strained against Hoplite, trying to knock the human to his back. To Tuji’s simultaneous horror and elation, Hoplite stood… and began pushing Tuji back.

They locked for a moment, both straining to shove the other backward. Soon, however, Tuji felt his feet digging twin trails through the grass as Hoplite proved that his own strength was somehow greater than Tuji’s. This hadn’t happened since his last encounter with a fellow Pillar-Born… A fight that Tuji had barely survived. A battle that Tuji had definitely lost. Again he found himself wondering if Hoplite was one of his kind, for this strength was nigh impossible for a mortal to achieve.

He had to be.

Seemingly right after that thought, Hoplite stopped pushing, and pulled on Tuji’s hands. Tuji flew forward with the momentum, his face meeting that smooth helmet with enough force to daze a mammoth. Tuji’s nose flattened against Hoplite’s head, blood exploding from flattened nostrils before Hoplite repeated the motion, crushing Tuji’s nose further and forcing the Pillar-Born down to his knees. Hoplite’s hands worked quickly while Tuji was dazed, forming a firm grip around Tuji’s wrists before Hoplite began striking the earth with Tuji like an angry child with a stuffed toy. Again and again, Hoplite slammed Tuji into the earth, cratering the ground with dizzying speed. The world was a blur to Tuji’s eyes, and he could not help vomiting as his guts roiled. Foundation rebuilt his nose during this brutal slamming, and he growled as he tried to right himself to fight back.

Tuji’s counterattack never came to pass however, Hoplite hurling him away as if he were a mere pebble. Tuji then collided with a tree, snapping the trunk backward as the air left his lungs in a rasp. Tuji took note that he had heard the wood crunching beneath his flesh… at least his hearing was back. Still no cry from a fae though, meaning that the tree-spirits had thankfully fled.

Tuji moved to stand, but was sent gasping when Hoplite rammed his metal shoulder plate into his chest, knocking the wind free of his lungs and back into the trunk. The tree bent even further backward and began falling in Hoplite’s direction, who stepped aside to let Tuji take the brunt of the fall.

It crushed Tuji against the forest floor as the trunk came crashing down on his back, forcing even more air from his lungs. Tuji grit his teeth, sliding his hands beneath him and pushing up to roll the tree off his back. As that happened, Hoplite drew a long knife from a sheath on his shoulder, holding it in a reversed grip. Tuji quickly got to his feet as Hoplite darted forward, intent on stabbing the Godling through the throat.

Tuji gasped as he barely avoided the strike, jumping backward over the tree with a flip to land on his feet. Hoplite followed immediately after, jumping high over the thick trunk and charging at Tuji with his blade ready to gut the Pillar-Born. Hoplite pushed forward with expert slashes, Tuji barely being able to dodge the flurry of blows. Hoplite pushed Tuji’s reflexes to their limit, for even when time seemed to slow to his perspective, Hoplite was still able to keep Tuji on the defensive.

If Hoplite’s thunder staff could injure Tuji, what could his knife be capable of? If that thing hit his brain there was a good chance that Tuji couldn’t regenerate from that… at least Tuji most likely wouldn’t be right after it re-grew. The speed in which Hoplite swung would have been too fast for a mortal to keep track of, and Tuji suspected that if he even blinked, that blade would find purchase in one of his vitals.

Hoplite swung again, backing Tuji into another tree and rearing back for a stab. Tuji barely side-stepped the blade as it sunk deep into the trunk, passing through the hard wood as if it were butter. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Tuji lashed out with a fist, smashing it into the side of Hoplite’s helmet and knocking the metal man’s head down hard into his own shoulder plate. The blow slowed very briefly before colliding… was Tuji slowing down? He could fight all day if need be, stamina was no issue for him. So why had his punch slowed? Was it his imagination?

The clang of steel fist on metal echoed through the forest, and Hoplite's helmet proved its durability by not even denting beneath the force of the strike.

The big man though? Hoplite stumbled away slightly after the blow connected, and Tuji darted forward, lifting his fists up beneath his eyes as he approached. Tuji lashed out again with a fast jab, closing into Hoplite’s guard and feeling that odd resistance once more. It really was there! It briefly slowed Tuji’s attack before it connected with Hoplite’s chestplate, it couldn’t have been his imagination. It felt much like forcing magnets together… Was it some kind of magic shield perhaps?

That same force must have slowed Tuji’s haymaker before it had collided with Hoplite’s helmet; it was almost like an invisible wall had been erected around the metal man to protect him from the attack. Tuji’s punch may have been slowed by this strange force, but the strike still clearly had its intended effect. While Hoplite’s helmet protected his flesh from Tuji, the power of the Tuji’s first punch would have still dazed Hoplite as it traveled through the helmet. It was amazing that the force of Tuji’s punch didn’t simply kill Hoplite, even with the strange magic shield protecting him… what an amazing man!

The sound of Tuji’s fists pounding metal was almost deafening as it rang throughout the forest. Ribs, the head, kicks to the legs, Tuji struck him what felt like a hundred times, yet the armor never dented beneath his blows. That strange force then suddenly… popped with an electric crackle, shocking Tuji’s hands. He didn’t stop his barrage however, battering Hoplite with renewed vigor and forcing him back into the middle of the clearing. Hoplite was now taking Tuji’s full strength now that his magic shield was gone… but still the metal held strong.

Dwarf-made for certain, though the blunt trauma Hoplite suffered would kill him. Tuji just had to keep striking until-

Hoplite lashed out with wide arms, grabbing Tuji and lifting him up in a bear hug before those powerful metal arms began to squeeze. Tuji felt ribs begin creaking together as Hoplite began crushing him against his chestplate, the man still stumbling slightly as he held Tuji aloft. Tuji growled, and began striking that metal dome again, knocking Hoplite’s head around to daze him once more. Yet this time… the man didn’t even react.

Why did he not falter now!? He struck again and again as Hoplite applied more pressure, Tuji feeling his eyes begin to pop. No, he would not die like this! Tuji again drew on Foundation’s Flame, feeling it flood him with its might. Now he would-

Something struck the back of Tuji’s head then, knocking it forward and interrupting his connection with the Golden Flame. Dazed, he lifted his head back up, turning to see the younger human with his thunderstaff atop the tree that had earlier trapped Tuji. Next to him the faekin woman stood, the barrel of her pistol smoking as she stared at Tuji, her face pale with fear.

She then lowered it, staring down at the weapon with visible awe.

Then the young human fired his thunder staff, hitting Tuji in the temple and knocking his skull back with the same force as it had before. He felt his brain bounce around in his skull, a wave of nausea coming over him as he strained against Hoplite’s arms. Thankfully his skin had hardened after regenerating from the initial shot earlier, but the round had still packed enough power to knock Tuji’s brain around. He floundered for Foundation, searching for the connection to the Flame to help him regenerate from the new damage he’d just sustained.

Before he could reach Foundation however, Tuji felt a massive cold metal thumb dig into his right eyeball. The organ popped beneath the invading digit, and Tuji screamed as the thumb curled, locking into his eye socket. With his forearm braced against Tuji’s lower back, Hoplite began forcing Tuji backward. Tuji bucked and fought as hard as he could to free himself from Hoplite’s grasp, but the armor didn’t even budge.

He struck at the joint of Hoplite’s arm, hoping to break it at the elbow. His fist bounced off the metal with a loud clang, and Tuji thought he heard a grunt from Hoplite, but the elbow didn’t shatter. Tuji tried, again and again, striking the elbow to break it… but it was to no avail.

Tuji just kept bending and bending until-

Snap.

His mouth quivered as his remaining eye found the human and elf, his view of the world having been turned upside down. Hoplite’s thumb slid out of Tuji’s destroyed eye socket then, blood flowing down to stain his hair.

Hoplite had folded Tuji backward over his forearm like a towel, snapping his spine in half. Tuji’s vision dimmed as he searched for Foundation… for the Golden Flame…

He had to find it… before he…

Before…